TASTES MEET TRADITIONS AT FOUR SEASONS HOTEL KUALA LUMPUR

 

From Arabic mezze and Indian curries to Malay and Western specialities, tastes meet traditions at the Malam Cahaya Rembulan feast at Curate nightly from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. Available now until 9 April, Executive Chef Junious Dickerson and his team will cook up an East to West spread for for guests to share the joy of buka puasa (breaking of fast) meal with loved ones.

Several stalls proffering delicious Roast Lamb with Nasi Biryani, Pad Thai, Sup Ekor, Lontong, and Chicken Rice are laid out at the foyer.

Whet your appetite with cool starters such as Seafood On Ice: Slipper Lobsters, Oysters, Prawns, Scallops and Flower Crabs in addition to Assorted Sashimi.

Aside from Kerabu, we highly recommend the variety of Middle Eastern Mezze. Also notable are the mains: Cheese Sambousek, Kofta, Samaka Harra (fish) and Potato Kibbeh among others.

Notable options worth sampling includes Fried King Grouper with Assam Pedas and Torched Ginger Flower; Braised Lobster Diavolo with Fusilli; Nasi Kerabu with Century Egg; Javanese Fish/Beef Grilled in Banana Leaf with Kalamansi Lime and Sambal, Swedish Meatballs, Satay, Steamed Scallops with Glass Noodles, Curry Puffs, Sayur Lodeh, and Prawns with Sambal Belacan.

Scrumptious dessert range from Arabic sweets such as Turkish Delight and Baklava, to fusion treats like Teh Tarik and Durian Ice Cream, Churros, Tropical Fruits, Bubur Cha Cha, Kuih Kosui, Dodol, Kek Batik, Gulab Jamun and Om Ali.

Curate’s Malam Cahaya Rembulan — A Cultural Feast Through Traditions is priced at RM318+ per adult and RM159+ per child.

For reservations at Curate, call tel: 03-2382 8888 or visit

https://www.facebook.com/FourSeasonsHotelKualaLumpur

 

ON CULINARY CLOUD NINE AT NIMBUS

 

Prawn Bisque Noodles and Herbed Crusted Lamb Rack are two heavenly show-stoppers that left an indelible impression during our maiden visit to Nimbus.

Helmed by restaurateur-chef Fred Choong and his business partner Long Seh Yung, Nimbus draws a relatively young, hip crowd for its fine-dining level menus minus bank-breaking prices. At RM388+ for a four-course menu catering for two persons, it’s considered a snip compared to other atas (posh) restaurants in the Klang Valley.

Dinner started on a promising note with the house-made Almond Milk Bread wowing us with its cottony-softness. Slathered with sublime Mushroom Truffle Butter, it was a harbinger of Choong’s culinary artistry. BTW, the bread and butter are available for takeaway at RM10 each and RM45 per 100g.

For the 1^st course, the options listed in the menu included Seared Scallops with Tom Kha Emulsion, Capers and Ikura (supplementary charge of RM15), Turmeric Chicken Terrine, Salmon and Cured Yolk with Smoked Capsicum Sorbet, Prawn Paste and Fungus or the chef’s Octopus and Yam creation.

The natural sweetness of scallops was perked up by the bright, citrusy-grassy and creamy accents of Thai-inspired tom kha emulsion. Subtle bursts of capers’ tartness and salmon roe’s savouriness amped up the dish’s appeal.

Familiar Asian flavours shone through the escargot topped Turmeric Chicken Terrine. Sandwiched between thin, crisp puff pastry, we relished the playful textural combination with salted egg yolk cream.

Salmon and Cured Yolk with Smoked Capsicum Sorbet, Prawn Paste and Fungus proved Choong’s adroit ability at mixing and matching flavours and textures. A most creative French-style dish brimming with intriguing Malaysian accents especially that rojak-like sauce. Unbelievable but it worked like a charm.

Similar to the evergreen yam cake, Choong’s tantalising speciality of Octopus and Yam showed how a local favourite can be levelled up. The chef’s ingenious idea of placing grilled baby octopus atop an oblong chunk of yam pudding incorporating dried shrimps and chilli, and puffed rice crisps was excellent.

For the second course of Oyster Royale, dried oyster-infused oil and jus bestow depths of flavour to dulcet-smooth egg custard topped with herring roe. We also found a pair of plump oysters embedded within silky custard.

Riffs of Penang-style prawn mee made the Prawn Bisque Noodles (supplementary charge of RM28) a stellar crowd-pleaser in our book. Toothsome squid ink wantan noodles cooked in prawn broth made a sublime pairing with a whole grilled river prawn accentuated with zingy gochujang for this signature speciality. Slivers of pickled torch ginger flower and ikura added the finishing touches.

Choong’s personal favourite of Herbed Crusted Lamb Rack (supplementary charge of RM98) had us smitten at first bite. The medium rare lamb rack enticed us in with its juicy tenderness. Tricked up with longan jus and roasted garlic alongside potato dauphinoise, the delectable dish was something to write home about.

No less compelling was Mushroom and Artichoke Risotto with capers, sundried tomato and noisette beurre blanc (hazelnut butter sauce). The sundried tomato’s muted tangy accent tempered the creamy rich risotto whilst lightly grilled eringi mushroom gave the ensemble a slight meaty texture.

We found the Guinea Fowl Tortellini with seaweed beurre blanc, cordyceps flower and goji berries a tad underwhelming. It was still delicious but this speciality was eclipsed by earlier, more stellar offerings.

Choong is a dab hand at both savoury and sweet dishes as we soon discovered when it was time for dessert. His exquisite Sesame and Matcha creation with toasted sesame, summer berries and vanilla ice cream was refreshingly beguiling.

Exuding heavenly lusciousness, we readily succumbed to his sweet iterations of Hazelnut and Chocolate, Strawberry and Cream, and Orange Pudding. These stellar treats succeeded in lifting us up to a culinary cloud nine known as Nimbus.

For reservations, contact NIMBUS, 72G, Jalan SS 21/62, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.