Le Chameleux: Lunch in Belgium

Le Chameleux

One thing I love about Luxembourg is its strategic location, where it's just a not-long drive to several other European countries. France obviously, but also Germany, and one afternoon, we drove out to Belgium to meet another of AB's longtime good friend and his wife for lunch, together with their 9-year-old daughter. The family is currently based out of London, but had flown back to Europe for Christmas. They had missed each other once while we were in London in September, so a meet up this time round was imperative.

The choice of venue for lunch was at Le Chameleux, a charming French restaurant tucked in the middle of the woods. You know it's a remote location when even the address can't be detected on the car's TomTom. No matter, with some clever maneuvering we managed to get there on schedule without getting lost. (All credit to AB though, since I know nuts about navigating in this area I've never been).

First clue that the food was going to be excellent was when we stepped into this not-the-easiest-to-find establishment, and they were full house. WOW. Fortunately, we'd made reservations, and most of the other guests had not arrived yet, so service was pleasingly prompt and smooth.

Second clue that lunch would be awesome was that it had a grand total of 6 choices each for main course and desserts. I really like when a menu is kept simplistic - somehow it conveys that the owner/chef are truly good, based on the assumption that they have the confidence and focus on getting those few dishes really well done and are vouching that you will like any of the few selections they offer.

Their signature was la truite meunière, and a no-brainer order for me, being a huge fish fan (for food). I was definitely not disappointed - the fish came perfectly fried such that the skin was crispy golden while the flesh was tender and juicy, and in a perfect size that was just nice to fill you up together with the potatoes and salad. Do take note: that's declared with the caveat that you can be prudent with the gorgeous pomme de terre though. I have a terrible weakness for all things potatoes so I must say I was quite proud of myself that I didn't overdose on those tasty sautéed beauties. I love that it's a whole fish too - the flesh just fell right off the bones and was a such a pleasure to savour - suffice to say I devoured every morsel off the bone. Meoow. Yumm.

Truite meunière: perfection on a plate

I even found space to order dessert, although I have no idea what possessed me to choose the dame blanche. It sounded innocent enough when described by the server: Vanilla and chocolate ice cream served with chocolate sauce and chantilly cream. Who knew that the actual thing was a monster of a sundae?! I completely ignored the cream, nibbled on the waffle biscuit, and just dug at most of the chocolate ice-cream, then left the rest to melt into a mess in the glass. :p Thankfully the rest of the group was busy catching up over their respective desserts (crepes Grand-Marnier and sorbet framboise et citron), and barely noticed. A double espresso also helped prevent a post lunch coma, such that I could enjoy the scenic drive back without dosing off. Heh.

Monster of a Dame Blanche

It sounds like the food was the star for me, but really, it was rather enjoyable to chat with the family who are also fluent in English other than French. Even the little girl, given her education in London, was conversant and reminded me a little of myself so we had some fun dialogues on favourite colours and erm, homework. Hahaha.

All in all, a really pleasant afternoon outing, and a good reunion for AB. With their reluctance to travel to Asia in the near future, who knows when their next meeting will be? Bearing that in mind, we took a bunch of "we-fies" and photos before respectively rolling into our cars and parting ways.

One of the random shots on our way back

Christmas market in Luxembourg

Pretty lights aplenty 

It was my very first Christmas spent in an actual cold climate, so you can imagine my delight to be in Luxembourg for the year end vacation. No matter that it wasn't white - just the sheer experience of being in a place that wasn't trying to pretend it's winter (coughSingaporecough), and actually IS cold without the aid of air-conditioning, felt like Christmas. Heh.

Of course I had to check out the festive market too, after seeing pictures shared by AB (the boyfriend - have decided that this shall be my nickname for him here) who was here last year (and no stranger to such festivities growing up anyway, lucky dude!), and on the trusty (social) media which we can always count on to educate us folks in the tropics on what real Christmas looks like.

So one evening, we made plans to catch up with M, one of AB's mates based here, and also for the two men to bring me to my first Marché de Noël. Wheee.

I looked all calm and coolly pleasant on the outside, but inside the five-year-old in me was squealing non-stop. ("The lights! The cold! Christmas is in the air, everywhere!!!" *hyperventilates*)

Luxembourg Christmas Market in the city centre

It being the week leading up to the actual day, the market was brimming with activity. We were there for an hour or so from 9-10pm, and there was quite a crowd which would usually be rather atypical for the city at this time of the year, as it gets dark and cold early in the evening. Thankfully this is quite a friendly cosy crowd that wasn't packed to claustrophobic level, and everyone was just chilled out and there to soak up the atmosphere, no crazy drinking nor drama abound.

