Bong: Not Exactly a Reference to Drug Paraphenlia

When I told some friends that I was going to go to Chez Bong's on Saturday evening they stared at me quizzically trying to pinpoint my secondary life as a drug abuser behind the façade of a hard-working intern.  I waved my hands around, no no no. Bong's.

The joy of moving to Paris was the undoubted capacity to find ethnic and cultural cuisine a few steps from my apartment.  While living in Lyon I was constantly disappointed- there was a fine selection of bouchons hanging around my little street on La Rue des Marronniers but nothing quite like the gastronomic warphole surrounding my time living in Portland.

The front of Bong

The story of Bong started last Saturday.  Bri and I decided to walk around our backstreets in an attempt to hustle up a new restaurant par hasard.  IT was turning the corner on Rue Blomet in the 15ème that a sudden fierce and meaty odor overcame our senses and we began to blindly walk towards a small decrepit restaurant with simple lettering: Bong.

Bong, as we came to discover, was a Korean eatery, specialising in a Korean meal known as Korean Barbeque.  Basically a sort of table top barbeque of a pungent marinated meat grilled by the customer and then eaten with a variety of sauces and fermented vegetables (namely the Kimchi).

We wanted in. Except, désolé, pas de place ce soir, proved that this place was a place you had to reserve in advance.

The next Saturday, 8:30 pm, we wandered in to a bright, smiling host, almost hugging us to enter into the establishment and feed us an incredibly decadent meal.

As the owner explained, Eat bite is a journey for your mouth, you take a little rice, a little meat, a little sauce.  If you like spicy, a sliced green hot pepper.  Wrap in the rice, eat, and continue.  We always have soup and a bowl of rice... but you do the work.  Please enjoy.

Bri grilled, as the "korean tradition" called for, I simply stuffed myself.  The meat has a sort of 'melt-in-your-mouth' quality... as if the marinade had literally allowed the meat to become so tender eating it required no chewing.  The marinade itself was pungent, sweet and yet carried that evervescent undertone of a slightly salty and nutty flavor.

Each condiment had it's own variety of flavors, that fermented bitter and spicy taste of a well-made Kimchi, large slices of green jalapeno peppers that burned the lips on contact, but was insatiable when eaten.  A spicy red sauce that although was hot on contact has this neverending flavor that only enhanced the flavor of the meat.  Even Bri, a Frenchman, sucked down each morsel rolled into a batvia leaf staring adoringly at the meat, proclaiming, "Where has this been all my life?"


If you've never tried Korean food, or if you are simply dying to find a good Korean place... I highly recommend Bong.  From the honest smile an owner can give (no extra charges for our second plate of Batvia) to the simply said, succulent marinated meat grilled in front of your very eyes- it's simply a culinary experience.


I don't think you will be able to turn around once you get within 1/2 mile of the restaurant... the smell will simply pull you in and for a few hours, somehow, you will no longer be in Paris but in a small crowded restaurant in Busan or Seoul.

Those Weird "8-Bit" Tags around Paris

So, I've disappeared again, granted I have good reason (Internship, stress.. etc).. The temperature in Paris has impossibly increased to the point I can almost see water dry up in a puff of heat when dropped... and of course the Metros have become almost impossible to bear in the heat. (Imagine a fat, sweaty man crunched into a small metro car and their arm somehow decides to cross over your head. Putrid.)

So this post is more about the discovery I have made recently, and while I wasn't posting during the last month, I was indeed discovering and imagining the different things I could share.

Which is how I found those odd 8-Bit block tags scattered around Paris.

Often in large cities we walk with our head hanging, staring at our feet and avoiding the things around us. We have iPods stuck in our ears, hands in our pockets and we simply want to transport ourselves to the direction we are heading.

Hence where I come in.

I tend to be a stroller, those types that look around and observe with an attentitive interest in all the details around me.  That odd looking fountain from the 16th century, the group of children playing in the grass, everything.

One day we were wandering around our neighborhood and after staring up at a building, I noticed this odd little mosaic in the form of an 8-bit creature plastered to the wall.

