Launch Of Flavours Of Shanghai @ Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant One World Hotel

One World Hotel with the support of The Eton Hotel Shanghai will be promoting Flavours of Shanghai at Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant, located on the lobby level from 23 June to 02 July 2011.

Chef Terry Yu Ning (sous chef), Chef Fanny Le Fei (chef de partie), Chef Lion Yu Sheng (wok 1) and Chef Navy Yang Tian Hai (steamer 1) from The Eton Hotel Shanghai were flown in to showcase authentic Shanghainese dishes during the 10-day promotion. They came hand-carrying mushrooms, seasonings, sauce & whatever else that goes into the dishes so one is assured that it is a truly authentic Shanghainese experience for all.

At the launch last week, a bunch of us were given a Shanghainese treat, together with almost 60 other guests of the hotel who are mainly the hotels corporate clients and business partners.

I arrived late, but thanks to fellow bloggers who kept a bit of the earlier dishes, I managed to taste all of the dishes from SET C of the Flavours of Shanghai menu.

SET C:

3 Shanghai-styled Appetizer

Braised Fish Head Soup with Preserved Vegetables in Claypot

Sauteed Shrimps with Eggwhite

Deep Fried Mandarin Fish with Sweet & Sour Sauce

Sauteed Shredded Beef with Honey Beans

Ok, heres when I started to dig in.. the beef strips was very tenderis! ed, to t he point that almost no chewing required. Depending on your taste; whether you prefer a chewier bite or smooth melt-in-the-mouth texture, you either find this good or otherwise. Most of us like our beef with a mightier bite, and thought this was too soft. Myself? I only like my beef from a minimum grade of wagyu or kobe standard anyways.

Mushrooms with Chicken & Shrimp

Fried Noodles with Chicken & Vegetables

Noodles.. this was pretty ordinary, and had more of the beef strips as the dish before it.

Sweet Scented Osmanthus Rice Cakes

This was something different, very lightly scented with the Osmanthus flowers & chewy
(almost like the sweet cakes Nian Gao during Chinese New Year but not as sticky or sweet) .

Each of these Shanghainese Set menus starting from RM300++ per table of 4. But of course its fine if you have more than 4 pax dining, but do bear in mind that each dish is proportioned for 4.
! There ar e a la carte dishes as well available for lunch and dinner.

Check out all the sets available from 23 June to 02 July 2011. Its pretty affordable since each set starts from RM300++. Much cheaper than a return ticket to Shanghai right?
So yeah, book & share a table with your friends/work partners/family for a Shanghainese experience right here in PJ!

LINK to download menu HERE .

Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant @

First Avenue
bandar utama city centre
47800 petaling jaya
selangor, malaysia

Phone +603 7681 1111
Fax +603 7681 1188
Business hours:
Monday to Friday:
Lunch 12.00 noon to 2.30 pm
Dinner 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday:
Lunch 11.00 am to 2.30 pm
Dinner 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

For reservations or enquiries, please call (603) 7681 1159.
IMPORTANT: Flavours of Shanghai Menu is available at Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant, located on the lobby level from 23 June to 02 July 2011.

Dining at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur: A Night of Discovery

The city of Kuala Lumpur is a cozy kampung (village) populated by over 1.4 million fascinating individuals and with just as many places to worship. But it recently dawned on me that the only place anyone has spoken about going into for a prayer these days, is a restaurant - where single people worship each other over great food and even better wine. I can't tell for sure if grace was said before these meals, but for their sakes, I hope they did. Relationships and food are like the new religious couple of the century. And sex, of course, makes good desserts after. In short, this entire process is known to many of us as a 'dinner date'.

Finding the right place for a dinner date is often just as painful as finding the right person to go on one of these dates with. Singles weed through hundreds of hopeful candidates only to find out that there are only a handful of options worthy of second dates. Ahhhh... this my friends is the bane ofsingle-hood. A particular restaurant scene from the first season of the HBO series, Sex and the City, easily sums these all up.

