CNY 2015: Qing Zhen Chinese Restaurant, Novotel Kuala Lumpur

Usher in the Year of the Wooden Goat with one of three delightful Chinese New Year menus on offer at Qing Zhen Chinese Restaurant at Novotel KL. Available from 19 January to 7 March 2015, you can choose from Wisdom Set Menu (RM1088++ for 10 pax), Fortune Set Menu (RM1288++ for 10 pax, and Prosperity Set Menu (RM1888++). If you are dining in a smaller group, fret not as Qing Zhen also offers a smaller menu for a minimum of 6 pax. Full CNY menu can be viewed here.

CNY Decor at Qing Zhen

We had the pleasure of dining at Qing Zhen during our staycation here last year and last week, we were invited back here to sample their CNY menu.

Yee sang is always my favorite part of a CNY meal. Over here, you can choose to have smoked duck, lamb & salmon or smoked salmon & abalone yee sang. We had the latter, which is also part of the Prosperity Set Menu. Tossing yee sang is always fun, as we shout out auspicious wishes for the new year such as good health, more money, winning the lottery, etc.

Smoked salmon and abalone yee sang

Topped with salmon and abalone

Ready for the toss

First yee sang toss of the year! Yay. ;)

Next to arrive is the braised seafood soup, filled with treasures of the sea such as fish lips, sea cucumber, dried scallops, fish maw and crab meat as well as mushrooms. Although Qing Zhen is a pork-free restaurant, their dishes will not lose in the taste and flavour department  even when compared to a restaurant serving pork. Each mouthful of the soup is smooth and soothing to the tummy, all of us had second helpings and some even up to 4 bowls! Excellent soup.

The prettiest, and my favorite dish of the afternoon is the steamed Pacific cod fish. Each piece of cod is topped with a large pan seared sea scallop with green ginger sauce. Utterly delicious! And lucky me for getting two portions of this ;)

The wok fried king prawns boasts huge, fresh prawns which are deep fried until the skin crispy, while retaining the taut, juicy flesh within. It is served with wolf berry, red dates and a sauce made from dried Chinese yam "Wai San" style.

Lamb is not something you always see on Chinese menus, and this wok fried lamb loin was certainly a breath of fresh air. Furthermore with this CNY being the year of the goat/lamb. We were really impressed with the tender, flavorful lamb meat which is coated in aromatic premium coffee sauce. Assistant Chinese Chef, Jerry Kong explains to us that he uses lamb tenderloin and we also expressed how we liked that the dish did not display a strong lamby taste. The lamb was delicious eaten on its own or wrapped with the flower bun and lettuce.

A well-loved dish during the CNY period, the braised Mexican abalone, mushroom, sea cucumber and dried oyster with scented abalone sauce was delicious. Discerning, health-conscious diners will be happy to learn that Qing Zhen's menu is pretty low in sodium, but without comprising on the taste as all the dishes were very well-flavoured and tasty. 

The steamed aromatic buttered rice in lotus leaf got the approval of my fellow diners, and they were impressed that such a delicious version could be made without any pork. Chef Jerry uses dried mushrooms, waxed meat (duck) as well as his own-made chicken char siew for this. Furthermore, rice instead of glutinous rice is used for a lighter, healthier version.

To end our meal on a sweet note, we had Chinese New Year cake, also known as nian gao. The nian gao is coated in a light, thin batter and deep fried until the skin is crispy and the nian gao is warm and gooey.

Thanks to Novotel KL for having us, we thoroughly enjoyed the meal! :)



The Chinese New Year menus are available for both lunch and dinner from 19 January to 7 March 2015. However please note that the restaurant will be closed from 19-22 February 2015. For reservations or enquiries, email H6324-FB3@accor.com or call 03-2147 0888.

Pork-free.

Opening hours: Mondays to Saturdays - Lunch: 12.00pm – 2.30 pm; Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.00pm. Closed on Sunday.

Location: Qing Zhen Chinese Restaurant, Novotel Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 2 Jalan Kia Peng, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2147 0888

GPS Coordinates: 3.151861, 101.719673




If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Nyonya lunch @ Limapulo: Baba Can Cook, Jalan Doraisamy, Kuala Lumpur

Do you like Nyonya food? A good place to get delicious, affordable Nyonya food is at Limapulo. It is located on the Asian Heritage Row at Jalan Doraisamy (adjacent to Sheraton Imperial KL Hotel).

Lunching at Limapulo

The restaurant was packed with customers, just 15 minutes after opening time. Seems that on some days, you even have to queue to get in. Uncle John (also affectionately known as Baba), one of the owners of the place can often be found at the front of the restaurant welcoming the customers.

