Review: La Braisière

Time flew by and it was already the last day of M's last Toulouse visit. We had made plans to go out for a nice meal. However, we overlooked the detail that it was Sunday, in Europe this means the majority of stores and restaurants remained closed. After a frantic hour of researching online, we decided to give la Braisière a try. This restaurant is a famous grill house. We've learned from past experience to always make a reservation and this worked out to our benefit. As we arrived at the restaurant just after 19:00, it was packed. The patio was lively and the inside of the restaurant was filled with the scent of smokey barbecue (in the most delicious way!)

Wine here was not very expensive (14 euros) and it was very tasty indeed. After the wine tour in Bordeaux, M and I are more picky with the wine we drink. We were pleasantly surprised when we sipped on the wine from La Clap.

For appetizer, M ordered his new favourite food: smoke salmon and said the quality of the fish was quite good. However, the condiments were missing some essential herbs. I, on the other hand, ordered the mussels and thought they were delicious. They were baked to perfection with a home made sauce out of seaweed.

As mentioned before, it was M's last day in France and we thought it'd be nice to order some traditional French main dishes. So, we both had duck - duck confit cassoulet and magret de canard.

Cassoulet is a famous dish in southern France with 3 main ingredients: beans, meat (duck or pork) and sausage. The cassoulet at La Braisière was not only tasty, but it was also very hearty and filling. The confit de canard went great with the beans.

The portion of the magret de canard was large. It was a simple yet delicious dish.

Each table was also served a green salad and potato cubes. M fell in love with the potato cubes (I'm not a big fan of them). According to him, these cubes were fried to the perfect state. The outside crispiness to the inside softness ratio was divine. He would come back again just for these potatoes.

We finished off the meal with a creme brulee to share. As you know, the French are experts at dessert and this place was no exception.

Verdict:
One of the best restaurants we've been in Toulouse. The price value was good and there's a large selection on the menu. Would definitely revisit again and recommend to others.

Rating: 4/5

Price: $$$

La Braisière
42, Rue Pharaon, 31000 Toulouse
+(33)5 61 52 37 13

Review: Papaya

After doing a lot of research to pick Dom Polski, Y and I decided that we wanted to try something different that was not necessarily Polish. Both of us enjoy fusion food, so, after reading around online and picking through many Polish-only websites, we found that Papaya seemed to be generally accepted as one of the best fusion restaurants in Warsaw.

We had a late reservation - arriving at 10 pm - we were probably the last table of the night to be seated. Unfortunately, the table we were given was relatively dark and as a result, the pictures did not turn out as well as we hoped (they are rather blurry).

Taking a quick look at the menu, we realized that the restaurant was more of a Japanese/Thai restaurant than anything that resembled fusion. However, this did not phase us as we were hungry. We decided to order three appetizers to split: the deep-fried calamari, the crab cakes, and the salmon tataki. After much thought, Y decided on a safe favorite - pad thai; and I had the Kobe beef steak, hoping that Kobe beef in Poland was of the same quality as everywhere else in the world.

Salmon Tataki

Deep Fried Calamari

Crab Cakes (started eating them already!)

Y's Pad Thai

Kobe Beef Steak

Verdict:
Overall, we thought that the restaurant was a relatively safe choice - the food was what we expected but did not blow us away. We found both the Calamari and the Crab Cakes to be good (but again, not amazing), but the Salmon Tataki seemed to be lacking a bit in the flavor department. Our main courses again were both very generic, the Pad Thai was sub-par (way too sweet) and the Kobe beef was tender, but was not up to the same quality of Kobe (Wagyu) beef that you could find in Toronto. We did not order dessert as we were stuffed after appetizer and main course. To conclude, Papaya is a place to go to if you want Asian food. However, we feel that there would probably be cheaper places with the same quality of food - we would recommend that those visiting Warsaw for only a few days look elsewhere.

Rating: 2.5/5
Price: $$

Papaya

Foksal 16
00-372 Warszawa
Polska‎
22 826 11 99‎

Review: Dom Polski

After an impressive performance by the Warszawa Philharmonics, M & I were hungry for some authentic Polish cuisine. Dom Polski was not only recommended by the staff at the Intercontinental hotel (a very nice hotel for a very good price btw), the restaurant was also on various brochures and websites. After taking a cab where the driver thought he was a formula 1 driver in the mercedes, we arrived outside a beautiful villa. Although it was late, we were able to see the well-decorated garden from the dim lights. One could have never tell that this villa, housed Warsaw's famous Dom Polski.

