Writing With My Mouth Full

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    • Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower

      Our hyacinths are still alive and so is the B family!

      We hit two big spots today: Musée du Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. We woke up a little earlier so we were able to eat a fresh baguette and drink hot mint tea before we stepped out. We crossed rue des Deux Ponts to the #7 and took it all the way to the museum where the line wasn’t terribly long before noon. For some reason, we couldn’t enter the Denon section straight to La Joconde, Mona Lisa, so we had to go around to find it. Could there be any more Japanese tourists in the Louvre? They came in droves, each following a leader holding up a stick with a flag.

      When we finally made it to the Italian paintings, the famous and familiar painting was just right there encased in bulletproof glass. She hogged the limelight and it was unfortunate that other people just walked by the other famous da Vincis outside the room. We took slow strolls by Jacques-Louis David’s Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon and Véronèse’s Wedding Feast at Cana. Then the museum’s alarm went off and we listened to the evacuation announcement in several different languages until we couldn’t take it anymore. An oncoming headache made me skip the two Vermeers, but we just wanted to find the exit and get the hell out. My camera’s battery ran out so we decided to go home, recharge it and eat lunch before continuing on with our sunny day.

      Back on St-Louis-en-l’Ile, we ordered duck confit, steak with fries and penne with gorgonzola at Cafe Med. The duck meat fell off its bones and was perfect with a warm baguette. And how can I say no to stinky gorgonzola cheese melted on al dente pasta? I finished with a cappuccino but controlled myself from buying a crepe to go.

      Fortified and armed with a newly-charged camera, we walked towards the Palais de Justice and took the RER C to Champs de Mars. The tower was right there as soon as we stepped out of the Metro station.

      We spent a total of three hours standing in line to take the elevator to the top floor (€11 each), taking photos and again standing in line to exit. Within that time frame, the temperature dropped drastically and I could barely feel my toes when my mom finally took a photo of me. It was a different feeling finally seeing the Tour Eiffel; much more exhilarating than being on the top of the Empire State Building (sorry) or the Statue of Liberty (so sorry!). Mona Lisa had no say. When you’re standing right below it and you look up, nothing beats that realization of how massive it really is. All the waiting was worth it. My mom thanked me–I don’t know exactly if it was because she was feeling the same way or if she was thanking me for the entire trip–but all I could do was smile back.

      Before going back up the apartment, I bought an apricot crepe and a Hoegaarden to snack on before dinner. A few hours later, I woke my parents from their nap to eat. I saw a Moroccan restaurant down the street earlier and I was hoping it would be open even though most Parisian restaurants are closed on Mondays. Le Tarbouche was open.

      I’ve made tagine at home before but my parents don’t know the difference between Moroccan and all the curries that I cook. I ordered two tagines: lamb with raisins and onions and chicken with preserved lemon and olives. I also ordered several dips of eggplant, red bell peppers with tomatoes and cucumber with onions to accompany ksra, the Moroccan nan. Everything came with vegetarian couscous and a 2000 bottle of Algerian wine from Chateau Tellagh.

      I think the three of us had to adjust our waistbands after eating. All that giggling, waiting and walking made us super hungry and tired. The waiter and I communicated just by nodding our heads and doing hand signals. It’s always easier when food is involved, no?

      Related post/s:
      Day 2: The Pantheon, Jardin du Lexembourg, Saint-Sulpice
      Day 1: Arriving in Paris
      Planning a trip to Paris

    • The Pantheon, Jardin du Luxembourg, St-Sulpice

      We woke up at 11am after a long slumber. Even my parents who are early risers were surprised they slept soundly. As soon as we all got ready, we bought our first croissants from the bakery downstairs. The boy was right; croissants in France are flakier than American ones. Then I bought a cup of real hot chocolate across the street at Cacao et Chocolat. It was drizzling but we were adamant to start our walk around Saint Germain and the Latin Quarter.

      On Saint-Germain Boulevard, we stopped by the St. Nicolas church on rue de Pontoise to dry up and get our bearings. Not knowing how to read a map even if I’m stuck in a big city, we kept trudging on toward rue des Écoles until we finally saw a sign that said Panthéon. We walked up rue des Carmes and voila!

