CHASING FOOD DREAMS

June 25, 2015

Buka Puasa @ The Living Room, The Westin Kuala Lumpur

Juadah Iftar

As the holy month continues, embrace this buka puasa ritual with more mouth-watering spread at The Westin Kuala Lumpur at The Living Room’s Juadah Iftar Buffet dinner. Savor wonderful indulgences as of Malaysian cuisine’s vibrant melting pot of flavours and aroma whipped up by the culinary team in a modern and elegant ambience.

The all-day-dining restaurant Iftar experience promises a full Malaysian fare with over 15 live cooking station. Savor sumptuous spread of Malay cuisine together with Indian cuisines as well as Chinese and other international fare.

Chef Boobalan Arumugam and Chef Halim Sultan, who are the main chefs responsible for the amazing Juadah Iftar Buffet

Taking center stage at the Iftar buffet spread is traditional Malaysian spread of sumptuous Roasted Lamb with Westin Briyani Rice, Ayam Percik, Ikan Bakar, a host of curries, kerabu, ulam, sambal and more.

Enjoy tender spiced up Roasted Lamb with fluffy spice-infused biryani crowned with cashews and raisin. There is also the tender and succulent Ayam Percik, nicely baked with spices and then smothered in unctuous peanut spiced sauce. Besides the lamb and chicken, a beautiful masterpiece of Roasted Beef Rib makes great enjoyment with grilled vegetables and baked potatoes.

Hit the pots of Daging Gulai Nusantara, Gulai Ayam Kampung Pucuk Ubi Kayu, Ekor Asam Pedas, Ayam Rendang, Sayur Lodeh, Ayam Rendang, Sotong Sambal Petai, Ketam Masak Lemak and Sayur Goreng Jawa with Prawns as these are beautifully rich with flavours and textures. It is certainly an assortment of curries that really sums up authentic Malay cuisine’s unique flavours.

Savor these curries with Roti Jala, Ketupat, Nasi Impit, Lemang or rice as they are the perfect accompaniments to enjoy the rich and spicy curries. Don’t forget to add on the Chicken or Beef Serunding as well.

Check out the live cooking station where Ikan Bakar prevails. Choose the array of marinated fish and seafood and let the chef grilled it up. Savor there with the sauces and sambals. Alternatively next to the grill station is Chicken and Beef Satay Celup Warisan sitting in warming pots of peanut sauce.

More live stations whipping up Chicken Shawarma, Popiah, Roti John, Murtabak, Roti Canai, and Roti Boom fresh so one gets to enjoy these piping hot. There’s stations are crowd pleasers for young ones to adults.

For something hot and warming, enjoy Bubuk Lambuk Super Chicken, Sup Tulang Rawan Pattani, Indian Spicy & Sour Chicken Soup, Mushroom Soup and more.

Then there is the plethora of Aneka Kerabu, Ulams, Ikan Masin, Telur Masin, Sambals, Keropok, Jeruk Buah, Gado Gado, Tauhu Sumbat, Sotong Kangkung and so much more. There are also salads and dressings on the station as well.

The next station to watch out for is the Nasi Kandar station filled with an amazing potpourri of rice to be savored with Daging Kandar, Kambing Kandar, Ayam Kandar, Kobis Goreng Kunyit, Telur Sambal and more. It is literally a haven of flavours of luscious Nasi Kandar.

Besides the Nasi Kandar, there is also an array of Indian spiced fried Sotong, Ayam, Telur Ikan and Ikan Tenggiri Goreng.

More treats from other cuisines include Roasted Duck Mantao, Steamed Whole Fish with Garlic Chive Cream Sauce, Chicken Rice, Char Kway Teow, Dim Sum, Lok Lok, Asam Laksa, Curry Laksa, Mee Rebus and the list goes on…

Moving on to desserts, its literally a room filled with racks of sweet treats from Chocolate Fountain, a majestic array of Fresh Fruits, traditional Malay Kuih Muih, Cakes, Cupcakes, Puddings, Tarts, Jelly, Ice Cream, Ais Kacang and more. A must-have is the Deep Fried Ice Cream where the dessert is whipped up to order and diners will certainly be pleased with the crispy crust and ice cold combination of ice cream.

IFTAR BUFFET

RM118nett per adult from 18 June to 26 June 2015

RM148nett per adult from 27 June to 15 July 2015

*Complimentary for children below the age of 5 years old

Discounts Available

12% for group booking with minimum of 20 diners

SPG members enjoy 20% discount on total food bill.

For further information or reservations, please call Westin dining on 603 2773 8338 or email westindining@westin.com

THE LIVING ROOM

The Westin Kuala Lumpur

199, Jalan Bukit Bintang,

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 603 2731 8333

Website: www.thewestinkualalumpur.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/westin.kl

June 24, 2015

Limapulo @ Jalan Doraisamy Kuala Lumpur

Baba Can Cook

It still sits at the top of my list for my ultimate bowl of Nyonya Laksa… Uncle John’s Nyonya Laksa that is… undefeated ever since I had my first taste, I doubt I will ever find another bowl to compete with this. So when Baba Tan Kim Chye or more lovingly known as Uncle John opened Limapulo together with his godson, Alan Yun late last year at Jalan Doraisamy in Kuala Lumpur, I made sure to round up the foodie gang for a visit to my favorite Peranakan restaurant.

Helming LimaBlas previously, Uncle John and Alan now only operates Limapulo solely. It is always a joy to meet and see passionate people who takes their passion beyond anything. Uncle John, 73 years old this year, is still as gung-ho in serving up his legacy of scrumptious Nyonya cuisine as he was in his early years. To Uncle John, it is his duty to continue to dish up his family’s recipes and share the dishes with foodies from all over the world.

