This was taken at our hotel balcony in Dijon.
# – Holding on to dear life.
One piece dress from Sally Fashion. Scarf from don’t know where. Shoes from Onitsuka Tiger. Sunglasses from Bazzarro.
=========
We woke expecting to eat awesome food in Dijon. All the things we had read about Dijon was that it’s quite hard to eat bad food there. There’re over 20 Michelin-starred restaurants so no surprise there.
We had decided to eat at a 2-star Michelin restaurant by Chef William Fachot, located inside Hotel Chapeau Rouge. However, as it turned out, on the day we went, it was the last day of their holiday. And we were not staying another night just to eat there :(
# – Chapeau Rouge.
# – What could have been!
With our goal restaurant closed, off we wandered. Found a restaurant reasonably busy. It’s called Au Moulin Au Vent.
It has an attractive Bourguignon menu of the day, so we thought why not? We should eat burgundy food in Dijon.
# – Poached eggs in a bouiguignon sauce was mindblowingly good while the ham terrine was okay.
Our mains were also okay only…
# – Me and beef bourguignon.
# – Hubs and coq au vin.
Desserts were so much better….
# – Raspberry & lemon sorbet with macarons.
# – Tiramisu.
So plans for fine dining out of the window.
Then, we bought loads of Dijon mustards. Haha.
# – Never seen so many variety of mustards in my life.
After lunch and shopping, we made our way to Paris, a 2.5 hours drive away. We are staying in the Chaville area which is between Paris and Versailles.
For dinner, we decided to try Chartier in central Paris, a restaurant rated highly for its atmosphere, good but cheap food. The restaurant is more than a 100 years old and has been serving the same food for over 40 years, canteen style.
We were very excited. Reached there to find a queue extended all the way to the street.
# – Queuing up.
# – Getting nearer…
After about 30 minutes we were seated. Together with a different couple on the same table. The dining hall was full.
# – Hubs.
# – Me.
We were wondering why everybody looked slightly miserable. Maybe that’s how French people look like hahahha. Sorry.
Then we waited, and waited and waited. Our foie gras and escargots arrived. Nice snails, foie gras was just pate but okay.
Then we waited, and waited and waited and waited. Keep watching other people getting served their food.
# – So many plates but none ours.
45 minutes later, dude came to tell me my duck confit has finished. /rage
I didn’t know what else to order. Most of the french wordings on the menu were indecipherable by Google Translate. So I decided to skip main course….mostly out of frustration too.
Then, Gareth’s head of calf came.
Hahahhahahahahhaha.
Basically blanched cow tongue and vaguely meat looking bits and a boiled potato with some sauce on the side.
# – Hahahahhahahahhahaha.
Turned out the hubs couldn’t eat his main too. So I offered to eat his, afterall I do like my exotic food.
# – Nervous laugh.
Well, I thought nothing fazes me in terms of food…I have eaten and enjoyed bugs, worms, raw meat of different species, that Japanese natto without flinching but this……this cooked head of calf made me want to puke.
There were also stuff resembling pubic hair sticking out from some meat. I don’t know if it was a disgruntled waiter or a feature of calf’s head.
# – Hairy.
Waiter was nice and offered hubs steak and fries while I continued jabbing at the calf head.
His steak came, he was happy at first then he was not anymore because it was like eating pure gristle.
# – Pre-mature happiness.
So we both crossed our fingers and hope that dessert would save our dinner.
Nope, our Mont Blanc was basically overly sweetened chestnut puree with whipped cream. Cannot make it.
What is this?
# – Fail.
Now we know why everybody looked so pissed off. We have dubbed it the Chartier face.
Well, you queue for so long to get a seat, then you wait for so long to finally be served with such mediocre food. Pissed off or not?
Chartier is known for serving some of the cheapest food in Paris, but in my opinion it is severely overpriced for their quality of food.
While we’re glad we have visited a Parisian institution, I would never wish to eat there ever again. True, the atmosphere was quaint and perhaps authentic (I wouldn’t know as I am not a Parisian) but honestly the food needs to buck up. If you want to check it out, just go there for the atmosphere….do not believe any review of the food by young, broke people on TripAdvisor trolololol. I kid.
After “dinner”, we did a Paris drive-by tour.
# – The Louvre.
# – The tiny Arc de Triomphe Carousel which I almost thought was the famous Arc de Triomphe. I was like, wtf this is not worth it to be world-famous #bimbo
# – Eiffel Tower. Quite impressive in real. Well done, French people.
We hung out a bit around Eiffel tower and then looked for kebab shops but everything was closed wtf.
Drove back to hotel, hungry, tired and slightly miffed.
Oh well.