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Just back from my first visit in Paris and i fell in love with the place. It has that bohemian vibe to it. Tried different restaurants and patisseries and they are all wonderful. For those who are into chocolates, you have to visit Patrick Roger chocolatier...itsthe bomb! Anyone has other recommendations for restaurants to try there? Will be making another trip back soon!

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What kind of restaurants would you be interested in? French, I suppose? What level?

Well initially i was following recommendations from david lebovitz blog on restaurants there. Tried a couple and all are good. Then i started using the free app Yelp and tried the restaurants based on local reviews. Its quite a range from brasseries, bistrot to restaurants, my budget is about 30 to 50 euro per person. Not too high end :)

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Most of the blogs and sites I know are in French (do you speak French?), and I don't trust tripadvisor much...

Anyway, here are a few suggestions:

1- Brasseries:

Le Vaudeville, 29 rue Vivienne (in front of the Bourse)

La Coupole , 102 boulevard du Montparnasse (75006, left bank).

If you take one main course, one glass of wine and a coffe, you should stay in your price range.

2- Bistrots:

Chez Nénesse, 17 rue de Saintonge 75003 (near le Marais); around 30€

Le Pantruche (= Paris, in slang), 3 rue Victor Massé 75009; menu = 34€

3- Restaurants:

My favourite of all I know in Paris: Grannie, 27 rue Pierre Leroux 75007; wonderful French cuisine by a Japanese chef; menu (3 courses) around 33€. Nice list of wines.

L'Hédoniste, 14 rue Léopold Bellan 75002 (near le Marais also); menus around 28€ (lunch) and 35€ (dinner).

And if you need more addresses (or non-French ones, like Japanese, Chinese, Tibetan, Italian, Lebanese, or whatever, just ask me.

When do you intend to come? (Don't be afraid, I have a wonderful bf and don't intend to cheat ^_^ ).

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Most of the blogs and sites I know are in French (do you speak French?), and I don't trust tripadvisor much...

Anyway, here are a few suggestions:

1- Brasseries:

Le Vaudeville, 29 rue Vivienne (in front of the Bourse)

La Coupole , 102 boulevard du Montparnasse (75006, left bank).

If you take one main course, one glass of wine and a coffe, you should stay in your price range.

2- Bistrots:

Chez Nénesse, 17 rue de Saintonge 75003 (near le Marais); around 30€

Le Pantruche (= Paris, in slang), 3 rue Victor Massé 75009; menu = 34€

3- Restaurants:

My favourite of all I know in Paris: Grannie, 27 rue Pierre Leroux 75007; wonderful French cuisine by a Japanese chef; menu (3 courses) around 33€. Nice list of wines.

L'Hédoniste, 14 rue Léopold Bellan 75002 (near le Marais also); menus around 28€ (lunch) and 35€ (dinner).

And if you need more addresses (or non-French ones, like Japanese, Chinese, Tibetan, Italian, Lebanese, or whatever, just ask me.

When do you intend to come? (Don't be afraid, I have a wonderful bf and don't intend to cheat ^_^ ).

Thank you very much for the list! Yes i will include them in my next visit. Am thinkin of going abt same time next year again in june :).

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Thank you very much for the list! Yes i will include them in my next visit. Am thinkin of going abt same time next year again in june :).

You are welcome. Do not hesitate to ask if you need some help.

May I ask what restaurants you liked this time?

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You are welcome. Do not hesitate to ask if you need some help.

May I ask what restaurants you liked this time?

Well, based on david lebovitz's recommendations and Yelp I tried Restaurant Chez Astier on 44 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, La Pharmacie Bistrot on 22 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud and a crepe place called Breizh Cafe on 109, rue Vieille du Temple. They are all lovely. I especially enjoyed Breizh cafe for their alcoholic home made Cider and La Pharmacie for serving dishes prepared from organic fresh produce. They do a killer lamb chop dish there! :)

Edited by windanseaguy
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Well, based on david lebovitz's recommendations and Yelp I tried Restaurant Chez Astier on 44 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, La Pharmacie Bistrot on 22 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud and a crepe place called Breizh Cafe on 109, rue Vieille du Temple. They are all lovely. I especially enjoyed Breizh cafe for their alcoholic home made Cider and La Pharmacie for serving dishes prepared from organic fresh produce. They do a killer lamb chop dish there! :)

Thanks! I'll have to try them. In some French blogs, they say that "Breizh Café" is homophobic...Strange, for a restaurant situated in le Marais!

We'll buy you a drink (or a lunch) when you come back ^_^ .

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Thanks! I'll have to try them. In some French blogs, they say that "Breizh Café" is homophobic...Strange, for a restaurant situated in le Marais!

