mmm-yoso!!!

Paris (2022) - Menkicchi Ramen

On our last day in Paris, we started the day by heading to our favorite cafe for people watching on Rue Montorgueil to start things out.

We love sitting here and watching the world go by.

Once we had completed our "Montorgueil ritual" we headed off to the 2nd and did some shopping. On the way we stopped by Galerie Vivienne, which I think is one of the most beautiful of the existing Covered Passages in Paris.

We did a bunch of shopping in the 2nd, but my credit card came out unscathed!

While heading back to the apartment on Rue des Petits Champs, the area I've heard folks call "Paris's Little Tokyo", the Missus was feeling like some ramen. I'm not sure what it is about Paris, but we enjoy grabbing a bowl of here once in a while. I'd heard about a newish shop that made their own noodles called Menkicchi nearby, so we headed down Rue Sainte-Anne and found the rather discreet shop.

This tiny shop would not be out of place in Japan. Oh, and the fragrances wafting in the air; it all seemed so right.

As we often do when getting ramen; we ordered a bowl, in this case the Shio Tonkotsu and a rice bowl, the Shisen Don.

    The noodles were really good, doughy and chewy. The tamago was cold, but nicely cooked and marinated. The chashu was on the tough side and needed more flavor.

Speaking of needing more flavor; the tonkotsu broth was quite thin and not rich enough and the flavor very weak....another soup made with the "wave method" it seems.

The pork rice bowl was quite tasty and the rice was decently cooked as well.

The pork was nicely marinated and fairly tender. Good soy-sweetness.

I'm guessing the ramen here is all about the noodles. Speaking of all about the noodles. While we were eating, a younger, dapper Japanese gentleman entered the restaurant, he took the table next to us and fairly soon we knew he was a Japanese national. First, he ordered ramen along with a bowl of rice on the side. Second, when he started on his ramen...oohhhh the slurping! Such great memories of Japan. Then it must have suddenly struck him. No one else in the place was slurping. After all, this is Paris! You could just tell by how he raised his head that this was his "Toto, we're not in Kansas Kansai anymore moment!" I felt kinda bad for him. So, I decided to go for it and started slurping away. And he smiled and tucked in! The brotherhood of ramen, right? And all was good on Rue Sainte-Anne on this day!

Menkicchi
41 Rue Sainte-Anne
75001 Paris, France

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris (2022) - Edwart Chocolatier and Dinner at Le MaZenay

On the way back from lunch we passed this chocolate shop. We were given samples and the Missus ended up buying a variety of items.

This was Edwart Chocolatier and would end up being Her favorite chocolate shop during this trip.

Edwart Chocolatier
17 Rue Vieille-du-Temple
75004 Paris

So I'm certain we'll return the next time we're in Paris.

We then worked our way back to the apartment stopping at a few shops along the way. This was back in May so the days were fairly long.

We headed out for our dinner destination at bit early...the better to do some shopping you know. As we headed up Rue St Denis we came across a couple of women, probably in their 40's-50's, tons of make-up, dressed somewhat provocatively, just standing around. From which this short conversation arose....

Me: "Hmmm.....must be the remnants of the old Saint Denis" (It used to be the Red Light district but is now gentrified)
Missus: "No, way...maybe they are hairdressers taking a break"
Me: "But I see no salons around here...."
Missus: "Maybe they're taking a smoke break from work."
Me: "But none of them are smoking..." 

Bless Her heart....

For dinner I had made reservations at Le MaZenay, a modernish bistro, located in the Marais.

The setting was quite simple and the service friendly.

As with how we typically order, we ended up getting 3 entrees and one plat, with a side.

The Missus really enjoyed the Ouef Confit.

The buttery, creamy egg yolk went so well with the petit pois, which brought a nice, mild sweetness to the dish. The sauce, made with creme fraiche was lighter than it looked and went well with the dish. The croutons added texture.

I got the Tartare de Veau and when it arrived totally drenched in sauce, I was a bit hesitant.

It was still a bit too much sauce, which was nicely flavored. The cut of the protein was to my liking, the meat was tender, and it was chilled well.

We enjoyed the rustic Chicken Liver Terrine.

The rustic terrine wasn't overly offal-ish, had a mild sweetness and went well with the cornichons. It had a pleasant texture and there seemed to be mashed potato in the terrine as well. This was a lot milder in flavor than we expected.

For the main, we chose one of the specials of the evening, the Skate Wing.

   A very pleasant dish. The skate had been nicely prepared, buttery in texture, good black pepper, though perhaps a bit more salt would have helped. Very moist and tender. The accompanying veggies were fine and the caper butter sauce did well with the fish.

We also ordered the Pommes Dauphines which were excellent, crisp on the outside, light and fluffy inside.

This was a nice meal and like I mentioned earlier, the service was quite friendly. At the table next to us sat two women who seemed to be regulars, the chef and his wife, who runs the front of house came out to chat with them. The women were from London and arrived via the Eurostar. Something I'd like to do in the future!

Le MaZenay
46 Rue de Montmorency
75003 Paris, France

It was a nice evening and we took our time heading back to the apartment.

