$$ ‧ Noodle shop
Do you ever make your way to a new place and begin to crave something completely different than what they are locally known for? Well, that happened to me and 2 of my girlfriends on our way to Paris. We were sitting in Toronto Pearson International airport waiting in the lounge for our flight to Paris, when we started discussing what we should have for dinner when we arrived the next day. We had already made a list of places by arrondissement that we could wanted to visit if we happened to be in the area, and while looking through our list we all collectively decided that we wanted udon.
We had one Japanese restaurant on our list, Udon Jubey, a noodle shop in the second arrondissement, not far from the Louvre and the Tuileries. I imagine it's rather irregular to decide to get Japanese food on your first day in France, but it turned out to be exactly what we needed, and the location perfect for our plans for the first night.
Once we arrived in Paris, we made our way to our AirBNB located in Montmartre. We were located on a beautiful street, just a steep staircase away from Sacré-Coeur, a pure white basilica shining at the top of Paris and not far from the metro. Our experience with AirBNB was not very good, but that will be a story for another time. After doing some grocery shopping it was time to make our way all the way down to the 2 arrondissement and finally enjoy a warm bowl of udon.
We arrived along rue Sainte-Anne, Paris' little Tokyo district, and made our way to Udon Jubey, a restaurant determined to introduce Japan through its dishes. The outside of the restaurant had large glass windows, bordered with wood beams. Over the entrance way hung a noren curtain, which is used to indicate that the business in open to those passing by. We entered and realized that the space is quite small, with only enough room for a few people to sit in front of the windows and a few at the bar running parallel to that. We three sat together in front of one their large windows and ordered.
We ordered their Kitsune Udon, which was made up of a sweet fried tofu, chives and chrysanthemum. The Jubey Udon, made with soy milk, miso, pork, chrysanthemum, sesame and Chinese cabbage. Lastly the Tsukimi Udon, which had an organic raw egg, chives and nori in a simple broth. The udon noodles themselves were thick and perfectly chewy. We enjoyed our meal thoroughly. The dishes costed between 13 and 18 Euros each, which is a bit expensive, but the flavour and quality was worth it.
Once we were done, we were feeling a little tired from the broth and noodles and decided since we were in little Tokyo, why not keep on theme and get some bubble tea to get us through the long walk along the seine we had planned next. So, before heading towards the river and past the Louvre, we stopped by The Alley, a bubble tea shop quite popular in Toronto, and once we had our drinks we began our journey.
We ended up walking off everything that we ate and drank. We spent what felt like hours along the seine. The time on google maps was definitely stopping every so often to take wonderful photos of the Eiffel Tower at sunset as we made our way towards the Champs-Élysées. A street filled with with luxurious brands, buildings and shops that we could not afford. We walked all the way up the street to the Arc de Triomphe, a monument dedicated to Napoleons victories. We then decided that despite our rather unorthodox first meal, we all agreed that our first evening in Paris had been a romantic success and began to head back to Montmartre for some much needed sleep.
As the evening went on, we realized that sometimes the most memorable experiences are born out of spontaneity. Our unconventional choice of Udon Jubey not only satisfied our craving for warm bowls of udon but also set the tone for a romantic and adventurous night. From strolling along the Seine, capturing the Eiffel Tower's glow at sunset, to meandering through Champs-Élysées and reaching the grandeur of the Arc de Triomphe, every moment became a chapter in our unique Parisian story. With hearts full of contentment, we returned to Montmartre, grateful for the delightful start to our Parisian escapade.
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