Brussels, Belgium

I can't believe it! I got on the train to Brussels. It was a fast train called Thalys. The train left on time. However, I noticed the train stopped many times. Then, I heard an announcement saying that the train has a mechanical problem. I had about 45 minutes to spare in Brussels in case I couldn't easily find the meeting point for the chocolate workshop tour. However the train arrived 1 hour and 20 minutes late.... So, I couldn't make it to the workshop. Fortunately, I didn't pre-pay for it. But what could I do now??

I had another reason to come to Brussels: the beer. A friend of mine told me about a brewery in Brussels (yes, Belgian beer!). But I didn't need 8.5 hours for just a brewery. Because the workshop was supposed to take 4 hours, I didn't do any other research on Brussels.

I found a café with free wifi and found places for Belgian waffles and chocolate.


I was expecting to see Belgian waffle stands everywhere. But I didn't see any. Even the café that I went to for wifi didn't have any waffles. Anyway, I arrived at the Belgian waffle place that I found online....

What's this??? It looked so touristy.... And this was in the middle of a very touristy area.. I tried one anyway and it was horrible. Maybe Belgian waffles are supposed to be eaten at home? Or is this food that became overly popular outside Belgium?

After I explored the city, I went to a couple of chocolatiers that I found online.

                                                                    Laurent Gerbaud

Pierre Mancolini. 

I saw a group of people who looked like they were part of a chocolate tour. Is this the one I was supposed to join?? Anyway, I got an assortment with their standard chocolate along with other chocolate with cacao from various countries. They were all simple chocolate without any ganache or nuts. So, I thought this would be the perfect way to compare cacaos from different countries.


Then, I headed to the brewery, Cantillon. I tried one of their major beers, called Gueuze, which is a lambic beer. To be honest, I didn't know much about Belgian beer. But it is sour!!! And it has some distinctive fermented flavor, that reminds me of the sidra that I had in the Basque region. Sidra is a traditional apple cider in the Basque region. I had it once when I was there and I would say that's an acquired taste...

After I came back to Paris, I did the last of my shopping because I'm leaving for the US tomorrow morning.


First, I went back to La Maison du Chocolat where I went yesterday on the chocolate tasting tour. I really liked their chocolate. Yes, I can get it in the US., but the only location is in New York. I don't want to fly 6 hours to get this chocolate...

Then, I went to a macaron shop that the tour guide mentioned yesterday. He said Pierre Herman has more creative flavors so I wanted to get some. He said all macarons should be consumed within 48 hours because the crust gets soggier after that. But because I'm leaving tomorrow morning, I think I can still enjoy them when I'm back in the US.

I will give the report of all the sweets (in boxes) once I'm back in the US.


I'm leaving for the US tomorrow morning...

Chocolate tasting

I was hungry. But because I knew I was going to join the chocolate and pastry tour soon, I didn't want to have a real meal. So, I decided to have a snack at a café. I ordered a glass of beer and some pate - like stuff. The beer came with a slice of lemon. Other than Corona with lime, France is the only country (that I've been to) that serves beer with lemon (or lime). It was a good addition for such a warm day.

I thought I ordered a tomato tart. But I got this pate-like stuff. It consists of three layers and aspic (jelly) on top. The bottom green layer tasted basil. I wasn't sure about the middle layer. I thought the top layer was tomato but it didn't taste like tomato. Probably carrot? But it came with tomato sauce underneath. So, there is some tomato on the plate. I don't think they brought the wrong dish. I guess I misread the menu.

                                                                   Very nice presentation


Now it was time for chocolate and pastry tasting. There were about 10 people so we were split into two groups (we had two guides). Our guide spoke English, Spanish and Japanese fluently (isn't that amazing?).

Our first stop was a bakery called Poilane. They specialize in dome shaped bread. I asked the guide if there's any specific name for this type of bread. He said there isn't a specific name because it's purely a specialty of this bakery. We tasted the bread and it was like brown sour dough bread.

