Le Maxan: Chou, Duck flair
My appreciation for duck cuisine has soared since moving to Paris. Every time I savour it, I'm filled with gratitude and a profound sense of respect for the animal.
Finding this particular restaurant was quite an adventure. I had booked two places but in my morning rush, sent my friend the wrong address. We ended up waiting at opposite ends of the Champs-Élysées in two different restaurant until I realised my mistake, nonetheless to say my new friend’s phone battery died. Thankfully, the two restaurants weren't too far apart, so I managed to dash across the Champs-Élysées for our lunch. I blame Paris for temporarily diminishing my brain cells! Forgive me, ducks
It's incredible how small the world can be. I first connected with J through a Taiwanese Facebook group where she was selling a hand mixer. We hit it off and decided to meet up for lunch. Imagine our surprise when we discovered we had mutual friends—people I knew from my high school exchange program in the United States over a decade ago!
Choux is the new French word I learn today.
Choux in French can be lettuce, pastry puff, and also have a slang meaning in the writing of “chou” as “dear”, “darling”, “sweetheart”, and “cute.” The first time my French girl friend said chou to me, I thought she was calling me a cabbage or an owl. Owl in French is chouette(feminine) and hibou (masculine). The accurate word of cute in French is mignon(masculin) and mignonne (feminine).
I ordered a 3 courses meal
Soup: varieties of chestnuts and nuts with foie gras de canard
Main meal: stuffed pork meat with foie gras inside cabbage roll**
Dessert: Lemon Pavola, composed of fresh meringue, speculoos, citron cream and citron sorbet
** there are some roasted potatoes and a slice of chopped roasted beef from my friend, because sharing is caring, it’s our gastronomy culture to share food with our food companion.
Le Maxan
3 Rue Quentin Bauchart, 75008 Paris, France
Dine date: 2019 November
*I like to take dissect picture of the food I ate. It reminds me of the ingredients inside the food, the creativity the chef put in, and how ingredients are being assemble.