Gobo Chit Chat Festive Buffet, Traders Hotel KL, Till Year End

Gobo Chit Chat's buffet has always struck me as good value for money.  At RM149 nett, and for the variety of food, what can I say.  And this year's festive spread together with the free flow seafood really puts you into a food coma after the meal.  I am actually intrigued by how much some people can tuck away at buffets like this.  I find in my old age, I can only very selectively zoom in to a few items of desire, and ignore the rest.  I guess this is applicable not only to food, in a buffet, but life in general.

In keeping with the season, I zeroed into the Christmas Turkey.  Okay, I am not really an ardent fan of turkey, but hey, this IS the dish that only comes round once a year, and if you get a nice piece of juicy thigh, it can be rather palatable.  Of course, I find the breast meat totally redundant, and I wait for genetic engineering to create a turkey that is all leg and thigh and no breast.

Chef holding up the freshly brought out turkey

That's one good looking bird...and with the ample brussel sprouts as accompaniment, I would have been happy just to stop here.

The beef wellington was also pretty good.  Flaky puff pastry, tender meat.

The next highlight would have to be the vast array of seafood, which you collect in a bucket, and using the tag from your table, specify how you want the bucket cooked.  There is a choice of different sauces, like cheese curry, sichuan, etc.  They then bring the cooked bucket to your table and plonk it onto a silver platter, with much aplomb.

...This would be the Sichuan style

This one is the creamy cheese curry sauce I think....

The oysters don't get any fresher than these, in this lavish seafood spread.  Freshly shucked with demand, very rare to find in other buffets.

I'd say these crepes were the highlight for me in the dessert section, although they also did have the essential mince pies for Christmas.

For me, if I can find 5 or more items that I like and that I can zero in in a buffet, I am already a happy camper.

Some other dishes worthy of mention are ..

The Satay, both chicken and beef....

The beef cheek, exceedingly tender,

The chicken roulade, with a rich creamy sauce..

The large variety of roasted vegetables, which is always a must for me,

The roast lamb which I didn't try, but everyone else was raving about it, so I guess it must be good.

Too full to even attempt the noodle station, and mind you, I am a numero uno noodle fan.

Freshly fried prawn tempura, ah, yes, one of my favourites too, especially if you catch it freshly fried.

We are all mystified how this platter of plainly blanced seafood ended up on our table.  It really does need the sauces.

And finally Walauwei's method of eating Yorkshire Pudding...with chocolate ice cream.

Tanzini and The Club's Yuletide and New Year's Offerings, G- Tower

Where has the year gone?  It seemed like yesterday that we were celebrating Chinese New Year, and now the hum of carols is prevalent in malls with Christmas decorations to boot.  Having said that, I'm not sure if it's just me, but the festivities seem a lot more toned down.  Nevertheless, one mustn't forget the reason for the season.

An elegant dinner table was set up in boardroom 2 of The Club, in G Tower, next to Tanzini, where we were privileged to sample the Christmas and New Year offerings of both restaurants.  I have to be frank, in the portfolio of the IGB owned restaurants, Tanzini is my least frequented, cos I always never go beyond Sage and Cilantro.  Ambience wise, Tanzini and the Club offer superb vistas of the city, and is rather posh all round.

The trinkets on the table to remind us what the dinner theme was to be.

The food was served together, ie, both the menus from Tanzini and The Club were served in order of appetisers etc.

The Club starter, SCAMPI & FIDDLEHEAD FERNS SALADOR
Marinated grilled sea prawn infused with classic “kerabu pucuk paku” salads, served in a pie tee shell, which kinda set the them for the Club's menu, which is basically Asian crossover (I hate to use the word "fusion").  The prawns were succulent and fresh, and the bite size morsels were easily devoured in one mouthful.  By the way, I believe FIDDLEHEAD FERNS is just a fancy name for our pucuk paku.

SCALLOP AND COCONUT TIMBALE (Tanzini)

A really photogenic dish, I am always fascinated with dishes that have blue in them. I would hazard a guess that the chef is trying to convey an oceanic and beach theme in this dish, with the zesty scallops, the sweet coconut and refreshing salad.

AGLIO-OLIO ANGEL HAIR WITH BACON, YABBIES AND CAVIAR (Tanzini)

This was one of my favourite dishes.  The angel hair, which is not easy to get right, was just nicely al dente-ed, and chockful of flavours, with the drippings of the seafood.  Encased in a beef bacon basket, it does make for a rather pleasing to the eye dish.  I was glad that two of the other guests were on KETO diets so that allowed me to have more pasta.

ZUPPA DI PESCE (Tanzini)

A seafood soup, tomatoey broth, well, it's almost a comfort food kinda dish.

