Chez Papa French Bistro and Wine Bar
Summary:
4.2
Chez Papa French Bistro & Wine Bar is a premiere French restaurant in Johor Bahru and is the place to visit for traditional French cuisines. This restaurant truly understands that food is one of great pleasures of life. You will find dishes that are purely satisfying and wholesome with nothing fancy or clever.
Opened more than a decade ago in 1999, the objective of Chez Papa is to serve good food in peaceful atmosphere with friendly service at reasonable price. The restaurant has successfully lived up to its standard and maintained the quality in everything. It is owned by Chef Dominique Muller, who has gained his cooking experience in many restaurants including Le Souffle, Le Beaujolais and Maxim’s de Paris.
Shereen Devendran Muller is the wife and business partner of Chef Muller. She is a Malaysian and has a degree in hotel & restaurant management. Both of them along with a team of 2 local chefs form the kitchen crew of Chez Papa.
The menu contains appetisers, salads, soup, pastas, meat and poultry and seafood. All dishes are fairly priced. Dinner is served from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and the restaurant remains closed on Sundays.
With an old school appeal, the decor features a unique blend of classic and modern elements with varying art influences. Apart from traditional chair and tables, there are cushion seats available for guest relaxation.
The wine bar section is a cosy space and wine list boasts of variety of drinks and cocktails. World class beers are also available here. It is a suitable place to hang out with friends over a drink.
As the signature starter of Chez Papa, French Onion Soup or Soupe à L’oignon is slowly cooked until the onion is caramelized. This dish is normally served with crouton but the french bread goes really well with the soup too.
The key ingredients used in this dish are tomatoes, onions, cucumber, eggs, salad, olives and anchovies. There is not much cooking technique involved in preparing this dish. It is the fresh ingredients and the savory taste of balsamic vinaigrette that makes the dish so appetizing.
Chez Papa serves relatively big portion for its signature Pan-Fried Foie Gras. With the port wine reduction that add to the sweetness, the resulting taste is so rich, buttery and delicate.
This dish involves pan-searing of a thick piece of beef tenderloin with truffle sauce. It is finely accompanied by mashed potatoes and the purple coloured cabbages, tomato and green bean add to the beauty of this colourful dish.
The chicken breast, stuffed with Cepes mushrooms, is roasted in the oven at lower temperature. Creamy brandy sauce is added to take the taste to newer heights. Overall it is moist and deeply flavoured.
This is a popular dessert prepared in front of the diners. Wine is blended in the dish which gives it a wild appeal and the flame is just a treat for the eyes. It is served with vanilla ice cream.
Sheeren: Dominique Muller received his “Certificat A’Aptitude Professionnelle” as a Chef from Academie de Nice in 1975. Began his career in Nice France, then moved to London where he worked at “Souffle Restaurant” at the Intercontinental Hotel in Hyde Park, continued on with the Intercontinental chain and worked in Bahrain, South Korea and Singapore at Maxim de Paris. He continued with the Holiday Inn chain of hotel working in Abu Dhabi, Harbin and Sarawak. After that he moved on to open the Nexus Golf Resort and Spa, Karambunai, Sabah, before venturing into his own restaurant – Chez Papa French Bistro and Wine Bar.
Sheeren: Naturally vegetables are sourced locally. Most meats are from Australia and New Zealand to ensure that they are of the best quality. However, many ingredients such as escaragot, dry mushrooms, herbs, foie gras and cheeses are imported from France. Chez Papa believes in traditional rustic French cuisine.
Sheeren: We are fortunate to have loyal staff that stay with us for years. Chez Papa has been opened for 15 years and our senior Chefs have been with us for 4, 6 and 14 years. Hence, they have been Dominique’s understudy for a reasonably long amount of time to ensure that they have an understanding of our cuisine and style of cooking.
Sheeren: Absolutely not! It is not a French tradition to reward customers with a “card” or “program”. Our regular customers are often rewarded with drinks and desserts and will always feel at “home” when they step into Chez Papa. That is what brings them time and time again.
Sheeren: We have absolutely no plans for to expand. La Belle Vie is Chez Papa’s sister restaurant located in Taman Molek which we opened two years ago. As we are extremely hands-on Chefs and owners, we have our hands full with two!
Famous Johor Location
Recommended Restaurant
Lowest Rate