Sheer Decadence, At Lafite's First Sunday of the Month BEATS AND BRUNCH, Shangri-la Kuala Lumpur

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

LaDiDa Lafite Lunch

I had heard so much about the Lafite promo lunch, also cos they have this new smancy fancy chef from Spain (I think) who uses all these canggih manggih cooking methods, such as liquid nitrogen. Lafite for dinner, or any other time, is probably out of my budget, so this was a rare opportunity to be able to peek into the enclave of the lifestyles of the rich and famous.....

Priced at 68++, the lunch has a mini buffet starter, and dessert, and a pleasing choice of mains. By the way, how did I end up talking about restaurants? This is meant to be a recipe blog....a well. Must be the contagious influence of the floggers. Yar, anyway, stacked up on a glass column, are the mini appetisers. The menu has a set of instructions on HOW to go about eating your lunch, something to the effect of:
1. Pick up your base plate from the table, and proceed to the buffet appetisers.
2. If you wish for a 2nd helping of starters, please ask for another base plate.
3. Notify the waiter when you are ready for your mains.
4. YOu will be provided with another base plate for your dessert.

I'm surprised they didn't stipulate we should walk with elegance and poise to the buffet, and not like some mahjong group yabbering away at 2 million decibels so that the entire Lafite knows who's son is doing what, and who's daughter is marrying who.

Teeny weeny portions, of a myriad variety of starters, such as thai beef salad, seared tuna, salads with their individual syringes of dressing. The thai beef salad was probably the most notable. Smoked salmon rolled around cream cheese, bits and bobs of sushi wannabes, ... the breads were wonderful, but it's served with that dreaded unsalted butter... bleagh, also, breads fill you up. Oh, my fellow diner, big time lawyer from Melbourne, on his sabbatical, had arrived earlier and text me asking if he may order a drink while waiting. I replied, "yar, if you must, your drink will probably cost more than your meal". (I am cheap, and make no effort to hide that fact).




For the mains, we had a choice of pasta, lamb, chicken, tenderloin and cod. I vaguely remember being advised to take the cod, but who can resist the words tender and loin.... which actually, might have been a mistake. It was alright, but I've tasted better. Oh, when I was busy snapping pictures, the chef walked past, and quipped, "you fellas aren't from KL Hilton are ya"...


Melbourne Lawyer had the lamb which was rather good. Very tender, and succulent.

And the crowning glory that makes or breaks any dining experience. Dessert. A pleasing choice, from creme brulee, blackforest slice, cream cheese mousse, mini pavlovas, fruit salads....well, to be honest, nothing particularly stood out as orgasmic, but they were all good. I mean, nothing that makes you go, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH, this is absolutely fabulous. My personal favourites were the creme brulee, and pavlova, which wasnt too sweet, so it might be possible to make a meringue nest with less sugar.

Dessert

Mini pavlovas

Some kind of white chocolate mousse

Overall, at 68++, for that kind of quality of food and ambience, it really is a steal. No wonder that it is always quite crowded and it's advisable to book in advance. COffee and tea are not part of the set, though the way they ask you, you'd think it was (part of the set). Not wanting to sound TOO cheap, I risked it, and ordered coffee as did my friend. Now, his carrot juice was RM22++ and coffee RM18++, so I was right, his drinks bill was RM40++, more than lunch. (discount card mah, so the RM68++ is 50% off lagi). We live in an ironic world if you think about it. Paying RM22 ++ for a glass of carrot juice.... ( I personally would never order something like that)

Finally, for the benefit of Tummythoz, I sneaked this pic of the men's toilet, because, the minute I walked it, it had this dizzying effect, and I was quite disoriented as to where the urinals were. Mirrors on every wall, with that infinity effect.