u m a m i

Youlin, Paris

               

I am finally feeling more human-like. No more falling asleep in the middle of the day and drifting in a semi-comatose state, and the throat is much better too I might just munch on some potato chips in front of the telly tonight.

While the NY pictures go through the Photoshop processor, let me share our latest favourite restaurant. Youlin is a French-Japanese izakaya place located a short spit away from Sorbonne along 3 rue Valette in the 5th arrondissement. T: 01 43 26 05 32. Sui Mai sent me the address just before she left Paris. It is a very small restaurant, with counter seating and tables enough for 20 people max, with a good part of the space taken up by a respectable selection of Japanese beers, sakes, sochus and liquors. The wine list though will not present any bargains and there aren't any wines served by the glass. Best to stick with the umeshus and sakes which goes very well with the food anyway.

A long blackboard along one wall lists the rather short menu of "small plates"dishes, and there is an omakase (chef selection) option of 3 amuses, an appetiser and 2 small plates for the bargain price of 21 euros. The kind pricing is a great incentive to try almost everything. Between my menu and husband's selections of the small plates we managed to sample almost 70% of their dishes most of which were very good to excellent

               

The style is unlike typical Japanese izakaya, nothing as simple as pork stews or fried oysters, no mam here the food is more refined, marrying classical French techniques with striking Japanese influences for example clam sashimi with tomato coulis and yuzu oil.

               

Juicy fat scallops sweet and seared, served in a pool of sauce with truffle flecks and edamame beans. On top of delicious and cute 'gnocchi' made with rice. And I was so worried that their "Italian style" would mean a dollop of mystery ratatouille. 

             

Or a fatty piece of pork rib grilled and dusted with a very unusual ingredient of szechuan peppercorn. Just enough to make the tongue tingle without the spiciness. Oishiii! Other excellent dishes included a cauliflower soup served cold in a glass and dorade (fish of the day) where the beautifully cooked cabbage stole the spotlight. 

There was only one dish that I couldn't bear to eat. A cold pressed terrine of vegetables served with untampered kewpie mayonnaise was very cold and tasteless on its own and was made more nasty when dabbed with the kewpie. It was in the omakase menu which changes weekly so hopefully it won't be included in the next roster.

It would make a nice end if they had some kind of rice or noodle dish. The handsome young man at the bar who was taking orders explained that other diners had expressed the very same thing so by the next visit maybe we'll see what the talented chef can come up with. I also noticed on their website that they have started serving lunch.   

            

Desserts included a white chocolate mousse layered confection with red fruits that had won the chef a prize in 2006. I don't like white chocolate and while I was not converted by this dish, it was pleasant enough especially accompanied by the candied citrus slice.

            

The mille-feuille won me over completely. What it lacked in layers and thinness, being more of a sandwich really, it made up for in matching perfectly the flakey, light-as-a-feather pastry with a silky fruit custard filling. And they have good tea to go with desserts too, another reason to love them.

It's only a matter of time before this place becomes too popular so don't wait any further. Just go. 

La Petite pause

               

And we take a break because I have a mountain of reading waiting for my attention and exams to prepare for. Come the weekend we will drive to the sea, to St Malo; let's hope that the sun will be out and we can enjoy lots of Normandy butter and its derivatives.

Above picture is of an apple tartlette from the famous ice cream shop Berthillon on the Ile de la Cite. The scoops that they dispense are so very tiny, after regretfully licking the last drops of ice cream one can look forward to another ephemeral treat of butter, caramel and apples. Bonne vacances!

We do bistros and brasseries too!

               

Eating with the French is always interesting. Since my spoken French is far from fluent, I am quite contented to listen and the topics, well, fascinating would be putting it mildly. How about plastic surgery and french beauties, divorces, matchmakings, saving wayward French hostages, muggings, holidaying in Colombia and grand chefs of Lyon to start with?

