Bon Appétit!

Posted by Ashley

There are so many good restaurants in Paris. With streets upon streets of bistrots, crêperies, and cafés, it's impossible to try every single one. And if you're only in Paris for a short amount of time, you definitely don't want to waste a precious meal in a not-so-amazing restaurant. So, having just finished my trip to Paris, I thought I'd give you a few restaurant recommendations. (I tried to get some pictures, but unfortunately, as I'm still getting used to blogging, I forgot to take them most of the time so either I tried cropping a picture or I don't have one. You can still find some on the restaurant websites though and I put the links in below.)

Le Verre Luisant – 64, rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris
Closest metro station: Hôtel de Ville
For me, this restaurant is a must. I go here every year to get the same thing: the steak tartare "Tony Montana." The restaurant itself is not too fancy and there aren't too many tourists so it's nice if you're looking for somewhere local. The prices are also reasonable.

Au Pain Quotidien – 5 rue des Petits Champs, 75001 Paris
Closest metro station: Palais Royal/Musée du Louvre
You may have heard of this already as it's not unique to Paris and it's actually Belgian to begin with. It's a chain and the above address is just the one I went to but they have others around Paris, which you can find on their website. I sill decided to put it on this list because the food is delicious and it's all organic. They serve typical breakfast foods but I went there for lunch and had a delicious salad and a tartine. Perfect for a quick lunch or breakfast.

Le Petit Rétro – 5 rue Mesnil, 75016 Paris
Closest metro station: Victor Hugo
This is more of your traditional Parisian bistrot. With it's iron chandelier, old coffee machine, and floral wall and ceiling tiles, this bistrot creates the perfect Paris-back-in-the-day atmosphere.

Creperie Gaîté – 3 rue de la Gaîté, 74014 Paris
Closest metro station: Edgar Quinet
This was a completely unplanned dinner, when I went with my mom to see the Comédie Italienne and we needed to find somewhere close-by. De-li-cious. The galettes sarrasin were filling and very tasty and the dessert crêpes were yummy!

Galette with goat cheese, tomatoes, and ham

Les Ombres – 27 Quai Branly, 75007 Paris
Closest metro station: Alma-Marceau/Iéna (you then have to cross the Seine)
Now I'm stepping it up a bit. This restaurant is a lot fancier than the other ones and the terrace gives you an exceptional view of the Eiffel Tower. You do have to make reservations quite in advance however, so plan accordingly. You can choose to order à la carte or do as I did and order from the lunch set menu where you can choose starter and main course and dessert, or main course and starter or dessert.

Shellfish Ravioli

Chouquettes filed with praline, almond nougat, and passionfruit

Venezuelen chocolate tart

Those are the main restaurants that I went to this past week that I recommend. Now for some café/pastry shops.

Ladurée – 16/18 rue Royale, 75008 Paris
The famous house of macarons. The above address is the original one but there are others around Paris, such as on the Champs-Elysées.

Fauchon
If you're looking for nicely presented, tasty treats, go here. They have a few in Paris which you can find on their site.

Inside the shop

The lovely cakes!

Korcarz – 29 rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris
Located in the Marais, the Jewish Quarter, this little shop sells the most delicious Middle Eastern pastries.

Montecaros, baklava, cornes de gazelle, and more!

Amorino
This little gelato shop is literally everywhere! Perfect place for Italian gelato.

In the shape of a rose

Berthillon – 31 rue Saint-Louis en L'île, 75004 Paris
Now this is THE ice cream shop. A must for a true and complete Paris experience. The address above is the main shop but you can find others around the area and some cafés serve them as well.

Quite a long line for this one (that's how good it is)

I guess if there's one last thing to share with you it's some restaurants that I personally haven't been to but have been recommended to me by others or are well known restaurants in Paris that are definitely worth checking out.

Chez Léon – 131 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75006 Paris
If you like mussels, this is your place! (other addresses online)

Les Deux Magots – 6 Place Saint-Germain des Prés, 75006 Paris
Another great one for that Parisian experience.

Lapérouse – 51 Quai des Grands Augustin, 75006 Paris
And a final touch of classic French.

Bon appétit!

Paris

Posted by Ashley

The clouds, the grey sky, the rain, the disgruntled Parisians. Yep, I'm finally back. I flew in a few days ago from Barcelona (posts from our week there should be up in about a week or two) and was greeted by the yucky weather Paris has had almost all year. Despite some successful purchases on the first day, having walked in the cold and rain, I was already beginning to feel the frustration that many Parisians showed. Finally the sun showed itself yesterday and I jumped at the chance to go down to Paris with my mom.

When the sun's out, Paris is a whole new city. The people are nicer, the streets are more crowded, the food tastes better, and all worries leave you. Refreshed with the weather, we spent the day walking around, starting with the Cathédrale Notre Dame of course.

Then we walked around L'île Saint-Louis, where we stopped for gelato at the infamous Amorino. I tried Cioccolato Amorino, Speculoos, and Caramello al Burro Salato, shaped nicely into a flower in a cone.

We continued our little stroll and passed by the gay pride parade.

Then we walked along the Seine, passing all the bouquinistes, where I bought the book Breakfast at Tiffany's translated into French.

We took a little break in the Jardin du Luxembourg, where I used to play all the time when I was little.

Feeling hungry we stopped at a delicious little crêperie on rue de la Gaîté, where I ordered a galette sarrasin with chèvre, ham, emmental, and tomatoes. And of course I had to have a dessert crêpe. I got the classic butter and sugar.

