Kintaro Ramen

Our last meal in Paris was actually not Kintaro Ramen.  In actuality, it was McDonald's but I'm not going to blog about that.  But the second-to-last meal was a quick Japanese ramen before we visited the Louvre in the evening.  Again, this was not our first choice, as we had another ramen spot in mind, but they were open.  The positive about walking to Kintaro was that we could take in the sights and sounds of the 2nd arrondissement.

Looking over the menu, there wasn't a whole lot of choice when it came to starters, so we went for the ol' standby being the Chicken Karaage.  This was surely crispy due to the aggressive deep-fry.  However, that also meant that the chicken wasn't as juicy as we would've liked.  It wasn't dry per se, but it was lacking moisture.  In terms of flavour, it was okay, but it could've used a bit more saltiness.  The squeeze of lemon helped.

Onto the ramen, I decided to have the standard being the Shoyu with chashu, nori and bamboo shoots.  With all of the ramen we've had, the best way to describe this was - serviceable.  The broth was extremely light and although it had enough soy flavour to keep things from being bland, there was no depth.  As for the noodles, they were nicely chewy and the chashu was fairly tender and balanced with meat-to-fat ratio.

Viv ended up with the Tori Ramen with a chicken soup base and served with chicken and a ramen egg.  Due to the fatty broth, this had much more body and overall flavour.  It wasn't as clean as the shoyu broth, yet we were much more happy with the natural sweetness and chicken essence.  As for the meat, it was tender while the egg featured a custardy yolk but was rather mild-tasting.

My daughter had her favourite in the Miso Ramen.  Now this was much more impactful than the shoyu.  Naturally, with the addition of miso, we got the fermented saltiness that gave the broth some depth-of-flavour.  With that being said, it wasn't an umami bomb, but was much tastier.  There was also more fat in the broth which gave it some aromatics.

So my son went big with the Chashu Ramen which was essentially the shoyu ramen, except with double the chashu.  Great for those who are a bit more hungry.  Seeing how the chashu was sliced thin and tender, this was a good call.  Broth was still the weakest of the bunch we had.  With that being said, this was a decent meal that was reasonably-priced.  Naturally, I've had better ramen, yet this served a purpose and did the job.

The Good:
- Decent service
- Serviceable eats
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Broth on the lighter side

 

Septime

Originally, I was trying to make a reservation for Septime to no avail.  You see, like many other restaurants in Paris, Septime was on their Summer break in August.  Hence, it looked like I was out-of-luck in making a reso to this 1-Star Michelin establishment.  But hold on, upon further inspection, I could make a reso since they were re-opening on the last few days we were in Paris.  I was on my computer as the time ticked to when I could book and snagged a table for lunch on our last day in Paris.

At Septime, they only have set menus, for both lunch and dinner.  As such, we had their Menu Carte Blanche for 70 Euros each.  We started our meal with the Vegetable Broth with raspberries.  This was so clean and pure where the flavour was intense, yet subtle.  Now that might not make sense, but believe me, it was all that and more.  The level of umaminess and impact was pretty impressive without the use of any protein.  The addition of raspberries didn't interfere with the broth, rather it enhanced it with a fresh and light brightness.

In a beautiful shade of rose, the Cured Red Tuna was bathed in a peach vinaigrette with rose oil.  Slightly cured with kombu for a week, this aged tuna was buttery soft while having a fermented fish sweetness.  It was bordering on funky, but didn't get there.  Instead, it was full of depth and umami.  Complimenting the natural flavours of the tuna, the fruity vinaigrette provided both acidity and sweetness.  The addition of rose oil was mildly floral and in reality, was mostly in the background.

Next up, we had the Cocos de Paimpol with butter, sea asparagus, seaweed and pickles.  Tender with a bite, these beans took on the butter in terms of flavour and also the silky and nutty film on the outside.  The other ingredients were mild and didn't add much in terms of overall flavour except for the pickles.  The acidity and saltiness did bring impact to the dish.  In addition, it added crunch.  The seaweed and sea asparagus provided some colour contrast and a just a touch of salt.

The best course of the bunch had to be the Tomatoes in poultry broth, satay sauce, coriander flowers and Thai basil.  Normally, I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes due to their bland flavour.  However, these were flavour bombs with acidity and sweetness.  The plump tomatoes sat in a broth that was full-on umami where it was almost like chicken bouillon except completely natural-tasting.  Concentrated flavours were complimented by the slight spice and aromatics from the flowers and basil.  Background lemongrass also came through.

