Le Bouchon

I was with my boss at Kuala Lumpur, after long meeting with client at KLCC area. Tired and hungry, so it's time to EAT! We heard from our client that best western restaurant in town is Le Bouchon at 14 Jalan Changkat Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They was voted by the Tatler magazine for 8 consecutive years from 2003 till 2010 to be the best restaurant in town! Interesting!

Le Bouchon Menu

The Tatler best restaurant awards on the wall and they are running out of space

The restaurant was not busy at all at 6:30PM and I was doubting my pick now because the restaurant though very french looking, was also rather run down.

A sole waiter showed us to our table and brought us the menu. We were really hungry and unanimously, chose the gourmet dinner menu.

Gratin d’asperges aux truffes du Périgord et au Champagne (My Pick)

Gratin of asparagus with Champagne sabayon and black truffles from Périgord 

Or

Salade Périgourdine

Medley of imported lettuces, goose liver terrine, confit gizzards, smoked duck, Cognac sultanas vinaigrette

Soupe de moules noires au safran et légumes aromatiques

Black mussels and saffron soup with aromatique vegetables

Or

Coquilles St Jacques grillées et fricassée de champignons sauvages, sauce au Porto (My Pick)

Grilled sea scallops with wild mushroom fricassee and Port wine sauce

Carré d’agneau à la croute de fromage de chèvre, courgettes à la fleur de thym,

sauce au Cabernet sauvignon

Rack of lamb with goat’s cheese crust, roasted zucchinis with thyme flowers, Cabernet Sauvignon sauce

Or

Magret de canard rôti au miel de montagne, échalotes confites et fricassée de légumes aux tomates séchées au soleil (My Pick)

Mountain honey roasted duck breast, confit shallots and fricassee of vegetables with sundried tomatoes

Or

Filet de loup de mer grillé au fenouil, tomates rôties et sauce au caviar

Grilled fillet of seabass with fennel, roasted tomatoes and caviar sauce

Assiette de fromages de France non pasteurisés, pain et crackers

Assorted non pasteurized French cheeses, bread and crackers

Or

Crème brulée aux framboises (My Pick)

Crème brulée with raspberries

Or

Tiramisu à la mangue

Mango tiramisu (My Boss Pick)

The set dinner was RM148 per person. The portion was queit small (for my big tummy) especially the appetizer and the entree. The main though was a larger portion but it was barely enough.

Maybe that is what's to be expected for french fine cuisine. However, in terms of taste and ingredient, Le Bouchon is all deserving of its accolades.

The asparagus gratin with Champagne sabayon and black truffles from Périgord was wonderful. Perfectly cooked asparagus spears, seasoned with the sharp flavor of the truffle coin and champagne sabayon. The entree, perfectly grilled sea scallops accompanied by an incredibly deeleeceeous port wine sauce wild mushroom fricassee.

My Mountain honey roasted duck breast was done medium as requested. Still pink in the middle and the skin was golden brown. The confit of shallots was an excellent addition of saltiness to the meat while the fricassee of vegetables with sundried tomatoes help balance the acidity of the dish.

I regretted not ordering the tiramisu - the deconstructed version. I wanted to stay true to my choice and it was french cuisine! Isn't tiramisu, Italian? Anyway, I was thrilled to taste bits of burnt licorice candy covered by the strawberries and mint leaves. It was an interesting combination - creme brulee and licorice... XD

This meal sealed my fate as a true believer in french cooking techniques. The freshness of the food, cooked to perfection, not a tinge under, not a tinge over! The selection of the right ingredient to provide the best combination of flavors contributing to the overall taste of the dish. I was peering over to my boss's plate and noticed the leftover roasted shallot bulb, the stalk of rosemary, the garnish of strawberries et cetera. I felt sad that he was missing out on the overall flavor but at the same time, I am really glad as my plate was squeaky clean and I am beaming ear to ear contented