The restaurants chosen are also different from where we might tend to go to, you know, the tiny, overbooked under-30 covers place run by an ex-chef from famous 2 or 3 star establishment and his/her spouse and maybe a spare harried waitstaff but which is all mitigated for, hopefully, by food to swoon over. In contrast most of these "dine with the locals" meals have been in larger establishments serving classic foods with comfortable surroundings and brigades of waitstaffs. Such as Montparnasse 1900 last night. The restaurant has existed for nearly 100 years and was run by the same family for a long time before being sold off to someone else. Sitting on a plush leather banquette in the midst of gorgeous Art Nouveau everything (ceilings, walls, lightings, tiles, my tachycardic heart overwhelmed by all the beautiful craftwork), taking in the details such as the luggage racks and coathooks which harks back to the days when passengers eat there after disembarking from their train at nearby Gare Montparnasse, when we think about it all, the food hardly mattered anymore.

               

Not that it was terrible, thankfully it was not bad at all. Cocktail of avocado and shrimps, steak frites, floating islands (île flottante), creme brulée for husband- competent classic dishes, though my steak was too classical in the sense that I had to chew and chew until my jaws ached and my head screamed. So the food doesn't make you go and extol, say, the whimsical pairing of vanilla and watercress but it does allow one to relax, to carry on a civilised conversation, to butter up the baguettes, to finish the kir petillante (sparkly blackcurrant and champagne cocktail) and to raid the chocolate almonds in the sugar basket come coffee time.

               

If one prefers Art Deco, there is also La Coupole further along the same street, or Le Boeuf sur le Toit near Champs Elysée. And then there's always the bistros like Chez George and Bistrot de la Muette; the decor would not be nearly as elaborate, and the tables are closer together but these places are always full of locals as well as tourists enjoying an uncomplicated night out. 

Addresses below:

Montparnasse 1900: 59 Blvd Montparnasse (6th) T: +33 1 4549 1900

La Coupole: 102 Blvd Montparnasse (14th) T: +33 1 4320 1420

Le Boeuf sur le Toit: 34 rue du Colisée (8th)T: +33 1 5393 6555

Bistro de la Muette: 10, Chaussée Muette (16th) T: +33 1 4520 3593

Chez Georges: 273 Boulevard Pereire, (17th) T: +33 1 4574 3100

Artisan Saveurs

               

Last weekend on the way to Bon Marché we passed Artisan Saveurs, a small and charming restaurant/salon du thé on 72 rue du Cherche Midi. Their door and exterior woodwork had just been been painted a fresh layer of vivid red, beckoning us in for a spot of lunch and a cuppa.

               

The lunch menu was short, mostly tasty and straightforward interpretations of home-style dishes like fricassée du lapin (rabbit), millefeuille of lamb sweetbreads, marinated salmon and ragoût de cochon (braised pork) served with a healthy pile of salad and side dishes like polenta, gratinéed potatoes or rice. Comfortable seating, pleasant and cosy decor and attentive service may explain how this place has been in business for nearly ten years.

               

Their tea menu is long and our Darjeeling selections were brewed before being transferred to the teapot which is correct and would have been even better if they had been more generous with the tea leaves. I chose from the fairly large and tempting dessert and pastry menu a Savarin au Rhum, deliciously well-soused and surrounded by ladylike fruit slices.

All in, a genteel and tranquil place for lunch or a shopping pause in the neighbourhood. They also have baking classes if one is so inclined.

Below: a pictobrowser and composite images of home-cooked lunches for those days when I do not have any lunch appointments, some of which have featured on the blog before. To read the notes please place mouse over the word on the bottom right corner.

L'Agassin and the Duck of Blood

                  

Istanbul was amazing, we're still basking in the wonderful memories and there are many pictures yet that needs to be downloaded. (For readers who can access the personal Vox blog, do click over and have a look at the video).

