On our fifth full day in Paris we decided to just go with the flow and just do whatever came to mind during the day. During the previous four days we'd had plans, but on this Saturday, we just wanted 
to kick back and enjoy things. So, a visit to our favorite little spot on Rue Montorgueil, Café du Centre was in order. So, we strolled on over. It was fairly early on this Saturday, so the streets weren't quite as busy, though the shopping on Rue Montorgueil was in full swing.
So, we sat, had our Cafe Allonges and just watched the world go by for an hour or so.
So relaxing; it's a favorite pass time of ours.
From here we headed off to do some shopping in the 2nd; passing this art installment which we don't remember seeing before right in front of the Bourse de Commerce.
Doing a bit of a search when I returned to the apartment, I found that this is called Cheval et Cavalier (" Horse and Rider") by American artist Charles Ray.
We strolled thru the lovely Galerie Vero Dodat which I've mentioned before.
We love walking thru the and exploring the covered passages of Paris.
It was fun checking things out. There were some cute pooches as well……
There's always something to draw your attention.
After our required stops along the way, we headed on back. Stopping at Hôtel de Ville, City Hall for a bit. You see this was during the first week of December and the Christmas Markets were open. Hôtel de Ville has a Christmas Market of its own.
While not as fun and those in the Alsace (we'd actually be taking a short trip soon) it was a fun little stop. And we saw this well behaved little one posing for a photo which stopped us in our tracks.
My goodness……he looked like Frankie! The Missus and I looed at each other and smiled. Maybe Frankie was looking down at us at this moment! "We miss you everyday Frankie!"
We took busy Rue des Archives back in the direction of the apartment and the Missus saw a chocolate shop named Patrick Roger and we stopped in.
Many of the chocolates seemed sculpted like pieces of art and the Missus decided to buy an assortment.
The Missus didn't enjoy these quite as much as Her favorite, but it was a fun stop.
Patrick Roger
43 Rue des Archives
75003 Paris, France
As we got to the apartment, we decided it was time for some lunch. The side streets close to where we were staying had quite a few Chinese restaurants, in the Haute Marais of all things. I mentioned the History of this in an earlier post. We saw this shop and decided some jiaozi might be nice on a winter day.
The window was all fogged up because there were quite a few people in the place and there was a woman making jiaozi in the front as well. Customer base was a mix of Chinese and regular Parisians.
We got an order of Pork and Cabbage Jiaozi and an order of Baozi.
The wrapper was too thick and chewy, the filling tender but on the bland side. The black vinegar provided was really weak. These weren't very good.
The Baozi was better, but not by much.
The dough was too rubbery, though the pan fried portion was better. It was fairly yeasty in flavor and not overly sweet. The filling here was more tender and juicy, but still on the bland side, in need of a ton of the watery black vinegar.
Not quite sure in the dumpling "artiste" was inhouse on this day? But it was an inexpensive lunch.
Les Artistes du Ravioli
33 Rue au Maire
75003 Paris, France
And it was close to the apartment which was a good thing since I was ready for a nap!
Thanks for stopping by!
The sausage had a firm, "snappy" casing. The filling had some good herbaceousness but was quite dry and overly chewy. Not a bad version by any means, but definitely not great. We tasted the Jeow Mak Len, the tomato dipping sauce provided which was mild, tasting like a weak tomato salsa and decided not to use it.
Yes, this is "half-rice" at Nanay's. The rice, which is predictably not of the best quality was decently cooked.
'
When this arrived, the Missus and I gave each other a "look". This didn't seem quite right. And yes, it was overcooked, lacking in flavor, the filo like pastry was hard instead of crisp. And that egg; that poor overcooked, unseasoned egg. 'Nuff said.
The Missus ordered the combo with banh cuon trung, with eggs folded into the wrapper and the ground dried shrimp. First things first, the nuoc mam cham was way too sweet and really watered down. It was in dire need of more fish sauce and spice. In fact, the Missus was hatching a plan to possibly sneak in our own stuff next time.
This was interesting in a way. The banh mi was nicely heated, a light crusty-flaky-yeasty, all that better to soak up the rather mild tomatoey "sauce-gravy".
The hot dog cracked me up. It was….well, a hot dog, like something you bought at the grocery, a salty-sodium laden, tubular mystery meat. My favorite item by far were the meatballs which, while laden with filler were moist, tender orbs of beefy goodness. The eggs had a bit of "fishiness" to them and lacked seasoning, obviously not of the best quality, but decently sunny side up.
Well, along with lines, I found that ASA likes their signs. Like the one above that states only 3 pastries per person. Good thing I didn't promise anyone else some goodies from here right?
This is baguette in name only and absolutely does not have any attributes of bread. It was hard as rock….hope you have good teeth if you get this. You basically didn't tear this; you cracked it into pieces. The chocolate was fine, not too sweet, but since whole macadamia nuts were used, the distribution was haphazard and you'd only occasionally find one.
This was a decent sandwich. I’ve always liked the thin shaved turkey and even though the bacon is in “bits” there’s a good amount of it in the sandwich.
My order was ready when I arrived….I just sauntered in, gave my name, and headed back to the car and office.
From previous experience I knew what was available from what was on the white board.
