The finest restaurant in Besançon: the Poker d'As (reblogged from June 2012)

This summer, I get to return to France for my summer classes but this time, I get to go to a totally different region that I did not know before: Franche-Comté. As luck would have it, public works to built a new tramway for the city of Besançon is in full throttle, stirring up dust everywhere, coupled with the heat of summer - I felt like I've not left Malaysia!

To cut the story short, I was tired and 'lost' because of some technical error on my place of stay and so, once everything settled down, I went strolling to get to know the city a bit. I was in Galleries Lafayette (bought myself a panama hat) and I casually asked the salesperson if she knew any good place to have dinner, one that will restore some strength to the weary traveller and she excitedly suggested "le Poker d'As".  It actually sounded vulgar in English but luckily it was in French...As it was summer, the sky was still bright at dinner time (19H00) and as I arrived (the restaurant has a rather sombre allure on its facade), the Maitre D was in the midst of preparing the tables and service. Well, it did take me awhile to find the place, having being sent on a wild goose chase by the French on the street, and this, I can communicate perfectly in French!  Every person in the street suggested an opposite direction of the precedent (which was already wrong to begin with!) until I finally gave up on them and used THE MAP. I reckon this is a fair warning to all would-be travellers out there - trust your map than those confused locals!

Back to the restaurant, well the Maitre D, which is a lady, showed me to a table after having took my panama. I was allowed in even though I was in shorts and was given a menu to ponder on while the waiters continued busying themselves with the tables. I chose the 39.20 Euro menu consisting of 4 entrees: an entree, a main dish, a cheese tasting and a dessert. Not bad, value for money...

the main entrance

The interiors of the restaurant is dimly lit with a lot of wood and rustic decor in the Alsatian flavor. Not surprised, we are very close to Alsace and Switzerland...

the hanging bells vary in sizes - the largest is a REAL one used for prize winning cows during a competition!

rustic settings of the restaurant

my table - notice the hand painted plates...

an amuse bouche - mousse of cucumber with espelette pepper, a special labelled AOC red hot pepper from the Basque region in Southern France.

First course - Croustillante of escargot of Bourgogne, crayfish and fresh Girolle mushroom. Too heavy on the salt. The prawn bisque sauce has a nice tangy base but still way too salty.

Main course: slow-cooked canette (young duck) with panfried cherries (now in season) and lemon-scented pearl barly, served with potatoes confit. OK

Good selesction of cheese. tried two eventhough there are quite a few to choose from.

I didn't die for the dessert because it wasn't impressive enough for me. Too sweet and too acidic at the same time. I find the overall composition of taste too "busy" on the tongue.

Little something to accompany the dessert; a madaleine, a truffle, a crispy caramel chips and a tiny meringue.

the service table at the entrance to the restaurant

Din Tai Fung at Gardens Midvalley after the renovations

The restaurant got a renovation this year but the menu was maintained. I actually think the older layout was more comfortable and less claustrophobic - the only thing that changed was the price on the menu: same dishes plus some percent higher on the price!

Beignets de fleurs de courgette (reblogged from 2011)

On our way down from Mount Brinchang to Sungei Palas, we stumbled upon a vegetable farm called 'Mountain Strawberry Farm'. I wanted to know if anyone was growing zucchinis (courgette in French) and so we gave this one a try. Happily, they do grow zucchinis - just one single row of it. The worker that attended to us, a Bangladeshi man who has been working in the same farm for the past six years, was surprised that I wanted to buy zucchini flowers above all vegetables offered for sale because he too, eats them from time to time (I didn't ask how). However, when I told him that I only wanted the female flowers (those with a tiny zucchini attached to its stem), he became reluctant because (I could understand why) each female flower plucked equals to one future zucchini fruit lost. Besides, he didn't know what the boss lady might say to him...Not wanting to put him in a fix, I ordered a kilo of fresh zucchinis, some leeks, tomatoes and a head of iceberg lettuce and he happily plucked a dozen of male zucchini flowers for me to 'try'...all's well ends well with a little concession on all sides...

Cabbages in neat rows...

Tomatoes in the green house...

Pea flower...edible but not for sale either. The zucchini patch is on the back row...

The male zucchini flowers...not exactly what I wanted but will do for this time. I am sending the seeds to someone I know in Cameron Highlands to have them grown...

Voila the end result. I was pleasantly surprised with the result as the fried flowers were delicate, fragrant (somewhat like a fried sweet potato) and delicious. A sprinkle of fine sea salt at the end really helped bring out the delicate flavours of this dish.

Recipe for the batter:

In an ice-cold mixing bowl (double bowls with ice put in between)...
1 egg
3 tablespoon of flour
a pinch of salt
pepper
ice cold sparkling mineral water (like Perrier)

Thin the batter to a liquid consistency. Remove the pistils from the flowers and gently rub off the tiny hairs around the stems of the flowers with a piece of kitchen towel. Swirl the flowers gently in the batter and deep fry them in hot oil until golden (this will really only take a minute or two). Drain off the oil with kitchen paper towels and serve immediately with a pinch of fine sea salt.

Yet another makan chez moi...

