All Entries in the "French" Category

Paris Series: Thaly Train to Brussels

I learned another French word, Gare du Nord. That’s French for North Station. :-) I took the train from this station which is known to be one of the busiest train station in the world. The Gare du Nord even have an airport-like departure/arrival schedule board.

[Note: About a week after I left Paris, there was a major riot in this station where a few hundred people battled the police for roughly handling an African immigrant who did not have proper papers. When I was in the station, there was a large presence of police and military armed to the teeth. I can feel the tension.]

My plan for the day is simple. Get an early train ride into Brussels and then spend a part of the evening exploring the city. Well, I did not count on needing to book a seat — I thought that it’s just to show up at the station and then you’ll get on the next available train. For that I had to wait two hours to get on the next available train.

I thought it was just an ordinary train from Paris to Brussels but it turned out to be a TGV variant called the Thalys. They run on dedicated high-speed rail track and on certain section on the same track that EuroStar uses.

Although I had myself a first class ticket which just costs a bit more from second class, I did not expect the comfort at all. I thought it was just only wider, more comfortable seats. For one, there were free newspapers given out by the stewardess (yeah, they had stewardess on trains!). After so many days of French, I was glad to see an English newspaper.

They came by with some disposable wet towels. Nice touch …

They even served food on board. This is included as part of the ticket price. I was told that there will be snacks on board but I did not expect this.

I remember there was a choice of two. After all these weeks, I can’t remember what was offered. I think the sandwich below is fish sandwich. It was cold but tasted fresh.

Some oranges …

… chocolate mousse …

… and my favourite drink, tomato juice. Gosh, they even gave me a small pack of Celery Salt to go with it — just how I always had it at home. Fancy that.

They came by the second time round and asked me if I wanted second helpings too … and they asked in English. :-)

There are several different seating configurations on every train. This certainly is more comfortable than the Eurostar to me.

Before we arrive at Brussels, they even came by with a small bar of chocolates. Service was excellent. They came by also asking if I needed a taxi at the station so that I can have a taxi waiting for me the moment I step off the train.

I’ll give them 11 out of 10 points.

The entire journey took just under 1.5 hours. The train zipped along at 300 km/hr. I was thinking this is three times the highway speed in Canada and I hardly feel that it traveled that fast.

The Brussels Midi/Zuid station is a much brighter and modern facility than the Paris Gare du Nord. Already, I feel more at home already as most people spoke perfect English although the official languages in Belgium is Flemish, French and German. That explains why this station is called both Midi and Zuid. There are no gypsies, no police armed with machine guns, nobody wanting to loop coloured strings around my fingers …

I’ll officially start the next series of my travel within the Low Countries. Brussels is the de facto capital of Europe. This clean and beautiful city houses the headquarters of NATO and the European Parliment. It is also where the most powerful of the European Union institutions are located.

The picture below is the Atomium which is perhaps the most iconic image of Brussels. Later … I’ll be blogging about this amazing structure.

OK, most importantly, there more more food related entries in this series. I think you will like this coming series. I enjoyed Brussels … the people are very friendly and helpful and the streets felt safer. Later …

Paris Series: Breakfast at Paul

Ooops. I said that yesterday’s blog entry was my last on Paris. Well, I found a few more photos I missed and this means you gotta bear with another Paris blog today.

Never much of bread fan, I found myself falling in love with Parisian bread. Everywhere I go in Paris, I inevitably come across the chain of bakeries called Paul. They seem to be as prevalent in Paris as McDonalds and Starbucks in North America.

They have bakeries of every size. They have small counters at train stations and there are some full fledge bakeries. They are always busy and filled with a lot of people. There was one Paul bakery that had lines that snaked out the door. Their bread and pastry looked so tasty — the variety is bewildering.

The morning I left Paris, I stopped by the Paul at the Gare du Nord station. The one thing that I remember was that there were a lot of young gypsy girls asking me if I speak English. i always sternly tell me “No, I don’t speak English”. :-) Does anyone know what they really want? Are they just asking for money?

This Paul outlet is just a small counter which is more than good enough for me. The board list a bunch of stuff they sell. I can’t tell what is what except for the Pains — that’s bread for French. See? I did learn some French here. :-) BTW, Paul was founded 120 years ago, believe it or not.

My fav? The baguette. There are so much I learn about the humble baguette. Did you know why baguettes are shaped the way they are? Well, apparently there is a law in France that prohibits bakeries from working before 4am. This makes it impossible to make enough bread in time for breakfasts. The long slender baguette bakes faster than the rounder bread and thus it became what it is today. Does this story sound credible?

