Branzo Sunday Brunch @ Prego, The Westin KL

Sundays are meant for relaxation and indulging in good food with great company. Enter Branzo, the revamped Sunday brunch at Prego, The Westin KL where freshly made (unlimited) Italian favorites are served right to your table.

Branzo was derived from the word ‘Pranzo’, meaning a traditional Italian lunch and with some added breakfast elements, ‘Branzo’ is born. Every Sunday from 12pm to 3pm, diners can eat as much as they like for RM128++ which includes free flow soft drinks, juices and smoothies. You can also opt for free flow Moet champagne at RM286++.

Here's how Branzo works - the whole brunch is divided into 6-courses and the waiting staff will serve you course by course. There is no buffet line, so just sit back and eat to your heart's content. At any time, you can also request for additional items from the Branzo menu. My advice is to come early as you need a good 2 1/2 hours to properly enjoy all the food that is served to you. 

We tried to resist from eating too much bread, but the garlic and rosemary focaccia, served with a tomato dip was just too good. We ended up finishing the whole loaf... oh-oh!  Next, we were served eggs in three forms - scrambled eggs, fried eggs and eggs Benedict. Our kids went for the former two while parents dug into the eggs Benedict. The eggs Benedict were done nicely, oozy runny eggs sitting atop soft muffins.

Eggs three ways

Eggs Benedict

Next up is the antipasto - an assortment of gratin of scallop, fried calamari, eggplant parmigiana, caprese salad, Caesar salad, and mayo prawns. Without question, my favorite was the scallop, which I would have reordered if only I had more space in my tummy. Also enjoyed the simple caprese salad.

Course #1 down, bring on Course #2. Now, we're moving on to much heavier items such as pastas. The spaghetti with clams had a nice spicy kick to it, and I enjoyed the comforting beef lasagna. Favorite pasta dish of the afternoon goes to the casarecce with lamb ragout.

Spaghetti with clams and beef lasagna

Casarecce with lamb ragout - YUMMY

The waiting staff comes around and asks us if we would like a slice of freshly made pizza (made in the wood fired oven) or some risotto. Declined the pizza but I can't say no to risotto. Thankfully I didn't as the mushroom risotto was really rich and delicious.

Course #4 - arrosti e contorni - the meat and seafood platter which consisted of slow roasted lamb leg, grilled fresh water prawns, baked salmon, grilled Australian Angus sirloin, spring chicken and fries. The steak was cooked to well done, but still tender. The prawn were fresh and I enjoyed the spring chicken with the gravy. I felt that the fries were a little unnecessary with the amount of food we were consuming already.

Just when we thought we couldn't eat any more, this pretty platter of desserts arrived at our table. On this platter, there was walnut cheese brownie, raspberry and yogurt cheese cake, fluffy Italian cream horn, strawberry mascarpone tart and tiramisu, all of which were good. Finally, the brunch ends with a spectacular cheese board, a very large wooden board which is carried by two servers and propped in front of each table.

A selection of finest Italian cheese and homemade jam

The Branzo Sunday brunch is available every Sunday from 12.00pm to 3.00pm. 

Package 1
RM128++ per person includes free flow soft drinks, juices and smoothies.

Package 2
RM186++ per person includes free flow of draught beer (plus package 1)

Package 3
RM226++ per person includes free flow imported red and white wines with a range of spirits (plus package 1 & 2)

Celebrate in Style with Moet
RM286++ per person includes free flow Moet & Chandon Imperial Champagne and selected digestifs (plus package 1, 2 & 3).


High Roller Party
Purchase a magnum of Moet & Chandon Imperial Champagne and up to 4 people eats for free. Priced at RM888++.

*We dined here as part of our staycation at The Westin Kuala Lumpur.

Location: Prego, The Westin Kuala Lumpur, 199 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03- 2773 8338

GPS Coordinates: 3.14779, 101.714569


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All-You-Can-Eat Dim Sum @ Celestial Court, Sheraton Imperial KL

Enjoying dim sum with the family is one of our favorite weekend indulgences. From now until 29 December 2013, Celestial Court in Sheraton Imperial KL is offering a special "All-You-Can-Eat Dim Sum" promotion for RM88++ per person. This promotion is available every Sundays and public holidays from 10am to 2.30pm. 