We'll buy you a drink (or a lunch) when you come back ^_^ .

Merci! Am missing paris badly. Next trip will want to travel out to monet's townhouse :). That should be nice. I feel so at home there....hmm mst be that bohemian vibe. You are so lucky to be living there!

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I agree, it's a wonderful city. Next time, you should visit the left bank.

Monet had a town house in Argenteuil (suburbs), but I'm not sure you can visit easily.

His most known house was in Giverny, west of Paris (1hour 1/2 by car). It has been transformed into a museum.

Do you speak French?

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I agree, it's a wonderful city. Next time, you should visit the left bank.

Monet had a town house in Argenteuil (suburbs), but I'm not sure you can visit easily.

His most known house was in Giverny, west of Paris (1hour 1/2 by car). It has been transformed into a museum.

Do you speak French?

Yes, am planning to visit Giverny. After i saw his water lily paintings at musee de l'orangerie, which by the way was freakin amazing!, i was inspired to see the actual garden at Giverny. I think everyone should visit Paris once in their life time...its such an inspiring place. I now understand why it attracts so many well known writers, artists and also famous bakers and chefs there. Am becoming a francophile now haha. I don't speak french but started listening to a comprehensive series of podcast called coffeebreakfrench to pick up conversational french. Its free download from itune ;).

By the way if u are into pastries, i highly recommend Aux Pêchés Normands near republique metro. I luv their brioche framboise! French raspberries are also pretty amazing. I have never tasted raspberries this good. Every morning i will buy one for breakfast before heading out for sightseeing. Totally delicious. I am trying to create that at home now :). My brioche dough has been resting overnight in the fridge ready to be baked. Hope it is as good as the one in Paris.

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Yes, am planning to visit Giverny. After i saw his water lily paintings at musee de l'orangerie, which by the way was freakin amazing!, i was inspired to see the actual garden at Giverny. I think everyone should visit Paris once in their life time...its such an inspiring place. I now understand why it attracts so many well known writers, artists and also famous bakers and chefs there. Am becoming a francophile now haha. I don't speak french but started listening to a comprehensive series of podcast called coffeebreakfrench to pick up conversational french. Its free download from itune ;).

By the way if u are into pastries, i highly recommend Aux Pêchés Normands near republique metro. I luv their brioche framboise! French raspberries are also pretty amazing. I have never tasted raspberries this good. Every morning i will buy one for breakfast before heading out for sightseeing. Totally delicious. I am trying to create that at home now :). My brioche dough has been resting overnight in the fridge ready to be baked. Hope it is as good as the one in Paris.

I did not know "Aux Péchés Normands", thanks for the tip. I love pastries, but since I try not to gain too much weight...

I am sure your brioche will be better than the one here! :P

I grew some raspberries on my terrace (yes, in Paris! :D ), they were quite good, but it's too much work... :unsure:

Since you are interested in "pâtisseries", here is another address: Hotel Shangri La, 10 avenue d'Iéna (near Trocadéro). New palace with a splendid tea room , "La Bauhinia". The pastries are from François Perret. Tea plus some pastries = 30€; but they are delicious!

You seem to have visited mainly the right bank, around République/Oberkampf? It is the new trendy place here.

In Giverny, not sure they have many Monet paintings in his house, but just besides, there is the museum of impressionisms (formerly American impressionists), which is worth the trip.

And you are right, we have not only restaurants...Just walk in the streets with memories of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Oscar Wilde, Modigliani, Picasso...

Have a nice day (or rather "bonsoir" overthere...).

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I did not know "Aux Péchés Normands", thanks for the tip. I love pastries, but since I try not to gain too much weight...

I am sure your brioche will be better than the one here! :P

I grew some raspberries on my terrace (yes, in Paris! :D ), they were quite good, but it's too much work... :unsure:

Since you are interested in "pâtisseries", here is another address: Hotel Shangri La, 10 avenue d'Iéna (near Trocadéro). New palace with a splendid tea room , "La Bauhinia". The pastries are from François Perret. Tea plus some pastries = 30€; but they are delicious!

You seem to have visited mainly the right bank, around République/Oberkampf? It is the new trendy place here.

In Giverny, not sure they have many Monet paintings in his house, but just besides, there is the museum of impressionisms (formerly American impressionists), which is worth the trip.

And you are right, we have not only restaurants...Just walk in the streets with memories of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Oscar Wilde, Modigliani, Picasso...

Have a nice day (or rather "bonsoir" overthere...).