One weird thing. When I got the baguette, I asked the staff to cut it up. The staff asked me how many pieces I wanted it … and I said five or six. She responded, “huh? you want two or three?”. “No,” I said, “I want five pieces”. She sounded very surprised. Is it abnormal to have baguettes cut into so many smaller pieces?

I also bought this tasty looking piece of pastry. I am sure there’s a nice sounding name to it but I just don’t care to learn the name. It was nice … all pastries in France is nice.

I got myself a “coffee with milk” to wash it down. It was such a small cup. I recall someone telling me that “coffee” does not come in cup sizes like what we’re used to in Canada.

My recommendation … when in Paris, get some bread from Paul’s. You must absolutely try it or else you can’t say you’ve really been to Paris. It’s like an European visiting the US without having stop by Starbucks or grab a Big Mac from Mickey D. :-)

Paris Series: Escargot Appetizer and Lunch in Latin Quarters

Now … this blog entry is about food and only about food … how’s that sound to you?

I did not expect that there were so many eateries here along the narrow streets at the edge of the Latin Quarter. I don’t really know what the street is called or the restaurant I went into. It was so hard to choose because it appears that everyone of them had such great deals. What I like is that they are fixed price menus … all around the 12-18 Euros price range for three courses.

I already know what I wanted … something I had never seen before let alone tried but had heard so much of … snails, or in a better word escargots.

Ordering the drink is a no brainer … Perrier, the carbonated spring water bottled somewhere in France. It’s French … that’s all it matters to me. Ordered a large bottle because I was so darn thirsty. This sure beats any pop drink when you’re thirsty. This bottle is 5.50 Euros … expensive right?

It is in France I discovered what the baguette should taste like. I mean, we had baguette at home, sometimes bought from the supermarket, sometimes Suanne baked ready made ones. They are OK and had never understood the fuss about the french loaf.

But holy moly, the baguettes I had in Paris is like a million-trillion times better … no kidding. They are so good I could have just have a meal on them alone … no spread, no butter, nothing … just plain naked baguettes. The crust are so crusty that it splinters apart breaking it. The insides is so soft and airy. I fell in love with baguette and looked forward to them at every place I went in Paris and Brussels.

Back home, I learnt that there is actually a law in French that defines what a baguette is — and that it must contain ONLY water, flour, yeast and salt. Nothing else! If the baker is to put in a single raisin, then by law it is not a baguette. Can someone from France confirm this?

Escargot is normally served as appetizers but to me this is the main meal. There are just six pieces of small snails. I expected the snails to be bigger. They came with snails tongs and fork. I was fumbling trying to figure out how to use that thingy until some guy came over and showed me how. That looked easy enough but after he walked away, I tried again … I got it all wrong again.

I put down the tong and used my fingers instead. That was easy.

The snails looked very greenish and unappetizing. I would not say that it tastes great, not at all. They are somewhat rubbery and chewy. Would I order this again the next time I’m in a French restaurant? Probably not.

It appears that the snails are not cooked in their shells. They are removed from the shells, cooked and then put back inside again before serving. Hmmm … why bother putting them inside again I wondered?

The main meal is the Duck Breast which came with a baked potato. The baked potato is good — much better than the normal ones we have in Canada.

The duck breast is hard and appears to have been fried. There are just six slices of them. Served in Orange Sauce, it gives a certain tanginess. Plate looked good but taste wise, it’s so-so.

For dessert, I opted for three types of cheese. I am not particularly fond of cheese myself but ordered this because this one sounded more frenchy. Arghhh … blue cheese again but this one is not too bad. Goes well as a spread on the baguette. Question … do the French spread these type of cheese on baguette?

I had a window table and took my time enjoying my food and watching the tourists go by. I liked this meal … a lot.

“Eat snails” … checked!

Paris Series: Quiche Breakfast and the Notre Dame

Just across the road from my hotel was a patisserie. Unlike in England, frankly, I really don’t know where to go for breakfast. I could have breakfast in the hotel but it costs 15 Euros — too expensive for me.

So, I just went across the street to get something from the patisserie. It was my first time and I can see what the fuss were about french bakery shop. The place smells so nice and there were so many types of bread alone that it’s bewildering.

I just got something familiar — Quiche, vegetable quiche.

