Bangsar Utama’s Chez Gaston by rendez-vous delivers ‘bona fide’ French cooking by Chef Florian Nigen

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — French food is often thought to be limited to just fine dining places but at the heart of the country, it’s small traditional bistros that feed every French man and woman with their hearty home-style cooking.

Chez Gaston by rendez-vous in Bangsar Utama captures that DNA of a French bistro with its menu of French classics.

Opened by Florian Nigen about seven years ago, the restaurant located opposite Menara UOA Bangsar, welcomes you with quaint touches like checkered curtains and black and white photos of France’s icons like the Eiffel Tower and actress Brigitte Bardot.

French chef Florian Nigen welcomes you to Chez Gaston by rendez-vous where he shares his French heritage with classic dishes. — Picture by Choo Choy May

“I decided to open a French restaurant that is affordable so everyone can try the food and experience the same warmth like my father’s restaurant,” shares Nigen.

Born into a family passionate about serving food in the Northern coast of Brittany for about 30-plus years, Nigen grew up in the kitchen, working from the age 14, during weekends and holidays.

His journey to this country was led by a fellow chef from Malaysia who worked side-by-side with him in Ireland.

In 2009, he stepped into Malaysia and fell hard, returning a few months later after he quit his job.

Nigen found work in Bangsar Shopping Centre’s WIP, eventually rising up the ranks to become the general manager.

Five years later, Nigen opened Rendez-Vous, located at Bangsar’s Lorong Maarof with his fellow compatriot Arnaud Chappert who once worked at Maison Francaise, the bastion of French fine dining.

The restaurant was created to be accessible to all, the complete opposite of how French dining in KL at that time was glorified as expensive fine dining.

Later Chappert returned to France to operate a hotel and an Asian inspired tapas restaurant, leaving Nigen to carry the heavy weight of running the restaurant plus the upstairs lounge that was an event space.

Eventually Nigen closed that chapter in 2018, opening Chez Gaston by rendez-vous, named after his grandfather, further down the road at a space he found inside Bangsar Utama.

Nigen brings his heritage to the table with French classics that include family recipes and dishes with minor tweaks to reflect the locale, like his steak tartare with Asian flavours of coriander and lime.

The menu format is just like in France, where dining in a bistro is an everyday affair with the daily formule or their interpretation of a lunch set with limited choices, designed to offer a great bargain to customers.

For lunch, a well-priced fixed menu is the draw with two courses for RM68 or three courses for RM88, offered every day, that rotates every month.

Two set menus available all day also offer good value, namely their Menu Excellence for 3 courses priced at RM115++ — with choices of their popular mains like the Iberico Pork Bourguignon or Bouillabaisse A Ma Facon — and the Menu Tradition for 2 courses for RM85++ featuring Boudin Noir and Grilled Giant Squid Steak.

Leading the charge into your French journey is the Fish Soup (RM32), Nigen’s reinterpretation of his father’s iconic dish that kept their family-run bistro alive for 35 years.

Fish Soup (left) uses a family recipe for a deep tasting soup and Escargots Bourguignon (right) are prepared the traditional way, where it’s sauteed with parsley and garlic butter. — Pictures by Choo Choy May

It took at least 10 attempts before Nigen worked out the three fishes he likes to use for this deep tasting soup with tomato, fennel and herbs, served with condiments like croutons, Emmental cheese and rouille or mayonnaise with a touch of garlic and saffron.

Onion Soup (RM36) is also loud with flavour, built around a robust beef broth darkened with caramelised onions, white wine and topped with a cheesy baguette.

As the soups are rich, they are best paired with a Kir that combines white wine with a dash of blackcurrant flavoured créme de cassis or even a refreshing Gaston Signature cocktail with apple, gin and lemon to balance out the flavours.

Many of us may be familiar with the cheesy escargots found in local steak places but do try their Escargots Bourguignon (6 pieces for RM32).

It arrives at our table, each perfectly sautéed escargot swimming in a pool of melted butter with an abundance of parsley and just a touch of garlic.

Even those who don’t like escargots will be impressed as it’s not cooked to that dreaded rubbery state while the parsley butter dials up the flavour perfectly, demanding one to swipe up the melted butter with the crispy toasted baguette served on the side.

However if your heart is sold only on the escargots from the past, Nigen does offer a creamy Emmental version.

