Quenelle de Brochet Lyonnaise

I've been craving for this very Pinoy street food every since I got here and the Filipino restaurants that I go to don't offer it.  Imagine my surprise when I found it in the snooty French restaurant on Fifth Avenue called La Grenouille.  

We started out with some cold and creamy pea soup that's about 3 teaspoonfuls.  In my Third World upbringing, soup was always steaming hot, comforting and overflowing on a stormy night in July.  I felt haughty French eyes on me, just waiting for me to use a dessert spoon on my minuscule soup bowl.  So I flashed out my mint green Canon and took pictures of every plate they served me.  I've got plenty of Filipino haughtiness to  share too.

The agnolotti with spinach, peas and parsley was amazing.  Agnolotti, I had to ask Monsieur capitaine, is a type of pasta much like ravioli.  I used to sincerely hate peas but I loved it served like this.  It tasted very much like the Japanese sweet corn my parents used to buy from Manong Mais at Ateneo.

Then came the entree, La Quenelle de Brochet Lyonnaise.  It tickled me to high heavens when I discovered what quenelles meant in plain, straightforward English.  Fish balls!!!

To a Filipina who likes her street food grilled or fried to a crisp, this tasted like any uncooked fish ball or squid ball sans the sweet and sour dipping sauce.  In its place, however, was a really good cream sauce.  Then again, this wasn't just any Quiapo side street.  This was also my first time to try une quenelle and like everything French, it will take a little getting used to.  Too bad they didn't offer escargots, I used to consume snails cooked in coconut milk with my father like nobody's business.

So finally, the third and my favorite course, dessert.  I ordered the Floating Island.  I forgot what was in it but the sauce was creamy, sweet heaven; the golden threads on top were caramelized sugar and the two round things in the middle resembling quenelles were meringue-like concoctions that were interestingly good with the first several bites but got too much after that.

 My friend chose an apricot and pistachio sorbet creation.  Of course I didn't like it.  Apricots are much too tart for my taste.

 

I'm thinking my parents would really appreciate this nice place if only for the ambiance and the resplendent flower arrangements in every corner.  I'm not sure French cuisine mashes well with Filipino palates but it's always worth a try.  Prix fixe pre-theater three-course dinner is $60 per person.

Fly Away on My Zephyr

How romantic would it be to travel cross-country on a scenic train ride?  I have just read a piece on the NY Times about traveling by train from Chicago to San Francisco on board the California Zephyr.  Jeez, even the name is romantic.  How often do I use the word zephyr?  Uh, only when I'm singing Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In my excitement about 3 months of an East Coast summer, I've never planned an actual getaway that would require me to be away for more than two days.  I've mentioned "train-ing" to my favorite travel companion and he would like to try it himself.

Parallels: Flower Markets

It was one of those Sundays when I was itching to buy myself flowers, harry potted or otherwise.  The heavy rains didn't stop me from going to the Flower District on W 28th St. between Avenue of the Americas and 7th Avenue.  

This reminded me of Dangwa in Sampaloc, Manila where I used to pass by everyday when I was in college because the university was one block away.  Needless to say by Lady Cheapskate, Dangwa was still so much cheaper and the flowers were more in abundance, overflowing in the streets that it was impossible to walk around during the holidays.

The visuals just left me in awe.  Rows and rows of potted or cut hydrangeas, sweet peas, daisies, orchids, tulips and other humongous ferny things.  Some were silk flowers but you wouldn't know the difference just by looking at them.

Wouldn't it be nice to visit all the flower markets in the world?  Hmm, lovely, lovely thought.  Better than visiting the Chinatown of every city you visit, even in Beijing or Shanghai.