Ah Pa-ree: Versailles

I think my trip alone to Japan last year has made me braver in taking public transport to strange places alone. I managed to catch the train to Versailles and find my way to the Chateau without any mistakes (go me!). If I had more time (and less aching feet), I would have liked to explore the place a little more; the shops looked interesting and there were some very nice-looking bakeries.

Lunch at Le Papillon

Just got back from a nice lunch at Le Papillon. The plan started a few weeks back when my mother was telling me my aunt wanted to go somewhere nice for her birthday dinner with her family. I suggested Wild Rocket for its nice ambience and fairly reasonable prices. And somehow from there, the suggestion turned into having lunch with my aunt as well. At first I thought about trying the new place at Duxton Hill or going back to Oso, but after talking to a friend, i decided to give Le Papillon another try.

I had visited Le Papillon shortly after it had first opened last year on a recommendation from a friend. While I enjoyed the food, I was really turned off by the snooty attitude of the maitre d', who was rude from the time I made a reservation to the time we actually had dinner there. So disgusted was I with her bad attitude that I never returned to the place, and it wasn't until my friend told me she was no longer there and had new staff that I decided to give it another go.

I'm so glad I went back because lunch was delicious and the service was excellent. The waitresses were very attentive and polite and served us with a smile. What a difference good service makes!

We all opted for the set lunch, priced at a reasonable $29++. My aunt and I started off with the thinly seared beef and extra fine beans roulade with rocket salad while my mother had the warm caesar salad with fried soft shell crab. The beef came wrapped delicately around the beans, and was just the right texture, neither too tough or chewy. The soft shell crab came in generous portions in what looked like a tempura batter, and according to my mother, was really good too.

As for mains, my mother and aunt had the pan roasted snapper with spicy tomato sauce and olive mashed potato while I had the deep fried whiting with potato salad. I like to call my dish a high-class fish & chips,with the whiting fried to crispy perfection. The only thing I didn't quite like was the potato; it tasted like they hadn't been boiled for too long and were quite crunchy. I tried some of the snapper as well, but felt it was a little dry. Nevertheless the olive potato mash was quite yummy.

But for me and my sweet tooth, the star of the meal was dessert, a banana chocolate tart with vanilla bean ice-cream and came with some homemade peanut brittle. Everything was perfect - the size of the portion, the caramel sauce drizzled over the tart, the chocolate pastry and the banana - all cooked to perfection. I'd go back anytime for another portion!

All in all, it was a meal both my mother and aunt enjoyed immensely. For two rather finicky eaters to give their "compliments to the chef" and to declare they should come back again, I'd say Le Papillon did very well indeed!

See the rest of the set menu.

Le Papillon
28 Maxwell Road
#01-02 Red Dot Traffic Building
Tel: 6327 4177

Ah Pa-ree: First dinner in Paris

I thought I'd take a break from posting pictures of scenery and museums and show you some pictures of fooood. For our first night in Paris, we decided not to wander too far from our neighbourhood, and in the company of our French colleague who was our guide, walked around the hotel searching for a nice looking restaurant. After a bit of walking, we discovered Pierre au Palais Royal along rue de Richelieu. It didn't look too overwhelmingly expensive and had a decent number of "Voted Best" stickers in its window, which suggested it was quite well regarded in the food circles.

We were the first in the restaurant, but then that was probably because we had walked in at what was considered an early time for dinner in Paris - 7.30pm. Since we were such a large group, the waitress suggested we go for a set dinner. This is what I had:

Starter

Aubergine, sundried tomato and goat cheese

Mains

Scallops

Dessert

Macaron with homemade vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce

Verdict: The starter and mains were excellent, but I was slightly disappointed by the dessert (the macaron tasted rather flat, and didn't have the right texture). I think I should have taken the molten chocolate cake instead.

Pierre au Palais Royal
10 rue de Richelieu
Cost: 44 euros

Ah Pa-ree: Musee d'Orsay

My colleague left me for London on Tuesday, and while she spent the day wandering the streets of Paris while waiting for her train, I went to the Musee d'Orsay as early as I could. Evidently I was not as punctual as I'd hoped, as I got off at the wrong train station and had to walk quite a distance to reach the museum. On finally reaching the museum at 10am, I discovered a huge queue snaking past the museum and onto the pathway outside. After an hour of (fairly chilly, ooh that wind!) queueing, I finally got inside at 11am and did not emerge from there until about 4.30pm with aching feet and an empty stomach. Museuming is hard work, y'all!

It was not possible to finish the entire museum in one go, and while at first I thought I did a pretty good job of covering all the big works, I was very cheesed off to discover I had missed seeing Degas' sculpture of the little dancer. I'm going to have to go back again another time.




While the exhibits themselves were very interesting, I loved admiring the museum building itself.

Ah Pa-ree: Rodin museum

Many museums offer free entry on the first Sunday of the month, so we took the opportunity to visit the Rodin museum. It was a beautiful and clear spring morning, perfect for walking around the garden and admiring the sculptures.

Ah Pa-ree: Notre Dame & St Germain church

The churches in Paris are absolutely beautiful, from the architecture on the outside to the sculptures and painting on the inside. I'd forgotten how awesome and magnificent God really is, and wandering around these churches brought back a sense of that majesty and just how great and powerful the Almighty can be.

St Germain




Notre Dame on Palm Sunday