Our 4th Anniversary @ Millesime & arrival of Leo jr

I'm very happy today as I write this post! Why? Because I have become dad for the second time (^_^) Leo jr. arrived at 7.30am this morning and I'm proud to say that both mom & baby are doing just fine. The new addition makes it 4 members in the Leo family! To some family, this will be a perfect one as one daughter and one son complete the family. To us Chinese, it means more as the combination of girl "女" and boy " 子" form the word GOOD "好". Here is my first photo of my son & I in blogspot!

Since Jenn has to go through the confinement period, that means we couldn't celebrate our 4th anniversary which falls on 27th January next year. Even after the confinement, we still have to take care of our son who will only be like a month old at that time. And I certainly believe that Sher Ryn will not make our lives easier but being more demanding. You know - sibling rivalries. Being a small child, she will try every little thing to vie for our attention & jealousy will ensue. Significant amount of time is required to educate her as well as to raise up the son at the same time.

Therefore, a week before she delivers I planned a surprise dinner for the two of us at Millesime. In fact, I called to make reservation a few days earlier. It was raining on that evening and since it was my first time going there, I had no idea on the exact location and ended up merry-go-round with Jenn. Tucked at the corner of Menara Kencana Petroleum, it wasn't easy to spot.

Since they don't serve a-la-carte menu, we had to go for the degustation menu priced at RM150++ per person which consists of 3 starters, 1 main and 1 dessert. ThE white truffle promotion was still ongoing but looking at the RM120++ per dish, we skipped that.

Complimentary breads were given with French butter - love the wholemeal bread with grains + butter!! What a perfect way to kickstart the evening.

Amuse Bousche for the night was Smoked Salmon Tartare served in a shot glass. Love the intense flavour of the smoked salmon but one gulp was all I took to down the stuff! Wish I had more!

Carpaccio of Baby Octopus with Arabian Sea Prawn Orange, Shaved Fennel Salad & Black Olive Dressing - first of all I didn't know that octopus could be done this way and secondly, the black olive dressing gave a tinge to my tastebud and went very well with the octopus as well as the prawn.

Ragout of snail with celery & parsley creamed mushroom soup - simply love the earthy flavour of the mushroom soup which somehow managed to cover up the gamey smell of the snail but not all as I still could taste the gamey smell.

Sea scallop with Peruvian White Asparagus & Black Truffle Vinaigrette - the presence of black truffle provided an earthy taste to the otherwise bland scallop & the asparagus was simply superb - crunchy and sweet! My favourite dish of the night!

Provencale Herbs - Parmesan Crusted Cod Fish, Lemon Oil & Rosemary Juice - the fish was cooked to perfection. The herbs crusted fish was aromatic while maintaining its moist and flaky texture. The presence of lemon oil further enhanced its flavour to another level. Wish that I ordered this as my choice of main was a disappointment!

Anjou Pigeon Breast Pan Roasted with Zucchini, Leek Flan & Goose Liver Cream - this dish would have been superb if it was well-cooked. After a few mouth of the pigeon meat, I realised that the meat was RAW (not slightly raw but RAW!!). I complained to our attending waiter & he immediately took it to replace, but my appetite was already ruined. I just asked them to proceed with the dessert. They were apologetic though...

Baked Fresh Fig & Seasonal Berries en Sabayon with Egg Biscotti & Amanera Ice Cream - the egg based biscotti was good! not overly sweet and complimented the fig & berries very well. But the Amanera Ice Cream definitely stole the thunder with its fruity flavour.

We ended the dinner with our choice of Chamomile & Earl Grey tea. It was then that I instructed that my surprise gift to be brought out on a dessert plate! Jenn thought nothing of it until she saw this lovely little box placed in front of her :) my plan worked as she looked very surprised! The present was my gift for our 4th anniversary & Valentine's Day which were quite close to each other.

The look on her face was priceless as she opened the box and saw what was inside! I knew that she lack of diamond earring in her jewellery collection and that was why I bought it & it was a design that I knew she'd love. Knowing her almost half of my life helped a lot :) she almost cried when she read the wooden card that I made for her personally - thanking her for giving me such a wonderful family and being such a wonderful wife. A simple kiss to the lips was all she did, but it was a kiss full of love!

Leo's verdict - apart from the surprise gift that went very well, it would be perfect if my main dish was perfect as well. Chef Max Chin was there at night & I'm pretty sure that it was his staff that made the error. Considering that I was paying RM150++, it shouldn't have become this way. For this dinner (and the gift) I have blown my monthly budget over the roof.. LOL! Oh well, at least my wife's happy and that's what matters the most!

Millesime
G1-01-3, Menara Kencana Petroleum
Solaris Dutamas, KL
Tel: 03-62110648

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

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