La Mian Promotion at Latest Recipe, Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur


[Food & Beverage]
La Mian Promotion at Latest Recipe, Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur
China’s Lanzhou city from Gansu province in China is famous for a noodle tradition that has been introduced to many countries around the world including Malaysia and that is none other than “La Mian”. 
La Mian traces it’s origins back to the reign of Emperor Guangxu of Qing Dynasty, and is characterized for its clean yet flavourful taste and simple preparation and Le Meridien Hotel KL Sentral specially flew in guest chef Leo Zhang all the way from Beijing to showcase his skillful noodle making skillful techniques live at Latest Recipe, which is Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur’s all day dining restaurant.
I was honoured to be among the handful of media invited for the preview of this special promotion and so I headed over to the hotel with Estelle on 18 November to witness the noodle pulling and la mian making for myself.
According to Zhang, it took him 9 years to master the skill of hand pulled noodles and make the perfect beef stock and remarked (through a translator of course as I’m quite a banana), “The technique of preparing La Mian noodles dates back centuries and it is more about the arm movement”. 
The dough is held between the hands, stretched, tossed, pulled and swung repeatedly until it is evenly divided into thinner strands and served fresh to diners. You can choose either green Spinach Noodle or red Tomato Noodle and choose a selection of toppings including Tomato Egg Sauce, Spicy Braised Beef Brisket, preserved Vegetables and Shredded Chicken, Beef Shank and White Radish among others. A hot beef broth is then poured over the noodles to complement the dish.
In 1999, Zhang moved to an independent restaurant in Beijing Xicheng district to become the specialist of a variety of noodle making, under the guidance of Jiang Bo, a nutrition master in China. In 2006, Zhang joined the Westin Beijing as Chef De Partie and has been there ever since.

Estelle watching Chef Zhang in action
Chef Zhang made it look so easy but it’s not as we observed the local chefs trying to emulate his techniques. Guess it comes from years and years of experience!

Not many things are more heart warming than a steaming hot bowl of delicious noodles!

We tried 2 types – this one was with the Tomato Egg Sauce. I loved the tender and flavourful beef brisket! Go easy on the noodles as they can fill you up quickly! The chilli oil and the vinegar on the side adds a little extra dimension to the dish.
This one was with the clear broth which was light but certainly not tasteless. To our Malaysian tongues we might find it rather odd that it’s not bursting with flavour like our curry mee or laksa but after a while you will appreciate it’s subtle and clean flavours. Yet again if you’d like more flavours you can always eat the noodles with the chilli oil and vinegar.

We also got to try the buffet dinner spread at Latest Recipe and here are a couple of items that caught my eyes. I’m a bread person so I was happy to have the delicious breads that you can eat with butter, or a selection of cheeses or you can dip it into the soup of the day (which was pumpkin soup on our visit which was delightfully creamy!).
The restaurant takes pride in it’s Indian corner which offers a wide selection of Indian dishes! I like the chicken tandoori and the lamb masala!
Estelle went for most of the desserts
The chocolate cake was sinfully rich and chocolatey!
These are the toppings for the ice cream! I’ve never seen such a wide variety of toppings before!
  

Girls and chocolate fountains…

The La Mian promotion is available for a limited time from 18-27 November 2013 for Buffet Dinner only between 6.30pm and 10.30pm at Latest Recipe, level 5 of Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur. 
The promotion is priced at RM108++ per person from Monday to Thursday and RM118++ per person for Friday to Sunday.
For more info, head over to http://www.discoverlemeridien.com
E-mail: dining.lmkl@lemeridien.com
For Dining Reservations call +603 2263 7434

Photos shot with the Sony NEX-5T. More info at https://timchew.net/2013/10/01/sony-new-camera-2013-launch/ or http://www.sony.com.my

Capped off the night with a double shot latte at Gastro Sentral on the ground floor of the hotel.

KLIMS 2013 Update – Celebrities Visit the Show!

The Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2013 (KLIMS13) recorded a total of 59,600 visitors over the first 3 days, and begun its fourth day with a royal visit from D.Y.M.M Tuanku Muhriz Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir, Yang Dipertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus. His Royal Highness took time to tour the exhibitors’ booth and sat behind the wheels of some swanky cars on displayed at KLIMS13.
While KLIMS13 started its fourth day with a regal visit, it concluded the day with a bang as local celebrities dropped by to the delight of visitors. Crowds of visitors and flashes of cameras were abound as Altimet, Jehan Miskin, Nadine Ann Thomas, Thanuja Ananthan and Bon Zainal Harun lent their star power to the show.

The celebrities were impressed with the concept cars, one-of-a-kind vehicles and classic cars on showcase at KLIMS13. Each celebrity had their favourite car at KLIMS13. Jehan Miskin who enthused that he is a happy man when he is surrounded by cars found his favourite with the Isuzu D-Max. Altimet is a fan of Honda cars especially the EV-Ster concept car and the one-of-a-kind CR-Z Mugen RR concept. