Memphis Bistro - fantastic!

Memphis Bistro

February 6th 2016

This was recommended by a new friend at a recent Amante CNY feast somewhere in Taman Desa. We had expressed a liking for good steak and he started raving about this place called Memphis. So enthusiastic, he even whatsapped the contact details. We immediately decided it was a must try. And it would indeed prove to be a fantastic find.

Though trying to get there on the Friday evening directly before the Chinese New Year holiday was in hindsight hugely stupid. Initially looking good, the Federal Highway traffic ground to a, er, grinding halt in the drizzling rain just before the PJ Hilton. Waze started screeching for us to turn off on Jalan 222 which we figured would be better than the nerve frazzling crawl and took us through the back roads of Petaling Jaya to the LDP. Here, a quick U turn got us into the backwaters of Kelana Jaya and then surprisingly quickly to the restaurant. Took about forty minutes from the Jalan 222 turn off. 

Interior - kitchen and Chef and Lenglui and me reaching for a glass - as usual...

In fairness, without the Waze we would never have found the place. It was in a back corner of what looked like a recently constructed and even more recently abandoned shoplot village going by the name of Dana 1 Commercial Centre (or Pusat Perdagangan Dana 1 as the maps will name it). Seemingly very few tenants with lots of "To Let" signs. But the Waze was brilliant, taking us right to the front door of the place (though not initially so good getting back - it couldn't find the road out). There were many admonitions en route to the restaurant to park in the downstairs parking or risk a clamping but there was so much space everywhere in front of closed and vacant shoplots I decided to take a risk and park directly outside the place. I figured I could keep an eye on Willy through the large windows and move it if any of the Complex goons started hovering around (Willy is our nickname for the grey Honda Accord - when we first got it, it felt huge and like driving a grey whale, hence the name).

Specials of the House

The interior was warm and welcoming, with a long bar on one side and tables arranged in four and eight seaters. Figured a maximum of fifty could be catered to. Lots of wood and as said large windows facing on to the street. Very homely. At the far end of the room was a perspex board on which were written all the specials of the house. Wow. Lots of fresh seafood and steak. There was also an a la carte menu on which everything also looked excellent. Also had a Christmas Tree festooned with the usual baubles to which some Ang Pow packets had been added to give a Chinese New Year feel. Quite cute, yes? There was a large window through which we could see the kitchen and a homage poster of Elvis on the side. The King. Of course. Also a poster of the code of the Native North American peoples gave a sense of soul and spirit to the place. A reminder that we are all temporal beings connected to the Great Spirit. Who hunt and eat the buffalo. Om.

Squid Nuggets

We were about thirty minutes ahead of time so we sat down and got an ice bucket for the Oyster Bay SB. It needed about ten minutes to chill so I took a quick walk around outside to get a sense of the place whilst Lenglui sat whatsapping the incoming Texas (who would be joining us with his squeeze the FBQ). It did feel like a ghost town, though there were a few restaurants and outlets looking to try and make it. I couldn't see what would attract people to come here. The light drizzle just added to a sense of desolation about the place. Location wise, on a good day it would be easy to get to - U turn back on the Subang airport road, past the Citta Mall, hang a left and you are here. My guess is that Citta Mall takes much of the traffic. It also has lots of named food outlets which is always a good draw in Malaysia. Ten minutes wandering in the darkling rainy gloom of this concrete maze was enough so it was back into the warm glow of the Memphis.

Escargots

The wine was nicely chilled and the thirst worked up by the stroll was excellently slaked (slaken? slakened?) by the lean acidic crunch and throat tickling crispy fruit of this lovely wine. For some reason the 2014 had crashed in price and we had been picking it up for RM80 (normally RM130 in the supermarkets). Drinking nicely and better than some younger NZ offerings, it has maintained its lean firmness and was delightful both on its own and brilliant with the Squid Nugget starters we had ordered. Salty peppery crunchy bites that accentuated the crisp zip of the wine. Darn tasty, and a great start to the evening.

Mr and Mrs Texas arrived (they had done the Uber which whacked them for premium rate due to the time of day) and we got down to the serious business of ordering. With FBQ, is quite simple - order everything so we all can taste everything. We usually reign in such enthusiasm with the logic that we can't finish so much food (which surprisingly worked tonight) so we settled on four starters and two mains with a side salad. 

Wagyu M5 - double yum!

