Following My Nose in France and Italy

Colette’s novels and Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast lured me to Paris’s grand boulevards and cobbled lanes 21 years ago. The urge to pay another visit to France was resurrected by Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence.

Movies were not much help either. How can any girl watch Katherine Hepburn’s Summertime and not dream about jumping onto a Venetian vaporetto in her pleated skirt and button-down? Or Audrey Hepburn’s Roman Holiday and not be moony-eyed over Rome?

I imagined my second trip to Europe to be the extraordinary dovetailing of the real and the cinematic or literary. Around this reservoir of images and stories, my trip to France and Italy began to take form.

PARIS: THE STROLL

Starting the day at Rue de Lille. My petit dejeuner of baguette, brie, mimolette, chevre and espresso.

My first stop was Paris. Because I wanted to breathe the same hallowed air that Simone de Beauvoir and Hemingway breathed, I booked a perch at St. Germain de Pres. My building had no lift so I had to drag my luggage three floors up. My reward was a view of Karl Lagerfeld’s bookstore just down the street. At 20 sqm., the flat was tiny but well-planned, with closets discretely tucked into the walls, and a sofa bed that can turn into a double bed at night. A modern Boffi fan provided sufficient ventilation, assisted by tall windows on warm nights. The kitchenette had two induction hobs, which I never used, a toaster, where I warmed slices of baguette for breakfast, a coffee pod machine for my espresso and a personal refrigerator for my stash of cheeses.

These bouquinistes are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and take up more than three kilometers of the Seine riverbank.

Our merry band of tower gazers. The path to the Eiffel Tower is well grooved but who can resist its charms, especially in good, well-fed company, and at night when it is all lit up. Even more special was catching the light show at the first 10 minutes of the hour, and seeing a million diamonds dancing all over the tower.

At The Louvre, one of the largest museums in the world. Being that, it is overwhelming for everyone, including me. I made the experience manageable with a cheat. I downloaded an audio guide by Rick Steves, which gave me an overview of the highlights, which, of course, included the Mona Lisa.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, one of the most majestic sight inside the Louvre.

My personal favorite sculpture was out on the streets, glistening under the midday sun—the gilded bronze figure of Jeanne d’Arc on horseback.

But the real worship took place here, at Angelina's, temple of molten chocolate pleasure. Shown here is Chocolat L’ Africain, considered by many to be the best hot chocolate in the world. As it was poured into my cup, everything came into focus. And as I drank the last drop, my satisfaction was complete.

Not even the best hot chocolate can make me skip a third cup of my favorite beverage. Un café crème, s’il vout plait? Here at Café de Flore, where one of the best people-watching can be had. The latter is, evidently, an acceptable pastime in Paris, where people are less inclined to sit across each other at a table than beside each other with unobstructed views of the sidewalk, the street, and the people passing by.

Up Next: Paris: The Scooter Ride
Related:  My AirBNB Picks in France and Italy
               How to Choose an AirBNB Rental

Alab by Chef Tatung

What Quezon City lacks in highbrow dining, it makes up for in bravado. Just look at the wave of upstarts in Maginhawa, Cubao Expo, Katipunan and South Triangle by chefs and entrepreneurs aspiring to build their own legends. One of the savants of the QC dining scene is @cheftatung who gained a following at his Maginhawa private dining post before moving to BGC. He retraces his roots with the opening of Alab in QC where you can feel his passion for Filipino cooking alive and burning.

Co/Op's Classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I always succumb to comfort food even when I’m in no need of comforting, so when I saw grilled cheese (P360) on Co/Op’s menu, I immediately knew what to order. It was the right kind of gooey, buttery and toasty, with golden brown bread that had the right thickness to allow the three kinds of cheeses to thoroughly melt and ooze from the edges. The only thing missing was a note of salt. But… see next post. #food52 #travelandleisure #manilafoodies #IgersManila

Address 189 A. Mabini St., San Juan, Metro Manila 
Phone 02.925.5885 / 02.507.7934 / 0917.828.8341

Restaurant Review: Black Sheep

“Our goal is to capture the flavor spectrum of our people in one meal, one sitting. To fully understand what is good and comfortable but to push the limits of our skills and give everyone a unique experience.” - Chef Jordy Navarra

Black Sheep’s degustacion has got to be one of the best meals one can have in Manila. And that is saying a lot because there’s so much good eating to be had in this metro.



I would even hazard to say that its signature salad, the Bahay Kubo, is one of the best things ever produced by a Filipino chef. This salad deserves a medal for originality, for taste and for plating. It is Iron Chef material.

Underneath the “topsoil” made of eggplant and peanuts are all the vegetables named in the Philippine folk song from which the salad derives its name. Take your fork and really dig in in order to get to the bed of sauce and scoop enough vegetables and “soil” to enjoy a complete mouthful of this genius dish.

This is my favorite and the star of the show in my opinion, quite a feat for a salad for sure. I wouldn’t quite say it steals the thunder from the stellar main course, a perfectly cooked rib eye steak made of aged Kitayama beef served on a plate “glazed” with squid ink mashed potatoes, but it comes close.



The meal starts with chicken-n-egg (free-range chicken, mandarin and beer), which gets five points for originality and plating. I need to shave off a point for taste because the crunch that I loved when I first tried it was sorely missing the second time.



This was followed by the macaron with laing. When served, the waitstaff will remind you to let the whole morsel melt in your mouth. It is a necessary detail. I gobbled the entire thing during my first visit, and dismissed it as forgettable. The second time around, I took the advice and ended up really delighting in this effervescent creation as it unraveled its sweet, creamy goodness onto my tongue.



Following this was the Today’s Catch course. I was able to sample the oysters during my first visit. It was nothing special. On my second visit, I was served a dumpling on a spoon. I took the whole thing in my mouth, took a bite and almost choked as the sudden burst of soup flooded the back of my throat. The bisque-like liquid was packed with the flavor of prawns. The second item on the plate was an ebi tempura with prawn-flavored mayonnaise on the side. It was prawn on prawn on prawn. And it was delicious.



For my main course during my second visit, I opted for the pork and chicken, which certainly paled in comparison to the beef. I think Chef Jordy Navarra can certainly produce something more badass from a sublime raw material like pork.



The desserts are not quite there yet in terms of flavor but get top points for presentation. Maybe in my next visit, and there certainly will be one.



Budget from P1900++ per person
Monday - Saturday +632 478 4498 | +63917 871 4388 dine@blacksheepbgc.com
(Update: Black Sheep recently announced the closure of its BGC location. News is the restaurant will be moving to a new location in Makati CBD. Unfortunately, Chef Jordy will not be joining the move. I'm eagerly awaiting his next venture.)