Another Year Wiser...

Last weekend I celebrated another year wiser, another year older. Some dear readers may have already guessed my age. If you need a hint, read my post about Rio de Janeiro where ousted myself about my age. So there you have it... I celebrated a milestone birthday last Saturday.

In the past we always celebrated our birthdays by taking a trip aboard: Tokyo, Marrakech, Barcelona, Damascus, and Rio de Janiero. We originally planned a weekend getaway to the south of France, but seeing how unpredictable our schedules are these days and the fact we have to renew our now 10 year old passports at some this spring, I instead opted for a quiet birthday celebration in London in case our passports were held up at the US Embassy.

I spent the last few hours of my 20s with our couple friend whom we met when we first moved to London at my favourite Clapham pub, The Sun. And, on the first day of my 30th year, London gave me the best gift I could ever ask for: sunshine. After a hazy morning, the sky opened up to beautiful blue skies, a lovely reminder that spring (hopefully) is around the corner. We also had my favourite houseguest and paw friend, Haile, stay with us for the week while her parents were away in Berlin. We spent the better part of the day playing with Haile in Clapham Common under the afternoon sun and walking off the calories consumed from our All-American lunch at Byron Burger on Northcote Road.

Later in the afternoon Keenan surprised me with a birthday cake from Patisserie Valerie, a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne, and a birthday present: a stainless steel All-Clad Roaster to complete my collection. This was a special treat since we’re not big on exchanging birthday, anniversary, or Christmas gifts. As long as we’re childless, we promised to celebrate special occasions by splashing out on a fancy meal or travelling. I’m looking forward to this All-Clad’s “maiden” roast, so who’s coming over for dinner?

We had dinner at Wild Honey, a one-star Michelin restaurant tucked away on a quiet street in Mayfair. Like its sister restaurant, Arbutus which we been to many moons ago to celebrate our first wedding anniversary and one-year Londoniversary, Wild Honey specialises on modern European cuisine using seasonal ingredients.

The atmosphere was much more upscale with neutral hues and wood-panelling throughout than lively brasserie-style Arbutus in Soho. Though the food at both restaurants are equally good, I enjoyed my experience at Arbutus due to its bustling atmosphere.

We started  off with  rabbit terrine and Dorset crab as starters. We both picked fish as our mains, mostly because we had our fill of veal and steak during our last trip to Paris. Keenan had the sea bass with grilled artichokes and I had the cod fillet with octopus. Both very lovely and went well with our crisp white wine. Since we had three-quarters of a birthday cake waiting at home, we shared the carrot and walnut cake with coffee ice cream to round out the meal.

I had a wonderful day and thank you all for the kind birthday wishes. Cheers to the next decade and hopefully it would be filled with more adventures, travels, and laughter.

Cheers from London, L.

 

Midnight in Paris

 

Paris is a lovely city and full of surprises too! Two Fridays ago, I took the Eurostar after work to meet Keenan in the City of Lights for a short weekend getaway. He had arrived earlier in the day for a business meeting and kindly checked us into the l'Empire, a boutique hotel off of Rue du Rivoli in the 1st arrondisement. The stylish room at this smart hotel was extremely spacious by European standards with a king-sized bed, fluffy duvet, and a big flat screen TV. It was a very comfortable stay and the location couldn't be better, just a stone's throw away from the Louvre. 

Alighting at Gare du Nord at 9:30 pm, I made my way to the 11th arrondisement for dinner of steak and frites at Bistro Paul Bert, a much-loved and lively neighbourhood restaurant serving up classic Parisian dishes. The three-course menu costs €36 which is considered good value for Paris in my opinion. We started off with foie gras and beef carpaccio as appetizers, and then moved on to our mains: a juicy well-flavoured steak for Keenan and a slightly over-cooked veal for me, but still solid French cooking, paired with medium-bodied Bordeaux red. Desserts at Bistro Paul Bert were amazing (and huge!). We ordered the chocolate souffle and the house specialty "Paris Beast," a donut-shaped puff pastry filled with luscious chocolate hazelnut cream. It was enough sugar to put both of us into a diabetic coma, but it was so delicious. Ummmm...

The next morning we indulged in some retail therapy by taking advantage of the late winter sales in Paris. While strolling along Rue du Rivoli looking for a wine shop, I randomly ran into my friend from graduate school whom I haven't seen since I moved to London. Turns out she is currently living New York City working for the World Economic Forum and was in Geneva for work but was also visiting Paris for the weekend. Completely random, but I was so happy to see my friend and grateful for the opportunity to catch up on life over a delicious falafel from L'as du Falafel the next day.

Little did I know, my childhood best friend's niece, who is also my kid sister's good friend, was also in Paris that weekend to celebrate her birthday (look at these jet-setting kids!). I offered to take her and her boyfriend to Angelina's for afternoon tea but she respectfully declined as it was a short 5 day trip and they had an ambitious itinerary for the day.  To top it off, another friend from graduate school who lives in Paris had her second daughter that weekend. Paris really is full of love and surprises!

All the excitement for the day was making me hungry for lunch. We walked to Da Rosa, a great little restaurant known for its signature hams from Spain and Italy, in the fashionable Saint Germain-des-Pres neighbourhood. We meant to have a quick-ish lunch of a charcuterie of Iberico ham, manchego cheese, and foie gras, but ended up lingering around for hours over a bottle of 2009 Baume de Venise. We also got gelato from Grom, which is my favorite gelateria in Florence. Be careful...if you step on to Rue de Siene, you may leave 5 lbs heavier. 

We continued our foodie extravaganza with dinner at Rino's, which is also located in the 11th arrondisement. Here at Rino, the cooking is modern European with an emphasis on Italian flavours. Rino is a small 20 seat restaurant with basic decor on creme walls and a jovial atmosphere -- all Parisians except for us and another table of New Yorkers. You can pick from the four-course (€38) or the six-course (€55) menu. We opted for the ladder with the six-course tasting menu -- I'll let the photos speak for itself. The flavours were subtle, fresh, and sophisticated; in fact it reminded me alot of Californian cuisine. It turned out that one of the chefs at Rino previously worked at Zuni Cafe and Bar Tartine in San Francisco, hence the strong Californian-Italian influence. We left the restaurant relaxed and happy, if slightly annoyed that the machine didn't read our UK credit cards and we had to pull cash from a nearby ATM. Overall, very good restaurant.

 

 

As per usual when we visit Paris -- it was a beautiful Sunday morning. We followed our Sunday-in-Paris ritual, albeit lazy ritual: sleeping-in, lunch at L'as du Falafel, riverside walk along the Siene, window-shop on Champ de Elyse, afternoon drinks, quick dinner, and then the Eurostar home to London. Eating and drinking on Sundays in Paris is always tricky but this time we found an adorable little cafe/bar just behind the Lourve called Le Fumoir. The handsome leather chairs and dark decor gave this bar a cosy library feel. A great spot to rest your feet after a long day of sightseeing or shopping. 

Another wonderful weekend in Paris, and a bonus for running into my grad school friend. We'll be back in no time as we're taking my kid sister to Paris in June as an early graduation present. I can't wait to enjoy the long summer days in Paris. Until then, I'll be sure to watch Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. à bientôt Paris!