I know, I know I am a little biased – I speak a lot about Joel Robuchon. I do agree that the venture has become “ a luxurious chain”, but to be honest until now the concept is working perfectly well. One of the reasons for the restaurants’ success is…

5 nights is way too short to discover Istanbul. The capital of three former empires, Istanbul is like a piece of bachlava, many layers of richness and sweetness. The appetite grows by eating it and still, after finishing all the plate, you want some more. I have already posted about…

Can a shashlik kebab be so delicious that your understanding of good shashlik changes forever? So good that you keep thinking of this amazing dish that is melting in your mouth days after your lunch in Köşebaşi Levent and can’t wait to return there and experience that unique feeling? I…

Yves Camdeborde is called “the pope” of “bistronomie”. Years ago he quit his career of “chef étoilé” at Crillon and went for the democratization of gastronomy by opening La Régalade. Since 2005 Yves Camdeborde runs Le Comptoir du Relais ( 9 carrefour de l’Odéon, 75006, tel. 01 44 27 07…

As I’ve posted almost two years ago Le Temps au Temps bistro quintessentially represents the “bistronomie” idea. No “brigade” in the kitchen, three waiters for one table or expensive tableware. The pocket-size bistro on Paul Bert street has only one waiter and two people cooking. One of them is basque…

Joel Robuchon is a man of fashion. And the fashion of the moment is called Japanese food. Yoshi is the first Joel Robuchon’s Japanese restaurant in the world. It was opened in Metropole hotel in Monaco where there is one Robuchon’s restaurant already. The chef in the kitchen is 39…

Lobster from Tetou from my last night dinner. Usually, I don’t like lobsters because of their often chewy texture, but this one was not chewy at all and the sauce was to die for. It is made of the “lobster juice” (the water lobster was boiled), cognac, butter, lemon and…

Steamed pork buns with hoisin, cucumbers and scallions from Momofuku SSam bar and Momofuku Noodle bar. I don’t have enough words to describe the brilliance of the combination of delicate steamed buns, juicy, but crispy at the same time pork, scallions, slices of cucumber and spicy hoisin sauce. On Tuesday I…

This is not an “Opera” cake – it is an amuse-bouche of foie gras, eel and soy sauce jelly at Benkay. A nice dedication to French and Japanese cuisines. Speaking of Japanese ingredients and toro in particular (see my previous post), Benkay located in Novotel hotel in the 15th arrondissement…

Update 19/05/09. The menu has been totally changed in Ozu and now they serve “small plates”. So when you order shrimp tempura, you have two small and quite pathetic shrimps, when you order fish, the size of the portion is maybe three bites. The quality of the products was very…