PDF Theory

I have a theory that the prevalence of Asian food (especially Japanese) is an attempt to cater to the myriads of Japanese tourists who make there way to Paris to spend a great deal of money on high fashion items that are ridiculously marked up back home (in Japan).  This theory is solely based on my observations of the countless number of Japanese restaurants that I have seen in Paris and the even more countless number of Japanese tourists I have crossed paths with in my stay here (which is creeping up on three weeks now).

And the only reason I've created this theory is to justify another blog post about eating more Japanese food (besides the already established Ramen craving that I have) in Paris.  I'll call it the "People Dictate the Food" theory, or PDF for short (not to be confused with the document file).  And so, now that I've outlined the PDF theory, I present you with a review on Hokkaido.

Initially at Hokkaido, I was almost tempted into doing something regrettably foolish and ordering something that was not ramen when ramen was present on the menu.  Past memories of Sukiya and Matsuya serving delectable bowls of gyudon almost got the best of me as I asked the waitress for a €10 gyudon.  But once I had a glass of cold water, I quickly came to my senses and desperately asked the waitress if she could forgive the unforgivable and change my order from a gyudon to a chashu ramen combo that came with 5 piece of gyoza (and cost €11).

The chashu ramen came in a shoyu (soy sauce based) broth with a topping of negi (green onions), moyashi (beansprouts), chayshu (sliced pork), and sesame seeds.  The seaweed you see in the picture was an addition from a neighbors yasai (vegetable) ramen.  The broth was light but surprisingly good.  I've been so used to a strong, salty shoyu broth that a light shoyu broth was a pleasant surprise.  The noodles were a medium thickness cut that had a decent firmness and a taste that wasn't expected well...crap for a lack of better words, which I usually describe most standard ramen noodles.  The chashu wasn't as good as the chashu at Sapporo, but that was the only aspect this bowl was inferior to as compared with Sapporo ramen in my previous post.

The gyoza was stuffed with a blend of ground pork, green onions, and clear noodles and came cooked Japanese style, with the bottom fried and the sides steamed.  They were solid but nothing extraordinary as the skin of the steamed section wasn't extremely chewy (probably effects of over frying the bottom).

Overall though, the meal of both gyoza and ramen was a pleasant surprise to my low expectations of ramen in Japan and even my initial impressions of the restaurant and it's menu that seemed to offer every specialty Japanese food available (from my experiences, you want to stick with one specialty).  If you're craving a light shoyu-broth type of Ramen in Paris (a rather specific craving that I know will only affect a minority percentage of people) then give Hokkaido a try as I can't vouch for any other place...yet.

Restaurant Hokkaido

View Larger Map
14 Rue Chabanais, 75002 Paris, France
Metro: Quatre-Septembre or Pyramides

A little bit of Tokyo in Paris

So ever since coming back from my study abroad trip in Japan, I've had this un-satiable void in my stomach for Japanese ramen.  I'm not gonna go into the specifics of what I consider Japanese ramen because that is an entire book in itself (the simple version is that ramen is very diverse and everyone has a different definition).  But the bottom line is that I wasn't able to fill that void in Los Angeles (Mottainai came close and I'm hoping that Tsujita will do the trick when it finally opens) and I had a crazy idea that maybe I'll be able to fill it in France.  So I did some homework (had google chrome translate some french yelp reviews) and took a few friends out to Sapporo Ramen near the Louvre.  

My expectations were low despite the occasional temptation to think this might somehow finally be the one.  The menu had a variety or ramen including Shoyu, Miso, and Tonkotsu (usually not a good sign when a shop has more than one kind of broth) as well as some other Japanese dishes like curry, katsudon, and oyakodon, but since my ramen cravings are of the tonkotsu kind, naturally I went with the tonkotsu ramen bowl.

Did the bowl exceed my expectations?  Yes.  Did the bowl fulfill my endless expedition to fill my ever so elusive Japanese ramen craving?  No.  

But let's focus on the positives first.  The chashu (sliced pork) was actually very tender and had a good flavor, the noodles were on the thicker, chewier side (which is the style I like.  Most places use a stock medium thickness noodle that honestly has no texture), and the broth actually had a mild pork flavor.  

As for the negatives; as usual the egg was completely hardboiled as opposed to the delicate soft-boiled hanjuku tamago, there was way too much ginger (which is usually an optional topping on the side anyway), there was no garlic on the side to add to the broth (pre-crushed or fresh), the noodles and broth were just a cut above average, and the kicker, the waitress didn't speak Japanese (I'm kidding about this being a negative...kind of...).  

Anyway, overall Sapporo Ramen gets a decent review for a decent ramen but the quest for the satisfying Japanese ramen outside of Japen still continues.  But I promise I won't spend the entirety of my Paris trip huting for it...

Sapporo Ramen

View Larger Map
276 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris
Metro: Pyramides or Metro Palais Royal - Musee du Louvre