The "meat" of the meal was the Veal Sweetbreads glazed on the BBQ with veal jus.  It was topped with crispy tarragon, sorrel and red pepper.  For me, I love sweetbreads, to this was right up my alley.  It was properly prepared (as in before it was cooked and after it was cooked), where the texture was soft with a rebound.  The intensity of the meatiness from the veal jus was amplified by the caramelization off the grill.  The reduced jus helped add even more meatiness and silkiness.  Add in the aromatic tarragon, tart sorrel and sweet peppers, we had layers of flavour going on.

For dessert, we were served a Fig Ice Cream with extra virgin olive oil, figs, blackberries and almonds.  This was a refreshing end to an intricately-prepared meal.  The ice cream was light and creamy with purposeful sweetness.  The blackberries and figs provided sweetness and at ouch of tang.  Almonds added texture while the olive oil afforded some aromatics and ever-so-slight pepperiness.  Overall, this was a thoughtful and expertly-prepared meal.  No wonder Septime clocks in at 11 on the world's best restaurant list.

The Good:

- Intricate dishes

- Balanced

- Excellent, unpretentious service

The Bad:

- With a set tasting menu, it might not appeal to everyone

- Hard to get a reservation!  

Papa Poule Paris Bastille

Wandering around near our hotel near Bastille, we were looking for a place to eat.  We had a place in mind, but we fell in the trap of "restaurant is closed for August".  Hence, we went from place to place trying to find a reasonably-priced, yet tasty spot.  After an hour of mindless walking, I had enough and put my foot down.  We are eating at this place! - pointing at Papa Poule Paris Bastille.  I really had no clue about it and at this point, being hangry, didn't care!

The main draw about this place is that when you get Appies to share, they serve you a huge selection.  Look at all the goodies!  We had some Cold Seafood with rouille, Eggs Mayonaisse, Slaw, Beets & Apples, Bread, Pate and Lentil Salad.  They also have this option for desserts, but we didn't end up doing that since we were so full.  Back to the appies, the seafood was well-prepared with whole shrimp, mussels and conch.  I really enjoyed the lentils as they were soft yet still had a bite.  Good sweetness from the onions.

Onto our entrees, they came in pretty generous portions including the Veal Breast with confit olives, scamorza potato puree and tomatoes.  Oh this was purely delicious as the veal breast was tender and nicely seared.  The potato puree was creamy and cheesy.  Really enjoyed the sauce as it was meaty, tangy and sweet.  It was great compliment to the meat.  Also, those tomatoes were pops of tang.

Beautifully plated, the Duck Breast was complimented by figs.  The duck breast itself (that you can just barely see) was prepared medium with fairly rendered skin.  Hence, the meat was juicy and while the skin was slightly crispy.  It was properly seasoned where the sweetness from the fig puree was a natural match.  Loved the fresh figs on the plate, not only for aesthetics, but also great to eat. 

We ended up ordering the featured fish dish with the Seared Sea Bream with zucchini and peas with a cream sauce.  The fish was cooked perfectly being moist and flaky.  It was a touch buttery too.  The skin was crispy and well-seasoned.  The cream sauce was full of umaminess and was lightly sweet.  Those peas were super fresh and had pops of added sweetness.  Zucchini was slightly charred and still firm.

For myself, I had the Rack of Lamb with hazelnut crust and served with beans and onion tartin.  This was a huge portion of medium-rare lamb that was not as tender as I would've hoped.  It was not chewy though, but a little difficult to eat including the large fat cap.  However, it was seasoned nicely though and the onions added sweetness.  The jus mixed with herb oil provided more aromatics.

We decided not to do the "all the desserts" thing that they have here (maybe regretting it a bit), but they ended up serving us some Gougères anyways.  These featured choux pastry that was light and airy with a bit of crispiness on the ouside.  The cream in the middle was lightly sweet.  In the end, I actually regretted that we didn't do the dessert spread.  This was especially true after Joyce had it and raved about it.  But at least I got to try the appies and the mains.  Those were really good and in generous portions.  Prices were reasonable too.  Highly-recommended.