In the meantime here are some images from the weekend when C was in town. To start, we spent a marvellous Saturday at the Foire Nationale à la brocante et Aux Jambons at île de Chatou which is a short drive away from Paris. Digging around for that special fleamarket find and indulging in porky products, got to give it to the French for dreaming of it in the first place. There was a stand selling cooked ham-on-the bone and it was yummy. We tried the ham with vegetable plate which piled boiled ham, roasted ham, a bit of the skin (that husband had to especially ask for), grilled vegetables, fried potatoes etc together, all of which were good especially when paired with fresh apple juice. Non-edible purchases included some silverware, a serving dish and a pink velvet-upholstered banquette complete with gilded acorns and tasselled fringes which is sitting prettily in our hallway. The fair has just ended but there's always the next one to look forward to.

                  

For dinner we didn't want to go too far. In my list of to-do restaurants I found L'Agassin in the 7th, a leisurely 15 minute stroll away on 8 rue Malar. T: 01 47 05 18 18. Contemporary decor, a bit noisy. Service was well-intentioned but slightly flustered but the food was generally good. The menu starts from 29/34 euros for 2/3 courses respectively, with quite a few supplements for more expensive dishes. C's chicken in aspic was terrific, I haven't enjoyed cold chicken in such a long time. Other dishes were competent if a bit dull, like a  hearty lamb shank stew and steaks.

As for me, I went out on a limb to order the day's special which was Canard de Sang, or bloody duck (add 15 euros supplement). The dish is better known at the famous La Tour d'Argent, where they have a machine for pressing the duck and each duck comes with its own serial number. I haven't tried the real thing, but the chef at L'Agassin had worked there before, as well as at other luminary restaurants such as Ledoyen etc etc. Since I do not foresee myself shelling out precious euros to eat at the silver tower, this would have to do, and by Jeeves it did so magnificiently. The duck was served in two courses, after the others have had their appetisers. The first course was of the duck fillets, grilled pink yet still a little rare and with a thin slightly crackling skin and its rim of duck fat served on a generous pool of intense blood sauce. Every bite was heaven, and there was a gratifying amount of meat, plenty enough to share with husband and C.

                  

The second part of the dish was of a confit version, fried beautifully and coated with a warm and slightly ascerbic mustard crust, absolutely delicious. This bloody duck now tops my list of the best duck dishes in the city.

My meal ended well with a country-style apple tart that was unassuming in looks yet yummy to eat. I liked C's soupy clementine too but cannot remember what husband had.  All in, it is a good place to go to for a reliably good meal in the neighbourhood.

Le Chic Parisian sandwiches at 46 Avenue

               

There's this small cafe just around the corner from our apartment that I came across one day after getting off the bus and turning left instead of the usual right which would bring me home. It is only open for breakfast till lunch, Mondays to Fridays. They sell sandwiches, some pastas and soups. Nothing unusual in that since such spots exists all over the country. But not all, see, have articles posted on their windows rhapsodizing their club sandwiches. One in particular, called it Le Chic Parisien Sandwich. The ultimate club sandwich in the city, made with the finest ingredients blah blah if you would believe the write-ups. Still it spoke to me because I am a sucker for club sandwiches. It is so 70's and kitschy, and I've come across my fair share made with water-logged ham and bread which sticks to the teeth, yet I feel compelled to try every version that crosses my path. Yes, even the 7 euros takeaway versions in Fauchon, delicious from what I could glean of my four bites.

So I asked GG to meet me at the street corner after my Power Plate session and we toddled off to explore 46 Avenue, so named because it is located at, ta da, 46 Avenue Marceau in the 8th arrondissement. Their sandwiches, mostly in the baguette forms come in a good variety of fillings and run about 2-3 euros higher than average but business is very good, a never-ending stream of customers who order takeaways to eat in their office or the parks a bit farther away.

