paris | Sugared & Spiced

2014/11/032015/08/05

[Paris] Persillé

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Persillé

Add: 66 rue du Chevaleret 75013 Paris
Tel: 01 45 82 98 96
Hours: [butcher shop] 10am~4pm, 5~8pm [restaurant] 12~2:30pm (closed on Sun)
Website: www.persille.fr
Price: €10~11/burger, €15~16/burger set
Visited on: Nov 2014

What you can find at Persillé maison de viande: fresh high quality meat that comes directly from the farm, and ready to eat items like burgers and beef tartar (available during lunch time). “Butcher to table”, a nice concept it is.

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2014/11/022015/08/05

[Paris] Walaku 和楽

paris

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Walaku 和楽

Add: 33 Rue Rousselet, 75007 Paris
Tel: 01 56 24 11 02
Hours: [lunch] 12~3pm [afternoon tea] 3~7pm (closed on Mon & Tue)
Website: walaku-paris.com
Price: [lunch] €32 [tea sets] €12~25
Visited on: Nov 2014

Japanese tea salon in the 7th arrondissement. A branch out from the one Michelin star Japanese restaurant Aida (just around the corner), this space seats no more than eight, with four at the bar and four at the tables. Presiding over this tranquil little space is Takanori Murata, who grew up in a family of traditional Japanese pastry chefs. Reservation recommended.

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2014/11/022015/08/05

[Paris] Arnaud Larher

paris

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Arnaud Larher

Add*: 93 rue de Seine, 75006 Paris
Tel: 01 43 29 38 15
Hours: [Tue] 2~7:30pm [Wed-Thu] 10am~7:30pm [Fri-Sat] 10am~8pm [Sun] 10am~7pm
Website: arnaudlarher.com
Prices: €5.20/individual pastry
Visited on: Oct 2014

Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) is a prestigious award in France according to category of trades – whether in woodwork, tailoring, or clockmaking – in a contest among professionals. When someone is awarded MOF, it’s generally a solid indication that he or she has exceptional skills. In the world of pastry, a few MOFs have opened their own boutiques here in Paris, Arnaud Larher being one of them. I have visited his shops twice before back in 2012 and 2013, but was never really drawn to his style of pastries. Seeing positive reviews of his work lately on multiple social media, I decided to drop by again to see if anything will appeal this time.

*3 boutiques available in Paris, check website for detail.

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Sometimes I spend a long time making choices in front of a pastry display because I want to buy everything, but at Arnaud Larher it’s usually the opposite – I have a hard time finding something I want to take home with. It’s both the look and the combination of flavor…somehow, nothing sing out to me in particular.

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2014/10/202015/08/05

[Paris] Le Petit Bleu

paris

Follow me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, & 微博! Le Petit Bleu Add: 23 Rue Muller, 75018 Paris Tel: 01 42 59 27 01 Hours: 6pm~1am (open everyday) Price: [salads] €7 [cous cous/tajines] €10~12 Visited on: Oct 2014 Le Petit Bleu isn’t the fanciest spot you will find in Paris, but it’s got delicious couscous worthy of your stomach space, at very affordable prices too! If you…Continue Reading “[Paris] Le Petit Bleu” →

2014/10/162015/08/05

[Paris] Le Richer

paris

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Le Richer

Add: 2 rue Richer, 75009 Paris
Tel: n/a (reservations not accepted)
Hours: 8am~1am (open everyday)
Website: www.facebook.com/Restaurant.Le.Richer
Price: [appetizers] €9~10 [main courses] €17~18 [sweets] €8
Visited on: Oct 2014

Le Richer has been receiving a lot of good press since its opening early last year. This corner restaurant is open everyday (a rare find in Paris) and for all occasions (8am to 1am), making it a good spot to drop by anytime, any day. We came for lunch on a weekday and found the place to be bustling with activity, but not in an overly hectic way. Except for the desserts, we were quite happy with the dishes we tried , which are generally light, refreshing, and creative. Especially worth noting were the beef tartar, the tomato gaspacho, and the colvert duck. Pictures below.

