Latest Recipe Christmas Buffet 2019 @ Le Meridien Putrajaya

A Christmas Fairytale Affair

It’s the season to Eat, Drink and be Merry! Indulge in a Christmas Fairytale buffet at Latest Recipe, Le Meridien Putrajaya this month to usher in the festive season with much deliciousness. The halls of Latest Recipe will certainly be decked with spreads of sumptuous festive dishes and treats of all sorts this month.

The all-day-dining restaurant is well-known for their luscious spread of buffet. Set in a contemporary and minimalist ambiance, diners will be dining in a fairytale themed festive buffet this month to end the year with a dreamy ending.

To start the festive epicurean journey, a whole Norwegian Whole Salmon Apricot Gravlax to be savored with capers, lemons and perhaps a little horseradish cream. The sublime slices of house cured gravlax is beautifully tender and delicious.

And what is Christmas without a Whole Roasted Turkey with all the trimmings of bread chestnut stuffing, brussels sprouts, roasted potatoes, glazed carrots, giblet gravy and cranberry sauce. Seasoned with English herbs and spices, the slow-roasted to golden perfection, the bird is juicy and tender.

Souliquid Restaurant & Bar @ Puchong

Soul-food Goodness with Live Soul-jazz Music

From German to Mediterranean, there’s much sumptuousness going on in Souliquid! A hidden gem of restaurant cum bar, Souliquid is tucked away in Puchong Financial Corporate Centre (PFCC). Despite there is no signboard, fans know how to track down this place for some awesome good bites and beer!

The restaurant cum bar may not be as big as some others but is well designed with much comfort in terms of space and interior outlook. At the end of the room is where the bar and there is even a stage for live music.

The evenings at Soulquid are filled with much live music from bands belting out classic Chinese jazz and oldies. As one unwinds at minimalist ambiance filled with dark table settings among velvet-covered violet sofas set in dim lightings, one can tuck into Souliquid’s European food menu and a solid beverage list.

We kicked off with Chilli Chilli Bang Bang (RM18), a comfort classic of spiced and meaty Bolognaise sauce with melted cheese and crispy triangles of fried tortilla chips. Sufficiently tasty, the presentation of the appetizer is also very pleasing on the eye as well as the palate.

A Tapas classic, the Gambas Al Pilpil (RM28) may not look super enticing but the flavours and aroma was spot on. Garlicky with a little heat and aromatic from plenty of rosemary infused into the olive oil, the prawns and oil go wonderfully well with the toast.

Large prawns wrapped with bacon and fried summed up Brochette (RM38). Needless to say, the dish was polished off within minutes of it arriving on the table. Bacon and prawn is quite the match made in heaven and bacon does make everything taste better!

Souiliquid Meat Balls (RM20) was pretty much decent with moist and plump meatballs on a bed of lightly chunky tomato sauce. It’s familiar in taste with the tangy and moreish spiced tomato sauce and meatball but pale in comparison to the earlier appetizers.

The Shrimp Pizza (RM35) had all the markings of a yummy pizza. Medium thick pizza base, there’s plenty of toppings like prawns, bacon and cheese to make any pizza lover a happy camper…

Perhaps the surprising dish in the menu is the Nyonya Pasta (RM28). A fusion twist, this one is well studded with large mussels and generous shredded lettuce. The luscious kaffir leaf aroma in the sauce heightened the dish among the rich spices. Creamy, piquantly spicy and lightly tangy, the Nyonya inspired sauce made the dish unique and delectable.

Moving on to meat haven, the Chicken Cordon Bleu (RM33) scored brownie points for its generous portion of juicy chicken filled with ham and lots of oozing cheese. The juiciness of the chicken is very commendable, and the sides of roasted vegetables and sauce completed the dish well.

Grilled Lamb Rack (RM58) looked beautifully ravishing with light pink of doneness at sight. Cooked well, the French-trimmed lamb racks were tender and succulent. A lightly fruity sauce with some mustardy zing compliments the meat and roasted vegetables well.

