Our first fondue in Switzerland! (Well, the first one we did at home. We’ve had a few in restaurants…)

I’ve been working in Paris too long. Time to return to the origins of this website and report something more exotic than my exploits in Clichy for a change. Time for a report from Thailand.

Two days and two massages into my latest trip to Bangkok, and I remember all the reasons I love Thailand. Great food, great service, friendly people, and warm weather.

I flew on Thai airlines from Zurich on Saturday afternoon. The flight was perfect. My colleague made the rookie mistake of ordering the western meal (filet mignon – always sounds great but ends up dry as boot leather when cooked in an airline oven) and looked on jealously as my pork curry came out – it tasted and smelled even better than it looked. After dinner, I settled in for some sleep, and managed to squeeze in eight hours of good sleep before being woken for breakfast about an hour before landing.

We arrived at 5:30am Sunday morning. Our driver was waiting and we were at the hotel about thirty minutes later. We dropped off our bags, took an hour to have some breakfast and grab a shower, then headed out to explore the city. We started with a little shopping, then had Japanese for lunch – and ordered so much food that they needed to bring a second table (Gina, if you’re reading this, you’ll recognize the situation from our Japanese meals in Singapore!). When the food is this cheap and this good, it’s hard to resist.

I passed the afternoon with a little snooze, a few hours by the pool, and a massage – just about the perfect way to pass an afternoon in Thailand in my book. Another of our colleagues arrived on the evening flight, and we all headed out to dinner at Ruen Mallika, a Thai place I’ve eaten in before and still one of the best that I’ve eaten in Thailand.

Despite asking the waitress to warn us if we over-ordered, we…you guessed it…over-ordered. Fish cakes, spring rolls, tom yum goom with prawns that were as big as lobsters, then red duck curry, more jumbo prawns in garlic, fried heart of palm, chili beef salad, fried morning glory, rice, noodles, and more. Moral of the story: never order when you’re hungry. I had taken charge of the ordering, but I had two willing assistants cheering me on from the sidelines… “Ohh, let’s have one of those, too!” Delicious fresh mango to finish it all off, and the ubiquitous Singha beer. (Apparently, it’s the formaldehyde that gives it the unique taste.)

It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it…

Today was a quiet day. Slept well overnight, had a late start, then a little more shopping, more pool, and more food. Took a few hours out of my afternoon to visit our office in Bangkok where I’ll be running workshops for the next few days, then off for another massage.

We’re just about to head out to the Seafood Market for dinner – you choose it, they kill it, they cook it, you eat it. My kinda dinner.

Not quite sure how I managed to land this job, but it’s not a bad way to make a living…

Waiting for my blog updates is a little like waiting for a bus – none come for ages, then two come at once. I suspect that’s probably a case of when I have time versus when I don’t, but whatever the reason, there will be two updates today.

We’re into the summer season of public holidays in France. Yesterday was a public holiday, and nearly everyone in the country takes today off to make a four-day weekend. Anne-Laure was left stranded in Paris by Neil (who, due to his UK contract, was forced to work on Thursday and Friday) so we took pity on her and had her over for dinner. It was also a great excuse for me to see my local butcher about a beautiful rack of lamb.

So cold cucumber & mint soup to start, rack of lamb with balsamic reduction, roast potatoes, and long-stemmed broccoli, and a tarte aux fraises for dessert, all washed down with a bottle of Côtes de Provence to mark the beginning of summer. It’s nice to finally have some time off to get back into the kitchen and begin cooking properly again. Picard’s frozen foods are a Godsend when you’re busy during the week, but they’re no substitute for the real deal.

Anyhow, a nearly perfect execution. Nearly. The balsamic reduction was more complicated than I had imagined, so it is understandable that I forgot to add the seared cherry tomatoes I had so carefully selected (even having made a special shopping trip to find tomatoes that were still on the vine so they would look nice on the place). They were meant to be the centre-piece on the place, but luckily the lamb turned out so perfectly that no one noticed. Until Aude asked “what are these tomatoes doing here by the stove? Did you mean to use them?” Never mind, they’ll go nicely with some pasta, shrimp, white wine and basil tonight.