Miranda: Y'see, this is why I don't date -- the men out there are freaks.
Carrie: Well, that's completely unfair.
Miranda: I'm sorry, if a man is over 30 and single, there's something wrong with him. It's Darwinian -- they're being weeded out from propagating the species.
Carrie: Okay, what about us [single girls over 30]?
Miranda: We're just choosy. I'm getting more shrimps.

Like restaurants, some of these potential candidates can either freak you out or make you feel just right at home on the first date. Comfort it seems is a highly sort after virtue, followed closely by great communication skills to ensure an entertaining! evening . The last thing you'd want is an awkwardly silent date. Suddenly, I can see the appeal of going on a speed date. The concept of being able to dump a bad candidate before the first 10 minutes are up is extremely enticing.

Before I go any further off tangent, lets go back to the topic of finding the right restaurant shall we?

So if dating and dining are parallel in so many ways, would the concept of speed-dating work in the F&B world? Well, about two months back, the good people of Le Meridien KL experimented with the concept and showed off their own culinary version of speed-dining. Along with Cumi & Ciki, KY Speaks, Chaokar Smokes, and Mr&Mrs. Fatboybakes - the few lucky bloggers invited to discover every restaurant in the establishment, all in the course of one evening.



THE OBSERVATORY: Like all dates, the first moments are the most fleeting. Copious amount of drinks and getting to know one another. Social lubricants, these cocktails and champagne were along with a selection of colourful ice-breaking amuse bouche (tomato and strawberry gazpacho served in test tubes, pan seared tuna sashimi and sesame wakame salad, and martini of tomato salsa with mozzarella mousse and pesto). We were also introduced to the new guys on the Le Meridien team.



FAVOLA: Every fable starts with a great "Once upon a time...". But here, at the hotel's famed Italian restaurant, it began with a sampling of tomatoes, cheese and! bread b efore the duo of antipasti were served in a yin-yang composition.



From the freddo (cold) selection comes a silky orange-coloured smoked salmon with cold cucumber and macadamia puree. And in a bid to make a lasting first impression, an excellent serving of wild mushroom risotto in clear beef broth and pan seared duck liver sealed it for us.



PRIME: Cattle calling seems to be another specialty of the chef and his entourage of cooks-in-black. Before we sat down for our mains, we were all taken to the private room in the back where beefy hunks of meat were paraded in flesh and blood. It's no wonder why this famed-award-winning-restaurant is called Prime. Of course, everyone in the room was eying the best piece of meat in the room - the Grade 12 Wagyu.



Ask and you shall be given. It was no doubt indulging. The men on the table ended up getting our hands dirty and licking off the sweet ribs bbq sauce from our fingers. Meat eating is after all a verymedieval concept. Washed down with a bloody good red wine. Really, what more can one wish for?



LATEST RECIPE: As the saying goes, there's always room for dessert. And here in Le Meridien KL, desserts are housed in a huge room called Latest Recipe. All the fair maidens in the swooned as we walked passed the buffet dessert spread. I think their hearts would have stopped a beat when a platter of the prettiest desserts (consisting of honeydew sago shot, carrot cake, lychee tart, choc mousse with citrus jelly, vanilla crme brule, and agar agar) landed in front of them. Some even said these were better than sex. Is it just me or women are plainlydelusional.For those with a Hansel-Gratel fetish, this is definitely your playground. Teppanyaki ice cream, freshly made belgian waffles, cocktails...c'est la vie.

At the end of the night, it was actually quite hard to say which restaurant made a better impression. But, I'd definitely want to visit PRIME over and over again, perhaps with a real date in tow. It's unfortunate that this speed-dining concept isn't something the hotel does regularly. However, guest could enquire with any of their friendly staff if you wish to replicate the same gourmet tour of all their in-house restaurants. I'm sure Le Meridien KL would happily oblige.

A big thank you to Andrew, Damien and Chef Antoine for your kind hospitality.

