I first met Florian Nigen when he was operating Rendez-Vous French Restaurant in Bangsar more than 2 years ago. When his business partner decided to return to France, Florian decided to start something smaller and more manageable on his own. Scouting around Bangsar, he spotted a corner lot in a quieter part of Bangsar which he deemed would be perfect for his new venture. Hence “Chez Gaston” took shape along Jalan Bangsar Utama 9, a road housing several smaller eateries, a convenience store and even a solicitor’s office!
At Chez Gaston, Florian takes full reign of the operations, from buying the freshest ingredients at the market to coming up with reasonably-priced dishes for his diners. Affordable and quality food, prepared and cooked the traditional French way is what Florian aims to please his customers. The menu at Chez Gaston is simple and offers what Florian does best, with changes done whenever there’s seasonal produce he wants to highlight and introduce to his clientele.
Macedoine Mimosa (RM11) mixed vegetables with mayonnaise dressing served with mimosa hard-boiled eggs
So there we were, one balmy Sunday afternoon, for lunch. We started off with a salad – Macedoine Mimosa, some pate with bread and a signature soup. While the salad was just ordinary, we enjoyed the selection of pate made by Florian. There’s the regular smooth Chicken Liver Pate which was familiar but we enjoyed the rabbit & dried prunes pate more. The wild boar pate with figs was faultless as well and we finished off the bread in next to no time!
Chicken Liver Pate (RM14)
Rabbit Pate with Dried Prunes (RM22)
Wild Boar Pate with Figs (RM20)
Using Florian’s father’s trusted recipe, the Mediterranean Fish Soup was really good. There’s a good depth of flavours as the stock was boiled using 4 types of fish! With tomatoes and herbs added in, the soup tasted even better with rouille sauce, croutons and emmental cheese.
Mediterranean Fish Soup (RM17)
For our mains, we had wild boar stew and seabass “au safran”. The Wild Boar Stew, simmered for hours in red wine and black olives, yielded chunks of well-infused meat that fell off the bone!
Daube de sanglier (RM48) – Wild Boar Stew in red wine sauce with black olives
Another chef’s signature, Seabass “au safran” was fresh and served with a luscious creamy sauce infused with saffron.
Seabass “au safran” (RM39) – seabass fillet with saffron creamy sauce
Do leave some room for desserts for a French meal is never complete without them…
Floating Island (RM11) soft meringue with caramel, vanilla custard and crispy almond flakes
Chocolate Mousse (RM12) light dark chocolate mousse
The next time you feel like having a French meal but don’t want to bust the wallet, Chez Gaston is the place to head to.
CHEZ GASTON French Bistro
12 Jalan Bangsar Utama 9
Bangsar
59000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 011-3993-0036
Opens daily 11.30am till 2.30pm
& 5.00pm till 11.00pm
Ahh, didn’t realize it’s from the same person who started Rendez-Vous, nice!