The guide told us that this bakery was Salvador Dali's favorite. Dali designed a chandelier made out of bread for them. Because the breads don't last that long, the bakery replaces the bread once in a while. But the frame inside is Dali's design. Here it is.

The next stop is a chocolatier, called La Maison du Chocolat. Outside France, they have branches in London, New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

             Amazing view. I could only pick one piece for tasting so I chose hazelnut. Very gooood!

Also, the let us taste their two kinds of éclairs, chocolate and caramel.

 No, I didn't eat all of it. Just one piece for each per person. But that was enough. Very rich! The filling was so thick and heavy that I'm not sure if I could finish the whole thing. But it was so decadent....

So far, we had a slice of bread, some cookies, a piece of chocolate and two small pieces of éclair. It doesn't seem a lot but we needed a break with some water because they were so rich. The guide took us to a church before going to the next stop.


It's time for macarons. The guide took us to one of the most famous macaron shops, called Laduree. He thinks this is the best macaron if you are looking for something simple. He mentioned Pierre Herme if you like more creative flavors.

The guide said French macarons have more filling because French people like things rich. Yes, he is right. I tried orange blossom. The filling seem to be at least 50% more than what I'm used to.


The next stop was chewy caramel candy (I forgot to write down the name...)

I tried salted caramel, which is their specialty, and orange ginger. The salted caramel is really "salted". You can really tasted salt in this caramel.


The last stop was a chocolatier called Maison Georges Larnicol. The patissier is from the Brittany region of France and you could see the Brittany flags or the colors of the flags inside the store. There were many chocolate sculptures displayed in the store.

While they sell many beautiful sculptures like these, their chocolates are sold in bulk like a candy store. You just grab a plastic bag and put whatever you want in the bag. I chose simple dark chocolate and chopped almond, orange peel & dark chocolate balls. They tasted simple but great. Also, they sell white chocolate while many chocolatiers in France do not consider white chocolate as "chocolate". I guess the owner must be more casual and less "classy".

I had enough sweets but I decided to make a day trip to Brussels, Belgium for a chocolate workshop tomorrow. I'd love to see if there are any differences between French chocolate and Belgian chocolate.

Paris

I arrived in Paris last night via Marseille. Since I left Marrakesh, I'm on my own. Although I've been to many cities in Europe, this is my first time in Paris. Let's see what I can do in this famous city with my non-existent French language skill....

First, I had to try a croissant.

This was a chocolate croissant. I have to say it was very good... The outside was flaky but the inside was very buttery. It's just different from what I usually have in the US, which is more like "bread". Croissants are very time consuming to make by yourself. But I have to try once I go back to the US. I hope I can get as close to this as possible.


After regular sightseeing, I found a nice patisserie, called Pain de Sucre. Their pastries looked amazing so I decided to try them.

I thought this was a pistachio éclair. But it tasted like basil or some sort of herb. The cream inside was pretty thick.

This may look disgusting but I knew I had to try this because I knew what the wormy thing on top was. It's chestnut paste, which is my favorite!! To me, it looked so pretty. The second layer was grapefruit. I wasn't sure about the third layer, probably chestnut and chocolate mousse? The bottom was saffron mouse. I thought grapefruit wasn't necessary because the acidity and bitterness didn't go well with the other components. But I really enjoyed the other 3 layers. I love chestnut! I don't know why chestnuts aren't very popular in the US...


After more walking, I found a food court, called Flunch. I decided to check it out. Inside was not something you would expect in a food court in shopping malls in the US. The atmosphere was pop and cute, but the foods looked very sophisticated. So, here's what I got.

                                            Salad nicoise, 3 kinds of cheese, bread and wine.


Tomorrow, I signed up for a chocolate and pastry tasting tour. I guess I'm going to focus on sweets while I'm in Paris.

