I’ve had wanted to visit Croisette Cafe for the longest time ever since I’ve read CK‘s reviews with really pretty pictures and authentic sounding repertoire. When the invitation came to me for the new July Set Menu review, I saw it as a great opportunity to finally try it out. This quaint little cafe is run by a husband (Chef)/wife team and have really established their fan base in the Klang Valley. The night we visited (it was a Tuesday night), the cafe was fully booked! That’s always a good sign, isn’t it?

I have to apologize for the photo quality as dim lighting is my nemesis. I promise I will use my next paycheck to upgrade my camera. Well, one thing for sure is I will be returning for lunch soon with Frank (better lighting!)

The new Set Menu is available in July and is priced at RM74.00 per person. You can to choose 1 starter, 1 main dish and 1 dessert with the option of adding 2 glasses of wine/2 cans of beer for RM108.00. Pretty good deal, I think. They will also throw in an amuse bouche which can vary according to availability of the day.

Our amuse bouche came in a form of cute little Duck rillette on crostinis. Tender duck (I believed plucked from the confit duck) that’s quite salty in nature, but the baby gherkin and tomato provided much needed piquancy to cut through the richness. The cripsy crostini provided a much needed lovely textural contrast. This definitely set the tone for the rest of the evening (as amuse bouche should).

I accidentally deleted the close up photo of this dish, but I can tell you this was probably my favourite dish of the night. It’s rather complex but everything went together so well. We have the diced pieces of raw salmon and tuna (can’t you tell I love my raw food?), a cucumber jelly salad that is slightly creamy, topped with some Ikura (Salmon roe) that is quite briny, followed by the tiny cubes of dried capsicum and bits of cooked egg yolk. The mini blini were perfect to mop all that ingredients up. Very well-executed, I must say.

I’m not a huge fan of cooked tuna so this dish didn’t do much for me. I did enjoy the rest of the ingredients though. Contrary to what I said in my last post about dressing, I actually think that this is a little on the dry side and a nice citrusy dressing could help bring it together.

I’ve heard that Chef Pierre Mc is very skilled at making soup and this was everything I imagined it to me: delicate, silky with quite distinct prawn taste.  The little blob you see in the soup is the rouille; infused with saffron and garlic, it’s perfect to soak up that lovely flavours of the bisque. By the way, that was just a tasting portion, if you order this you will get the full size bowl.

This dish reminds me very much of baked escargots. Usually I would not care for mussels, but using the herb butter has made this so much more palatable. Then again, simple flavours always work, especially when you put butter into the equation. Yum. I actually went for another one despite this being shared among the 4  of us.

The only time I have tried Bouillabaisse was in Vue De Monde and it was such a spectacular theatrical experience (if you have been to Vue De Monde you would know). So that is going to be really hard to beat. Luckily for Croisette as they have produced this really homely yet extravagant version. That prawn should be qualified as a lobster! This is a treasure pot for seafood lover as you’ll be able to find prawns, hearty pieces of fish, scallops, mussels and squid, accompanied with plenty of potato to soak up that ocean flavour. I got the prawn head and it had such intense flavour I think my brain got a bit intoxicated.

I usually wouldn’t dare to order Duck Confit anywhere as many places don’t do them well. You are meant to cook the duck on low heat in duck fat very slowly to keep it moist and tender, then quickly seared to render the fat and add the crispiness to the skin. If I may say so, a highly technical dish. I think Croisette does a fairly decent version with good robust flavours in the meat and lovely crispy skin. However, I still feel the meat is slightly on the dry side for me. The duck fat potatoes however, were really the highlight of this dish. Wonderful aroma with parsley and garlic, I couldn’t stop getting extra pieces.

Doesn’t this plating remind you of Elmo? I was having a bit of quiet chuckle when I saw that. Nevertheless, I liked the fresh flavour of Sea Bass, cooked to perfection. The celeriac puree went really well too. However, I didn’t quite like the red capsicum coulis, I think it actually overwhelmed my tastebud a little, considering the delicate nature of the fish.

A glorious piece of red meat arrived on our table and I was glad to see that it was my favourite cut: the rib eye. Cooked perfectly rare (muahahahaha I like my steak still mooing), it was tender with the ever-so-slight char-grilled flavour. The Cepes mushroom sauce was creamy and earthy, however I think it could use a bit more salt as the beef was almost just au naturale in taste. The potato gratin was cooked perfectly, though also faced the same problem with the jus: salt level.

Croisette Cafe is known for their extravagant desserts and I sure wasn’t disappointed when this was placed in front of us:

This was hands down one of the best Chocolate Parfait I’ve tried in Kuala Lumpur. Velvety, intense bittersweet cocoa flavour cut through by the confit orange rind and a touch of Grand Marnier liquor. You know when you close your eyes and say “ooohhhh….”, this was exactly that.

Naturally, being a lover of all fruity desserts, this was clearly my favourite dessert of the night. Constructed from chocolate layer, white chocolate mousse, followed by passion fruit crème brulee. It has the right balance of sweet and sour, with the aromatic passion fruit. Superb!

My first experience with Iced Nougat and I must say it was an interesting one. The fruits and nuts made this feel really Christmassy, with once again the scent of Grand Marnier. Just like nougat, except in ice cream form. I felt that this was a bit on the rich side though.

Having done a few apple tarts myself, this was different as the apple slices were still crunchy and the crust is almost a bit too thin (hence burns quicker). While the flavours were good, I felt that maybe a dollop of cream would have improved this.

All in all, it was a nice introduction to this lovely cafe; Michelle and Chef Pierre Mc’s warm hospitality certainly made this a pleasant dining experience. I would be glad to return to sample more of their dishes.

Croisette Cafe
Level 3, North Block Cascadium Condo
28, Jalan Penaga Bukit Bandaraya
59100, Bangsar Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 016 330 4477 / 014 665 7944
Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Sunday  11.45am to 9.45pm
Closed on Monday
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Croisettecafe