What about the club sandwiches I asked? The harried counter girl pointed me to a menu. Club sandwiches are made-to-order her other colleague said; it would take at least 15 minutes.  It can only be ordered if we want to eat in the cafe, or 'sur place' as they say it in France. All said in a not-too-encouraging tone. I could sense she was keener to move vegetable cartons than go make something which generates sales but I persisted. There is a vegetarian version (10 euros) and about four or five non-vegetarian ones (13 euros each). We ordered The British and Parme to share. In the meantime we sipped on a decidedly un-chic styrofoam bowl of the daily soup, a pureed vegetable and tomato something which was not too bad in the sense that it tasted fresh and homemade but was not particularly interesting either.

We ate in the upstairs dining area, which is a little mezannine carved out from the ceiling area. There isn't enough space for actual tables and chairs, just counters and stools, but diners can distract themselves by watching The Simpsons with the volume turned completely down. Nobody else ordered the club sandwich the entire 1.5 hours that we stayed. I think the articles are seriously out-dated.

               

The Parme is Italian inspired obviously. It has parma ham, rocket, mozzarella, tomatoes and is accompanied by dressed rocket and crisps. The crisps were nothing special, no handcut potatoes with virgin-gathered salt or anything like that, more like supermarket Lays. I would really prefer a plastic basket of french fries actually. All the other ingredients for the sandwich and salad were fresh and of good-quality. The pain-de-mie or sandwich bread was nicely thin and toasted to desired crumbliness. However, I don't think the idea translated itself well into a club sandwich, it ate like a salad in a sandwich. A bit naff.

Decidedly less naff then is The British. White chicken meat, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise and even Cos lettuce and bacon, the last of which was served on the side; I suppose we could have crumbled it into the sandwich or use it to flavour the crisps. Who knows? This sandwich combination worked better, it was tasty, and the accompanying coleslaw was not bad either.

They serve the sandwiches on thick wooden planks which is many steps above the acrylic trays that is used for ordinary sandwiches. Still, 13 for a chi-chi sandwich, excluding drinks and dessert, is a meal that I do not care to repeat anytime soon.

               

This is more typical of my lunches. At home, usually prepared by GG if I have school in the morning. Leftovers bulked up with salads and rice. Otherwise something quick like grilled chicken. The puffy potato balls come from Picard, they are crisp on the outside and fluffy soft inside, but only if you eat them fresh out of the oven, 20 minutes longer and it turns tough and powdery.

               

Another typical lunch. Leftover pitta pockets with tuna melt, we had opened a can of tuna to make husband's lunch. Apple was a free gift from Le Salon de l'Agriculture. The plate is C's X'mas present to me, the pattern is already faded but the size makes it just nice for small meals and I use it a lot.

And now we really have to take a break from blogging, there are tons of stuff left to do for the weekend and the coming holiday. Bonne weekend à tous!

Les Pâtes Vivantes

             

Updated 21 March 2008 with images.

When I first read in Simon~says* about Les Pâtes Vivantes, a restaurant specialising in handpulled noodles, I wanted to go immediately but we couldn't reach the restaurant by telephone. The next morning, a Sunday, we still couldn't get through the telephone line but we decided to go anyway. To our disappointment it was not open for lunch. While pondering our next move we went over to Rue Cail where I stocked up on murruku, Twisties in 'original' cheese flavour, Indian spices and vegetables. Lunch turned out to be an excellent Korean meal at Restaurant Séoul in the other side of town, at 165 rue  de Javel (15th arr). The owner also runs the Korean grocery store Hana in nearby rue Letellier (15), opposite Odori. 

* Simon says is the blog of Francois Simon, he is a well-respected food critic. His blog is written mainly in French. I love the videos, it is amazing how he gets away with filming his entire meals in so many of the restaurants.

