Meeting More Friends

As a general rule, I get along with Hubby's colleagues better than I do most of his friends. Those of you psychological wanabees out there probably would have something to say about this. On my part, let's say that there must be some purple grass on both banks of the river. I'll add in differences in culture and personal habits, added to the fact that many would be expecting a nice docile Asian girl in me, only to discover an unusually aggressive female who has opinions on almost everything and who stands by them.

P and S (lovely, isn't she?)

On this last trip back, we met his long-time friend P and his girlfriend S (1st time I met her) for dinner at the Bistrot du 17eme. One of the best places in Paris for a decently-priced decent meal. Hubby has been going there for more than a decade and is rarely disappointed with the offering. For 34 Euros (fixed price menu), you get an apperitive, starter, main course, dessert, half a bottle of wine per person, coffee or tea. The choice is rather good and large though the portions are not very big. For the red wines, stick to the Bordeaux. If you wish to have a glass of sweet wine, it goes at only 3 Euros, an extra bottle of wine is an affordable 17 Euros. The decoration is classic bourgeois though expect quite a bit of noise as the tables are set pretty near one another. They have a similar restaurant at Porte Maillot (Le St Ferdinand) though for some reason I've always preferred this particular one at Wagram/Pereire.

Crepe Suzette

That evening, I started out with a Duck Liver followed by Prawns with Peas and a Millefeuille. Hubby had Lamb followed by Crepes Suzette. The other couple Prawn Wontons followed by Calf Liver and Kidneys. Always good value for money. Bumped into a Singaporean girl on holiday, she was sitting at the next table but I'll be able to pick out her accent from a mile away anyway.

Bistrot du 17ème

108 av. de Villiers

75017 Paris

Tél : 01 47 63 32 77

Back to P, I rather like the guy actually. He's a dreamer with a sensitive soul and a love for music and astrology. Only he rubbed me up the wrong way when he was going through a bad patch with his now ex-wife (lovely girl), dragging decent married men like my dear Hubby out on bachelor outings till the wee hours of the morning. Hanging out with rude female friends who badmouthed me though they knew me not. Now he's finally divorced, is setting up a new household with a pretty and intelligent female (Scorpio like myself) and hopefully it will work out this time around for him.

Y and A

On another evening, we had dinner in a real Thai restaurant at Edgar-Quinet (near Montparnasse) with Y and A (she's Russian). He's another of Hubby's ex-colleagues, a soft-spoken and intelligent guy who's much tougher than he sounds, full of initiative and so enthusiastic about whatever he's doing. His new fiancée (he's also newly divorced) is brilliant and you can see that he's proud of her and treasures her opinions and ideas. I get along well with men like that, who are not afraid of intelligent women and who allow themselves to be inspired and challenged by them.

Mixed Seafood Salad

The meal was very good, though I fear that I've forgotten the name of the restaurant. Mixed Seafood Salad and Tom Yam Goong to start followed by Prawns in Basilic Sauce. In any case, as a general rule, don't eat in restaurants that claim to serve "Chinese-Thai-Vietnamese" cuisines. Jack of too many cuisines can't be a Master of any. I know of another good Thai restaurant in the rue de Tolbiac named Paradis Thai. It's run by a Chinese couple but with a real Thai Chef imported from Thailand. Very good food, I always start with their Beef Salad followed by the Mixed Seafood Curry in Coconut. And they are one of the rare Thai restaurants in Paris to actually serve decent dessert.

We finished the evening with tea at Y's flat (he has a terrace with a view of Paris). I had a chance to dig out my rusty notions of the Communist Soviet Union (I've really left school a long time ago now) and keep up with the discussion. Sometimes the men talked about cars and business but whatever it was, it was kind of weird carrying out our conversations in English with non-English speakers. To tell the truth, half the time I could barely understand what those Frenchmen were saying in their so-called English.

We ran for the last métro. Have not done that for a long time. Saw the Eiffel Tower at past midnight. It was magical.