A few places to eat in Paris

The last time I visited Paris, nearly ten years ago, I ate utter garbage.

Well that is except for all those baguettes, croissants and crepes.

Thanks to the help of an untrustworthy travel guide, nearly every meal consisted of unmemorable, barely edible, overpriced slop.

The faint memory of duck in honey sauce with spaghetti at a dingy Montmartre restaurant still haunts me.

So, this time around, it’s thanks to the blogosphere (and a dash of T***advisor) that I didn’t eat a single dud meal.

Here are 3 of the most memorable places I ate:

L’As du Fallafel

Located in Le Marais, Paris’s Jewish Quarter, L’As du Fallafel reputedly serve the best falafel in the city. There are regularly huge queues and it’s a great option for a Sunday when much of the rest of the Paris closes for business.

A falafel special (€6) comprised of pillow soft pitta stuffed with golden falafel, tender roasted aubergines, supremely fresh salad, generous squirts of creamy tahini and a dollop of chilli sauce. I liked it so much that I ate there twice.

Relais de l’Entrecôte

More restaurants should take note of Relais de l’Entrecôte’s ethos that one thing done well is far better than lots of mediocre dishes.

In Relais de l’Entrecôte’s case they serve a no choice menu for €26.50 which consists of a starter of crisp salad dressed in a perfectly poised vinaigrette topped with radishes and walnuts.

For mains you’re served a tender sliced fillet steak. It’s not the most flavoursome piece of meat you’ll ever eat but its accompanying secret sauce is more addictive than Flappy Bird. Deeply savoury, meaty and buttery (yet not too rich) its secret ingredients are said to include chicken livers and a bucket load of thyme. Accompanying the steak was a mound of golden fries.

But, here’s the best thing, half of your steak is held back. So, once you’ve finished your first plate of steak and chips, you get another. 

Has anyone else had dreams about this kind of thing happening? 

Ok, just me.

There’s a wealth of choice for dessert (too much I suspect).

Profiteroles (€7) were light, stuffed with creamy vanilla ice cream and topped with a richness balancing bitter hot chocolate sauce.

An apple tart (€6.90) contained well-spiced tender fruit but was let down by a soggy bottom. The shame.

A shout out must also go to the house wine too – Mrs G’s pick of the entire holiday – which cost an almost reasonable €11.40 for a half bottle. 

There are 3 branches of Relais de l’Entrecôte (Champs-Élysées, Montparnasse and Saint-Germain-Des-Prés). Whilst there are frequently long queues due to their no reservations policy, there was none when we visited the Montparnasse branch at opening time (7pm). Saying that, the large restaurant filled up in about fifteen minutes.

Ladurée

I scoffed a box of both Ladurée and Pierre Hermé macarons (all in the interests of research) and the former won hands down.

Ladurée’s macarons are more interestingly flavoured and more refined in texture – they’re crisp, light and chewy in perfect harmony.

At €1,90 a pop they’re not cheap but they’re frigging lush.

My picks were warming ginger bread, sharp lemon and salted caramel with just the right amount of chew. 

Fondation Louis Vuitton

Okay, I didn’t eat at the Fondation Louis Vuitton but it’s a bloody impressive building. Designed by Frank Gehry and located in the Bois de Boulogne park, the Fondation is a spanking new contemporary art gallery that opened in October.

There were massive queues when we visited but we skipped them by paying a couple of extra euros to go into the Jardin d’Acclimatation and then used the self-service machines at the back entrance. 

The Details:

L’As du Fallafel - 34 rue des Rosiers, Paris

Relais de l’Entrecôte - 101 Boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris http://www.relaisentrecote.fr/

Ladurée - 16-18 rue Royale, Paris https://www.laduree.com/en_gb/

Fondation Louis Vuitton – 8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, Bois de Boulogne, Paris

My 10 most viewed blog posts of all time

After four years of blogging I’ve finally reached one million pageviews.

It’s been an interesting journey, one which has allowed me to indulge my all consuming obsession with food, and I’m grateful to those who’ve stuck with me through all the typos and dodgy meals.

Blah, blah, blah – enough of the heartfelt hokum.

A milestone like this demands a grand gesture… a listicle of my 10 most viewed posts of ALL TIME that I’ve cobbled together in 5 minutes.