***

Dining @ Le Meridien KL
Observatory, Favola, Prime and Latest Recipe
2, Jalan Sentral,
Kuala Lumpur Sentral,
50470 Kuala Lumpur
For Reservations, call the Dining Desk at +603-2263 7434 or email: dining.lmkl@lemeridien.com

Review: Macarons @ Cafe Vue, Tullamarine Airport

I don't know much about the other dishes at Cafe Vue but I'm sure that the macarons are the worst I've ever had in Melbourne. And I thought Le Belle Miette did a pretty bad job at it. The macarons literally shattered before I even sink my teeth in. To my horror, the insides were pretty hollow! This explains the lack of bite. Also, they were too sweet in spite of the natural flavors. So sweet that my teeth felt REALLY numb after eating them. Worst, macarons were spelt as macaroons. Dear people, MACARONS ARE NOT MACAROONS!

I wonder when is Melbourne going to make REALLY top notch macarons. Like the ones from Jean Paul Hevin.

Flavours Of Shanghai at Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant of One World Hotel

One World Hotel with the support of The Eton Hotel Shanghai will be promoting Flavours of Shanghai at Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant, located at the lobby level from 23 June 2011 till 2nd of July 2011.

4 of the guest chefs from The Eton Hotel Shanghai will be doing the cooking for you and expect the best from them.

Left to right > Chef Terry Yu (Sous Chef), Chef Navy Yang (Steamer 1), Chef Lion Xu (Wok 1) and Chef Fanny Le (Chef De Partie)

All the foods were designed in sets with a range of gorgeous Shanghainese cuisine which known for its rich and sweet flavours. Some of the dishes that will be served include:

The 3 Variety Appetizers Shanghai Style,where the tofu like thing were air flown in from Shanghai to maintain the authenticity of the dish. Then it were carefully prepared by the chefs to get the actual taste.

Deep Fried Prawn Shanghainese Style where the prawns were deep fried then stir fr! ied with a special bean paste sauce

Spicy Pomfret Deep fried pomfret fillet and mix with special Shanghai sauce

Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie @ Menara Taipan, Kuala Lumpur

Today, we were looking for a lunch venue and after considering some old favourites and some recently opened restaurants, we eventually bit the bullet and opted for the novelty of opening day at Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie. Our decision was based on information that the chef (Evert Onderbeke) from High Tide has been recruited and that our past dining experiences at Nathalie's Gourmet Studio have been pleasurable.

Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie has taken over the premises previously occupied by High Tide Restaurant. The restaurant has been renovated and now sports chic lamps and furniture in purple hues. The atmosphere is relaxed and we could view both chefs in action through the open kitchen. Service was also very pleasant and efficient.

There are several menus available here. For lunch, one can opt for either the set lunch or a la carte menu. The set lunch consists of Nathalie's French bento for RM45, or fresh homemade tagliatelles for RM35. From the a la carte menu, there is a choice of 5 starters, 5 main courses and 6 desserts. There are also 3 specially designed menu; namely Nathalie's selection 5-course menu for RM135, Seafood menu 5-course for RM130, or Degustation menu 6-course for RM180. Some a la carte items are featured in the specially designed menu. Menu changes monthly, similar to Nathalie's Gourmet Studio.

Hubby suggested that we go for the degustation menu and that we chose one of the main courses each in order to fully explore the menu.

Lovely purple hues

One of the main differences between Cuisine Gourmet and Nathalie's Gourmet Studio is that this place serves alcohol and is opened from 12.00noon to 10.30pm daily (except Sunday). There is even a hi-tea from 3.30pm onwards.

Bar & Open Kitchen

Freshly baked bread

Nice butter

Glass of Semillon

We start off with Three Finger Food, namely tuna on blini, lightly seared scallop with Szechuan pepper foam and onion jam followed by a gingerbread and foie gras cremeux. The myriad of textures and flavours of this starter is absolutely wonderful and this was possibly my favorite dish of the afternoon. I also love how beautiful this dish looks.

Gorgeous plating

Tuna on blini

Soft blinis topped with creamy avocado (I think) and a sliver of tuna

Lightly seared scallop with Szechuan pepper foam and onion jam

Love the sweetness of the caramelised onions with the scallops

Gingerbread and foie gras cremeux

Love the taste of savoury foie against the slightly sweet gingerbread

Next up, was the morel soup with a truffle foam. The soup was very thick, rich and smooth and tasted even better after each scoop.

