Karin Shibata – Page 24 – Karin Shibata – Through the foooding glass

Street Food Fest in Paris – SuperBarquette

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Karin Shibata Posted in Event .

SuperBarquette @ Wanderlust

Street Food trend in Paris is blossoming this spring with SuperBarquette (basket) !

A 3 days festival (11, 12, 13 April 2014) with the latest Parisian hip food, coffee & spirits talents.

Wanderlust is in La Cité de la Mode et du Design on Quai d’Austerlitz.

Cretead by Savoir Faire Holding (Social Club and Silencio) the place is place is really nice with it’s huge terrace next to the river.

I am here on Sunday and start by…

Alix Lacloche

Alix Lacloche, half French half American private cook. She created comfort and healthy food with fresh ingredients from the market. www.alixlacloche.com

French fried chicken
6€

Today her French friend chicken served like a burger with marinated vegetables is exquisite.

A crispy, ultra tasty and light (yes, yes, light) fry in a delicious bun.

The marinated vegetables are the perfect match to balance he fry with a touch of sourness.

Fricote Phamily

Fricote Phamily – Bahn Khot
6€

I want something more light so let’s go for this Bahn Khot by Fricote Phamily.

The little side, a shrimp fried ball is good.

The noodles are a bit over-cooked but it is well-balanced in spices. I like the use of the mustard flower (pretty and tasty).

Télescope

telescope_nicolas_clerc_coffee_superbarquette_2014_wanderlust

Nicolas Clerc, owner of Télescope / Cappuccino and Macchiato

What a luxury to have a delicious coffee now. The cappuccinos are excellent as usual with Nicolas Clerc.

Telescope is a speciality coffee shop in the center of Paris, near Opéra. I really recommend you to go to.

www.telescopecafe.com

Lockwood

As it is a bit early to finish this afternoon with a cocktail by Lockwood, let’s have selection of some sweat delights…

Bircher müesli, Red Velvet, Cookies…
All for 9€

Everything was very good. The red velvet’s texture is moist and the taste not too sweet.

The cookie has a perfect balance of taste, chewiness and crust. The flower of salt on top of it really makes a nice difference. It is my favourite.

The müesli with dried fruits and pomegranate is healthy (maybe I should kept this one for breakfast 😉

Olivier Lehoux, on of the three brothers Lehoux from Lockwood.

Olivier Lehoux is a talented mixologist (Le Silencio, Cocktails Party) who always uses quality and exclusive ingrédients…

Today he made me discover this amazing…

Lehoux’s family artisanal apple juice.

The juice tastes like a freshly squeezed apple! Thanks Olivier !!!

www.lockwoodparis.com

Fifi la Praline

To take a gift home and make the gourmandise last longer… Jean-Philippe retro booth has delicious artisanal praline (almond praline).

www.fifilapraline.com

T-Truck

And to finish the day, after feeding our palate… Let’s feed our soul and our closet at the…

T-truck (T-shirt truck) !

Guirec and Jérôme are two friends who created this original concept of truck.

Their selections of designers t-shirt are original, collectible, exclusive and limited edition…

My friend Guirec co-founder of T-truck and me 😉

http://www.t-truck.com

WANDERLUST
32 quai d’Austerlitz
75013 Paris

http://super-barquette.com

Jean-Paul Hévin – Adorable April Fool’s Chocolate

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Karin Shibata Posted in Chocolate .

How to fool your cat but not your pleasure… Jean-Paul Hévin created this adorable chocolate for April Fool’s !!!

At what time do they open ?

The aquarium is made with a 68% dark chocolate and garnished with an assortment of chocolate filled with chocolate with pralines (combination of almonds and caramelised sugar) and marshmallow fishes.

So sweet and pretty… So eat it or eat it not ?

Available until Esater 2014.

http://www.jeanpaulhevin.com/

Paperboy – Never judge a place by its cover

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Karin Shibata Posted in Breakfast - Brunch, Paris Coffee Shops .

Paperboy !!! I feel so excited to discover this new place in the neighbourhood.

Paperboy has all the ingredients of the latest Parisian food trend.

1) OUT = A cool, modern design looking storefront. Black is the color of these last years.

2) IN = Quality products: Demory beer, jam from La chambre aux confitures.

3) Cozy interior and American products.

4) Home-made pastries.

BUT

Typical French welcoming !!!!

