Monday, November 26, 2012

Birthday #3: Bistro A Table, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Other than Japanese, I also love French cuisine. For my birthday celebratory dinner, we visited Bistro a Table, a restaurant serving modern French cuisine with a local twist, which we have been wanting to visit for a while. 

Opened on the auspicious date 6 June 2011 at restaurant no. 6, Bistro a Table is helmed by owner-cum-chef Isadora Chai. Named after the central common table in the restaurant, Bistro a Table literally means "to the table" in French and welcomes complete strangers to eat together within the same vicinity. On one side of the restaurant, tables are set for 2 to 4 pax with curtains in between tables, giving diners privacy, if required.  Suspended glass globes containing orchids make up part of the decor here, giving the place a casual yet romantic ambiance. 



Seasonal ingredients play a huge part in the menu here, hence the menus change on a regular basis.  They do maintain a few signature dishes such as the coddled maple syrup egg, cannelloni with seared scallops and prawns with keluak tapenade topping and Ode to Newton. 

Complimentary bread

Many of her dishes are inspired by local favourites, such as her signature coddled maple syrup egg (RM16). The inspiration comes from the soft boiled eggs at local kopitiams served with a sweet and savoury soy sauce. She uses only free range chicken eggs, and serves it with crouton dust, fleur de sel and a single asparagus stalk (instead of soldiers). The maple syrup and fleur de sel creates the desired sweet-savoury taste. To eat this, we were advised to mix the maple syrup with the egg and then pour over the crouton dust and dip the egg with the asparagus. This was a really nice (fun) way to start our meal (we ordered one each).



Mixed and ready to eat!

Just wish there was one more asparagus to dip into the egg.


We were feeling greedy, so decided to order a second starter each. Hubby had the Avruga caviar cold pasta with soy mirin and white truffle oil (RM65). This dish was inspired by Chef Gunther Hubrechsen of Gunther's in Singapore, which is restaurant we have visited before. It tasted really fantastic, with a strong truffle aftertaste (we like!). The portion though is really small, we wish there was more!



Since it's my birthday (it's ok to splurge, Hubby says), I went for the most expensive starter on the menu - the goose foie gras Liverpop (RM72). Rich and decadent, and what an eye-candy too! So pretty to look at. The goose liver terrine is made to look like a lollipop... a very posh one, I say! The foie has been steeped in 30 yr old Armagnac and then coated with spun maple syrup, served with a soft bun and some apple chutney. It tastes just as nice as it looks... 'nuff said.


For mains, I ordered the stuffed saddle of rabbit with Trompette de la Mort & Morel mushrooms with parsnip puree (RM68). The rabbit was moist and the mushrooms gave it a nice texture. I like the sweet and smooth parnish puree, which goes well with the rabbit.




Hubby had the truffled Trompette de la Mort & morel mushroom risotto (RM48), which was fabulous. It was so well-executed, by far the best risotto we've tasted in KL. Hubby also ordered a side garden salad (RM8) to go with his risotto.





Ode to Newton (RM37) is a dessert I have been wanting to try since I interviewed Isadora for an article while I was freelancing last year. The way she described it certainly got my interest piqued. This is a precisely timed dessert - start with the candied ginger souffle and by the time you finish that, the cinnamon and nutmeg ice cream on a lemongrass hemisphere would have fallen into the warm ginger beer to form a ginger beer float. There is a waiting time of 25 minutes for this dessert and usually, you can only order it after 9:30pm, but since it was a quiet service in the restaurant, we got to try this. The souffle was really good, and we both sat there like kids, with our eyes glued to the ginger beer.. waiting for the ice cream to drop into the cup. Oh, we managed to capture it on video too. Certainly a dessert worth waiting for.


This dessert got a mention the Wall Street Journal too


Ready for the drop



Watch the video here:


Hubby had the Caramelised apple tart tatin with creme fraiche ice cream (RM22) which also has a 20 minute wait. He found it to be slightly too caramelised for his liking, however he commented that the ice cream was nice.