Thanks for the recommendaion for patisserie. So many good places to try now on my next visit :). Am an avid baker so i was focusing on visiting patisseries and famous chocolatiers like patrick rogar and pierre herme. I have to say patrick roger's chocolates are....divine! He s such a genius. Yeah i was staying near goncourt metro and so was exploring abit ard that area. Of course i had to do the touristy thing being first time in paris, like the effiel tower, lux garden, etc. but i was focusing more on restaurants and museums. So strange that before i went, friends who have been there told me that parisiens are rude etc...but on the contrary, they were wonderful ppl! Friendly and very helpful. Am thinkin of visitin provence on my next visit...just to get out and see the rural side of france :)

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Thanks for the recommendaion for patisserie. So many good places to try now on my next visit :). Am an avid baker so i was focusing on visiting patisseries and famous chocolatiers like patrick rogar and pierre herme. I have to say patrick roger's chocolates are....divine! He s such a genius. Yeah i was staying near goncourt metro and so was exploring abit ard that area. Of course i had to do the touristy thing being first time in paris, like the effiel tower, lux garden, etc. but i was focusing more on restaurants and museums. So strange that before i went, friends who have been there told me that parisiens are rude etc...but on the contrary, they were wonderful ppl! Friendly and very helpful. Am thinkin of visitin provence on my next visit...just to get out and see the rural side of france :)

Nice to learn that you appreciated the people here. I must recognize that Parisiens are not always very cheerful with tourists, but you seem to have been lucky!

Besides musée de l'Orangerie, what museums did you choose to see for your first time here? Did you like them?

I suppose you also visited Le Marais; what do you think of it?

Good idea to visit Provence next year. I was there two weeks ago; it is a wonderful region. Rural side? Yes, of course, but also trendy and sometimes "posh". Well, it's easy to avoid the tourists if you can drive a little bit. And the cuisine is different, more "mediterranean".

"Bon courage" for this new week.

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Nice to learn that you appreciated the people here. I must recognize that Parisiens are not always very cheerful with tourists, but you seem to have been lucky!

Besides musée de l'Orangerie, what museums did you choose to see for your first time here? Did you like them?

I suppose you also visited Le Marais; what do you think of it?

Good idea to visit Provence next year. I was there two weeks ago; it is a wonderful region. Rural side? Yes, of course, but also trendy and sometimes "posh". Well, it's easy to avoid the tourists if you can drive a little bit. And the cuisine is different, more "mediterranean".

"Bon courage" for this new week.

Yes i am very lucky to have enountered nice parisiens there :). Well as for museums, apart from l'orangerie, i went to the lourve (of course), rodin, jewish musee, and D'orsay. I was more impressed with the building at d'orsay actually. I would enjoyed the lourve alot more if not for the crowds....i heard it is always crowded there. Yes..i went to le marais and that was nice. Hmmm did not create a deep impression on me though. All i noticed were cute shops and restaurants. Maybe i did not explore more of it. I was more impressed with the patisseries....i remember walkin into one and was grinning like a fool the whole time i was there....i felt like a kid in a toy shop :). Even if you feel sad or depress in paris, you just have to walk into one of these patisserrie and you will be cheerred up immediatedly :). All that colors and smell of baking goods...my god! Its heaven to me! Just lovely! Yes i tried Pauls and its way better there compared to the one in singapore.

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Nice choice of museums! Did you see the "Orientalist painters" exhib at the Jewish museum? And yes, the Louvre is always crowded, unless you go to very specific departments (Egyptian mummies or antique pre-greek sculpture...).

Maybe, for your next trip, I might suggest some smaller and less known museums, which are nevertheless quiet and interesting?

Le Marais, today, is known for its nightlife (mainly gay), but there are lots of beautiful architectural items; ok, you have to find them... ^_^

Did you try Jewish pastries? Not really light, but original.

By the way, how was your brioche? :P

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Nice choice of museums! Did you see the "Orientalist painters" exhib at the Jewish museum? And yes, the Louvre is always crowded, unless you go to very specific departments (Egyptian mummies or antique pre-greek sculpture...).

Maybe, for your next trip, I might suggest some smaller and less known museums, which are nevertheless quiet and interesting?

Le Marais, today, is known for its nightlife (mainly gay), but there are lots of beautiful architectural items; ok, you have to find them... ^_^

Did you try Jewish pastries? Not really light, but original.

By the way, how was your brioche? :P

Oh yes i did...i specifically went to the jewish musee for the "orientalist painters" exhibit and it was very interesting to me. I was surprised to find that the exhibit on jewish settlement in that area during WWII was kinda small. I guess they are planning a more extensive display in the future? No i did not try jewish pastries this time round (yet another thing to try in my next visit :)). I should explore more of night life too. When i was there i spend most of the evenings at restaurants, usu abt 7.30 to 8pm till 10 pm, and whats nice is that the sun set pretty late this time of the year. I think the sun set abt 9.50pm. Wonderful! The other thing i really enjoyed was having my afternoon runs at the park. Cool weather and totally loving the tree-lined park.