Then I started to collect them...

Near the 3ème Arrondissement, near a Brunch place 

Another one in the 3ème Arrondissement 

Found while wandering with my Finnish friend, it was plastered next to a fountain from the 17th century,  Fontaine Boucherat in the 3ème

Bri staring at the plastered piece near Métro Volontaires in the 15th

Down my street in the 15th, Rue LeCourbe

Rue Leon Delhomme, 15ème arrondissement

Rue de la Choiseuil 2ème arrondissement

Rue de la Verrerie, 4ème Arrondissement

More to come as I find them.. it's insane the things we find...

Anyone else have these?

What-What: Je m'en fou, je triche

I am a super fan of board games, from Monopoly to Scrabble, from Clue to Times Up- I adore arranging the board, playing the dice and moving the pieces.  The challenge of guessing from clues, figuring out and strategizing; it's almost like an addicition!

That's when my friend Sophie called me yesterday (she's French) to inform me that she and a few other people were going to finally go to le bar à jeux de société in the Croix-Russe.  I immediately said, oui, and we all met out in front of the statue on Place Terraux to walk there together.

First off, the name of the society is:  je m'en fou, je triche, or for those who are long-time members, la triche.  This non profit society rents out a little hidden room on la rue Réné Leynaud and has about 200+ games available.  Here's the process to join la triche:

1. Go to the bar/salle and introduce yourself, ask if you can joindre la société.
2. At the computer, type in your information, pay the 'adhesion fee' of 6e (free games for a year, no obligation to drink)
3. Buy yourself a beer, if desired (only 8.50e a pitcher)
4. Pick out one of the games from the hundreds and enjoy!

We ended up playing a game called Objets Trouvés which basically is a game of creativity and 'thinking outside the box'.  With the 6 of us it was definitely a joy, and for my French as a second language it was a bit of a challenge, but definitely do-able.

The challenge is to use 13 objects (see in the center) to describe a sentence on the card; there are 6 sentences and at random you must describe one of them.

Beer makes the game even more fun, and as everyone is arguing and laughing in French it makes life feel much less complicated-





If you are the kind of person who adores strategy or war-games, this place is the ticket; labelled by the time they take to play there are many many games in this category; just as there are simplier games for children- all is allowed at the 'salle de jeux'.

Basically, it's something to do, something to try and a great way to entertain some friends without having to host chez vous.

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Found: 2 Euro Store

Anyone from the States knows about the Dollar Tree.. that place you go when you need like 50 straws for some fund raising event.  You are going to someone's birthday and don't want to buy a super expensive Hallmark card.  You need to clean your house but Mr. Clean is simply out of the budget... well I recently discovered the European.. or more the "French" equivalent to the Dollar Tree... the 2 Euro Shop.

Located on 17 rue Victor Hugo, in Paris, down the stretch of over-priced shopping paradise.. situated between the Brioche Doré and SFR store, lies the little shop called, "C 2 Euros"... or in translated real french, c'est deux euros.  It's a store that is easily missed, we keep walking or talking and one second passes.  It's a blink and walk store, if you blink while you are walking by, well you missed your chance.


Now there are some true differences between this little jewel mine and the Dollar Tree, first off:  not everything is off brand.  That's right, there are some name-brand items in this shop.  They are sold often because they weren't sold in another store or the demand wasn't high enough.





For example, the treasures I managed to buy yesterday for only 6 euros:
-Oil bottle (for pouring my oil in style)
-Little tray for my coffee in the morning
-Pantene Pro-V Conditioner (which I could NOT find in the normal super marché!)


They also have a selection of cookware, serving ware (high quality) and little amuse-bouches serving items.  There are Lyon themed items, so great for those of us who want to bring a gift home.. but are low on cash.  And as a note:  everything is 2 euros... even if the price marked says '4' or '5.95' it's just an old listed price from the old magasin.


As a warning, it is a very small little shop.. it takes some shoving and shuffling to get around and buy things- but it is definitely worth it for poor students like myself to look like we are living fancy!