G TOWER DELIGHT OX TAIL SOUP (The Club)

The corresponding soup for The Club wins hands down, compared to it's Seafood soup counterpart from Tanzini.  Lovely aromatics reminiscent of our traditional soup ekor, with a peppery heat to titillate the senses.  I wonder if one can mix and match, cos I'd pick this soup anyday.

Might be strange that the sorbet should be the highlight of the night, but it was.  This palate cleanser really wowed all present.  The strong tangy bold flavours really hit the spot.

For the mains at The Club, a choice of either the PESCE AL CARTOCCIO
Brined king barramundi fillet infused with ‘asam pedas’ salsa verde style, which I personally found a bit too complicated, and too many things happening in one dish, though the familiar taste of assam pedas did add some "spice" to the dish

OR

CAPONE DIRIENO PERCIK STYLE - My main grouse which I think will be acted upon, was the choice of breast meat for this dish, which was otherwise rather tasty.  I hope when the time comes, there will be a breast or thigh option.

Lamb
Both the mains for the Tanzini menu were good, the
SOUS-VIDE LAMB ROLLED WITH POLENTA, CANNELLINI BEAN PUREE AND AU JUS, 
which I enjoyed despite not liking lamb these days with age.  Tender and succulent, without that lamby smell and flavour.

STUFFED ROLLED TURKEY WITH POLENTA, STEWED LENTILS AND CRANBERRY SAUCE
Yay to the fact that turkey is served in a different non carving the whole bird way.  Moist, tender and tasty, unlike some cooked to death Christmas turkeys you get .   Definitely my choice of mains.

Ok, in case the sequence was altogether too confusing, these are the menus for Tanzini and The Club respectively.  The Tanzini menu for Christmas and New  Year  is priced at a very affordable RM245 nett. The Club's menu is priced at RM155 nett.

The club's plush interior....

A very interesting photo wall with all the historic moments of Malaya and Malaysia. There is an interesting catch, if you are observant enough.

And to end the night, dessert...

CHRISTMAS SWEET TEMPTATIONS “BANDUNG POACH PYRUS” (The Club Dessert)
The poached pear was very very good... Poached in Manuka honey and bentong ginger.   Why bentong ginger?  Because all ginger lovers would know that Bentong ginger costs 4 times more than normal ginger, and really packs an oomph.  Whilst the pear was bordering on sweet, the ice cream kind of neutralised the sweetness.

ORANGE CRÈME BRÛLÉE AND MIXED VALRHONA (Tanzini dessert)

I found the creme brulee a bit too coarse, cos in my mind creme brulee's are silky smooth.  But like all foods, one man's brulee is another man's err...poison.  The valrhona offerings were lovely.  Bitter sweet...

Overall, for that price point, I'd say it's VERY reasonable, for that quality of food.

Make a reservation at:

Tanzini and The Club
GTower, 199, Jalan Tun Razak,
50450 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.



Telephone: 03-2168 1899

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TanziniKL/

A Somersby Cider Garden, In Morganfields Da Men

If you think about it, there's actually a dearth of nice Alfresco places to chill and dine and drink... So it was rather clever I think, of Morganfields in Damen USJ to have the first Somersby Cider Garden.  Okay, I am sure in sweltering afternoon heat it might not the the idealest of venues, but on the evening we were there for the launch of the Garden, and their specially curated menu to pair with four variants of cider, it was lovely ambience to be sitting outdoors sipping icy cold cider.

To be honest, I am totally not a cider fan, nor a fan of any sweet alcohol.  But the summerlike atmosphere, with Ukeleleist and live entertainment with lots of porky stuff to eat made it quite an enjoyable evening.

Somersby Cider Garden is also I believe the first place to serve cider on tap, in the Klang Valley.  The four varieties of cider we got to sample were Blackberry, Apple, Sparkling Rose (my personal favourite), and the newly launched Elderflower Lime, which is every bit as refreshing as the name implies.

The menu crafted to pair well with the Elderflowers consist of the Jack Daniel's Baby Back Ribs, (ooh, alcohol on alcohol), Sticky Wings,

Fourplay, a naughty play on words if I ever heard it,  Bacon Wrapped meatballs, Onion Rings, Chilli Concarne with Tortilla chips, and sticky wings. 

(Above is the Jack Daniel's Baby Back Ribs)

The Pork Sausage platter consists of Spicy Devil, Smoky Bandit, Herby Dog and Cheesy Cheese...cute names I have to say.

This dish was the best, paired with the Elderflower, the Jim Beam BBQ Baby Back Ribs.  The ribs average around RM70 but is a huge serving that can easily feed two or three.

Malaysia's first Somersby Cider Garden is located at
Morganfields Damen Mall USJ
Address: 872, Persiaran Kewajipan, Usj 1, 47600 Subang Jaya, Selangor
Hours: Closes 1AM

Phone: 03-8011 8281