Baby Sumo Birthday Week #3: Lunch @ Prime, Le Meridien KL

Been a while since we had lunch at Prime KL, so we chose this as our last stop for my birthday week. For lunch, other than their a la carte menu, they also do a value-for-money Business Set Lunch (RM75 for 2-courses and RM92 for 3-courses) or Rush Hour 2-course express set lunch for RM70. The set lunch menu changes every 2 weeks.

Originally, I wanted to order my favorite Master Kobe oyster blade steak from their a la carte but I was swayed by the choices on the Business Set Lunch. So, set lunch it is this time.

Fantastic complimentary bread to start with 3 types of butter

The restaurant was very busy during lunch time, but we still managed to get a table in one of the private booths in the restaurant. To start, I ordered the Tian of Apple and Celery, Jumbo Crab with Coriander Lemon Prawn with Guacamole, Cress Mix and Crispy Tuile. Firstly, love the exquisite presentation of this dish. A light and appetizing dish, love the combination of flavours and textures. I enjoyed eating this very much too. And yup, no crab shells this time ;)

Hubby chose the Truffle Scented Coddle Egg, Grilled Brioche and Rocket Salad Lemon Dressing.

For mains, there was a choice of either salmon, beef rump stew or tenderloin steak. Obviously, we both went for the steak - an 8oz Charcoal Grilled Beef Mignon, served with Beef Cheek Croquette, Crusted Vegetables Tian and Truffle Jus. One arrived slightly charred on the outside... well, how did they know that was how my Hubby likes his steak? The perks of being a regular..... or just lucky. LOL! The steaks were cooked to a beautiful medium, very very juicy and delicious indeed.

And then, the waitresses appeared with balloons and a birthday platter and also sang "Happy Birthday". What a lovely, wonderful surprise. Hubby has secretly arranged for "Happy Birthday" to be written on my dessert but kudos to the team for making the extra effort.

Fudge brownie with vanilla ice cream - Hubby's dessert

Complimentary birthday slice for moi, the birthday girl

Thank you Hubby for the birthday treat once again!

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: RM75 for 2-courses and RM92 for 3-courses. No SPG discounts for set lunch.

Location: Prime Steak Restaurant, 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

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PSA: Bintang The Bear Charity Campaign with Starwood KL Hotels

Starwood Hotels in Kuala Lumpur are teaming up in a joint effort to raise funds to financially support local children born with congenital heart defects. The initiative first mooted by Lé Meridien Kuala Lumpur saw great success in its first year in 2013. This year, four Starwood hotels in KL, Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral, The Westin Kuala Lumpur, Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur and Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur will coordinate efforts to raise funds for this worthy cause this Christmas.

Founded in 1996, ‘A heart for a heart’ charity programme was set up by Gleneagles Hospital to help children with critical congenital heart defects, who needed urgent financial aid due to limited financial means, and undergo corrective surgery at the Gleneagles Cardiac centre. This also enables children in critical condition from being on the waiting list.

Each hotel is selling “Bintang” the Bear soft toys, priced at RM50 each. The bears all feature four distinctive T-shirt designs reflecting the unique characteristics of the four brands and hotels. All proceeds from our “Bintang the Bear” Christmas Charity effort will be channeled to Gleneagles Hospital.

To learn more about the “Bintang the Bear” Christmas charity campaign, please approach the hotel associates at the respective hotels’ front desks or call the hotels directly at:

· Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral: +603 2723 1188
· Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur: +603 2263 7888
· Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur: +603 2717 9900
· The Westin Kuala Lumpur: +603 2731 8333




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Baby Sumo Birthday Week #2: Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant @ Publika, KL

The birthday celebration continues.... and since both my kids love Japanese food, we visited Rakuzen in Publika. Rakuzen has been around for many years, but this is actually our first time visiting, although we do visit their sister restaurant, Kita No Zen in The Gardens Mall on a weekly basis.

The restaurant is pretty spacious, and we were seated in one of the booths. Service is fast and efficient. Similar to Kita No Zen, they offer a la carte menu as well as set lunches. There are around 20 set lunches to choose from, and with the set lunches, you get miso soup, chawanmushi, pickles, appetizer and fresh fruits for dessert. Really good value for money.

