Return to Joël Robuchon's Atelier at Etoile...

This is my second trip to the same restaurant: to check if the menu has evolved and also to confirm my memories of the culinary works there. Well, since February, the menu has changed and I actually like this one better because it is more flavouful, or maybe because I like autumn ranges more...

 The winding mirrored staircase is always fanciful and très Parisian chic...

 No changes here. I chose a three-course menu for 43 euro and from experience, I can hardly finish them so I really can't go for the dégustation eventhough I would have loved to...

 Some touch of autumn colours on the decors...

 shot of foie gras and Parmesan foam - their classic amuse gueule...

Absolutely loved this entrée: a poached egg and some Iberian flavour (the ham). I am so absolutely stealing this recipe for my next dinner with friends chez moi...

 the lovely silken potato purée

 Strong on flavour - grilled beef with vegetables. The sauce has a tinge of the sea, probably from use of anchovies in the preparation. It reminded me of the Chinese oyster sauce found in Chinese braised pork dishes and the overall impression denotes a rather Oriental feel to the dish...

 Royal Gala apple in different manifestations: a granita and a tart.

 to finish...

Visit the restaurant at this address: http://www.joel-robuchon.com/fr/restaurants-paris-atelier-etoile.php

The Journey...(1)

I had a week in France in the Franche-Comté region and as usual, the trajectory starts from CDG to Gare de Lyon to Besançon... 

 Le Train Bleu, a fancy upper-market restaurant without Michelin stars at the Gare de Lyon, but costing like one...

 Old fashioned clock at the train station - still another 2 and a half hours to burn...

 Many pigeons live in the streets of Paris, this one came perching on the information booth and stared down at the voyagers...

Permutations of colours from end of summer: the Burgundy landscape was dotted with harvested fields waiting for the plough and autumnal rains...

I was lucky to be given a MAS ticket because the pilots of Air France are having a full-throttled strike lasting for more than a week. 

Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival

Au nom de la fête (In the name of the festival), we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival with some friends at home with an Italian menu...

 Simple and clean set-up as usual

 bit of Mid-Autumn Festival details to remind everyone of the traditional festival...someone saw the "Ling Kok"( a kind of water chestnut but has horns) and quipped "Oh, that reminds me of my childhood..."

 The "Ling Kok", translated literally means Holy Horns. It is actually a floating aquatic plant with triangular leaves and these fruiting bodies are hard as horns and they droop into the water from the plants' floating body. We used to play with these when we were small.

 Yams from China - these are specially used for the Mid-Autumn Festival and are not found throughout the year.

 A sort-of bean soup from cannelini, borlotti and chick peas. The stock is a mix of onions, tomato sauce and lamb bits.

 Antipasti of ripe fig, kumato, roquette, yellow cherry tomatoes, dried sausage and Pecorino cheese.

A carbonara of tagliatelle home-made.

 Pan-fried Dory, seasoned with lemon, herbes de Provence on a bed of baby French beans. The beans are highlighted with lemon zest and fresh onions. The cooking jus was made by deglazing the pan with some white wine and fresh orange juice.

We skipped the salade and went straight to the dessert: chocolate cake with orange sauce.

Beaubourg VI: The Post-Impressionists (II) Kandinsky

My personal favourite at the Beaubourg was Kandinsky...

Impression V, 1911

With a black arch, 1912

Bild mit rotem Fleck, 1914

Im Grau, 1919 (In the gray)

Gelb-Rot-Blau, 1925

Bleu de ciel, 1940

Trente, 1937

Nostalgia on Merdeka Day at Fraser's Hills...

 For a change of air, and also to meet up with a friend, we drove up to Fraser's Hills on Merdeka Day. We were greeted by a late evening shower and cool crisp air after that. Hunger crept in and so we went for an early dinner with a friend...

 We went to Mr. Leong's restaurant called (a literale translation from Chinese) " Eating Shop". No one can miss it as it is the first shop as you arrive at Fraser's Hills.

 The cahirs are still the original ones but generally, everything seems to be crumbling...I came here quite often in my youth with my friends. We used to take our motorbikes up the hills on holidays and it was a real thrill....

The old clock is still ticking...

 Lattice works on the wall are still conserved...otherwise the shop had almost lost its original Hainanese coffee shop allure...

A "Kung Fu" chair

 Fried rice - like old times

Egg Fu Yung

Vege grown by Mr. Leong: sweet potato leaves