Happy cheap shopping!

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Advice: Search for the Perfect Wine Shop

Everyone in France has a wine person, either they know someone who is a personal distributor or they go to a local wine shop for advice and recommendations.  In December I wrote a little piece regarding the importance of pairing wine with food and how the French adore their wines.  It's even okay for a pregnant woman to have a glass a day during pregnancy, but they warn, no hard alcohol.

It's for this reason I began hunting around Lyon for a wine ship, while Nicholas is a great place to start I find it a bit corporate and McDonald's chain like for my tastes.  I needed to find a shop with the quintessential fabricator dancing around, red in the cheeks from drinking his own stock.  While I see many of these clochard type people laying around Perrache drinking straight from bottles of Vin Ordinaire- I couldn't find that type of a wine guy in a shop, until I discovered Bon Vins de France.

I had it on my marché map for a long time and was excited to finally make a stop to see what the hubbub was all about.  The instant I walked in I felt as though I was in some old man's cave du vin and then as I looked past the shelves I saw the little old man I had wanted to meet; he waddled over to me about half my size and smiled with a pupkin-mouthed toothless grin.

Je peux vous aider?

I smiled at him.  While most people would be afraid or worried, I could see he know the product and he knew wine.  The best thing was that they (him and his wife) worked side-by-side and sold not only specialty wines but their own brew for a little 1.20€ a litre.  Not great for eating, but great for cooking with or taking to a quick picnic.  He waited for me to respond and I looked around,

En fait, je cherche une bouteille du Champagne pour un fête.

He nodded and quickly ushered me to the back of the shop towards the array of champagnes and began explaining the difference bottles, some were more 'bubbly' than others and some were more fine in the taste than the rest.  I ended up taking a beautiful bottle for 17€ and thanked him graciously for his advice.  He grinned his toothless smile and his wife wrapped up my bottle to look beautiful for my little dinner.

I looked back and he waddled off to tend to his wine bottles, swinging serviette in tow.  His wife waved once more and I headed out.

Definitely the perfect little wine shop for me.

If you want to go:

Bon Vins de France

11 Rue Aimé Collomb

69003 Lyon

Found: Rue Vaubecour

I take many adventures in Lyon, some make me end up in a very bad area of town.. some help me to discover treasures in my city.  This adventure brought me discovery and it was a welcome one.  Part of my new job is spreading the word, I go forth in the city, explain BabySpeaking to people and drop off flyers to different businesses that families and students frequent.  In order to do this the best I do a lot of wandering around and sort of feeling my way around the city.

As readers know, I keep a map of my favorite places to food shop around the city.  Some people hold a passion in clothes shopping, I have a passion towards food, high quality ingredients and local distributors.  I already have my local boulangerie, the woman is patient with me and understands my issues in French.  I also found my favorite super marché for all those items unavailable in the marchés.. now I am still hunting for other local products that I can purchase to live life the French way.

Now onto my next discover, Rue Vaubecour.  Rue Vaubecour is located right at the southern end of rue du plat, I was lost when I found it but realized later it was because of a Google spelling error; they titled it 'rue vaubecourt' adding a lovely extra T.  Totally threw me off, I'm lost most of the time any way, but it didn't help.  So why is this little street a gastronomic find?

From 6 rue Vaubecour to 25 rue vaubecour (like a 1/2 mile) there are many little food establishments that are not listed on Googlemaps.

6 rue Vaubecour - Poissonnerie
7 rue Vaubecour - Boucherie
9 rue Vaubecour - Traiteur, Chacutier, Rotisserie (sells roasted chickens)
13ish rue Vaubcour - Fromagerie

Speckled around these shops are grocery marts and 3 boulangeries/patisseries.  The best part?  This street is also well equipped with antiques- if you are into that sort of thing.  Looking into the windows of the antique stores transports you back into an era of traditional French life.. plus sometimes you can get lucky and find beautiful decor for your apartment for not too expensive.

