Paris, 6.30, etc.. etc...

I apologize in advance for not posting this weekend but I haven't done anything interesting - in the culinary sense of the word until today.

As for last friday, our group baked based on dough, and we made quiche lorraine and tarte a l'oignons. Unfortunately due to lack of humidity, the dough was very crumbly but we all managed to finish the tarts in the end by baking them in the oven and both were very yummy indeed! Ps. a good piece of drunken food

Quiche lorraine: with bacon bits, gruyere cheese, eggs, cream and milk

Today, we had to be in school at 6.30 am to do a Boulangerie (Bread making) class. Free coffee and croissants helped and the class was pleasantly fun and less hectic as in the kitchen but a lot of work (as we stayed until 12.30pm). Chef was extremely nice and patient and showed us how to make (from scratch) and knead (with our own hands) baguettes - which we ended up serving to the school cafeteria for lunch. 

We definitely took a moment to enjoy the free coffee and croissants :) 

It was an awesome experience and we got to try some of our own breads - crispy and warm with butter of course - and cannot wait for the next time to make viennoiserie (croissants, pains au chocolat, etc...)

Flour and water, in which salt and yeast will be added later on

We then knead with our own hands and shaped the dough. It was definitely a work out...

Making the lines on the bread so that they open up in volume and take that fancy decor...

End result...tada!

We obviously ate some!

As a treat, some of us strolled to ETC...(acronym for Epicurean Traditional Cuisine) led by Chef Christian LeSquer (from LeDoyen) and Executive Chef Bernard Pinaud who likes to play with words (especially on the menu). The decor was modern and minimalist, ranging towards darker colors. I really liked the wine coolers they had in the back and the kitchen was hid by a sliding door. It's a rather small restaurant of about 15 tables, but very comfy and not too tight was some French restaurants might do.

A first look at the menu, you can tell the Chef uses many Asian inspired ingredients and dishes. Some of the dishes were original though from growing up in Hong Kong and traveling around Asia, many flavors I've tasted before. We leaned towards ordering meat and the meal was accompanied by a nice bottle of red wine, not too dry and not too sweet either.

The service was nice, the Maitre D', spoke to us a lot and got to know that we were in Ferrandi (which he says "Ferrandi, It IZ ZE Best in France" and recommended other restaurants to try out which was nice of him.  I only saw 1 waitress in the entire establishment but it wasn't very busy for lunch so quite manageable.

Appetizers:

Cepes galore

                                         

                          

Fantaisie Terre et Mer, Haddock roll with beef

Croustillants de Gambas (Fried gambas) in fluffy pastry with sweet chili sauce

Main dishes:

Noix d'entrecôte Hereford laquée de soja et ciboulette (Entrecôte with soya sauce and chive) accompanied by baby potatoes and herbs

Cailled (quail) with grape and mashed pumpkin 

House blood pudding with jus of passion fruit

Dessert:

Chocolate ice-cream with Piment D'Espelette and Gold chocolate rice krispies

Caramel au gout de Carambar glace (nest of Caramel)

ETC...

2, rue Lapérouse

75016

Telephone: 01 49 52 10 10

Métro: Kléber