Affordable French Dining – Nathalie Gourmet Studio, Solaris Dutamas, KL

One might balk at the prices, after all, I did name my post “affordable” but try going to some notable French restuarants; namely Le Bouchon in Changkat Bukit Bintang, Lafite in Shangri-la Hotel or Cafe Cafe at Jalan Maharajalela & this is as Frenchly-affordable as it can get for middle class fellas like us.

Chef Nathalie Arbefeuille helms the kitchen here with her capable team & the open kitchen allows you to witness the chefs at work. All of them worked quietly, with concentrated focus & precise movements. Each dish that came out from the kitchen bears testimony of meticulous preparation from the raw ingredients to the final presentation.

Nathalie’s Gourmet Studio is an original concept by Chef Nathalie Arbefeuille. The outlet is divided into a professional kitchen (complete with long tables & chairs, ovens, etc for cooking classes every morning), air-conditioned dining area inside & an outdoor terrace for breakfast, lunch & tea, another main kitchen where the team prepares the meals for their customers & restrooms complete with towels & candles at a corner.

Even the table setting insinuate of class with napkins neatly tied with a pretty ribbon & quality tableware.

Nathalie’s menu offers a choice of 5 starters, 5 main courses and 5 desserts, with the menu being refreshed every two weeks. When it first opened in June, I was there for the duck confit; since there weren’t many restaurants that does it well & I have been craving for a good one for ages. Here at Nathalie Gourmet Studio, the duck confit was how a duck confit should be, well-browned and crisp prior to serving; meat that shreds easily; not too salty, fatty & succulent.

Nathalie Gourmet Studio’s June menu.

Duck Confit with warm orange, celery & lettuce salad, porcini dressing, RM35.

I love everything on this dish. The duck (obviously), the sweet slightly acidic oranges, the crisp bitter arugula, the savoury dressing & the sweet onions relish.

Unfortunately, the Nathalie Gourmet Studio’s July/current menu does not feature this excellent dish any longer.

But it has it’s winning dishes as well. Jenn, Leo’s wife who ordered this Ricotta and Herbs Raviolis,Carrot & Ginger Broth, RM30 said it was good. Apparently the ginger & carrot was paired well. I personally thought RM30 was ok for this dish as I spied about 6-7 raviolis in the bowl. Furthermore, the pasta are made fresh in-house.

Joaquim enjoyed her Beef Cheek Bourguignon, with Fresh Pasta, RM47.

Leo & Jerine both ordered Chicken & King Prawns with Fennel Ragout, and Bisque Sauce, RM37. Jerine is a very fussy eater & she gave it thumbs up. I loved how the bisque sauce smelled wonderfully strong of seafood. Yup, it’s all prepared from scratch in Nathalie’s kitchen.

JoaQuim had a starter as well, the sweet juicy Revised Momotaro Tomato with buffalo Mozzarella RM23. The bottom pic of my collage here shows the tomato jelly, made with tomato juice. The dollop of cream on top is basil cream, which tasted unmistakeably & so strongly of basil leaves that you can be assured that it is the real deal.

I wasn’t feeling very well so I started with the Vegetable Quiche, Mixed Lettuce with Asian Dressing, RM18. It was nice, but it is not something I would recommend for that price.

Then I ordered a Nathalie’s Revised Chicken Nuggets, with emmental cheese dip & ratatouile RM15, from the kid’s menu. It was seriously a wasted opportunity for me that day, for I could normally eat a cow for lunch. Furthermore, we had a big group together for lunch & I was not being able to taste & share the dishes they ordered. Heck, I couldn’t even eat my nuggets. Well, UnkaLeong said they were delicious. :cry:

Complimentary bread & butter as starters. The bread is warm & fresh with the signatory crusty outer crust of french breads. Nothing beats Favola’s at Le Meridien breads so far though.

JoaQuim then ordered their All Chocolate Dessert, RM20. She said it was nice, while I thought it was rather ordinary.

Nathalie is famed for her perfect macarons. Perfect in taste & looks & she even had a reputation going around that her macarons are the best in KL so far. For RM4.20 (as per my receipt) per tiny macaron, they better be good.

Flavours are aplenty so you will not run out of choices. I managed a small nip from this one as I was really curious as to how good it is.

Verdict? Ermm..I don’t think I’m ready to enjoy macarons. Yet.

Overall, Nathalie’s cuisine is French with a delicate Asian flavour. The short & frequently changing menus keeps options fresh & diners guessing on what new exquisite dishes the talented Chef Nathalie has up her sleeve/chef’s hat next. Her clientèle of French expats certainly add credibility to her food.

Note: Solaris Dutamas is NOT Solaris, where the Cold Storage is.
To get here, go PASS Solaris on your left, head on straight till you are at a T-junction. Turn RIGHT. Drive along the road which will eventually curve left.
After about a minute, you will see a block of commercial building on your left. There are a lot of F&B outlets, etc here. You can’t miss it.
The Pink Sage is here too.

My reviews of The Pink Sage.
Dinner at The Pink Sage
Breakfast at The Pink Sage

GPS:  N03 10.25′    E101 39.91′

Nathalie’s Gourmet Studio
A-4-1-5 Dutamas Solaris,
Jalan Dutamas, 50490 Kuala Lumpur.
T: 6 03 62079572
W: www.nathaliegourmetstudio.com

french, makan-makan, solaris dutamas