“Hello“

“I would like a latte please“

“Only one latte?…. Errrr… And you want to drink it here ? “

(I just had lunch at Sassotondo ! Yes it is Sunday and I keep my habit and I wanted to try this new place to test it fully later)

“Yes is it possible ?“

“Eeerr…. Then at the counter only…“

The counter is nice but as it seems to bother them so much, I decide to take it to go….

Of course, I can totally understand that a restaurant does not want to take a table for a latte at lunch time…

But it is 3 pm, the brunch time seems to be finished and the place is new and empty !!!

Never judge a coffee by its cover

Latte
3,50 €

Unfortunately the coffee is too watered. The taste is insipide, the foam had no consistency at all…

It is bad !!!

I really hate to write review like this about a place I have not tested fully, but I would not try the brunch there as I planned too.

It is 23€ and I will keep for another place.

I would be very interested to have some feedbacks of persons who tried… Hope good and yummy…

The logo is as cute as the place !!!
Very disappointed…

Paperboy

137 rue Amelot,

75011 Paris

L’Olionovo by Castellare di Castellina – Extra virgin olive oil

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Karin Shibata Posted in Oil .

L’Olionovo of Castellare di Castellina is an extra virgin olive oil. I discovered it the famous and delicious Italian restaurant Paolo Petrini.

Unfortunately, he closed his restaurant few years ago.

Castellare names it’s olive L’Olionovo. “L’Olionovo” (Olio = oil; novo = new) is the authentic expression used by tuscan peasants to name the just fringed olive oil” as it is communicated by the brand.

castellare_di_castellina_olionovo-extra_virgin_olive_oil

750ml
28€

As you can see it is a vintage olive oil. But, actually it is not like wine you have to eat it as soon as possible.

So why? Because

Castellare di Castellina first vocation is to be a pruner, a grape harvester and a wine maker.
L’Olionovo is rich (you would say normal for an oil…) and dense. It is green with gold shines…

The taste is profound, fruity, slightly spicy…

Different types of olives (Frantoi, Pendolino, Ascolane, Moraiolo) have been grinded in stone and fringed without heat.

http://castellare.it

LaDurée – Macarons – The pink prestige gift box

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Karin Shibata Posted in Pâtisserie .

LaDurée

It is my best friend Sari who took me the first time for an afternoon tea time to LaDurée… 20 years ago…

As the tea place is now always crowded, I asked Sari for a garden afternoon tea… These last days, Paris is very polluted but it is still spring…

And guess what she brought us ? A LaDurée macarons gift box…

The box contains 24 macarons with 12 different flavours: coffee, chocolate, flower of salt caramel, lemon, yuzu, orange flower blossom, raspberry, bitter chocolate, rose petal, mint, pistachio and vanilla.

The perfect girly gift for a perfect cozy tea time.

I feel so spoiled to have such a caring friend.

La Durée offers a wide range of extremely pretty gifts. You can be sure you will please the special person you offer it too…

Their merchandising, packaging and their products lines are great.

Thank you again Sari (she is a writer on this site too 😉

www.laduree.com

Rêves d’Abyssinie – A coffee shop dedicated to quality products !

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Karin Shibata Posted in Paris Coffee Shops .

Rêves d’Abyssinie is a convivial coffee shop in rue Saint-Denis where you can drink, eat and discover quality products.

La rue Saint-Denis had a bad reputation but is recently becoming trendy…

Interesting shops are opening…

Cyril Muller, owner of Rêves d’Abyssinie
Chung-Leng Tran, barista and photographer

The pleasure to discover a delicious coffee every week

Cyril Muller, the owner makes you discover his favourites coffees from different origins and roasters.

Cappuccino by Chung-Leng Tran
3,30 €
A café at the counter is 1,80 € ! THE BEST QUALITY PRICE IN PARIS !!!

Coffees are made by an excellent barista.

Chung-Leng Tran was a photographer and became barista by passion for coffee.

He is 2012 France Champion of filter coffee. He recently got the 3rd title at 2014 World Brewers Cup in France.

Simple lunches made with fresh quality products…

I met Cyril at the time he was a mixologist at Grazie. He has a love for food and fresh products.

I really advise you to taste his home-made quality French food.

Cyril calls his food “simple” but he makes his own mashed apple sauce to go with a Alléosse cheese (a famous cheese ripener).

Sandwich: Livarot cheese from Alléose with home-made mashed apple sauce.
5,50€

You have to know that most of the sandwiches you find in French bakeries/”boulangerie” are made with industrial dough bread and supermarket cheese or products.

He also makes soups, ginger lemonade and this addictive desert !!!!