The Guinness Braised Lamb Shank (RM48) is drool-worthy with a large lamb shank, beautifully glazed in a lusciously dark and rich Guinness sauce, on a bed of mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Fork tender, the lamb shank was well-braised, enough to be deliciously flavourful from the wonderful moreish sauce. The sides were the classic perfect accompaniments to that lamb.

Swine lovers will swoon at sight of the Pork Lover Platter (RM148). A smorgasbord of porky fare, this sharing platter has crispy roast pork knuckle along with sublime housemade crispy strips of luncheon meat, three sausages of smoked Hungarian, Nuernberger and Baconwurst, roasted potato, crispy golden potato spirals, corn on the cob, sauerkraut, garden salad and sauce.

Talked about mouthful, this platter is surely enough to feed three ravenous meat foodies and can even stretch to four or five small eaters.

The Roast Pork Knuckle was sublime comfort food. Crispy and crunchy pork skin, moist and tender meat with fatty bits pretty much is soul food to many, especially in times of much needed comfort and satisfaction. Hand me my beer please…

A very commendable house made Luncheon Meat batons to the chef! Salty and moreish addictiveness that pulls one to keep going back for more.

Sausages, all three types, are yummy and nicely grilled with a smoky heat of sweetness from Hungarian, cheesy from Nuernberger and pleasurable bacon-makes-the-world-better in Baconwurst!

Fear not if your dining party is not big enough to take on the Pork Lover Platter, instead go for the Garlic Herbed Roast Pork Knuckle (RM79). Equally satisfying in all swine aspect, the pork knuckle is just as pleasing as the earlier platter.

For a savory ending, the Cheese Platter Set (RM199) with Marqués de Càrceres works out to be a good deal. A lovely selection of cheeses and cold cuts might even be a good starter. From hard cheeses of aged Cheddar to soft Brie and Blue cheese, these certainly goes well with the salty Salami and Ham with the Spanish red wine that tasted of dark plums and cherries with a lingering spicy finish.

Souliquid has got the potential to make your evenings better. Comfort soul food to solid list of drinks and live music, it’s pretty much a hangout place that warrants plenty of visits for good times and lots of satisfying moments!

         

SOULIQUID RESTAURANT & BAR

Lot 1, Ground Floor, PFCC Tower 3

Jalan Puteri 1/2, Bandar Puteri Puchong

Selangor, Malaysia

Tel: 603-8066 8883

Business Hours:

Daily: 12 Noon to 1.00am

Night live music

Sunday to Thursday: 9.00pm to 11.30pm

Friday-Saturday: 9.30pm to midnight

Website: www.souliquid.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/souljazzbar/

The Emperor Chinese Restaurant @ Dorsett Grand Subang

What To Eat At The Emperor

The Emperor Chinese Restaurant has always been a favorite Chinese restaurant to many diners, including mine. Located at Dorsett Grand Subang, the elegant dining space offers new signatures with a new executive chef on board this year.

We revisited The Emperor recently to check out what to eat from Executive Chinese Chef Bryan Teh’s new menu of signatures. Dine at the spacious main dining room or choose from the few private rooms available.

It’s no secret that some of the Dim Sum in Selangor is at The Emperor Chinese Restaurant. The Dim Sums maybe pork free but the skilled dim sum chefs are the restaurant makes of the best dumplings and small bites.

Tuck into gorgeous plump Siew Mai, Har Kow, Char Siu Bao Chee Cheong Fun, Crispy Shrimp and Cheese Roll, Fried Fish Ball, Fried Dumpling, Yam Puff, Black Charcoal Bun with Salted Egg Lava and more.

Chef Bryan’s Smoked Farm Village Chicken (茶香煙焗菜園雞), priced at RM128, is so aromatic that one can salivate at sight of the bird. Dark rich amber hue denoted the smoking process while the air lingers with a wonderful fragrance from the tea and rice smoked process. The chicken is firm and smooth, each bite wondrously yummy with a light dip at the pepper salt mixture and chili sauce.

