Lunchtime in Paris

Lunch from Tang Gourmet - Paris Belleville

First of all, Happy New Year and  Bonne Année 2008, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.
Today I went to Belleville to have some soup,

This is a Soupe Phnom Penh and costs 5.80 euros. It was pretty good but I think I still prefer pho (which they also serve) - soup is much more fun when served with a bunch of greeenery and sprouts to mix in.

I got the soup here at Da Lat. I've been eating here for years. And then, after my soup I was wandering around and discovered:

Tang Gourmet in Belleville! Hurray, I will no longer have to go all the way to the 13th arrondissement. Now Tang Gourmet is only two metro stops away. There is a lot of take out stuff and they also have tables inside where you can have a very inexpensive lunch. Sandwich (banh mi) fries and a beverage for 4.20 euros. That is cheap for Paris and there are a bunch of other different combos that won't cost you more than 6 euros.

Here are some of the interesting things I bought:

Mini nems - 10 for a euro. I've never seen mini nems before and these we really cute and delicious.

Check out the size - this 10 cent euro coin is 19.75 millemetres in diameter.

I also got this white radish paté. I'd never tried or even seen  this before. This slice cost 0.60 euros.

Here is the inside, and it was really pretty good. I just think perhaps it should have been accompanied by something. Next time I will ask for suggestions on what to serve it with.

Here is the lotus flower cake which cost 2.10 euros. I had to take the photo while it was still in the bag because it was a fragile thing and somehow started to come apart during the metro ride home.

This is a close up and I'm sure it is some kind of fried pastry because it reminded me of those Swedish rosettes my grammy made...mmmm. I'll try to get another one sometime and I'll be more careful bringing it home because it was a beautiful thing.

And so all was going well and I was getting along quite inexpensively until I saw the barbecue counter...and so I splurged for 500 grams of échine de porc (pork something - the cuts are different here).

Delicious, succulent, and much much better than salad. The 500 grams cost 6.50 euros and it was well worth it.  So I suggest that you check out Tang Gourmet the next time you are in Paris.  Nice friendly service, good food,  and the price is right.

Happy lunching 2008!

Lunch at the Louvre (the only food court in France!)

I had a sudden urge to blog today and so I took my daughter to lunch at France's only food court. It is located in the Caroussel du Louvre (the little shopping mall under the pyramid). The entrance is practical too if you want to go to the museum, when there is a huge line in front of the pyramid you can go through the carrousel and save some time.

I used to go there a lot when I got homesick because it reminded me of the mall and it's family friendly too.

Here is my beautiful daughter waiting in line for some Lebanese food (and as you can see there is an Italian place just behind for pizza). Please all cross your fingers for her because she has an interview tomorrow for a summer job at Yellowstone!



And here is her 11.90 euros lunch consisting of chicken, stuffed grapeleaves, tomato and cucumber salad with mint, and a coca zero (this is the manly version of coca light which they happened to be out of).



I had a lamb tagine and a diet coke for 14.00 euros. The semoule was actually pretty good but then I forgot to take a picture of the food stand. It is called Marrakech something and has a palm tree on the sign.



I did however (completely accidentally) get a photo of this romantic couple. In the background you can see the famous Universal Burger and a place called Douce France where they sell French specialities.



We got crepes for desert. Mine was supposed to be a crepes suzette...where's the strawberry?



Many crepes to choose from.



My daughter more wisely chose the chocolate and banana crepe. You can have whipped cream as an extra for 1.10 euro.



Please note that the opening hours on the site are incorrect (it is not open until 11 pm any more). The new hours are confusing so I took a photo. On Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays they close at 9 pm. On Tuesdays they close at 5 pm. On Fridays and Saturdays they close at 10 pm and on Wednesdays they close at 10:30 pm.

Aside from the stuff you can see available in the photos there are Chinese, Sushi, Roast Chicken, Salad, and Spanish places too. The food is just ok but it's convenient, and good for people with picky kids. And, of course, it's the only food court in France.

I also have some very exciting news. After two years without an adventure I've reserved a Paris/Mumbai for August 2008. I'm finally going to go to India! where I will try to take many fabulous food photos. Hopefully I will blog again before then but if not please make sure to come back in September for my lowdown on Mumbai street food.

Quick Lunch at Quick les Halles

I will continue with my vacation update (Bangkok and Laos and the airplane food) on Monday.

Today I had a very Paris lunch here:

It's Quick right across from the entrance to the Forum des Halles. My daughter Aisha worked there this summer and today was her second to last day so I had to get a photo.

Stop it mom, you're embarrassing me...well perhaps that is what mom's are for. In any case I arrived when she was waiting on a German family who spoke very broken English and she did great. Very patient and polite. I'm proud of my daughter.

Quick is very generous with its meal allowance so we ordered lots of stuff. And thanks Aisha for treating your old mom to lunch.  Here is the new "Demoniak" meal with the Demoniak cheeseburger.

The fried potatoes at Quick are particularly nice.

They also have various healthy options...here is the salad that you can get in place of fries. Very yummy too.

And here are some cheesy whatevers, not bad.

Close up on the cheesy thing. Ok, but could have been just a bit more melty.

And finally Quick does hotdogs too.

May I suggest that for all your fast food needs in Paris you visit Quick. It is much chicer than McDonalds...I actually thought I might include this in traditional French lunches insofar as there is no Quick in the States.

Unfortunately Aisha is leaving tomorrow to continue her studies and you can no longer count on her patience and/or English language skills  but I am sure you will enjoy your meal here at the European fast food alternative: Quick link to the Quick site if you are interested in learning more.  in English.

See you again on Monday for some Bangkok delights.