review: petite millie

Address: G146, Ground Floor, 1 Utama Shopping Center, 47800, Petaling Jaya

Phone: +603 7732 0395

E-mail: rsvp@petite-millie.com

Shopping malls are not usually the place for fine dining. Too often, the restaurants in most malls are franchises - cookie cutter restaurants which are made to be replicated, one mall at a time, with a rubber stamp. I expected more from Petite Millie though, seeing that this brasserie is an offshoot of Millesmie, in Publika.

Arriving on a weekday night, the restaurant only had a few tables occupied. The staff were very gracious, and took our order with only about an hour to go before the restaurant closed. We were drawn to the restaurant because it is one of the few places that offers poutine in KL, which I wanted to try after my maiden adventure. 

First up was a vegetable soup, which was garnished with a crostini spread with olive tapenande. While the crostini provided a textural contrast to the soup, a bit more tapenade would have been appreciated. Aside from that, the soup was very tasty, chock-full of celery, tomatoes, onions and zucchini.

Duck two ways came next - tagliatelle pasta cooked with duck ragu, topped with smoked duck breast on the top. My normal complaint is that there never enough protein in the paste, but this was definitely not the case with Petite Millie. The pasta was savory, with enough black pepper to ensure that it did not weigh too heavily on the stomach. The rigour of Millesme's training also showed in the mirepoix of the ragu. Despite its casual atmosphere, Petite Millie retained its discipline in kitchen prep.

The main event! We ordered the beef cheek poutine, which came with a generous helping of shimeji mushrooms - an unexpected, but welcome addition. The beef cheek definitely made it a much for substantial dish, enough to share or as an entree for one person. There was a lot more cheese in this version, stretching gooily as the fries were lifted from the savory gravy. With each mouthful, you get a whiff of the truffle oil which upped the ante on an already delicious dish. Eating poutine is definitely a guilty pleasure - carbohydrates and fats combined into a perfect comfort food, elevated by the heady scent of truffles. I would have preferred the fries to be crisper, to provide more of a textural contrast to the cheese and the beef cheek. 

The bargain of the day, though, was definitely the beef rossini. Steak, cooked to a medium rare, on a bed of mashed potatoes, crowned with a slice of foie gras almost larger than the steak itself! Not all restaurants cook their meat to the specifications of their diners - probably through lack of expertise. A delicious entree all around.

Address: G146, Ground Floor, 1 Utama Shopping Center, 47800, Petaling Jaya

Phone: +603 7732 0395

E-mail: rsvp@petite-millie.com