             

             

Anyway I was still determined to eat some handpulled noodles so this afternoon I took the 32 bus over to no 46, rue du fg Montmartre in the 9th arrondissement. Happily the restaurant is operating on all cylinders. The first thing one notices is their steamed up windows, then on the left side of the entrance one can see a Chinese lady physically pulling the noodles. The menu is short- a noodle soup Lanzhou style, a dry version Chajiang style, appetisers like potstickers and cold five-spiced beef, about five dishes that will go with rice e.g. aubergines in fragrant sauce or sauteed pork ribs, and some offhand sweets. I ordered a Chajiang noodle, some potstickers and potatoes sauteed in vinegar.

The tiny restaurant was very busy, they have been opened for only 21 days and because of the exposure from such a well-regarded source such as Simon their business is very good. Today their phoneline was finally connected, they can now be reached at 01 45 23 10 21.

Back to my meal. The potstickers were not great, let's get that out of the way first. The noodles though, were absolutely fabulous, thicker than all the ones I've ever tried, as thick as electrical cords, and pulled in a single, long continuous strand. They were chewy-tender with a snappy bite, just the way I like them. The sauce was delicious too, meaty and mildly spiced, the whole thing is topped off with some scallions, chopped garlic and pickles. At 9 euros a bowl it is also very good value. Also very good was their sauteed potatoes, I ordered some for takeaway, it will make husband happy.

After lunch, Madam Coutin (or Madame Duan according to her Chinese name), the noodle-chef, came over to talk to me. She and her son makes the noodles but she is the expert. It's hard work she admits, requiring precision and muscular strength to get the texture just right. Too much salt and the noodles seize up and break off, too little and it is all flabby. She has hired another noodle-expert who can make all sorts of other amazing pulled noodles but he is waiting for his working papers, but when he starts his job we have more to look forward to as well. Oh, on Sundays, they do open for dinner.

This weekend C comes to town and next week we go for a holiday in Istanbul. The blog will therefore be idle for a while. Cheers!

Update 21 March 2008: Visited a second time with C and husband. Their appetiser of pickled cabbage was a big hit- fresh crunchy vegetables yummified with hot pepper oil and cilantro with a sweet-sour dressing- we ordered a second portion. The soup noodles were compared with dried noodles: the dried version won hands down for flavour and variety of ingredients while the soup was thought to be rather bland.

L'Astrance, Paris

            

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Like most other starred places in town, L'Astrance is not an easy restaurant to get into, we waited nearly two months for a lunch reservation. One reason for the long wait could be the relatively small size of the restaurant itself, there appears to be enough space for not more than 30 covers. The decor was serviceable with comfortable couches and chairs in striking yellow, pretty swirled glass plates and neutral everything else, I would have imagined with their success they would at least try harder on this aspect especially as the street-view is not in the least eye-pleasing.

The welcome was similar, swift and muted- there wasn't any of the usual hoopla with valets, coat checkers, doormen or washroom attendants but ladies' menu has no price listed which was not in keeping with its modern feel. Bread was served with an ordinary butter. The sommelier was very helpful and accommodating, the two wines which we tried were interesting and perfectly matched our food. The wine glasses did not have that offputting smell of a much-used drying cloth, husband is très particuliar about this point as many restaurants overlook it. Coincidentally my friend and her husband was booked on the same day and we found ourselves sitting at neighbouring tables. Although they arrived 30 minutes after us our meals were served around the same time which meant we waited quite a while for the waiters and kitchen to get into gear.

Blah decor, ho-hum service. So that leaves us the food, which was well worth the wait and expense. There were exciting flavours and pushing of some boundaries. Focus as well as experimentation. France may be a fine dining haven but it is still dominated by carefully executed dishes in traditional classical styles. Best of French ingredients and all that which is fine, but usage of exotic herbs and spices are usually half-hearted so in this aspect Astrance stands out for daring to be different.

