NOTHING beats the taste of a hot puffed flatbread baked on charcoal, drizzled with garlicky kulim oil.

I found myself forgoing the olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip it came with as the bread itself was so flavourful on its own.

Such was my experience at Café Bistrot David in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

Then came a luscious Japanese Hyogo oyster, lightly grilled with wagyu fat in a cone dripping over it. The oyster was sublime, both juicy and lemony.

We then had the reason we visited this eatery in the first place – the French bouillabaisse.

This traditional Provençale fish soup was excellent. The flavourful tomato-based soup had saffron, chunks of monkfish, prawns and mussels, as well as potatoes and, surprisingly, orange peel!

All these worked together to make a wonderful seafood soup. Vermouth with a touch of anise was the finishing touch. The soup was served with toast laced with aioli.

The four of us shared the grilled ox tongue with balsamic and red peppercorns. The ox tongue was sous vide first to make it tender before being grilled.

The slices of ox tongue could do with a little less balsamic vinegar and that would have made them perfect. I liked the bite of the aromatic red peppercorns.

Clams are one of my favourite seafood, and here were Tulya or batik clams from the Philippines cooked in wine, garlic and lemon. They were fresh, fleshy and sweet.

The delicious gravy just begged to be dipped with bread, which we did with sourdough.

The main course was the Mayura wagyu flat iron MB8/9 (full blood). The medium rare steak was served with a wasabi, garlic and vegetable dip.

The side dishes for this were orzo, the rice-shaped pasta, asparagus spears with petit pois and broccolini, grilled Spanish padron peppers, sauteed maitake mushrooms, salad and potatoes fried in wagyu fat and rosemary.

Just this would have made an excellent meal for at least three people.

I relished the beef and loved all the side dishes that came with it, in particular the potatoes fried in wagyu fat and the sweet padron peppers.

Dessert was a scrumptious sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce. The English classic pudding was moist and lightly sweet. The butterscotch sauce was simply lovely with it.

What we had reflects chef/owner David Chin’s wish to serve hearty, scrumptious gourmet fare with food to be shared as we happily did.

I’m still thinking of the luscious CBD original burrata we had a few months ago, which had pecorino cheese grated over it, topped with basil butter and grilled under a salamander.

The burrata, covered with passata, was flanked by two crispy shards of beef Cecina. It was surrounded by arugula, chitose cherry tomatoes and Italian tomatoes. Altogether, it tasted fabulous.

And I wouldn’t miss those fine crepes in Crepe Suzette in a butter orange sauce, flamed with Cointreau.

Find Café David Bistrot at 135 Jalan Aminuddin Baki, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur (call 018-912 0332). The menu and link for reservation are on its website. – January 20, 2024.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.