Hubby went for the salmon sashimi zen (RM23) which came with the standard plate of 7 fresh, luscious slices of sashimi.

My kids favorite - saba teriyaki. We love the fatty belly part - so yummy when grilled, almost melt-in-the-mouth. Saba teriyaki zen (RM23).

I went for the Sake oyaki zen (RM30), which is something I cannot get at KNZ - essentially this is a chirashi topped with 3 types of salmon - thick slices of salmon sashimi, salmon belly as well as ikura (popping delicious salmon roe). Totally satisfying!

Thanks Hubby yet again for the birthday lunch!

Please visit their website for full list of restaurant locations and opening times.


Opening times: 12.00pm - 3.00 & 6.00pm - 11.00pm daily.

Price: Reasonable.

Location: Rakuzen, No. 6, Lvl G2, Publika, Solaris Dutamas, 1 Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 KL (near MPH entrance).

Tel: 03-6411 0822


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Baby Sumo Birthday Week #1: Cilantro Restaurant, KL

Every year for my birthday, Hubby would spoil me to a few nice meals in the run up to the actual day. The first venue that we picked was Cilantro KL, having had many nice meals here in the past.

Every Fridays, they do a 4-course lunch for RM150 nett, which includes a glass of Prosecco as well as coffee/tea. And of course, not to be missed here is their amazing truffle butter... don't be shy and slather on your bread. You could always ask for another and they would happily oblige ;)

The amazing truffle butter

To start, we had the Cold Capellini with Hirame and Aosanori. This was my favorite dish of the afternoon - loved its simplicity yet bursting with umami flavours. The delicate fish was topped with some kickass wasabi and crunchy seaweed. Fantastic!

The second course is a warm starter, Nipah Crab with Piment d'Espelette Soufflé. I wasn't too impressed with this dish, especially since the souffle was tiny and looked deflated, and I found not one, but three pieces of crab shell in my plate. Certainly not acceptable for a fine dining restaurant.

For mains, I had the Grilled Angus Beef with Mushrooms while Hubby went for the French Pigeon with Foie Gras. I enjoyed the grilled beef, very nicely cooked, but next to the grilled beef there was also a piece of braised beef (not sure which part) but it was tough and felt a bit out of place. I would have been happier if it wasn't there. Hubby's main course was good and a nice change since it's not everyday that he gets to eat French pigeon.

Dessert was also a non-event for us, Roasted Apple with Caramel Ice Cream and Tuile. All I got from eating the ice cream was a burnt aftertaste (we've had their caramel ice cream before and it definitely doesn't taste like this). Hardly exciting.

So, we ended up going to The Deli (also in Micasa Hotel and operated by Cilantro kitchen) and ordered a strawberry meringue with vanilla ice cream. A sure-winner, this definitely perked our moods up again.

Thanks Hubby for the birthday treat!


Opening times: Lunch - available on Fridays only. (12.00pm -2.00pm). Dinner - Monday to Saturday (6.00pm - 10.30pm). Closed on Sundays.

Service: Good.

Price: RM150 nett per person inclusive of glass of Prosecco

Location: Cilantro Restaurant & Wine Bar, MiCasa All Suite Hotel, 368-B Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2179 8082

Website: http://www.cilantrokl.com/ (Lunch menus updated weekly)

GPS Coordinates: 3.162273,101.719548



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Recipe: Best Chocolate Cake (Marcus Wareing)

This Sunday is Mother's Day in Malaysia (and various other countries around the world), will you be cooking/baking for your mums?  This chocolate cake recipe from Marcus Wareing is the perfect cake for special occasions and celebrations. 

Best Chocolate Cake

I made this for Hubby for his birthday, he is a man who loves cakes with cream/frosting. This is a simple, elegant looking cake which is rich with a sweet buttercream filling and frosting. I was really chuffed that the cake turned out great and resembled the one in the cookbook :)

Hubby loved this cake a lot, naming it the best birthday chocolate cake he has ever had. :)

Care for a slice of this delicious chocolate cake?