It would prove enough. We had another plate of the delightful Squid Nuggets and went with the Portobello Mushroom, the Crab Cake and the Escargots. It was all very good, though the Crab Cake felt a bit mushy for my taste. I like it a shade drier and crisper in the potato stakes. Big sizes, good tastes and fair prices - could not argue with anything here. The Escargots were done nicely in garlic butter (with a possible hit of truffle?). Perhaps lacking refinement in delicate textures but hey, we're in a Bistro here. You come for Soul Food not deconstruction or reconstruction or abstraction distraction nonsense. Yes.

And we had indeed come for the steak and they were darling pieces of meat done perfectly.We had ordered one piece of (presumably Australian) Wagyu M5 and one Sirloin with Goose Liver Butter just to compare. I carved them up and everyone got a chunk of each. The Wagyu was the clear winner, but not by much. Both were excellent. The Wagyu took it on texture and mouthfeel but in taste and quality terms both pieces were darn good. The Goose Liver butter was a cute surprise and soaked the sirloin with a cream fatty softness that helped it slip across the cheeks so sweetly. And it all came with a plate of roast potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, and (gasp!) Brussels Sprouts which were done perfectly. I have a total weakness for these softly bitter green little chaps. Everyone else vehemently asserted that they hated them so I was able to drizzle them with the gravy and totally glutton out. Happy as a dog in the mud. We had also ordered a salad which went pretty much untouched - there was more than enough food for four without it. 

Sirloin with Foie Gras Butter - yum

We had the meat with a magnificent Australian Shiraz that Texas had brought whose name escapes me - might have been an Executioner or Judge or one of these Wine Poetry jobboes. Whatever, it was an excellent match - light pepper silk with a velvet caress on the meat. Top, top end. (note - Texas read this and texted the name - Two Hands Gnarly Dudes)

We finished off with a delightful chocolate souffle kind of lavabomb with a dollop of ice cream on the side that erupted with cocoa goo and milky cold in the mouth and made for a well pleasant sweetener. 

Corkage at RM20 a bottle for ice buckets and decent glassware felt extremely reasonable compared to what one gets elsewhere for far more outlay (eg Osteria Realblue). Food was pretty fast out of the kitchen. Solid service, no real complaints. Definitely one to go back to, and quite often if time permits. One of those default places you feel can confidently go and get great food at fair price. Foodie friends said they had been going there for quite some time. Easy to see why. Total bill of RM400 inclusive of three bottles corkage for four people felt most friendly. 

Chef KJ Tan

The affable Chef KJ Tan came over to say hello and we shared a glass of wine with him. Clearly he has a passion for the kitchen and the meat and wine, and is one of those old rock and roll souls given his selection of decorative album covers adorning the walls of Memphis. Not sure what is the story behind Memphis and the web is remarkably silent on the point. Have to sit down with Chef next time and split a bottle to find out. And eat more of his wonderful wagyu. Come and join us! But make a reservation - it might be full. Cheers!

Memphis Bistro

D6-70G, BLK 7,

Pusat Perdagangan Dana 1

Jalan PJU 1A/46,

PJU 1A,

47301 Petaling Jaya

Selangor DE

Tel +603 7843 6818

HP +6012 3068717

Photos by kind permission of FBQ Jan Shaw

Code of the Native Americans

Burgundy and The French Riviera (11 of 12) - La Route du Miam, Nice

Entrance to La Route du Miam

La Route du Miam

1, rue Moliere, Nice

Driving back to Nice was also uneventful, save for a petrol stop and a longish drive into town to the hotels. We got dropped off to check in and Steven went to their hotel and drop off the car. The Villa Victoria Hotel (33 boulevard Victor-Hugo, 06000 Nice, +33 (0)4 93 88 39 60 Euro175) was well located at a brisk ten minute walk into the central shopping area. Pretty garden view from the window, though the room was a bit pokey and small. Lenglui followed Lorraine to the Musee Chagall and I went off in search of a second hand store I had spotted from the Tram during our earlier day in Nice.  At ground level, Nice is pleasant though crazy amounts of cars zip past. Also need to look out for the big trams which creep up silently as you cross the tracks. 

There's a sign on the wall...