I walked over to the Metro station to get a seat to eat before I head to my destination. That’s all I had for breakfast … quiche and chocolate milk. The quiche is much better than any I’ve ever tasted before. The warm pastry was so soft that it flops down. The quiche and choc milk costs 3.80 Euros.

This is a day I planned to visit the two most famous churches in Paris, the Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur. The Notre Dame is located on a small island on the River Seine called the Île de la Cité (don’t ask me how to pronounce it). It is here where Paris was founded. Compared to London’s Thames, this river seem so idylic whereas the Thames is so chaotic.

The word Notre Dame in French means Our Lady (Virgin Mary). This is also a functioning church. I can’t help but compare the Notre Dame to the Westminster Abbey. The sad thing about this church is that most of its historical treasures had been stripped away and destroyed particularly during the French Revolution.

Unlike some large cathedrals, the Notre Dame is brighter because of the large stained windows. The Notre Dame is one of the first buildings in the world that employs the use of flying buttress that enables load bearing walls to have windows instead of solid walls.

The flying buttress looked spectacular from the outside.

I spent sometime along the river Seine trying to take some shots. On an overcast day like this, everything looked so drab and dull. I heard that the best place to look for food is at the Latin Quarters just south of the River. I did not know how close it was … it was just down an alley and it opened up to rows of bistros and restaurants.

Dine Out Vancouver 2007 - Le Gavroche

Le Gavroche is a french restaurant set in the middle of downtown. Tucked amidst tall high-rise apartments and office buildings, Le Gavroche is set on a pretty two-storey Victorian house.

It used to have a sweeping view of the North Shore mountains and habour. There are high-rise now blocking the commanding view. The setting is romantic. However, I find that the tables are placed too close together.

For some reason, I came expecting very formal service. Perhaps it’s because the exterior looked so Victorian. However, the service were quite informal and yet friendly — even loud. They talk to us like we’ve been eating there everyday. I like that.

We started off with a Bloody Caesar — spicy and with vodka. Caesar is a very Canadian cocktail.

The bread was quite OK. The crust was crispy. Nothing particularly exciting to this.

Suanne’s appetizer is the Roasted Tomato Bisque with grilled scallop. There is only 1 piece of scallop in this — don’t you think that one would expect more than 1 piece? I would. The soup was bland with a bit of sourness in it — can’t even get a hint of tomato soup that I am used to. Is that how tomato soup in France tastes like?

Oh, we just love the way they say “bon appetite” … it is so … French.

I am a bit more adventurous. I had the Duck Liver Pate with onion marmalade and toast. I don’t care much for the sour leek. The pickled dill is OK. I am not a particular fan of this but at least Suanne finished it off for me.

The toast was crispy and when stacked with some liver pate and onion marmalade, it give a really nice balance of texture.

I saw the neighboring tables of Asians ordering this too. Seems like many of them left the liver pate untouched. I am OK with this, I think it’s nice but Suanne just thinks that the thought of this is yucky. Made me think that as much as Asians eat just about anything but duck liver pate (or just the way it’s prepared and look) does not appeal to them.

I really did not want to order the Eggplant Lasagna but then the other choice is another plate of fish. I had tried fish the past few days and thought, well, I should try something different instead even though I really prefer fish.

The Eggplant Lasagna is nothing exciting. It’s very … normal. I can’t taste much use of spices in this. Pretty bland in taste. Is this how French dishes are normally made?

Suanne booked the better entree: Roasted Free Range Chicken with capers, garlic, tomatoes and basil. This is served on a hot plate. The chicken is also piping hot — lots of steam once she cuts up the meat. It looks so much more better than my lasagna for sure.

The skin is crispy and thin and the leg and wing is served on mash (again bland) potatoes.

Suanne loves dark chocolate. So, her obvious choice is the Belgian Chocolate Mousse. It’s rich and bitter. Somehow, she felt healthier eating bitter chocolates than sweet chocolates. Anyway, it’s also very thick and sticky … you know, it sticks to your teeth, roof of your mouth and such.

Creme Brulee was what I got. Well, it’s a creme brulee like any other creme brulee, except it’s prettier. It has a half strawberry and the only different is that the sugar topping is thicker.

Total damage came to $93, including taxes and tips. It was an experience for sure. At least we have ate in one of the best french restaurants in Vancouver. I am sure this is great for a lot of people. It’s just that I guess we prefer more spices and flavour — it’s just us. The best part of this meal? It’s the Canadian Caesar … sigh … :-)