To me, one of the most decadent ways to spend a weekend is to have a champagne brunch. A glass of bubbly in hand, at noon, screams joy in my book. Ideally, I would prefer such an activity on a Saturday, to allow a full recovery on Sunday. Why do I need recovery? Well, you see, when you are paying good money for a free flow champagne brunch, really, the chinaman in me kicks into overdrive to get the most value for your money, and no prizes for guessing what is the outcome. Of course, a prewarning to all you young people out there, drink responsibly.
When I got the invite for Brunch at Lafite, actually I did not read the text properly, and assumed it was a normal brunch, but well, the "Lafite" in the sentence was already a good enough incentive, so you can imagine the sound of chorus of angels singing hallelujah when I arrived at Lafite and was greeted by THIS!
With glass in hand, I proceeded to my table, which was adorned with one of these LPs....
A cursory walk to looksie at the buffet spread revealed these goodies, but clearly, the best was yet to come. These freshly shucked Cadoret Oysters were just the starters.
Eggs with Smoked Salmon prepared ala minute by Exectuive Chef Olivier Pistre.
Eggs with Smoked Salmon....
Gratinated Lobster Thermidor, Foie Gras With Apple, Green Pea Veloute, Gazpacho, and Cold Cherry Tomatoes with Burrata Cheese.
Luscious lobster meat that deserves a picture all by itself. I usually like lobster done simply, without any gratination, but this was done very well, and the meat was still juicy and firm.
Delicious Foie Gras with apple...SOOOOOO good....if you like foie gras. Which I do.
Smoked Cohiba Grilled Wagyu Beef. The cohiba imparts a rather exotic aroma, although you can't really taste in within the meat. The wagyu is a must have if you like beef. Oh, how it works is, you choose from a menu which offers 6 choices of mains, namely the wagyu, slow cooked lamb shoulder, seared hokkaido scallops, pan seared Atlantic Cabillaud, Eggs Parfait cooked at 63C, and Grilled Octopus. And you can order several.
Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder, looked good, but I didn't try it.
My lovely Seared Hokkaido Scallop, with a lovely artichoke veloute, cooked a la barigoule. I could easily have two or three of these. Absolutely loved the broth....
Ever since I tried that 63C egg at another place, I have been longing for this paradisical method of cooking the perfect egg. And as it's not something that can be done at home without a sous vide machine, presumably, the only place to eat this kind of dish will be, well, outside. The asparagus ragout and veloute did kinda overpower the egg a little, but hey, I love asparagus too.
The pan seared atlantic cabillaud, which is a fancy French way of saying, COD. It's all in the marketing. Not my favourite dish, I thought it was a bit overcooked, and had too many things going on, that we lose sight of cod.
A most unexpected stellar performer was the grilled octopus....tender, juicy with all the flavours of the sea, so much so we ordered more for our table to share.
I was almost tempted to check if there was any suction left in those tentacles. So basically, on our table of four people, we managed to sample all the six choices of mains.
For dessert, Chocolate Surprise,....
Vanilla Ice Cream, Hot Chocolate Sauce, Chocolate Syphon, Sable Breton Crumble.
I opted for the French Rum Baba ...which I've heard about, but to be honest, is my first time trying.
It's kinda like profiterole meets cake, a lot denser than a profiterole, but lighter than cake, with some filling. It was a nice end to the meal, although theoretically, we had another slice of octopus for our one for the road.
Some of the Belvedere Spritz Collection Cocktails that are available with the brunch.
Still look kinda sober here, thanks to the lighting...
A summary fo what's available...juxtaposed against the lovely garden view...
The free flow white is the Terrazas Reserva Chardonnay, while the red is the Terrazas Reserve Malbec.
Not sure if he's always there, but that's the Celebrity Mixologist, Osmund, who's won many accolades.
So, WHAT IS THE DAMAGE?
Beats and Brunch at Lafite is priced at RM499 nett per person, 12noon - 3pm, every FIRST Sunday of the month only... the next one being on 3rd Sept, followed by 1st October, 5th Novemeber and 3rd December.
For the drinkers, you'd know that a bottle of Verve retail is already between RM220-RM250, and that's from the shops....Drink any bottle at a 5 star establishment will probably be around RM400...so from that angle, if you love food and bubbly, its a reasonable deal.
For reservations, call 03-2074 3900.
Lafite
Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur
2 comments:
so how many oysters did you have that night? haha
dei, its brunch la, what that night.....
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