I definitely plan to do a round of shopping on this street next week, even though shopping tends to be an effort in this fashion, it's all part of the preparation in cooking.  Now, I need to find out where I can buy some frog legs...

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Found: Cap Epices

I was out spreading the word about BabySpeaking when I wandered across this little gem of a marché.  Everywhere I have been looking for a specialist in spices; not the glass jar type you see in the grocery store- or even the kind I had to trapse over to Guillotière for.  Something nearby that carried all the spices that my heart desired.  I wanted equally the ability to purchase in bulk grams, but to know it comes from a local provider who hand selects the product.

I stared into the window of Cap Epices and saw multitudes of glass and metal containers holding beautiful spices.  The front window is whimsical, showing sacs of herbs and typical spices we use on a daily basis.  50g of peppercorns were 1.50€; and for those who don't know much about food or spices.. that's cheap.  At Carrefour a 48g glass container of peppercorns is 3.20€; that means you get 50% off of store prices from a specialist in spices!  The sacs remind me of an open marché, but the prices resemble those of a discount store.

It's a little shop that opened up in 1997 on Rue de la Charité; ensuring their quality is high they pay attention to distributors and special attention to clients.  They offer basics (from ground ginger to piment) to mixtures that they create (for pot-au-feu, or special dishes).  What's even better is they offer teas and infusions as well!  Plus, just walking into the shop is like walking into spice heaven.. additionally if you live far away you can purchase and have it shipped (although pricy).

I plan to go there.. definitely.. mostly because I love spices (which is very opposite from French cooking) and I love different regional cuisines.  Trying new recipes with all these beautiful spices will be an experience; plus I have a ball every time a French person comes into my kitchen and exclaims, "Mais, t'as beaucoup des epices!" (but, you have so many spices!).

Information:  CAP EPICES 39, rue de la Charité 69002 LYON

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What-What: Musée des Miniatures

Since I was young I have had an obsession with minature things; I used to go to the library in Forks (the little town I grew up) and check out multitudes of magazines on Miniatures and leaf through them.  I once even begged for Filo dough so I could make intricate little foods for my dollhouse- it was so fascinating to me.

This is why the day I ran across the Musée of Miniatures I was ecstatic to visit.  The location is right in the center of Vieux Lyon, near the St. Jean church.  The building is one of those classic Vieux Lyon types, from the 16th century, old stone staircases, dilapidated ceilings, odd smell to the foyer and the serene feeling that thousands of people have passed through the corridor.  The dank smell mixed with the new renovations provides a sense of a hold in time; that weird in-between the past in the future.

Bro is in town for 2 mores days, so we took advantage of yesterday to get our booties into the musée; for only 5.50€ each we started on our adventure.

The first story provides a movie set, meaning, all these special pieces that were used during the filming of a movie.  The one they have on show at the moment is from the movie "Perfume" in which I could write a whole separate blog post about.  Needless to say, a wander through this exhibit made me both curious to watch and curious as to what the movie is even about.  Here's some photos from the premiere etage:

Bro & Bri posing in front of "M. Grenouille" and his Perfume Laboratory

Dead Body.  So, Perfume is a murder story..

The Perfumerie; it actually smelled like roses...

Very authentic-looking 18th century Parisian office

As we continued through the exhibits we felt as if we were looking into the past.  Some of these pieces for the movies are so intricate it was hard to believe it was mostly made of plastic and fake wood.  Incredible.  The next story was specialized in movie props; aliens, Ah-nold, etc.  It was fun to see all the pieces used in the movies, but kind of disheartening because we realized that movies, in reality, are magic.

Rrrrr

Planet of the APES!

 

Ignore the Flash... it's Ah-Nold

Got this for my dad... Star Wars creature!

Moving onto the third story, we ended up in the land of Miniature paradise.  Everything was miniscule and could easily fit in the palm of your hand.  By leaning into the exhibits you felt lost in a tiny world and sometimes it felt as if you were looking at a vivid 3D imagine.