You can either order from their set lunch menu (available from 12 to 3pm) or their a la carte menu. We chose from the set lunch menu, which was reasonably priced, at RM9.90 each - amongst the items you can choose from are nyonya laksa (Mon/Wed/Fri only), nyonya fried mee/mee hoon/rice, pongteh chicken,and gerang asam fish (pari).

Authentic mee siam + Peranakan Ale

We ordered the mee siam (a special on Tue & Thurs) which was served with a spicy nutty sauce (apparently it's not authentic if it's served without it) as well as the tamarind chicken and ayam berempah. The latter two comes with rice, fried omelette and a side of vegetables. They were all very tasty, but out of the three, I loved the ayam berempah the most. The sauce was thick, creamy, spicy and very appetizing. We were told that the tangy tamarind chicken is made without any oil at all, definitely great for those wanting a healthy option for lunch.

Since we were here on a Thursday, we didn't get to try the nyonya laksa. I am definitely going to return for that.

Ayam berempah.. my fav!

Tamarind chicken

Some other side dishes that we tried - mangga patchree (a sweet-sour poached mango curry with turmeric).

Pai tee (RM2 each) - hot from the fryer... crispy with a delicious filling 

Mystery Green, an appetizing made with the by-product from the Mangga Patchree. We also tried the Peranakan ale (RM4.50), nice and gingery, great for my cough.

My boy loved this classic dessert, sago gula melaka (RM3.50). Richness + sweetness level is just perfect.

Thanks Eunice for the lovely cakes from Yut Kee :) as well as your company during lunch. xoxo

On a separate visit, I went back to try their Nyonya laksa (RM9.90). It's available here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during lunch time. The broth is rich and delicious and inside you will find tofu puff, half boiled egg fishcake and fishballs and if you do not specify, it will be served with both meehoon and yellow mee. Big generous portion too!

*They have also opened another outlet in Intermark called Limabelas. It is located at LG Floor (near Jaya Grocer).


Pork-free.

Opening times: Monday to Saturday 12pm - 3pm; 6pm - 10pm.

Service: Good.

Price: Total bill RM54.10.

Location: Limapulo, 26 Jalan Doraisamy, 53000 Kuala Lumpur. (near Sheraton Imperial KL/Heritage House)

Tel: 03-2698 3268

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Baba-Can-Cook/635621076504974

GPS Coordinates: 3.158284, 101.699541



If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

La Cucina @ Pullman Kuala Lumpur Bangsar

La Cucina is the urban dining specialty restaurant in Pullman Kuala Lumpur Bangsar serving Mediterranean-inspired cuisine.

During our staycation here, we dined in this restaurant twice - once for their steak promotion and another time trying out their a la carte menu for dinner. They have a wide range of salads, pasta, pizza and main courses available here.

King prawn salad

Freshly baked bread

The kitchen is located smack in the centre of the restaurant - yup, an open kitchen for the viewing pleasure of the diners. There is also a Mediterranean salad bar whereby you can make your salad selections and watch the salads being prepared before your eyes. Select your desired toppings; one salad for RM24 or selection of two for RM34. We went for the king prawn salad - it was fresh and the king prawns were huge and meaty. 

Over at La Cucina, the pizzas are baked in a clay oven and you can customise your own pizzas - ie you can choose the base and toppings. For the base, we chose mixed herbs and garlic confit as well as Maldon salt and olive oil, and for the toppings, it was misto verde, a vegetarian selection of grilled courgette, portobello mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and baby spinach and on the other side, it was wild mushrooms with spanish anchovies and dried figs. Great thin pizzas and delicious toppings. 

Our customized pizza

It's no secret that we all love scallops, so my kids squealed in delight when the risotto with sea scallops arrived at our table.  Delicious creamy risotto served with plump scallops.... it was indeed a delight to savour. Please note that this dish is usually served with 3 scallops only.

The Linguine All’Anatra Affumicata was rather good; the linguine was tossed golden-roasted garlic, extra virgin olive oil and chilli flakes, giving it a lovely spicy kick and then topped with yummy smoked duck breast. We like this a lot.

We also shared two mains - the red mullet fillet as well as braised Australian grain-fed beef cheek. The fish is lightly seared and served in a saffron infused seafood bisque. The beef on the other hand is slow cooked for 7 hours til tender, and is served with Parmesan polenta and olive tapenade.

For desserts, we had a selection of cakes and macarons as well as a chocolate ball. The creme brulee was pretty yummy.

Open kitchen concept

Verdict: Overall, we enjoyed both our meals here at La Cucina - nice restaurant serving good food. 


Pork-free.

Opening times: 12:00- 2:30pm ; 6:00 - 11:00pm daily.

Service: Good.

