La Ferrandaise

Stumbled upon La Ferrandaise by chance as we were walking down the streets and was excited when we saw the decal mentioning that La Ferrandaise is one of the Michelin recommended restaurants.

La Ferrandaise

In my opinion, Restaurants in Europe are kind of humble and inconspicuously located as most of the time maybe because of the weather, their dark glass doors were closed and its hard to tell if they were open for business or even there is a crowd. Looking through the menu pinned right next to the entrance, our eyes were fixed on the promotional menu.

Facade of La Ferrandaise

Environment is modernly designed with some of their specialties scribbled on the black board. The place is popular among the locals and have a lovely cozy ambiance adding a romantic touch by the lighting.

Interior 

Restaurant was rather crowded and tables were placed quite close to each other with narrow walking aisles in between.

Environment

We had the prefix lunch menu that combines the Entree, main and dessert at an attractive price which we felt that was a steal. A good thing is that their menu will be changed from time to time and you wont get the similar combination of food.

While waiting for our set menu, We were served with some warm breads.

Starters

Soup was served in a petite cup. Since menu was fix and we did not really communicate much with the servers, we did not get the names of every individual item served. It tasted sweet and yummy like pumpkin soup.

Soup

Though La Ferrandaise offers an extensive white list, we still prefer the juices as they were more on the budget side.

Apple Juice - € 4,00

Having 3 courses on a plate has not been common for me and I was kind of culture shock even though I was expecting its portion size. With such portion, I'm confident I will complete the meal but that was not so true later on.

Prefix Lunch Menu - €16 

Starting my meal from left to right and I have absolutely the least idea of what I am eating but it's kind of interesting to order something I don't know. What a sweet start to the meal! The entry was something grainy like cereals in milk (Puree form) topped with apricot and nuts.

Entry

Moving on to the 2nd dish which is also the Main on the plate, it threw a surprise to me as the mini pot was much heavier than my expectation looking at its size. This is the dish much more closer to my heart and had my vote among the rest. With delicious mashed potatoes served with tender beef slices, they had already filled half of my stomach.

Main

The last dish was not to my liking as I'm not very used to all kinds of cold cut meat and livers. In the end I only have a few mouthful of the meat and clearing off the vegetables and cherries.

Cold Meat

My dining partner is at advantage as he enjoys second portion of the cold meat from me. I dislike the after taste of liver meat thus I will give this a miss.

Cold Meat

Heading to the area near the toilet, you will see such interesting corner. Baby friendly place spotted with a baby chair.

Interesting Corner Near Toilet

It was a great find and we were very contented to have our lunch there. Food was wonderful and value for money as compared to other places dining in France. Even being the only Asians in the restaurant, I find that the level of service is commendable, professional and prompt. This is the best lunch I ever had in Paris during my trip.

La Ferrandaise
Location:  8 Rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris, France
Website

Le Deauville

Charmed by long street of Champs-Élysées, this is the consecutive night walking along the up scale and tourists area where you get to see luxuries brands around. While we were done grabbing a feel of its atmosphere, we ended ourselves hungry in Le Deauville.

Le Deauville

We linger around the premises for a while before the server came to us and finally we dined in the alfresco area with heating elements to shield us away from the coldness.The area was under a warm purplish lighting and till now, I was still amazed by the kind of light I'm dining under.

Serviette

We wanted to have a quick fix and order something easy. Chicken was poached and was covered with savory sauce. Mashed potatoes was the main filler that keeps a stomach warm and full. No doubt chicken was tender, they have a gamey taste leaving clues of a frozen meat.

Supreme de poulet 270g - 18,90 €

Having so much meat throughout our trip in Europe, pasta had kind of enlightened us. Spaghetti was not too dry nor soggy, cooked with cream sauce and fresh mushrooms. Both dishes has a vine-ripen tomato that gave the burst feeling when you bite on it.

Spaghetti a la Forestiere -16,50 €

Comparing the 2nd night dinner in George V Cafe to this, I would say Le Deauville atmosphere is much more touristy but it is still a good place to watch and enjoy the kind of ambiance in the streets of Champs-Élysées.

