Hot food vs. Cold food....a small observation

I was aboard a TGV on my way from Paris to Frankfurt to visit a friend.  The weather was rainy and cold.  Not long after the train crossed the German border, two guys came up and sat on the 2 seats next to me.  They both pulled out a cold sandwich from a sack and started eating.  I thought to myself "How can they eat that when it's so cold outside?"  Then it all of a sudden dawned upon me that in many cold northern European countries they tend to eat cold food during their meals.  When I visited a friend in Denmark, for dinner we would buy rye bread, cheese, ham, and cold meat spreads to put on the bread.  Nothing hot was involved.  And March in Denmark was still very very cold!  In Germany too, everywhere I see people eat cold sandwiches, the only hot item they seem to have were sausages.  And during the winter months of France, the boulangeries at lunch time always has a long line of people waiting to buy sandwiches.  Sandwiches that have been put in the fridge.  Oh and add a cold drink to that please! 
Are Americans the only ones to ask for our bread to be toasted?  So that it's nice and hot? So that the cheese and butter can melt nicely on top? 
All I want on a cold, windy and rainy day like today is a big bowl of hot noodles and soup, or even better hot pot!  Or just something to spice up my coldness here in Paris!!!

Which brings me to my next ironic observation.  People in hot countries tend to eat hot food.  Even on hot mornings in Taiwan, you can still see people at noodles stands slurping up a bowl of hot noodle soup.  At other breakfast stops, food are still cooked warm, such as egg pancakes, hot sandwiches, etc. so we rarely eat anything cold for breakfast, with the exception of maybe soymilk (even that comes hot!)  Spicy hot pot is a favorite during the summer, I don't know why, but maybe we like to sweat even more so than we already do in the hot and humid conditions of Taiwan.
When I visited Cambodia for a few days, hot rice noodles in soup was the typical breakfast staple.  Same thing in Malaysia, even their afternoon snacks involved a hot bun and hot tea.  And no, AC was not available, duh!

I mean are people in cold countries so adpated to the cold weather that they 're more cold-blooded (literally) than the rest?  Anyways, all I know is that the last thing I want to eat on a day like today when it's wet, cold, and humid is something less than 90 degrees!

Oh and of course these are some generalizations, and does not apply to every country or region.

bon appetit!

The Creperies at Montparnaase

I have a very bad impression of the Montparnasse area in Paris. You would think that for a metro station called "Montparnasse Bienvenue" meaning "Welcome Montparnasse" that you would actually fell very "bienvenue", uh but no. Last year when I took the train from Bordeaux to Gare de Montparnasse in Paris with my parents, the 3 of us were nearly pickpockted, and I mean each of us.

However, one will surely feel very "bienvenue" when one discovers the Creperie scene! Honestly who doesn't love crepes? Most of us know mainly crepes with nutella or banna. I personally love the savory crepes, which are called "galettes" even more. The batter of the galettes are made from buckwheat flour, instead of plain flour, and gives it more texture and taste to me. And frankly I like savory food better. It's hard to find galettes anywhere else in the world. For good crepes you can find in a lot of places, but Montparnasse is the place for the galettes!

If I am not mistaken, galettes come from the region of Brittany. Therefore you will often here les galettes de bretonnes. In the early days since trains from Brittany all arrive at Gare de Montparnasse, there were a lot of Bretons that settled in the area. So when you arrive at the Montparnasse Bienvenue metro, which is really big and ridiculous, go towards Blvd. Montparnasse, and then to Rue Montparnasse where you will find about 10 creperies on that road alone. The most famous one is the Creperie de Josselin, there is always a line, and some say that have the "best" galettes and crepes in the area. But it's always frun to check out some of the other ones around. And who seriously decides what the best galettes are anyways?

During lunch, many creperies offer a set menu including a galette, a sweet crepe and a cider for less than 10 Euros. And I guess cider is also a specialty from Brittany, because every creperie has then. Creperie de Josselin, however, being so popular doesn't need to offer a special menu, and since it had a line I decided to go elsewhere.

I settled at "Creperie St. Malo" which was offering a galette with egg, cheese, ham, and one extra item; a sugar or chocolate crepe, and cider or wine for 9.5 Euros.

There is something about eggs and cheese in a galette that appeals greatly to me. The galette was warm and tasty, and oh and a lot of butter was added to it, which makes it that much better! I was completely stuffed after eating another chocolate crepe.

I'll definitely return to the area again and try out another creperie!!! So Bienvenue a Montparnasse pour les galettes et crepes!