Tomorrow would be our last day in Paris before heading home and we wanted to make the best of it.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just thought I'd take a moment to wish everyone a most joyous, safe, and happy Thanksgiving! Well, it's not quite a traditional Thanksgiving meal where we are.

There's so much to be thankful for these days. And every day there's something to appreciate. For instance, last night I found out that a train derailment meant that all trains out of the location we were at were cancelled...until Saturday at least! So, it meant we had to find a way to get to our next destination. After doing a bunch of searching....much of hampered by my poor language skills at our destination, I was able to book us a bus to our current location.

Anyway, we just wanted to express our thanks for your visits and comments all these years! And wish you the most wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve

Kirk and Cathy are currently on different continents, today (Wednesday) Cathy will write about her nontraditional celebration of Thanksgiving. 

In mid-November 2014, the first 'cardiac incident' occurred and The Mister and I celebrated Thanksgiving day eating similar but very different meals-His was delivered to the room and had no sodium while mine came from the hospital cafeteria and included sodium.  

Since then, on the actual day that the world celebrates Thanksgiving, we go to a restaurant for lunch.  However, we do still purchase the 'traditional' meal ingredients (they are on sale after all), but cook large meals before and/or after the fourth Thursday of November.  Last year, we made three complete 'Thanksgiving' meals, saving the turkey carcasses for making stock and then delightful meals of soups and chili.

So.  Yesterday, we spatchcocked a turkey: A 14 pound Jennie-O, 90 minutes at 400 degrees.  There was poultry seasoning, salt and pepper sprinkled on the skin, handfuls of salt and pepper inside the cavity to force out juices.  The meat is very moist.

 We doctored up some Stove Top stuffing mix by adding cooked Italian sausage, fresh chopped celery and much more butter than recommended before placing in the oven for 30 minutes with the yams while the turkey was resting.
 My 'usual' fresh sweet potato/yam side dish, recipe here: two ingredients. 
 Simple cranberry sauce made with fresh whole cranberries per the package recipe with added tangerine. Dessert is mincemeat strudel, from Tip Top Meats, which has survived the pandemic (I just haven't posted).  Note that one ingredient is beef suet:a proper mincemeat.  Here is the first meal, including a roll made from frozen Bridgeford dough and frozen Martha Stewart spinach casserole  (found at Grocery Outlet).  We've already had a 'leftovers’ meal, and it is only Wednesday!

Every day there is always something to be thankful for.   Today,  being able to share with all of you is my thanks.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot & Grill (lunch again)

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! on this Thanksgiving week. Cathy is writing while Kirk and His Missus are vacationing. 

My most recent post about the regular menu at Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot, a chain with worldwide locations, was in 2020.  My most recent post regarding the lunch menu was in 2021.  A year later, not much has changed. 

  Menu prices have slightly increased.  The choices are pretty much the same. 
 We ordered the House Original and the House Spicy broths/"Yin Yang" ($4.25 per person).  You can also order a mushroom broth as well as low sodium.  
 The Supreme Angus Beef Lunch ($10.70) is accompanied by assorted seasonal vegetables ( thick slices of potato, daikon, a variety of mushrooms and greens) as well as fresh noodles, 'krab" sticks, frozen tofu and assorted meatballs (pork, beef and fish).  The Angus beef pieces were nicely marbled and very flavorful; quickly cooked to a pleasant tenderness in the boiling broth.
 Once again, I chose the fish filet lunch ($10.70) which has the same sides and includes an entire filet.  This was plenty of food.
 However the menu has "Add Ons" at the bottom and we decided to order the mini veggie platter ($3.95) just to try the 'lunch version'.   This was really worth it: tomato, squash, corn, bok choy, cabbage, spinach, mushrooms and chrysanthemum greens (tangho).

All in all, an excellent tasty meal.

Little Sheep Mongolian HotPot 4718 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego, 92117 (858) 274-2040 Website Open Mon-Th 11:30-9, Fri-Sat 11:30-10. Sun 11:30-9:30
 Hot tea is still no charge.

Crack Taco Shop (San Diego)

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy this Monday of Thanksgiving week.  Kirk and His Missus have arrived at the first stop of their holiday destination.

In May of 2019, this storefront location of "Cardiff Crack" opened in Mission Valley (on Camino Del Rio North, at the Northwest corner where it crosses Mission Gorge Road at the 8).  The owners of the Seaside Market in Cardiff, which has been selling the infamous burgundy-pepper marinated tri-tip since 1985 expanded to a location between San Diego State University and the new Snapdragon Stadium.  
 Walk in, order and pay, grab your beverages, find a seat and wait for your meal and condiments to be brought out. 
 The menu board is above the two cash registers. ( I was wearing sunglasses and it looked black/not working, so I didn't take a photo).
 The Grilled Cactus Taco was just something different that I'd never seen on a menu, so we decided to order one ($3.95).  This is served on a home made corn tortilla- very nice, very flavorful (corny)(ha) and it stood up to all the ingredients (house made guacamole (also very good),  cilantro, onions).  This was a really tasty taco.  I would order it again.
 We also decided to try an Al Pastor taco ($3.95) .  There were some pineapple bits in addition to the guacamole, cilantro and onion.  The pork was very tender and had a nice char-grill flavor.  The sweetness of the pineapple marinade was subtle if you tried a bite of the (plain) meat.  Quite good quality.
 We ordered the Roasted Pepper Caesar Salad ($10.95) add crack ($4.95). It arrived without the roasted peppers, but plenty of the tri-tip.
 A good size portion of the roasted peppers was brought out and these were very good. (I've been buying jarred roasted peppers for use on sandwiches at home and really kind of crave them).