Pan Fried Goose Foie Gras (RM88) is a treat with the soft, creamy foie gras paired with a toasted brioche, cherry compote and red wine reduction.

For larger groups, select one of their sharing platters with cold cuts, chicken liver mousse, pork terrine and cheese but we reckon the Baked Camembert (RM95) is applause worthy especially when you add on cold cuts like the assortment of parma ham, coppa, cured duck breast and honey baked ham for an extra RM35.

The oozy gooey French sourced cheese weighing 250 grams is jam packed with goodies like thyme, honey, wine and sliced bacon, making one fall into a robotic non-stop dip-and-eat cycle until it’s all gone.

For your mains, the Iberico Pork Bourguignon (RM78) is a dish worthy of seconds and perhaps thirds, purely for its fork tender meat nurtured in red wine for a long time.

Iberico Pork Bourguignon features slow cooked Iberico pork in red wine with a tender texture. — Picture by Choo Choy May

The traditional recipe has changed, where it swaps beef cheek for Iberico pork but at the heart of it, the slow cooking process is retained where the meat is marinated in red wine for 24 hours and slowly cooked in the oven with more red wine and vegetables for another seven hours.

This elevates what was once a peasant dish into a beloved dish affirmed by the restaurant’s regulars that exudes decadence.

Traditional French dishes like Canard Confit (left) uses duck leg slowly cooked in its own fat and Boudin Noir (right), a rarely seen pork blood sausage paired with caramelised apples. — Pictures by Choo Choy May

Canard Confit (RM67), one of the great classics, is gently cooked in its own fat for tender meat crisped up just before it hits the table and served with seriously good sauteed garlic parsley potatoes with a golden crisp crust.

Grilled Giant Squid Steak (RM58) may sound strange but it requires detailed and fast cooking of the squid to get a thin crust while the inside is tender and not rubbery.

Grilled Giant Squid Steak (left) makes a light meal of the tender squid cooked perfectly with the caramelised roasted fennel and Grilled Beef (right) features melt in the mouth Miyazaki A5 Wagyu Beef Chuck Ribeye. — Pictures by Choo Choy May

This light dish was delightfully accompanied with a roasted fennel with beautiful caramelised golden edges, ratatouille and Cajun olive oil mayonnaise.

Carnivores can look towards their Grilled Beef, expertly cooked for blushing pink meat served with French fries, salad and shallot sauce.

The beef cut changes to what is available. Currently, there’s a promotion for Miyazaki A5 Wagyu Beef Chuck Ribeye for RM165++ (150 grams).

It’s rare to find Boudin Noir (RM55) but Nigen insists on featuring this traditional item as it’s his favourite.

Essentially it’s a pork blood sausage that is made in-house, best paired with caramelised apples for a hit of sweetness to balance out the savoury sausage that sits on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes.

Order a glass of wine to complement your meal, like their House Pour White Premium for RM42 a glass, which features La Vieille Ferme that impresses with an elegant bouquet of floral and pear notes.

Come dessert, it’s a trio of sweets like the classic Apple Tarte Tatin (RM32), Chocolate Mousse (RM26) and Creme Brûlée (RM26) with a rotation of flavours, like pistachio which we sampled.

End your happy meal here with a dreamy Apple Tarte Tatin topped with caramelised apples and homemade vanilla whipped cream. — Picture by Choo Choy May

Order the show stopping Apple Tarte Tatin, a classic dessert well worth the 15 minutes cooking time, where thick cut apples top flaky puff pastry offer a suitable decadent ending to a wonderful meal here.

The mini tarts are served with extra caramel and homemade vanilla whipped cream that gives a creamy element yet balances the sweetness from the caramel.

Nigen favours Fuji red apples, ensuring the sauteed apples, cooked in cinnamon caramel are soft yet not mushy and still holds its shape, after it’s baked in the oven with the puff pastry.

The proudly French restaurant is inside Bangsar Utama, right across from Bangsar LRT Station. — Picture by Choo Choy May

Chez Gaston by rendez-vous

12G, Jalan Bangsar Utama 9,

Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

Open: 12pm to 3pm, 6pm to 11pm. Closed on Monday.

Tel: 011-39930036.

Facebook: @chezgastonkl

Instagram: @chezgastonkl

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