      We paid our €7-admissions–at $1 = €1.42 rate!–and spent a couple of hours checking out Louis XV’s thank you gift to Sainte-Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, and visiting the tombs of France’s most influential figures. My mom was most impressed with the naves and the dome, while my dad, as expected, mentioned that there’s a “similar” building in Ilocos Sur. I rolled my eyes at my mom and she gave me that knowing smile. Down at the crypt, Voltaire, Hugo and Dumas–Marie Curie as the only woman–are among those buried.

      I was hungry when we stepped back out in the rain. We walked down the hill and decided to have lunch at La Paillote D’or, a restaurant that “spécialités Vietnamiennes.” If my French serves me right, why, I believe that means they got phở inside! I struggled when I ordered, but I managed to get my parents beef saté (boeuf) and grilled pork (porc grillé) and myself a bowl of phở with papaya salad (salade de papaye). My very faint deux bols de riz, s’il vous plaît got my dad two bowls of rice. (My mom squealed, You’re so cute!) I know that chicken is poulet but goddamn it, I’m not having boring chicken in France!

      The rain let up, so we continued on without really being sure where we were headed, but when I noticed the sign for the Sorbonne, we cut through, said a quick hello and took a photo.

      Jardin du Luxembourg was unmistakable on Saint-Michel Boulevard. It was so beautiful even without leaves on the trees. The Palais du Luxembourg, the seat of the French senate, was grand and it was a nice backdrop to the Fontaine de Médicis and its surrounding statues.

      Next stop was the church of St-Sulpice, most famous for its Delacroix frescoes. I’ve gone into more churches the last day and half than I have in the past year! My dad bought another candle and lit it in front of the Pietà.

      We spent the last light walking back home. The rain was steadier, so we admitted it was time to give our feet some rest. A couple of hours later, we went to Aux Anysetiers du Roy to eat dinner. I encouraged my parents to be more adventurous. We ordered and shared the salade de gésiers and the half dozen escargots with the sôle meuniere and the fricasée de volailles.

      We also bought milk, butter, tea and beer from the store across our apartment with the friendly Moroccan clerks. My mom stopped by the bakery by herself and bought a baguette by showing the clerk the universal symbol for “one” and uttering “bread.”

      I think we’re getting the hang of Paris.

      Related post/s:
      Day 1: Arriving in Paris
      Planning a trip to Paris

    • Parisian Apartment on Ile Saint-Louis and Notre Dame Cathedral

      The three Filipinos made it to Paris!

      Our flight left for Iceland at around 9pm. Five hours later as the sun was rising in Reykjavik, we had our passports stamped through customs. We boarded the flight to Charles de Gaulle and finally got some much-needed sleep. We arrived in Paris a little after noon. My parents waited for an hour to pick up the wheelie we were required to check in at JFK while I changed some dollars to a whopping €1.31 rate! From there, the adventure began.

      The Cia plan had us take the lift back down to the departures area where we got on the shuttle bus to the RER B which in turn connected us to the city’s Metro. I bought three Visite cards, the equivalent of New York’s unlimited Metrocard, but wasn’t informed that I can only begin using them on Monday until those damn turnstiles showed us Xs on the small screens. I stood back in line and bought three €8 tickets to Châtelet-Les Halles, the grand mama of all Metro stops. We walked and walked to follow the signs to the Mairie d’Ivry #7, got on and stepped out at the next stop, Pont Marie.

      The Seine was right there and we all let out a sigh of relief. We crossed the bridge to ÃŽle Saint-Louis and walked a few more blocks to the apartment. Of course, the Cia plan is never fool-proof; I forgot to write down the agent’s cell phone number and there were no pay phones around to call the owner. I asked two hotel employees and the grocery store clerk across the street but they all said I had to get out of the island to find a pay phone. My last course was the man carrying a paper bag full of baguettes. He lent me his cell phone and I finally talked to the apartment owner. Someone was watching over us because the owner was actually inside the apartment to let us in and as soon as we did, the agent showed up.

      The apartment was as beautiful in person as in the photographs. The subtle steel green color was a nice choice to match the loft, the wooden beams and the fully-equipped kitchen. From the drapes and the sofa down to the towels, the owners made sure everything complemented. The windows looked over the small street of rue St-Louis-en-l’Ile and you can smell the baked goods from the boulangerie below us.

      We settled in after taking care of all the paperwork with the agent–hot shower never felt so good. We stepped out and started walking towards Notre Dame on ÃŽle de la Cité until we decided to grab something quick at Le St-Regis Brasserie. Good timing, too, because it started to rain while we were eating our hot onion soups and saucissons.

