Eating out: Yum’Tcha Paris

Netflix made such a beautiful chef film series out of one Michelin starred Yum’Tcha in Paris and raised the bar a little too high for me. It’s one of those things where the movie often times pales in comparison to the book and original plot.  I think the mind builds up its own expectations based on literature and information.

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Chef Adeline Grattard was a protége of Pascal Barbot and also worked in the kitchen of Bo Innovation in Hong Kong, and I suppose we had unfairly high expectations. I was told that Yum’Tcha is also Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi’s favourite restaurant in Paris and he’d book out the whole restaurant when he was in town. Rumour or truth, I don’t know.

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Aren’t these plates cute? They remind me of watercolour ombre patterns.

Was YumT’cha worth the experience? Yes, it’s worth the try, just make sure you have a whole afternoon to enjoy your lunch, which for us usually isn’t the case with a jam packed schedule to see family and friends in France.

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Love the details and the beautiful textured walls. There’s something very feminine and soft about the interiors.

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The food here is different and interesting, delicate and there’s excellent tea pairing over French fine dining. We were not expecting to sit down to a 4 hour lunch, although I can see how the concept of Yum’Tcha, which literally translates to drinking tea in Cantonese – which is to gather and chit chat with friends over tea and light bites has carried over here in Paris. It is never a hurried affair.

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I am afraid I lost the menu and was told that the menu changes regularly, so you’re in for a surprise when you get there. :)

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It’s taken me over a year to get down to this post and there are gaps in my memory. I am not sure if it’s a good or bad thing as nothing was particularly memorable about the meal – apart from it lasting the whole afternoon.

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There was only a menu unique when we went there, but I am told there are choices now.

The chef has a light touch making many humble Chinese ingredients shine, giving them a French gastro facelift, like the fermented beancurd 腐乳 noodle dish  (picture below) – a simple, if you will poor man’s food ingredient cooked with noodles. My late grandmother always added some sugar on top and we ate it with congee alongside preserved vegetables.

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The cheese dish took an Asian twist – roqueforte in a rice flour Chinese bun (our cheese course below). You can either go for the tea pairing or the wine pairing, I did the tea pairing and the husband did the wine pairing.

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Finishing with a really light and fruity dessert.

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I think they have made adjustments to the menu prices as I remember paying about 160€ per person with wine + tea pairing respectively.

121 Rue Saint Honoré, 75001 Paris, France

Tel: +33 1 40 26 08 07

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