On a steamy, sultry night, best to begin with La Vie En Rose's lightest, most scintillating starter: coral trout belly tartare, served on ice with fennel, green apples & citrus zest Chantilly cream.
Pan-fried duck liver, caramelized apples & aged balsamic vinegar. Not bad, but not the best ever. Maybe the tastiest foie isn't always found at French outlets.
Escargot vol au vent with garlic & anise cream sauce. The black sesame pastry was nice & buttery, but what thoroughly wowed us were the snails, spectacularly soft & luscious.
Ocean trout with Pantalleria capers, lemon confit & croutons. This rustic recipe feels like it could have come straight out of a provincial restaurant on the Mediterranean coast.
Evocative of quiche: tart of duck lardon & mushrooms with carrot & cabbage slaw. Moist but far from soggy, with an unexpected meatiness attributed to slivers of air-dried duck inside the tart.
Again, let's pair La Vie En Rose's Gallic savories with the French sweets of Les Deux Garcons. We keep returning to this Bangsar patisserie for the white truffle macarons, but we're also learning to appreciate the garlic macarons _ pungent but pleasurable.
LDG's eclair ranks among the most excellent we've eaten _ light choux pastry brimming with rum-laced (we think) vanilla creme patissierre. Also delectable: Le Pagode Noire, a milky-nutty combo of choc ganache & black sesame praline.
La Normande _ heavenly Granny Smith mousse with financier base & salted caramel cream _ alongside a less exquisite but still enjoyable almond tart layered with joconde & sour lemon curd.
Le Favori (pistachio biscuit pate a choux, raspberry brulee & pistachio mousseline).
Earlier entry on Les Deux Garcons @ Telawi: November 15.
Coffee, hot & black, partnered with the pastries for an affair to remember.
Arthur Metz, Cremant (Alsace). Cheaper than Champagne.
Fresh sourdough loaves for sale at La Vie En Rose. Get 'em while they're warm!
La Vie En Rose,
39, Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2078-3883
LVER food looks really goood. So where's the best foie you've eaten?
ReplyDeleteBaby sumo: actually i gotta say a restaurant in salzburg, but i've totally forgotten its name. the foie gras there was super-thick, with that perfect lightly charred/almost crispy skin, and so buttery and honeyed inside. heheh. but in KL, i think quite a lot of outlets still do it really well, especially at hotels. mandarin grill, chalet @ equatorial, even tenjin @ grand millennium :D
ReplyDeletei'm excited for the desserts and macarons! i can't wait to go back!
ReplyDeleteAn affair to remember, eh? Strange that we are (sorta) thinking along the same lines today - perhaps Les Deux Garçons and their macarons do inspire similar souls. Hehe.
ReplyDeletelot of desserts... The atmosphere here is very warm.. My preferable!
ReplyDeletewah you must have tried everything on the menu already
ReplyDeleteMichelle: just a few more weeks now! hope the desserts all live up to your expectations :D
ReplyDeleteKenny: affairs are born of temptation and brimming with sin, no? those seem to be the very virtues, errm, vices, that keep les deux garcons humming =)
Nikel: yeah, perfect for long, comfortable dinner :D
ReplyDeleteEiling: heheh, nopes, the menu is actually really extensive! will need a few more visits =)
Oooh, whatever scandalous suggestions are you making about the proprietors of Les Deux Garçons, my friend? Ahem.
ReplyDeleteKenny: where got scandalous? any perceived innuendo is all in your hyper-active mind, my imaginative friend. double ahem :P
ReplyDeleteSo frenchy :P
ReplyDeleteBut a visit to LDG is so overdue!!
tng: heheh, this could also be the year of french food in KL, with the opening of places like bistro a table & la vie en rose :D
ReplyDeleteThe duck liver looks good! Generous portion :p But I'm more interested in the escargots, just like u :P Ah I seem to be seeing plenty of LDG around lately.. must make a visit soon! :D
ReplyDeleteiamthewitch: oh ya, i guess that's one of the cool things about french food: can't go hungry, since portions are all so hearty! hope you manage to visit soon! =)
ReplyDeleteWant to try that eclair, so far we've only tried their macaron!
ReplyDeleteCK: heheh, the macaron flavors are very nice, and the cakes, eclairs and pastries are also equally nice! :D
ReplyDeleteVery nice? Equally nice? Oh you play it so safe, my friend. Hehe. :P
ReplyDeleteKenny: better safe than sorry! (I'm also an expert in how to best apply cliches) :D
ReplyDeleteSean, who would you rank as the top 3 French restaurants in KL/PJ as it stands now? Would your list be different if value for money is judged?
ReplyDeleteJackal: it's tricky to rank them, since there are the ones that serve traditional fare and the ones that tackle fusion french. i guess la vie en rose and le bouchon at changkat bukit bintang would be the best bets for old-fashioned food, while cuisine gourmet by nathalie and bistro a table would be the ones for contemporary cuisine. i'd throw frangipani into the list, except that some people don't really consider it french =)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sean. Lafite and Millesime are notable ommisions! :-)
ReplyDeleteJackal: heh, yeah. I like those places, but both of them seem to have moved very far from French cooking. I'd still recommend lafite and Millesime as excellent restaurants in their own right though =)
ReplyDelete