Last month it was the Vietnamese cooking demo and Vietnamese promotion at Latest Recipe, Le Meridien. Now the very same hotel runs the Taste of Italy” culinary event featuring guest Chef Fabrizio from Westin Bejing Financial Street.
Together with a bunch of bloggers & members of media, we were treated to a cooking demonstration by the good chef, and here’s one of his recipe.
Now even I think I can properly cook a meal with lobster that will do the shell fish justice. Here’s the recipe.
glorious Maine lobster in frying pan with olive oil, herbs & cherry tomato
Ingredients:
For the pesto
here’s the spaghetti with lobster
The preparation method is pretty straight forward, and let me just copy verbatim from Chef Fabrizio’s text.
Roast garlic in large pan with olive oil. Add lobster, cherry tomato and cook with some water, add seasoning. Boil pasta in a large pot with salted water until the favorite cooking. Blend herbs with the olive oil for pesto. Take“` lobster out of the sauce, clean the tongs and half the tail. Arrange halved tail in a plate. Strain spaghetti and add sauce with herb pesto and butter. Arrange spaghetti beside the lobster, add lobster meat. Decorate with some herb leaves and serve.
fresh spring herb pesto, prepared with a blender
It’s pretty simple isn’t it?
Chef Fabrizio has a bit of flair and the lack of “seriousness” when it comes to preparation of his dishes. As he proudly said “I am not a pastry chef”, and cooking should involves a sense of flexibility and creativity. I like this style.
In fact, in a short span of 1 hour or so, the good chef prepared three dishes right in front of us, including the eggplant millefeuille recipe shared by Kim.
and we were served a very good buffet spread too, Chef Fabrizio & Chef Antoine
To get a taste of Chef Fabrizio’s creations, you can head to Favola at Le Meridien KL from June 4 to June 12, 2011. Ala carte goes for RM 25++ to RM 130++. Don’t miss out especially if you’re a fan of authentic Italian cuisine.
KY with Chef Fabrizio, Jon & Ciki, Cindy & Kim & Haze, Kim & Gareth
We were also fed an awesome spread of Italian dishes after the event (and after we sampled all three dishes prepared by Chef Fabrizio). There were cold cuts, clams, pizza, bruschetta, smoked salmon, salad, and more. It was a fantastic and certainly gastronomically satisfied session.
Address:
Favola
2 Jalan Stesen Sentral,
Kuala Lumpur 50470
GPS: 3.135631,101.686476
Tel: 03-2263 7888
Last Monday I took a day off to take advantage of the Tuesday holiday for a pro-longed weekends (man I can get used of that 3 day work week) and attended a cooking demo at Le Meridien KL.
It was part of the “Experience Vietnam” promotion at Latest Recipe that runs from 16-22 May, 2011. Three chefs from Sheraton Saigon - Chef Tran Cong Tien, Chef Nguyen Thi Duy and Chef Bui Van Tien Dong flew all the way here to KL to infuse the restaurant with some true blue (or red?) Vietnamese cuisine, and of course, to share a few recipe with us.
yes, these are real Vietnamese ladies too.
I’ve always been a fan of Vietnamese food ever since the university days in the States, and having traveled to Saigon for 9 times over the last 7-8 years or so, this brand of South East Asian cuisine isn’t exactly very foreign for me.
Yet, this is the first time I learn how to make a real Vietnamese Sping roll. It turned out to be really simple, you can source all the ingredients locally and make yourself some authentic Vietnamese spring rolls too!
making a vietnamese spring roll
Here’s the ingredients to make 20 spring rolls:
Then the ingredients for dipping sauce
Kim and I got our hands dirty, and our cooking skills upgraded 
The steps in making the Vietnamese spring roll is surprisingly easy:
The last step separated out for mainly aesthetic purposes, so you can clearly see the shrimps through the translucent rice paper. Brilliant, I always wonder how they made it that way. Now I know.
chef Tran Cong Tien and team making Bo La Lot (beef in fragrant leaves)
While you can consume the spring roll as is, they are best served with the soya bean dipping sauce, and here’s how you make them:
Cheo Troai Noouc (the dessert), Haze, Chef Antoine, Ciki
The good chefs from Vietnam also taught us how to make one of the most iconic Vietnamese food – Bo La Lot (grilled beef in fragrant leaves), and the dessert by the name of Cheo Troai Noouc (sticky rice dumpling with green bean filling and ginger syrup). I didn’t get a chance to try how to make those, but perhaps one day!
