The precious gem of authentic French cuisine - Restaurant Au Petit Riche, Paris
Dear readers, besides fashion and Eiffel Tower, Paris is famous for its top-notch French cuisine, and I always keen on trying some new or authentic French cuisine whenever I was visiting. During the pre-opening of the Olympic game back in July, I walked by a saw a long queue lined up outside one of the historic French restaurant which is famous for its authentic and unpretentious French cuisine, although I’ve been there for lunch back in a couple of years ago, I can’t keep thinking: “is this really the only historic restaurant in Paris that’s worth going?”, in fact, there are other historic French restaurants in Paris that also offers not only authentic French cuisine, but some amazing culinary history dated as early as the late 19th century period. I discovered Restaurant Au Petit Riche by coincident, the thing that fascinated me a lot this restaurant is their history, as well as the location which is far away from the Olympic crowd which I tried to avoid during that period, in such a way, I can able to enjoy a quintessential French meal in a more peaceful and incredible atmosphere that I was looking for in Paris.
Established in 1854, Restaurant Au Petit Riche was the place which coachmen and opera staff would go for a meal, as time evolves, more and more professional clientele began to dine in this restaurant, from auctioneers, bankers, journalists, even some of the former French Presidents were their patrons too! Located in the 9th arrondissement, this restaurant is one of the rare gem for those who are into old Parisian gastronomy and history; one thing that I have to point out is their interior design, which they still retain some of the original, old-world Parisian atmosphere there, the Belle Epoque décor and the nostalgic furniture in particular, that keeping the essence of the old-world Parisian style, the whole ambient is kind of feeling like entering in a time-travel machine and takes one back to the Belle Epoque period, which is something that fascinated me the most.
In terms of the food, since I have prepared my expectation that it is a much authentic kind of French cuisine instead of something super fancy, and I am pleased to see how it turned out. I ordered a main course of pan-fried Salmon with seasonal vegetables plus tomato and carrot purée, it’s simple and nicely presented, the Salmon filet cooked just right without being too dry, and it tasted good with a touch of seasoning. The combination with the seasonal vegetable with green bell pepper, cherry tomato and so on, it spices up the taste of the fish a bit with extra flavors, its simplicity and cooking skill literally reminds me of the art of authentic French gastronomy. I even ordered a glass of Sancerre rosé to match with this meal (which in fact, I rarely drink wine during lunch) to elevate the whole gastronomic experience!
During the meal, I saw that there’s a book placed on top of the cabinet which right across to the table that I sat, that book was in French, but I later realized that it’s about the recipes of some of the iconic Parisian brasseries. I can’t help myself to grab that book to my table, and start checking out what’s written inside, surprisingly, I found that Restaurant Au Petit Riche is also featured in there! Despite my crappy French knowledge didn’t really get me to understand the full context, but I think it tells the deep association about this historic restaurant and the French (or Parisian) culinary culture from the past, and how resilient that it still stands the test of time despite the changes of fashion and culture out there. Or let’s put it this way, I guess this restaurant is perfect for those who are hopelessly nostalgic and romantic enough (like me) to trace back the gastronomic history and art of living in the bygone era Paris, to see how the past generation Parisian live and dine like, and having a real taste of the authentic Parisian cuisine which prepared with a modern manner, like travelling back in time to sit and dine with those historic legends and important people who once hanging around in this restaurant! Maybe that’s one of the best and therapeutic way to experience the old Parisian art of living, after all, that’s one of the reason why I am coming to Paris for.
cover pic source: tripadvisor