A week in London, a week in Paris. On Day 6, we made preparations to leave for Paris via Eurostar in the afternoon. I won't illustrate what we did in the morning as I don't want to bore you but it was a lot of rushing around (last minute shopping etc.) and frantic packing.
A quick lunch at the nearby sushi shop (that is an all-in-one Asian food stall really, since it sells curry rice and sweet sour pork as well).
It takes approximately 2.5 hours of train ride from London St. Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord. Plus, Paris is one hour faster than London, therefore it is 3 hours lost in translation.
On board Eurostar; beside a black lady whose child kept kicking my leg while he slept...
A quick lunch at the nearby sushi shop (that is an all-in-one Asian food stall really, since it sells curry rice and sweet sour pork as well).
It takes approximately 2.5 hours of train ride from London St. Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord. Plus, Paris is one hour faster than London, therefore it is 3 hours lost in translation.
On board Eurostar; beside a black lady whose child kept kicking my leg while he slept...
Destination Paris- Gare du Nord (which means North Station) International. After a trip to the hotel to unload our luggage, we headed off to St. Germain des Pres to meet Gabriella (aka Gabby).
Now, about Gabby, she was my classmate at French class (Alliance Francaise) during my time in Sydney, Australia. We got along very well for we both love food and French culture. After I returned to Singapore, she went over to France, living the dream that she had always dreamed of (ie. eating lots of French pasties and getting a French boyfriend ^^). And Gabby had me promised her to definitely let her know if I ever went to France. Thus on my very first day in Paris, we met up for dinner.
Dinner was originally scheduled to be at Le Comptoir du Relais, a popular French bistro that serves classical French cuisine featuring heavily on charcuterie, after much discussion with Gabby on facebook. We even timed it to be on a weekend knowing that the restaurant doesn't take reservation on a weekend, hence we might have a chance of getting a table in this restaurant that is notorious for its waiting list if we went early. Alas, it was not to be so. Le Comptoir was full when we arrived. Gabby explained that the weather on that day was particularly good (which apparently is a cause for celebration in Paris), which resulted in a huge turn-out of people looking to enjoy the beautiful evening.
Therefore, it was an hour later, after much hunting, that we found a charming French restaurant called La Petite Cour that we all agreed on.
I was famished.
Appetizer
A crisp salad of spring root vegetables. Very refreshing.
A soup.
I beg your pardon, I really can't recall what kind of soup this is. But interesting isn't it? To serve it in a martini glass.
King prawn and avocado rolled in mango, with wasabi cream.
Mains
Rack of lamb, grilled, with crispy polenta cake. Star main of the night.
Stefanie's, my new friend introduced by Gabby, chicken breast.
Aileen's snapper in a soup of green peas.
Matthiew's pork.
Bread station, a common feature in Parisian restaurants. However, this particular bread station is particularly quaint don't you think?
From left: Stefanie, Gabby, Matthiew (Gabby's boyfriend), Aileen and I. Mum's the photographer.
Baba rhum, a classic french dessert, is basically a yeast-risen cake soaked in a rum flavoured sugar syrup. Unfortunately, this restaurant's version failed big time. None of us were impressed, especially Matthiew who, a local Parisian, thinks his grandmother can make a way better one.
Chocolate Trio of mousse, glacé and gateau.
La Petite Cour- 8, rue Mabillon 75006 Paris
Métro : Mabillon ou Saint-Germain-des-Prés
End.