Heaven knows why some of these posts have made it into the top ten. But hey ho, who am I to judge what you like to read? I’m just grateful for the pageviews.

So, here they are in a Top of the Pops style countdown of popularity:

10. In at number ten is Man v Food Night at the North Star. Why the hell did I eat that burger? Still, at least it makes a good anecdote.

9. At number nine it’s a list of a few more of my favourite places to eat in Cardiff. 

8. The defunct Mr G’s Soul Kitchen cooked tidy jerk chicken but their service could be more than a little slow. If you’ve found any other decent jerk chicken in the ‘Diff, give me a shout.

7. Fish at 85 serves banging fresh fish. Well, they did last time I visited – I think a new head chef has joined recently. 

6. Pared back British cooking, an atmospheric bank vault setting and a dangerously broad selection of gins make The Potted Pig one of Cardiff's hottest restaurants.

5. The Grazing Shed serves the best burger in Cardiff that I've eaten so far. However, I wish they served them medium like the first time I visited. 

4. I ♥ Hang Fire Smokehouse. Shauna and Sam’s BBQ is my favourite food in the whole of Cardiff.

3. The Smoke House Pontcanna are one of Cardiff’s other BBQ joints. It may be the most read BBQ post on my blog but it’s certainly not my favourite of places.

2. Can people please stop reading my brother’s guest post of The Gilbert Scott. Seriously, it’s done my younger sibling insecurity complex no good at all. 

1. And number 1 is…… the original list of my top ten places to eat in Cardiff. A listicle topping the charts in a listicle – this is all getting a bit meta.

Wahaca, Cardiff Mexican restaurant review

You know how the old saying goes…

MasterChef contestants are like buses – you wait ages for one and then they all come along at once.

In the space of just three weeks, MasterChef 2013 finalists Dale and Larkin have opened their high-end Chinese takeaway Hokkei on Crwys Road; MasterChef 2010 winner Dhruv Baker rocked up for a one-off supper club at Cafe Malaysia; and arguably the biggest news of all, MasterChef 2005 winner Thomasina Miers opened the first branch outside of London of her much-lauded Mexican street food chain, Wahaca.

Located in the heart of Cardiff city centre, Wahaca’s eclectically furnished multi-floor dining space has a great buzz. Murals, multi-coloured tiles and pot plants are all part of the décor mix whilst an evening no-reservation policy (snooze) means there’s a constant turnover of tables (there was a hefty queue by the time we left).

The menu comprises of two main sections – street food i.e. sharing plates where it’s suggested you order 2-3 per person and platos fuertes i.e. bigger plates which serve one or can be shared.

Both options are surprisingly good value with the smaller plates weighing in around £4 and the large plates £10.

Nibbles of light and airy quaver-like pork scratchings (£4.45) were served with a chunky and zingy guacamole. They’re arguably the best scratchings in Cardiff – except of course for JA pork crunch. 

The scrumptious scratchings were washed down with a selection of tequila-loaded drinks from the cocktail menu (well-priced with most around £6).

A pure classic margarita (£6.40) deftly balanced sweet, sour and booziness. 

Whilst a mojito (£6.25) with tequila substituted as the main ingredient (it was no worse for it) contained a generous kick of mint and a twist of lime. 

As is typical in small plate restaurants, dishes in Wahaca are brought out as and when they’re ready. Like our Masterchef contestants, they all arrived at once.

In the main, most of the dishes were very good – there were however a couple of standouts.

Alambres steak (£11.95) from the big plate section was the night’s big winner. Tender strips of steak, onions and peppers were deeply spiced with oregano and thyme whilst the addition of cheese, which had melted into the sauce, added velvetiness and richness. A solid selection of accompaniments – punchy chipotle salsa, sour cream, guacamole, warm soft tortillas, tortilla chips and shredded leaves - meant you could combine the different elements according to preference. 

The best of two taquito dishes (finely rolled and filled deep fried tacos) we ordered was a sweet potato and feta variety (£3.95) crammed full of earthy sweet potato and topped with tangy cheese, warming chipotle mayo and sour cream. 

Less remarkable but still delicious were a special of duck taquitos (£5.25) stuffed with an indulgently rich combination of confit duck and covered in a subtly chocolatey mole sauce and sour cream. 

