paris | Sugared & Spiced

2012/11/142015/08/05

[Paris] La Briciola

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La Briciola

Add: 64 Rue Charlot, 75003 Paris
Tel: 01 42 77 34 10
Hours: 12~2:30pm, 8~11pm (closed on Sun)
Price: [antipasti] €8~12 [pizza] €9.5~16 [dessert] €6~8
Visited on: Nov 2012

I know, I know, you didn’t come to Paris to eat pizza, but once in a while we all get a bit tired of French food and need a change of scene. On one such evening, I happened to pass by La Briciola, a small pizzeria that’s known to fire up one of the best Neapolitan pies in town…

The combination of delicious pizzas with affordable prices makes La Briciola a very popular place. Reserve, or come early.

Start with a glass of wine.

With a complimentary plate of juicy olives.

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2012/11/142015/08/05

[Paris] Frenchie Restaurant

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Frenchie

Add: 5-6 Rue du Nil 75002 Paris
Tel: 01 40 39 96 19
Hours: 7~10:30pm (closed Sat & Sun)
Price: set menu €45
Website: www.frenchie-restaurant.com
Visited on: Nov 2012

Back in September, a friend told me that he landed a reservation at Frenchie for November (yup, the earliest date he could get was for a month and half later) and asked if I’d be interested in joining. Are you kidding? Of course I’m in! Famed for Gregory Marchand’s contemporary market cooking, Frenchie is one of the most difficult bistros to get reservations at in Paris. So how could it be that our meal turned out to be “just pretty good”?

Dec 2012 update: one of my dinner companions went to Frenchie again, and thought the second visit was a much better experience.

Let’s take a look at what we had. Frenchie offers a prix fixe menu at €45 for three courses, with two choices in each course. Short and simple.

Optional starter, foie gras torchon, quince (extra €16).

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2012/11/132015/08/05

[Paris] Mandarin Oriental

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Mandarin Oriental

Add: 251 Rue Saint-Honoré 75001 Paris
Tel: 01 70 98 78 88
Website: www.mandarinoriental.com/paris

Stone, lacquer, and gold leaf. Opulent materials in couture style. A harmonious blend of plum, grey, and ecru. Welcome to Mandarin Oriental Paris, the luxury hotel group’s first address in France and also the most recent addition to its hotel portfolio. Housed inside a 1930s Art Deco building on rue Saint-Honoré, Mandarin Oriental Paris has been designed* in sync with its haute-couture surroundings. Let’s take a tour and explore the shades, textures, and delicate details sprinkled throughout this stylish 8-storey space.

*Jean-Michel Wilmotte – Building façade and patio/ Sybille de Margerie – interior design and decoration of the rooms, suites, Spa and public spaces / Agence Jouin-Manku – bar and restaurants

Double height lobby, floor-to-ceiling windows, modern and airy.

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2012/11/122015/08/05

[Paris] Kei

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Kei

Add: 5 rue Coq Héron, 75001 Paris
Tel: 01 42 33 14 74
Hours: 12:30~2pm, 7:30~9pm (closed Sun & Mon)
Website: www.restaurant-kei.fr
Price: [lunch] €45~75 [dinner] €95~118
Visited on: Nov 2012

Japanese chef Kei Kobayashi, after 7 years of experience at Alain Ducasse’s Plaza Athénée restaurant, opened his eponymous restaurant (awarded with one Michelin star) on a quiet street in the 1st arrondissement. The cuisine is nouveau French with a touch of Japanese influence, presented beautifully in an elegant dining room. Warm and attentive service, perfect pacing of dishes. Love, love, love.

One more thing to like about the restaurant is that while it’s quite small, the tables are set far enough apart to ensure personal space and privacy.

A warm hand towel upon arrival, how very Asian.

Kei offers set menus of four or five courses at lunch (45/75€) and six or eight courses (95/118€) at dinner. The menu doesn’t indicate what courses are included in the sets, and guests only get to choose between two meat dishes for the main course. My lunch date and I both decided on the four-course lunch menu, which started with a trio of amuse bouches. First, an iced shot of shiso, basil, and white balsamic vinegar. Sweet and slightly sour, it was a few refreshing sips that totally woke up our palates.

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2012/11/122015/10/17

[Paris] Les Cocottes de Christian Constant

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Les Cocottes de Christian Constant

Add: 135 rue Saint-Dominique 75007 Paris
Tel: 01 45 55 15 05
Hours: 12~3pm, 6:30~10:30pm
Price: €15~29/cocotte
Website: www.maisonconstant.com
Visited: Nov 2012

A small, delicious, and affordable eatery by French master chef Christian Constant. The specialization here is, as the name very clearly indicates, dishes served in cocottes, or mini cast iron pans. It is open everyday for lunch and dinner, but I personally prefer coming here for lunch since the space tends to get too packed and slightly uncomfortable during dinner time.

We started with Entrée du Jour (€9), a scallops and black pudding tart served on a bed of greens. Would’ve been better if served hot rather than lukewarm.

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2012/11/042015/08/05

[Paris] Mariage Frères

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Mariage Frères

Add*: 13 Rue des Grands Augustins 75006 Paris
Tel: 01 40 51 82 50
Hours: 10:30am~7:30pm
Website: www.mariagefreres.com
Price: [afternoon tea set] €18~37 [tea] €9~12 [desserts] €11~16
Visited on: Nov 2012

Tea lovers, you have undoubtedly heard of Mariage Frères, the oldest tea importer in France. In each of their colonially decorated boutiques, over 600 varieties of teas are layed out apothecary style, tempting visitors with intriguing names like Thé Sur le Nil, Thé l’Opéra, Marco Polo, or Montagne de Jade. I often find myself opening jars after jars, sniffing each exotic blends to see which fits my mood at the moment, and either purchase them by the gram, or enjoy a pot right away in the tea salon along with some tea-infused desserts. A soothing afternoon, guaranteed.

