Apr 1, 2014
Le Mary Celeste
Now that daylight saving has finally kicked in, at last, I could write a little show-and-tell about Le Mary Celeste, although the spotlight would be more on the French-Asian fusion cuisine and less on the interesting cocktails. (We’re terrible drinkers, really.) Up until now, the somber winter had rendered it quite difficult to photograph the dishes – the menu changed daily – in the dim interior, so we’d whole-heartedly piled our attention on the food that tickled our tastebuds.
Situated in the Marais, this is undoubtedly a place where many of the chic and the stylish hang out. I’m not quite that cool, so you won’t catch me perching on one of the bar stools and chatting casually to the bartenders. Instead, I tuck myself into a corner table with F or my friends, eye the menu hungrily, and mentally ponder how to persuade all at the table that we should order one of every item there is on the menu. Not that a lot of convincing was ever needed. ;)
But first, even for the clueless like me, a cocktail is still highly appreciated. After checking out a handful few (on different occasions) including Koh Garden, rue St Vincent, El Curado, and Single Ladies, I settled on a favourite – La Madonna. Ah yes, it’s incredibly refreshing and, well, totally virgin. You can’t say I haven’t put some effort in this endeavour, and perhaps I need further cocktail-appreciation lessons, but for now, I’m happy with my choice of tipple.
No trip to Le Mary Celeste will do without at least an order of the Devilled eggs, filled with sesame-spiked mayonnaise yolk and topped with fresh minced ginger, fine shallots, deep-fried wild rice, spring onions and baby leaves. This is the sole dish that appears faithfully on every rendition of the daily menu (for now?) and frankly, I wouldn’t want it any other way. It is incredibly delicious and easy to eat, although also terribly difficult to share, as in, I want the plate to myself!
The menu always features a good mix of meat, fish and vegetable dishes, often served with a liberal dose of fresh herbs – mint, coriander, dill, parsley, basil – which I thoroughly approve. However, given the ever-changing nature of the daily list, one should not hesitate ordering a second helping of anything at all, for it may not be available on the next visit.
Indeed, F has been reminiscing the salad of magret de canard served with pear and raifort we had recently (yes, we ordered two portions that evening!) while I’m somewhat gutted to not have been opportune enough to try their beef tongue kimchi burger which Wee Ling raved over. On the other hand, their Thai tacos and roasted cauliflower salad had gone down very well and had me wanting more. A slight regret would be the lack of bread to soak up some of the fantastic sauces that we had to leave behind…
The lemon tart with sesame crust currently making the list punctuates the meal perfectly. Now, this is the one dish F would be reluctant to share, and more often than not, a second slice does appear on the table shortly thereafter. We nervously joked that it’s just as well Le Mary Celeste is all the way across town, for had it been located in our neighbourhood, we could be financially ruined. And I’ll probably never cook again.
La Mary Celeste
1 rue Commines, 75003 Paris
Métro: Filles du Calvaire, St Sébastien Froissart
Reservation through their site for 6.00pm – 7.30pm time slots only
Daily 6.00pm – 2.00am, kitchen 7.00pm – 11.30pm, oyster bar (seasonal) from 6.00pm
The crackers on the beef tartare are called chicharrons:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicharr%C3%B3n
Thanks Sarah! And if only I’ve also paid more attention to the description on the menu… (I’m so blur sometimes!)
haha ! hopefully those beef tongue kimchi burgers will pop back on the menu sometime soon. I just wish their portions are bigger though, tapas portions don’t do their food (or my tummy) justice !
the trouble is, how will we know when it’s on the menu or not? it’s not like we can stalk it every day to check ;)
I am craving for supper now…good sharing as always lil ;)
and yet i haven’t manage to lure you to paris somehow, hmmm…. :p