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