Back for a quick shower and into a cab for dinner at La Route du Miam. This was the restaurant we had missed for some reason on our previous visit. As memory serves, it was decided to buy the Bresse Chicken and barbecue it back at the Villa. Literally translated as "The Road Of Yum", La Route du Miam is a total hole in the wall place that takes about sixteen people maximum, and it proved to be one of the tastes of the entire trip. The duck we had was nothing short of magnificent - total Wow. Chef Michael and wife Marie ran the place like their home, with Marie serving (and helping to drink) a wide variety of somewhat mediocre wines to punctuate her engaging stories. Chef stuck to his beer. After some so-so salad starters, we went straight for the half duck and, oh man oh man, I can still taste it now. Juicy, tender, amazing skin and firm bite. Absolutely stellar. The wines were pretty standard and not standout, but it didn't matter. We were having the duck of our lives. Screw your Michelin stars - you get a duck like this you don't want to leave. Ever. Food for the soul. Amen. And the potatos roasted in duck fat - absolute perfect match. One of our party who fancies himself as a cook tried to get the recipe from Chef but didn't get past first base. Quite right too. The blog "iknowalittleplace" (from where the photo below was lifted - I was having too good a time to take any) says there are lardons, foie gras and duck herbs in it. We think there is brandy on the skin. Totally wonderful. 

I look at this and I salivate like Pavlov's dog - utterly stellar duck

Next to the Beef and Bresse Chicken in Beaune, this was the most memorable dinner of the trip. Om and amen. The gods fates and stars aligned for this one. Again, go if you get the chance and while it is still around (it is as of April 2015). Places like this are few and far between. Slept like a pig.

Trattoria Alla Langhe

6, Corso Como, Milan

Woke up early for the cab to the train station for the 7am from Nice to Milan, arriving after a five hour ride to get picked up and transferred by Alex to the apartment before heading to shop and eat at the Trattoria Alla Langhe. Apparently we had been here before. I have a vague memory of a raucous night with lots of wonderful ham and salami and prosciutto pig bits and serving Le Volte. This time was lunch and was way more subdued, except for some building work going on upstairs and next door. 

This place is on the same street as a uber trendy fashion outlet, sporting all the latest in avant garde and high end wearables. After my usual swift tour, I sat down and played with the new iPad. 

We shared a mozzarella salad with prosciutto ham and Lenglui and I shared a ribeye - tasty enough, though a shade overtenderised. Presume there must be a reason why this place is worth the fuss and fifteen minute taxi ride, though it wasn't evident on this outing. Good swift and attentive service, though. 

We took a cab ride back into town to take a stroll along the roads where all the serious fashion houses are located - the Via della Spiga and Via Montenapoleone which would, absent a few detours, get us back to our digs. Surprisingly, very little was bought here. That changed once we got into the Department store - two new suitcases got snapped up in swift order. Took a stroll to Peck to buy back ham and cheese for KL. Went back to the digs. Don't remember what we did for dinner that night.  Not much more memory of what happened. No photos either. Not a great fan of Milan for some reason - but then all I seem to have seen is the shops. Got final packed and the car for the airport took our bags and us to Malpensa. it was further out than I remember from previous and was a Euro90 trip. The airport was madness, with everyone checking in at pretty much the same gates and then long queues to get squeezed through the security check. All this took the best part of two hours, so not much time to do anything. Can't remember much about the airport nor the flight back home. Sometimes holidays end earlier than the day they are planned to. I guess I just wanted to get home and relax. Which we did. Nice to get back and slob out in comfy clothes with the TV and the aircon. Simple pleasures.

Burgundy and The French Riviera (2 of 12) - Paris and Beaune

Minipalais, Grand Palais, Paris

Hotel Majestic lounge

My original choices for a dinner in Paris revolved around steak and frites. We like it and Paris is pretty much one of the best places in the world to find it. My research showed that Rue Marbeuf housed two of the best in the city, these being Le Relais de L'Entrecote du Relais (no 15) and Charbon Rouge (no 25). The first is total legend, with queues forming outside given the restaurant's policy of not taking reservations. The second offers steak from around the world and both offer fair value for a good chunk of ribeye. Sadly we did not get the chance to try, my choices being dismissed with a "you can get good steak at home." Which on one level was correct. Even so, there was a twinge of pining regret as we walked past both establishments on our way to the final choice of venue for the evening. Two shrines of steak on the same Rue. Next time.