Because of this mistake, we were able to try tie 'Crack' unadorned.  The meat was tender and had a nice char on some pieces but wasn't extraordinary and really was fairly dull.  

However, we have returned with friends; it's not terrible; everything is fresh. Soo was here!

Crack Taco Shop 4242 Camino De Rio North, Suite 28, San Diego 92108  (619) 269-2828 Open daily 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Website

Tim Ky Noodle (Mira Mesa)

mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy today; Kirk and His Missus are enjoying the start of a lengthy vacation in another country.

The Mister and I had planned to try out the recently re-opened Pho Lucky, but decided against it and instead walked to the other end of the strip mall to Tim Ky Noodle, which Kirk had written an indoor eating post in 2019 and a "to go" post in 2020.  {The Mister and I have been here previously but I never posted.}

The two sided, laminated/ easily sanitized menu is a bit pared down from pre-Covid-19 days. The majority of choices are Vietnamese with some Chinese choices also.
 Still, hot tea  is brought out when you are seated; some things are back to normal.
 The seafood chow mein (crispy noodles) ($15.99) was quite large, filled with shrimp, fish and scallops as well as very fresh vegetables.  Excellent.  
 The salt and pepper fish filet with rice ($16.99) was also a very large portion.  Light and crisp fry (proper) and onion were all that was needed for this meal.  We did have leftovers of both.  

Another survivor of the Covid-19 shutdowns.  

Tim Ky Noodle 9330 Mira Mesa Blvd. San Diego, CA 92126 Daily 9am - 830pm

Paris (2022) - Chez Meunier (Rue Rambuteau), Musée Carnavalet, and L'As Du du Fallafel

We had asked the owner of the AirBnb we were staying at for a croissant recommendation. He lived in the apartment part of the year, so I was interested in what he would choose. He told us that his regular spot was down Rue Rambuteau across Rue Beaubourg. An outpost of Chez Meunier.

Chez Meunier has several locations in Paris and this didn't look too promising, but I thought we should try it.

Chez Meunier
18 Rue Rambuteau
75003 Paris

After picking up the Croissant we headed to our destination for the morning heading down Rue des Francs Bourgeois. We passed this cafe, Le Voltigeur along the way. Notice anything interesting?

Notice all the Teddy Bears? Apparently, various cafes across Paris used these over-sized stuffed animals as tools for social distancing during the pandemic! And now they are just hanging around enjoying the fruits of their labor!

There was also some interesting street art along Rue des Francs Bourgeois as well.

As for our destination. I had read that the Musée Carnavalet had just reopened after renovations two months before our visit. The museum, which is dedicated to the history of Paris resides in two former mansions. And best of all; admission is free!

As with many museums we've visited, we took our time. And heck, admission is free and we're sure to return to Paris and can always return.

We especially enjoyed the gallery of shop signs.

Some were pretty easy to figure out.

Others might keep you guessing. Guess the business of this sign.

According to the attached "sign" this was for a cheese maker and hung in the cheese district around Les Halles when it was Paris's central market!

We basically viewed the displays and rooms up to the 198th century and decided to leave the rest for a future visit.

The cafe area is also quite beautiful.

We decided to get some coffee and got us a table in the courtyard.

And had the croissant from Chez Meunier.

Which wasn't very good. Not enough butter, not light and flaky enough, and too doughy.

Oh well, at least the setting was great!

Musée Carnavalet
23 Rue de Sévigné
75003 Paris, France

Finishing our coffee we headed on out. We decided to grab something light for lunch and headed on over to Rue des Rosiers. The area around here is considered the Jewish Quarter of Paris and Rue des Rosier right before Rue Vieille-du-Temple is pedestrian only and is packed with Jewish/Kosher/Middle Eastern Restaurants. There's one place that is quite "famous" and always has a line. L'As du Fallafel. The line on this day wasn't as long as usual, So, we decided to actually try the fallafel sandwich.

The line moves quickly and it was a twenty minute wait.

The guys working here work hard and fast!

The fallafel sandwich looked quite good!

We loved the tender and warm pita and all the tasty veggies. As for the fallafel, well, even though this was better than anything I've ever had in San Diego, I guess our trip to Israel has really spoiled us. The fallafel here were on the harder, drier side and the interior was grittier than we prefer.

Still, in spite of the wait, it made for a decent lunch. And that line stretched all the way down the block as we left.

L'As du Fallafel
34 Rue des Rosiers
75004 Paris, France

We're glad we tried it.

We had a bit of shopping to do before heading back to the apartment. We had dinner reservations and one more full day in Paris. Time just seems to go so quickly when we're visiting.