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Saucisse aux herbes, pain de mais et condiment abricot/navet/girolles (€9), sausage with herbs, corn bread, and a condiment of apricot/turnip/chanterelles.

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Tartare de boeuf, huitres/granny smith/radis et sésame (€10), beef tartare with oyster/granny smith/radish and sesame.

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2014/10/132015/08/05

[Paris] Folks & Sparrows

paris

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Folks & Sparrows

Add: 14 rue Saint-Sébastien, 75 011 Paris
Tel: 09 81 45 90 99
Hours: [Tue-Sun] 10am~7pm
Website: www.facebook.com/folksandsparrows
Price: [sandwiches] €6.50-7.50 [coffee] €4-5 [pastries] €4
Visited on: Oct 2014

Folks & Sparrows recently opened on the borders of Le Marais, just across Boulevard Beaumarchais from Merci. This coffee shop / épicerie fine is opened by Franck, a French man who has spent quite some years in New York before coming back to Paris. What you can find here: hip and cosy decor, coffee and cakes, sandwiches, a selection of artisanal packaged foods, and a slow and easy ambience. What I liked most about this place is that, unlike many Parisien cafes, it does not tries to maximize seating by stuffing in as many tables as possible. The breathing space is definitely appreciated.

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2014/09/222015/08/05

[Paris] Dessance (2)

paris

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Dessance

Add: 74 rue des Archives, 75003
Tel: 01 42 77 23 62
Hours: [Wed-Thu] 2~11pm [Fri-Sat] 12pm~12am [Sun] 12~11pm
Website: www.dessance.fr
Price: [dessert menu] €19~42
Visited on: Sep 2013

Dessance, Paris’ first gastronomic dessert bar, has been open for around 9 months now. My first visit back in January was a rather pleasant experience, and I finally got a chance to go back to see what’s new. In addition to the a la carte options (€19) and the carte blanche sweet menu (€36), there is now also a carte blanche salé/sucré menu (€42), which includes one savory dish followed by four sweet dishes. On the particular day we visited, this menu started with beef carpaccio, roquefort cheese sorbet, and celery root baked in hay and seaweed, a light dish perfect for those who like to pad the stomach with something non-sweet first.

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Drinks are not included in the menu, fyi. Jasmine tea (€6).

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First sweet course: green peas, green pea puree, and orange carrot granité. Bright and light, a pleasant combination with a good balance of sweet and savory.

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Second sweet course: burrata with mustard leaf sorbet, orange confit, and saffran/mustard leaf powder. The orange confit, though just a small part of this dish, was nicely done – soft and tender but still preserving a tiny bit of crunchy texture. I’m not familiar with mustard leaf as an ingredient and wasn’t quite sure what I was tasting, but the whole ensemble with burrata, orange confit, and saffran was original and lovely. Like the previous dish, this one wasn’t really sweet, but rather a combination of sweet and savory.

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Third sweet course: raw and cooked mirabelle with eucalyptus crème brûlée, marjoram granité, and an acidic crumble. This dish, while interesting in terms of unique flavors to explore, wasn’t an enjoyable one for me as I found there to be too many thimgs competing for attention at the same time.

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2014/09/142015/08/05

[Paris] Restaurant David Toutain

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Restaurant David Toutain

Add: 29 Rue Surcouf, 75007 Paris
Tel: 01 45 50 11 10
Hours: [Mon-Fri] 12~2:30pm, 8~10pm (closed Sat & Sun)
Website: davidtoutain.com
Price: [lunch] €42 [tasting menu] €68~158
Visited on: Sep 2014

I first tried David Toutain’s cuisine at Agapé Substance, where I had one of my most memorable meals since moving to Paris. This young chef, having worked with some of the world’s top chefs like Bernard Loiseau, Marc Veyrat, Alain Passard (Arpège) and Andoni Luis Aduriz (Mugaritz), opened his own restaurant at the end of 2013 to much public acclaim. The style remains the same – clever, beautiful small plates made up of pristine ingredients – except it all tasted even better than what I remembered from two years ago.

