LeNotre

After living in AD for the last three months (of which at least one third of the time was spent overseas), I still don't know the name of the building with the Marks and Spencers (that is right in front of my apt building - Vision Downtown) . I only know it as the Marks and Spencers building, which is good enough I suppose, cos the Hanoi (Vietnamese food) service staff don't know where my apt building is (there are 4 apartment buildings called "Vision" here), but they know where M&S is.

That building has two floors of shopping, which although small, is one of my favourite shopping malls in AD. (Although I guess it's also cos the mall is less than 5 min walk away and doesn't require me to drive/cab/bus to. ) It's got:

• a TWO-STOREY M&S which even has its own cosmetics and perfume section
• an organic supermarket & cafe (DD says the presence of an organic supermarket makes the mall one of the most upmarket malls in AD)
• ALDO (bags, accessories and shoes are slightly cheaper here - bought a pair of sunglasses the other day but have no idea when I'll ever get to wear them since I have dry eyes and can't really wear contacts)
• Body Shop
• LeNotre

LeNotre is a French boulangerie and patissierie. After 3 months, I finally went to try it the other day. I don't know why I didn't try it earlier - the food is really good and more importantly, not too salty.

I had risotto the first time I went there. The risotto came covered w rocket leaves, which help lessen the gelad feeling of eating a whole plate of risotto. It was less salty than the one I had at Hediard. Only thing is that the risotto got cold faster than the Hediard one, although I think its cos at Hediard, they use heated plates.

Went back to LeNotre yesterday and ordered a steak salad and a strawberry & banana smoothie. YUM. Although the steak salad didn't have any dressing, the salad that came with the steak complemented the taste of the steak well. The steak pieces were grilled till crisp on the outside, encrusted with black peppercorns but not too much, and pink on the inside. The salad also went well with the herby tomato paste which served with the bread.

Will post photos the next time I go there with DD. Feel a bit weird taking photos of my food by myself in a crowded restaurant. =P