Yes my brioche turned out well :). I used a classic recipe by rose barenbaum and it rose beautifully when it was baked. The texture was light and not too buttery. Its fun and easy to make as long as you have a stand mixer, and i highly recommend kitchenaid, the workhorse of any baker's kitchen. Am going to try using bread flour instead of all purpose flour next to give it more structure. I suspect the brioche i had in paris uses bread flour. Will experiment :).

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The "Orientalists" was a good exhibition, you are right. Some pretty good paintings, plus interesting socio-historical documents.

The permanent collections of the museum are maybe less interesting... I think they plan to extend the size and frequency of exhibitions.

You did not see Beaubourg (Centre Pompidou)? Maybe you are not into modern painting? They have splendid collections and fantastic exhibitions too. And the restaurant on the top is not bad, with one of the most beautiful views of Paris. But not sure you can make it for less han 50€... :(

What is this park where you ran? Buttes Chaumont? Bois de Vincennes? Jardin des Plantes? Another one?

Today, I had lunch with my bf at a new Korean restaurant he discovered in the "Japanese District". But I suppose you are not interested by such addresses?

Congratulations for your brioche. I was salivating while reading your description... :P

Sorry, I am quite unable to tell you what type of flour they use here for their brioche! :unsure:

Bonne nuit.

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The "Orientalists" was a good exhibition, you are right. Some pretty good paintings, plus interesting socio-historical documents.

The permanent collections of the museum are maybe less interesting... I think they plan to extend the size and frequency of exhibitions.

You did not see Beaubourg (Centre Pompidou)? Maybe you are not into modern painting? They have splendid collections and fantastic exhibitions too. And the restaurant on the top is not bad, with one of the most beautiful views of Paris. But not sure you can make it for less han 50€... :(

What is this park where you ran? Buttes Chaumont? Bois de Vincennes? Jardin des Plantes? Another one?

Today, I had lunch with my bf at a new Korean restaurant he discovered in the "Japanese District". But I suppose you are not interested by such addresses?

Congratulations for your brioche. I was salivating while reading your description... :P

Sorry, I am quite unable to tell you what type of flour they use here for their brioche! :unsure:

Bonne nuit.

Hmm for some reason I gave Pompidou a miss since I was'nt into modern art. but now thinking back I should have just visited. The musee de Picaso was closed for renovation and that was something I wanted to visit. Oh wasn't so much a park but mainly a small narrow strip with nice landscaping. I started running from Republique area down to Bastille and back up. Was nice to see the outdoor market at Bastille :) Lots of beautiful fresh produce from regional parts of France. Its not really a Farmer's market like those in the US as there were produce imported from Spain. Have you tried Berthillon ice cream? I heard it is the premium ice cream in Paris. i didnt get the chance to try it when I was there. In my next trip, I would like to try moroccan food. I see lots of moroccan restaurants at the area i was staying. Should be good :).

The labelling of French flour is different from the US. i think all-purpose flour is called 55 in France and bread flour is 80. i am on this french cooking/baking streak since i came back. Am gonna try making lemon madeleine next :) Now i need to dust off my madeleine pan which I hardly use hehe.

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Musée Picasso should be reopened in june next year. You might have seen lots of Picasso (plus others) in the exhibition of a private collection in Musée du Jeu de Paume (near Orangerie), but it was not much advertised.

Well, it's always useful to keep things to do for the next time... ;)

Your running strip was probably Boulevard Richard-Lenoir. Pleasant avenue.

And yes, the Bastille market is well known in the area.

Berthillon is sometimes said to be the best in Paris. Good ice-creams, but they are most reknown for their sorbets; I find them excellent. Many restaurants buy their sorbets there.

Another excellent one is RAIMO, near place Félix-Eboué. :P

There are lots of Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Lebanese...restaurants in Paris. I like that, too. Some good, some bad...

Do you need addresses?

And what anout Danish, Indian or Ouzbek ones? :D And we have also really good Chinese and Vietnamien ones...

I am admirative in front of your knowledge about flour! Did you clean your pan? How were the madeleines?

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Yes thats the short running strip I was at :). Hmm need to try berthillon ice cream and sorbet next time hehe. I think the main reason they are so good is because they use high quality ingredients in their ice-cream and no additives/preservatives. Ok will have to keep RAIMO in mind too.

Yeah I wouldnt mind trying couple of mid-eastern restaurants you can recommend :). but I think I will skip asian food there eventhough i know there are really good ones. I was kinda surprised to find that chinese cooked food is sold by weight there. Hmm must be rather expansive if I were to order two meats and one veg on a rice plate.