Chocolate mousse with Piedmont hazelnuts.
4€

Cyril also have very good quality Japanese and Chinese teas served in traditional tea pots !!!

Prices are as smooth as the milk foam. A place to discover…

To finish, a little bit of history….The logo and the name Rêves d’Abyssinie tells the story of how the coffee was discovered… Around 850 AD, some goats were seen dancing after eating some berries of a bush… This mysterious berry could be an energiser ! Coffee was discovered !!!

Rêves d’Abyssinie

132 rue Saint-Denis

75002 Paris

Mon – Fri: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Sat: 12:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Sun: 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

www.reves-dabyssinie.fr/lademarche.html

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Feyrouz – Lebanese cuisine at anytime

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Karin Shibata Posted in All day service, Lebanese, Open every day .

I am born and raised in the 15th arrondissement of Paris and Feyrouz has always been part of my landscape.

If you look for something good to snack after trip to the Eiffel Tour, it is the perfect place. It is open 7/7 from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.

I have not been here for… 10 years…Can you believe it is the first time I actually eat at the restaurant !

It was just next to school and home. We used to take out “Shawarmas” (شاورما‎), a delicious sandwich usually with spit roasted meat with my friend Sari.

It was not planned and we are in rush because it’s my birthday and some mysterious surprise is opening at 8:00 pm. Funny fact, the restaurant’s birthday was yesterday… WooW it’s kind of old… too ! )

I never do anything special the day of my birthday. It’s the 2nd of january… It usually rains in Paris and gastronomic restaurants are mostly closed and anyways after the gigantic food experience of Christmas I feel like wanting fresh and diversified food.

Appetizers: olives, pickled vegetables…
Amuse-bouches: olives, légumes marinés…

So, after my long life story… Here is a nice fresh appetizer to start with…

I love picked vegetables (we have some in Japan too that we call otsukemeno)

feyrouz_lebanese_restaurant_paris_assorted_mezze

Assorted mezzo
Assortiment de mezze

The assortment of various dishes is a good choice a larger range of the Lebanese specialities.

Taboulé, , hummus (chick pea purée) and moutabbal (eggplant purée), fatayer (A dough stuffed with spinach, meat or cheese…)

Jawaneh mekli maa toum
“Flambéed” chicken wings; garlic, lemon
Ailes de poulet flambées, ail et citron.

The dish is served with Lebanese salad, hummus (chick pea purée) and moutabbal (eggplant purée).

I was feeling nervous that the place has changed like so many others… But it 38 years the quality had not changed.

Everything is delicious. The ingredients are fresh and well made.

The prices are of course higher than the take out but the quantities are huge.

The service was efficient and agreeable even with me rushing them…

FEYROUZ

8, rue Lourmel, Paris, France

01 45 78 07 02

Métro : Dupleix

The service is 7/7

8:00 am – 2:00 am

Non-stop so you can grab a snack whenever.

http://www.facebook.com/restaurantfeyrouz

If you like sea food, they also have the sea version next door: Feyrouz côté mer.

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L’Enoteca – All the reasons not to go…

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Karin Shibata Posted in Italian, Paris Restaurants, To avoid .

I discovered L’Enoteca during a walk near the river Seine…

And after having read very nice reviews about this Italian restaurant, its wine selection and the nice service. I am very excited to discover the wine selection and the food.

You can’t judge a book by its cover.
L’habit ne fait pas le moine.

As soon as we came in… The restaurant is dark and not as cosy as it seems…

Non-existent service

After giving us the menu not very politely, we had the time to nearly learn it by heart until someone dared taking the order… (There was only a couple of customers when we came in)

The ordering was as painful as the rest. The explanations for the dishes were unclear and with a total non love of food.

“We are out of stock of this dish, of this wine…“

1) Couldn’t you tell before? 2) Could you at least try to pretend you are sorry instead of saying that ? 3) Out of stock for the first service of the day? Realllyy???

We were about to leave… And we should have…

Pasta or Scrap ?

The menu is written in Italian and the pastas seems home-made… A hope?

14€ for scraps…
Maltagliati porri e pecorino
Maltagliati with leek and pecorino cheese
Maltagliati aux poireaux et pecorino

Maltagliati (meaning non regular) is usually the excess dough (after making other pastas). It is cut irregularly and are usually used in soup… As a SCRAP !!!

I am not against making hi-jacking non-noble products to make creative recipes…

But this was actually cheap pasta dough remaining with some leeks and cheese…

A fat pond…

: 17€
Vegetarian lasagna.
Lasagne végétarienne.

