La Rochelle #25: Ramen and Pies

Today was hilarious, but in attempt to be somewhat logical, I guess I’d better post about yesterday first.

So on Wednesday, the exchange girls and I met up for coffee with Buddy#1, who previously seemed to be a very enthusiastic and helpful-via-email figment of Vegetarian’s imagination (since no one else had met her). Having finally established her existence, I decided that I liked her – and not just because she was the new oldest (thereby allowing me to relinquish my motherly title; though I can imagine that Vegetarian will still say that when I am being sensible In Town).

Also she told me lots of helpful things including bars and dancing places and where they were - including Le Piano, Les Mauvaises Garçons (The Bad Boys, ahaha), and La Guignette (a wine-bar; she also said "kinda like a pirate bar" so I am understandably intruigued).

[FYI there is this cool thing that Buddy#1 did that is apparently a THING-thing with a name (now forgotten) – after drinking your coffee (proper coffee), you dip your sugar cube into the remnants of the coffee in your cup (yeah you need a little sugar cube, and have to have left enough coffee), and then you nibble on your coffee-d sugar!]

Vegetarian had to go to class, but Pirate and I tagged along as Buddy#1 went to meet her English-speaking Canadian friend (guess what her name is going to be). Canadian was loud, talkative, and swore often and somewhat colourfully (I think the third word I heard out of her mouth was a curse). Even though she didn’t directly speak to Pirate or I for the first ten minutes after the hello-kisses (she had a lot of Stuff to inform Buddy#1 of), I have decided I rather liked her too!

Anyway we headed off to have coffee at some other place – but due to my keen/stomach-propelled eyesight, that changed into (what turned out to be less-than-average) mulled wine and, in my case, also chocolate cake (Moelleux, to be exact – where the inside is still a bit mushy, yummmm) with crème anglais.

After that, Pirate left because we were in her neighbourhood. There had been much talk of fish&chips and pies, so Buddy#1, Canadian and I took a bus back to town, and headed to an Irish pub on the port (Fitzpatrick's) that sold ridiculously priced pies and fish&chips. However Buddy#1 mentioned a potentially-cheaper place that sold bagels and milkshakes, so she then led us through a maze of what Vegetarian would call “rape-alleys”.

On the way, we discovered a TIGHTS SHOP, and they discovered my hosiery-obsession. We also discovered an ASIAN SUPERMARKET-SHOP, and I discovered that they have semi-yellow fever, at least when it comes to cuisine/culture/language (though Canadian IS married to a French-Asian(Vietnamese?) boy) - which is why, we guessed, I was the only remaining exchange student.

I bought the Shin Ramen noodles I like/know, some seaweed, proper soy sauce, a pineapple rice mix -
and PRAWN CRACKERS. Also I know where to get sushi rice, if I feel so inclined.

Spot the odd one out.

Yes I am 5 years old. Also Canadian says there is Cock sauce.

Anyway, after they were finished fangirling over Pho (I'm not even sure what that is other than probably Vietnamese, and probably missing an accent), it turned out that the bagel place had closed 15 minutes ago, so we headed back to Fitzpatrick's.

In my excitement I had dropped my camera back in the Asian shop, and it was ONLY TEMPORARILY broken. It's fine now. Shuttup.

SO pretty much that means that you don't get a proper picture of the gorgeous, non-oily, size-of-my-open-hand Beef and Guinness Pie with fries - just the last couple mouthfulls that took me a million years to chew and swallow; probably because Buddy#1 kept laughing at me.

I can't believe I paid NZD22 for this. BUT IT WAS REALLY GOOD.
Fish&chips is the same price, but you get a depressingly small piece of fish.
Also the price of the food was made up for by the NZD5 pint of Kronenbourg (NOT spelled Kronenberg, silly Anglophone).