Other tidy plates included herring tostadas (£4.20) which comprised of a pair of crisp deep-fried tacos topped with light tasting finely flaked smoked herring, shredded lettuce, sour cream and a delicately pickled cucumber. 

Pork pibil tacos (£4.10) saw soft corn tortillas topped with juicy, deeply flavoured shredded pork and potent purple pickled onions. 

A side of frijoles, twice-cooked soft and buttery black beans (£2.50), were topped with crema (a runnier, milder relation to sour cream) and crumbled cheese. 

The only disappointment was quesadillas stuffed with sautéed mushrooms, melted cheese and truffled corn (£3.95) which lacked the vibrancy and texture contrasts of the other sharing plates. 

Desserts were the least successful course of the night.

A chocalate tres leches cake (£4.95) was apparently soaked in three types of milk but tasted like a run of the mill warm chocolate sponge. However, the peanut butter ice cream it was topped with was cracking. 

Equally, plantain fritters (£4.50) were enjoyable but were nothing more than a slightly less sweet banana fritter. 

However, churros (£3.95) more than made up for the other two desserts. Warm, crisp, light and dusted in cinnamon they were served with an off-menu option of caramel sauce - sweet, creamy and smooth I could have downed the whole cup. 

Wahaca is a great addition to Cardiff City Centre. It's not mind-blowing but it's head and shoulders above most other chains in town and a good alternative to some of my favourite independents.

Disclosure - I was invited to Wahaca, all food and drink was complimentary.

The Details:

Address - Wahaca Cardiff, 51-53 The Hayes, Cardiff CF10 1GA
Telephone - 029 2167 0414
Web - http://www.wahaca.co.uk/

Dhruv Baker supper club, Cafe Malaysia, Cardiff

A couple of weeks ago I attended a supper club at Cafe Malaysia cooked by 2010 Masterchef winner Dhruv Baker.

It was frigging lush.

But, there’s really no point in me reviewing it because it was a one off.

I’m still going to.

However, before I go into detail, I’ll take this opportunity to suggest you visit Cafe Malaysia. It’s a cracker of a place that flies beneath many peoples’ radars. Dhruv in fact was somewhat intimidated by the quality of the food being knocked out by their kitchen; his cooking had a lot to live up to.

Here’s what Dhruv cooked... there was a heck of a lot so you’ll have to bear with me.

A trio of starters kicked off the meal.

Malaysian fried chicken was juicy, lightly crumbed, twanged with star anise and glistening with sweet chilli sauce. It was just a little bit moreish...

Soft squiggles of chargrilled squid satay were the ideal vehicle for a chunky peanut dip.

Lastly, a fresh and light salad of crunchy bean sprouts and peppers was scattered liberally with green chillies and toasted coconut. 

Next up was a bowl of laksa. The fragrant broth was loaded with mint, coriander, creamy coconut milk and warming chilli, whilst pieces of chicken, plump king prawns and puffy deep fried tofu lay swimming in its depths. 

The onslaught continued with the mains. Beef rendang was made using shin which must have been cooked for hours such was its tenderness. The huge quantity of yielding meat was coated in a deeply-spiced coconut-based gravy. 

An accompanying dome of rice was light and sticky but it was folly to fill up on carbohydrate. However, I’m a fool and I ate the whole lot.

Murtabak, crisp-layered flat bread containing enough butter to make a croissant blush, was stuffed with a dark, spiced vegetable puree. 

The only dud of the night was one of the desserts – buah Melaka. Dayglo pounded rice balls, with the texture of chewing gum, were filled with liquid palm sugar and coated in coconut. They’d apparently suffered the consequences of not being served hot. I’m not convinced it would have helped. 

A lightly battered banana fritted served with a sweet milky sauce compensated for the previous offering.

And of course, everything was washed down with a mug of teh tarik; strong, sweet and creamy it’s peak builders’ tea. 

That’s it, a blinking lush meal. 

Whilst you can’t eat Dhruv’s cooking in Cardiff (he’s opened a new restaurant in south London), go and check out Cafe Malaysia’s impeccably fresh and fragrant food instead.

Disclosure - I was invited to the supper club as a guest of Malaysia Kitchen, all food and drink was complimentary.

The Details:

Address - 101 Woodville Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4DY
Telephone - 02920 235616