Address:
Le Meridien
2 Jalan Stesen Sentral,
Kuala Lumpur 50470
GPS: 3.135631,101.686476
Tel: 03-2263 7888
On an unrelated note, there’s a great deal over at MilkADeal that shouldn’t be missed! Xiao Fei Yang steamboat for RM 40 instead of RM 107.80 and good for 4 pax to enjoy!
The deal includes a dry pot of fish ball, pork intestines, deep fried pig skin, pig stomach, fried fish maw, foo chuk, vegetables + 4 boiled rice. You can check out my review of Xiao Fei Yang at the Pudu branch. This deal is for their newer Damansara Utama branch. Head over to check out the deal and grab it before it expires on midnight of 25 May, 2011!
Address:
No:40G & 42G, Jalan SS21/62,
Damansara Utama, Kuala Lumpur
Last weekend Le Meridien threw a small party for a few lucky bloggers. The email invitation I got a few weeks prior to the event called it “A Night of Discovery” with no other details. As it turned out, it was a grand tour/food crawl at the various fine restaurants within the hotel, with surprises along the way.
canopes at Conservatory Bar, Le Meridien KL
The evening started out at Conservatory Bar, the lounge at the main entrance of the hotel. A glass of wine in hand and ample of canopes for us to get the stomach ready for what’s next.
We had pan seared cremolate tuna sashimi with sesame wakame salad, diced feta cheese, ratatouille and pine nuts in mini pita bread (pic), martini of tomato salsa, mozzarella mousse and pesto (pic), and even chicken tandoori and minted raita on chili focaccia bread. I had to start pacing myself to not over eat.
Favola at Le Meridien
We then took the elevator and moved up to Favola, Le Meridien’s Italian dining outfit. More food awaits us as chef Antoine started to explain the seafood centric food laid before our eyes, for examp;e, the fabulous spicy calamari with olive oil & citrus (pic.)
chef Antoine at Favola, showing us the various tomatos
The good chef then shows us the various ingredients important to Italian cuisine that are used here at Favola, including almost half a dozen types of fresh tomato, and the imported as well as one local mozzarella from Langkawi (Malaysia boleh!) that passed his personal quality tests. I can have those cheese as snack all day if you ask me.
Antipasti Duo at Favola
Our main dishes (or what we thought as main dishes for the night) at Favola were two antipasti.
Smoked salmon with cold cucumber and macadamia puree, grilled peaches, buffalo mozzarella, Pecorino rocket and Radicchio salad. I love the contrast between the salad and the salmon, and I can really use more of that buffalo mozzarella at home, It was so good!
foie gras on wild mushroom risotto, haze
Then there’s the pan seared foie gras on wild mushroom risotto in clear beef broth that was so delightful. This was highly anticipated when chef Antoine told us about it, and the dish did not disappoint at all.
The other part of this antipasta was the chicken meatball in green olive tapenade, onion and roasted bell pepper, that was very good too.
after Favola, we make our way to Prime
At this point in time, with some really good determination to not over eat, my stomach stood at maybe 70% full. Then we collectively moved to Prime, my favorite steak house in town.
the beef served at Prime, that’s a grade 12 wagyu on my hands
A surprise awaits us at Prime as we stepped into the private room. Slabs of Blackmore Wagyu beef from grade 6 to 12 as well as grain fed Austraian Angus beef were on display as chef Antoine again explained the ingredients used at Prime to us.
The number of days a vacuum packed beef could be kept refrigerated is tightly regulated here to ensure maximum quality that goes into every serving.
it’s like choosing between fish & bear palm (chinese proverbs, learn!)