Location: La Cucina, Pullman Kuala Lumpur Bangsar, No 1 Jalan Pantai Jaya, Tower 3, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2298 1888

GPS Coordinates: 3.115850, 101.6632

Website: http://www.pullmanhotels.com/gb/hotel-7962-pullman-kuala-lumpur-bangsar-/index.shtml


If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Qing Zhen Chinese Restaurant @ Novotel Kuala Lumpur City Centre

Qing Zhen is the Chinese restaurant in Novotel Kuala Lumpur City Centre. During our staycation here recently, we had the pleasure of dining in this contemporary Chinese restaurant. The restaurant serves a mix of Chinese Muslim dishes as well as Szechuan cuisine.

We were warmly greeted by their restaurant manager, Andy, who kindly recommended some of their signature dishes for us to try. To start, he ordered some siew mai (steamed crabmeat and prawn dumplings) for the kids (RM9) and they really enjoyed it.

Siew Mai

The highlight of our meal was this Szechuan speciality "Mutton Chops in Szechuan Style" (RM62). According to Andy, every customer that dines here will order this without fail. The New Zealand mutton is first marinated, then braised and fianlyl pan fried with dried chilli, Szechuan pepper, black bean flakes and spices. After we took our first bite, we could understand why people would specially come here to eat this dish - it was tender and bursting with flavour. It is quite spicy but without being numbing to the palate.We polished this off and was left hankering for more. BIG thumbs up for this dish. :)

The steamed cod in superior soy sauce (RM80) was not only kids-friendly, but also very delicious. Simple, unpretentious and it allows the freshness and natural sweetness of the cod to shine through. Our kids loved this!

Another superb dish that we had was this wok-fried wantan noodles (RM30), also known as "sang meen" which happens to be one of my favorite Chinese noodle dishes. And boy, they do a fantastic version here. The noodles are fried with lots of beansprouts and giant juicy prawns (at least 6-7 of them)..... we all agreed this was delicious.

Some greens to complete our meal, stir fried lotus root with celery and sweet beans (RM24). Nice crunchy vegetables.

Kids were delighted that Qing Zhen served their favorite steamed salted egg custard buns... with flowing custard of course. Baby D licked his plate clean (we have proof of this on Instagram :P)

Verdict: A very enjoyable meal at Qing Zhen, outstanding service. 


Pork-free.

Opening hours: Mondays to Saturdays - Lunch: 12.00pm – 2.30 pm; Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.00pm. Closed on Sunday.

Location: Qing Zhen Chinese Restaurant, Novotel Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 2 Jalan Kia Peng, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2147 0888

GPS Coordinates: 3.151861, 101.719673

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Early Mother's Day Celebration @ Prime Steak Restaurant, Le Meridien KL

A couple of nights ago, Hubby took me to my favorite steak restaurant, Prime for an early Mother's Day celebration. We have not been here for a few months now, but I knew exactly what I wanted from the list of steak cuts available - the oyster blade (Australian certified Wagyu beef Marble score 9 and above).

To start our meal, Chef Nur specially prepared a trio of appetizers for us to sample. Talk about starting the meal on a high :) The trio included the Australian-style crab cakes served with mango salsa and garlic sauce, truffle ravioli with mushroom fricassee, and the warm portobello mushroom salad with rocket, shaved Parmesan and shaved truffle.  I thoroughly enjoyed all three appetizers, especially the warm crab cakes which was beautifully crisp on the outside.

Warm Portobello mushroom salad

Truffle ravioli

Australian-style crab cakes

For the main event, Hubby went for the 450g 120 days grain fed Australian prime rib (RM150). It was his first time trying this particular steak cut at Prime, and he was very impressed. We were told that the prime rib was first cooked sous vide and finished off on the charcoal grill. Hubby loved the charred flavor and succulent meat.

My oyster blade steak (RM130 for 220g) was perfectly cooked, cuts like a dream and tastes fantastic. As I took my first bite, it affirmed Prime's position as my favorite steak restaurant. The meat is soooooo tender, juicy and well-marbled.

For our side dish, we picked the deep-fried breaded crispy onion rings (RM12) and as the name suggests, it was wonderfully crispy. Loved it!  We also had the Roma tomato and red onion salad with sea salt and extra virgin olive oil (RM15) which complemented our steaks well.

It was a really fantastic meal, so thank you Hubby for this lovely treat! Hope all you mummies get spoilt on Mother's Day too :)

Pork-free.

Opening times: Monday to Friday: 12.00pm to 2.30pm (Lunch); Monday to Sunday: 6.30pm to 11.00pm (Dinner)

Service: Excellent.

Price: Total bill RM350. Appetizers, compliments of chef.  SPG card members can enjoy 20% discount (membership is free).

Location: Prime, 5th Floor, Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur, 2 Jalan Stesen Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03- 2263 7555

GPS Coordinates: 3.135685, 101.686524

Website: http://www.lemeridiendining.com.my



If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)