We had some visiting friends from afar, across the straits and the theme was "autumn". So I whipped up an autumn-inspired menu...

 Table set with tiny pumpkins and champagne-coloured roses...

 A bloc of foie gras with pâté to start things (goes well with the champagne)...

 Pumpkin and roasted bell pepper soup to start the dining experience...a dollop of crème fraîche and a pinch of piment d'Espelette made it French...

 Poached egg scented with truffle oil, with crispy bacon and Parmiggiano reggiano chips, served with a swirl of Balsamic reduction and salade of roquette.

 Pan-seared butter fish on a puree of brocoli, served with oven-roasted yellow bell peppers and cherry tomatoes.

After some simple salade and a serving of Morbier, dessert was fruit cake with orange syrup, topped with orange-scented Chantilly cream, and an infusion to end it all.

Shucked - oyster bar at Gardens Midvalley

I like oysters and had only developped the taste for these the last years I was in France. In Malaysia, eating oysters is still something of a luxury and a reserved activity for certain occasions.

I saw this oyster bar by chance while waiting for a friend at the Gardens and so I decided to check it out...

The variety of oysters offered was good but the price was very steep. The listed price does not include taxes. Well, anything for a one-time experience...I always had fin de claire when in France but Irish oysters were new to me so I had decided to give it a try - 3 pieces of them (Galagher) cost RM55 on the menu, ending up at RM64 after tax so it is RM20 plus a pop - not at all the kind of price one should be paying for eating out of a stand with cheap IKEA cutleries and cheap paper napkin to wipe off their hands (what, not even cheap scented wet towel in plastic packets to wipe your fingers after consumming oysters??? - see pix below)

The bar..."minimalist" at best. 

Honestly, I would have liked it better served the French bistrot way: with butter, bread and mignonnette sauce. That was not the biggest setback: they killed the oysters before serving, completely destroying the texture and flavour of the oysters as the sea water that gave part of the taste of the oysters was also discarded. The plump-looking oysters in their shell looked like a clump of shrivelled dead oysters in a cloudy juice of damaged oyster meat. They were removed completely from their shells and then put back into their shells before serving. The explanation given: Malaysians are too scared of eating live oysters. Utter disappointment. I couldn't tell if the oysters were really fresh or not...and the staff had to argue their ways are the way to do it (I am wishing the owner of the outlet good luck for the future).

Verdict: Go buy some fresh oysters and shuck them yourself would have been a cheaper and more satisfying option...lemons are cheap and sold everywhere! (plus you get to wash your hands after eating)

Rendez-vous at Bangsar

Tucked at the corner between Jalan Maarof and Lorong Maarof in Bangsar Kuala Lumpur is Rendez-vous, a new French restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. I went about two weeks ago to check out the place with two friends and here's the result:

Asked the owner why such a "kitsch" (tacky in French) decor (with a tourist Eiffel tower) and he replied to break away from the association of fine dining and French food, which tends to drive the more common crowd away. I agreed on one thing: it doesn't have to be fine dining (cost on service and decor) but the food needs to be good...

Then again it need not be borrowing concepts from gourmet restaurants: tasters or amuse-gueule. In this case tiny crostinis in huge dinner plates. For me, wrong foot in using cheap gimmicks...

Ordered a strawberry daquiri - no complains

I came for this: oysters. Though the presentation was interesting, I find it cumbersome. Oysters are reasonably fresh for the distance they have to travel from France to Malaysia but they are not exactly "plump" (They tend to shrink a bit in volume once they are kept longer than they should alive. That also explains why certain places freeze their oysters -easy to open and no risk of shrinking). At RM40plus half a dozen (minus tax), it was not that expensive...

Here's how fresh oysters should look like...

If the oysters are not alive, eg look "shrunk" or lifeless, don't consume - in this photos they tend to spread out well over the shell and look plump. They also should have nice translucent colour and smell freshly of the ocean. Those featured here are fin de claire, one of the most consumed type in France.

I always enjoy a good moules frites (mussels served with fries) but helas, this was a disappointment: there is way too much "soup" in the bowl and that drowns the sweetness of the mussels (can't taste the wine at all), and they were way overcooked and too salty. I actually had better ones from cheap unknown bistros in France, way better ones.

Result: paid close to RM110 for 2 dishes and a drink (non alcoholic). You be the judge of its worthiness...

My friends had these:

A RM53++ menu:

a cheese quiche for starter

A salted cod brandade, bane of the uninitiated diner as my friend had chosen two things that were way too close in taste to each other. Had a small bite to figure out the flavour. Needs more work. I was transported back to my university canteen in France...

Île flottante or floating island, encore something which is sooo classically canteen dessert...or it reminds me of supermarket desserts from the cold sections...I would say dump the cumbersome and oversized dinner wares and improve on the taste. I agreed with the owner, fine dining it is not.

Another menu at RM89++

Duck confit...

Pan fried cod with asparagus - still reminds me of cheap bistro food...too much thick sauce everywhere.

The cheese was actually star of the show but way too skimpy (and yeah, drop that ugly tacky cheese board with the toy cleaver too)

This three course was served with a dessert of choice...