Bouchon Bistro.

merry christmas!

we had a pre holiday dinner @ Bouchon Bistro in beverly hills.

after we booked tickets back to caLi for the holidays, the very next thing i did was make dining reservations. ( yes, weeks ahead.) Bouchon Bistro in bev hills was my top choice for a relaxed yet upscale foodie dinner.  i love dining in beverly hills during the christmas season.. the shoppers, decor all around, LA palm trees with santa’s sleigh over wilshire in the cold air, really brings the holiday spirit to life.

i’m obsessed with bouchon butter. LOVE. i can eat it straight with a spoon. but their crispy baguette is a great vehicle for it. ;)

today’s special starter. escargot in herbed butter topped with puff pastry.

appetizer of bone marrow with grilled toast points. look at the roasted garlic cloves. pure decadence.

frisee salad to start. lemony dressing, with bacon bits and slightly poached egg atop. when all mixed together, the egg makes a great dressing.

i wanted something on the lighter side for dinner, ( especially after the bone marrow) so i ordered the Florentine Quiche as my entree. (an appetizer option on the menu) it was fluffy and light- great crust.

b’s entree of mussels and pomme frites. always a great choice at bouchon.

for dessert. THE “chocolate bouchon,” trio, served with gelato and poached pears.

the service is always great.. this was the first time we dined there with a child in our party, and they were very kid friendly.

bouchon bistro, as usual, great food without fail.

xx

yilan. bu lao buo luo.

we took a day trip to yilan last sunday. it was really nice to get out of the city. one hour drive out of the city, a short walk over a suspension bridge ride in a range rover up a steep mountain! the adventure starts right away.

gorgeous setting in the mountains. fresh air, light rain.. chilly day.

we passed by their mushroom farm on the way up- and were taught how to pick and eat them straight off the logs. the mushrooms are SO amazing. YUM.

mushrooms!

some of the freshly farmed + picked veggies that we would enjoy today.

upon arrival at the common area, we were seated around a fire pit and given skewers of marinated pork to cook. we also cooked the freshly picked mushrooms over the fire. after they were soft, sea salt was sprinkled on, returned to the flame for another 10 sec.. and then eaten. my fave.

homemade sweet potato chips, salted.

this root like veggie was picked from a fern/plant on the drive up the mountain! it crunches like cucumber, then is slightly sticky after some chewing- like nagaimo yam. prepared with ponzu sauce, diced onion and caviar.

sweet potato, eaten with a bite of fresh spicy ginger and sprinkled with a little salt.

this was interesting. escargot wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber, with something spicy an sour all wrapped up inside this little bite. i usually don’t eat escargot, but for the sake of trying everything, i had one.

soup/stew. WOW. full of flavor, stewed with fatty pork, carrots, turnips, radish and taro. ( i didn’t eat the taro- but everything was so amazing!)

“shiao mi jio” little rice wine. we had 4 different types of rice alcohol throughout the day.. this one was carbonated, like a beer.

super fresh fish, caught this morning from their farm, then cut and grilled in front of us. served with lemon and salt.

cured fish, smoked and served with a small rice “zhongzhi.” the bones are all edible and chewy. this dish went really great with the rice alcohol.

pork rib steak, bone in. SOO GOOD. the marinade was amazing. i ate it ALL, even though i was already full from eating all day.

 

definitely a great trip! aside from the food, we learned a bit about taiwanese aboriginal culture. and had a great time with the hosts.

seasonally, the food changes to whats fresh- so its worth coming out often!

xx

pierre marcolini.

last week we had high tea @ the newly opened pierre marcolini in mitsukoshi a4.

my friend’s savory entree. ham and cheese millefeuille with salad. crispy pastry sheets, with runny egg yolk. the cheese melds it all together.

below is my order of their chocolate orange cake, with vanilla bean ice cream. great plating. super chocolatey. i had a latte to go with the cake. i’ve been choosing coffee over tea more and more recently.. even during teatime. something i never used to do!

entree presentation exceeded any expectations i had. it’s a cute open cafe setup, with comfortable seating- and the tables were arranged with a respectful distance so you don’t end up in other diner’s pictures.. especially the ones that take a zillion, with the entree, without, duo, poses, funny faces.. (yes, this is something that annoys me)

the cake and tea selection on the menu is small, and the prices are a bit on the expensive side.

will return again to try another savory. lunchtime maybe?

 

xx

 

PAUL boulangerie/patisserie

high tea @ PAUL.

we ordered the tea set option that consists of a drink, a choice of pastry/cake and 2 puffs.

i had the apple tartin. it had a nice pastry crust, and the apples had a good consistency- not mushy. it was okay, but i don’t think i’d order it again. the “puffs,”  on the other hand, were quite crispy and airy- a little bit chewy on the inside. surprisingly good.

my gf ordered PAUL’s infamous millefeuille. she chose the strawberry- my fave too. the crispy pasty filled with sweet vanilla cream is best with a bit of the tart strawberries.

and of course lattes all around, not pictured.

PAUL:  107, RenAi Rd, Sec. 4.

xx