The Minipalais was a newly refurbished eaterie in the Grand Palais museum setting. Recommended by old family friend Olivier on the sayso of a friend of a friend, it proved more than a shade disappointing. Fashion show music ambience, dim lighting, slow service, mediocre food, over priced and massively trendy. Pretty young things flitted around trying to be efficient and fluttery at the same time. Though the setting was brilliant - statues and other objets d'art littered the alcoves and walls. Table setting was pleasant and starchy white tablecloths are always good to see, We were both pretty determined to have a steak and ordered a Charolais rare. Rare proved pretty raw on this showing, as if the beef had been shown a toaster for a few seconds and declared cooked. Yes. The others had more unique food though I did not hear raving reports of the tastes. Well, at least we could now tell the world and its dog it had been done. Which perhaps is a good part of the reason for going in the first place - to be the first and set the trend, n'est-ce pas? 

Recent reviews on the Tripadvisor seem a bit mixed over the food, though apparently lunch on the terrace is a dream view across the river. I think I was probably teed off at missing an opportunity for a darned good steak. Certainly was not in the mood for the more delicate offerings on the menu that night, which in retrospect look very tasty (www.minipalais.com). Maybe worth a return visit, but take a tour of the museum beforehand and do lunch preferably in Springtime. Cue for a song?

Whilst the others took a cab, I walked back with Steven and Vinita to disperse the underdone steak and to view Eiffel in all her lumiere glory and almost got lost in the dark back streets trying to find the Hotel Majestic where we were staying. It looked pretty clear on the map, but one quickly learns that Les Rues de Paris have offshoots of offshoots and it all gets a shade mazelike. But it was a good if somewhat chilly walk and you do get to see the night side of the city. Passed some poor soul huddled in a sleeping bag in an office doorway for the night and remembered a similar experience over thirty years ago trying to sleep in cardboard boxes behind a supermarket in Calais prior to getting a Ferry back to the UK the following day. Darn cold that one, even in July as it was. Didn't sleep much that night. 

Inside Les Caveau Des Arches

Caveau des Arches

An uneventful and easy train ride brought us to Beaune station just before 5pm where we had to wait about 15 minutes for a taxi for a 15 minute drive to take us the ten minute walk to the hotel. Beaune is basically a town inside a ring road circle which you can drive through but is quicker to go around. So a ten minute walk became a fifteen minute drive. And the ring road was a one way which naturally went the opposite direction to the way we needed. Welcome to France.

Got installed at the hotel at about 6pm so there was just enough time to shower and wash some clothes ahead of our 7.30pm dinner. The Ibis Styles hotel on the boulevard Perpreuil was a clean no-nonsense type of hotel, white with bold colours in the breakfast area and with roomy rooms with a TV, shower and a big bed with a heater so our clothes could dry quickly. There was a long table and sofa to park the suitcase without really needing to unpack. Living out of the suitcase seems to come quite easily to me. It would be our new home for the next three nights and it would prove most comfortable and convenient. Quite impressed and quite pleasantly surprised - we have since stayed at a number of Ibis hotels in France and elsewhere. We like the simplicity and efficiency of the chain - clean, fair value and no frills. We are definitely fans. 

As said, dinner was 7.30pm at Les Caveau des Arches which was a somewhat wet and rainy two minute walk across the road from the Ibis Styles hotel. An unassuming entrance led to a downstairs cavern of painted bricks of what was presumably a wine cellar in a previous 17th Century life. A very pleasant ambience, we were sat Chinese style around a round table. I have little memory of the food though I do seem to remember sucking up Lenglui's Escargot garlic butter with the delightful bread. That's me - give me bead with salty herbed butter and garlic and I am like a pig in mud. I think I had the fish, a Sea Bream as I remember because we don't get this kind of fish too often in KL. It was pleasant enough, but didn't sear into the memory. Maybe we were tired. Certainly too tired to take photos and write about the food. But we cleared most of the plates. Good wines, though. Having good wines with the meals would prove a hallmark of the trip - there would barely be one that did not go well with the table fare. The reviews say it is good, and the website photos of the dishes are magnificent so I shall have to return one day and make decent notes on the food.

