Prime at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur

A warning to all vegetarians: This blogpost is not for you. For those of you who eat your steaks well-done: This blogpost is also not for you. But otherwise, read on!

Took the darling to Prime at Le Meridien KL (in KL Sentral) last night:


The dining area is nicely dimly lit & classy, and I like how the kitchen is in full view.


Once we're seated we're presented with two half-loaves of bread: white and walnut, and three types of butter: regular, chili and garlic. The bread was fragrant and fresh, and the darling and I just love the garlic butter.


Orders are made, and I start off with Pacific Clam Chowder (MYR40). The chowder was great and was full of clammy taste, although personally I prefer my chowders a bit more creamy/thick.


The darling starts off her journey with Lobster Bisque (MYR45). This is Prime's house specialty soup. The soup itself is great tasting with chunks of lobster meat, but I didn't especially care much about the "golden crust" (as per Prime's menu) as it didn't taste all that special.


Having finished all the bread (mistake on our part) and the soup (generous portions) we're already half-full, so note-to-self is to order smaller main courses next visit :). In any case the darling has Simply Lamb (MYR125) which is:

1. French cut lamb cutlet with rosemary flavored tomato fondue.
2. Charcoal grilled lamb noisette on wilted spinach.
3. Skewer of lamb loin with garlic cream and roasted baby potato.

The cutlet and noisette are grilled to perfection, and without an overpowering "lamb taste." Skewer of Lamb Loin was quite a bit less enticing, but that could be because we got to it last and were stuffed by then.


I go for Simply Beef (MYR270) - a trio of 4oz (110g) steaks, ordered Medium Rare (if you have your steak any more cooked than Medium, you're doing it wrong):

1. Australian Black Angus gourmet pasture fed beef ribeye with Chimichurri sauce, sea salt and green asparagus tips.
2. Australian Black Angus 200 days grain fed center cut filet mignon with Grain mustard sauce, grilled tomato and porcini salad.
3. Wagyu sirloin with Béarnaise sauce and roasted baby potato.

Three steaks, three different cuts of meat, three different cows reared three different ways makes for a superbly incomparable meaty steak journey. My least favorite (which is a bit like saying which would be my least favorite car in a Ferrari showroom) is the filet mignon. The meat is very tender and tasty, but also a fair bit too lean for my tastes. The other two steaks are a tie - the wagyu sirloin is by far the tastiest steak, but I also love the more fatty rib-eye cut. Wagyu rib-eye for the next trip? Haha.


Despite being stuffed we finish off the evening with a Rich hot chocolate cake, chocolate sauce and stracciatella ice cream ($30). Hot chocolate cake with generous chocolate sauce melts in the mouth and is complemented nicely by the cold ice cream.


Prime came highly recommended as a steakhouse and grill and it didn't disappoint. Price isn't too bad either (courtesy of 50% discount from my Starwood Privilege card). Already eye'ing the 340g 200 days grain-fed Australian Black Angus Rib-eye (MYR160) for my next visit. And maybe cut off the soup and dessert in consideration for my wallet ^_^

Vietnam Kitchen - 1 Utama

In an effort to reduce food expenses I managed to con...vince the gang into dinner - that way I get to post more pictures without needing to pay for the food! Win-win situation all round. Anyways, Vietnam Kitchen was the food-place of choice, specifically the 1Utama branch.

First off, some drinks: Mango blended with White Jelly, and Red and Mung Bean with Coconut Ice (both MYR6.50). I must admit I didn't care much for the Mango which wasn't special, but I love the beany one.


The darling, GS and I share a "Set A" ($33.90) which comes with:

(i) Sweet and Sour Chicken. Quite a decent-tasting dish, if perhaps not quite representative of Vietnamese cooking.


(ii) Stir-Fried Bean Sprout with Salted Fish.


(iii) Stewed Pork Rib with Caramel Sauce. This dish was pretty good, actually. Pork was nicely stewed and the sauce was tasty without being too salty.


(iv) Tofu with Minced Pork and Mushroom. No picture. Because, well ... it's tofu. With some sauce. Couldn't get a nice picture of that no matter how hard I tried ;D

EC had the Sliced Chicken & Spring Roll Vermicelli (MYR11.90):


AS rounds off the food with a Mixed Vegetable Fried Noodle (MYR12.90).


Vietnam Kitchen has 5 outlets in Malaysia thus far. Having never travelled to Vietnam I can't vouch for the authenticity of the cuisine, but overall it isn't too bad a place to have some nice food at very reasonable prices. 3 Stars.

Ah Khai Famous Char Siew Chicken Rice

Short, sweet and simple update - the darling and I dropped by Ah Khai Famous Char Siew Chicken Rice in Taman Paramount. It's a stall located in a coffee shop named Restoran Simon's Delights, and the stall owner apparently learnt the "art" of roasting all the way in Hong Kong.


Obviously ... we order the Char Siew (MYR6.50/pax). One bite and we understand why this stall has been featured in The Star (newspaper clipping proudly on display). The serving portion is generous and the meat is tender, but the best part is by far the skin which is the perfect balance of caramellized sweetness and BBQ charring.


If anything though, I would recommend not to order the pun fei sou (half fat lean) - our portions turned out to be 75% fats, which was a tad bit too fatty for our tastes.

Ah Khai Famous Char Siew Chicken Rice
Restoran Simon Delight
No. 63, Jalan 20/7,
Taman Paramount

Breakfast at Jarrod & Rawlins

Short Sunday Update - The darling and I managed to tear ourselves away from watching The Big Bang Theory long enough to go catch a late breakfast at one of our favorite lepak joints - Jarrod & Rawlins.


We decide to share a Full Works (MYR34.00) - this is a huge platter of grilled bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, yummy sausages, eggs and hash browns, with baked beans, 2 large slices of toast, coffee/tea and orange juice. The pork sausages are especially awesome. Unless you're a big eater, it's plenty enough for two.


We decide to also go for a slice of Death by Chocolate (MYR13.50). Chocolate cake and chocolate mousse topped off with a thick layer of ... chocolate. We love that the cake isn't very sweet - which can be a bit of a turn off. This one though, is chocolatey goodness all the way (with a hint of rum in the mousse). A little sinful, perhaps, but as Salsa class is next on the itinerary, it's OK lah ^_^


If the menu doesn't appeal to you, there's plenty of choices of sausages, bacon, meats, pies, hams & etc at the deli - take your pick, and it's a MYR12.00 charge (with a choice of side dish) for it to be grilled perfectly for you.


Great ambience and a nice place to hang out on a late morning/afternoon - Jarrod & Rawlins serves their breakfast all day long. We went to the Damansara Heights branch, but they also have outlets in Sri Hartamas, Cap Square and Ampwalk.

No. 6, Lorong Dungun
Damansara Heights
50480 Kuala Lumpur