I am into baking alot so I tend to read everything about it. Theres so much to learn just the different types of flour and the protein and carbs content. That's interesting to me...am a food science geek. I am hugely impressed by French baking...they pay lots of details on techniques and presentation...it can be philosophical as well. I guess to appreciate french food better, one needs to understand the concept of terroir or the philosophical approach of french food. i am still trying to understand this concept. Very interesting.

Oh i decided to make chocolate macarons instead now hehe. I could not find my madeleine pan! When i was in paris, I tried macarons at Laduree...and my god...it was so freakin good. I tasted macarons in Sg before and thot nothing of it. So when i tried Laduree's macarons I was blown away at how fresh and great tasting they were. Of course my fav flavor is macaron framboise! hehe. I think they make the best macarons in the entire planet!

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I just discovered that Raimo recently opened two new shops :

17 rue des Archives 75004 (le Marais), and

65 Bd Saint Germain 75005 (Quartier Latin).

Same concept; I did not try them, but the comments are good.

Mid Eastern/Maghreb restaurants:

1- Chez Omar 47 rue de Bretagne 75003 (North of Marais); old typical Parisian bistrot frame, but they serve couscous, and it's good.

2- Oriental Feeling 102 rue de Bercy 75012 , strangely mixing kitsch and modern layouts, but good couscous and tajine.

Yes, they sell cooked food by weight at Chinese "traiteurs". But by individual portions in restaurants, of course. Is it different in Singapore?

And if you order different meats/fish with rice, you can ask for smaller quantities.

Anyway,I can understand that with all the good Asian restaurants you have in your country, you do not need to explore that cuisine in Paris... ^_^

Nice to discover that you are both an epicurian and an intellectual/ theorician! :clap: You concept of philosophical-driven cuisine is interesting, and probably right! It's even a kind of culture here :rolleyes: .

And the increasing efforts made on presentation appeared years ago, boosted by the opening of Japanese restaurants, which are good at that.

The ideal is to have both look and taste :P .

Ladurée macarons are excellent, I agree. Did you try Pierre Hermé's ones?

And at Fauchon, place de la Madeleine, they have also good ones, plus all kinds of luxury foods.

How were your macarons?

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Oh goodie! Thanks for the recommendations on resturants and locations of Raimo. I will try berthilon first before raimo :). Chinese food here is sold by number of items on plate that comes with rice. For example, if you have your meals at hawker centres, generally, one meat and two veg items woud be about S$2.80. This can go up to about $3.50 at food courts. You know, french really know how to cook their meats well. I remember my first meal in paris. It was a pan grilled salmon dish and the skin was crispy on the outide and slightly pink on the inside....it was just great! Moist and oh so delicious with sprinkles of fleur de sel! I luv lambs there. I have been telling friends that when they vsit paris, always try their lamb dishes especially if its the day's special. So fresh!

I visited pierre Herme but did not try his macaroons. I bought a slice if pistachio cake instead and it was amazing! I intend to make chocolate macarons this weekens and its a recipe from Pierre Herme! Will let u know how it turns out. Its all abt the techniques. I hope they turn out well...takes over two days as the macarons needs to rest overnight in the fridge to get them moist on the inside after they have been sandwiched with dark chocolate, varhona of course, ganche. :)

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Berthillon is more reknown than Raimo, but I really can't say which one I prefer... ^_^

Thanks for the info about how Chinese food is sold. I had not the opportunity to try that...

Glad you enjoyed our way of cooking meat. If you like lamb, they often serve it with moroccan "couscous".

I'll probably have some roasted lamb tonight at "Le Train Bleu", in Gare de Lyon. :P

Of course, all my modest tips will have to be updated within one year.

By the way, is there a typical Singaporean cuisine, or is it a mix of different cultures around?

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Oh yeah I luv couscous and kababs :) Singapore cuisine is indeed a mix of different cultures. The cuisines reflect the different groups of immigrants, comprising mostly of southern chinese, malays, and south indians. Most of the high end chinese restaurants are cantonese and teochew cuisines. I was in a baking spree this weekend. I finally found my madeleine pans and baked about 16 large ones...nice and plump :) I used a basic recipe by Dorie Greenspan. I also baked about a dozen orange berry muffins. I did tried chocolate macarons....but I failed :( I need to revisit that at some point again. Was so looking forward to it this morning but the batter just did not turn out well. Hmmm will try again. :)

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Thanks for the info. Last time in Singapore, I had mainly international business meals, but was lucky enough to try privately two Chinese restaurants and a "Singaporean" one (according to the concierge) in some hotel. All were excellent! :P

I don't remember whether the Chinese ones were Cantonese, Teochew or other...

