A gastronomic theatre through the backdoor . . .

Alain Ducasse's gastronomic kitchen which seen from where we were sat at his 3-star Michelin restaurant at the Plaza Athenee was like watching a theatre performance. 7 courses of delight smack in the middle of all the action. I remember thinking I wish I had not eaten that huge piece of pork at the Maison Baccarat earlier as what awaited us by the Chef was an epicurian adventure which included cockscombe among many other things.

From our room we descended up the bar for Grey Goose martinis then onto Ducasse. . . via the backdoor . . .

down the stairs . . .

to witness this . . . .

and to sit, just Lynn and I with the unwavering attention of sommeliers, a maitre de and waiters who took care of us under the watchful eye of the Chef (he's the guy without the big white hat).

the beginning

cockscombe

curtains down

the end

and back to the surface of the restaurant with our goody bags and customised menus . . . what bliss it was to climb up the stairs to bed . . . stuffed little gourmand piggies. Thank you Chef.

NOT so THAi food . . .in Bangkok

Yes, we are so spoilt with GOOD food in this country . .. the list in the last post does not include all the curious little dessert and snack spots around town . . .and let's not kid anyone - the not Thai food around here is pretty good as well. . . I ate at Ember the other night- delicious  - flawless except for the fact that I ate too much . .  Eugenia has really improved . . . . and I love my weekly rendez-vous with Piyatat the photographer - either Katsu Ichi or Tapas Cafe. . . kurubata pork with cheese - ain't nuthin like it or the jamon at Tapas . . . oh and then there is Eat Me - aside from the cheeky name . . the food is fabulous . . .I dream about the lentil, beetroot and feta cheese salad and the sticky toffee pudding . . .oh and that chocolate vodka shot. That list of "foreign" restaurants that we frequent and love is pretty exhaustive . . . these are just the ones that I go to all the time . . .let's not forget the old-time faves . . . that's for another day completely . . .I think of the spaghetti pomodoro and the Zanotti pizza (parma ham with marscapone) from Vino Zanotti (the diffusion resto of Zanotti)never fails to make me so happy. The truffle foccacia at Biscotti . . .The food recently at La Scala has been really very very good as well. The mergeuz frites at Indigo and the salmon in filo at La Bouchon . . .And this is just from the top of my head . . my brain is playing hunger tricks on me now thinking about all this food!

The fact that I am not drinking alcohol for Buddhist Lent has convinced me that I can consume more calories in food . . .who am i kidding?? Thank goodness that Kit called me yesterday and said" P'Chom - I'm shooting you next week for my portrait book - you better look good" . . .oh well . . . i suppose that saying "a second on your lips is a life time on your hips" has some truth.  Thank goodness for ashtanga yoga and surfing this weekend! Food can wait . . .