BA Y to Europe - Runs, Floods, War and Wine

[yflyer]

The evening after my first run, I headed to a bistro, Flottes, for dinner.



This is a casual, and very busy, restaurant, popular with visitors to Paris. As a kiasu Singaporean, I made a reservation in advance, but this is a very casual bistro, with rapid turnover and many, many tables, so it is probably possible to pop by as a walk-in as well.

I was immediately brought to my table…I think the tightly packed tables contributed to the lively atmosphere. I was literally wedged in between two other pairs of diners.



The menu…classic bistro fare with a few seasonal items.





Many items, like French onion soup, are ubiquitious all over the world, but there is nothing like ordering these classics in Paris to see what the benchmarks are…

The set meals represented particularly good value, at either EUR 26 for 2 courses (starter & main or main & dessert), or EUR 31 for starter, main and dessert.

A glass of white wine…



Razor clams in garlic butter…



…and then beef tartar as a main course…



…a huge portion of creaming, tangy and spicy raw minced beef, mixed in the kitchen (not tableside, the time it would take to do this would not be workable in a bistro like this…). Very tasty!



Crepes Suzette for dessert…a very satisfying meal indeed!



How satisfying? Well the mark of an outstanding restaurant is whether or not a customer will come back. Well, this customer certainly came back. As I ate dinner, I observed my neighbours enjoying the French onion soup, and the frogs’ legs. Both looked absolutely delicious. I had to return to try.

[yflyer]

I went there for dinner the next evening as well, after my 2nd run through Paris.

This time, I began with a glass of French Chablis, brought to my table with a flourish by my gregarious waiter…

“Can I take a picture of the bottle?”

“No!” he exclaimed loudly, pretending to shield the bottle, before offering it to me for a photo with a big grin…



“Nothing like a French Chablis!”, the elderly American lady dining at the next table remarked…

My onion soup arrived…



With all that dripping cheese hanging between the bowl, the spoon and my mouth, this was impossible to eat in a dignified way, but it tasted amazing…rich and full of umami…possibly the best French onion soup I had eaten in many years…



…and then, frogs’ legs…



Considering how many pairs of legs constituted one serving, there must have been quite an inventory of amphibians in the larder of this bistro…

Again, this really set the standard…tender and plump, and beautifully seasoned…



Completely stuffed by the time the last pair of frogs legs had been dispatched, I scrapped my original plan of ordering another crepes suzette, and instead ordered a single scoop of pear sorbet…



Even this simple sorbet tasted superb…icy cold, tangy, smooth and dense, it had a rich pear flavour that was a perfect way to end the meal.

Early the next morning, I headed to CDG Terminal 2A for my BA flight to London.

To be continued!

[yflyer]

Terminal 2A must be one of the older terminals at CDG.

The design was decidely retro, at least on the outside.



But inside, things are fine.

The designated BA lounge in CDG Terminal 2A is the CX Lounge.



While this is not that large a lounge, the decor theme in this lounge is very similar to CX's amazing lounges in HKG.





Airside views...



The same rounded workstation/seats at in HKG...



It was in the lounge that I learnt that boxing legend Muhammad Ali had passed away...



Lounge dining area...

[yflyer]

Decent, if unexceptional, breakfast spread...





Congee...



Hot selections...



Beverages...



At least they had Piper Heidseck...



And a decent liquor selection...



There was a small work area...



And showers...

[yflyer]

Quite a few shops in the airside area...



A red piano...



...which was in fairly good condition, and sounding reasonably well tuned when I tentatively poked at a few keys...I resisted the temptation to play a few chords just to see how the sound would resonate through the terminal, which was fairly empty at that hour of the morning...



A Disney Store...last chance to buy for anyone who didn't get what they wanted at Euro Disney...



Disney probably invented the concept of tie-in merchandising...



...but surely this crosses the line...



There is a massage outlet for pax to de-stress, however prices are very steep compared to BKK or SIN...



I headed to the gate...

[yflyer]

An A319 today operating my flight CDG-LHR...



Spanking new interiors, done in black leather.

A business class ticket gets you a nice white headrest cover, and an empty middle seat.



The Y cabin...



Very comfortable, compared to my previous flight on LCC Vueling...