Mini Marché

Reconstruction from Picture, the artist took a photo and created a miniature real version.

Miniature Hallway... it really feels like you're there..

Tiny Nobles Salon.. or.. is it REALLLY tinny..??

Mini Barbershop

Buddhist temple... it was mini.. but so in depth.

We spent about 2 hours in the museum, jumping from exhibit to exhibit.  One of the best exhibits is the specialties of Lyon, mini version of beautiful places around our city.  The artist who created most of these minatures actually works in Lyon; and we got lucky enough to see him in his office behind glass.. it felt surreal.. but we realized it's a man who spends his life in a tiny world.

Needless to say, tourist trap or not, the Musée des Miniatures is a nice thing to do when it's too chilly for a walk.  It's not excessively priced and it's full of interesting information.  They rotate exhibits annually and the movie props alone are worth the excursion.

Practical Information
Musée des Miniatures is located on 60 rue St. Jean in the Maison des Avocats.  They are open daily from 8am to 6:30pm.. and on weekends until 7:00pm.  5.50€ for students!  FYI:  There is a really good boulangerie just catty corner from the Musée, one of the best baguettes in Lyon.

Enjoy!

Found: Rue de la Charité

The other day I was venturing to my typical Super Marché (U-Express) when I took a wrong turn and ended up down a street that I didn't recognize.  I thought I had labelled every little street on my Googlemap, the places with the good boulangeries, the fromageries- but this was a new discovery!

From Place Bellecour, there's a little street called, "Rue de la Charité".  This street is a little hidden gem in the metropolis we call Lyon; a small street, one way even.  Along this street there are several different merchants within one block;  2 boulangeries with high quality, yet modestly priced bread-goods; 1 fromagerie where I found a decadent 'St. Marcelin' for only 3.95€.  A vegetable market (although more expensive than the marchés), a boucherie and to top it all off a 'multi-use' store by the U brand... where one can find the basics that a Target would offer back home.

Between 30 to 60 Rue de la Charité one could do all their shopping in style, the prices are not excessive; and it's a nice change from the typical super marché atmosphere; besides this is part of my long list of resolutions.  Julia Child would spend a day hunting for the perfect ingredients for a meal, even though this time has been condensed into Super formats- I still find a little excitement from smelling the cheese shop or talking directly with the guy who is butchering my meat.

Googlemaps haven't quite caught onto this little street of dreams; and I hope it remains in it's little secret space.

Happy shopping!

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Advice: Benefits of Being a Student in France

France likes to take care of their students, which means there are a lot of discounts for students to do cultural things, pay for transportation and even get financial aid.  Allow me to 'partager' some wonderful benefits...




Cultural Passes
There are a lot of cultural passes available for students... available on the Lyon Culture website.  I'd like to highlight some of these and what their benefits are: 

La Carte Musée (the museum card)

Price:  €16

Amount of Usage:  One year from date of purchase

Details:  Allows you to visit the 6 museums around Lyon.. as listed on the website.. as much as you want in one year.

• Musée d'Art Contemporain  (attention : la carte n’est pas valable au Musée pendant toute la durée de la Biennale d’art contemporain, jusqu’au 3 janvier 2010)
• Musée des Beaux-Arts
• Musée Gadagne
• Musée de l’Imprimerie
• Musée de l’Automobile Henri Malartre
• Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation

How to Purchase: Go to any of the 6 locations with a photo of yourself and prove of being a student, command for the 'carte musée'.

Le Pass'Culture (culture pass)

Price: €16

Amount of Usage: 4 shows at any of the locations on the list following..

Details: Make reservation ahead of time (at least one week before) to use one of the four passes.

• Auditorium de Lyon,
• Complexe du rire,
• Espace Gerson,
• Espace 44,
• Les Subsistances,
• Maison de la Danse,
• Nouveau Théâtre du 8ème,
• Opéra de Lyon,
• Théâtre des Ateliers,
• Théâtre des Célestins,
• Théâtre de la Croix-Rousse,
• Théâtre des Marronniers,
• Théâtre Nouvelle Génération,
• Théâtre du Point du Jour,
• Théâtre National Populaire
• Théâtre des Clochards Célestes
• et Festival Nuits sonores (1/2 tarif appliqué).