Look at the two slabs of Blackmore Wagyu marble grade 6 and 12. These are some of the best beef you can get, the grade 12 Wagyu on the right consists of some 60% fat, not for the faint hearted, but that was exactly what we’re going to have at Prime! Yes, I’m a very lucky man.
Blackmore Wagyu marble 9, with truffle sauce
Undoubtedly, the high light for the night were the steak. The charcoal grilled Blackmore Wagyu chuck flap tail marble 9, with roma tomato confit, brocolini and braised intercoastal on mascarpone polenta. It was absolute heaven, especially with some truffle sauce to go with the red meat.
teppanyaki ice cream, ciki
Dinner wouldn’t be complete without desserts, and for that we were guided to the final destination of the evening – Latest Recipe.
Teppanyaki ice cream is a must have here, and the Belgium waffle personally prepared by chef Antoine was fantastic.
desserts at latest recipe, and macaroons macarons
We were also served a dessert platter with honey dew sago shot, carrot cake, lychee tart, vanilla creme brulee, agar agar, and my personal favorite – chocolate mousse with citrus jelly. It sounded like an unlikely combination, chocolate & citrus jelly, but the contrast was perfect, I finished it despite the stomach complaining at 150% capacity filled.
fatboybakes, ciki, a lil fat monkey, Damian of Le Meridien
This was easily one of the best events I’ve attended, the people at Le Meridien were fantastic hosts and have everything prepared meticulously. A big thank you to Damian, Sashi, Harvey, Fauzy, and of course, chef Antoine for the great evening.
Address:
Le Meridien
2 Jalan Stesen Sentral,
Kuala Lumpur 50470
GPS: 3.135631,101.686476
Tel: 03-2263 7888
The urban dictionary definition for Bubu refers to “the hottest most beautiful women out there“. The relationship of the word Bubu and Eiling, however, isn’t one that’s defined on the site (though she might disagree).
Eiling, instead, invited us to a food review at Bubu Restaurant at the little quaint Hotel Rae. If the name sounds familiar, it is because the same boss also own Bubu Long Beach Resort at Perhentian island.
Bubu Restaurant at Tengkat Tong Shin
Bubu is a Spanish restaurant that has a heavy dose of specialization on grilled food. While Eiling emphasized that they also serve the best paella she’s ever tasted, our review concentrate mostly on their grilled stuff instead.
I find it better that way, Spanish food is dangerously falling into what Japanese food has suffered – be associated with only a very small subset of what the cuisine has to offer. With Japanese it was sashimi and sushi, with Spanish food, paella and tapas.
the excellent grilled calamari
The grilled calamari was my favorite dish from the night. A very simple dish of squid grilled to perfection and served with green chili paste with unique blend of spiciness a slightly salty/sour lime taste, the whole concoction rests on a bed of salad. The dish was as visually appealing as it was tasty.
crab cake, wine, bruschetta mushroom with cheese
Our dinner actually got started with some crab cake and some red wine. While the crab cake’s decent, you should save your stomach and look into other dishes Bubu has to offer.
Bruschetta mushroom with cheese, however, did serve as a delicious stomach liner before heading to the grilled seafoods. Anything with cheese and mushroom can’t go wrong.
grilled tiger prawn, grilled marlin skewer, Chateaubriand steak
Other than the grilled calamari mentioned above, we had grilled tiger prawn and marlin skewer. The tiger prawns were huge, and we could smell it before the dish was served. Succulent and sweet, I would have it again in a heart beat.
The marlin skewer is a new dish to me. I found it to be quite meaty, and while still juicy thanks to the cubes of vegetable and garnish sitting between the fish, you’ll need to have it with some sauce to bring out the otherwise pretty bland taste.
Then we had the Chateaubriand steak, a thick cut of really juicy tenderloin prepared medium rare. This is a dish usually shared by a couple, and I would be happier if it was arranged that way, for it was so good I wish I had more to myself.
moist brownie with ice cream, Crepe Suzette
While almost all girls believe that they always deserve desserts, guys are usually less of a fan. That said, I do enjoy occasional sweet pastry or two after meal.