Burgundy

Again, we left early from Lyon to a hotel in Dijon. As soon as we checked in, we took a local train for Beaune, which is the capitol of the Burgundy wine region. One of the major grape varietals of this region is my favorite, pinot noir. We already booked a wine tasting tour for the afternoon, but decided to check out a wine tasting room within walking distance.

The winery is called Bouchard Aine & Fils.

                                                                       Nice building

     The remodeled cellar is a tour route / tasting room

We tasted 4 wines there. Some of them are way more tannic than what I'm used to. But the last wine, which is 2000 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, was something special. I'm not a big fan of French wines in general because they are a little too dry for me. This is also a dry wine, however, it comes with lots of different flavors. It was like I was eating different fruits at the same time. Very impressive.

Before the wine tasting tour we booked, we had some time so that we went to a bistro restaurant. Because it's Sunday today, we didn't have many choices. And this place was pretty packed. The name is Dame Tartine, just by the landmark of Beaune, Hotel Dieu.

The portions of this restaurant were very generous, like Pierre Orsi that we went last night. Is that a French thing??

                                                                  Pork Pate, very good

                                            Brie-like cheese on top of toasted baguette

                          Pork with creamy mustard sauce (of course mustard, it's just by Dijon)

               Chicken breast with creamy sauce. Unfortunately, the chicken was over cooked.....

                                                         Apple tart and crème anglais

                                 Cassis sorbet. Cassis is a specialty of this region, nicely tangy


After lunch, we did the wine tasting tour. We drove quite far. On the way, we saw huge vineyards. I thought I was used to see pretty big vineyards in Napa and Sonoma. But it seemed these continued on forever. The guide stopped by at the vineyard for a specific wine, Romanee-Conti. The grapes here must be super premium. Because they had a sign, we took a picture (sorry, it's not very clear).

Even after that, the guide kept driving. Where are we going? Are we tasting any wine??

Finally we arrived at Domain Gerard Quivy. In Bordeaux, the winery's name begins from Chateaux but it's Domaine in the Burgundy region. The winery is located in a small very cute village, called Gevrey-Chambertin.

                                                                         This is inside

We tasted 4 kinds of red burgundy wines. Like the guide mentioned, this is not the sort of winery that a tourist can find out about easily. So, I feel like we had a special experience.



After the tasting, we came back to Dijon. I was looking for a restaurant that serves traditional burgundy dishes. Unfortunately, all the nice restaurants are closed on Sunday. The only reasonably traditional restaurant that we could find was Le Gril Raure. It's a kind of between a traditional restaurant and family restaurant. Anyway, I was determined to have escargot and beef bourguignon in Dijon. I found escargot cassoulet but not beef bourguignon at this restaurant...

                        This is escargot cassoulet. It was very mushroomy. But nice and creamy.

                 Another type of pork pate. I like the one I had in Beaune in the afternoon, though.

                                                          Sautéed pork in tomato sauce

Simple steak. The way French people prepare steak is different from what a normal American would expect. I would say at least 1 degrees (sometimes 2 degrees) different. If you want medium rare, ask for medium. French medium rare is pretty much American rare....

                                                            Citrus mousse, very tangy

                                          Crème brulee. Why not, we are in France!


Tomorrow, we are moving to San Sebastian, Spain. I wish we had planned a bit more time in the Burgundy region because I really enjoyed the foods here. Even though the food appears rustic and simple, I could taste that quite a bit of effort went into its preparation. I'm planning to spend a few days in Paris at the end of this trip. Hope I can have this type of food there.

Lyon, France

We caught an early train leaving from Torino to Lyon, France. I wasn't really interested in coming to France because of lots of negative experiences that my friends had. But I've also heard that people are nicer outside Paris. Since this is my ultimate foodie journey, I couldn't pass Lyon, which is the "foodiest" city in France.

We arrived at the hotel around 1:00 knowing it would be a little early to check in. We just wanted to drop off the suitcases and leave for the city center. The office of the hotel (actually apartments) would not be open until 2:00pm. So, we had to kill 1 hour somewhere. So, we found a café and ordered a beer and a sandwich. The waitress didn't speak English well but she was trying to help us by showing us the menu items. It was a good sign that the people in Lyon could be nice.