Aren’t lasagna always good ? Nooo when it is soaked into fat…

Is is necessary to mention that the wine we took was insipid?

TO AVOID !!!

L’ENOTECA

25, rue Charles-V

75004 Paris, France

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Les enfants rouges – The Red Children

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Karin Shibata Posted in French by Japanese chefs .

In the Marais trendy district

Next to the oldest market in Paris “Marché des enfants rouges” (The red children market), the restaurant “Les enfants rouges” !

A Japanese chef

I wanted to test this restaurant/wine bar for a while. The kitchen is led by the Japanese chef Dai Shinozuka who takes French traditional recipes to an upper level…

Cream of pumpkin soup and smoked bacon.
Velouté de potiron et lard fumé.

This amuse-bouches is a delight. It’s tasty, creamy but with a light constancy.

A shame we did not have bread to start…

Minestrone soup with seasonal vegetables, pistou and Japanese pearls.
Minestrone aux légumes du moment, pistou et perle du Japon.

The minestrone soup was classical and tasty. The Japanese pearls or tapioca pearls adds originality.

I like changes and twists in cooking but to be honest, I missed some beans in the soup…

Poitrine de veau braisé et rôtie, champignons de Paris crus et cuits.
Braised and roasted veal breast, raw and cooked “Paris mushroom”.

A traditional french recipe perfectly cooked. An excellent dish.

25€
Rouleau de tête de veau à la ravigote, coques et endives.
Rolled veal head, ravigote sauce, clams and endive.

This dish has different parts of the veal’s head… It was risky to order it… You have to tike glutinous textures…

The “raw” aspect of the dish is balanced by clams and the nice foam.

The service by his wife is good and caring but the place is a bit noisy.

As it is a wine bar, I had a big expectation about the wine. It was rather disappointing.

Menu: Starter Main Dessert 38€

A dish 25€

Wine 8€ the glass

It can seem quite expensive for a lunch (as there is no lunch menus) but for the area it is common.

The quality of the products and the work in each dishes worth it. Even if I expected slightly more… It was good but I was not surprised…

I would advice to go for the diner.

LES ENFANTS ROUGES

9 rue de Beauce

75003 Paris,

75011 Paris

Wed – Mon: 12:00 pm – 2:30 pm, 7:00 pm – 10:30 pm

Phone 01 48 87 80 61

www.les-enfants-rouges.com

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Guide Michelin 2014 – France – New starred restaurants

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Karin Shibata Posted in News .

Today the gastronomic world in France is boiling. It is the launching of the French Edition of The Guide Michelin 2014.

Who is on the famous list of restaurants awarded or losing stars…

For 2014, 610 starred restaurant from which 64 are newly awarded…

Arnaud Lallement, the only new 3 starred chef

Arnaud Lallement, chef of the restaurant Assiette Champenoise, near Reims was already awarded “Chef of the year” by the other famous gastronomic guide Gault et Millau. What a year for this 39 years old, young chef.

Paris young and trendy chefs !

Here is my top 3 of Paris winners…

1) Akrame who already had on star got his second one !!!

2) La Scène the restaurant of the Hôtel le Prince de Galles with chef Stéphanie Le Quellec and the pastry chef Yann Couvreur (an article about his Christmas cake) got a star.

Yann Couvreur

3) Trendy Septime with chef Bertrand Grébaut also won his first star.

Japanese chefs

Since few years, Japanese chef in Paris are really successful, with French or Japanese cuisine .

Two Japanese restaurant, Okuda and Jin got their first star.

A hair in the soup…

France is boiling because the Michelin is getting more criticised and questioned than previous years…

Few days ago the famous French food journalist, Gilles Pudlowski wrote an article titled “Le Michelin a perdu sa boussole” (The Michelin has lost it’s compass). According to him the guide lost it’s judgment since former director like André Trichot and Bernard Naegellen were replaced by directors with different point of views…

The new international director is Michael Ellis (American) and his deputy Juliane Casper (German) … They want to discover new young chef… Gilles Pudlowski is of course not against but not if monuments chefs are forgotten… Like… Marc Veyrat…

The Telegraph titled… “Are the French losing their taste for the Michelin guide?”

The articles quotes the chef Marco Pierre who questioned the integrity of the guide-book. “When I was a boy, winning a Michelin star was like winning an Oscar. Today they dish out stars like confetti. What does Michelin mean any more? Not much. I don’t think Michelin understands what it’s doing itself. It’s unhinged.”

Telegraph article

Here is a the complete list of 2014 Michelin Guide – Starred restaurants in pdf.

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