Only one restroom in Y...



And look at the last row seats on the port side...



No recline, no windows, close to the lavatory. If I were seatguru or seatexpert, I would mark those seats not just red, but with flashing red light, blaring siren, skull & cross bones. Don't sit there!

Probably the worst seat feng shui on the aircraft in all respects but safety (Statistically the rear is safest...and there isn't anyone between you and the exit!)

Next to us, an AA 777 taxied to the gate, carefully guided by two ground staff in high vis, holding their luminous batons in the prescribed textbook pose...not a bad thing considering how many planes have had minor collisions with other planes on the ground...





We taxied out for take-off, passing the iconic CDG T1 and an SQ A380 on the way to the runway...



A busy -- and very foggy -- morning, with aircraft emerging from the fog at low levels to land...



And our aircraft disappearing into the fog almost immediately after take-off...

[yflyer]

A short 40 min flight to LHR...



...which was also fairly fogged over...



Landing in T5...BA territory...





I deplaned and speedwalked to T5 border control...

As Oneworld Sapphire, I was entitled to use Fast Track, which was good, since the the regular queue was jam packed with passengers that morning.

The Non-EU fast track queue did have a short line too, but it moved fairly quickly.

"How long are you here for?", the tall immigration officer asked...

"Just a day"

"Your purpose of visit?"

"I'm in transit...I am heading home to Singapore tonight"

"Do you have your boarding pass?"

I fished out my boarding pass for my BA LHR-SIN sector...

A lot of tapping on the computer...nervous looks...were his hands shivering?

This had never happened before...normally I am through UK border control in a flash...

More tapping on the computer...a lot of passport checks, UV light on the passport, close examination...

...the officer stood up and went across to consult his colleague...

The folks behind me in the hitherto fast-moving queue were getting restless...

I had nothing to hide or fear, and stood there, perhaps with an amused expression, but this was quite unusual...

The officer came back, and scribbled a lot of text on my immigration card, and tapped even more...

Hmmm...what "special" treatment was I getting?

He picked out a different chop and stamped my passport.

"That's not the usual chop", I remarked...

"Oh, that's for transit...usually when I ask people what their purpose of visit is, they usually say either business or pleasure. You said transit."

"Well, I am here for pleasure...I am going to look around London before I head home..."

"Ok...that's all fine" he said with a smile. "It's my first day at work, and for transit passengers, that is how I was taught to do it..."

So that was it!

"It's really your first day? Congratulations!"

I collected my passport and headed out to the arrivals area.

A very nice chap, really. But most UK border control officers are, in my experience.

To be continued...

[Mlee888]

Love this report.

I was in Paris end of last year just after Christmas and I can see how high those flood waters reached.

I stayed near the airport and it took about 45 minutes by metro to reach Notre Dame. I can also imagine Vueling being extremely similar to Flybe. Great for an hour flight due to price but you wouldn't use them for anything more than 2.

[yflyer]

Love this report.

I was in Paris end of last year just after Christmas and I can see how high those flood waters reached.

I stayed near the airport and it took about 45 minutes by metro to reach Notre Dame. I can also imagine Vueling being extremely similar to Flybe. Great for an hour flight due to price but you wouldn't use them for anything more than 2.

Thanks, Mlee888!

Yes, just amazing how much higher the water levels are this month.

Here are a couple of pictures of the Seine I took several years ago, showing the water at a more normal level...





If there were any cars parked along the lower banks of the Seine this month, they would all be under water now!

[yflyer]

Continuing with the TR...

I had just 11 hours in transit in London before my flight back to Singapore.

My luggage was checked through all the way through from CDG to SIN.

I locked my MacBook in my laptop backpack and left it with the T5 left luggage service (GBP 11 for a day’s safekeeping), and took the Heathrow Express into London.



I spent some time along Oxford Street, and paid a visit to Harold Moore Music, one of the last great classical CD (and LP) stores, as well as Schott Music, which has a fantastic selection of sheet music.

By sheer coincidence an old friend and colleague of mine happened to be in London that day. We agreed to meet for lunch.

[yflyer]

I used the OpenTable app on my iPhone to book a table for two at Maze, one of the restaurants in Gordon Ramsay’s ever expanding empire.