Verdict: We had a very enjoyable meal here at Bistro a Table. The food certainly has the wow factor, in terms of taste and creativity. A great place for a celebratory meal.

Pork-free.

Service: Good.

Price: Total bill RM456, including a glass of wine.

Location: Bistro a Table, 6 Jalan 17/54, 46400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-7931 2831

Website: http://www.bistroatable.com

GPS Coordinates: 3.12599, 101.637093

38 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday fellow November 16 baby! Great job capturing the Ode to Newton in video too! =D

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    1. Happy Birthday to you too Adam! Hope u had a wonderful birthday celebration too.

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  2. Thanks for sharing your birthday celebration with us. This is a place to check out for sure. The food looks delicious.

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    1. Yeah it's definitely worth checking out with your Quay Lo.

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  3. Lovely place...simply LOVED the desert. The video was awesome.Glad you are having such a great birthday celebration.

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    1. Yeah the souffle was really delicious! And the anticipation of the drop for the ice cream was just great!

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  4. Hi Yen, I'm sure you had a wonderful time. I like the foie gras starter... something unique and refreshing although the ingredient used were similar to the standard pan sear version.

    Another cool place to visit when I go KL. Thanks.

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    1. Yeah I think the Liverpop is very cool.. it's like a super luxurious sweet for an adult ;)

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  5. Very nice place, very elegant. Never had the chance to try french before...

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  6. Happy B-day! Looks like it was a great meal!

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  7. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!! the soufflé sounds and looks gorgeous! I always try to order the soufflé despite the waiting time! :P

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    1. Hehe me too! I have a weakness for souffle too, the one here was great! I've had a few bad ones in KL before.

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  8. What a luxury meals! And it's so nice to know an excellent female chef here! Love the desserts very much, haha!

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    1. Yeah she is definitely one of the better chefs in KL. Thanks to Hubby for the nice birthday treat for sure :)

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  9. I ordered the Liverpop too and I love it, so pretty and tasty! :D

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    1. Hehe I think any foie gras lover would like the Liverpop! :D

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  10. Lovely post!! It's okay to splurge , just remember to bring yr hubby!! ahahha!! Food looks so artistic... I really couldn't imagine how great will it taste like..;P

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    1. Haha smart!

      Yeah the food is great, very creative and unique. Definitely a meal to rmbr.

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  11. Everything looks so good here, wish I have chance to dine in here~

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  12. Food looks great, and a very elegant place :)

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    1. Have heard so much of this place, glad I got to try it finally.

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  13. Looks like you had a great birthday dinner there! =)

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  14. What a fabulous meal for your Special day!

    The chef is a very gutsy and bold lady... read about her and really admire her creativity... she reminds me of a pretty and mad scientist in the kitchen with all that Goose liver Lollipop, Ode to Newton and Maple Syrup egg....would definately pay a visit on my special day... :)

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    1. When I flipped thru her menu, I wanted to try almost everything on there. They all sound really interesting and delicious.

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  15. Lovely birthday celebration..Great delicious food, have a nice day.

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  16. the liverpop deserves a place in KL's food hall of fame! :D

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    1. Hehe definitely... it's so unique! And playful at the same time.

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  17. i like the asparagus dipping in the egg..

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    1. This place is near to you right? Next time can treat ur wife during your next anniversary :)

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  18. This is what fine dining is... so refined... :)

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  19. Yen , thanks again for making me drool at this time of the night ! lol Me want some of that gorgeous food :D

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  20. Hi Yen,

    These are really fanciful modern French dining. You are very lucky to eat in this place.

    Zoe

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  21. Another foodie gem hidden in PJ! What a way to spend a bday :)

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  22. Good article, have you try 3 Wise Monkeys Bistro & Bar? See review here: http://malaysiafood.org/3-wise-monkeys-bistro-bar/

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