10 December 2016

O'Boucher ~ French, Noumea

Our Saturday flight from Sydney lands us in Noumea in time for lunch. This time we pick O'Boucher which on previous trips was packed with locals. It's quieter on this trip, go figure.

By our 4th trip to Noumea we've got arrivals down pat: grab a six pack of Number One beer at the duty free, there's no takeaway beer or spirit sales on Saturday afternoons in Noumea (ditto Friday, Sunday and Wednesday. You can get wine from specialist wine shops).

Then grab the Arc en Ciel shuttle to our hotel (we could get the local bus but the extra $50 on a shuttle buys us a whole afternoon, we feel like we've had a full holiday day rather than just a travel day.)



O'Boucher is in the Baie de Citron's small strip of bars and restaurants overlooking the beach. We get a window-less window table and enjoy the view while sucking on a couple of frosty draught Mantas, a good local session beer.



The theme at O'Boucher is meat, meat and more meat. Steaks, burgers and some French classics. Kebabs suspended vertically with complicated apparatus. The fit out is equally meat themed, complete with upside down cows.


Alison explodes with Stimpy-like joy when the andouillette arrives. This intestine sausage is usually baked or pan fried, but this sucker is deep fried. Repeat. Deep fried. Andoilette is the durian of the meat world. When (and if) the brain and nose gets past the stench of poo, and it really does smell like poo, your bravery is rewarded with a deeply rich moment of wonder of super umami. Others may say it tastes and smells like shit.

You can upgrade any dish with the house mash potato, puree aligot, which is super smooth and buttery with extra cheese added. We look around and every diner has gone for the cheesy mash upgrade. The bloke next to us has two. At 300xpf it's a no-brainer, though you arteries may suggest otherwise.


Salad Fo-Folle au foie gras - 2,700 xpf. The fois grais is soft and rich and melts into the lettuce like a rich lardy meaty dressing. Oh my. Bread and fried potato pad it out making it a meal of it. The dressing is served on the side, it's good but it stays sidelined, the salad is best dressed in it's birthday suit. We tried a couple more versions of this salad on the trip but the O'Boucher version  is the one we'll be coming back for.


We finish off a cafe gourmand (1,300 XPF), mostly because Shawn likes saying it, and it's usually the best deal on the menu. It's a classic finisher with an espresso and three mystery desserts. This one has creme brulee, vanilla ice cream speckled with actual vanilla, and excessively rich chocolate mousse camouflaged with cream.


Just when we thought it couldn't get any better we find our buddy Jaguar J. Pussycat who hangs out at Astrolabe, where we had our landing meal on our last visit.



Jaguar likes the double scratch. And icecream.


O'Boucher menu - click to enlarge.


O'Boucher menu - click to enlarge.


O'Boucher menu - click to enlarge.



O'Boucher is at 35 Promenade Roger Laroque, Noumea. This strip of restos is popular with locals and tourists alike. This strip is an extra good bet on weekends and Mondays when many restaurants in Centreville are closed.




1 comment:

  1. Hahaha those stinky poo sausages just brought rather unpleasant memories back from a Paris many years ago and I'm def on the camp of they taste like sh*t!

    Lucy
    www.lucylovestoeat.com

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment joy - please keep your musings happy - if you want to complain about a restaurant please do it on a restaurant review site (or your own blog) - we're all about celebrating cultural diversity and the great eats that come along with it :-)

Our ethics: We pay for all our own meals and travel (though sometimes Mum shouts us).