The next of Wok-fried Lamb with Crispy Garlic and Dry Chilies (避風塘炒羊架), priced at RM25 per piece, was literally mind-blowing yum. Taking inspiration from a classic dish named ‘bei foong thong’ made famous in Macao and Hong Kong, lamb takes precedent in the dish as the main ingredient instead of the usual seafood. Not that we mind because the lamb chops were utterly tender, tasty and irresistible. The renderings of crispy golden bits of garlic, Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies gave the lamb the wow factor in the dish. A must-order for lamb lovers…

The Poached Pearl Grouper with Taro, Radish and Superior Stock (上湯香芋浸珍珠斑), priced at RM58.30 per 100gm of the fish, was pure comfort at sight. This is a dish that comes from the heart of some family recipes. The freshwater fish is first pan seared before being braised in the broth. The cloudy broth was a result of hours of simmering to extract the essence from Tong Kwai, fish bones, ginger and white pepper. Yam, bean curd and mushrooms are added along with Kei Chi to add more flavours and textures.

End the meal with more nutritious goodness from Double-boiled Peach Resin with Snow Fungus in Young Coconut (椰盅雪耳燉桃膠) at RM42 per bowl. Peach resin is known for collagen enhancing benefit and has a blood lipid, stress-reliever and anti-wrinkle benefits as well. This delicate and sweet broth is served double-boiled in coconut for more goodness and aroma. This sweet broth also has white fungus and lotus seeds as well as longan.

For bookings or inquiry, please call +603 5033 7400 / +6 016 2011 259 or email danyal.chong@dorsetthotels.com

THE EMPEROR CHINESE RESTAURANT

Dorsett Grand Subang

Jalan SS12/1,

47500 Subang Jaya

Tel: +603 5031 6060

Fax: +603 5031 8686

Website: www.dorsetthotels.com/malaysia/subang

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DorsettGrandSubang/

Roast Suckling Pig Promotion @ The Oriental Group of Restaurants

Hogging the Limelight at Oriental Pavilion, Jaya 33

Hear ye Hear ye… calling all suckling pig fans! For the whole month of July, The Oriental Group of Restaurants are hogging the limelight with their roast promotions in various restaurants in the city. It’s a month of indulgence filled with plenty of classic as well as modern roast meats from suckling pig to Peking duck and more.

We headed to Oriental Pavilion at Jaya 33 for an oinking good time with a few swine lovers recently. Oriental Pavilion, voted as one of Asia’s Finest Chinese Restaurants by The Miele Guide and also rated as the only Chinese restaurant in KL’s Top 20 restaurants by CNN Travel Guide, has always been a popular hot spot for classic Cantonese cuisine. From dim sums to Cantonese roasts and dishes, diners can opt to dine at their main modern dining room or one of the eight private rooms available.

From now till 31 July, Oriental Pavilion is running specials on their famed Roast Suckling Pig and Iberico Pork Ribs. It takes special skills of a roast master to achieve luscious roasts, so diners like us can savor sumptuous roast suckling pig, roast Peking duck and more. The Oriental Group of Restaurants roast masters has certainly nailed their roasts to perfection!

What makes a perfect Roast Suckling Pig? For me, the skin is the most important part of the dish. I need the acoustic sound of crunch upon savoring the skin as well as the even lacquered hue of the whole suckling pig as the main judging point for a perfect roast suckling pig. Choosing the right size of the piglet would yield just the right amount of meat and fat for a solid roast as well. Then one needs to also ensure that the little amount of meat is also tender, juicy and well-seasoned. The roasting skill is another crucial factor to achieving even roast as well as fabulous crispy skin.

First up, Finest Macau Style Roast Suckling Pig, served with Chilled Citrus Juice and crisp greens. Brownies point goes to how gorgeous this piglet looked and from every angle too! The skin is beautifully and evenly lacquered with such a glistening skin that rendered many sounds of excitement from everyone at the table that evening.