      The cathedral’s bells beckoned and we decided to end our first afternoon by giving thanks. We sat through an hour of mass conducted in French and spotted fellow Filipinos in the crowd. (Either they turned around whenever we said something in Tagalog or the women wore scrunchies.)

      It was dark when we left and a bit nippy, too. The crowd was still steadily coming in and out of the church, though. The bistros around the corner were opening up while the souveneir stands were closing shop.

      We walked back to the apartment, bought beautiful flowers from Patrick Allain Fleuriste and figured out how the TV worked until dinner time. Around 10pm, we walked down the street to eat at La Taverne Du Sergent Recreteur because Gourmet De l’Ile could not accommodate any more diners in their tight space.

      I knew my parents would not eat as much as I would like them to so we opted out of the €39 prix fixe that comes with endless sausages and salads and a bottle of Alsatian wine. I ordered the lamb while my mom went for the steak and my dad the salmon. My lamb was perfect but my mom could not chew her beef. My dad could not complain that his salmon came with rice. We toasted to our first night in Paris with a Heineken and two glasses of Rhône. We made it, we said, and then we laughed our Filipino laugh.

      Related post/s:
      Planning a trip to Paris

    • Beef Rendang

      Adapted from bbc.co.uk

      Ingredients:
      1 pound beef, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
      1 onion, chopped
      3 cloves of garlic, minced
      1 small fresh ginger, grated
      1 stalk of lemon grass
      1 tsp turmeric
      1 tsp coriander
      1 tsp cumin
      1 can of coconut milk
      2 tbsps of soy sauce
      2 dried red chiles, torn into pieces
      salt

      1. Process the shallots, garlic, ginger and turmeric to a smooth paste. Dry fry the coriander and cumin until they give off a good aroma then grind them finely and add to the paste. Spoon it all over the cubed meat in a bowl and mix it well. Marinate for 30 minutes.
      2. Pour the coconut milk into a deep skillet and add the spiced meat and soy sauce and stir until the liquid boils, then reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for about 2 hours, until the meat is tender and the liquid is very much reduced.

    • McSorley’s Old Ale House

      15 East 7th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues
      212/473-9148
      about $60 for two, with several drinks, with tip

      The oldest bar in New York City still has a place in lower east side’s hip surroundings. They didn’t start letting women in until the 70s but it’s been around since 1857. People who go to McSorley’s know they only have two choices of beer–McSorley’s Light and McSorley’s Dark–and they are served in pairs because their mugs are a wee bit smaller than a pint. $8 for four mugs is a good way to start your night with their burger and fries.

      You should still try to avoid peeking inside the men’s bathroom unless you want to see someone using the urinal and don’t expect the waiters to chat; they’re only there to ask you “Light or dark?”

    • Yakitori Taisho

      5 St. Marks Place between 2nd and 3rd Avenues
      212/228-5086
      about $50 for two, with two drinks, with tip

      Yakitori Taisho has been around ever since I was allowed to take the subway from Washington Heights and walk around Greenwich Village without a chaperone. It’s dingy, smoke-filled and smoke-stained but their grilled skewers, yakitori, are still the best on St. Mark’s Place.

      I love coming here for a late night dinner and ordering the beef tongue, beef stomach and the smelt yakitoris with a bottle of beer to wash all of them down. During winter visits, I go for the ramen or the tofu and udon soup bowl. Whichever time you choose to visit, expect to wait. The place hasn’t changed much since I was in high school. The cool Japanese kids who used to come here have just been replaced by other cool Japanese kids.

    • Curried Chicken Satay with Lemon Juice

      Adapted from Wolfgang Puck

      Ingredients:
      2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
      1 1/2 tsps curry powder
      1/2 tsp ground cumin
      1/2 tsp coriander
      2 tbsps peanut oil
      fresh lemon juice
      a pinch of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
      olive oil, salt and pepper

      1. To prepare the marinade, in a small bowl combine the spices. Spoon the oil over the chicken, turning to coat them evenly, and then evenly sprinkle the dry ingredients over them on both sides.
      2. In a deep skillet, heat olive oil. Fry the chicken in medium heat until golden brown on both sides and cooked through. Sprinkle with lemon juice and cilantro before serving.

