Maison Tafa Galeries Lafayette Le Gourmet (Paris, FRANCE) ★★☆☆☆

We tried almost every restaurant at Galeries Lafayette Le Gourmet, but none of them would take us in, especially not at 8pm when they were already preparing to close. We were desperate. Very desperate. So we decided to settle for a quick meal at Maison Tafa.

Maison Tafa is an Asian catering counter on the ground floor of Galeries Lafayette Le Gourmet. It runs a highly efficient food station with a diverse menu spanning Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, and Japanese specialties. Most customers opt for takeaway, although a small area is set aside for dine-in service.

First to arrive was the Tom Yum Fried Rice, a bold Thai dish that was supposed to combine the fragrant flavors of traditional Tom Yum soup with classic stir-fried rice. It came with decent wok hei.

By contrast, the Pad Thai — a stir-fried rice noodle dish with shrimp, peanuts, green onions, scrambled egg, sugar and bean sprouts arrived with zero wok hei. The noodles were meant to be tossed in a sweet-savory-sour sauce, but the seasoning was way off.

Our final dish was green curry with chicken fillet and steamed rice. It looked exactly like something from a food court. For €20, I expected a little more.

In Hong Kong, we are spoiled with some of the world’s best Thai restaurants outside of Thailand. This was not authentic in the slightest, and worse still, it offered very poor value for money. On the bright side, perhaps they are simply adjusting to the Parisian palate.

Food Rating: 3.6/10

Price: €€€€

Address: G/F, 35 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France

Closest Metro Station: Havre - Caumartin / Auber

Tel: +33 (0)1 4023-5267

Website: https://gourmet.galerieslafayette.com/

Opening Hours: 9:30am - 9:30pm (Mon - Sat), 11:00am - 8:00pm (Sun)

Pierre Hermé ice cream pop-up at Galeries Lafayette Le Gourmet (Paris, FRANCE) ★★★☆☆

Eleven days since we arrived in Germany to kick off the trip, we have finally reached our final destination. Paris is just as outstanding a final stop as one can hope for, and the moment we arrived, we headed out to explore the city centre.

After sitting down for a Portuguese egg tart, I promptly ventured over to Galeries Lafayette Le Gourmet on Boulevard Haussmann, a famous dessert spot on the ground floor, entirely dedicated to “The Gastronomy & Haute Pâtisserie Counters (Les Comptoirs de la Gastronomie & Haute Pâtisserie)”. It serves as a high-end showcase for legendary French pastry icons, master chocolatiers, and artisanal bakers, including Pierre Hermé, Cyril Lignac, Philippe Conticini, and Yann Couvreur.

     

We have been patronizing Pierre Hermé’s pastry shops in Paris for more than two decades, and it’s not the first time they have showcased their ice-cream alongside their exquisite pastries. But this is the first time they have done a dedicated ice-cream pop-up.

The seasonal summer counter features signature and exclusive frozen treats from the Picasso of pastry. There are also plant-based soft-serve options and custom scoops available on demand.

From the start, though, we had our sights set on a truly unique ice-cream experience: Pierre Hermé’s Toasted Ice Cream Brioche, available in two iconic flavors — Ispahan and Infiniment Vanille.

This creation is made in partnership with Krampouz (crepe and waffle maker), sealing fresh ice cream inside a warm, toasted brioche bun.

After a five-minute wait, our Ispahan toasted ice cream brioche is finally ready!

The indulgent creation pairs the chef’s signature flavor profile of rose, raspberry, and lychee with an irresistible contrast of textures and temperatures. Not bad at all.

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: €€€€

Address: 35 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France

Closest Metro Station: Havre - Caumartin / Auber

Tel: +33 (0)1 4023-5267

Website: https://gourmet.galerieslafayette.com/

Opening Hours: 9:30am - 9:30pm (Mon - Sat), 11:00am - 8:00pm (Sun)

Pâtisserie Chocolaterie Kuntzmann Leichtnam (Moulins-lès-Metz, FRANCE) ★★★☆☆

We have a relatively light schedule this afternoon. Like the previous few days, it’s a travel day, so after a brief walking tour of central Metz, we hit the road again toward Reims. There was one extra stop I wanted to make before joining the highway — Château de Vaux – Vignobles Molozay in Scy-Chazelles, a winery just a short 10-minute drive from Metz.

