paradise found

Kiku Restaurant. 54-56 rue Richer. Paris 9.

The best restaurants are the ones you find by chance, around the corner, because you thought the street looked interesting.  So, you’re already won over by your sense of innate coolness and uncanny ability to find better spots than anyone else. (right) – it can’t be too hard to impress you.  That said, once in a blue moon, you realize your burdensome sense of self means little, as you fall into a perfect moment:  All the elements perform a complex but most fluid ballet to seduce every one of your senses at once, and then some more.  Your fingers will play with the origami strewn on the table and caress the Japanese silk covers of the menus.  Your ears will capture the delicate notes of a traditional Nippon chant and indecipherable chatter in the kitchen. Your eyes will realize their full chromatic potential as the plates arrive, each an exercise in controlled exuberance.  Your nose will linger over the freshly brewed pot of sencha and yuzu emulsion. And your mouth will rekindle with its feminine tantric potential (I’ll let you fill in the blanks here).

 

It is simply perfect.

Below: Delectable sweet red pepper mousse, perfectly cooked swordfish with yuzu emulsion and matcha tea powder.