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In terms of space, Restaurant David Toutain is much more spacious and airy compared to Agapé Substance. Service, warm and friendly.

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Carte blanche tasting menu can be either €68 or €98 depending on the number of courses, with optional wine pairings at additional cost. During lunch time, a three-course menu is available for €42.

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We chose the €98 tasting menu, an extended affair of 15 courses that started with boeuf, framboise, parmesan – beef carpaccio wrapping raspberries, topped with parmesan.

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2014/08/312015/08/05

[Paris] Un Dimanche à Paris

paris

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Un Dimanche à Paris

Add: 4 Cours du Commerce Saint-André, 75006 Paris
Tel: 01 56 81 18 18
Hours: [Mon] 12~8pm [Tue-Sat] 11am~8pm [Sun] 11am~7pm
Website: www.un-dimanche-a-paris.com
Price: €5~6/pastry
Visited on: Aug 2014

Un Dimanche à Paris remains one of my favorite pastry shops in Paris, largely because I spent 5 very happy months here as an intern right after Ferrandi. It is in this kitchen where I first learned the ways of a professional pâtissier – sure, the pastry program at Ferrandi is wonderful and I wholeheartedly recommend it, but school just can’t prepare you enough for working in a real kitchen. The team at UDAP has almost totally changed since then – only one current pâtissier (salut Alex!) was there during my epoch – but I happen to know the new chef, Nicolas Bacheyre, as we had worked together for a little bit at Fauchon where he was the sous chef. It is indeed a very small circle, this pastry world in Paris, and thanks to that I can go back to snoop around in the kitchen from time to time :)

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It’s barely over half a year since Nicolas started working as the chef pâtissier at UDAP, but he has already came up with plenty of new creations, many with interesting flavor combinations that you can’t find elsewhere. When I saw the picture and description of the latest Chou Bijou, for example, I simply had to go taste it…and of course came back with a bit more than just that.

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Here it is, Le Chou Bijou (€5.40), a jewel-like chou filled with black currant compote and topped with mirabelle tea chantilly cream. Black currant is not new to me as it’s a fruit frequently used in French pastries, but I had never tasted it in combination with the mirabelle tea flavor (and for that matter, I’d never had mirabelle tea before) and it’s really quite a lovely match. Like all the choux and éclairs at UDAP, this one is baked with crunchy bits of cocoa beans for extra flavor and crunch.

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2014/08/242015/08/05

[Paris] Patrick Roger (2)

paris

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Patrick Roger

Add: 91 rue de Rennes 75006 Paris*
Tel: 01 45 44 66 13
Hours: [Mon-Sat] 10:30am~7:30pm
Website: www.patrickroger.com
Price: single origin chocolates €7/box
Visited on: Aug 2014

Patrick Roger, awarded Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) chocolatier, is a chocolate madman well-known for his majestic chocolate sculptures and his innovative flavor combinations. I first visited his boutique back in October 2012, and have loved his creations ever since. Excellent choice whether as a treat to oneself, or a gift for a friend.

*Various locations available, check website for full listing.

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Just yesterday, my roommate received this coffret de chocolat (€36, available in different sizes) as a present, and we had such fun trying each bonbon chocolat and savoring their flavors – we probably tasted about 7 of them before we decided that a break was necessary.

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In this box:

Amazone – the harmony of caramel and the sharpness of lime
Trinidad & Tobago – the fleeting flavor of creole rum
Zanzibar – a fusion of thyme and lemon
Delhi – essence of lemon and basil
Mistral – creamy plain caramel and flower of salt
Maracaibo – a subtle blend of northern cocoas
Tendresse – strongly roasted and caramelized Piedmont hazelnut
Desir – crunchy wafer on praline
Katamandou – the richness of jasmine blossom
Corsica – essence of orange rind

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