Husband ordered the daily menu and I had the winter menu, the difference is that he got three dishes while I had two more. My first dish of mushroom pie had raw mushroom sliced finely layered with foie gras, I loved the dusting of concentrated mushroom powder on the top. Scallops came in two big fat specimens sitting on a most unwintery broth embellished with flowers and beautiful vegetables. Turbot served with a plump oyster with gingery notes, a piece of bamboo shoots unexpected but delicious. Husband exclaimed that he's never enjoyed pakchoy as much as he did with theirs. Iberico ham with white beans, olives and a piquant chorizo sauce, enlivened with a fine mince of olives. Pork belly with clams scored highly on taste and textures. The last dish of veal with salsify I found to be least interesting but I was quite full by then. I asked for a menu but they forgot to give me when I left so I am missing out on some fine details and identities of ingredients such as the bittersweet green vegetables that came with the pork belly.

Two hours into the meal I asked them to hurry the service along as I had to take V to a magic show. The waiter asked whether my appointment was at another restaurant, he may have overheard our conversation with our friends about fine-dining in Paris but was he being witty or sarcastic? When they served the desserts they "kidnapped" my camera and placed it on a nearby service table which explains the lack of images of the sweet dishes which were not that remarkable actually, save for an unusual and successful pre-dessert dessert that contained lemongrass and very spicy peppers. It couldn't be their objection to my photography, nearly everyone else was doing the same thing, including a table of three youngish men in suits looking like the competition taking notes, and I did ask for permission beforehand. I left the restaurant forgetting to reclaim my camera and had to return to fetch it, making me even more late for my appointment.

Thus was our lunch, it started off with some excitement but I must have stumbled on something in the middle because it petered off abjectedly towards the end. The food is super, I'll give them that, but I do wish they had tried harder to enrich our overall dining experience which if I am not wrong is what being a 3-star is all about.

Quickie updates: Krua Thai & Restaurant Thierry Burlot

Classes started yesterday. The first session was catastrophic as the French would describe it. Long wait at the enrolment centre, as usual the French do not care a shxx it you are late for your class, you should be grateful there are two persons manning the desk at all. Then we sat around and the teacher did not arrive, turned out we were supposed to go to another class but nobody had thought to inform the students! I found myself sitting with two other students one of whom was quite the showoff and a superbitch. The teacher was so boring I felt like demanding a refund, my new classmates had to assure me our regular teacher is much better. Then I had to make some photocopies, and of course the photocopy card can only be bought with coins but the media centre cannot break your notes into coins and maybe you want to try your luck at the cafe, etc etc.

* to my relief, she is right, we had a good lesson today.

An unexpected surprise that came out of yesterday's fiasco was a nearby Thai restaurant I lunched at, it was rather good. I ordered a la carte, ignoring their budget menu which had all the boring stuff like nems, tame soup and brain-dead combinations such as beef/ chicken/ pork sauteed with this or that. Hor Mok Pla, otherwise known to Singaporeans and Malaysians as otak otak, came in the form of delicate fish custard steamed in banana leaf cup gently seduced with its fresh fish and mild spiciness. Pad thai was unfortunately too wet and suffered for having more meat than noodles, but a comforting and aromatic dessert of bananas cooked in coconut milk saved the day. The name is Krua Thai and it can be found at 41 rue de Montparnasse. Tel +33 1 43 35 38 67

Another good restaurant not far from the Montparnasse area is Restaurant Thierry Burlot. 8, rue Nicolas Charlet in the 15th arrondissement. Tel : 01 42 19 08 59. This is an elegant white tablecloth kind of place with sleek waitstaff and a confident menu centred around truffles and other delicious French foods. It is, I think, also known as the Quinze, at least that's what it states on the covers of their menus. We had a quiet pre-CNY lunch there, husband and myself. He ordered the wine-and-truffle matched lunch which was a very good deal at 59 euros, I kept it simple with a starter of leek and hazelnut terrine and chicken with truffle foam. Husband's lunch was magnificient, as it should be if it consists of truffle toast-wiches, beautifully cooked lamb chop (oui, singular), scallops and gorgeously glazed carrots. I was happy too with my vegetarian starter, it had a brownish smear in the centre which I could have sworn was foie gras but the staff insisted otherwise...The chicken was tasty but you have to imagine real hard to smell the truffle, anyway, it could also have been chicken-fatique. Their wine list is good too, there are plenty of interesting wines at not very high prices.

