“Exactly,” Chung said. “It’s a lot of education.”
Khánh-Ly Huynh, who won the blockbuster televised cooking competition MasterChef France in 2015, has also grappled with limiting ideas of what Vietnamese food can and should be. I stopped by Nonette Bánh Mì & Donuts, Huynh’s lauded takeout place, for bánh mì and donuts. Her signature đặc biệt sandwich, with five meats, butter, and exquisite pickles prepared in-house, was magnificent: the most complex, nuanced bánh mì I’ve tasted in a life strewn with single-minded pursuits of delicious bánh mì. Nonette offers several kinds, including for vegetarians and vegans. But people often think, Huynh said, that she’s insulting Vietnamese food, or that it’s somehow not Vietnamese enough. But “bánh mì is a super fluid theme in Vietnam,” she said, open—much like, say, pizza—to infinite variations.
“Everybody likes to put you in a category,” said Moko Hirayama, pastry chef and co-owner of the celebrated Mokonuts, an intimate restaurant with an inventive, highly seasonal menu that changes daily. In France she’s constantly being asked to define the restaurant: Is it fusion, what’s its mold, what’s its specialty? “I don’t know what the specialty is. We do food based on the ingredients that are available, fresh ingredients. What else can I say?”
I thought of something Ly had said: “The French will say, We don’t want political correctness from the US, because that will put us in boxes.” Who gets to exist outside of a category, and who’s expected to stay in its confines? With and despite such expectations, Asians in Paris are exploding out of boxes in which they never belonged, and the results are glorious.
A New Paris
For this trip, R.O. Kwon visited Southeast- and East Asian–run restaurants, galleries, and shops. Here are a handful you can visit yourself.
1st through 6th arrondissements
Besides Kimchi has thoughtfully curated clothing, stationery, ceramics, and other items from Korea and Koreans in the 4th, and nearby is a branch of Ace Mart, a big, well-stocked Korean and Japanese grocery store with ready-to-eat meals. Art galleries showing contemporary artists include A2Z Art Gallery in the 6th, and Galerie Marguo and Liusa Wang in the 3rd.
7th arrondissement
Pauline Sunhee Choi, a Korean Canadian artist based in Paris, makes dappled “light box paintings” and her work can be seen in the American Library in Paris. La Table d’Aki has a delicate, precise seafood-centering tasting menu informed by the almost 20 years Akihiro Horikoshi spent managing the fish section of the venerated L’Ambroisie. Tomy & Co is a Michelin-starred gourmet bistro from Cambodian-born chef Tomy Gousset.
8th arrondissement
L’Abysse might have the finest sushi in Paris, and it’s no surprise they’ve received Michelin stars. I’ll never forget their signature liquid-nitrogen-frozen shiso dessert. Chef Ji-Hye Park mingles Korean and French flavors at OMA, a restaurant in the high-end boutique hotel Château des Fleurs. Rivoli Fine Art focuses on contemporary artists with origins in the Philippines. Its gallerist, Jeffrey Cadayong, also devotes a great deal of time to uncovering historically significant Filipino paintings he’s taken back to Manila. Rivoli Fine Art can be visited by appointment. Hôtel de Crillon from the Hong Kong–based Rosewood group is located on the Place de la Concorde, with a luxurious spa that offers Asian-inspired treatments.
11th arrondissement
There’s a splendid explosion of restaurants run by Asian people in the 11th. One is Mokonuts, with delicious breakfasts and a seasonal lunch menu that changes daily, including admirable desserts from Moko Hirayama. Bao Express offers dim sum and much more in a spacious, meticulously designed setting. Inside, you can take the stairs down to The Underpool, a hidden bar offering appetizing cocktails, open until 2 a.m. Nonette Bánh Mì & Donuts sells Khánh-Ly Huynh’s exquisite, balanced bánh mì with delightful options for vegetarians and vegans. Maison by Sota Atsumi guides diners through an inventive tasting menu in a light-filled two-story house. Le Servan, described by owners and sisters Katia and Tatiana Levha as a French bistro with an Asian twist, is widely praised and award-winning. More recently, they opened Double Dragon, which focuses on Philippines-influenced cuisine. Folderol peddles renowned ice cream and wine, with lines out the door in all seasons. Pierre Sang‘s lauded namesake first restaurant is in Oberkampf, where he blends French traditions with Korean techniques and tastes.
