Kiwi As

A few weeks ago I set out to explore the Belleville neighbourhood (yes, as in Triplets of). It's not far from my place, but is further away from the centre of town so I don't go in that direction often. I knew there was a park, and a big immigrant community, particularly Chinese, but not much else.

Belleville metro is at the crossroads of four arrondissements, the 10th, 11th, 19th and 20th. In fact there's a building nearby with "Aux Quatre Arrondissements" carved in the stone across the front. It's the sort of area with a very active street life, people just hanging around for no apparent reason, and everyone seeming to co-exist reasonably peacefully.


(Some other triplets...)

The main drag, rue de Belleville, is lined with Asian restaurants - mostly Chinese, but some Thai and Japanese. But there are also little trendy cafes and a "fine products" deli, signs of encroaching gentrification.
I turned down a side street, and then another, and found myself at the bottom of Belleville park. It is unlike most other Parisian parks in that it spills down a hillside, and so has enticing pathways and staircases to climb, some of them overhung with cooling greenery.
 

It's a fair climb to the top by Paris standards, although nothing for any practiced Wellingtonian. But no matter how great the effort involved, it is totally worth it:

 

And if you're hot and bothered when you get up there, there's a great little cafe across the road: 

 There is also a community garden, with what may be grape vines (please bear in mind I am horticulturally ignorant).

The park is full of locals on a nice day, just hanging out and enjoying the sunshine. I did the same for a couple of hours. Then I decided to cut down a side street to take a different route home - and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw this place:

Yes you read it right, Kiwizine. Say it out loud... geddit?? Ah-hah. Turns out it's a collective run by a young New Zealand chef and his French wife. They started it with another couple who have since moved back to New Zealand. They are only open on Friday and Saturday nights, and they have one set price menu for 17.50, plus drinks. They do "cuisine du monde" and you eat whatever they feel like making. How extraordinary to stumble across this in Paris.

I knew I had to come here with a fellow Kiwi, so a couple of weeks later I rounded up the gang on a Saturday night and we came here for dinner. I called ahead to check the menu and luckily everyone could eat it. Tomato - mozzarella salad to start, then rack of lamb with grilled aubergine and finely diced vegetables, and strawberry pannacotta. Delicious.

Once we had eaten, we were still wide awake and it was a beautiful summer's evening, so we went up the top of the park for a view over the city by night.

L-R: Melissa, me, Josh, Gosia, Alina (photo taken by Dorian)

We came, we saw - and then we went across the road to the little cafe I mentioned earlier and found an empty table with a scrabble board sitting on it. I couldn't resist and forced everyone to play a game with me. Scrabble for six still takes a while so we were there until midnight. The cafe was buzzy and full of young locals having a great old time, half of them playing various other board games. I will freely admit that this may not be the glamorous Paris lifestyle you all think I lead, but it was the best night I've had in ages.

Meredith was in town visiting this weekend, and on a whim I took her to discover Kiwizine. They had seafood tacos (odd, bit it kind of worked), mackerel in a sweet and sour Malaysian-style sauce, with a VERY kiwi-style potato salad, and creme caramel. It was all delicious, and the main course was outstanding. We met Claire, the wife, and Jonno the chef came out from the kitchen to say hi. He's from Hamilton and after 9 years in France, his accent is still profoundly "cheers bro". He had just spent a month in Asia, which explains why I hadn't met him the first time, and also explains the Malaysian-style fish. Apparently the restaurant has been open for four years, and they live right around the corner from my current apartment. I'm leaving town in less than three weeks! Life is just not fair sometimes... but at least I have made this amazing discovery.

If you ever get the chance, I strongly urge you to go to Kiwizine. It's unique.