Nouveau cette année :

• Choeur et Orchestre XIX - Direction Jean-Philippe Dubor
• Institut Lumière
• Théâtre de l'Elysée
• Périscope
• Théâtre Guignol de Lyon

How to Purchase: at Lyon Campus, 25 rue Jaboulay Lyon 7ème
Au CROUS de Lyon, 59 rue de la Madeleine, Lyon 7ème 9-12h00 et 14-16h00  BY CHECK ONLY


La CarteD
Price: Free
Amount of Usage: Unknown
Details: For use at any of the following, make reservation...

• Le théâtre des Marronniers
• Le théâtre des Clochards Célestes
• L'Espace 44 (théâtre)
• Le théâtre de l’Elysée
• A Thou bout d'chant (café-concert - chanson française)
• Le Marché Gare (salle de concert)
• Le Croiseur (théâtre et danse)
• Le Périscope (salle de concert)
• 6ème Continent (musiques du monde)
• L'Ecole de Cirque de Lyon

Details:  Go to any of the above on the list with atudent proof and ask for 'La Carte D' which should give you a discount card.

Pass 2 places, 4 spectacles
Price: €28
Amount of Usage: 4 times, in the following:

• 
  
  
  A Thou Bout d’Chant (chanson),
• 
  
  
  Théâtre des Clochards Célestes (Théâtre)

Details: Call 04 72 07 63 81 ou 04 78 28 35 19 for more information.


Le Pass Culturel Kiblind
Price: €50
Amount of Usage: 15 times during one year, one in each of the following:

• La Renaissance
• Le Nouveau Théâtre du 8e
• Les Ateliers
• Le Toboggan
• L’Iris
• Le Théâtre Nouvelle Génération
• Le Comœdia
• Le Zola
• L’Institut
• Lumière
• Le Clacson
• Le Hot Club de Lyon
• Le Marché Gare
• L'Amphiopéra
• L’Épicerie Moderne
• L’Institut d’art contemporain

Details: do the inscription for this online:  at Kiblind Website, allows one ticket for each of the above in one year.

L'auditorium in Lyon

Price: €6.00 a month, paid at once, so €72.00

Amount of Usage: An entire year of free entrance... about 50 shows.

Specifically for the auditorium in Lyon, usually a selection of classical music.

Details: Inscribe on the internet, choose all your dates, pay online for the year.  Here's the website.

Les pass' de l'Opéra de Lyon

Price: €5.00

Amount of Usage: Works for a year, one show per spectacle, per date.

Specifically for the Opera Lyon in the 1er arrondissement.

Details:  Purchase at the ticket counter, as for the "Pass'Opéra" for less than 26 years old.. if you are older there are other passes.  Entitles to 50% off of front row tickets, and only €10 for any show in the C-D-E rows.  Available according to what room there is.  Read More.






Eating/Food Discounts
Depending on where you go, normally near the center (near croix-russe, near place Terreaux, near Bellecour) many of the food places offer special menus for students. Example, show a student ID, get a meal at BIEH (Best Burger I Ever Had) with french fries, burger, drink and dessert for only €10.




Transportation Discounts
Discounts on TCL and Velo'v.  A TCL monthly pass is only €22, while a yearly pass is only €187 euro. Velo'v is the same price, but still cheap at only €15 a year.


Keep your eyes peeled, if you are a student, and find the other great deals...


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What-what: Run Down on Picard

Picard Surgelée is a frozen foods store that is very popular in France.  The food is cut up in a factory, fabricated, created and then flash frozen and placed in packaging.  The entire store is a frozen food aisle with product that is highly quality controlled and tastes amazing… kinda like Ikea brand meatballs.  There are several types of food products that are offered at Picard shops, and I’d like to share with you my new found treasure, sorry if it sounds like a commercial… but I really love this place:

Frozen Onions

    Frozen foods to cut prep time:  There is nothing wrong with buying a frozen bag of onions or mushrooms.  It cuts about 10 minutes of preparation for dinner, offers the ability to use a measuring cup to scoop out the product to very particular sizes- and the veggies are already cleaned, shaped and ready to be used.  They offer everything from a mix of garden veggies to frozen chopped garlic.

