Bienvenue a Paris!

PARIS — MILLIE: Karla and I embarked on a free-wheeling adventure to Paris and we were both quite happy with its outcome, no real plans, just go with the flow. We were armed with a rather long list of good places to eat, mostly suggested by friends.

We arrived at dawn on a Saturday and since it was too early to check in at our hotel despite pleading with reception, we decided to go to the largest open-air food market on Avenue du President Wilson, where farmers from all over France display their fresh produce of plump fruits and vegetables of the season, like white asparagus, artichokes, courgettes and even seafood like lobsters, scampi, cabillaud or cod, trout, sole, salmon and crustaceans like mussels, scallops and a wide selection of fresh French oysters, notably the most famous Belons, Fins de Claire and other varieties like Isigny, Utah Beach and Saint-Vaast from the Normandy region.

There was even a food stall offering Poulet de Bresse, a special breed of chicken reputed to be the best and most delicious in the world from the region of Bresse, home to celebrity chef and restaurateur Georges Blanc. A few years back, we visited Village Blanc in Vonnas, France, dined and met chef Georges at his restaurant, the oldest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world!

We found homemade pate de foie gras, paté en croute, which is baked in a pastry crust, or simple paté de campagne made from finely chopped seasoned meat. There were also different types of hams from different regions of France, like the jambon de Bayonne, jambon d’Auvergne and even dry cured hams called jambon cru and jambon de Savoie, which is bone-in and red label category.

Our mouths watered as we strolled along, awed with the selection of artisanal cheeses which delighted Karla, the cheese queen!

KARLA: Mom and I had no plans of eating since we had breakfast on the plane, and there weren’t any picnic tables available at the market. But after seeing the selection available, we ended up buying French butter and camembert from a local producer from Normandy. They would travel three hours from Normandy to Paris weekly to make it in time for the market. There were so many cheeses available, some didn’t have any names on them, as they were all produced by the farmer. I told mom that next time we visit, we should book an apartment instead of a hotel so we could cook with fresh local ingredients and live like the locals.

We bought ham and pate de campagne from one stall and baguettes from another bakery stall. Good thing I had an interpreter with me, also known as my mom, who can speak French fluently. We settled at a nearby park that had benches, which we later found out was the Palais Galliera formerly known as the Musee de la Mode de la Ville de Paris or City of Paris Fashion Museum. 

We finally checked in around 11 a.m. and as soon as we were settled in, we walked around the vicinity of our hotel to familiarize ourselves with the area. We chanced upon a mile-long queue and wondered what it was for. We discovered that right around the corner from our hotel is popular restaurant called Bouillon Chartier, a 128-year-old restaurant since 1896. It was originally a workers’ eatery serving French classics on the menu. The restaurant interiors resemble the concourse of a railway station, seats about 350 people and is open 365 days a year, seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to midnight. 

Mom ordered the confit de canard with roasted pommes grenailles, while I had the beef bourgignon with coquillettes. Since it was so close to our hotel, we ended up dining there twice during the trip and would make it a point to come early before the line piled up. 

On our second visit, the menu had changed. I believe it depends on what’s available for the day and so we ordered a pike quenelle with a shellfish sauce and rice pilaf to share, saucisse au coiteau from Aveyron with pommes puree for me, while Mom had a poulet roti served with pommes frites.