    • Winter Vegetable Curry

      Adapted from the Food Network Kitchens

      Ingredients:
      3 tbsps ginger and garlic paste, created using a mortar and pestle
      3 tbsps unsalted butter
      1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
      1 medium yellow onion, diced
      2 tsps curry powder
      1 tomato, roughly chopped
      1 cup whole milk yogurt
      1 medium-sized turnip, peeled and quartered
      1 medium-sized carrot, cut into 2-inch chunks
      1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 2-inch wedges
      1 small zucchini, cut into 2-inch-long rounds
      1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
      a handful of snap peas
      1 small box of raisins
      2 dried red chiles, torn into pieces
      a handful of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
      salt and pepper

      1. Heat the butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sauté onion. Add the cinnamon, chiles, garlic-ginger paste and curry powder. Cook while stirring, until lightly browned and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato and yogurt and cook while stirring, until they separate from the oil, about 7 minutes. Continue to cook and stir for about 1 minute more.
      2. Add the water, salt and hard vegetables and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the chickpeas, zucchini and raisins, bring to a boil, and cook, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender and the liquid thickens, about 5 minutes more. Season the curry with salt and pepper, to taste, and cilantro.

    • Blue Ribbon Sushi

      119 Sullivan Street between Prince and Spring
      212/343-0404
      about $125 for two, with two drinks, without tip

      Every time I go to Blue Ribbon Sushi, I’m always surprised at how low the sushi prices are. For Japanese sushi (listen up, Tomoe fans!) the choices are always fresh and of high quality.

      Their uni, fluke, yellowtail and toro, whether sushi or sashimi, are consistently buttery. The ankimono, monkfish liver, is also a favorite of mine. I like their tatakis and I alternately order from tuna belly to salmon to yellowtail tartare when I visit.

    • Tartine

      253 West 11th Street corner of West 4th
      212/229-2611
      $120 for three, BYOB, with tip

      I find it hard to pay for grilled portobello mushrooms with goat cheese or for a bowl of endives and beets but Tartine lets you bring your own wine without a cork fee so I willingly shell out my $8 for each dish. Heck, I even shell out $40 to pay for my share of a $120-dinner which consisted of two bowls of mussels, five snails, grilled salmon, a baked artichoke! Some of my favorite dishes include: salad Basquaise with roasted red bell peppers and eggplants with basil and arugula, garlic saucisson in shallots and chives dressing and roasted pears sprinkled with prosciutto.

      But Tartine is so much better during the fall when produce is more than acceptable in New York City. If you can spare 45 minutes and wait for a table outside, brunch on a Saturday morning is superb. No matter when you go, save room for dessert. Their tarte tatin and chocolate meringue with ganache are delicious with that bottle of wine you’ve been saving.

    • Chicken with Mushrooms, Marsala and Thyme

      Adapted from Mario Batali’s Scaloppine alla Marsala using veal

      Ingredients:
      boneless chicken thighs
      porcini mushrooms
      1 cup sweet Marsala wine
      2 tbsps fresh thyme leaves
      butter
      salt and pepper

      1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil until almost smoking. Brown the chicken pieces on both sides. Remove to a platter.
      2. Add the mushrooms to the pan and sauté until lightly browned and the juices have evaporated. Add the Marsala and bring to a boil then reduce by a third. Add the butter, replace the chicken. Bring back to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, about 15 minutes.
      3. Stir in thyme and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken to a platter and pour the mushroom sauce over them.

    • Beef with Whole Spices and Onions

      Adapted from a Modern Indian Cooking kharu gos recipe using lamb

      Ingredients:
      1 pound beef, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
      4 small potatoes, quartered
      1 cinnamon stick
      3 green or black cardamom pods
      3 garlic cloves
      2 dried red chiles, torn into pieces
      1 onion, roughly chopped
      1 medium-sized tomato, chopped
      1 tbsp ground cumin
      1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
      1 tbsp ginger and garlic paste, created using a mortar and pestle
      a handful of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
      salt, pepper, olive oil

      1. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan until almost smoking. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, garlic and red chiles. As soon as the spices swell and change color, add the onions and sauté until browned. Add the beef cubes and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides.
      2. When the liquid in the pan has almost dried up, add the ground spices and the ginger and garlic paste and stir well. Then add some salt and enough water to just about cover the meat. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and summer for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time and adding water so it doesn’t dry up..
      3. Add the potatoes and tomatoes. Cover again and simmer until the beef and potatoes are tender. Discard cinnamon stick. Season with cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.