The moist brownie with ice cream was decent, though I personally would always prefer molten chocolate cake instead, and the Crepe Suzette too wasn’t bad. But really, I don’t think desserts are what Bubu is all about.
ciki, haze & KY, eiling, yiling & bf, Joe
We did have a very good time at Bubu, except for desserts, food were excellent. The allure of Tengkat Tong Shin adds to the overall experience, and of course, we had great company.
So Eiling, when are we having the paella you promised? 
Address:
Bubu Restaurant
Hotel Rae
No. 42 A, Tengkat Tong Shin,
50200, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.146515, 101.707950
Tel: 03- 2142 2988
A couple weeks ago I received and invitation from Yoke May of Westin to attend Kaesler Winemaker’s Dinner. To be honest, I am not exactly a wine connoisseur, but based on my previous experience at Westin’s EEST and Yoke May’s hospitality, I know this isn’t something I would want to miss.
Stephen Dew from Kaesler
A little background on Kaesler:
The original Kaesler vineyards were established in 1893 by the Kaesler Family, Silesian pioneers who came to the Barossa Valley, Australia in the 1840′s and who took up the 60 acre allotment in 1891. Winemaker Reid Bosward and his partners then bought the Kaesler vineyards in 1998.
Our dinner was hosted by one of the partners from Kaesler vineyards, Mr. Stephen Dew. The six course meal with half a dozen different wines to pair was priced at RM 180, a pretty good value. For myself, haze, cumi&ciki, and eiling, it was even better cos we freeloaded, hohoho.
Hokkaido Scallop crudo, green apple sorbet
Since I’m not exactly a wine expert, I’m gonna concentrate a bit more on food. First to come was the Hokkaido scallop crudo with green apple sorbet laying on a bed of thinly sliced cucumber. It was raw, cold, but subtle and sweet at the same time. The seafood was paired with Old Vine Semilon 2008 (RM 90), a wine with a bit of grapefruit and apple taste, a good compliment.
baby beetroot in flaky pastry; apricot & almond beignet
Second dish of the night was apricot and almond beignet with creamed wild mushrooms and creamed tarragon butter emulsion. We were served with Viognier 2008 (RM 110), a slightly stronger red wine chilled to 18C that went really well with the creamy dish.
Next up was this pastry with a flake of gold: baby beetroot with horseradish and chives. The flaky pastry and beetroot made an interesting if unlikely combination, to be honest I found it a little odd. We had Kaesler Stonehorse Shiraz Mourvedre 2007 (RM 90) to pair with. The wine was slightly spicy but not one that’s very strong, and by the way gold didn’t actually have any taste -_-
eiling and the excellent roast lamb neck with smoked bone marrow
Then came the best dish of the night, roast lamb neck, crisp ice fish, eggplant, tzaziki, smoked bone marrow, cherry puree. I like how they name their dish, you don’t even need to explain what’s in it, ultimate opposite from Chinese dishes where everything is in 4 letter and you have no idea what you’re about to eat.
It was the first time I properly had bone marrow in this fashion and it was heaven! It sits somewhere in between beef tendon and foie gras, the texture was superb, and the taste, very rich and yet subtle. The Stonehorse Shiraz 2006 (RM115) gave the bone marrow a sense of balance too, oh how I miss this.
licorice port glazed braised angus beef short rib, KY & Haze
The last main dish was licorice port glazed braised angus beef short rib, smoked potato puree paired with Bogan Shiraz 2006. The wine had strong oak aroma to it and rich flavor which I liked, but I do think that the licorice kinda overpowered the beef a little. I usually prefer my beef to be only very mildly seasoned, if any.
marshmallow, citrus salad; ciki & yoke may
Dessert was marshmallow and citrus salad with my favorite wine of the night. The sweet tasting Riestling – Rizza 2009, this wine’s perfect with the marshmallow or even just to drink by itself. The citrus though, was really super sour to the point where one bite will bring you to instant sobriety. I wonder where they got it from.
It was a wonderful dinner made better by the great company, thank you Yoke May for the invitation!
Address:
The Dining Room, Westin Hotel
199 Jalan Bukit Bintang,
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.147758, 101.714591
Tel: 03-2731 8333
