Thursday, August 26, 2010

Nathalie's Gourmet Studio, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur

Beautiful food excites me.

My first meal at Mesana, the 1 Michelin-star restaurant in Marbella ignited my love for beautiful food, and consequently sparked my interest in food blogging. Sure, the taste of the food is of the utmost importance, but for me, visually appealing food brings the dining experience to the next level.

So when I first read about Nathalie's Gourmet Studio (and saw pictures of her food), I was blown away and it was only a matter of time before I would dine there.



When we arrived at the restaurant, we were greeted by the colourful macaron display at the entrance. Other than being a restaurant, Nathalie's Gourmet Studio also houses a sleek professional kitchen for cooking classes. As I did not want to sit on one of the high stools in the main dining area, we chose to dine in the professional kitchen. It was great, as we felt we had more privacy and it was much more spacious in there. However, lighting is not that great back here for pictures.


The professional kitchen; table setting; Nathalie at work; orchids



Colourful macarons on display



Learn to cook like Nathalie. Find her recipes in her book, Cuisine Passion available to purchase for RM150.


Nathalie's operates an open kitchen concept, so we watched her and her staff work away in the kitchen. It was nice to see the chef herself putting the finishing touches to our food.

The menu selection here is pretty small, with 5-6 items per course. Small it may be, everything on the menu sounded good.



Freshly baked French bread is so good. So good that I'm now inspired to bake my own bread. Available to buy for RM1.50 each.

The drink portions here were a little small, although they do provide cold water on request. Hubby had the Mango Smoothie (RM11), The Unc a Cappuccino to wake him up (RM11) while I had the Virgin Mojito (RM11), which was refreshing and one of the best versions I've had.


Thick, luscious mango smoothie

Cappuccino



Refreshing Virgin Mojito


Being a scallop lover, I was instantly drawn to the Crispy Scallop Tart, Melted Onions and Sechouan Pepper Sauce (RM29). The scallops, served on a bed of sweet caramelised onions and light, crumbly pastry were seared to perfection. Did I also mention how big, plump and juicy the scallops were? I was delighted with my choice of starter. Absolutely gorgeous.


A visual beauty which is immensely tantalising to the tastebuds.

Hubby went for the Crab Mille-feuille with Nathalie's Pesto sauce (RM27) and he was delighted with his starter too. The flaky, delicious crab, tangy tomato salsa and creamy avocado puree were sandwiched between ethereal layers of pastry.

Absolutely delightful


Again, The Unc surprised us by ordering the Revised Nicoise Salad (RM20), a bed of fresh salad leaves with generous strips of tuna and a boiled egg with a still-runny yolk. Hearing The Unc utter "love" and "salad" in the same sentence was non-existent, until today.

The French, especially in the Nice area, will clearly state no cooked vegetables are to be used. "[...]la salade niçoise ne contient pas de légumes cuits." However, Nathalie's has revised the salad to include blanched and sun-dried tomatoes.

A robust salad bursting with flavours

A burst of colours


Starters were excellent, could Nathalie repeat her ingenuity with her main courses?


The Unc's main course of Risotto Like a Paella with King Prawn, Squid and Chicken and a Saffron Emulsion (RM57) arrived first. The risotto, cooked al dente was rich and creamy. The king prawn was succulent. The Unc declared this the best risotto he has EVER tasted.



Hubby's Pan Fried Beef Tenderloin with a glazed red wine sauce, grilled polenta and vegetable skewer (RM59) was equally amazing. The meat was so tender, it cuts like butter. Cooked medium, just the way he likes it. So excellent, that he also declared this the best steak he has had in KL.

The perfect steak



My appetite has been waning as of late. Wanting to leave room for desserts, I thought it would be a good idea to order from the kids menu for my main as the portions would be smaller. Kids are not food critics, so it was unfair of me to pass judgment on the fresh lasagna served before me.
Fresh lasagna (RM15)


Desserts are said to be Nathalie's forte. I couldn't agree more.



