Some friends have been living in the more grimey/character 11th in Paris and recommended a local dinner at a true Parisian place in their suburbs. It's true to say very few tourists would venture out this far and the solely French menu reinforced that. They therefore also found it quite unexpected that the waitress spoke very good English. Only good English, because her smirky/smiley response to my ordering of a cocktail of "be careful, you're Asian" is perhaps lost in translation. Or maybe it's just French.
The 3-course menu is €34, a reasonable price for Paris considering mains are generally around €20-25.
- Oeuf bio mayonnaise addictive, gaspacho d'artichauts violets, pousses de pois - a lovely poached organic egg on a "gazpacho" of artichokes with tomato and parsley. A warm fresh entree;
- Veloute de lieu jaune au lait de coco-galanga-citron vert, legumes croquants - a fish based soup cooked with the Thai trinity of coconut milk, galangal and lime. It was a beautiful soup with a strong tart edge with a lighter nod to classic tom kha soups;
- Joues de lottes mijotees a la creme d'Isigny et au chardonnay, risotto de riz noir, carotte rotie - al dente black rice risotto with morsels of soft white fish in a savoury creamy chardonnay sauce;
- Canard des landes aux figues roties au miel de romarin, polenta, jus de cuisson - I was craving duck and this delivered the beautiful rare meat with some sweetness from roasted figs. Simply wonderful dish and meat;
- Biscuit a l'amaretto, mousse au chocolat noir, compote de framboises - biscuit, dark chocolate and raspberry. A good combination;
- Poire williams pochee dans un sirop aux agrumes et epices, yaourt au safran d'Iran, crumble cafe/avoine - an excellent poached pear with a saffron yoghurt and crumble.
The duck reminded me of my favourite parts of French cooking. My last trip to Paris had the wonderful deep warming duck cassoulet (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/chez-papa-paris-06-2016) and so I have myself a theme.