Dining Out @ Nathalie's Gourmet Studio, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur

rainbow macarons

Apologies for the absence, first I was away for a few days and after that, life got a little out of sync hence the delay in blogging. Rather than starting on my trip, I thought it'll be nice to mix it with a little local flavour since most of you would rather read about somewhere you can access straightaway versus getting that fix vide a jet plane.


tomato parmesan cheese tart with poached egg and black olive tapenade

Getting back in the groove meant doing a little food hunting during the long weekend and I must admit I have been pretty happy with the results - four good ones out of five is not too bad of a result I reckon.

frothy fennel soup

Back to this place which I first heard a little from reading Expat Lifestyle and subsequently through an email that was circulated announcing its arrival. I was curious since Nathalie Arbefeuille has built quite a reputation for herself with her macaron classes at the Cooking House. She has also been appearing in a number of publications by them, firstly in their own magazine titled My Nourishment and their first book, Out of the Shell for Nutriplus.


spinach and parsley raviolis in a parsley broth

Armed with the address and a warning from a blog entry saying it's difficult to locate, I was well prepared for a scavenger hunt around the huge complex. We deduced it must be somewhere not on the row that faces the main road and looked at the back units and eureka, we found it, all the way on top. If we entered from the entrance near Heidelberg Kaffeehaus, it was straight all the way up on the escalators, pass Pink Jambu and etc.


lamb tagine with artichokes and couscous

Even though the place was so well hidden, we were pleasantly surprised to discover it was packed with people. Looking for a space within the main restaurant area was an impossible feat, hence we opted to sit outside in these low loungeabout chairs. We felt a little out of place, as we were the only locals as the place was packed with the French. Obviously word has got around hence the crowd.

strawberry success

The menu is pretty small with maybe about 4-5 items per course, and if you're ardent fans of Nathalie's cookbook, you can spot a few familiar items. In the main courses, there's risotto, a cod fish dish and weirdly enough, green curry chicken in there. I also spotted the tomato parmesan cheese tart similar to the one on the cover of the Out of The Shell cookbook, which we ordered to try.

lemon tart with lemongrass sorbet

Even though we sat outside, service was fast and efficient. I loved the tomato parmesan cheese tart (RM25) starting from the flaky parmesan cheese biscuit base, the tangy tomatoes in between, the poached egg on top with a black olive tapenade. A large slice of parmesan cheese completed the tart's effect with swirls of reduced balsamic vinegar sauce around it. Light and satisfying indeed. I also liked my fennel soup (RM20) a light concoction with basil leaves and tomato that you mixed to give the otherwise light tasting soup a bit more taste.

Show Splashie Boy, homemade ravioli and he will zoom in on that hence the spinach parsley ravioli (RM38) was a must order for him. It came in a green parsley broth that didn't look too appetising but was nice and light. Personally I didn't care much for it, but he loved it. I was instead very happy with my Lamb Tajine (RM35) - fork tender lamb pieces with an artichoke, fava beans and couscous. Again, something that was satisfying yet leaving more than enough room to enjoy my dessert.

Dessert was the best ever so leave room for that if you have a sweet tooth. I liked the tall Strawberry Succes (RM15) - light as air (with a softer texture) meringue discs sandwiching fresh cream with raspberries and strawberries topped with a raspberry sorbet. Yummy concoction indeed! Splashie Boy's lemon tart with the lemongrass sorbet(RM15) was equally toothsome and eaten quickly as it was light and refreshing. I also liked how they serve a selection of Mariage Freres teas - a favourite of mine and one of the best ever teas I reckon. Don't think anyone else in KL serve these teas.

One shouldn't leave without a stop at their technicolour display of macarons. There's about 13 flavours, so get a box of each flavour (raspberry, chocolate, caramel, coconut, passionfruit and etc) to try in rainbow colours. Macarons definitely play a big part in the place, as you see them on the wait staff's aprons, on the walls of the restaurant and even on a serving tray used as a display. I can see why, as I was blown away with the light as air texture of the sweet confections. Not overly sweet until you get a diabetic attack, each one was savoured slowly throughout the long weekend. I'm now plotting to return for more macarons (just have to look for an excuse to buy them!), a taste of their caneles, French brioches and maybe more of their menu.

Nathalie's Gourmet Studio

Unit A4-01-5

Solaris Dutamas
Jalan Dutamas 1

Kuala Lumpur

Tel:03-62079572/017-2806717

(Pork free. Place is open from 10am to 6pm, as Nathalie still does catering in the evenings. Closed on Sundays. There's no breakfast menu but you can eat caneles or brioches with tea. Best to book a table ahead. The macarons are RM4.40 each. For more pictures, see my Flickr set.)

Post Note: The menu changes every month and these items were only available for May. There is an entirely different menu for all courses this June. There is beef carpaccio, asian crab salad (very yums!), salmon blinis for starters, oxtail stuffed squid, duck confit, halibut served with whole roasted tomatoes and a very sharp tasting eggplant puree, a reverse kinda dessert with meringue, sorbet and chocolate sauce, an orange creme brulee on a biscuit base and the sampler dessert with chocolate tart, rhubarb crumble and macaron.

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Tagged with: French Food

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