Because we were in Lyon, we decided to try one of the Michelin starred restaurants, called Pierre Orsi. I made a reservation before I left the US. Before the reservation time, we went to a market, called Les Halle.

 

It was near closing time so many stores were starting to clean up. But they all looked amazing!! Lots of cheeses, seafood, various kinds of sweets, meats, etc. I'd be in big trouble if I lived in this city.....

Macarons are a big thing in Lyon. On top of the many interesting sweet flavors, there are many savory flavors, such as sesame gorgonzola, jamon iberico, foie gras and black olives.  By the way, they refused to mix sweet and savory macarons in the same box. They need to be in separate boxes.

After walking through the market, we headed to the restaurant. Here is the restaurant from outside.

                                                                    Very classy.......

We entered the restaurant at 8:00pm. The host spoke English very well. But the waiter kept speaking French so we tried to understand what he said. Well... it was getting too much for our very limited French knowledge. So, we asked if we could communicate in English. He immediately switched to English and his English was even better than the host. Well this was very "French".......

I have to apologize for the quality of photos I took at the restaurant. Because the restaurant is so classy, I had to be sneaky to take a picture. Every time the waiters walked away, I was taking quick shots.... Even tasting each other's dishes looked awkward. So, we were hiding our attempts at tasting each other's dishes from the waiters....Tie is not required (we inquired in advance) but this is definitely not a jeans type of restaurant.

We chose one of the Prix Fixe options that comes with two dishes of our choice, cheese, and our choice of dessert.

One of the waiters brought a small baguette.

                                    Perfectly baked baguette (crusty outside and chewy inside)

Then, amuse bouche (complimentary appetizer)

                                        Cold pea soup, kind of vichyssoise? Very refreshing.


For the first dish, we chose sautéed foie gras and raviollo with foie gras and truffle.

 I don't know if you can tell but this is sizable foie gras. Very rich and creamy but the seasoning wasn't heavy. I'm not a "Foie Gras Guy", but I had to try this because we were in France and foie gras is particularly special for someone from California (foie gras is banned in California). Great dish!

 Again this is not a good photo. But....

AMAZING!!! (This is my first all capitalized red-Amazing) This would be something I would remember for long time.

There were two big raviollo. Inside was foie gras and topped with truffle. It sounds a little tacky but it was simply delicious.


Second plates were lobster and steak.

This was a whole lobster chopped to big pieces with its shell. It was a little saltier than I like. But other than that, a very good dish.

The steak was substantial too. Nicely cooked with a very rich sauce (probably reduced beef stock). This sauce was fantastic.

For the cheese dish, we had some options. Normally a server brings a cheese board with various kinds of cheeses and the customers choose ones they want to try. The server slices each kind and plates them. Maybe because they thought we couldn't handle that (for our knowledge in cheeses and French language). The waiter offered an option of local cheese. I know some about cheese but the number of the cheese on the board was a little intimidating and my French language skill is close to zero so we chose local cheese. I was expecting a few kinds but it was just one. But it was pretty big piece.

It tasted like aged brie. Very good but I was getting full. I wanted to leave some room for dessert so I didn't finish it.

OK, I'm ready for dessert and waiting for the dessert menu. Instead we receive complimentary sweets.

These looked really good. But I was getting full. I had one small bite of each. More tangy sweets, which was good for me.

OK, do we get the menu for sweets now? What??

Palate cleanser (sorry for the blurry picture). Some panna cotta-like stuff at the bottom and probably apricot puree on top. Very refreshing but I'm really full at this point....

Finally we got the dessert menu. Because of miscommunication, we had two of the same dessert (I wanted to taste different desserts, though).

The chocolate mousse was a little too sweet for my taste but presented very elegantly. The ice cream was so delicious.

Well, I would say this is one of the most memorable meals.