Sadly, Anne Laure had to drag herself into work today – but Aude and I managed to take the “pont” and had the day off. Aude suggested we head down to my favourite Vietnamese restaurant for something to eat – so off we went. It’s a little hole-in-the-wall near Tolbiac, but it’s one of my favourite restaurants in Paris for lunch. Quick, cheap, and the food is great.

Song Huong Restaurant, just around the corner from Tolbiac Metro and one of my favourites. Many thanks to Julien for introducing me to it!

This place is always busy, as is the restaurant next door, which specializes in pho. Both are cheap and cheerful, but I prefer this one as it has a wider variety of food (the other one serves nothing but pho in about 16 different combinations) and I think the quality is a little better. There are typically waits to get into both, but the one next door is always busier after having found its way into Lonely Planet. Neil insists that his Vietnamese place is better – we’ve yet to experience it ourselves (any time you want to invite us, Neil, we’ll be happy to join you!) but for my money, this place is pretty good.

After lunch, I headed up to Concorde to hit WH Smith, the English language bookstore. I rarely buy anything here – the choice is limited and the books are all twice the price, but it’s still a great way to pass an afternoon. And the walk back from the bookstore to the apartment, through the Jardins des Tulieries, is a nice 30-minute stroll, perfect for people-watching.

Photographically-speaking, I’ve been uninspired recently, hardly taking any photos at all. The weather was beautiful and I was convinced I could find something to snap, even if it was just touristy shots of Paris. “Getting back onto my horse” and all that. So here are a few shots of touristy Paris on a perfect spring afternoon. Wish you were here?

Looking down the Jardins des Tuileries

Tour Eiffel from the Jardins des Tuileries

You know what they say… Some days, you’re the pigeon. Other days, you’re the statue.

Sunbathers on the lawn in front of the Louvre. The trick to enjoying the sunny weather in Paris is to find your patch of green grass, stake your claim, and soak up the sun.

Looking into the courtyard at the Louvre

Detail of one of the buildings at the Louvre

Paris is an interesting city. Despite throngs of tourists, there is nearly always a quiet place to lose yourself if you look hard enough.

Tourists take over the Pont des Arts, enjoying the good weather.

A view of the Seine from the Pont des Arts. I didn’t notice until after I had taken the shot that someone had drawn a cheeky smiley face on the lamp. Which I think makes it even better.

French car, Parisian parking. Not a centimetre to spare!

 

Well, I managed to make it back from the ski trip with nothing more than a bruised ego. We had a couple of fantastic days skiing, perfect weather conditions and perfect snow conditions, coupled with the fact that there was virtually no one on the slopes so no waiting in line. You really couldn’t ask for a better long weekend.

Everyone agreed, however, that it was my outfit that stole the show. Thanks, Ebay!

Skiing in Les Arcs

Aude gets ready to tuck into her tartiflette after a morning on the slopes

Francois and Gratiane on the slopes

Francois and Gratiane on the slopes

Francois and Gratiane on the slopes

Francois, Aude and Matthew on the slopes. You can decide: is Matthew enjoying the view of Mont Blanc, or is Matthew having a little trouble turning around in this photo, which is why is he being photographed from behind?

Matthew and Aude on the slopes

Matthew and Aude on the slopes. Please note Matthew’s colourful ski outfit. You may doubt it now, but next year everyone will be wearing a catchy number like this. And everyone admitted — it was virtually impossible to lose me. No matter how hard they tried.

A beautiful sunset after a good day skiing

Francois hard at work preparing the fondue

Getting ready to warm the fondue. Or, because we had assembled it incorrectly, prepare for a trip to the emergency room. This is why I only order fondue in restaurants!

Vincent & Alex

Gratiane and Aude

Francois tucks into the fondue

Francois is a little over-excited about the fondue

Fondue

Matt’s trousers are the star of the show again. You can’t pay for publicity like this…

Lunch on the piste

Aude at the restaurant after a tartiflette

Quite a few moguls on this run. Wish I had discovered that before I reached the point of no return!

A view over the Alps