What a beauty - Squid Ink Scallop Dumpling topped with Salmon Roe

Celestial Court is one of the best pork-free dim sum places in KL. With this promotion, you get to have unlimited samplings of over 70 dishes, including dim sum as well as some mouthwatering a la carte delights. The dim sum and dishes are cooked upon order, hence quality is assured. For desserts, they are served on a buffet table at the front of the restaurant.

We started off with a nourishing double boiled chicken soup with Chinese herbs. Nice and warming. Then, came the dim sum, looking glorious in the steamer baskets. I have always admired the beautifully presented dim sum here at Celestial Court and how the dim sum chef always manages to infuse colours (natural coloring) in the dumpling skins to make it look very attractive.

Double boiled chicken soup with Chinese herbs.

Appetizer - sesame prawns served with minced nutmeg and mayonnaise dressing

The steamed chicken "siew mai" is topped with tobiko for colour and texture. Despite being pork-free, it's very juicy and delicious. The squid ink scallop dumpling is topped with ikura (salmon roe) as well as a mini abalone. It looks simply exquisite.

Steamed chicken "siew mai" with tobiko

Squid ink scallop dumpling with ikura

The prawn dumpling (har kao) is given an interesting twist with pink colored translucent skin, thanks to the beetroot juice used. I really enjoyed the Szechuan-style crab meat dumpling in chilli vinegar sauce, attractively presented in a cocktail glass. Love the salty-sour flavours and spicy kick from the sauce.

Crystal beetroot juice "har kao" with coriander

Szechuan-style crab meat dumpling in chilli vinegar sauce

Shanghai dumpling with egg strips and spinach in chicken broth

Another dim sum dish which I really liked was the Chinese cruller stuffed with squid mousse and served with a Thousand Island dressing. For me, there's just something insanely attractive about crullers as dim sum and this one's really crispy with a flavorful savoury aftertaste from the mousse and dressing. The crispy shrimps wanton served with fruits salad mayonnaise was also good, especially the fruit salad which tastes very refreshing.

Chinese cruller stuffed with squid mousse and thousand island dressing

Deep fried bean curd roll with cheese and prawns

Crispy shrimps wanton served with fruits salad mayonnaise

We also sampled some of the chef's recommended a la carte dishes and my favorite has to be the signature Hong Kong-style roasted duck with five spice. We had this before during our first visit and this time, the skin is definitely crispy and beautifully golden brown, with tender and juicy meat. This was served with a plum sauce. Other a la carte dishes that we tried were the crispy chicken fillet in Thai sauce, skillet shrimps with capsicum and mushrooms in hot bean sauce and stewed e-fu noodles with chicken and shredded mushroom.

Signature Hong Kong-style roasted duck with five spice.

Crispy chicken fillet in Thai sauce

Skillet shrimps with capsicum and mushrooms in hot bean sauce

Stewed e-fu noodles with chicken and shredded mushroom

I was quite stuffed by now for desserts but we tried the chilled mango cream puree with pearl sago to cool down as well as some of the cakes on offer. 

Chilled mango cream puree with pearl sago

Petite cakes

Pork-free.

Opening times: Monday - Saturday, 12.00 pm - 2.30 pm; Sunday and Public Holidays, 10.00 am - 2.30 pm, Dinner (daily) 6.30 pm - 10.30 pm.

Price: RM88++ per person. Currently, SPG members can enjoy 20% discount on this promotion. In Nov-Dec 2013, there is a 30% discount. SPG membership is free.

Location: Celestial Court, Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel, Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03 -2717 9988

GPS Coordinates: 3.158813, 101.700203



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Hong Kong Dim Sum @ Imperial Pot, Solaris Dutamas, KL

Hubby was hankering for some dim sum, so we decided to try out Imperial Pot in Solaris Dutamas, KL. We were here on a Sunday morning and the restaurant was packed with customers. 

As soon as we were seated, we were handed a menu featuring their signature dishes (with photos) as well as a dim sum order sheet. Imperial Pot serves Hong Kong style dim sum, with over 50 dim sum items as well as steamed rice and noodle dishes. 

Cute piggy buns - Baby C's choice!

We chose to have Premium Vintage Pu-Erh (RM10 per pot, refillable) with our dim sum. The first item on the menu that caught my eye was the Hong Kong style steamed rice roll (chee cheong fun) with crispy meat floss (RM7.80), which is also known as "cha leung". Deep fried cruellers (yau char kwai) are wrapped inside the steamed rice rolls - the last time I had this was probably in the UK, and it's hard to find this in KL. Glad that I could eat this again after so long and it was good!

