Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve. The turkey's in the oven. Treats from friends are being enjoyed. All yummy. Here's one gift I did not want to rip into. Too pretty to eat...

...but we did!!! The gingerbread was yummy. Thank you, Heidi, of Heidi's Cookie Creations. 

And for those wondering if we ate them all in one sitting - we'll never tell.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Din Tai Fung - Bellevue, Washington

We got to try Din Tai Fung in Bellevue in November. The food was very good, very similar in quality to the DTF in Shanghai's Xintiandi area and to Shanghai River in Richmond. Here are some pictures.

The XLB - done just right

The best beef noodle soup

Pan fried flat rice noodle

Pork and noodle

Wonton in soup

France - Day 13

Today was our last day in France. Marissa and I had plans to attend our cooking class at La Cuisine Paris. We were going to learn how to make croissants, almond croissants, and pain au chocolat. This cooking school is incredible. The owners and instructor were friendly and made us get our hands into the dough. After we finished baking the croissants, we were served tea and coffee and we ate our creations.

I would like to show pictures - unfortunately, they are MIA. How disappointing. If you want to view pictures and check out this cooking school, go to: http://www.lacuisineparis.com/

After class, we met up with Mark and Kiki. We had lunch at an Italian eatery on rue Montogeuil. Then we headed to E. Dehillerin, which is the kitchen supply store that Julia Child frequented during her days at the Cordon Bleu. This place is unbelievable. Every square inch in this store is stocked with pots, pans, molds, whisks - just about everything you can imagine that has to do with kitchen supplies. Marissa bought a wooden rolling pin for 7 Euros. We also got a 10% discount because we were students at La Cuisine Paris. (I later found out how cheap that wooden rolling pin was after visiting Williams-Sonoma and seeing a similar one for $40 USD.) Here are some pictures we took of E.Dehillerin:

We spent the last parts of our afternoon strolling around rue de Rivoli, rue Montogeuil, and then back to the hotel. We had to pack. We had a morning flight the next day. After packing, we headed out to dinner. What did we choose??? Chinese food. The girls and Mark missed Chinese food and needed a fix. We walked down the street and found a Chinese restaurant. This is what's so fabulous about this Republique area. It's bustling with activity and everything close. It was not a good Chinese meal but it satisfied the family. Here are some pictures.

The steamed dumplings had such thick dough

The stir fried bok choy were OK

Chicken with a chili sauce - it was OK

The potstickers were OK

France - Day 12

On this day, we discovered the shoe street...a long street, rue Meslay, dedicated to shoe shopping for retail and wholesale. It was a few minutes' walk from our Crowne Plaza hotel.

I bought 3 pairs of shoes, Marissa and Kiki each bought 3 pairs as well. Mark just shook his head and held our bags. Poor guy.

We then headed to another popular neighbourhood, rue Montogeuil. Here, lots of shops and restaurants line the long street.

We spent a long day walking. We went back to our hotel to get freshened up for our reserved dinner seating at La Regalade St. Honore.

The cornichons (tiny gherkin cucumbers)

The pate

Bread

The risotto in squid ink starter (Mark and Marissa had this)

My duck starter

Kiki's lasagna starter (hands-down, the best out of all of the starters)

Here are our entrees. I don't remember each dish in detail, as they were very complicated.

 The desserts...

The Grand Marnier souffle - what this restaurant is well known for. Mark and Marissa had this.

Kiki's raspberry yogourt dessert

My sweet figs - very nicely done

Madeleines, which came with our check.

Post-dinner pictures...
 

France - Day 11

Today, we checked out of the fabulous Le Castel Nobel Guesthouse, left Bayeux to return to Paris.

We stopped in Caen for lunch, hoping to have lunch at Bouchon du Vaugueux again. However, they were closed. So we ate here, an Italian restaurant:

Mark had the Margherita pizza

Marissa had the spaghetti boulagnaise

Kiki and I had the spaghetti in in a lemon/garlic/olive oil

Everything was topped with arugula. Luckily, I love arugula because it seems to be the current lettuce of choice in France, as it's served everywhere.

We arrived back in Paris, mid-afternoon, and checked into the Crowne Plaza Republique. We had to book two rooms as it's difficult to secure a room with two double or two queen beds. Very unlike North America. The hotel was very nice, and customer service was amazing. We slept very well in this hotel.

That evening, we stayed close to the hotel and ate at a nearby pub/grill as recommended by the concierge. I forgot the name, but here's what we had:

Mark and I ordered the same thing - a chicken curry - excellent!

Marissa and Kiki ordered the same thing - a ravioli dish - which they enjoyed too.

And that was our day. Pretty restful. Which was good. Because the following day had a lot to do with walking and shoes...

France - Day 10

We started the morning in Bayeux with a breakfast at a local bakery a short walk from Le Castel Nobel Guesthouse. Here are some items from their bakery and chocolatier:

We then set out for the day to Mont St. Michel, about an hour's drive from Bayeux. Mont St. Michel is a monastery built by monks by hand. In the evening, the tide comes in and the monastery is isolated into an island.

I knew this place is a tourist attraction...but the crowds were more than I ever thought

A view from the top of the monastery

All these cars must move out before the tide comes in in the early evening - otherwise, they'd be underwater

 

After touring Mont St. Michel, we returned to Bayeux and had dinner at our favourite crepe place, L'Insolite. Another amazing meal.