Congrats for your madeleines and muffins! You make me hungry... ^_^

Too bad for the macarons! They say it's not the easiest thing to cook... :unsure:

I found on a French website the recipe of chocolate macarons from Ladurée, but it's in French, and they say it's rather "delicate"... :blink:

If you are interested and want to try, I might translate it and send it to you. I hope you'll be able to understand my approximative English.

Do not hesitate to ask.

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Next time when you are planning a visit to Singapore let me know and I can recommend a couple of teochew and cantonese restaurants :). Yes...madeleines were easy to make and next time am gonna infuse it with different flavours :). Thanks for offering to translate the site from Laduree. I think I will experiment making macarons again and see how it goes. I have been reading extensively online on tips and troubleshooting in making these little sweet thingy. My chocolate macarons tasted fine with nice shell and slightly chewy interior but its lacking the quinessential "foot". So it looks more like an american whoopie pie instead. I am determined to produce the perfect macaron now...its like a quest for me. hehe It really is a test of baker's skill when making these things. :) I just found out that the macarons we know today were created by the founder of Laduree :).

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Thanks; no immediate plans to visit Singapore again, but I'll certainly ask your restaurants addresses when I go. :P

You are right, the recipe (even if it is most detailed) is not all. Sometimes, there is also the "tour de main" (= "trick"?) of the chef.

If I understand correctly, you try again macarons with your original recipe? I am sure you will succeed this time. :thumb:

Do not hesitate to tell me if you want the translation from Ladurée.

Bon appétit! ;)

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Guest Passingthru

Macarons. Don't know if you've seen this:

It has become quite widespread now to call them macaroons, which, although related, are different. Speaking of which, should you get tired of piping those little discs, why not take a break and bake some japonaise. They taste gorgeous filled with vanilla chantilly and rummed/brandied raisins( Soak raisins in desired alcohol and sugar for a week or more. ) and covered with a chocolate mirror glaze or simple ganache.

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Thanks; no immediate plans to visit Singapore again, but I'll certainly ask your restaurants addresses when I go. :P

You are right, the recipe (even if it is most detailed) is not all. Sometimes, there is also the "tour de main" (= "trick"?) of the chef.

If I understand correctly, you try again macarons with your original recipe? I am sure you will succeed this time. :thumb:

Do not hesitate to tell me if you want the translation from Ladurée.

Bon appétit! ;)

I will be using a basic recipe this time. Jus need to get it right. Now i understand why these little suckers are so expensive haha. Takes time to actually make them. Was doin my research and the process starts by aging the egg whites for abt two to three days. There is also a resting period of up to an hour after piping the batter to allow formation of skin on the shell. This can be longer depending on humidity of the room. Once assembled with fillings, it better to let it rest in fridge for a day before serving. This is to allow flavor and moisture to be absorbed by the shell to make them taste even yummier :). I just made my own lemon curd and will be using them as filling for my macaron this weekend;). Hope it works this time :).

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Macarons. Don't know if you've seen this:

It has become quite widespread now to call them macaroons, which, although related, are different. Speaking of which, should you get tired of piping those little discs, why not take a break and bake some japonaise. They taste gorgeous filled with vanilla chantilly and rummed/brandied raisins( Soak raisins in desired alcohol and sugar for a week or more. ) and covered with a chocolate mirror glaze or simple ganache.

Hmm sounds interesting. Might give it a try after i mastered my macarons hehe. Thnks for suggestion.

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I will be using a basic recipe this time. Jus need to get it right. Now i understand why these little suckers are so expensive haha. Takes time to actually make them. Was doin my research and the process starts by aging the egg whites for abt two to three days. There is also a resting period of up to an hour after piping the batter to allow formation of skin on the shell. This can be longer depending on humidity of the room. Once assembled with fillings, it better to let it rest in fridge for a day before serving. This is to allow flavor and moisture to be absorbed by the shell to make them taste even yummier :). I just made my own lemon curd and will be using them as filling for my macaron this weekend;). Hope it works this time :).

Your description is appetizing!

I am sure you will succeed this time. Keep us informed!

Btw, about Giverny: I just went for an exhibition ("Maurice Denis") in the Musée des impressionnismes.

Took the opportunity to revisit Monet's house; not many Monet inside, but lots of excellent Japanese stamps (Hiroshige, Hokusai, Utamaro...).

And a nice restaurant in a nearby village; profiterolles were to die for! :P

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Am happy to report that I have successfully made macarons! Yes i was so happy to see the formation of "foot" half way thru baking. Thru the process i found that the two most impt things to note are the proper folding of the almond icing sugar mixture to the whipped egg whites and the resting period after piping of the macarons. The folding of the flour mixture into the whipped egg whites, a process known as macaronage, has to be done carefully and not over fold or it will become runny. For the resting period, i had to place my piped macarons in air-conditioned room to shorten the drying process. Sg is just way too humid to let them dry at room temp. The consistency is not as good as those of Laduree of course...but good enough for me hehe. I made two types of macarons, one with lemon curd filling and one with dark chocolate ganache :).

