In no other arrondissement but the Marais can you find art galleries, trendy boutiques, designer hotels, funky cafés and bars off the tourist track. Plus it’s also the hub of Paris’s gay community (radiating out from Rue Vieille du Temple, along the Rue St-Croix de la Bretonnerie to Rue du Temple); and – though fading – the Jewish life. You could easily spend your entire visit to Paris in this neighbourhood, because there is that much to do, see and feel…

Restaurant tip.

• Minh Chau (10, Rue de la Verrerie, 75006 Paris): Cute little Vietnamese restaurant with specialities for a good price – also for a take-away. Be sure to save your seat, because numbers are limited!
• Le Dindon en Laisse (18 Rue Beautreillis, 75004 Paris): Reasonable prices lovely restaurant in the centre of Marais with the best duck breast in honey sauce!

Sights.

• The famous Centre Pompidou: The city’s leading modern art museum with an awesome book store where one can get lost for hours.
• Musée Picasso: A must-stop for fans, because Picasso painted some of his best work in Paris.
• Hôtel de Ville: An impressive building, housing the city’s local administration, which is especially breathtaking at night.
  
• Notre Dame: This cathedral is among the largest and most well-known churches in the world. It’s a highlight for each tourist and should be visited both during the day and at night.
  

Hotel Tip.

• Unless you’re staying in an apartment (which we did this time), Hôtel Duo (1 Rue du Temple, 75004 Paris) is a great little designer hotel right in the centre of Marais, where we stayed during our first visit to Paris.

So now go ahead and lose yourself in this neighbourhood. Explore the tiny streets, grab a falafel sandwich or simply just people-watch in a café…

One of the many vintage bar in Le Marais, Paris.

Cathedral Notre Dame is one of the most famous sights in Paris.

Cathedral Notre Dame is even more impressive during night.

Side street in Le Marais, Paris.

The façade of the Centre Pompidou in Paris is very iconic.

Hôtel de Ville at night in Paris.

China is the place where noodles were produced first. Marco Polo brought them back to Europe from his travels through Asia. Yet, the difference comes with the noodle production, which makes a real noodle restaurant in China so unique. The base is the same all over the globe: flour, salt and water.

First step for the perfect noodles.

Second step for the perfect noodles.

As you will see in the video below, it’s important to get the right softness, otherwise the noodles will not turn out “the right way”. It really needs a lot of practise to become a real noodle chef. After waiting a while he takes a piece of dow and gently folds it into noodles just with his hands, folding and folding, as the dow gets thinner and thinner. It looks so easy, but for somebody who is not used to do it,  it’s nearly impossible because the dow cracks after the first or second folding.

The soup base (made from beef)  is boiled freshly every day. Then it’s your choice what you ad; some people love a lot of greenies, like Pak Choi or Coriander, others like to add a fried egg and some prefer the rather local version with chopped cartilage from the soup.

The chef knows how it’s done.

This dish and the knowledge of making these noodles originally comes from western China & most of the places are run by muslims. You can’t go wrong with this dish in China. It’s always freshly cooked and these restaurants all have a high turnover because locals love the noodle soup. It’s also one of the few dishes (that we) found in China which has a bit of a “western taste”. So there you have it! “Manmanchi” (I hope that’s the right translation for “bon appetit”!).