Unlike those suckling pig that one only enjoys the skin, this one has a little meat that oozed with much juiciness. A closely guarded dry rub recipe, the special rub is what makes this Macau Style Roast Suckling Pig superior to all the other roast piglets. We heard the rub is so good, only the top two chefs in the group has the recipe for this special rub.

After our homage to the pig with our lens, our Macau Style Roast Suckling Pig was cut up in thick pieces for easy consumption.

The skin was literally to-die-for! The acoustic of the crunch of the skin was music to my ears. The little bits of meat was sublime and moist while the special spice rubs on the bones had me succumbing cavemen style (or cavewomen in my case) in gnawing the piece clean in doing justice for the piglet.

The Chilled Citrus Juice worked out well as a refreshing palate cleanser after that oink…

Next up, another variation of the Roast Sucking Pig, BBQ with Glutinous Rice. This one is quite different from the Macau style one as the Roast Suckling Pig is deboned and served with steamed glutinous rice.

Though it doesn’t have the same smoothness of the skin as the earlier one, this one still rendered a solid crispy lacquered skin with a lot of crunch. We enjoyed the leaner skin on this one and it certainly paired well with the soft and sticky glutinous rice studded with bits of mushrooms and Chinese sausage. It is served with a side of scallion and hoisin sauce though we think it didn’t really needed it because the glutinous rice was already very tasty with the Roast Suckling Pig.

There is also a third variation of Roast Suckling Pig, BBQ with Foie Gras Sauce, which also sounds wonderfully delicious. All 3 styles of Roast Suckling Pig is priced at RM238++ each (normal price RM350++ each), available until 31 July, 2017.

There is another special swine that also stole much limelight that evening. Charcoal Grilled Iberico Pork Ribs Spanish Style served with Chilled Citrus Juice and crisp greens is a modern Chinese take on using the sublime black Spanish pig.

An order of this dish features a whole rack of Iberico Pork Ribs Spanish Style served at tableside with crisp greens and Chilled Citrus Juice. The picture shown here was for two orders hence two full racks of ribs. The restaurant was so thoughtful to provide disposable gloves for the dish though we felt that we should just dive right in to savor the full finger-licking good sensation of the ribs.

Look at the glorious rack of Iberico ribs! Generously seasoned with dry herbs as well as special marinade before roasting, the Iberico ribs were unctuously succulent with tasty fatty bits.

We also enjoyed how the meat has a good solid bite, a note of just ribs roasted slowly to achieve a meaty bite. There’s plenty of tender meat to gnaw till the bones are clean. Besides the ribs, there were also end parts of soft ribs that added much delight to just enjoying the ribs. The crisp greens on the side is great with the ribs too as it balanced off the heavy notes of eating this much meat. End this course with the zesty tang of the citrus juice too…

The Charcoal Grilled Iberico Pork Ribs Spanish Style served with Chilled Citrus Juice is available on promotion at RM138++ per rack (normal price RM198++ per rack) until 31 July, 2017.

While you are there, you might as well end your meal with Oriental Pavilion’s long list of desserts. We had their Lemongrass Jelly, Summer Coconut Jelly and Chilled Yam dessert that was light, fresh and a sweet way to end the dining experience.

No reservations required for the Roast Suckling Pig and Iberico Ribs Promotion, just make sure you have a table booked ahead as Oriental Pavilion gets very busy, especially in the evenings. There are other Roast promotions going on at all other restaurants featuring different choices such as Peking duck and more so check out their website or Facebook for more information. Don’t miss this great promotion!

ORIENTAL PAVILION

P1-04, Level 1 Podium, Jaya 33

No.3, Jalan Semangat, Seksyen 13

46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan

Tel: 03- 7956 9288

Website: www.orientalrestaurants.com.my

Facebook: www.facebook.com/theorientalgroupofrestaurants

Business Hours:

Mondays to Saturdays

Lunch 11.00 am – 3.00 pm | Dinner 6.00 pm – 11.00 pm

Sundays & Public Holidays

Lunch 10.00 am – 3.00 pm | Dinner 6.00 pm – 11.00 pm