Because Château de Vaux – Vignobles Molozay doesn’t open until 2pm, we had about 10 minutes to spare in an area called Moulins-lès-Metz. Fortunately, I had already done my research on where to go during that short window.

Pâtisserie Chocolaterie Leichtnam Kuntzmann, also known as Maison Leichtnam Kuntzmann, is a family-run pastry and chocolate shop that has been operating in Moulins-lès-Metz since 1988.

In their pastry section, it’s not hard to spot what they do best besides their signature homemade chocolates — chocolate-themed cakes.

Chocolate meringue (€3.5) — I decided to get something really simple here. A gluten-free meringue covered with chocolate buttercream on the outside.

The rich chocolate buttercream on the exterior was clearly the star here. Very comforting and indulgent.



After enjoying my third piece of cake today, we drove up to Château de Vaux - Vignobles Molozay as planned. This is a prominent, family-owned wine estate located in the Moselle AOC region of Lorraine, France. 

The estate isn't a big one. Just 14 hectares across 26 distinct parcels spread over 7 communes along the hillsides overlooking the Moselle River but it offered a perfect opportunity to learn more about wines from the Moselle AOC, a region we knew very little about.

Apparently, it’s not easy to get wines from this area shipped directly to Hong Kong due to the overall small production. Their wines still predominantly supply the local French market, especially the top labels, including their Pÿlæ Pinot Noir, widely considered the flagship red from Vignobles Molozay. I had come specifically for the Pÿlæ Pinot Noir, but was disappointed to learn that it was sold out.

The silver lining? We were able to visit their cellar in the basement, so at least we got a small taste of the estate’s wine-making heritage.

Food Rating: 5.6/10

Price: €€

Address: 26 Rue de Metz, 57160 Moulins-lès-Metz, France

Tel: +33 (0)3 8760-5664

Website: https://www.instagram.com/patiss_choco_leichtnam/?hl=en

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 6:00pm (Wed - Sat), 7:00am - 5:00pm (Sun), 8:00am - 4:00pm (Tue)

Boulangerie-Pâtisserie Dudot (Metz, FRANCE) ★★★★☆

We’re doing a bit of glamping in the southern part of Metz tonight. To get us a little more prepared, we’re grabbing some supplies from a local supermarket before our check-in.

While my team was busy figuring out what to get from a nearby Auchan, I sneaked out for our sweet treats tonight at a neighborhood boulangerie-pâtisserie.

Boulangerie-Pâtisserie Dudot is a historic artisanal bakery institution in Metz. 

Founded by the Dudot family in 1936, the bakery and cake shop has grown into a beloved local staple with three distinct locations across the Metz area.

I was still deciding what to get from the boulangerie but after seeing this signage outside, I had a pretty good idea.

Eclair Paris-Brest (€3.5) — An éclair-shaped twist on the Paris-Brest, combining the elongated shape of a classic French éclair with the rich, nutty flavors of a traditional Paris-Brest.

Instead of the classic bicycle-wheel ring, this came in a straight-lined choux pastry éclair shell. The filling was a rich, velvety hazelnut praline crème mousseline, piped beautifully inside. The top of the choux was garnished with toasted, flaked hazelnuts, a light dusting of powdered sugar, and a praline-flavored glaze.

It was truly a hazelnut lover’s dream. The richness and nuttiness of the hazelnut praline meshed wonderfully well with the choux pastry. Crisp on the outside, firm yet light overall while keeping everything balanced.

Vanilla flan (€4.2) — 25-year-old pastry chef Clara Rodriguez from Boulangerie-Pâtisserie Dudot has won the national title of “Champion of France” for their pastry flan at the very first Concours National du Meilleur Flan Pâtissier (National Contest for the Best Pastry Flan). So, this was an easy pick for me.