Morel Soup in Truffle Cappuccino

Morel Soup in Truffle Cappuccino

Anoth! er beaut ifully presented dish, the tuna tartar with pan fried duck liver was a visual delight. To be honest, I ate both components separately and enjoyed them like that. The tuna tartar had a subtle Asian flavour and was fresh tasting. The pan fried foie was pretty good, and melted in the mouth. I noticed the pretty pea shoot, a signature garnish of Chef Evert.

Tuna Tartar, Pan Fried Duck Liver, Asian Flavours

Neither of us had eaten snails before, today we preferred to refer to them as escargot as it definitely sounds more appetizing. Hubby confessed to be a little apprehensive on the first mouthful but to his delight, it turned out to be his favourite course of the afternoon. The flavours worked well together, and I especially liked the herb emulsion.

Snails in Herb Lasagna, Garlic Mousseline, and Herb Emulsion

Escargots

We almost missed the fine detail within the pasta sheets used to create the lasagna of this dish. Herb leaves have been embedded in the translucent pasta to create the visual effect shown below.

Out of the two main courses, we prefer the lamb loin which has been cooked to perfection. The lamb loin has been stuffed with fresh mint, roasted garlic and espelette chilli and was packed full of flavour and tender. It was served with some pearl beans, which I unfortunately couldn't finish since it was quite filling. But I definitely enjoyed this dish very much as it was delicious.

Lamb Loin Stuffed with Fresh Mint, Roasted Garlic and Espelette Chilli, Pearl Beans in a Broth, Mint Oil

After taking his first bite of the fish, Hubby commented that it tasted cold. A quick reread of the menu highlighted the words"lemon marinated ikan kurau" which led us to believe, rightly or wrongly, this was in fact a ceviche. Hubby later admitted that he fancied the concept of having the degustation menu today, however he did not spend too much time reading the menu in great detail.

Lemon and Thyme Marinated Ikan Kurau, Scallops and Oyster Tartar, Cress Emulsion

For d! esserts, you get to choose from the a la carte menu. I went for the Jivara and orange chocolate tart which I enjoyed. The pastry was crumbly and the chocolate was to my liking.

Jivara and Orange Chocolate Tart, Cocoa Nougatine, and Vanilla Ice Cream

Hubby went for the Cafe Gourmand (selection of small desserts) served with a choice of tea/coffee. Upon it's arrival at our table he felt a little cheated because his speed reading of the menu earlier had led him to believe there were 5 items on his dessert platter, when in fact 3 of them were in the same glass. In all honesty though, he was more than satisfied with his lunch today and possibly would have struggled to polish off 5 desserts (then again maybe not since they were so good..)

The strawberry tart was very pretty and tasted fine too.

Mini strawberry tart

The Lemon sorbet cleansed the palate in preparation for the main act, the creme caramel, which was very smooth and creamy. A fitting end to a quality lunch.

Caramel Creme Brulee in a Glass, served with Lemon and Thyme Sorbet and Lemon Tuile

Nathalie has quite a reputation, locally for producing quality macarons and this chocolate macaron was a delight to eat.

Chocolate macaron

Two further macarons were presented to us by Nathalie by way of thanking us for visiting her new outlet on its opening day. This was a kind and welcomed gesture - Thanks Nathalie :)

Restaurant entrance

Restaurant signage

They will a! lso be o pening another bistro/cafe, in the same building, directly opposite Cuisine Gourmet serving macarons and light bites in September 2011.

Click here for the a la carte menu for July 2011.

Verdict: The food here is well prepared and beautifully presented. The menu is pretty similar to Nathalie's Gourmet Studio. Both restaurants are good in their own right but the interior here exudes more class and offers more comfort. After a pleasant first visit, we would definitely be returning for more.

Click here for the a la carte menu for July 2011.

Service: Excellent.

Price: RM180 per person for 6 course degustation menu.

Parking: Valet parking is available at Menara Taipan for a reasonable fee of RM10. Otherwise, you can park at The Weld and walk over to the restaurant.

Location: Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie, Ground Floor, Menara Taipan, Jalan Punchak (off Jalan P. Ramlee), 50250 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2072 4452

GPS Coordinates: 3.152011, 101.706153

Website: http://cgn.nathaliegourmetstudio.com/