Oh i want to visit paris again! Still missin the place badly! So inspirational! The profiterolles sound wonderful ;).

Edited by windanseaguy
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Congratulations! With all your skills, you were sure to succeed; your previous try was just the necessary draft... :clap:

The problem is with Singapore hygrometry, or temperature? Or both?

I would like to taste your macarons!

You are welcome to come back here. We'll be happy to buy you some desserts (plus the meal before ^_^ ).

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Thanks for your kind invitation :). U know just the other day i had french food at a restaurant here and its jus not the same. I guess it s not just the food preparation but also the atmosphere and weather are not the same here. I should jus eat asian food and wait till i am in paris for french food :). Even the french pastry here is kinda disappointing. The only exception is croissant at maison kayser which is similar to the one i had in paris. Pastries at Paul boulangerie here is not that good either. Hmm am i getting too picky? Anyway, am making another batch of macarons again today. Gonna bring them to work tmr and share. I usu dont eat my own creation. Just a bite for taste and i give the rest away. Need to maintain my figure hehe.

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You are welcome. I just hope you'll have a better weather next year; it's hard to believe that we are in summer here... :(

I agree, the atmosphere must have some influence. I generally do not try French restaurants abroad, but I find Chinese restaurants (slightly) better in China - and Singapore, of course! - Japanese ones better in Japan, Italian ones better in Italy... Well, of course, you have good and bad ones everywhere. What kind of French food did you try? Was the chef French?

You are right, with all your experiences, you probably have developped your taste, and start to be picky... ;) I'll have to be careful when I invite you next year! ^_^

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Oh hows summer weather over there? When i was there in mid june, it was kinda chilly with ave temp at 15oC. Its nice though cause i could layer up. :). Anyway, am gonna try making chocolate macaron (recipe from davd lebovitz), greentea macaron (japanese recipe) and macaron framboise (recipe from Laduree) soon. I wished i could upload my recent macaron pics but am not sure how to do it here using my ipad. Will keep u posted. :)

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Summer here is rotten, non-existent, cold...18°C this morning, and we are in July! :yuk:

Well, it's better in the South-East (Provence); I'll go there soon.

15°C is nice for jogging and walking, provided you have no rain... :angry: But maybe you are accustomed to rain? ;)

I had tried green tea macarons in Tokyo, quite good!

I agree, lots of things are difficult with iPad. :wacko: I hope you'll succeed in posting your shots. If not, maybe you can pm me with the picture?

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Thanks for your kind invitation :). U know just the other day i had french food at a restaurant here and its jus not the same. I guess it s not just the food preparation but also the atmosphere and weather are not the same here. I should jus eat asian food and wait till i am in paris for french food :). Even the french pastry here is kinda disappointing. The only exception is croissant at maison kayser which is similar to the one i had in paris. Pastries at Paul boulangerie here is not that good either. Hmm am i getting too picky? Anyway, am making another batch of macarons again today. Gonna bring them to work tmr and share. I usu dont eat my own creation. Just a bite for taste and i give the rest away. Need to maintain my figure hehe.

No, you're not getting too picky. The reason the French cuisine & patisserie in this part of the world are different is because,

- the ingredients are different. "Sakura" chicken is not the same as poulet Bresse, ditto beef from wherever isn't Charolais, wild thyme from Southern France can't be replicated with the ones from Genting.....etc.

- harvesting, transport & transit of ingredients affects the taste. The further they need to travel, the worse. This is especially true for wines.

- air conditioning is no replacement for real crisp air from nature. Your nasal abilities will be affected and hence taste too.

- due to cost considerations, many short cuts are taken which will make a discenible difference to taste.

- the cooks are different.

The trick is to cooking French locally is to use ingredients which are as 'local' as possible. Egs, instead of lavender in a sauce, use torch ginger flower; pomelo + kaffir lime rind instead of grapefruit( no, it won't taste Thai if the right methods & philosophy are employed! ); top quality threadfin is far better than frozen cod or imported trubot....etc.

Maintain your figure by selling your creations. The stress and familliarity involved will prevent you from eating them while you make some money to add to your holiday budget!

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No, you're not getting too picky. The reason the French cuisine & patisserie in this part of the world are different is because,

- the ingredients are different. "Sakura" chicken is not the same as poulet Bresse, ditto beef from wherever isn't Charolais, wild thyme from Southern France can't be replicated with the ones from Genting.....etc.

