This up-scale, elegant and intimate restaurant oozes class from the very point you stepped in. It opened its doors in September 2018 and is located right in the heart of Georgetown sharing its campus with Hin Bus Depot. Pronounced "oh-Jaah-Dhun", Au Jardin is an 18 seat restaurant emphasizing on natural, minimalism and seasonal ingredients. Their artisanal menu developed by Chef Kim Hock is built around his passion in showcasing the freshest ingredients through simple but beautiful dishes that reflect both culinary tradition and creativity. Au Jardin's team brings along with them a wealth of experience from their stint at Basil, Le Bistrot and BLB Taipei.
The restaurant was fully booked on the Friday evening even though we made our reservation a week earlier, we were told that there were only seats at the bar left. Bar seats may not be a popular choice, but it turned out to be quite a spectacle. I mean how often do we get to watch the chef strutting his stuff, conducting the kitchen and plating each meal expertly while enjoying our culinary experience. Moreover, we had the opportunity to have an engaging chat once he had completed his duties.
As Au Jardin uses the freshest seasonal ingredients, its menu is updated every month. My visit was in October 2018 on a weekday and we had a choice of the 4-course (RM168+) or chef degustation menu (RM250+). As we do not have a huge appetite, we opted for the former. Too bad they did not have wine pairing option, so we decided to bring our own wine (corkage RM50 per bottle) as the wine list is quite limited. That said, we were quite happy that they serve wines using quality glassware from Schott Zwiesel.
To complement the starters, we ordered the house white Deakin Estate Chardonnay-Pinot Grigio and at RM95 a bottle it was real good value. The dry, high acidity and stone-fruit based wine did whet our appetite and bodes really well with our Amuse Bouche and first two courses. The presentation of the baby chat potatoes and live tiger prawns was impressive and definitely a work of art.
To pair with our main course of Australian Angus Ribeye, we brought a Saint-Emillion Grand Cru from Chateau Haut-Brisson 2014 which we bought from the newly opened Jaya Grocer for RM150. Especially loved the fragrant nose of this young Bordeaux full of tobacco, leather, minerals and smoke. Its tannins were spot on with silky elegance and brought the best out of the ribeye steak.
A very memorable experience dining at Au Jardin especially to celebrate a special occasion. Good service (Thanks KC for being so attentive), intimate ambience, good crowd and well managed. Looking forward to be back to try their new menu or their soon to be launched Gatropub on the top floor. Cheers!
Restaurant Au Jardin
THE WAREHOUSE, 125, Jalan Timah, Georgetown 13000 Pulau Pinang
George Town, Malaysia
Tel: 04-218 9594
Web: https://www.restaurant-aujardin.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/aujardinpg