ElliotNg.com > Mange.Voyage > Food reviews » France

Post Trip Discussions

productionteams — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:03:46 +0000

Excerpt from a MSN conversation with my “twin” brother:

My brother asked:

“and what did you learn about yourself [on this trip to France]?”

I said:

you can’t plan too much in life…
life is full of unknowns and unknown might not be too mysterious. It can be meaningful, and can quickly be turned into a more manageable known fact.
Most importantly: I can make friends just about any where in the world, even with language barrier!
Photos speak for a 1000 words:

Jose and Monica at Pont du Gard from the region Galicia in Spain, bordering Portugal.

Mato at Barcelona from Milan

Yellowknife’s Karin from my class in Montpellier (right next to me)

German Hubert + my Host Family Mother: Marie Francin at Montpellier

Food. Food. More Food.

productionteams — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 16:33:16 +0000

It has been 3 weeks since I left Vancouver. Thanks god I missed all the rain and snow. (Sorry folks in Vancouver). There hasn’t been a day in France where I had a bad meal.

The food in France is exceptional. Just about anywhere in the town you can find good food, shall I thank the authors at Lonely Planet (France) as well?

The Adventure

This is “Andouillette with Fries” I tasted in Monte Carlo. It’s a speciality dish in France.
It’s pork intestine. Guess, the French could be like the Cantonese in terms of the exotic food. The bad taste of the intestine is suprisngly not there thanks to the strong pepper seasonings and the sauce.

I also ordered the Rock Fish Stock Soup to start. It’s the best 16 Euros I spent on soup!

A Suprise

Dim Sum Plate in Nice! Can you believe it? The round dumpling located at the “4-o’clock” of the steamer is a dumpling I like a lot, but even I couldn’t find that in Hong-couver!

The sweets

Of course the day cannot end without desssert! It’s fruit Clafoutis. It’s a different rendition of the one I had at Provence Marinaside in Vancouver. It’s made out of eggs (like quiche but sweet taste) with lots of exotic fruits and a light tart base. On the topm it’s like creme brulee, it’s burnt a bit. It’s exceptional. Thanks to the recommendation from Lonely Planet.

The Snacks:

We brought this Smoked Salmon cone at Monoprix (I think it’s like a supermarket giant that sells just a bit of everything. It’s like a upscale Safeway with London Drugs and Winners all in one!). Inside the cone, it’s a pate of Smoked Salmon topped with some cream and the gello with chieves.

A Regular Lunch in Nice

We went to a nicely decorated place on Boulvard de Jean Medicine in Nice. I guess the French will call this place “sympthatic”. It’s the Combo I picked to satisify my eggs craving. It’s a Sandwich of American Style and with the toxically delicious White Chocolate Raspberry Tarte!

Mounting to the TOP of Millau to see the Viaduc du Millau

productionteams — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 16:01:42 +0000

We were crazy last night. We were at Aix-en-Provence at 6:00 pm and Aix is about 1,5 hour away from Montpellier, which is where I need to return my Peugout 407 (the car I rented from Sixt). And I decided to go and see Viaduc de Millau, connecting between Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers. It’s part of the 340km highway of A75. This viaduc is an architecture gems because it’s the highest BRIDGE ever built on the world (see the link, because of the difference in measurement) with 270 m tall and over the 2.46 km long, the architect Sir Norman Foster ingenously uses ONLY 7 piers!
We drove there and it was on the TOP of the mountain in the Langudoc Region and the 2-lane highway was pitch dark and it was quite scary drive up to the mountain with 800m attitude! After about 1.5 hours, we were finally on the TOP! It was magifnicient! The Viaduc is not too well lit, but you can see how SMALL the lights are in the village below! Very windy and the weather changes quite rapidly as well at the region that high!

It was too dark to go to the visitor’s centre. We just stopped at the rest area and took a picture of the toll booth. Took a video of driving along the Viaduc, and will post on YouTube soon.

A bit of hassle in France, but it’s all part of the cultural experience.

productionteams — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:27:06 +0000

[Updated 3rd time on Dec 6] After all the nice food and wine and architecture in France, it came with some of the cultural drama. Believe me, it’s really a drama of life.

I am very grateful to live in Canada and enjoy so much of multiculturalism. Most people in Montpellier I met are quite nice and politem, but from time to time, the mindset of some challenge me of why I am taking this language.

First Attempt: I took a 2-hour train from Montpellier to Toulouse and another 2 hours bus to the surburbs of Toulouse called Blagnac, wanting to see the Airbus Tour of the biggest and supposedly the very fuel efficient plane in the world – A380. My fasination of this A380 started from the Economist article I read 2 years ago.

After all the travel, the bus driver of the 2nd bus was his first day of that route and he didn’t know where the Aeroconstallation bus stop is! He dropped me off at where people view the takeoff runway of A380 (thanks to its size, it needs a longer runway). I was in the middle of no where and I tried to call the office (of which the line was always busy! I tried for more than 5 times before arrival on that Saturday).

In the end, the administration of Airbus Visit is unwilling to authorize me to join the tour, because I hold a passport outside of the EU and it normally takes 2 business days to clear security (and I didn’t contact them successfully in time before my visit, it only gave them 30 hours of notice) ! Maybe I look like a terrorist! Just k/d.

