TIME TO RASA LOKAL AT EQ KUALA LUMPUR

 

To mark the Merdeka and Malaysia Day celebration, EQ’s Rasa Lokal promotion will take centrestage until 30 September at Nipah restaurant. Traditional flavours of Peninsular Malaysia’s east coast, and the East Malaysia states of Sabah and Sarawak will share the culinary stage at the Rasa Lokal lunch and dinner buffet.

Take your pick from 18 Chef’s Specials in addition to an expansive plethora of local salads, appetisers, grilled seafood and meat, rice and noodle dishes, assorted curries, drinks and dessert. The kaleidoscope of tempting specialities will leave diners spoiled for choice but selective food choices will ensure you’d derive maximum enjoyment out of the dining experience.

Right off the bat, we zoomed in on healthy, flavourful local salads such as Kerabu Betik, Kerabu Pegaga, Banana Flower Salad and Rojak Buah. We love the profusion of salty, tangy, spicy, savoury and mildly sweet accents from the various herb-laden salads.

Nipah is famous for its Satay and the delectable, well-marinated Beef and Chicken Satay with chunky peanut sauce were on-point. At the chef’s urging, we also sampled Sambal Kelapa Satay Perut, chewy-tender cow’s stomach with coconut sambal. It gave our jaw a good workout; try this if you’re partial to innards. 

The crowd-pleasing Ayam Golek was superbly tender; the juicy spice-rubbed roast chicken dialled up with a bright, bracing sauce blending turmeric and a myriad of spices. Equally notable were the nicely marinated Sotong Bakar Berempah (grilled spiced squid) and Pari Bakar (grilled stingray).

Slipper lobsters added a bougie spin to the speciality of Kari Laksa Udang Galah. IMHO, the rich and aromatic rempah gravy should be hotter as lukewarm broth for noodles just put a dampener on the dish’s appeal.

From the Indian section, Ketam 65 – fried spiced flower crabs – stood out for its satisfying spice profile. We highly recommend the salubrious Ekor Asam Pedas (sour-spicy oxtail) complemented by fluffy Biryani. Another worthy contender was Kari Kambing, mutton in fiery-red, tomato-infused curry gravy.

The Chinese-style Steamed Red Tilapia with soy sauce, garlic flakes, coriander and fragrant garlic oil was served table-side. It came too overdone for our liking, possibly due to its small size. There was no doubting the fish’s freshness though.

One of my favourites has to be Roti John which was prepped a la minute. The sandwich with omelette and minced beef or chicken had lashings of tomato and chilli sauce, and mayo in it. However, I only ate a small portion of it hence the pillow-soft sandwich was acceptable.

To finish, I sampled some local Kuih (a hit and miss affair) and Nipah’s classic Bread and Butter Pudding (sedap). You’d be spoiled for choice with Ais Kacang, freshly sliced fruits, dainty cakes (think Kek Batik and Lapis Sarawak), puddings, jellies and fruit pickles among others.

The Rasa Lokal buffet lunch is priced at RM148+ per adult, and RM74+ per child (6–12 years old). Buffet dinner is RM168+ per adult, and RM84+ per child from 6– 12 years.

Reservations for Rasa Lokal at Nipah can be made via email: dineateqkl@kul.equatorial.com or WhatsApp +60 12 278 9239.

A Legacy of EQ-cellence

Celebrating its fifth decade in the hospitality industry, EQ has retained its #1 City Hotel in Malaysia spot at Travel + Leisure Luxury Awards Asia Pacific three years in a row since 2022. It is ranked #5 Travel + Leisure Readers' 15 Favourite City Hotels in Asia and #35 Travel + Leisure Readers' 100 Favourite Hotels in the World for 2023. EQ is also TripAdvisor’s #1 ranked hotel in Kuala Lumpur since 2019.

DEBIC SUPPORTS TEAM MALAYSIA AT WORLD’S BIGGEST PASTRY COMPETITION

Four Malaysian pastry chefs: Chef Kean Yap (team coach), Chef Mun Pui Teng (team captain and sugar candidate), Chef Goh Jun Wei (ice candidate) and Chef Lim Boon Chuan, (chocolate candidate) will demonstrate their skills and creativity at Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie 2023 in Lyon, France on 20 and 21 January 2023.

Also known as the Pastry World Cup, the Debic supported Team Malaysia will have to create a Sugar Sculpture with Chocolate Entremet, Chocolate Sculpture with plated desserts, Ice Sculpture with Frozen Desserts and Frozen Lollipop.

Centred around the theme of ‘climate change’, the two days of intense competition, spanning over for 10 hours, will see Team Malaysia will go up against teams from 20 other countries.

As a hundred-year-old premium European dairy brand made for professionals and one of the sponsors of the prestigious Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie competition, Debic has been a passionate global supporter for over 20 years and a proud sponsor of Team Malaysia 2023. 

 

Ramjeet Kaur Virik, Managing Director of Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad shared, “At Debic, we understand professional chefs and have the expertise to provide customised solutions for them with high-quality products, and ease of convenience, to inspire chefs to create high-quality creations.