The Good:
- Those appy and dessert spreads!
- Solid eats
- Generous portions

The Bad:
- For once, I really have nothing bad to say about the place!

Bouillon République

Tipped off by one of my French friends, we made a reservation for Bouillon République that was within walking distance of our hotel.  A bouillon in France is a traditional expansive restaurant that serves up French cuisine at reasonable prices.  That is exactly what Bouillon République is known for since it opened in 2021 in the former home of Chez Jenny.  After a brief wait, we were seated in a very traditional-looking dining room that was bustling with activity.

We ended up ordering a good amount of food beginning with the Eggs with Mayonnaise and Farmhouse Pâté with toast and gherkin.  I thought the eggs were quite good where the whites were not rubbery while the mayonnaise was creamy, light and well-seasoned.  The pâté was a little dense, but was definitely meaty and also well-seasoned.  We definitely got some natural pork flavour and aroma.  The toast wasn't really toasted, so it was somewhat lukewarm and bready.

We also got the Pickled Herring with French potato salad and also the classic Escargots in parsley butter.  Served cold, the pickled herring was tender and flaky with the unmistakable fishiness.  It had a good tang to it while the potatoes underneath were tender and delicate.  As for the snails, they were soft and completely seasoned by the rich seasoned butter.  Of course we dipped some bread into this.

For our mains, I went for the Boeuf Bourguignon with smoked bacon and pasta.  This was pretty good with tender nuggets of beef with a rich cooked down red wine sauce.  The sweetness of the onions were present while the meatiness of the bacon and beef came through.  Viv went for the Sea Bream Fillet atop ratatouille.  The fish itself was slightly overdone, but wasn't dry.  It was mildly-seasoned, but the tangy and sweet ratatouille added plenty of impact to the dish.

My daughter went for the 1/2 Caramelized Ham Hock & Fries.  This was quite good as the ham hock was tender and shred easily off the bone.  Naturally, it was salty with some sweetness.  The side of fries were crispy and served hot.  My son didn't stray from the usual, having the Steak Frites with a shallot sauce.  This steak was cooked to medium-rare and was somewhat chewy, but still wasn't difficult to eat.  It was nicely seared while the aroma from the shallot sauce was a good compliment.

Finally, we ended with the Chocolate Mousse and Strawberry Tart.  Similarly with all of the food we had, these desserts were solid.  The mousse was light and chocolatey while being purposefully sweet.   As for the tart, the shell was firm with an appealing crunch.  The custard was semi-sweet while the strawberries were ripe.  Overall, the food at Bouillon République wasn't amazing, but it was good.  Considering the price, it did the job and we went away happy and satisfied.

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Inexpensive

- Lots of choice

The Bad:

- Don't expect the most amazing food

- Service is good, but hurried

Breizh Cafe

After spending the morning heading to the Eiffel Tower, heading up the tower (all the way to the top!) and then descending down, we were pretty hungry.  Seeing how we hadn't had a legit crêpe yet (we had one from a food truck on the first day), we headed over to the closest location of Breizh Cafe.  Often known as one of the best places to grab crêpes in Paris, it is also one of the most expensive.  But whatever, we were on vacation where calories and prices do not count...

We snagged one of the last unreserved tables and it took quite a long time before we had a chance to put our order in.  Our server was friendly, but seemed to be overworked.  Viv ended up with the Cured Ham with egg and comté.  You can actually see it in the picture where the thin crêpe was nicely browned and crispy.  I found it to be appealingly thin and aromatic.  Inside, there was plenty of the aforementioned components which made it fulfilling and flavourful.

For myself, I decided to get something meaty in the Beef Pastrami with comté, cabbage, caramelized onions and yuzu-kosho cream.  With a consistent crêpe like the previous one, it housed a good amount of pastrami, hence making it a fairly hearty creation.  I thought the caramelized onions were a good match for the salty pastrami adding a balancing sweetness.  The cabbage provided a fresh crunch while the yuzu-kosho added both acidity and spice.

My son loves smoked salmon.  So much so, when I get the entire fillet from Costco, he devours it within a few days.  Hence, it was no surprise he went for the Organic Smoke Salmon with goat cheese, chive cream and green salad.  Naturally, the combination of buttery smoked salmon and whipped cream cheese was a match made in heaven.  That reminded him of having that atop a bagel, but instead in a light crispy crepe.

