Lifestyle

Saturday January 27, 2007

Gem of an outlet

By ALICE CHING



Fine dining with small children in tow can be a nightmare for some parents. But at Bijou, eating out can be fun again.

Bijou
Ground Floor Damai Sari
Mont Kiara Damai Apartments
3, Jalan Kiara 2, Mont Kiara
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (03) 6201 2131
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 11pm. Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 11pm.
Pork-free

Let’s face it – child-friendly restaurants in Malaysia are few and far between. With the exception of fast food joints and quick service eateries, many eateries do not want the hassle of dealing with fastidious children. This is what sets Bijou, a bright and breezy new restaurant in Mont Kiara, apart.

Macland Tan and his wife, Debbra Lee started the restaurant in December last year. The couple, who have a four-year-old daughter, wanted to make the dining experience as pleasant as possible for diners with children. Besides child-friendly cutlery and a kid’s menu, fresh, dampened hand towels are also provided for cleaning up messy little hands and faces. Bijou’s restroom is equipped with a diaper-changing table and disposable nappies in different sizes. There is even a small outdoor play area and a trolley filled with crayons, colouring pencils, scissors, glue, paper and jigsaw puzzles to keep the young ones occupied.

Constant craving: Satisfy your sweet tooth with Chocolate Chip Cookies with Vanilla Ice-Cream or Coffee Cupcakes (below).
Tan said, “Since my wife owns a fitness centre for pregnant mothers in Bangsar called Fit for Two, she is very conscious of children’s needs. Debbra has incorporated her gym café’s family-friendly concept into the restaurant. Bijou also complements my wine retailing business, as I’m able to offer good boutique wines to customers.”

Handpicked by the owner himself, Bijou’s wines comprise lesser known but splendid reds and whites from Italy, Australia, Germany, Spain, France, Argentina and South Africa. Prices start from RM19 per glass for the house wines whilst bottles sell for RM85 onwards.

Tan said, “For a change, I decided to categorise the wines according to their taste characteristics – crisp and fresh, ripe and toasty, citrus sweet, young and tarty, spicy, zesty and mouth-watering, intense blackcurrants or stickies for sweet dessert wine. This listing gives diners a clearer idea of what types of wines they want to enjoy.”

The spacious restaurant boasts a resort-like ambience with a predominantly white colour scheme with fuschia and orange accents. Since its opening, Bijou has drawn a steady flow of regulars. Tan explained that weekday mornings are popular with young mothers and expatriates who reside nearby. “We get a decent office crowd coming in for lunch daily. Weekends tend to be more family-oriented.”

Breakfast is served at 8.30 am on weekdays and at 9 am on weekends. The Breakfast Sundae (RM10) lends a tasty start to your day. Features a healthy concoction of natural yoghurt, clover honey, crushed almonds and Bijou’s own granola. Other delectable choices include Spanish Omelette, Pancakes and the Big Breakfast. The latter allows hearty eaters to mix their order of two eggs with streaky beef bacon, baked beans, roesti potatoes, sautéed garlic forest mushrooms, slow-roasted plum potatoes or herb chicken sausages.

Light, delicious and well-balanced creations form the mainstays for lunch. The Roast Beetroot and Asparagus Salad (RM18) is a tangy combination of sliced beetroot, green asparagus, baby potatoes, almond flakes and goat’s cheese with yoghurt dressing. Pasta lovers will enjoy the signature Breadcrumb Pasta (RM22), a dish of scrumptious spaghetti with crispy garlic breadcrumbs, butterflied prawns and dried tomatoes.

For dinner, Chef Rajesh Khanna’s Five Spiced Roast Duck Breast with Kumquat Citrus Glaze (RM34) stands out for its piquant sauce and side salad of red cabbage, fennel and apple. For the princely sum of RM50, Bijou’s signature Gourmet Burger offers a tender slab of Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek sandwiched between a toasted sesame bun with peppery rocket leaves, oven-dried tomatoes, grilled sliced eggplant and three mustard sauce. The best way to eat this finger-licking good creation is to simply pick it up with your hands and chow down.

Dessert is big here with about 10-12 types of cakes and cookies available. The Pink Berry and Meringue Sundae (RM15) will leave you tickled pink with a scoop of luscious Haagen-Dazs strawberry ice-cream sandwiched between two pieces of airy meringue, complemented by a tangy berry-orange sauce, fresh berries and orange zest. Chocoholics will find it hard to resist the Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie with Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream and Hot Fudge Sauce (RM15). Freshly-baked cakes include Lemon Poppyseed Cake, Hummingbird Slice (a rich butter cake with almonds, walnuts and dates topped with caramelised coconut), Banana Almond Bread, Brownies, Chocolate Fudge Cake and Ginger Cake.

The next time I want to dine out with my precocious nine-year-old daughter or simply enjoy a great meal with friends, I’ll head for Bijou.

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