We finished eating just in time to walk down a little further to the Comédie Italienne theatre to watch a play. It was the first time I'd ever seen the comédie italienne and I loved it. It was hilarious and the actors put all their heart into it. I definitely recommend going if you speak French.

All in all it was a lovely typically French day in Paris and I enjoyed every second of it.

And the typical French fun didn't stop there! We had a lovely breakfast on the terrace this morning. Croissants, pains au chocolat, brioches, apricots, berries, tea, freshly squeezed orange juice, œuf à la coque, and baquette galore! 

Needless to say, I was very satisfied, and with the sun out again, I spent the rest of the day tanning and relaxing.

Homemade Cayenne Pepper Macaroni and Cheese

Posted by Karan

Summer has finally begun!

I arrived in Maui a couple of days ago to my family's vacation home, only to be greeted with tropical showers and cloudy skies. Depressing, yes I know, considering people who go to Hawaii expect the hot sun and fresh breeze. But nonetheless, the weather is looking much better these days! It's extremely sunny now, the perfect weather for someone craving a tan (hint: me!)

After diving into the pool, I craved a simple snack that was quick and easy to prepare (I mean, who likes cooking up a feast after a relaxing swim? no one.) I decided to go with the homemade mac and cheese and spice it up a bit with a sprinkle of Cayenne pepper.

Only fifteen minutes to prep.

Quick and easy.

Perfect summer pool side snack.

Ingredients:

Pasta

Monterrey Jack cheese (shredded)

Mozzarella cheese (shredded)

Spinach leaf (mostly for decorative purposes)

Fill a pot of water half full and turn on to full heat. 

Wait for the water to start bubbling then add the pasta.

Occasionally stir the pasta so it doesn't get stuck to the bottom of the pot (common sense I know, but believe me I've done it before)

Test the pasta once in while to see if it's ready (done to your liking)

Pour the pasta noodles into the colander, then spoon noodles into a bowl

Sprinkle both kinds of shredded cheeses on top of your noodles

**optional: if you are the type of person who likes the cheese to be completely melted and stringy like me, place the bowl into the microwave for 30 seconds to give your dish the perfect temperature: extra steamy!

Tap the Cayenne pepper bottle into your palm first before sprinkling onto your pasta. (Pasta can easily be ruined of flavor if the cook adds too much spice by accident!!)

Sprinkle to your liking

Add the finishing touch of one spinach leaf to add a natural healthy decorative look:)

Sipping a Corona by the poolside with mac & cheese doesn't hurt, right?

About Us

Hey guys! If you want to know a little bit more about us you're in the right place! We're two friends that decided to start a joint blog and, seeing as we just graduated high school, we saw this as the perfect time to do it. We met in Tokyo at school in 6th grade and in the fall we're headed off to London for uni! This is a big step in our lives and since everything's going to change, we hope to use this blog  to document our lives and maybe inspire others to try new things and to make the most of every day and every opportunity that comes your way.

Ashley: Hey everyone! I'm Ashley and I'm the girl on the left of the profile picture (if you're curious). I'm half French half American but I've lived in Tokyo almost my whole life, with bits in Shanghai, the South of France, Versailles, and Chicago here and there. I speak fluent French and English and I speak some Spanish too. I'd love to learn more languages like Italian and Portuguese! (Yes I'm a language junkie). I love traveling and trying new foods and I'm an extreme shopaholic. I'm also a bit of a football fan (not American football just to clarify). Hope you enjoy our blog! If you want to follow me on instagram here's the link to that and I also have a tumblr.

Karan: Hi:) My name is Karan and I am born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. I am half Japanese and half American, but people tell me I look otherwise. I have a passion for art and photography; I am going to art school in London this fall (and I'm super excited too!) Football and volleyball are my favorite sports and I love working out. I've lived in Tokyo my whole life so I speak fluent Japanese and English. Traveling! I am in love with traveling and exploring new places (quite obsessed actually) I like to make the most of every day:) I am quite the food and shopping connoisseur as well. Hopefully for you viewers out there, you find out blog somewhat inspiring and motivational to go out and make new discoveries. "Not all those who wander are lost" :) Check out my tumblr and my instagram!! Follow me:) xx

Most of our blog posts will be together but if we're ever apart we'll try to post individual and that way we can also update each other about our lives. :)

Worth the Hype?

It's all we've seen on instagram and all we've heard about from everone. Urth Caffé. You may have heard of it as it's been all the rage lately. An organic, healthy café that started in Los Angeles and has now just been brought to Tokyo. Of course, being the foodies that we are, we had to check it out for ourselves. Their specialties are organic coffees and teas, but they also have a range of bobba teas (tea with tapioca) and extremely refreshing choose-your-own-fruit smoothies! From paninis, sandwiches to salads, Urth Caffé not only offers a healthy lunch but a delicious breakfast menu too.  If you want to take a look at their site click here.

Urth Caffé is located on a side street of Daikanyama, a few minutes away from the central dining and shopping area.

The famous Tostada; a tortilla bowl filled with diced chicken and tomatoes, shredded cheese, avocado, lettuce and beans with a side of sour cream. Heaven in a bowl.

Enjoying the afternoon with friends!

We are overall very satisfied with this newly founded café! If you live in the area and are looking for a healthy meal, we highly recommend Urth Caffé! Definitely worth the hype!

Fresh Start

A fresh page for a fresh start.

We're ready for the next chapter of our lives and we want to remember these times forever.