Frozen foods for Aperitif: In France we love to invite friends over to get them drunk and feed them fancy little snacks.  Picard offers lots of little “amuse-geule” for apero.  From mini sandwiches to small quiches to small desserts, they come in boxes of 40 for around €8.00, which seriously is easier than trying to pour egg into tiny quiche crusts… and they taste AWESOME.


Complete made meals: Screw frozen pizza… imagine having a  “layered 3 cheese lasagna” or a “country ratatouille” for €4.00 to €6.00 that tastes amazing!  I know for me sometimes cooking is a feat, but this is a simple toss in the pan type thing that is ready in about 15 minutes and takes no thought… and it’s really good.


Frozen Meat: I’ve noticed meat in France is the one thing that is very expensive.  Turkey sautée meat runs about €12.00/kilo, or like $6.00 a pound.  I can’t afford that, and I don’t always want to eat the fatty pork and chicken legs to cut costs.  Picard offers frozen turkey by the kilo for half that price, €6.00.  I got a whole kilo of ground beef for €6.00 as well.


Desserts: Any kind of ice cream as well as amazing cakes, chocolate items and others to really make your night.  I’m thinkin’ a French Noir film.  I’m thinkin’ a black forest cake.  I’m thinking…. Oo.. gotta go.
   
All-in-all go there once. Try it.  You won’t be disappointed.

What-What: Run Down on Asian Markets

Everyone knows about Guillotière, and if you don't, it’s in the 7ème in Lyon, next to a metro stop, kinda intimidating if you’ve never been.  Why?  Well it’s like a sub-culture in Lyon.  A lot of immigrants from Algeria, North Africa and different parts of Asia have congregated into the area and it’s like a melting pot of these cultures.  When I say it’s intimidating, I mean it’s just as if you’ve walked out of France into a new place.

The hidden treasure in this place are the Asian/Arabic grocery stores.  You might think:  what is there in an Asian store that isn’t in a normal store? Or you may even think:  I am afraid to go into one, what if they find me weird? Or even, Huh? Asian store?

These places are filled with things that are way cheaper, variety of products and things that are fun to test in the kitchen.  Here’s some examples:

Thai Yellow Curry, 1.60 in market

• Rice, by the kilo, is only €2.20.  It’s higher quality, better taste.
• Yellow curry paste (picture) to be used in Thai Yellow Curry (recipe)
• Coconut milk to be used in Thai Yellow Curry
• Canned baby corns
• Giant Shrimp Chips for €1
• Buttload of seasonings that are super cheap
• Wonton Wrappers
• Curry Powder (it’s like.. awesome)
• Frozen dim sum
• Seafood
• Noodles in Pouches that are spicy and great when you’re sick
• Lots of flavorings
• Mochi
  

  

  My multitude of spices

   

There’s more, but in order to truly enjoy it you gotta step into one.  They speak French, just say ‘bonjour’ waltz in, grab a basket and enjoy.
 

Other places to check out while in that neighborhood is:  Bahdourian and Bombay Indian Bazaar.

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Found: Coupons!

I always was told that coupons don't exist in France, but today I was opened up to a whole new world of coupons.

My second mother (in France) came to me this morning and brought be a little magazine called, "Envie de Plus".

Inside is an array of recipes, little advices on living, ways to budget... and a bunch of little coupons.  For example:

€1.00 off of a swiffer package
€0.60 off of pantene pro-V shampoo

Their website is here: http://www.enviedeplus.com/

The coupons are printable from their website as well...

If anyone has any other ways to get coupons in Lyon, please indulge me, it's something.. that.. suprisingly, I miss very much!

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