Japanese Chefs in Paris

Although it's very difficult to find good Japanese food in Paris, Japanese chefs are turning out stellar French food in the city. Tateru Yoshino is the chef at the vaunted Stella Maris (4 rue Arsène-Houssaye, +33 (01) 42-89-16-22), and I just had a delightful lunch at Chef Hide Kobayashi's eponymous Le Hide (10 rue du General Lanzerac, +33 (01) 45-74-15-81). The "menu a midi," which includes appetizer, main course and dessert, was only 26 euros, and featured such dishes as a tartine of escargots appetizer, steak prepared with sel de Guerande for a main, and desserts like chocolate millefeuille and orange creme brulee. I chose a layered shrimp salad with shredded endives and a kicky avocado vinaigrette for an appetizer; the shrimps were plentiful, plump and sweet. Next were a couple of sturdy monkfish medallions on a bed of penne in a light, parsleyed cream sauce; a crisp potato gaufrette lay atop the hearty fish, adding some nice texture. My dessert, the Mont-Blanc (often found at Japanese pastry shops) was another study in layers of flavor. Buttery pound cake was the base for a dense chestnut mousse, which was balanced by a sweet, light homemade vanilla ice cream scoop on top.

After all of this, another dessert may have been a strange objective, but I set about finding Sadaharu Aoki's patisseries. I ended up at the northwestern outskirts of Paris before giving up on that particular location, then took the metro all the way to the Les Gobelins stop. Finally, success! Jars of green-tea milk jam, a paintbox of beautiful macarons in traditional and Japanese flavors (matcha, black sesame, even ume), and scrumptious eclairs greeted me. The neon-green matcha eclair was amazing - the cream oozing out of the rich pastry was mild and sweet, but with an unforgettable herbal aftertaste. The next day, still thinking about that unique taste, I trekked over to the gourmet cave at Galeries Lafayette - but that location was all out of eclairs.