In a perfect world, I would have bought an entire flan (€33) to enjoy for the week, but since we’re on the road, I elected to get a slice of this heavenly dessert instead.

This was simply incredible. Just very delicate and firm texture, and the aroma of vanilla was right on the money.

I’m so blessed to have had the spare ten minutes to sneak away for these two wonderful desserts. Let’s see if I can find the time to sample more while we’re still in Metz.

Food Rating: 7/10

Price: €€

Address: 22 Rue de Pont-à-Mousson, 57000 Metz, France

Tel: +33 (0)3 8762-6152

Website: http://www.boulangerie-dudot.com/

Opening Hours: 6:00am - 7:30pm (Mon - Fri), 6:00am - 7:00pm (Sat), 6:00am - 1:00pm (Sun)

Becker’s Weinhaus at Becker’s Hotel & Restaurant (Trier, GERMANY) ★★★★☆

We spent the late afternoon touring the heart of Trier, making stops at Trierer Dom (Trier Cathedral), Liebfrauenkirche (the Church of Our Lady), the Konstantin-Basilika (Basilica of Constantine), and the Kurfürstliches Palais (Electoral Palace) before finally driving away.

Our original plan was to stay inside the city of Trier for the night. But with news of a heatwave torching parts of Europe, I took a closer look at our hotel accommodations again before the trip (There were ten of them.). Upon review by AI, one of the hotels was not equipped with air-conditioned rooms and it turned out to be the one in Trier. So, two weeks before the trip, I quickly changed our plans.

The replacement was Becker’s Hotel & Restaurant, a hotel I knew pretty well, thanks to its fine-dining restaurant, which used to boast two Michelin stars. 🌟🌟

We had a very interesting stay at Becker’s Hotel & Restaurant, to say the least. For the part about lodging, I’ll leave that to another post. Here, I’ll just focus on our dining experience at one of its two in-house restaurants — Becker’s Weinhaus.

Under renowned winemaker Wolfgang Becker, Becker’s Hotel & Restaurant offers two entirely different dining concepts: a fine-dining experience at Becker’s Restaurant and a more casual Becker’s Weinhaus, an old-school tavern-style bistro serving high-quality but simple dishes in a rustic vibe. Our stay was on a Sunday, so it was a holiday for the fine-dining restaurant. However, according to their website, the Weinhaus was open on Sundays, even though it didn’t specifically mention the opening time. To make sure they were open for dinner, I emailed the reception a few hours before we arrived. They promptly replied that they would be open for dinner, and we confirmed dinner would be at 7:00 p.m. Looked like we were all set.

But when we came down a little after 7, there was nobody inside except two customers seated at Becker’s Weinhaus. We took a peek into the kitchen, and we could see lights on, but there was no server in the dining room. After about 15 minutes, we decided to leave and check out other nearby restaurants. According to Google Maps, there were two of them, but not surprisingly, both were closed on Sunday.

At that point, we didn’t know what to do next. Should we go back and try our luck again? Or should we take our car and drive back to the city (about a 10-minute drive), where there would be more choices? After a vote, we decided to head back to our room and enjoy a cup of noodles instead.

This was when the phone suddenly rang. A lady asked if we still wanted dinner. It sounded like the two customers in the dining room had told the staff about our arrival (and departure). So we finally got the dinner we were hoping for.

We eventually learned more about what had happened. The restaurant was supposed to be closed on Sunday evenings. The two customers eating there were participants in a cooking event, and their family members were working hard in the kitchen to prepare dishes. All the restaurant staff were helping out, so they were unavailable when we stopped by. Of course, they weren’t expecting any new customers — except us. They were kind enough to offer us dinner service, knowing that there weren’t many restaurants open in the city on a Sunday.

Dinner officially began with a small quiche as a welcome snack.

Next came a refreshing bowl of tomato gazpacho.

Crispy Viennese veal schnitzel (€34) — We’ve had quite a few of these deep-fried veal cutlets on this trip, but these were by far the most delicious. 