We opted for Maze, which serves a variety of western plates with a few Asian touches, rather than the Maze Grill, which focused on grilled steak and meat.



There was a promotion on which gave us 4 plates for GBP 35, and which included a complimentary summer cocktail…

The list of courses available to choose from was quite varied…



The a-la-carte menu for reference...



The best part of it was the option of various wine pairings, including a blind tasting wine flight.

We opted for the four course set, and as both my friend and I were quite into both wine and cocktails (As amateurs of course…), we decided on the blind wine tasting as well…

[yflyer]

Summer cocktails to begin, a lychee berry martini which was very pleasant…



Soup as an amuse bouche…a puree of vegetables with a hint of Asian spice…



Burrata cheese as a first course…creamy and refreshing…



Asparagus with mayonnaise and togarashi.



Tasty asparagus, and the Japanese chilli peppers did give it a pleasant kick. But did the seaweed that was wrapped around the asparagus really do anything for this dish? I think incorporating Asian fusion elements in western cuisine are a good thing, but there are limits to this approach, and while the asparagus was delicious, there didn’t seem to be much synergy between the Asian and Western elements on this plate.

No such reservations about the roast cod, this was cooked to perfection…

[yflyer]

At this point, the wines for our blind tasting were brought to our table: three glasses each, all in black glasses to obscure their colour.



“Are you going to tell us what they are?” I asked the sommelier.

“No! You are going to tell me!” he replied...

The game was on!

Already pleasantly tipsy from the summer cocktail, the two of us started to sip from the first glass (The stand had labels on the base to tell is which glass to start with.) and began guessing wildly and loudly what we were drinking…

Our enthusiasm must have been contagious, because the table next to us also ordered the blind tasting…

Now with Gordon Ramsay’s reputation, this was not going to be a trivial guessing game of common wines and varietals. The sommeliers here had far more diabolical plans for their hapless guests….

The first sip of white…cold, almost sweet…

“…was that grass in the bouquet?”

“Tastes like a Riesling!”

“I would guess a Sauv Blanc…”

Our sommelier came by to offer guidance…”Close, but no!” and began to walk us through the process of deducing what this wine was, step by step…

“White or red?”

“White...”

“What do you smell? Flowers?”…

Hmmm…

And so we went…

In the end, he revealed it to be something wholly unexpected, and quite unusual, and yet very drinkable and delicious!

[yflyer]

The next course, a mushroom risotto, was a marvel, some of the best risotto I had ever eaten…



The next wine was another mystery…cold, very spicy…we were both stumped…

…delicious and yet like nothing I had ever tasted…

Again when its identity was revealed, my friend and I could only gasp at how we could have been led astray by our palette, and how broad and wide the world of wine was. Another memorable wine, which neither she nor I had ever come across, although it was one I would be happy to drink again.

And finally, a course of aged beef…



This looked like a fillet, but it wasn’t. In fact, it was stewed, and tasted a little like corned beef. Not what we expected, but a very daring dish.

The last of the blind tasting wines was clearly a red wine. But even this glass left us stumped and looking for guidance. A delicious wine, but one whose character was so complex and unusual that it could not be easily pigeon-holed…clearly not a cab sauv, and not a syrah. Yet it didn’t come across like a pinot noir from Burgundy, neither was it a soft, fruity merlot…

In the end it was one of those varietals, but in a style that we both found quite unfamiliar…

Again we were both amateurs, groping about in the dark trying to figure out what we were drinking. My friend’s palate was far more refined and she was armed with far more wine knowledge, but I had a lot of fun too…and the sommelier’s guiding hand explaining to us what we were tasting made all the difference.

So while the food was very good, it was really the fun of guessing and tasting those mysterious and unusual wines that made lunch that day so special.

White chocolate mousse for dessert…

[yflyer]

After lunch, I asked to see the bottles of each of the wines we tasted that day, and they were brought to our table for us to have a look at.

And in case any of you want to know what the wines we were served that day were, click here. The wines in the picture were served to us right to left.

I’m embedding this as a link so as not to serve as a spoiler for any who is heading to that restaurant in the near future.

A very pleasant meal in London!