A mantra is supposed to be kept secret, but Paris is home to one mantra whose existence should be broadcast far and wide. I’m referring to the new (five-month-old) restaurant Mantra in Paris’s 9th arrondissement.
Mantra, with chef Manogeran Shasitaran (a.k.a. Jack) presiding in the open kitchen, has moved into the former location of one of my favorite gourmet restaurants, La Condesa, which has moved down the street to a bigger space.
Although the small dining room has been painted black, it didn’t seem gloomy, probably because we were seated by the plate-glass window on a sunny day.
Our surroundings were forgotten, however, as the dishes on the €39 no-choice lunch menu began to arrive. Each one was a delight for both the palate and the eye, with a creative presentation on unusual dishware.
First up was a bouillon a few enoki mushrooms floating in it, beautifully flavored with Malaysian spices.
The next appetizer took the unusual form of unidentifiable rectangular strips laid over a dish made of folded-over white porcelain. It turned out to be pork fat delightfully flavored with Malaysian spices, which reminded me of Vietnamese sausages I have tasted.
Then came a Medjool date tempura sitting on creamed onions, with guanciale and hibiscus powder on top, a combination of sweet and fruity with meaty and flowery/fruity flavors, although the sweetness of the date rather overwhelmed the others.
That was followed by a dish with an astonishing presentation: a whole dried kale leaf decorated with dots of green mayonnaise. Underneath it could be found something perhaps even more astonishing: kohlrabi prepared like pastrami, of all things – meaning brined and seasoned, I presume – plus an apple-peanut condiment, fermented coconut cream and tiny shrimps. It didn’t taste as strange as it might sound since the various flavors balanced each other perfectly.
The first fish dish consisted of daurade (sea bream) with sticky rice in sambal, a chili-based sauce.
Sea bream came out again in a larger helping in the next dish, this time with a fine example of French/Malaysian fusion: beurre blanc with sambal belacan, a popular Malaysian relish made with chili peppers and dried-shrimp paste.
The pre-dessert was a tasty tamarind sorbet topped with a meringue disc that will remind anyone who is or has been Catholic of a communion wafer.
The main dessert was nothing special to look at, unlike the other dishes, but spectacular to eat. In the center of a chocolate mousse of the chocolatey-est chocolate imaginable was hidden a crumble of black sesame seeds and candied ginger. Soul-satisfying (at least for chocolate lovers).
One of my friends found the courses distressingly skimpy, but since there were so many of them, my other friend and I weren’t bothered.
The secret is now out. Mantra has been revealed. Treat yourself to a meal there. You will have plenty to meditate on afterward.
See our Favorite Restaurants by Arrondissement page to find a good restaurant in the neighborhood where you want to eat.
Favorite