La Taverne de Zhao Canal Saint-Martin — Restaurant in Paris

This restaurant more or less (okay just more!) represents everything I love in life. (Of course in addition to my soulmate, family, friends, childhood teddy bear...)

The food - truly exceptional. You have no idea what you're going to eat but everything and anything they make will be basically the best of whatever it is you have ever had. The concept is simple - the executive chef team decides together what they will cook based on what they get at the market, and then adjust it based on any dietary constraints or preferences you have. To name a couple highlights for me - a pan-seared duck breast with miso sauce and a "perfect" egg cooked in a steam oven for 45 minutes at 65 degrees Celsius. (Now that's the "put an egg" on it mentality!) Note to the readers - picking favorite dishes in this case has to be a little like picking your favorite child. It's all pretty...

Two facts. 1. As a chef, I can be critical sometimes when eating out. 2. Having also lived in China, Hunan Province to be precise, it’s hard for me to find Chinese outside of China that’s close to authentic. With that being said, this place is the real deal. Don’t let its hours snd location fool you. There is a reason why their hours are limited—the staff takes great care in their preparation and they stay busy as a result! I had the Biang Biang Noodles with Tomato and Beef, Classic Fried Dumplings, and Steamed Chicken Dumplings. All were delightful—-so much so that I will be making a stop again befote I leave Paris!

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中国人在中餐厅被不公平对待，这句话我打出来都觉得很荒谬。这家餐厅先给外国人上菜，让优先到达并完成点餐的中国人等待。即使我比后两桌早到并优先完成点餐，且我们是一模一样的餐点？！

每次从伦敦来巴黎都会吃ZHAO，但是第一次来这家门店。我来是已经是1.30pm，被告知30分钟后厨房就会关闭，我与同伴迅速点餐。然后漫长等待，直到比我们晚到的两桌客人吃完并买单，我才等到了中午闭店前的最后一碗面。时间已经是2.30pm，我已经饿到不饿了，所以吃一半失去胃口。

当场问服务员为什么会区别对待，给我的解释竟然是因为我们比别人多点了两个小菜。这甚至不是一个解释，因为我们消费更高所以需要更长时间的等待？我不明白中间的逻辑。我意识到服务员完全没有解决这个问题的意愿。

中餐和法餐小菜的性质根本就是完全不同的，是旁菜而不是开胃菜。这完全不可能承认被区别对待的理由，以后都不会再吃这家店了。并会将我的评价发到ins和red与大家分享我被不公平对待的经历。

It feels absurd even to write this: Chinese being unfairly treated at a Chinese restaurant. This place makes Chinese customers, who arrived and ordered first, wait while serving foreign customers before them. Even when I arrived earlier, ordered first, and we all ordered exactly the same dishes?!

Whenever I come to Paris from London, I always eat at ZHAO, but this was my first time at this branch. I arrived at 1:30 PM and was told the kitchen would close in 30 minutes, so my friend and I quickly placed our orders. Then we had a long wait. It wasn’t until the two tables that arrived after us had finished eating and paid their bills that I finally got my bowl of noodles, right before the lunch service ended. By then, it was 2:30 PM, and I was so hungry I’d lost my appetite, so I only ate half.

When I asked the waiter why we were treated differently, the explanation I got was that it was because we ordered two side dishes more than the others. That’s not even a proper explanation—because we spent more, we had to wait longer? I really don’t get the logic, and it became clear the waiter had no intention of solving the issue.

Side dishes in Chinese cuisine are completely different from those in French; they’re not starters. This is absolutely no excuse for the way we were treated. I’ll never eat at this place again and will definitely be sharing my experience of unfair treatment on Instagram and Red.

Honest review with a receipt of...