L'Hotel de Beaune Serving area

L' Hotel de Beaune - Dinner

We caught a lucky break for dinner. Lorraine had already booked the Bistro de L' Hotel for eight for dinner but it had somewhere been decided to not go there. Fortune would have it that she had omitted to advised the restaurant. Lance had a yearning for steak and chips and had gone to the Bistro only to be told it was fully booked. At this point Lorraine realised that the booking might ours, she checked and found it was and so we were back on to dine there at 8pm. Just as well we did, it proved one of the gastronomic delights of the entire trip. The steak frites for two was off the map. The perfectly seared Angus with duck fat fried new potatoes was stellar. We saw what else the tiny kitchen was dishing out and our mouths just fell. The Bresse Chicken was carved off the bone at the tables and looked so succulent; the salt baked fish looked equally amazing. They were serving an amazing amount of food for a place that was desperately small and ageing. But that made for the charm, being cramped around a table sharing our food with each other and chugging some tasty local red. It had that ageless feel about it, the town hotel that serves good honest food for those on a venture across the land. A definite must do for the soul foodies and definitely one to come back to. 

A meal to remember at L'Hotel de Beaune

Le Montrachet - Lunch

Le Montrachet

This was a hotel we stopped at as part of an organised tour around the vineyards and countryside of the Burgundy area. We caught it during a brilliant sunny day, total contrast to the hailstorms of previous weeks which had swept through the valley and decimated much of the precious grapes. We saw first hand what they had done to the vines. They were shredded. Bits of grape hanging off the stem, wounded beyond redemption. It was pitiful. Estimates were that up to 90% of the crop had gone in Beaune, Pommard and Volnay. The rest had fared somewhat better. Sad.

Our tour hostess Cristina had given us a very informative two hour tasting and seminar at the Hotel de Dieu in town which helped understand Burgundy wines a whole lot better. They follow the land and the producer. The higher up the slope that the parcel of vines is located then the greater the Cru, and the village near which the vineyard is located also adds to the name. I think. And the icing on the label is the name of the parcel in which the grapes are grown. Some parcels enjoy a better microclimate and add intensity to the final wine. I think. The wines we tasted were very nice - crisp easy Chablis right through to complex Grand Cru Montrachet. 

Amuse Bouche

Le Montrachet is a two star restaurant and was a charmer in the late summer lunchtime light - airy, with a light breezy charm, we sat down for what was a delightful lunch full of textured food and lots of very good white wine.  A lazy two hours followed by a stroll in the grounds. Every lunch should be like this. 

MENU

Saumon Gravlax, Salade de Fenouil, Zestes de Citron OU Risotto Arborio Snacke, Sot-l'y-Laisse en Persillade

Maquereaux au vin Blanc, Mouselline de Carotte OU Caille au Raisin et Coing, Polenta Cremeuse

Poelee de Mures Sauvage, Granite a la "Reine des Pres" OU Verrine facon Cafe Liegeois

Some lovely local white wines and burgundies for lunch

No idea... looks fishy.

Saumon Gravlax, Salade de Fenouil, Zestes de Citron

Looks like the Mackerel. Think I had this.

Lunch wines - very nice!

Lenglui and Lilies - love the colours and lighting here

Interior Ma Cuisine

Ma Cuisine - Dinner

Passage Sainte-Helene, 21200 Beaune

After lunch, we headed north with destination being the DRC vines. A quick stop on the way at some map and straight to the vines that produce the wine few of us will ever be blessed enough to sip, let alone buy. Photos of us at the all hallowed spot of vineyard were essential and taken. It was quite desolate, though a few hardy walkers and cyclists were in evidence. Outside of this, we were alone. The vines were left pretty much to themselves. We then headed off for a tasting at the Domaine Gros winery in Vosne-Romanee where we bought up a couple of Grands Echezeaux for keeping for a special occasion at a fair winery price and headed off to a museum to end the tour. Quick drive back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner at Ma Cuisine. This proved a bit disappointing. That's what expectations can do to you. The Charolais beef was tender of texture but a shade too rare for personal taste. The rest of the food was pretty forgettable, and yet all the webbies praise it up to the skies. Perhaps our delightful lunch in the pristine Montrachet was still playing in our heads and the way more rustic charm of Ma Cuisine was a different prospect that didn't quite dovetail in a gastronomic sense. None of the others in the group had much to say about the meal. Lance headed back to L'Hotel de Beaune to see if he could snag some final chicken. We went back to pack and sleep. So ended much of our time in Beaune. Nice memories and a hope to return.  

Segway tour of Dijon with Polar Bear. Yes.

Aren't we the poor relation...

The pleasures of France in Dijon

Dijon ville

Happy and full from Steak Frites at L'Hotel de Beaune

L'Hotel de Beaune entrance

The village of Pommard

Who is chief navigator again?

Survivors of the 2013 summer hailstorm

Timeless Romanee-Conti

Museum at Chateau Clos de Vougeot