Asian food in Paris

the weird and wonderful Starck decor at Miss Ko, photo via superfuture.com

As much as I love it, after five straight meals of French food I need a break. I could probably have a croissant every day, although my pants don’t agree with me but after no more than a week I begin to crave, anything different and more exotic, like some great Asian food in Paris, that what my stomach starts to direct me towards.

sushi at Miss Ko

I am quite wary of restaurants that claim to do Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese well – that’s impossible right? But, not long ago I took a Vietnamese cooking class from a Vietnamese/American gal in Brooklyn with my son and our teacher declared that everyone over there (in Asia) cooks each other’s food. I guess it’s similar to how nearly every American cooks Italian food and every Brit makes a pretty good curry. In that vein and because I thought it would be fun for the ladies I was taking out, we tried lunching at Miss. Ko.

the main part of the dining room at Miss Ko, photo via sobeautyfull.wordpress.com

I had read that it was too weird of an interior designed by Philippe Starck to be enjoyed. That maybe true if you sit up on the counter, which is made up of 100’s of active TV screens, but at our table in the jammed packed place we quite thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and our surroundings. They have sushi, bimbap, curry, rice and noodle dishes as well as very good appetizers. We enjoyed the vietnamese spring rolls and the white fish ceviche to start which we shared amongst the 3 of us. The French ladies were pleased and so was I at how tasty the food was. Miss Ko is not going to win any food competitions, but for a fun place in the 8th, an area where there is a dearth relaxed less fancy places this spot is a good bet.

the exterior of Diep

Not far away is the complete polar opposite kind of of a resto offering classic but very tasty Chinese and Thai food. My niece introduced me to the 30-year old Diep and I was happy for it. Luckily I wasn’t paying, as its expensive, but this kind of old world fancy Chinese with killer Peking duck and absolutely delicious vapeurs (dumplings) is increasingly hard to find the world over.

the Peking Duck here is amazing! photo via foodreporter.com

Chinese has fallen out of style in favor of Thai, Vietnamese and of course Sushi. And while I prefer the others too, you forget how amazing dim sum and Peking Duck as well as the other classic Chinese food is when its done right. Head to Diep if you want a little nostalgia, a nice looking environment, professional if perfunctory service and excellent old world Chinese.
Miss Ko
Diep