昨日のディナーは、夫が勤めていた会社の同僚がパリに来るというので、ご一緒しました。フランスご出身のわたしたちの子供(いないけど)の世代の男性で、パリでの行きつけのお店だそう。トラディショナルな雰囲気のビストロの「La Boeuf Maillot」。

Yesterday, we had dinner with my husband’s friend (a colleague in his previous company), who was here in Paris from Singapore. He is originally from France and visits Paris quite often, so we asked him to choose a bistro and this was his choice; he comes here often when he is in Paris. It was called “Le Boeuf Maillot”.

夫の前菜は、パテ。美味しかったそうです。

My husband had a pate for a starter.

わたしは、パンプキンスープ。ほとんど、クリーム、、しかも、日本のクリームよりずっとこってり、そして生温いのでますますこってり。色がついたクリームかと思うくらい、パンプキンの味はほとんどせず(涙)。これがフランスでは正統派のスープなのでしょう。

I had pumpkin soup, but it was sooooo creamy, it seemed like just coloured cream, and it was just luke warm so tasted even more creamy. I guess that’s the way French people love their soup but I couldn’t eat more than a couple of spoonfuls as it was just way too rich for me.

夫のメインは、フィレステーキ。ですが、何故か写真を撮っていません(涙)。わたしを少し味見しましたが、柔らかく臭みもなく、美味しかったです。

My husband had a fillet steak – I don’t know how but it looks like I’d forgotten to take a photo of it. I had a small piece of it and it was lovely and tender and not gamy; my husband enjoyed it a lot.

わたしは、特別美味しいと強調されたのでオーダーしてみた、イベリコ豚。焼き加減を聞かれましたが、ウェルダンにしました。日本ではピンクでも大丈夫そうですが、ここで普通のビストロでピンクはちょっと怖かったので。でも、ミディアムウェルくらいが良かったかも。焼き過ぎ。臭みはなかったですが、美味しいとも思えず。夫は美味しいと言っていました。わたしはつい、日本のレストランで頂くジューシーで旨味たっぷりの豚肉を思ってしまうのがいけないんでしょう。

I tried the Iberico pork as they emphasized how special it was. They asked me how I wanted it and I asked for well done. I would normally have pork pink in a proper restaurant in Japan but wasn’t sure about it in a bistro here. I probably should have said medium-well as it was overcooked. It was OK and my husband liked it. My problem is I just cannot not help remembering what I would get in Japan, which is tender, juicy and full of great flavour.

フランスで食事をするとお野菜がついて来ないのですよね。追加オーダーしなくてはいけないのです。でも、沢山食べられないのに追加オーダーもね、と思って結局ずっと野菜不足です。

In France, you don’t get any vegetables with your main course, you need to order side dishes if you want any. As I cannot eat a lot it seems like a waste to order sides, which usually come in quite large portions, but I do miss vegetables.

デザートに、「柔らかいメレンゲとクリーム」を夫とシェアしましたが、全然柔らかくなかった。そして、クリームたっぷりすぎて、わたしはちょっとでギブアップ。やっぱりフランス人ってクリームやバターが好きですね。わたしは見ただけでお腹一杯になってしまいます。

For dessert, we shared “Soft Meringue” with cream etc. It was not soft. And so much cream!! I had enough after one mouthful. I can see how much French people love butter and cream (my husband loves cream, too), but I feel full just seeing so much cream!

ということで、わたしにはヘビー過ぎた夕食でしたが、夫は美味しく頂いていました。

So, although it was too heavy for me, my husband enjoyed his dinner.

フランスでの食事、歳をとるにつれて辛くなります。高級レストランに行けば美味しいのでしょうが、量が多すぎますし、ビストロのメニューはどこも同じ、オットでさえも困っているので、わたしはもっと困ってしまいます、野菜料理がとても少ない。ステーキくらいしか選択肢がないのです。そのステーキも好みのものがない場合が多くて。今回は下調べの時間が余りなかったのも敗因の原因。やっぱり、旅行での下調べは大切。

However, we are both finding meals in France are getting less enjoyable as we get older. Although we would probably enjoy a meal more in more expensive restaurants the amount of food there tends to be too much, and in bistros the menus are pretty much the same everywhere. Even my husband is finding it hard to find what he wants after a couple of dinners. I have a huge problem in most places as I have many things I don’t eat. There really aren’t usually many vegetable dishes on the menu and the only thing I can choose is steak, but they don’t often have the cut I want. Another problem is that I didn’t have much time to search restaurants in advance before our trip, and I realize again how important it is to do some homework in advance.