Fu-Rin Japanese Restaurant, Holiday Inn Kuala Lumpur Glenmarie: Boston Lobster Delight

The King of Crustacean Goes Japanese!

Seafood has been taking the town by storm lately. Surely this is no surprise since we all love our seafood! Well here’s one more seafood promotion that gourmands should check out…

Fu-Rin Japanese Restaurant, located at Holiday Inn Kuala Lumpur Glenmarie, has been serving up scrumptious Japanese cuisine for the longest years that I could remember. Faithful followers will attest that Fu-Rin, an award winning Japanese restaurant, is the restaurant to go to for Japanese cuisine with a modern twist from its freshest cut of sashimi to its main dishes and more. Starting November this month till end of December 2014, Fu-Rin is proud to showcase the king of crustacean, Boston Lobster prepared in several ways in their Boston Lobster Delight promotion.

Before we take on the lobsters, here’s what Fu-Rin also has available to tempt your senses. Just like its ambience and surrounding, Fu-Rin offers dishes that evoke a sense of Zen flavours. All of their dishes are beautifully created with the finest and freshest ingredients from land and sea. The Sashimi Bar alone is a plethora of fishes and seafood.

Wine is also available at Fu-Rin to be paired with Japanese cuisine.

And so it is without any doubt that we should start any Japanese meal with a platter of Sashimi Moriawase! Showcasing thick glorious cuts of Salmon, Yellowtail, Snapper, Scallop and Sweet Amaebi, the sashimi is served on ice to keep chilled. The sashimi is divine, tasting wonderfully sweet with hints of oceanic notes of the sea. Even the prawns, which I am not really a fan off, were firmly gelatinous with much sweetness in every bite won my heart.

Sashimi Carpaccio Aburi is a modern take on the classic carpaccio. Assorted fish is sliced ever so thinly before rolled up with a creamy filling of salad and masago and finished with a light torch to give the fish a smoky opaqueness. A drizzle of Tare sauce balanced up the creaminess of the sashimi. This was so good, we had another round of it…

Another roll that also peak our interest was the Fu-Rin Creamer Roll, an assorted seafood roll with mayonnaise. Looking like a hot mess, the rice roll had a filling of tempura battered seafood, lettuce and cucumber. It was then smothered in an eggy mayo sauce, topped with tempura flakes, torched, sprinkled with pink peppercorn and drizzled with sweet sauce. The combination of flavours and textures are pretty much awesome with loads of luscious and creamy notes, burst of spicy peppercorn and savory sweetness.

These golden Ebi Tango Furai balls sure looked adorable. Made with minced prawns, these were lightly breaded and fried to a lovely golden color and served with sliced cucumber and cherry tomato and a spicy tangy cream sauce. The prawn balls have a lovely firm and springy texture with lots of sweetness.

Wasabi Beef was a crowd pleaser that evening. The few of us just couldn’t get enough of the thinly seared and slice beef served on a bed of finely shredded radish, onions and doused with a wasabi tinged ponzu sauce. The tender beef has a melt-in-the-mouth texture while the savory tangy wasabi sauce is an explosion of flavours in the mouth. I personally love the addition of wasabi in this classic dish.

This chicken looked so good with its presentation! Pan Furai Wafu Teriyaki has a whole boneless chicken thigh marinated in Japanese flavours and pan fried to an amber golden brown. Juicy and tender, the chicken is served with pickled thinly sliced cucumber. Sufficiently decent and great for everyone of all ages…

Our highlight of the night was Ise Ebi Teriyaki, Lobster Teppanyaki. Looking at the crustaceans left us all in awe. The Boston Lobster was split open and cooked teppanyaki style with butter soy sauce. It was finished with an egg batter and drizzled with mayo and sweet sauce. One can definitely tell how good this already is. The lobster meat was tender and sweet. Chunks of the meat are well flavoured with the combination of the savory, sweet and creamy flavours. The egg on top is also pretty much addictive.

I should have taken a photo of the lobster meat but as soon as we all took a bite, this was just polished off in a jiffy. Proof is in the pudding, it’s just that delicious!

More lobster showed up in Ise Ebi Miso Shiru, Lobster Miso Soup. The favorite miso soup is coronate with the king of crustacean as well. I could taste the light sweetness of the lobster in the nutty miso broth and there were chunks of lobster meat in it too. Indeed a miso broth fit for royalty…

We ended the evening with a simple note of Yaki Soba. The buckwheat noodles are prepared with classic flavours and come with cabbage, fish cake, seaweed and bonito flakes.

Boston Lobster Promotion Set starts from 1 October – 31 December 2014

Set includes appetizer, soup, main course and dessert and is priced from RM 395.00++(4 person).

Contact Fu-Rin Japanese Restaurant at +603 7802 5245 or email to dining@holidayinnkl.com.my for reservation and more details on this promotion.

FU-RIN JAPANESE RESTAURANT

Holiday Inn Kuala Lumpur Glenmarie

Ground Floor 1, Jalan Usahawan U1/8,

Seksyen U1,

40250 Shah Alam, Selangor

Tel: 603-7802 5288

Website: www.holidayinnglenmarie.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/holidayinnklg

Holiday Inn Melaka: Back for Another Cool Weekend Getaway!

Great to be Back at Holiday Inn Melaka…

The journey of life is a circle. We wake up, we do our daily routine of work or school, we come home in the evening to rest before we hit the bed and repeat what we do all over again. Then comes weekend where some of us get some time off from our week day routines. Now normally, weekend is filled with household chores and errands among other duty calls. With all these constantly moving, sometimes we need a break from our daily circle. That’s when vacation calls… long or short, vacations are always much welcome!