- harvesting, transport & transit of ingredients affects the taste. The further they need to travel, the worse. This is especially true for wines.

- air conditioning is no replacement for real crisp air from nature. Your nasal abilities will be affected and hence taste too.

- due to cost considerations, many short cuts are taken which will make a discenible difference to taste.

- the cooks are different.

The trick is to cooking French locally is to use ingredients which are as 'local' as possible. Egs, instead of lavender in a sauce, use torch ginger flower; pomelo + kaffir lime rind instead of grapefruit( no, it won't taste Thai if the right methods & philosophy are employed! ); top quality threadfin is far better than frozen cod or imported trubot....etc.

Maintain your figure by selling your creations. The stress and familliarity involved will prevent you from eating them while you make some money to add to your holiday budget!

Wow! An expert's advice!

Passingthru, are you a professional French cook? ;)

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Yeah i agree..been reading a book on the history of french cuisine and explains why they are one if the best in the world. One of the main factors is the numerous micro climates within france and giving rise to mulititude and easy access to fresh and seasonal produce. That itself is a sourse of inspiration and creativitiy for french chefs there. So wonderful. Even the simple brioche there cant even compare to the ones here. Yeah that has to do with the type of flour and hence variety of wheat they use there. Its just like american biscuits in the american south can never be the same using available flour here in sg. :)

Edited by windanseaguy
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Well, ok, we have one of the best cuisines in the world... ^_^

But honestly, Chinese and Japanese cuisines are quite sophisticated too, from what I know. And (except maybe for desserts) it can be really excellent too.

They even start to have good wines in China, becoming a dangerous competitor for us. And I love Japanese whisky.

Tried yesterday a new Vietnamese restaurant; not bad...

Windandseaguy, did your colleagues appreciate your last creations?

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Yes they did. They enjoyed my lemon macarons and thot they were pretty good considering its my first successful batch after the third try. I jus took out the egg whites from the fridge this morning and gonna try making chocolate macarons again today. The egg whites have been aging since tues morning. The recipe am using is by david lebovitz. I prepared the dark chocolate ganache yesterday using 64% chocolates from valrhona :). Should taste good. I have another batch of egg whites in the fridge which am gonna use this weekend to make green tea macarons and macaron framboise. The macaron framboise recipe is from Laduree. Should be fun. Am so obssessed with makin these little suckers now hehe.

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I would like to have colleagues bringing me such cakes! But only old ladies do ... :unsure:

Please bring some here when you come here!

It's more than craftsmanship, it's really art. Keep us informed about the result for the green tea and the framboise macarons.

I dscovered a Vietnamese dessert composed of corn cooked with coco milk, cream , plus other things I could not identify. Quite good!

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Yumm..the vietnamese dessert sounds nice :). I luv vietnamese cuisine too. I think i out-macaroned myself this weekend. I was a macaron making machine, experimenting with different recipes. I finally made beautiful chocolate macarons based on David Lebovitz's recipe. Its pretty much foolproof and do not even have to age the egg whites. I highly recommend this recipe to anyone who wants to make chocoloate macarons. Jus use high quality chocolates and they are a delight! I used valrhona dark chocolate, at least 64%, for the ganache filling and organic Black & Green cocoa powder in the almond shell. Next i made green tea macarons with two types of fillings: a dark chocolate ganache and a white chocolate-green tea ganache. I have to say the pairing with the white chocolate-green tea ganache was exquisite! The color of the shell came from green tea powder so its all natural. :). I also made macaron framboise using Laduree's recipe but it turned out bad....no feet! Hmm something went wrong. Anyway, am going to use the basic recipe i am used to. With macarons, you really have to use high quality ingredients. Thats my take.

Been teaching myself french history by watching documentaries on youtube...very interesting and makes me appreciate the place even more now. Am still looking for a good documentary on french cuisine but cant find any. Maybe i should write to History Channel to do one :).

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French cuisine as we know it, how it's organized and its fame really began with Escoffier. Anything before that was not very standardized. The "marketing" and image was largely attributed to the nobility, especially the English in the 19th century and in the latter half of the 20th by Americans. Beverages like bordeaux( claret ) and cognac( brandy ), for eg, have the British to thank for their globalisation.

It is precisely the standardization of terms and methodology which gives French cuisine its strength, flexibility and hence, longevity.

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Yes, the Vietnamese dessert was pleasant. According to my Viernamese friends and to what I see here, they have not many desserts, but this one was very delicate.

Windandseaguy, did you identify what went wrong with Ladurée's recipe?

And I agree, better using high quality ingredients, not only for macarons... ^_^

We have some documentaries/series about cuisine here, but they are in French... :unsure: And I don't think they will be available, neither in Singapore nor in English.

I'll try to look around if you are interested.

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