Nathalie's Gourmet Studio @ Solaris Dutamas

Having lunch with a bunch of food bloggers is fun! Imagine a group of people come together to share a common passion - FOOD (obviously). Simply introduce yourself if you spotted unfamiliar faces and then just sit down and chat while waiting for the food to arrive. Everyone will whip out their usual weapon - camera - to take pictures of the place and its surrounding while waiting for the food to arrive. For the pros, normally you'd see them with DSLR while simple guy like me are always armed with my trusty 1 year old Canon Ixus :) Similar scene can be seen when the food arrive where no one can touch the food or drink until the cameras have finished snapping!

However, I have to be as efficient as most of them in posting up this blog, especially Becky of thenomadgourmand fame who had posted up about this place 2 days after the outing. Every other posts will have to wait. It's only a matter of time before Memoirs of a Chocoholic post her write-up. For me, I don't wanna ketinggalan jauh by posting this blog a few months later (judging at my speed in posting up new blogs right now).

The decision to join them at Nathalie's was last minute. I had to make sure that the time is right as there were a lot of things to do on that day itself. Jenn and I made it on time :) locating this place wasn't easy as it was my second time going to Solaris Dutamas (the first time went to The Pink Sage which was facing the main road). But being a person who has good sense of direction, nothing is too difficult for me :P

Joa-Quim arrived earlier than us while Becky came shortly. We were shown to our table which was outside the restaurant itself. Honestly, the chairs were very short and thus making it rather hard to dine comfortably.

I like the place a lot - the decor was simple and contemporary, everything inside and outside were neat & tidy. There was a corner where they actually sell the macarons but the section was rather crampy with only a small passage.


I managed to snap a picture of Chef Nathalie herself in the kitchen where they prepare all the food for the customers. There is another kitchen which is used to conduct culinary classes.

Complimentary freshly baked breads were served together with butter. Still warm & fresh, every bite on its crunchy outer crust was a delight! However, I still prefer Prego's version of bread :P

Jenn ordered the Ricotta & Herb Raviolis, Carrot & Ginger Broth (RM30). It was a hit for me. Personally, I think that the carrot & ginger broth was superb! Its puree was orange coloured and sweet - I never knew that these 2 could make a perfect match. Halfway through the meal, I switched my meal with Jenn's!

Jerine (it's nice to meet you) and I meanwhile had the Chicken & King Prawns with fennel ragout & bisque sauce (RM37). Another lovely creation from Nathalie's that made me craving for more. The bisque sauce was simply fantastic & added another notch to the already great dish!

Joa-Quim ordered 2 dishes - 1) Revised Momotaro Tomato Mozzarella (RM23) as starter; and 2) Beef Cheek Bourguignon with fresh pastas (RM47) as the main course. I managed to try the starter (thanks J) and was completely blown off by the sweet tomato jelly at the bottom (made by pure tomato juice). The accompanying fresh tomato was just... well, you know, FRESH! And the basil cream on top was good too!

No comment on the beek cheek dish as I don't eat beef (so does Jenn) but you finished the whole plate right, J??? LOL!!! It looked very nice though (how I wish that I could take beef)

Becky started with Vegetable Quiche, mixed lettuce with preserved lemon dressing (RM18). The quiche was packed with flavour and still hot inside, a perfect comfort food.

by the time her Nathalie's Revised Chicken Nuggets with emmental cheese dip & Ratatouille (RM15) arrived, she was already not feeling well. Looking at the Ratatouille, I could not help but to think that it looked the same as Hakka Mui Choi! DOn't blame me because first, I have never seen a real Ratatouille dish before and second, I thought that it should somehow look the same or at least similiar to what I've seen in the Pixar's movie Ratatouille... LOL! What happened to this dish in the end?? Most probably ended up in someone else's stomach I assume :P

Jenn's Virgin Mojito (RM11) was refreshing!

Joa-Quim ordered the All Chocolate Dessert (RM15) to complete her meal. Trust this girl when she said that the dessert was good because she's a Chocoholic after all!

Another thing that Nathalie's is famous for is the Macarons. There were a few who claimed that her macarons are the best in KL so far. Costing at RM4.40++ per piece, I had the Praline and Black Sesame to be shared between both of us. Jenn said that it was too sweet and being someone who can withstand sweet stuff, I somehow had to agree with her. Flavour-wise it was great though!

Leo's verdict - My Saturday lunch started well and ended very well! Wished that I could stay a while longer but since Jenn had doctor appointment, we had to leave early. Before that I managed to meet up with Paranoid Android and Ciki who came here around 2pm for their lunch appointment. It was rather embarassing moment for me when PA actually didn't recognise me (who happened to sit right in front of him) and asked "Where's Thule?"

Nathalie's Gourmet Studio
Unit A4-01-5
Solaris Dutamas
Jalan Dutamas 1
Kuala Lumpur