Le Deauville

Location: Le Deauville 75 Av. des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris, France

Ladurée Champs Elysées

Ladurée, the popular name that you may hear somewhere for their macarons. Though we have this located in Singapore's Takashimaya, I never get the chance to go there thus I took this opportunity to visit the shop in Paris. Laduree is a chain stores in Paris and I had visited one of their store in Paris's famous shopping Street, Champs Elysées.

Ladurée Champs Elysées

I was kind of surprise that it is actually housed in a big building and there was a very long queue. Fortunately the long queue for those who wants to dine in and for those who are taking away may join the queue inside next to the counter. Likewise, before entering, we have to pass through a stringent security check by the officers.

Add caption

Items were all spread out on the Marble table top and with patrons lining up in the snaky queues waiting to be served. While waiting, I was sweating due to the amount of heat generated in Laduree as I have my winter clothes on. Nevertheless, I was more excited over the items and it did not really bother me much.

Lining up for an order

Food items like the pastries looked elegantly designed and stunning while the croissants, muffins were just simply tempting.

Do you want some bakery stuff?

The way how pastries were packaged looked classy however, this also means that the price paid for the pastries had perhaps factored in the price of the packaging. Maybe this is what up-scale pastries is all about?

Packaging

Eclair was yummy! The choux dough was about 20cm in length and with a semi-bitter chocolate that coats the top part. That's was kind of surprising as I expected it to be more on a sweet side.

Eclair Chocolat - 5,00 €

Having the Carre Chocolat was indeed a therapeutic one. The luscious amount of chocolate with alternate layers of chocolate cake as well as crispy and crunchy bites of chocolate was simply irresistible. Felt very happy having it.

Carre Chocolat - 6,10 €

There were alot of flavours of Macarons to select from and we had picked 12 different kinds. Shells of the Macarons are soft, sandwiching the delicious flavoured ganache filling. I was expecting Macarons was more for the sweet tooth but surprisingly it was not that diabetic sweet as I would have thought.

Mini Macarons - 2,00 € x 12

Although I'm not someone with sweet tooth, having visited and tasted Ladurée was a total new experience to me. I was quite lucky watching tourists rushing out to the nearest bench right in front of the store sharing the joy of Macarons purhcase with their group of friends and each biting off one part of it, screaming for joy that they have actually tasted it!  

Ladurée Champs Elysées

Location: 75 Av. des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris, France

Nearest Metro: Line 1 - Georges V

Website

Cafe Geogre V

Walking down the popular long shopping streets and enjoying the crowds, we finally found a place to dine and seek some warmth out of the cold weather. Worrying that food might be on the high side at this tourist place, we diligently search through our mobile applications and visited Cafe George V for dinner.

Cafe George V

They have both indoors and Alfresco dining just that during the cold seasons. Worry not if you are in the cold weather, the retractable awning fell in place with the mounted heater will keep you away from the cold even if you are dining outside.

We had our seats indoors and had a good time experiencing the bustling life of the cafe in the city. Though the table and seat maybe a tad narrow for 2 of us in our bulky cold wear and camera bags, we still manage to make ourselves comfortable even at awkward position.

Cafe George V Outdoor Seating

We had ordered Onion Soup and was excited about it. Felt a sense of contentment to have soup in the french lion head soup bowl. Simply love its caramelized onion and the sweet meat stock served with generous amount of cheese on top.

Soupe gratinee a l' oignon ~ Onion Soup - 10.0 €

As we were without drinks during shopping, the Strawberry shake was emptied soon it was served. Pretzel biscuits was served together with the milk shake too.

Strawberry Milkshake  - 10.0 €

The first time that I have seen steak pairing with sunny side up eggs.  Minced steak was surprisingly cook to its perfect texture at our preferred done-ness with thick cut fries and salad as sides. Dressing for salad is separately placed and you can add them accordingly to your liking.

Steak hache oeuf a cheval (salers) 200g frites - 17,50 €

Steak (Skirt steak Angus) 200g meat was tougher as compared to the former. However they have additional charred flavour here and was seen very well controlled under the fire. Sides like french fries and salad were similar.

Steak (bavette Angus) 200g frites - 17,50 €

Service was prompt and friendly. Visit was overall a satisfying one!

