Higuma - Paris's Worst Kept Secret

After Chinese New Year I was left hankering for some Asian cuisine so my food buddies NH, PF and I desperately wandered the streets of Paris in search of some noodles, soy and gyozas. I LOVE Asian food, be it sushi, pho, sashimi, crispy duck or good old fashioned sweet and sour, I love it all, in fact, I think deep down I must be at least part Asian! Because of this adoration I have spend many hours at Place d’Italie on Rue de Choisy sampling the finest selection of Asian cooking that Paris can offer. Yes it’s ironic that the Asian quarter of Paris is called Place d’Italie and yes these restaurants may not look beautiful and chic like your standard French café but believe me, these places are the real deal. It just doesn’t get better than this.

However, I was persuaded to step out of the 13^th for a night and give the little Japanese quarter that has recently sprung up near the Louvre a try. I know what you are thinking……by the Louvre? That must be a tourist trap!  But no, we wandered the back streets and I mean the back streets until we emerged onto Rue St Anne and the thriving hubbub of little Japan with not a single tourist in sight. It was a complete coincidence that we stumbled upon Higuma.  At the time it was almost empty but we chose it because it had an open kitchen with a bar so you could watch the chefs doing their thing. Food theatre at its best. During the evening the little restaurant became more and more packed until people were queuing out of the door and down the street. This is when we realised that this place was special and that we had accidentally come across one of the local’s best-kept secrets. Which, due to Time Out Paris’s recent review is now one of Paris’s worst kept secrets!

We ate a mountain of gyozas, ordering plate after plate, as they were so irresistible! We then chose the chicken katsu curry, not the most adventurous choice, however it was delicious, a million times better that the Wagamama’s katsu. A couple of miso soups and several hours later we left feeling absolutely stuffed and only a few euros poorer. Yes this place is authentic, tasty, fun and super duper cheap!

I returned two days later with OC and we also munched our way through plates of gyozas and two huge bowls of noodles, pork and soy. Delicious. 

OC even managed to master using his chopsticks, something he has been trying to do for ages. Higuma must be magic!

Some very satisfied customers

Anyone in Paris needing a cheap and spectacular dinner out should search-out this beautiful restaurant because these chefs certainly know how to cook up a storm!

Mood – Hungry for Higuma 

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