Jessica's Dinner Party

by jessica yoon

france

Asian Kitchen in Paris

Asian Kitchen in Paris | Jessica's Dinner Party

I’ve done a good job at avoiding the kitchen for two weeks, but I think it’s time I start working those hot plates!  I’ve started to become a little homesick for Korean food, most likely sparked by a confrontation with a harsh old man who told my friend and I never to come back to his store.  There was nothing wrong that we did, unless browsing through books in a bookstore is a crime here!  I guess I need to learn more about the French service industry, obviously, the customer is not always right!  It was about time I start craving for some rice anyway.  After all, I am Asian.

Asian Kitchen in Paris | Jessica's Dinner Party

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Roo de Loo and Rollet Pradier

Julia Child is a relatively new figure in my life.  Before reading Julia and Julia, I had never heard of “The French Chef” or Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Quite shocking, especially because she is such a familiar character in my life now. However, I’m glad that I got to know her during this time, because her story resonates with me more than it ever could have before.

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Le Pré Verre

Although I’ll be in Paris for about a year, I decided to pack light, or rather, as light as possible.  This is extremely difficult for someone who is a sentimental pack rat who likes to keep everything from useless trinkets won at state fairs to report cards from the sixth grade.  I did my best to cut back and consolidate, but ended up having to ship an extra bag and carry on a mini suitcase that was 15 pounds overweight.  It sounds like a lot of stuff, but once I got here I realized that I really did cut back on a lot (including an unconscious decision to leave out pajamas).

I wanted to bring a lot of books on Paris but narrowed it down to three: Clotilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris by Chocolate & Zucchini blogger Clotilde Dusoulier, Hungry for Paris by Alexander Lobrano, and Zagat: Paris Restaurants. Yea, they’re all about food.  I’ve been ferociously highlighting and jotting down addresses of places that sound good.  My list is probably already long enough to take a year to get through!

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Bread & Roses

I haven’t cooked in my “new” kitchen yet.  There have been plenty of other foodie distractions and interests that have kept me away from the apartment.  I’m actually hoping that I can keep on eating out so that I don’t have to face the kitchen. It was so utterly disappointing to walk into my new life as a to-be pastry chef only to find that the “kitchen” was actually the laundry room with two hot plates and a microwave almost as old as I am.  I just had to laugh because it felt like one of those moments when a kid gives you a hunk of mud and calls it food.  I’m being negative.  At least it’s kind of adorable when a kid does that.  I’m just trying to ease my way into that part of the house.  It’s only been a week since I arrived, so I’m giving myself another seven days to get over the hot plates and try frying an egg.

In the meantime, I have many restaurants and cafes I can write about to show how I’ve been avoiding you-know-what.

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Je suis en France

Life never turns out the way you thought it would.  I never imagined myself in New York, but ended up going there for college.  I never dreamed about living in Paris, and now here I am, dipping a croissant in my coffee on a sidewalk café,  with the Eiffel Tower towards my back.  I’m still getting used to the idea that I’m really here, that I’m really in France.

It’s hard to come to a place like this without any expectations, but I’ve decided to just live each day as it comes and forget about trying to mold my experience into what I think it should be.  Thankfully, a wonderful friend is here with me, who is also in a similar stage in life as I am.  She in the world of fashion and me in the world of gastronomy.  I think we’ve both come to the right place.

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