Limapulo takes on the same décor themed as their previous restaurants. It is a space for nostalgic charms of yesteryears cleverly matched together. Walking into the restaurant, diners are taken down memory lane of Baba Nyonya era with all its reconditioned furniture, old school memorabilia, and signboards. A touch of new life is injected through several pieces of modern art posters.

Peranakan Ale (RM4.50) is Uncle John’s homemade version of ginger ale. It’s lovely and refreshing so it’s a good choice to go with the strong flavours of the dishes unless you are not a fan of ginger.

Uncle John’s Nyonya Laksa (RM9.90) recently bagged the award for the Best Curry Laksa in the Klang Valley in The Star People’s Food Awards. That’s how good many deemed this bowl of Nyonya Laksa is, including myself.

I have had this Nyonya Laksa several times and each time, flavours are consistently good. His Nyonya Laksa is made from scratch and no additives are added. Instead Uncle John’s family recipes requires a list of fresh herbs and spices, all carefully balanced, pounded, cooked till fragrant together with more ingredients such as dried shrimp, coconut milk, tamarind and more. Once the laksa gravy is ready, it is then ladle piping hot onto noodles accompanied by shredded chicken, bean curd puff, fish cake slices, boiled egg, cucumber, bean sprout, calamansi lime and sambal.

Flavours are distinctively complex and yet the overall note of spicy, sour, sweet and savory really shines. The laksa broth is aromatic, robust and so creamy. There is a beautiful note of the dried shrimp together with the ginger torch that made the broth unique and piquant. Happy diners like me are glad to know that Uncle John’s Nyonya Laksa is available 70 bowls a day (prior to this it was only 17 bowls) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for lunch and occasionally dinner. Rest assured, I did full justice to this bowl as there is no drop of laksa broth left in the bowl…

At Limapulo, their version of Cucur Udang (RM9.90) is different from many sellers. Here, the prawn fritters is cut up and served with boiled egg, fried tempeh, cucumber and drizzled in a sweet and spicy sauce. The finely shredded kaffir leave, ginger torch and calamansi limes added more fresh notes. Unusual but since I love tempeh and prawn fritter, I am certainly not complaining. Portion here is larger as it caters to our big group that evening.

Pie Tee (RM10 for a set of 4 pieces) is a Nyonya classic. These are decent with crispy top hat shaped shells filled with yam bean filling and topped with prawn and chili sauce.

Limapulo offers a nice list of Nyonya set lunches or single meals. Nasi Lemak (RM9.90) is surely a choice that we Malaysians love at any time of the day. Here, the beautifully fluffy and lemak coconut rice is served with curry chicken and its usual sidekicks of peanuts, anchovies, boiled egg, cucumber and sambal. Value-for-money lunch!

Our main dishes arrived and Gerang Asam (RM25) is definitely our favorite that evening of all the curries. The tamarind based curry is very appetizing and highly addictive. Piquant, tangy and spicy flavours are definitely crowd pleasing flavours. Depending on the catch of the day, different fish are used in this curry. That evening, mackerel fish cutlet is used and the firm flesh fish is delicious. The heavy flavoured fish is able to match the tangy curry well. Lady’s fingers are also often added in this curry to soak up the flavours. Yum… I made sure I piled scoops of the Gerang Asam curry on my rice.

Udang Masak Lemak Dengan Nenas (seasonal price) is a new dish at Limapulo. It is not on the menu yet but will be offer as a special on certain days when Uncle John can get all the ingredients to make this dish. It is cooked Masak Lemak style, so the curry is very different from the earlier one. This one is very rich, thick and creamy, redolent of lots of coconut milk and heavy dosage of spices. Prawns and pineapples are a common match in curries. The pineapple is supposed to add a natural fresh fruity note to the curry. The prawns were large, fresh and juicy, cooked beautifully in the thick savory and lightly tangy curry.

Ayam Berempah (RM17) is another curry that is heavily robust with spices. This is similar to chicken curry but is a thicker and dryer version of it. Uncle John is very good at balancing his spices, giving each curry a certain pedigree of flavours.

Uncle John keeps his menu small with his signatures. It’s always best to stick to what one knows best. Sambal Terung (RM15) is also a delicious signature which he had served up in previous restaurants too. Moreish notes sang all the way in the tangy and sweet eggplant sambal.

Sambal Bendi (RM15) is another dish that showed us how the Baba Nyonya loves their chili and spices. Even their vegetables is served with sambal. Lady’s fingers are blanched and served with a thick punchy sambal.

While we were dining, we spied our nearby table having the Nyonya Fried Chili (seasonal price depending on type of fish). Scad or cencaru is stuffed with chili paste and fried. It sure looks good and smells wonderful. Maybe for our next visit…

Uncle John makes a mean Mango Patchree (RM2 a piece). It’s a mango pickle and chutney that is a bomb of flavours. This condiment is time-consuming to make but is truly worthy once you had a taste of it!

Dinner ended with Nyonya desserts of Cendol (RM3.40), Ais Kacang (RM4.50) and Sago Gula Melaka (RM3.50). Traditional desserts that are icy, refreshing and a great way to clear the palate from all the curries and spices.

Limapulo showed that us that Baba can certainly cook too! Baba Uncle John that is… if only Limapulo is nearer to me because I would to be able to savor the Nyonya Laksa as often as I like. Oh well, not that distance matters to me because I know I would make my way there if Nyonya Laksa is what I am craving for. Don’t miss signatures of Nyonya Laksa, Gerang Asam, Ayam Berempah, Sambal Terung and Mango Patchree!