New Development: Added on Dec 5: On the positive note, I am going there again tomorrow and will take the train from Montpellier to Toulouse again and hopefully it will be a better experience.

Latest Development: Added on Dec 6: Just got back from the AirBus Visit in Toulouse again for my second attempt. Guess life has positive karma coming back at you. Or life is always playing with you. In the end, the conceigere at AirBus Visit saw my passport (United Kingdom of Great Britian). And she thought I am from Great Britain and she said she will classify me into the GB catagory for her references! LOL! What the hassle so in the end, I am an “EU” citizen! AirBus Visit is a MUST SEE for those avion franatics and also for regular people who are curious about science. It’s an art of Science, Arts, Business, and Logistics!

Recommendation: If you want to visit AirBus Visit without a car, here is how you go there:

A nice suprise of the FOOD I found in Montpellier

productionteams — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 09:39:52 +0000

The biggest suprise I found in Montpellier is the availablity and the quality of Asian food. Of course, it can’t be compared to the Vancouver/Toronto level, but in this town very remote from the rest of Asia, I had a pleasant Wonton Noodle Soup and a Pork Spring Roll in this place called

Shanghai Fast Food
13, Rue du Verdun 04 67 92 07 58

Yesterday, my classmate Carrie and I wandered around the street and found a very “sympathique” (I had to use this french word that means nothing in English!) takeout Thai places. Things are measured in 100g, and I ordered a 100g of Pad Thai and another 100 g of the rice vermicelli. It was divine! Very good quality in that place, aibiet the service was a bit chaotic.Tomorrow would be my first time driving in France on the Autoroute! It would not be as exciting as the Autobahn, but still I am driving in Europe!

Grasse
Nice
Monaco
Aix-en-Provence
Marseilles [Bouillabaisse]

Highlights for Bouillabaisse!It’s all started with my first love at Provence Marinaside in Yaletown, Vancouver. Since my first tasting of Bouillabaisse (a tomato stew with fresh seafood and herbs cooked in the Provençal style), my passion for seafood has only grown stronger by the day. Marseilles is the Mecca of Bouillabaisse. This 30€ Bouillabaisse is complimented with a lovely terrace at Le Mérou Bleu on rue St-Saëns. (1)

Restaurant tasting calendar:

Nov 20 – Dec 8: Montpellier

Nov 24 – 26: Sete, Carcassonne, Toulouse
Dec 1 (Friday)

Montpeller (1:30 pm) —- 4 hr —-> Cannes (530 – 10 pm)
— .5 hr —-> Grasse (1030+) [Hotel]

Dec 2 (Saturday)

Grasse (900-1230am) —- 0.5 hr —-> Nice (1pm+) [Hotel]

Dec 3 (Sunday)

—- 0.5 hr —> Monaco (930-4:30) — 0.5 hr —> Nice (430pm) [Hotel]

Dec 4 (Monday)

Nice — 2 hr —> Aix-en-Provence (1100-1300) —- 1/2 hr —-> Marseilles [Bouillabaisse] (1) (130-700) — 2 hr —> Montpellier (@ 900)

Dec 9 – 16: Paris

Dec 12 – 14: Barcelona

Dec 21: Depart Paris for Vancouver.

Stay tune for more updates. If you have any suggestions for restaurants in region, feel free to send me a message.

A fun night at the Carcassonne, a UNESCO site in France

productionteams — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 15:00:31 +0000

The night view of La Cité in Carcassonne, France

After taking a non-TGV class SNCF train to Carcassone, marching up about 10 minutes to the mountain of Carcasoone, I finally arrived to this absolutely gorgeous site called: “La Cite”. This city was built and lived by the Romans, the Goals in the 12th century. The nightview was magnificant.

I had a very nice Casserole at this restaurant Le Restaurant Des Musees on the village for dinner. The Carsserole is the Languedoc-Roussillon, France region, which is specialized with duck and sasuage. It’s a very filling dish but very homey. The server was super kind and very patient with my broken spoken French.

Restaurant name:

Le Restaurant Des Musees

17 Rue du Grand Puit BP 156 11000 Carcasonne

Tel: 06 16 12 09 45

Second day in Montpellier. Finally found the Internet Cafe!

productionteams — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 17:13:22 +0000

After fighting over the jetlag, my second day in Montpellier of this small very old town in the south of France was being very plesant. I took the TGV for the first time from Gare de Lyon, Paris to here for about 3 hours. The scenery along the way was like a dream, everywhere you look outside from the windows was like mountains covered with greens with a lot of farm fields.

The family I am stayed with is a very nice one. The dad is born in Quebec but speaks very little English and the mom who likes to argue a lot is a civil servant. I lived in a 17th century old apartment with the orginial fireplace and ceiling decoration. It’s like watching a french movie. The room I stayed in was the biggest bedroom I have lived in before. It’s about 150 square feet with a nice comfy double bed with a nice fireplace and desk. The ceiling is like 15+ feet high with an equally tall windows, with the old wood shutter outside.

Staying in this town only with 230,000 people, the advantage is that only a few people could speak english which is a perfect for me to learn my french. Suprisingly, my 2-year french is just sufficient for survival. I just need to explain things a few more time. The family I stayed with is fa-tas-tic! We had a 2-hour dinner last night but we talked for more than 1:45 hr. I went to the class for the first time today, classmates are super awesome. I managed to pass the test and I am taking my conversation and writing class.