Some meals turn into stories worth writting down. Our evening at Le Cheval D’Or, in Paris’s 19th arrondissement, was certainly one of those meals.

A long table, a few bottles (too many, depending on who you ask), and three friends who understand that food is only as good as the people you share it with — Luís, Nadim, and Cris, thank you for having us.

Once a Chinese spot in the late ’80s, Le Cheval D'Or is now a brilliant hybrid conversation between China and France, mixing delicate French techniques with bold (and boldy spicy) Asian flavors. The menu plays like a duet: East and West in perfect harmony. Silky egg custard served in its shell was the quiet opening act. Dumplings swimming in rich broth that make conversation pause mid-sentence.

Anyway, the plates kept on arriving like small surprises, one after another, unitl figs on crisp pastry end things softly.
If there’s something these guys teach you, is that the best things don’t need to shout out loud. They just need the right intention and love. That's what cooking is all about.

We left a few hours later, walking back into the Paris night with that calm certainty that something special had happened: around the table, around the city, around the people who make it worth coming back.

It's a good thing Paris isn’t done with us yet.