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Cafe George V
Location: 120 Av. des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris, France

Hôtel Mimosa - Paris

In order to minimized the cost of our Europe travel, we have tried to save more on our accommodation as we shared the same sentiments that we were mostly out throughout the day and only back for a sleep in the night thus spending too much on luxurious hotel is out of the picture. Having been to Paris twice, the hotels which I used to stay were cramped and came with old school furnishing. Shops, restaurants and bars are found around the hotel and which Galeries Lafayette is just 1.8km away.

Streets near Hotel

Hotel Mimosa is in the heart of Paris, a good walkable 600 metres from Place de La Republique and 200 metres from Grands Boulevards. The hotel offers a modern furnished guest rooms and most importantly a free Wi-Fi internet access. They also have flat screen TV, electric kettle and wardrobe.

Bedroom

Private bathroom comes with a shower, hairdryer and toiletries were provided. We were very happy as it was very spacious.

Room with toilet

Theme color is black and modernly equipped with shower-heads and anti slip flooring.

Toilet Interior

Breakfast is optional and can be purchased upon check-in. The breakfast area is an open space, modernly designed with faux rocks walls, just beside the check in counter.

Breakfast Area

Our stay was pleasant with friendly services. Like most of the hotel in Europe, there isn't an elevator provided for small scale hotel thus carrying up big luggage along the steep stairways maybe a challenge for some.

Entrance to Stairways

Overall, though it might be little outside of the tourist area, it is still walkable distance within the Metro and Hard Rock Cafe Paris. Throughout the nights stay, area was quite safe and was not rowdy.

Hôtel Mimosa
Location: 16, rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin, 75010 Paris, France

Hard Rock Cafe - Paris

Visiting Hard Rock Cafe has been in my itineraries for most of my trips. Marking my 3rd Visit to Paris Hard Rock Cafe, I was surprise when my dining partner decided that we should settle our dinner there since we were buying the collectibles.

Hard Rock Cafe

Securities in Paris had been tightened after various terrorists events and that applies to crowded area like shopping malls, restaurants and even Cafe like Hard Rock.Though its

Dining Area

Just right after we enter the Cafe, you will be able to find the Rock Shop on the right.

Merchandise

Like most of the Hard Rock Cafe, the accent of their English is not far away from our understanding. The friendly service make us feel very comfortable.

Menu

Good blend of orange, mango and pineapple juice infused with Bacardi Superior Rum, Bacardi Dark Rum, Disaronno AMaretto and grenadine, served with orange and maraschino cherry.  A really good mix of tropical fruits living up to its name.

Hurricane - €12,90

Another item under their Comfortably Rum Menu. Pina Colada is a frozen concoction of Bacardi Superior Rum and pina colada mix.

Pina Colada - €10,90

Worrying that the European size dishes were too much for our stomach to contain, we decided to share a combo meal between ourselves. There is a choice of duo or trio combo with a difference of 0.30 difference. Combo is a perfect choice for people who want to have more variety as it gave you a choice of ribs, chicken or pulled pork.

Hickory-Smoked Barbecue Combo - € 20,95

Having tried Hard Rock Cafe Food from different countries, we were quite comfortable with its quality and service. The Smoke House menu is awesome with signature fork-tender meat marinated. These baby back ribs were rubbed with their signature seasonings and basted with hickory barbecue sauce, most importantly these baby back ribs meat fell off the bone easily.

Fried Onions on Ribs

Sticking onto the Hickory Barbecue sauce will be the delicious fried onion that got me hooked.

Fried Onion

Striking a balance with the meaty meal, we order Salads topping up the combo meal. The romaine lettuce was tossed in their homemade Caesar dressing, topped with grilled chicken breast, croutons and shaved Parmesan cheese.

Caesar Salad

What I like best is their variety of homemade dressings, ranging from ranch, honey, mustard, Caesar, blue cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, lite Italian and oil & vinegar. It just make having salad a never boring dish!

Caesar Salad and the Choice of Sauce.

As far as visiting Hard Rock Cafe is concerned, I was not only impressed by the level of service they had rendered in Paris but also the rest of the outlets I have been to Internationally. Servers were very fluent in English and were good in recommending the dishes to us which make us feel as good as home.

Hard Rock Cafe Paris
Location: 14 Boulevard Montmartre, 75009 Paris, France