*3 Salon de Thé locations available in Paris, check website for full listing.

(Picture taken right before the salon closed, hence the empty room.)

A good way to enjoy a pot of tea with some dessert bites is Time for Tea (€22), which includes an assortment of tea-flavoured mini desserts served with a tea of your choice.

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2012/11/032015/08/05

[Paris] Il Vino by Enrico Bernardo

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Il Vino by Enrico Bernardo

Add: 13 Boulevard de la Tour-Maubourg 75007 Paris
Tel: 01 44 11 72 00
Hours: [Tue-Fri] 12~2:30pm, 7pm~12am [Mon, Sat] 7pm~12am (Closed on Sun)
Price: [lunch] tasting menu €70 [dinner] tasting menu €98~150
Website: www.enricobernardo.com
Visited on: Oct 2012

When dining at Il Vino, you will be presented with nothing more than a wine list. You choose the wines, which will each be matched with a surprise dish designed as the complement for whatever that has been chosen. The pairings are overseen by restaurant owner Enrico Bernardo, the youngest-ever winner of the World’s Best Sommelier award, who has the fascinating ability to bring about perfect marriages between wine and food. If you have an appreciation for wine and an adventurous willingness to eat whatever arrives the table, then sit back, and let this enchanting experience unfold on its own.

For apertif, a glass of Duval Leroy Fleur de Champagne 1er Cru Brut (forgot to note the €).

Lovely focaccia, served with parmesan.

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2012/11/032015/08/05

[Paris] Au Comptoir de Brice

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Au Comptoir de Brice

Add: 33 Rue du Château d’Eau 75010 Paris
Tel: 07 59 84 63 30
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 9am~8pm [Sun] 9am~2pm
Website: www.aucomptoirdebrice.com
Price: [brunch] €25 [entrée] €9~12 [plat] €14~25 [desserts] €5~6
Visited on: Oct 2012

Brice Morvent, a Top Chef France 2010 semi-finalist, runs this cute little corner cafe tucked away in the St. Martin Market. He is especially known for his homemade burgers, but I found the brunch set to be a much better choice, especially on a late Sunday morning.

Love the warm and cozy wooden decor.

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2012/11/012015/10/17

[Paris] Les Papilles

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Les Papilles

Add: 30 Rue Gay-Lussac 75005 Paris
Tel: 01 43 25 20 79
Hours: 12~2pm, 7:30~10:00pm (closed Sunday & Monday)
Website: www.lespapillesparis.fr
Price: [lunch] €24~26 [dinner] €33
Visited: Oct 2012

The only thing I didn’t like about Les Papilles was that it’s equally far from any metro station, which makes getting there an ordeal especially on cold wintery days. But really, there’s not much to complain about this small, affordable, and reliable bistro. The prix fixe menu (€33 for a 4-course dinner) offers no choice – everyone gets the same soup, main course, cheese/salad, and dessert – but as long as you are a flexible eater, you will be full and very satisfied by the end of your evening here.

The space is small, so expect elbow-to-elbow seatings, and don’t be alarmed when other patrons look over your head to pick out a bottle of wine.

Fleurie 2009 (Beaujolais) from Domaine Jean Foillard, as recommended by the restaurant manager.

The makings of tonight’s cauliflower soup arrived in a bowl: chopped cauliflower, toasted croutons, bacon bits, chives, and sour cream, served alongside a tureen laden with cauliflower cream. The flavor was classic-done-right, and the portion more than generous – the three of us each helped ourselves to two full bowls, and there were still leftovers.

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2012/11/012015/08/05

[Paris] Pierre Hermé Macarons

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Pierre Hermé

Add: 72 rue Bonaparte 75006 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 43 54 47 77
Hours: 10am~7pm (7:30pm on Thu-Fri, 8pm on Sat)
Website: www.pierreherme.com
Price: €4.50~7.30/individual dessert
Visited on: 2012-08

“Les macarons n’ont que quelques grammes pour mettre nos sens en émoi. Des yeux, on les dévore déjà. Les doigts effleurent leur surface, les arômes sont doucement humés. Lorsque l’on croque leur fine enveloppe croustillante, les oreilles en sont tout émoustillées. Alors vient en bouche une grâce délicate…”

– Pierre Hermé

I’m not yet ready to say which pastry shop is my favorite in Paris, but when it comes to macarons, Pierre Hermé is definitely my man. It’s almost impossible for me to pass his boutique without buying a bag of these smooth-skinned, soft, delicate rounds that come in all sorts of fascinating colors and flavor combinations. Green asparagus with hazelnut oil? Lemon with caramelized fennel? Wasabi with candied grapefruit? Raspberry with espelette pepper? Or…fresh mint with sweet peas?

Of course, there are also the classic all-time favorites. Here’s what I got on this particular visit, from the top down: Réglisse & Violette (licorice and violet), Infiniment Chocolat Porcelana (pure chocolate from Venezuela & porcelana), Infiniment Caramel (caramel with salted butter), Truffe Blanche & Noisette (white truffle and hazelnuts), Mogador (milk chocolate and passion fruit), Jardin Oriental (orange flower, rose, and ginger), Infiniment Citron (lemon).