Auld Lang Syne

For years I have been celebrating New Year's Eve with my best friend whose birthday falls on Jan 1.   Being in Paris this year has made that impossible.  In the true spirit of festivities, I arrived at my friend's apartment with a bottle of champagne and a box of chocolate, 30 minutes after, not before, the designated time of arrival.  The pre-dinner chat happily lasted another hour while we kept pouring more bubbles into our glasses.

Sipping Cristal champagne was one of the highlights of the evening

Joelle, our hostess, is a great cook and the entire meal for 5 persons was prepared by her single-handedly in a matter of an afternoon.  As for me, I was more interested to experience and witness the ritual of a New Year's Eve dinner at a typical French home than what I was actually eating.   I would not say the menu was elaborate but it was thoughtfully prepared with the use of the choicest ingredients.

* Entree *

Terrine of Foie gras d'oie with truffles, poached pear and pear sorbet in liquor


* Plat *

Stuffed guinea fowl with boiled potatoes and buttered mushroom

*  Fromage *

Brie de Meaux cheese platter

If the presentation of the dishes lacks the refinement of fine dining, the flavour more than made up for it.  Everything was so delicious that by the time the chocolate cake and ice cream were served, I was simply too full to enjoy them.

Over the dining table, I learned that cars torching on New Year's Eve has become a 'national sport', with Paris being one of the cities worst hit by the wave of vandalism. It also emerged that the tension between the French nationals and foreign immigrants is escalating to the point that the French felt threatened and unsafe to be in some parts of the city.  It remains to be seen how the government could help diffuse such tension and bring people from all ethnic backgrounds together for the benefit of the nation.