“The innovative nature of this competition aligns perfectly with Debic’s passion for supporting pastry chefs. We are proud to be part of an event that provides a platform for professionals to set new trends and inspire a new generation of professionals. All competing chefs will have access to Debic products to innovate with, and we look forward to seeing the many high-quality and relevant products resulting from the event.”

The current team hopes to replicate Malaysia’s success four years ago in Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie 2019, where Team Malaysia emerged as champion with their cutting-edge creations.

Debic Ambassadors Chef Otto Tay and Chef Loi Ming Ai (members of the winning team in 2019) also served their winning pastry creations at the sending-off party hosted by Debic. 

Fans and supporters of Team Malaysia can watch the Grand Finale and cheer for Malaysia at the Official Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie Youtube live at: https://youtube.com/@Cmpatisserie

(UPDATED) STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO RENEWING YOUR MALAYSIAN PASSPORT ONLINE

 

If you're like me who has no idea how to renew your Malaysian passport online, let's shake hands and say a prayer for what we are about to endure.👐Anyway, I decided to give it a shot and that is the landing page you'd see when you visit the official Malaysian Immigration Department website👆

Once you click on the "Application for the renewal of passport" (as shown in the above pix), the next screen 👇will explain in detail the process, terms and conditions on what is required for the renewal: from the photo stipulations, payment/charges, etc. FYI, don't bother clicking on the English translation as there isn't any. 😅Just click "Setuju" (Agree) to proceed.

The next step is to complete the online form below. Initially I was stumped when it asked for No. Dokumen😓until I realised it was referring to my existing passport number...😝😂

Once you have completed filling the information required, click on "Carian" to continue. The next screen 👇is another reminder about your passport should be in good condition i.e. without water marks, tears or scratches; all information provided must be true and correct; and the photo uploaded must be the latest. Payment is also non-refundable for lost and damaged passport. Again, click "Setuju" to proceed.

The subsequent step is to upload your photo. A detailed screen pops up showing examples of acceptable photos. Just scroll all the way down and click "Setuju" to continue to the photo upload screen as shown.

When you upload your photograph, an oval guideline will appear - you can adjust the size of your face to fit within that oval "frame" to ensure it meets the desired specifications. Also, remember to tick ✔all the boxes in the list below👇before you click "Teruskan".

If everything is in order, you should be at this screen.👇Put a ✔ in the box below your photo to confirm the photo you have uploaded is yours.

The following screen will ask you to check and reconfirm all the details listed. Go through everything to ensure the information is in order and correct.

Once you are confident everything is in order, click on the "Teruskan kepada Bayaran" (Proceed to Payment) button. You can make payment via online bank transfer via FPX, Touch 'n Go or charge to your credit card.

Acknowledgment of receipt for your payment made will bring you to this screen.👇You can print out the receipt and wait for the email informing you on whether your passport renewal if successful.

Sample of the official receipt

Received an email notification today to inform my passport renewal has been approved and is ready for collection. Woot woot!😍

PART 2: COLLECTION DAY

Remember to bring along the following when you go to collect your new passport:

1) MYKAD/I.C.

2) PHYSICAL PRINT-OUT COPY of the OFFICIAL RECEIPT (we had a panicky moment when we forgot this but luckily we managed to get a physical print-out at a shop opposite the immigration department). Should you need to print out a fresh copy, go to this link:

https://imigresen-online.imi.gov.my/eservices/myPasport?pertanyaanStatusPMA

Once you fill in all the required details, you will be able to view the receipt and either download, email or WhatsApp the receipt for printing.

3) your existing/old/expired/current physical PASSPORT book (remember it must be in good condition without any torn pages or water stains)

4) a screenshot of the email notification from Jabatan Imigresen (refer to sample below)

The whole process took me and my family 2.15 minutes to complete. We reached the Kajang Immigration Department office at 7.30 am and there was already a long queue. 

For those who intend to go, the opening hours are as above. Another notice is posted near the door but the wordings are so small, I doubt if anyone reads the information.

Although I was told my online application was approved, I still have to obtain a queue number to wait my turn for the passport collection. 

Photo Reload problem: My husband received an email notification informing him his photo didn't fulfill the required specifications and had to upload his photo again. We tried to upload his photo online several times but gave up as it was too confusing as the message from the Immigration Dept kept informing us his application was already on record. 

Today, after queuing up for his number, the officer scrutinised his photo then informed him it was okay. He was told to wait for his passport to be processed and ready for collection.

Fingerprint record problem: My daughter was notified by email her application was rejected due to some problem with her fingerprint record. After queuing up today, she had her fingerprints taken. 

After that, the officer asked if my daughter's photo was taken recently and whether it was shot at a professional photo studio. We were surprised and confirmed yes to both questions. She said my daughter's photo had to be reshot so it was done on the spot. Luckily I had asked her to bring along a dark jacket and quickly brushed her hair to show both her ears and forehead clearly. Then only she was given a queue number to wait for her new passport to be ready for collection.

We were just relieved everything was settled on the same day and we finally got our new passports in hand.