At 22:30, we were the table to be seated for the night. The waiter led us to a table by the window with a nice view of the garden.

Here is what we had for our traditional Polish dinner:

Green lettuce with slices of smoke duck breast and fresh fruit

Golden and crispy potato pancakes with pink salmon and red caviar

Grilled royal shrimp served with garlic

Rolled wild boar filet in a aromatic forest sauce with potato noodles

Juicy catfish filet in herb pepper with spinach

Toffee cake

We ordered 3 appetizers that night because we were starving. The smoke duck salad was nothing special. It was a mixture of lettuce, tangerine, and smoke duck pieces. I thought the smoke ducks had a very particular taste, although it was on the salty side, it tasted a little spicy at the same time. M choose the potato pancakes and they were heavenly! The crisp texture of the potato pancake combined with the smooth texture of the smoke salmon led to a party in the mouth. Taking another bite with the condiments provided (chives, onions, garlic, and sour cream), this provided an incredible array of flavors. I must admit I was quite envious of M's potato pancakes. Thinking back, it was the best dish I had on our trip to Warsaw. We got the royal shrimp to share and were a bit disappointed with it. The dish lacked flavor and the shrimp were slightly cold.

Being as adventurous with food as he is, M ordered the rolled wild boar. When it arrived at the table, the presentation was not the greatest. However, once M started eating, he said the meat was tender and flavorful. The side dishes that came with the main were surprisingly good too.
I went with the catfish and according to our waiter, "it was the best dish on the menu." I beg to differ. The fish was quite bland in taste and was not crispy at all. As a garlic lover, I never thought I would complain that something had too much garlic but the spinach was overfilled with garlic and salt. Overall, this dish was way to salty for my taste.

After an abundance of food, M still decided to order dessert ("when in Europe" he says.") The toffee cake, he said was probably too sweet for most people but for him, it was excellent.

Verdict:
Overall, our night was pretty good. Some of the dishes were definitely a hit or miss. If you enjoy heavy food, this is the place for you. Or, if you want to try some authentic Polish cuisine this is also a must-go. We agreed that we would come here and just pig out on their amazing potato pancakes.

Rating: M - 4/5 Y - 3.5/5
Price: $ (for Polish standards)

Dom Polski
Francuska 11
03-906 Warszawa, Poland
22 616 24 32

Review: Le Rajasthan

I've been to Le Rajasthan three times during my stay in Toulouse - once for dinner and twice for lunch. The first time was for dinner with a couple of other exchange students. Although there's an abundance of restaurants in the city of Toulouse, ethnic food - with the exception of Middle Eastern food - is very limited. My first experience of this little restaurant was so great that I brought people back to it.

Le Rajasthan is located in a very small alley near the capitol. It can be easily missed if you do not have a map or know the city inside out.

When we went for dinner, the three of us went around 8 and the place was packed. After reading such good reviews, we were determine to try it and came back an hour later. As we entered, the waiter promptly sat us at a table near the window. All three of us decided to go for the prix-fixe menu (best deal in France).

After we placed our orders, a plate of Papadums were brought out. This was my first time eating this and I fell in love. Although I've been to many Indian restaurants in Vancouver, not once have they ever offered Papadums.

For appetizer, two of us choose the somosas and the other decided on the eggplant. The somosa was perfectly fried to a nice crisp and with the addition of the condiments provided, it tasted like heaven.

We ordered 3 different plats - Tandoori chicken, Veggie curry, and chicken curry. The tandoori chicken came in a generous portion. However, the two curries were a little smaller in size. The taste of all three were very authentic. And we were left stuffed after the main course.

The waiter suggested the creme de mange (mango cream) as the dessert. It was a nice change from all the pastry desserts served in other restaurants. The cream was light and not too sweet.

Verdict:
The food served was authentic, the price was cheap, and the service was fast and friendly. It is definitely a must-try if you want to be adventurous or are just looking for ethnic food.

My other two experiences at Le Rajasthan were similar. However, a word of caution, the restaurant sometimes runs out of appetizers for lunch. So either go early or just stick with dinner (preferred). Also, they do not serve Papadums at lunch.

Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $

Le Rajasthan
20 rue des Gestes
31000 Toulouse
05 61 23 77 35