Korean food | From your Parisian

Although I have a cold that won’t go away, I am currently in good spirits as my friend S from Canada is visiting me in Paris this week! Both of us share a love for good food, so when we randomly stumbled upon SAaM, a little Korean eatery near Canal Saint-Martin, we were more than thankful for our discovery!We were actually on our way to a craft fair in the area when S suddenly stopped and said, “Hey, Korean food!”, as we passed the small wooden exterior of SAaM. It wasn’t yet open so we couldn’t really see inside but we studied the menu, which consisted of Gua baos (or steamed Taiwanese buns) filled with Korean ingredients, and decided that this was where we were going to come back for lunch!We returned at around 1 pm and the place was packed, but we were seated in about 15 minutes, and by that time already knew what we were going to order. Inside, the place was super cute with a real mix and match decor that included an unfinished blank wall with a strip of pretty ceramic tiles in the middle, a pastel colored geometric design on the other wall, lots of dangling paper, bamboo and glass lamps as well as funky mirrors and plants. Adorable!We ordered the lunch special of two buns and salad for 12 Euros (14,50 in the evenings and weekends) and I added a cup of jasmine green tea, to soothe my cough. From our seats we could admire the efficiency and energy of the Korean chefs in the open kitchen, silently preparing the buns with care in a sort of assembly line. The excitement for our meal only escalated as plates of food exited from the bustling kitchen.Once the colorful dishes had arrived and we had taken the necessary amount of food pics (I was not the only one at the table with my camera out!), we grabbed our chopsticks and dug in! I had chosen the pork belly and Dak (fried chicken) buns, while S had the Dak and the Boulkogi (marinated Black Angus beef) buns. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the accompaniments were more than just a salad; they consisted of pickled carrots and daikon, an arugula salad with a soya sauce-type dressing, two deep fried gyozas (not sure if there’s a Korean name for them, but I didn’t ask) and some seasoned, crispy potatoes. Then we took a bite of our Dak buns: the little steamed buns were packed with a nice piece of ginger breaded deep fried chicken, kochujang sauce, wild sesame, peanuts, apple slaw and pickled white radishes. The combination of flavors was amazingly good! My pork belly bun was next and it did not disappoint either as the tender and fatty pork came with sisho sauce, salted plum, spicy cucumbers, pickled red onions and was garnished with cilantro. They were finger-licking good (literally!! get the napkins ready and beware of the sauce that drips at the end)! I tried a bite of the fragrantly spiced beef from the Boulkogi bun and can confirm that the Korean marinade used was out of this world! Both of us found our lunch to be filling enough, but if you’re someone with a huge appetite you can always add another bun to your meal, or one of their accompaniments (such as the kimchi balls for 7 Euros, that looked super good) or desserts (like yuzu cheesecake, 5 Euros). So, I think I have fully conveyed the fact that I loved my lunch at SAaM! They have very friendly service and the most tasty bao bun sandwiches. S and I have already decided to go back this week to try the fish and tofu buns before she leaves! That’s one huge stamp of approval from two Canadians!

Restaurant Details:

61 Rue de Lancry

75010, Paris

+33 (0)9 83 50 84 94

My rating:

5 kimchi balls out of 5!

I know it’s a little (a lot!) late but Happy New Year from Paris! 🙂 With a new year comes new experiences and my first one this year has been trying a bibimbap at a Korean restaurant aptly named Bibimbap! It is located near Saint-Marcel metro station, which is not the greatest of areas when it comes to restaurants, but a friend of mine living in the area recommended it, and I was happy he did. I have been to Korean barbecue many times before in Vancouver, but the bimimbap had somehow escaped my foodie radar until now.From the outside I have to admit that the restaurant doesn’t look like anything special (and inside is no different with generic jazz music playing overhead) but what they may lack in decor they make up for in their cuisine. We sat down by the entrance at a table with a little doorbell button on it that you can push to get the waiter’s attention (FYI: it was very hard for me to resist pushing it)! Right away I saw pictures of their specialties posted up in the windows and the waiter brought us the menus with similar photos and descriptions of the tasty looking dishes.For those of you who don’t know, a bibimbap is a Korean dish consisting of rice, vegetables (cooked in sesame oil and garlic) and meat/egg (if desired) served in a scorching hot stone pot (called a dolsot). As I browsed the list of possible choices I was tempted by all of them, but finally settled on the sensible option called équilibre (“balanced” in English) for 12,80 Euros.Once we had ordered the waiter brought over the accompaniments that consisted of a tray of candied peanuts, lotus root and cucumber and a cold cucumber soup, as well as two bottles of Korean hot sauce (gochujang) and soy sauce (ganjang).My dish came out piping hot with the mildly seasoned carrots, mushrooms, bean sprouts, cucumber and spinach spread out on top of the rice like flower petals and a fried egg placed carefully in the center. I could hear the rice sizzling underneath and immediately started mixing all my ingredients together, adding a bit of both sauces. The egg, that was only partly cooked, was quickly fried due to the heat of the dish while the bottom layer of rice stuck to the the bowl had a slight crispiness which I enjoyed. With the sauces added I found in to be quite tasty, however I tried my bf’s vitalité (“vitality” in English) bibimbab (14,80 Euros) and would definitely have that next time as the spicy pork added even more flavor to the meal.We left feeling full but good about what we had eaten. There are many other dishes on their menu but bibimbaps are delicious and great for anyone looking for a healthy, satisfying and visually appealing meal that won’t interfere with your post-holiday detox plans. Plus, they are open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner! Contact Details:
32 Boulevard Hôpital