Yam'Tcha

Shrimps from Mozambique with Korean mushrooms and a garlic sauce

Fresh seasonal asparagus with pan-fried foie gras and mustard leaves

Fillet of beef

Chevalier with pok choi

Olive oil cake with milk ice cream



The future next cult resto in Paris, Yam'Tcha, will no doubt figure in next week's Figaro (3 hearts I'm sure), Le Fooding, express, etc etc . Adeline Grattard, who worked with Yannick Aléno at the Hotel Scribe (pre-Meurice), Astrance and Bo Innovation in Hong Kong , does a subtle cuisine, somewhere between asia and France in a nice little space not far from the Louvre. For lunch, there is a 30€ meni, and in the evening there are 45€ discovery menus and 65€ tasting menus (5 dishes) . This evening, the menu consisted of an amuse bouche of soy with smoked tofu and coriander, shrimp with korean mushrooms and a garlic sauce, fresh , seasonal asparagus with pan-fried foie gras, filet of beef with some sort of asian eggplant, and an excellent olive oil infused cake with milk ice cream...The name means 'drink tea' and Adeline's husband proposes a number of different teas throughout the meal, prepared in three different infusions.

yam'Tcha.
4 rue Sauval, 75001
+33 1 40 26 08 07

19 hours

If you knew an asteroid was on a destruction path with the earth in nineteen hours, would it change anything? What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Do you really think that we would change, even in the face of ultimate destruction? Would we continue with the same status quo or give in to our every desire and temptation, or embrace that which we love? Or continue along the same path and ignore the essential.

Well, an asteroid did crash with the earth the other day, and astronomers knew only a short time before.

Maybe we need an asteroid every day.

Sunday

Not enough sport recently. So today, wake up, one coffee. My sit up regime (ouch). Plain penne for lunch. Bike ride along canal to La Villette while multitasking : listening to music (Paris Sunset 7) and writing the two articles (in my head) that I owe NYLON for tomorrow morning. All the while planning secret surprises and dreading work tonight.

Alain Ducasse

It's hard to say no when (arguably) the world's best chef invites you to test the cuisine of his flagship restaurant. Despite the fact that I'm very critical of all these super-chefs opening global franchises, microwave "gourmet" food and consult from everything from cruise ships to chips, Ducasse's gastro hit all the right notes. Good humored impeccable service (yes, they noticed I eat left handed), great wines (can't complain when you're plied by 2005 Riesling Grand Cru, 2004 Chablis, 2001 Chateauneuf-du-Pape and an insane Pineau des Charentes....


Patrick Jouin "exploded" chandelier


Live langoustines, soon to become...


...Formerly live langoustines ...topped with Iranian Oscietre caviar and accompanied by a ginger broth


Scallops with caramelized endives and black truffle


Line caught sea bass with "prébelle" green asparagus, peas and fevettes


Pithiviers game pie with (copious) black truffle, foie gras a Périgueux sauce


I've heard of truffled salads before, but this is ridiculous! A salad inside a package of shaved black truffle


Fresh forest picked strawberries with a coconut sablé and ice cream

“Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously!” -- Nietschze

Adrian just cleaned out his khaki 30L Brabantia poubelle while listening to Metallica tell him the sunshine never comes..

Nepenthe

I've always been fascinated with the word nepenthe, which I first encountered in the poetry of Baudelaire. The magic potion, which apparently drives away care and sorrow was first mentionned by Homer in the Odyssey when the wife of the King of Egypt Thonisgave nepenthe to Helen, son of Jove (also known as Jupiter and Zeus) and Leda, who was ravaged by the god , posing as a swan.. It is an elegant and poetic word coming from ne, not and penthos , grief or sorrow. Someone should market it, sure they'd make a killing.

I was just thinking of this word on the metro home from a night's work, looking at the people going to and from their lives, not a joyous face in sight, from the girl seated next to me who was twenty and had the demeanor and bearing of a tired woman of twice her age, the Chinese kid from the 'burbs with the bleached blond mop echoeing a Japanese kid from Harajuku, head bobbing to the hip-hop he was droning out to, the woman who resembled something between a witch and a teacher, with her prematurely greyed hair, and long drawn out face, and the woman seated across from me, who couldn't help but stare at me for some reason, finding me surely strange for some reason, me tired after this night shift, waiting to get home, and do what..stay up and think, write, maybe hit the bike, maybe not, read, listen to music in front of this screen..Tell me if I'm boring you

Random thoughts

The other day I passed an old man sitting in the street. I was stopped in my tracks by his eyes, beautiful and green and full of sadness. Reminded me of the little girl on the National Geographic cover years back when I was a child. Back in the the days when my only porn was that stack of my Dad's National Geos under the stairs where I'd gawk at the bare-breasted African ladies making handicrafts in front of their mud huts. Simple life. Does that still exist? I want it badly (the simple life that is!) (Never could figure out the guys with the gourds on their private parts though maybe I could get used to it given time.... ;) )

Sunday morning

Sitting in my bed with my mac finishing up the MONOCLE 25/25 guide to Paris. Beautiful day outside but unfortunately I am going to spend most of it sleeping as I'm on nights for the next two weeks. Sometimes it's not too good to be all alone with your thoughts too, hence a one hour intensive bike ride along the Canal is probably what I need, then to sleep perchance to dream., but I'd rather be having late breakfast in bed and watching bootleg movies and my favorite cartoons all day long...

Best Pizza in Paris? Alice Pizza

Funny how once an address gets "discovered", everybody and his uncle takes a stab at writing an article on it, pretty much all within the same week. I had lunch today at Alice Pizza, a cozy little place just steps away from the Anvers metro station and Paris' red-light disctrict. The charming owner, Tahar is half-Brazilian and half Algerian, and discovered his love of pizza in Parma, where he received some training from a world famous pizza maker. The pie I took, with a gorgonzola/marzipan cream, rocket, a raspberry/balsamic vinegar, and shaving of aged Parmesan was one of the best, probably the best I've had for a very, very long time. After, to digest, a little trot to visit with Denise Acabo at her shop L'Etoile d'Or, where I got some Genin caramels in gingembre, framboise and vanille, and some Bernachon caramel milk chocolate bars. For those who don't know this shop, it's a interesting experience. Denise is over 70, and in the 36 years she's been running the shop, she's dressed like a schoolgirl (plaid skirt, pigtails and schoolgirl tie) and is a real character, passionate about what she does, and tutoying everyone who comes into the shop.

Alice Pizza
4 rue Dancourt
+33 1 42 54 29 20

L'Etoile d'Or
30 rue Pierre Fontaine
+33 1 48 74 59 55

Thanks for the coverage peeps, not sure the 'Gastronomic Circlejerk' moniker will win me many fans, but hey, it's got a nice ring to it...but, then again, when have I ever cared what people thought of my blog...?

So here it is : "Not a Gastronomic Circlejerk" (copyright)

It's official! Michelin Red Guide 2009 results

Please be aware that this is a simple translation in English of the Michelin Red Guide (Paris-centric) results announced by gastronomic demi-God François Simon in this morning's Figaro! Bon app!

New One Stars
Fogon
Le Jules Verne
35 ° Ouest
L'Arôme
etc...
Agapé
Bigarrade

New Two Stars
L'Espadon
Gordon Ramsey

New Three Star
Le Bristol