French people are well known for their dining antics and so in every dinner meals, it is not only about ambience, plating, food but also the right wine pairing for the dishes. At Rendez-Vous French Restaurant located at 100, Lorong Maarof, Bangsar Park, 59000 Kuala Lumpur; is where you can find great traditional French food cooked by artistry French Chef with a wine selection for each dish.
Recently, we were invited to taste out a new menu offering from Chef Benjamin which hails from Toulouse, France. Besides serving the popular other French dishes that we had in our
earlier review (pls click Here); he is offering some newly crafted French cuisine in its original taste for us to savour.
As usual, in the full French tradition, we had our pre-dinner drink which is the popular Kir Classique (a white wine with Creme de Cassis (is a sweet, dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants) - RM34.00). Kir is a French refreshing cocktails which are mix with fruit liquor and topped with white wine.
Next, is, of course, the Amuse Bouche, a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre. Amuse-Bouches are different from appetisers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but are served gratis and according to the chef's selection alone. For the night, the chef served us the Scambled eggs topped with Caviar. With the bland taste of the Eggs and slightly salty flavours of the caviar, it blended well with the cool fruity Kir.
For starters, we had the "Ouef Parfait Et Gnocchi" (RM22.00)- Gnocchi is a popular dish in France, it is made from a combination of mash potatoes, flour and eggs. For this dish, the chef served the Parisian style Gnocchi; with the Fried, Choux strip rolls pastry that gives it a crunchy feel and topped with a half boiled eggs served in a clay pot with cheese and bechamel sauce.
For this dish, the recommended wine is the Chardonnay.
Next, we had the "Thon Confit" (RM25.00) which is Candied Tuna (slow cooked together with Olive oil and Tarragon leaves) served with cauliflower puree, with a refreshing sides of chop green apples and cabbage sprinkled with rouille sauce.
The recommended wine pairing is the Sauvignon Blanc
After that it was time for the main course, the first main course dish is the "Filet De Loup De Mer" (RM58.00) - a fish based dish which is made out from of a pan fried Seabass Fillet which has a nice crisp skin served on a bed of carrot puree with a tangy citrus vinaigrette sauce that married perfectly to the fish meat. It is then topped with the flavorful and savoury Avruga Caviar.
For this dish, the recommended wine to be paired is the Pinot Grigio (dry, semi-sweet white wine)
Our last main dish is the "Poitrine De Porc Fondante" (RM49.00). The pork belly is slow cooked for 2 days and pan fried to a light crisp on the outside which has its' meat and pork belly fats literally melting in the mouth. A simply delightful feel that satisfy our craving. It is served with Crispy "Gribiche" style Pork feet. We were taken aback that they was no sign of any pork feet/knuckles in the dish; As it turns out the chef has cooked the pork feet and has its' meat chopped to small pieces and together with Gherkin pickle, capers, onions, parsley, boiled eggs and Dijon Mustard rolled in a spring roll and deep fried.
Beside the Gribiche there is another roll which is the Mushroom Cannelloni, which has chopped chicken meat and mushroom stuff in a pasta roll. The sauce of the dish is the meat juice which was slow cooked with the pork belly and added with fried bacon chip.
The wine to be paired for this dish is the Baron Monbarduc (a fine, soft and fruity wine)
We had 2 dessert to end our lovely dinner; the first of which is the "Tarte Au Citron Meringue". Sitting at the bottom is the home-made biscuit like lemon tart which is topped with lemon flavoured cream and the soft crusty meringue. Decorated with freshly slice apples to give it a crunch and a home-made lime sorbet that add to a refresh feel to this dessert.
For those that would like to savour this dessert with a sparkling wine, a Prosecco; a sparkling wine made in Italy; now you cannot call a Champagne unless it is from this region (as the saying goes all champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is champagne) - would be an ideal choice for this dessert.
Our last dessert is the Paris Brest (RM20.00); an in-house made Choux pastry which has a slight crust and an inside soft texture which is then sandwiched with a hazelnut custard. My dinner partner loves the flaky pastry crust with the right balance of buttery taste.
It was our pleasure to have a nice French cuisine in which we discover the Chef great efforts and skill to showcase these delicious dishes at Rendez-Vous French Restaurant. We look forward to taste more enchanting dishes in the near future.
"Bon Appetit"