Authentic French
cooking made accessible in a casual neighbourhood restaurant
Near the bustling commercial area of Bangsar, yet a little
apart from it, Lorong Maarof is just a turn off Jalan Maarof. Rows of houses
flank the relatively quiet residential road, except for a row of shophouses
which feature a number of Indian banana-leaf restaurants, and a French
restaurant.
Rendezvous occupies a corner lot, open on two sides. To many
Malaysians, French dining and ‘casual’ do not occur together, yet that is just
how the restaurant feels. Plain wooden tables and chairs line the verandah
outside, while within, it has a simple décor, with a plain cement floor and
tables and chairs, extending to a long bar on one side, while the main feature
of the other wall, with windows into the kitchen, is a large aquarium. Red folded napkins on tables provide a visual
connection to the deep-red painted walls.
Overhead, rustic wooden lamps occupied by incandescent bulbs
make for intimate lighting at night. The
bustle of the open road, exposed at both open sides of the restaurant, is never
far away, although a row of potted bougainvillea plants provides a semblance of
a screen. Although air-conditioned within, seating at the periphery of the restaurant
invariably means being exposed to the natural humidity of the night.
The menu is quite extensive, and struck me as being
particularly, and idiosyncratically, French, more so than you tend to find in
Malaysian restaurants, which often make some concession to being in
Malaysia. That isn’t surprising,
considering that the restaurant proprietors are two French men, Arnaud
Chappert, and Chef Florien Nigen, who hails from Brittany, which might explain
the strong representation of seafood in the menu.
The restaurant provides a number of fixed price dining sets,
but we chose from the A La Carte, with suggestions from the waiter. We started with drinks, an effervescent
Virgin Mojito (Rm16) of mint leaves, lemon juice and brown sugar in soda water,
and an invigorating Le Kir Classique (Rm24) of white wine combined with Crème
de Cassis.
In relatively quick order, a simple amouse bouche appeared, plain bread smeared with mellow blue
cheese, which contrasted with a small slice of caramelized green apple.
We followed that with the Fish Soup (Rm 16), in a large deep
bowl, surrounded by shredded cheese, a rouille of mayonnaise and paprika, and a
slice of bread with cheese. A deep
orange, the seafood soup was, in a single word – superb. Velvety smooth without the slightest hint of
fishiness, it was a bouillabaisse, a painstaking reduction of exquisite balance
with a little saffron and white wine, thickened by the addition of the rouille,
and good to the last drop.
I’d opted for the French pate (Rm19), two blocks of textured
mild pork pate seasoned with pistachio nuts.
Livened up by caramelized green onion and a small side salad, it was coarsely-textured
and pleasing, simple and rustic food typical of rural France, eaten with
excellently dense baguette bread.
My main course was another French salt-of-the-earth preparation
of Rabbit with Whole Grain Mustard Sauce (Rm46). It was a creamy concoction of
rabbit pieces with onion and carrot in a thick yellow stew, which was as comfortingly
hearty as a roborant on a cold wintry night. The mustard stew was pleasantly
mid and appetizing, for dipping bread into. If you could distance yourself from
the memory of those small white furry creatures with long ears which you might
have had as pets in your younger days, the rabbit tasted like thick chicken
pieces, with chunks of smooth meat.
The Seafood Platter (Rm119 for one person portion) was
served in a small wooden sampan facsimile, making for a grand entrance. In a bed of crushed ice were arranged raw oysters,
whelks in shells, boiled prawns, mussels, winkles, clams and a small portion of
cooked baby prawns. Accompanying this
was an aioli, garlic mayonnaise and shallots in brown vinegar. We’d inquired
about the freshness of the food and had been reassured that it was freshly
flown in twice a week, and indeed, there was no cause for complaint on that
score.
Other than the oysters, everything else was lightly cooked. The
oysters were briny mineral bursts of flavour, the whelks and winkles, extracted
with a small fork, were coldly chewy, best dipped into one of the sauces, the
prawns were sweet and fresh, while I would have preferred my mussels hot. It was quite a feast if you were a seafood
lover, with the sauces serving to enhance the natural flavour of the seafood. A big bowl was provided for the discarded
shells.
Finally for dessert,
we shared a chocolate mousse (Rm 12) and a French Apple Tart (Rm12). The
freshly made chocolate mousse, topped with cream, was light and effortlessly
smooth, and a wonderfully familiar treat, especially if you like Milo. The
French Apple Tart wasn’t quite the upside down version first created by the
Tatin sisters in the 19th century.
Rather this was cooked caramelized apple pieces accompanied by vanilla
ice cream, but it was sweet and sour, soft and warm, contrasting with the cold
ice cream.
The restaurant had filled up while we were dining, and quite
in keeping with its neighbourhood image, diners were casually attired. Service was briskly efficient, with the head
waiter well-schooled in the intricacies of the menu. The restaurant manager, a
young Frenchman who went by the name of Fred, was also disarmingly friendly.
Sometimes considered exotic, authentic French cooking is
made accessible at Rendezvous. Its neighbourhood
location, casual ambiance and easy-on-the-wallet pricing gives it an informal, unintimidating
disposition, the sort of place to return to again and again, if you have a
hankering for good French food.
Rendez-Vous
Restaurant & bar,
100 Lorong
Maarof,
59100 Bangsar,
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: +60 3-2202 0206
Website: www.rendez-vous.com.my
Business Hours: Open Daily, 12pm-3pm, 6pm-1am.
Fridays and Saturdays from 12pm-1am
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