Pinoy food trip in Paris

 We spent a quick undas weekend in the city of lights eating "traditional Pinoy" food. 

First stop is Chez Fernand, highly regarded for their "ulam" and others:

Clockwise: kohol (escargot), bulalo (os a moelle), chicken inasal (poulet roti), and their trademark kalderetang baka (boeuf bourguignon).

Server assembling our boeuf bourguignon. Chez Fernand is frequented even by locals, but has a touristy outlook. The servers speak English and they engage with the customers, American style, asking if everything is ok. Servers in normal French bistros will leave you alone for hours, but not here. The food was great, and she even did a chef kiss for the boeuf bourguignon. I asked if it was the best in Paris, and she replied "in the world!"

Next stop is legendary Bouillon Chartier, serving Pinoy favorites since 1896. Bouillons started out serving cheap soup meals for blue-collar workers, but eventually morphed into bistros serving standard dishes at a more affordable price point (one-third the price of Chez Fernand). Belle Epoque decor, waiters in traditional uniforms, and they write your orders on the paper table cover. Very quaint. 

What we ate, clockwise: itik (confit de canard, tender and not gamey), crispy pata (pied de porc, melts in the mouth), leche flan (creme caramel, tastes exactly the same), and bistek (bifteck, yes almost the same spelling).

We found a little gem in Paris, macarons with Pinoy flavors like kalamansi, ube, pandan, Sagada coffee, chocolate, and luya. Gem Guina put up Gem la Patisserie, serving some of the best macarons in Paris, because she makes them fresh onsite, unlike factory-made Laduree and Pierre Herme, and has that chewy bite we prefer. 

We ate it at the nearby Starbucks, probably the most beautiful branch we've seen.