We had some drinks and snacks before heading to the market, but I gamely sampled some of the essential drinks and snacks, too. Of course, the most popular drink would be vin chaud, which is mulled wine. The warm spicy drink was quite nice to hold in my hand with the frosty temperature, but a little too sweet for me beyond the first few sips. I even tried both the red and white versions to be sure, but the conclusion is that I would honestly prefer just a hot chocolate or straight up beer in this weather.

It was pretty fun to nibble on the Groumperekichelcher, which is essentially a deep fried pancake made from mashing potatoes, eggs, onion, flour and parsley. The taste somehow seemed like a cross between our Chinese ngoh hiang and carrot cake (the dim sum type), which was yummy enough, but the stomach was no longer able to take more than one at a time.

Vin chaud blanc and Feuerzangenbowl

M and AB excitedly bought this other drink, Feurzangenbowl which apparently was one of their favourite must-haves at the market. After hearing what the concoction was (mulled wine with a rum-soaked sugar cone that is set ablaze to melt into the drink), I decided to give it a miss. Between the two mulled wine I had, I've had my fill of sweet wine for the evening (if not the week). They did make for some pretty pictures though, what with the red mugs and flaming sugar.

If mulled wine or potatoes are not to your fancy, there are other choices like the harder liquors and beer, as well as sausages and cookies available for the edibles. There were also other stalls peddling fare such as little festive knick knacks (toys, ornaments and decorations), winter apparel and accessories, even a few adventure rides to entertain the kiddos. Mostly, it seemed like a place for a nice evening of catching up with friends more than actual shopping or eating.

Cute cookies made with fruits, spice and honey

By the end of the hour or so, we all declared defeat with our respective drinks - they were just too sweet, and even more unbearably so when they have cooled down. We dutifully returned the mugs, then left the market and adjourned to a bar nearby which was also one of their old favourites, for a comforting pint of beer before calling it a night.

All in all, it was an entertaining evening for me. Apparently, the Luxembourg market pales in comparison to many of the other markets in Europe by size and number of stalls, but for me it was a lovely initiation to the Christmas celebrations here.

My favourite drink of the night!

(up)date

Early-week date with buddy enirrac last week was a blast.

Into the late hours, we cruised up and down half of ECP.

The weather was threatening to pour, but thankfully held up.

We leisurely wheeled about, savouring the cool balmy breeze.

We roamed from topic to topic, updating each other about ongoings and musings.

We regaled each other with whimsical tales, from work to friends to the men in our lives.

We chattered, ranted, giggled, laughed.

It was fun fun fun.

that heady feeling called lurrrve

Was intrigued by this on the menu last night, listed as intermezzo. My first time trying this, and what an experience.

Boy was it potent - each mouthful sent icy shots of alcohol into my system. I could almost feel it rushing into my blood. Not unlike sipping very nicely chilled bubbly.. A nice idea I must say.

A nice touch to our first Vday celebration.

Yeah, commercialised it was, and ripped off we were, but the company made it more than worth the while, by miles and yards.. :) Though credit has to be granted to the venue, who interspersed surprises throughout the night - from complimentary wine, to roses, perfume, polaroids, and to top it off, a pair of movie tix. It helped that the food was pretty good too - highlights were fresh sashimi, foie gras and some pretty decent ice-cream. Mmm.

At the end of the day, the food, the service, the ambience didn't really matter. Our gifts to each other were more practical than frivolous, but methinks tis a kind of sweetness that comes from knowing each other's needs. That undescribeable feeling of growing in love, as rough edges of two starkly contrasting personalities smoothen and fit into place. It's been a tumultuous ride, but that only made the smoothening out all the sweeter.

And I shall endeavour to bear all these in mind the next time we fight. :p

Happy Valentine's, dear.. Ü

early-week outing

While I simply heart weekends, the time when I get to catch my breath from an entire week of working n rushing about to various commitments, sometimes a lil' escapade during the week can do wonders too.

Like tonight - am rushing off soon for a date in the wild, a first time for me! *yes, I is mountain tortoise*

Felt like a lil girly the entire day, trying very hard not to mention it at all, though I was brimming over with excitement. Simply cos I have the tendency to jinx the weather whenever I mention any outdoor plans. Superstitions or not, am now staring at the clear blue skies outside with glee. Teehee.

And now, this bemusedtots shall skip with gaily steps to her excursion, and hope to see a flying squirrel or two, even a bushbaby while I'm at it!

Laters! =)