For my daughter, it was all about the duck in the Smoked Duck Fillet with pan-fried mushrooms, comté, organic scrambled eggs, fresh cream and espelette pepper.  If the components elicit thoughts of a rich and robust crêpe, you would be correct.  Lots of cheese and eggs meant this would be filling.  Add in the tender smoky duck and the aromatic and buttery mushrooms, there was a lot to like about this creation.

To end things off, we had a dessert crêpe with the Churned Butter with brown sugar.  There were 3 choices for the butter, but we went for the classic slightly salted butter.  Unlike the savoury versions, this crepe was soft, fluffy and a bit chewy.  It was aromatic and of course slightly sweet from the caramelized brown sugar.  Adding a velvety hug, the butter brought it all together.  So from this experience, I would agree that Breizh Cafe is definitely a good spot for crêpes in Paris (and apparently in other places in the world).  A little pricey, but worth it in my opinion.

The Good:

- Excellent crêpes

- Lots of choice

- Multiple locations

The Bad:

- Pricey

- Service is really slow

Asia Bo Bun

Here we go again with non-French eats while in Paris.  For lunch, we wanted to grab a quick bite before some touristing.  We hadn't done any Vietnamese so far and since we were in France (they colonized Vietnam at one point), we had to get some Phở right?  Our first option (Song Heng) was not open for the Summer, so we went somewhere nearby in
Asia Bò Bún.  Hey, they are highly-rated on Google, which sometimes means nothing at all.  So I guess we were about to find out if this was going to be good or not...

Things started off on the right food with Spring Rolls that featured a rice paper wrap.  Just to be clear, rice and wheat wrappers are both used in Vietnam, but for me, I much prefer the rice paper variety.  Why is that?  Well, the crispiness of the fried rice paper is very different than that of the wheat wrapper.  Whereas the wheat wrapper shatters and is lightly crispy, the rice wrapper has a bit of resistance and almost chew to it.  It also can shatter, but it is even crisper (just like using rice flour instead of wheat flour).  This one was good and the filling was moist and flavourful from the sweetness of the veggies, in particular, the onions.  They supplied us with lettuce and basil to wrap these spring rolls (the traditional way).

Onto the most important item, in my mind - Phở Dặc Biệt.  As per usual, I omitted the cilantro because I'm one of the rare people who thinks it tastes like soap.  Anyways, this gave me a better chance to taste the broth as it was meant to be.  It was mild and clean with a slight meatiness and background sweetness.  Pretty good!  The rice noodles were both al dente and plentiful.  I found the meats to be good too with rare be tender as well as the brisket.

My son had his usual in the Lemongrass Chicken with Rice.  No egg this time, but didn't really matter as the rice was chewy but not dry.  As for the chicken leg, it was bone-in and nicely grilled.  Skin was mildly-rendered and the chicken itself was brined enough to have a salty aromatic sweetness going on.  Furthermore, the chicken was succulent and juicy.  Add in some of the nuoc cham and this was a legit version of the dish.

For my daughter, she had the Bò Lúc Lắc and it was not filled with any filler.  Normally, you would find onions and peppers in many versions, but this was how we like it - with just beef!  This was subjected to a good marinade and wok fry where the meat was caramelized while still being juicy and tender.  Plenty of flavour from the meat (in a salty and aromatic way) but the tomato rice was pretty tasty too.  Good texture being chewy but not dry.

Viv also went for her favourite dish in the Chicken and Spring Roll Vermicelli Bowl .  Well, I'm not really sure what to say about this one as we had already eaten both the spring rolls and chicken in other dishes!  The chicken in this one was in strips, so it wasn't as juicy, but it wasn't dry.  You see, we had to get this dish anyways because the restaurant is called Asia Bo Bun (the beef version of this).  Like the rest of the food, the vermicelli was well-prepared.  Solid Vietnamese in the heart of Paris.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Moderately-priced
- Well-portioned

The Bad:
- Service is friendly, but a bit sparse

Le Relais de l'Entrecôte

Going back to French food, we did a touristy thing and decided to check out Le Relais de l'Entrecôte.  You might of heard of it, you know, the place where they only serve one thing - Steak Frites.  Also, you can get more if you finish your plate, at no extra charge!  No, they do not take resos, so you'll have to go at opening to snag yourself a table.  We decided to take a chance at the Montparnasse location since it was further away from the busy areas.  It also helped that the metro station was right in front too.  Our plan worked as we got a table no problem at opening.