Happy Mother's Day to all mummies :)

Best Chocolate Cake
Recipe adapted from Marcus Wareing's "How to cook the perfect..."
Preparation time: 20-25 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves 8

Ingredients
225g self raising flour
25g cocoa powder
Pinch of fine salt
250g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
250g caster sugar
4 large eggs, beaten

For the frosting
200g icing sugar
4 tbsp cocoa powder
100g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 tbsp milk
A handful flaked almonds

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (no fan). Grease two 20cm round cake tins with butter and line the bottom and sides with baking paper.

2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl.

3. Using your electric mixer, cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix until incorporated. Turn the machine off.

4. Using a spatula, fold in the flour and cocoa mixture (from Step 2) one-third at a time until evenly incorporated.

5. Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. The cakes are ready when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in tins for 10 mins, then remove and cool on wire rack before peeling off the baking paper.

6. To make the frosting, sift the icing sugar and 2 tbsp of cocoa powder into a bowl and beat in butter to make a smooth and fluffy frosting. Sandwich the cakes together with 2/3 of the icing. Add the remaining cocoa powder (2 tbsp) into the remaining 1/3 of the icing, and soften with a little milk to make a spreading consistency. Spread on top of the cake, then decorate with the almond flakes around the edges.

Handmade birthday card for the birthday boy :)

I am linking this to "Cook-Your-Books #12" hosted by Joyce and Bake Along #60 organised by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids.



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Recipe: Salted caramel chocolate cake with mascarpone-cream frosting and strawberries

A couple of weeks before our kids birthday, I will ask them what birthday cake they would like (flavour / design) and start making preparations. Surprisingly, last year, Baby C requested for a "strawberry and chocolate cake" as well as some cupcakes from Delectable by Su. Good girl, she sure knows how to make mummy's life easy! ;)

I baked a simple double layer chocolate cake. Once cooled, I sandwiched the cake with some of my homemade salted caramel (very quick and easy to make!) and then frosted it with a mascarpone-cream frosting. The inspiration for this frosting came from one of my favorite desserts - tiramisu. Slices of sweet strawberries top this beauty of a cake.

Birthday girl very happy with her cake(s) ;)

Some cute cupcakes from Delectable by Su to go with mummy's homemade cake

The chocolate cake is moist and very good as usual - this is my trusted recipe for chocolate cake, which I use everytime :) The other combinations of salted caramel and mascarpone-cream frosting also went wonderfully well together. A super delicious cake!

Salted caramel chocolate cake with mascarpone-cream frosting and strawberries
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 30-40 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves 8

Ingredients
For the cake
175g self-raising flour, sifted
3 tbsp cocoa powder
175g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
175g caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1-2 tbsp milk


For the mascarpone-cream frosting
250g mascarpone
200g whipping cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract


8 tbsp salted caramel (recipe here)
4-5 large strawberries, sliced thinly


1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease and base line 2 x 18cm sandwich tins with baking paper.

2. Take 3 tbsp of flour from the full flour amount and put it back in the bag. The cocoa powder will make up the difference.

3. Place all cake ingredients in a large bowl and beat them together with an electric whisk until you have a creamy mixture. Add a little milk if the mixture is too stiff - it should fall easily off a spoon.

4. Divide the mixture between the two tins and level the surfaces of the cake mixtures.

5. Bake on the same shelf in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the sponge springs back when pressed.

6. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Peel off the baking paper.

7. For the frosting: Place mascarpone cheese and icing sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute until the mascarpone has softened.  Whip the cream with vanilla extract until it forms soft peaks. Fold into the mascarpone mixture. If not using immediately, store in fridge.

8. To assemble cake, spread salted caramel onto 1 layer of cake and then sandwich with the other layer. Frost with frosting (from Step 7) and arrange strawberry slices on top. Store any cake balance in the fridge as this cake contains cream and cheese.

I am also linking this to the Little Thumbs up "Cheese" event organised by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids andDoreen from My Little Favourite DIY, hosted by Alice from I Love.I Cook.I Bake. You can link your posts here.


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