Back in 2012, I had a fabulous short weekend stay at the Holiday Inn Melaka. I still remembered vividly how I love the bed and my stay there. A few weekends ago, my family and I head back for another weekend stay. This time, we went with my foodie BFF, Choi Yen and her family. It was a blast since we both had kids around the same age and my D gets along very well with her Sam. Our ride there was all jolly and smooth. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and everything was near perfect except for the hot and humid air.

We arrive and were greeted by much coolness upon stepping into the Holiday Inn Melaka. Set by the waterfront of the Straits of Malacca, there was a light wind together with the sunny weather. Right away, we were handed glasses of chilled drinks. Such a small gesture but makes us feel so welcome and happy right away. A quick wait for check in and another staff offered us a tray filled with chocolate muffins. The kids loved it and I also had one, which was still warm. Our check in was fast and easy and our rooms were ready.

When we were last here 2 years ago, D was much younger but now he is 5 years old and loving every minute of any getaways we do.

As soon as we were done with check-in, we made our way to our rooms. My Standard bedroom was just how it was, like my prior visit. The hotel room is very well kept and everything looks neat and well maintained.

If you have read in my previous visit here, I love the bed and pillows here. You get a choice of soft or firm plump pillows with a firm and plush mattress. This round we got a king-sized bed. My little one was ecstatic. He jumps right on it and started his chill out…

I am reminded how I love the music flowing throughout the room when I turn my television on. Holiday Inn Melaka features a soothing instrumental music on the hotel’s channel and I just love it so much simply because it certainly adds a beautiful touch to my getaway. The room is filled with lots of natural light as our face the waterfront. We get a view of the sea and blue sky plus the long jetty stretching out to the waters.

Our room is equipped with usual television with cable channels, work desk with lamp, electrical outlets, wifi access and phone.

Other room amenities are mini fridge and a mini bar with coffee maker, complimentary water, coffee and tea. I am a fan of Pickwick teas and I was happy to see that the hotel still serves these.

Besides the above, the hanging closet has iron and ironing board, thick waffled bathrobes, hair dryer, mini safe and hotel slippers.

The bathroom features a shower room and the usual bathroom amenities of shampoo, hair conditioner, liquid body soap, body lotion, toothbrush, shower cap, soap, sewing kit and towels. The bathroom is spacious and even has a little glass window between the bathroom and bedroom.

After settling down, we head downstairs for Hi-Tea at Essence Kitchen. The restaurant was pack that day but we had a lovely afternoon savoring yummy BBQ meat and seafood with an array of local and international dishes. I really enjoyed the Satay and Fried Radish Cake here while the Curry Noodles was yummy too.

We head out for a stroll around the hotel and were happy to say that everything looks exactly how it was before. The gym and Tea Tree Spa remains immaculate and well kept. The Tea Tree Spa is spacious and is designed with a serene Zen nature. As I walked through the spa, a sense of familiarity swept over me.

Our spa rooms are in little Balinese inspired huts and despite the sunny hot weather, the room was cool and peaceful. After a leisure massage, we sipped on potent hot ginger tea to sooth our body. I highly recommend a spa session in any vacation. It really makes a big difference… blissfully relax!

We head back to the room for a quick nap on our comfy bed before dinner.

Dinner was at one of my favorite Italian restaurant, Sirocco. Together with a few other guests we had a feast that night. I shall feature our dinner in my next post together with our little escapade to Taming Sari and Melaka River Cruise since it would be too long in this one.

A quick peek in the evening from our window… the scenery was just breathless!

The next morning, we dined at Essence Kitchen again and enjoy their breakfast spread. Essence Kitchen features a wide spread of breakfast such as local must-have Nasi Lemak, Mee Goreng, Porridge, noodles, Roti Canai and more. Western spread was equally lovely with hot crispy hash browns, hotdogs, baked beans, and egg station. Enjoy lots of pastries and bread or simply enjoy fresh fruits with yoghurt and cereals. My little one enjoyed his half-boiled egg and all the juices provided.

As soon as breakfast was done, D just couldn’t wait to get into the pool. Who could blame him? Gorgeous blue sky with bits of fluffy clouds blends in beautifully with the blue waters of the pool. We met up with Choi Yen and her family there and the kids had an awesome time. The rectangle pool is designed to showcase the illusion of an infinity view spanning all the way to meet the horizon of the blue sea water. It’s just pure mesmerizing at any time of the day…

While our kids and other half enjoy the waters, me and Choi Yen… we just put up our feet and enjoy this view! Isn’t it gorgeous?

As usual, we hesitated on checking out… our weekend getaway is just too short. We plan to come back for a longer one. I do have to say I am very pleased at how well Holiday Inn Melaka maintains the overall hotel and service. After two years, everything remains just as it was before. Recently, Holiday Inn Melaka was also awarded The Best 4-Star City Hotel in Malaysia by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia for 2-consecutive years in a row and 2014 Travelers’ Choice award by Tripadvisor.com. Well-deserved awards as the hotel staff was always full of smiles when I was there!

Stay tune for my Sirocco dinner coming right up…

Holiday Inn Melaka

Jalan Syed Ab. Aziz

75000, Melaka

Toll Free: 1 800 801 881

Tel: +606 285 9000

Fax: +606 285 9111

Website: www.holidayinn.com/melaka

Facebook: www.facebook.com/HIMelaka

*More photos available in my Facebook: Chasing Food Dreams