So with every meal, it starts with a Walnut Green Salad with a classic Dijon vinaigrette dressing.   Nothing complex with this as it featured fresh leafy greens with nutty walnuts.  A few slices of radish added some colour.  As for the dressing, it was sweet, tangy and a touch creamy.  This was a light start to our meat-focused meal.  In addition to this, we were also served a sliced baguette and butter.

So onto the one and only main course - Steak Frites.  The medium-rare sirloin was quite tender.  This was true for all of our plates.  I've read reviews about it being chewy and that was not the case with our steaks.  It was drenched in their famous Café de Paris sauce.  I think their version has a combination of chicken livers, butter, cream, Dijon and other seasonings.  Hence, the richness of the sauce coated each piece of the tender meat.  It createed an umaminess that further enhanced the beef.  As for the frites, they were super crispy but still had some potatoness left.  We ended up getting 2 orders each and really that was enough.

Onto dessert, we ordered 2 including the Sévigné and Crème Brûlée.  The former is a chocolate cake served with vanilla ice-cream, hot chocolate sauce and Chantilly cream while the latter is the classic custard topped with burnt (torched) sugar.  We really enjoyed the chocolate cake as it was rich and definitely chocolatey but not overly sweet.  That sauce was a bit sweet though.  The crème brûlée was also really good where the sugar topping was torched expertly being crunchy, sweet and smoky.  Upon cracking it with our spoon, it revealed a creamy custard that wasn't too heavy but was rather sweet.  Could definitely taste the vanilla essence.  So in the end, the meal was about the steak frites and it was good in our opinion.  Sure, the place is a bit touristy, but worth a visit still.

The Good:
- Solid steak frites
- You can have more if you want!
- Desserts pretty good

The Bad:
- No resos, have to lineup
- Service was decent, but rather hurried

Sushi Club

Okay, laugh if you want.  Insult me if you want.  Heck, you can just stop reading right now if you want.  Yes, I actually ate AYCE (all-you-can-eat) sushi in Paris.  We actually spotted Sushi Club a few times as we walked around the Bastille area after we had our meal at Clamato.  Prices seemed reasonable and in reality, the kids just wanted something different (just like when we were in Rome and Pisa).  So after a long morning and part of the afternoon at the Palace of Versailles, we trained it back to have some late lunch.

For 14.80 Euros, we could eat all the mediocre Japanese food we wanted.  But sometimes, that is all it takes...  So we started with an assortment of fried things including Chicken Karaage, Fried Veggies and Japanese Chicken Spring Rolls.  Not really sure that chicken karaage should be coated in a panko, but it was good nonetheless.  Chicken was moist and the outside was crunchy.  Same could be said about the veggies as they were definitely crunchy.  Not a fan of the spring rolls as they were a little dense.  But they were also crunchy!

Next, we got some Salmon and Tuna Nigiri as well as some Maki Sushi.  I have to say that the rice was maybe a bit soft, but not overly mushy.  There was some chewiness left, but the rice was a bit bland.  As for the fish, it was actually decent having a nice sheen and fresh taste.  Love that they put cream cheese on top of the "Salmon Cheese".  I didn't like the rice-to-fish ratio as there was too much rice (of course they did, for AYCE).  The rolls were pretty typical and serviceable.

For a 5.50 Euro supplement, we were able to have 10 pieces of Salmon Sashimi (we had 2 orders of that for a total of 20).  I found these to be actually decent and worth the cost.  They were buttery and fresh-tasting.  Also on the lunch menu, we found Brochettes and we got chicken, zucchini, chicken wings, beef & cheese and chicken meatballs.  These were actually quite good with a nice char and being not overcooked.  We had 2 orders of these.

For dessert, we had some strange items in Canned Lychee, Canned Fruit Cocktail and Chinese Peanut Candy.  I guess these were fine as they did the job and were sweet things of some sort.  But whatever the case, the price was right and we just wanted to get something Asian without going high-end.  Sometimes we can't eat gourmet all-the-time and places like these serve a purpose.  Food was okay while the service was a bit slow.  It was friendly though.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Serviceable food
- People are nice

The Bad:
- Food is average at best
- Service was slow