The
trio of Raspberry Mille-Feuille, Lytchee and Raspberry Espuma and a Lytchee Sorbet (RM22) was beautifully presented. Beautiful to look at, beautiful to eat. Each component perfect. The pastry was light and flaky with layers of fresh, tart raspberries and raspberry puree. The lytchee (or lychee) sorbet was wonderfully refreshing. The espuma (foam) was mousse-like, light as air and not overly sweet.



A sight to behold



Hubby chose the Selection of Small Desserts (mini vanilla and caramel choux, chestnut and chocolate espuma and a macaron) with expresso (RM18). Once again the excellence of the choux pastry shines through. The espuma was rich and light at the same time.

Famed for her macarons, a visit to Nathalie's is not complete without tasting some of the delectable morsels. From the 16 flavours of macaron available that day, Hubby had to choose 1. Tough choice, but he settled for the coconut flavour (noix de coco) which was rather nice. He received another complimentary macaron, framboise flavour (French raspberry) since his expresso was slow to arrive. Of course, I made him share his macarons with me! And we ended up buying another 6 macarons to take home with us (which I shall write about in a different entry).


Espuma, macaron and choux



Macarons, perfect for those with a sweet tooth



The Unc also made an excellent choice with his dessert, the Matcha Green Tea Tiramisu with a Chocolate Touch (RM18). Pleasing to the eye, the mascarpone is infused with green tea with a layer of rich chocolate in the centre.



A fantastic dessert to end a fantastic meal





The menu here changes on a monthly basis, so there is still time to come and try the August menu. Can't wait to see what the September menu has to offer.



Verdict: Nathalie's food definitely hits all the right notes and it is now one of my favorite places to dine in KL, along with Cilantro and Sage. Sure, the food here is not the cheapest, but the quality of the ingredients used was evident. Great flavours and food presented with grace, there is nothing not to love about this place.

Informal and relaxed setting, whereby one can turn up in casual clothing and not be frowned upon and still enjoy some fine French cuisine.


Opening times: 9.00am to 6.00pm. Closed on Sundays. Breakfast served between 9.00am - 11.30am.

Service: Food service was good, but we had to wait quite a bit for our drinks to arrive.

Price: Expensive. Our bill came to RM370 for 3 persons (3 courses + drinks + macarons).

Location: Nathalie's Gourmet Studio, Solaris Dutamas, Unit A4-01-5, Jalan Dutamas, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Walk to the left hand far end [left when you're facing the main road] until you spot Heidelberg Kaffehaus, then take the escalators to the fourth floor)

Tel: 03-6207 9572
GPS Coordinates: 3.1711, 101.66583

11 comments:

  1. looks fantastic.... definitely drool worthy cuisine :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wonder what September will hold for us...hopefully it's going to be even better. Glad to see you like the food at Nathalie's.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fujiko: Get The Unc to bring you in September to try out the food :-)

    boo_licious: can't wait to see what she comes up with. esp the desserts :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. After seeing and sampling the Unc's Nicoise salad I think I may try the salad option on our next visit.. Very tasty and lots of it :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi there! Seems like everyone loves Nathalie's! Oh and nice food blog u have here! Already saved your blog's url to my Favourite list ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow, with all the hype going on about this place, I certainly would like to go try it as well.. Only trouble is that its a little too far from my place.. One of these days i'll just have to make that extra afford to go there.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. i tried it on last friday, it was great but as you mention the drink had come late. expensive but u can enjoy a french food and i would say is a french "home stlye" cooking =))

    ReplyDelete
  8. thanx for your post. this is such a good help especially the price u mentioned for each dine. Im bringing my family for our mother's 52nd birthday dinner this weekend. this could help me to estimate how much i need to spend :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there, do visit their FB page here for a current menu with prices. :)
      http://www.facebook.com/nathaliegourmetstudio

      Delete
  9. I used to be recommended this website by means of my cousin.

    I'm now not certain whether or not this submit is written by him as nobody else know such unique approximately my trouble. You are amazing! Thank you!

    My weblog :: More methods

    ReplyDelete

Please drop any comments or questions you may have here. Thank you so much for reading!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...