Tender, juicy, and deeply satisfying, the veal matched perfectly with the cranberry sauce and wild herb salad.

And who wouldn’t love shoestring fries straight out of the fryer?

Royal sea bream (€38) — Pretty delicate and comforting. The cherry tomato and artichoke gave the dish a nice lift, and I thought the basil foam provided a sublime finishing touch.

Were we singing “Desperato” when we were running out of dinner options? Of course we were. But this meal exceeded our expectations in more ways than one. Our heartfelt gratitude to the team for taking us in. They could have easily given us the stop sign explaining that it was their regular Sunday holiday—but they went above and beyond to make sure we were fed. The cup noodles would have kept us alive for the night, but they wouldn’t have come close to matching the gourmet meal presented in front of us.

With that, I can say we had a pretty successful second visit to Trier. Tomorrow morning, we’re crossing out of France again and ironically, it’s our second visit to Metz. Only this time, we’ll be doing a little bit of glamping.

Food Rating: 6.9/10

Price: €€€

Address: Olewiger Straße 206, 54295 Trier, Germany

Tel: +49 651 938080

Website: http://www.beckers-trier.de/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm (Wed - Sun), 6:00pm - late (Wed - Sat)

L’Oignon (Strasbourg, FRANCE) ★★★★☆

When we returned to Strasbourg after a full day of activities in Colmar, it was already a little after 7 pm, leaving us very little time to explore the city’s historic centre. I thought, if there’s a place to soak up Strasbourg’s medieval charm with our remaining time here, it has to be Petite France.

Petite France (or Little France) is easily the most picturesque quarter of Strasbourg, located on the southwestern edge of the city’s central island. Best known for its fairytale-like atmosphere, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is highlighted by its winding canals, cobblestone streets, wooden bridges, and beautifully preserved 17th-century half-timbered houses.

We did our best to soak up the storybook vibe by visiting a few sunset viewpoints and aimlessly wandering around the main thoroughfare. Before we knew it, half an hour had flown by right into dinner time.

This was when we arrived at our dinner destination — L’Oignon, a local institution celebrated for its warm, cozy atmosphere and excellent Alsatian cuisine. We all thought it would be silly to pass up the chance to sit on the lovely outdoor terrace right along the narrow cobblestone streets and immerse ourselves in the area’s historic charm.

Alsatian snails (6 pcs, €12) — Little nugget specifically asked for these, so as expected, he ended up finishing them all.

As usual, the snails were baked with parsley butter. I just wish there had been more left (before this guy finished it all) so I could have used it as a dip for the bread.

French tarte tatin of caramelized shallots (€11) — I mistakenly thought this was the traditional French onion soup (the restaurant's signature dish), but it turned out to be something different. On top of the caramelized shallots was a pool of cream cheese with herbs. It had most of the elements of an onion soup, but without the delicious broth.

Traditional sauerkraut with five kinds of meat and sausages (€22) — With Strasbourg situated so close to the German border, it came as no surprise that the restaurants here boast some of the most amazing “homestyle” German dishes.

I didn’t exactly count how many different kinds there were, but it definitely included pork belly, knuckle, and sausage… and these were really, really tender and succulent.

Alsatian chicken supreme (€22) — The chicken fillets were pretty tender and were nicely complemented by a creamy oyster mushroom sauce.

Some roasted potatoes as a side dish.

Choosing to sit on the terrace was the best decision we have made in a while. To enjoy front-row seats to the neighborhood’s half-timbered houses, weeping willows, and the gentle reflection of historic architecture on the water, it was priceless.

And honestly, the night scene only got better as the evening went on. (Photo touched up with AI.)

Food Rating: 6.8/10

Price: €€€

Address: 4 Rue des Moulins, 67000 Strasbourg, France

Tel: +33 (0)3 8816-5981

Website: http://www.restaurantloignon.fr/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:00pm (Mon - Thu), 12:00pm - 3:00pm (Fri - Sat), 12:00pm - 4:00pm (Sun), 7:00pm - 10:00pm daily