The Asians in Paris

When you visit Paris, you can’t help but notice the Asian food influences everywhere. From sushi and dim sum shops at every corner, to trendy Asian-French eateries like Yam’Tcha and fine-dining restaurants such as Camélia at the Mandarin Oriental, Asian cuisine is fusing with French cooking resulting in a delicious outcome. Here’s our pick of the best Asian-French fusion in Paris.

Yam’Tcha (French-Chinese)

Located near the Louvre Museum, this Michelin- starred bistro has the ambience of a European country villa with Chinese aesthetics. Celebrity chef Adeline Grattard combines the freshest French ingredients with Chinese cooking techniques, offering a surprise tasting menu for lunch and dinner, which changes daily. As seen on Netflix’s Chef’s Table, Yam’Tcha’s scrumptious dishes are best enjoyed with tea or wine or both. Chef Grattard’s husband Chi Wah Chan, a leading tea expert, picks the teas for the pairings. Try their pork dumplings, salad with curry dressing, pigeon cooked in chilli oil and end with an apricot and beer dessert and a ginger pastry topped with fresh berries.

Camélia (French-Japanese)

The restaurant is in one of the city’s most luxurious neighbourhoods, near the Place Vendôme. Named in honour of the camellias that fill the restaurant with their smell during summer, Camélia is a light-filled space, with an indoor landscaped garden and a room which is designed to feel like a continuation of the garden. Chef Thierry Marx’s simple and refined take on French-Japanese cuisine complements the restaurant’s elegant design. The menu is simple and focuses on instinctive dishes. The results can be seen in dishes such as calamari risoni, with a squid ink, ginger and lemongrass emulsion, gambero rosso (prawns) in a creamy chickpeas broth, and grilled cod with a coconut rice concoction.

Pierre Sang in Oberkampf (Korean-French)

In 2012, Top Chef finalist Pierre Sang Boyer launched his first restaurant in Paris under the name Pierre Sang in Oberhampf. This eatery offers modern interpretations of French cooking married harmoniously with bold Korean flavours. The restaurant only serves a blind tasting menu, which changes every fortnight, with an option of a wine pairing. The coveted seats are on the “chef’s table"—a counter facing the open kitchen. Here, children under the age of 8 eat for free. Expect tapas-style courses (three courses for lunch and six courses for dinner), at affordable prices. Boyer focuses on using locally sourced, seasonal produce.

Hero (Korean-French)

Visit Hero for its original take on Korean-French flavours and a hipster setting. Located in the heart of Paris, Hero is a popular cocktail restaurant. The draw is their crispy, dark-brown, Korean fried chicken, doused in one of three sauces—regular, sweet garlic, or spicy. Other delectable bites on chef Haan Palcu-Chang’s menu include a mouth-watering pork bun, a cauliflower bun, Kimchi mac n’ cheese, seaweed salad, and an indulgent chocolate fondant.