From the deep fried selections, we tried the deep fried prawn dumpling with salad sauce (RM5.80). Juicy prawns were encased within the crispy batter - this was also very nice.

Baby C's must-have dim sum item is the siew mai (RM6.80) - the juicy pork dumpling here is topped with fish roe. We also had the pork ribs in plum sauce (RM6.80), a pretty generous portion and the meat was tender. Love the sauce too.

Pork ribs in plum sauce

Siew mai

Imperial Pot is popular for their tea pot soups, but we didn't try on this visit. For desserts, we had the puff pastry egg tart (RM6.80) - the pastry was flaky, and the filling tasted like it has been infused with pandan(?).  Decent egg tarts. As soon as Baby C saw the oinky custard bun (RM5.80), she immediately asked me to order a basket of this for her. She ended up eating the ears, tails and eyes, and only half a bun as the filling is corn custard and not the salted egg custard ones that she likes. I found it pretty good. They actually have the egg custard bun on the menu too, but Baby C picked the piggy one for the cuteness factor.

Egg tarts

Hello cute piggy!

Verdict: Dim sum here is good, and reasonably priced. Cosy dining environment. Would definitely return!


Non-halal.

Opening time: 9.30am to 9.30pm daily.

Parking: RM2 flat rate on weekends.

Service: Good.

Price: Total bill RM58. 20% discount with CIMB mastercard.

Location: Imperial Pot, A1-UG1-03, Solaris Dutamas, No.1 Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur. (walk towards Old Town Coffee, take the escalator down 1 floor, then walk all the way to the right).

Tel: 03-6412 6188

GPS Coordinates: 3.1711, 101.66583

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Chinese Dim Sum @ Hong Kee Restaurant, Taman Connaught, Cheras

One of our regular dim sum spots in Cheras is Hong Kee Restaurant located in Taman Connaught. The dim sum fare here is good, and the restaurant is comfortable as it is air-conditioned. Service is good most of the time, though it can be pretty slow.

Over here at Hong Kee, the dim sum are loaded into a trolley and pushed around the restaurant, for the customers to choose from. The steamed and deep fried items are placed in separate trolleys, and certain items such as pau (steamed buns) and chee cheong fun can be ordered from the waiting staff. The dim sum items are priced between RM3.50 to RM6.30. A typical dim sum breakfast here would cost us RM50 for 4 adults and 2 kids - very reasonable.

Other than dim sum, the restaurant also serves roast duck and other roast meats, as well as their a la carte menu. Been a while since we had dinner here.

Restaurant interior

Most of their steamed items are good - we usually have the har gau (prawn dumpling) which has a big juicy prawn within and the skin does not break easily nor is it too thick. Kids always need to have the juicy siew mai (pork dumpling), I also like their steamed chicken feet in black bean sauce. The scallop and prawn dumpling is alright, but a bit pricey since the scallops are a little small. Better to stick to the har gau. The chee cheong fun with prawns is nice eaten with the spicy chilli prawn paste. Another must order for the kids is the char siew pau.

Har gau

Scallop and prawn dumpling

Chee cheong fun with prawn

Eaten with lots of spicy chilli prawn paste

He loves his char siew bun

From the fried item cart, we always order the deep fried prawn wantan/dumpling (served with mayo), the deep fried yam cake, and another one which is prawn wrapped in deep fried beancurd (fu chuk) and katafi. Kids also love the egg tarts here (very crumbly pastry) and the deep fried glutinous rice ball with sesame.

Fried items 

Deep fried sesame glutinous rice ball

Prawn with deep fried beancurd and katafi

Deep fried yam cake (wu kok)

Another deep fried prawn in beancurd roll

Egg tart

Opening times: 7am to 3pm; 6pm to 10.30pm daily. Restaurant closed on Wed.

Dim sum priced between RM3.80 to RM6.30.

Price: A dim sum meal for 4 adults + 2 children usually costs around RM50 here.

Location: Hong Kee Restaurants, 106 Jalan Cerdas, Taman Connaught, 56000 Cheras, KL.

Tel: 03-9100 2639

GPS Coordinates: 3.081648, 101.735661