Le Clocher Pereire

                  

This year we hope to discover more of our preferred type of restaurants- small to medium sized places run by passionate chefs serving delicious food to excite and admire, serving meals that cost no more than 20 euros for lunch or 35 euros per person excluding wine. Bonus points for decor, ambience, service and view and well, X-factor. Ten days into the new year, we're happy to report that this is not such an impossible goal after all because we have found not one, not two, but three places that we like.

The first is Le3, a restaurant tucked in a Marais courtyard which we nearly walked past had I not been paying attention. The restaurant is divided into two spaces, an inner white-napkin section with downlights and arty photo prints, and an outer glass-housed section with potted plants that would be pretty when the sun is out. Lunch menus was running at 17 euros with a carafe of drinkable wine. The food was not too complicated but still competent- starters like salmon with poached egg, mains of grilled fish with orange braised fennel and the budget classic of hachis parmentier. Dinner menus run from 26 to 34 euros without wine.

The second is the well-known L'Oursine, a brightly lit bistro on 92 rue Broca in the 13th arrondissement (T: 01 44 07 13 65). The location is not very convenient but still customers are willing to make the journey which speaks volumes about the food, we had delayed trying it out earlier because of this reason. The dinner menu starts from 32 euros and their dishes are mostly classics with little tweaks to go with the times. A starter of velvety smoked Scottish salmon on a cool pillow of smooth vicchysoise was excellent, so was onglet of veal served with a little tub of creamy polenta so good the two polenta-sceptics in us fought for the last drop, and desserts didn't fail either. My 'epiphany' of galette des rois did indeed lived to its promise and made me sit up and notice this cake which I use to think of as an almond bomb. The room is bright, tables are very close together but not elbow-touching yet so this place is good for casual meals. One critiscm is their service which was rushed and inattentive especially at the beginning.

The third is our favourite. Like L'Oursine, Le Clocher Pereire (T: 01 44 40 04 15) on 42 Boulevard Pereire is not located too conveniently, and parking was just as hard to procure. But the food, ooh la la, is most definitely worth the trouble, and time, to get there. The first good sign was the seasonal menu of 29 euros, and at this price even dishes with foie gras and scallops did not call for the usual 'supplements'. Everything we tried was fabulous, this was the only place that had husband saying twice to the staff that it was 'très bien' and even shaking the manager's hand as he left. The amuse bouche, a little shot of soup of petit pois enriched with a bright green blob of  olive oil, had a light, sweet savoury finish that left me wanting more, priming the palate and appetite for the meal to follow. An appetiser of uni (or tongue of urchin as stated in French in the menu) with cauliflower mousse and a disc of deep fried bone marrow was sensational in appearance as well as taste. Main of roast pheasant had foie gras stuffed inside, very yummy, but even more yummy was tender roasted parsnips. Instead of dessert I munched on slices of creamy-salty Orrat Iraty cheese accompanied by a generous glass of Jurançon. A near perfect meal.

Husband enjoyed his scallop tartare appetiser but loved more his mains of roasted black cod with champagne glaze. He gave me 9 out of 10 points for selecting the restaurant, being especially pleased with the decor; for that price point he was not expecting a relatively spacious room, table cloths, large napkins and a stalk of fresh roses on each table. For me, I was not expecting 'avant dessert' or pre-dessert which may be more common in 200 euro-per-head establishments. The entire meal was super value for money and I would not be surprised if in six months time the price inches up another 3 or 4 euros. The only glitch was that the white Burgundy we ordered was served a little warm, otherwise it would have been a perfect meal but like he says, there's always room for improvement. My dear husband is already looking forward to a business lunch there next week.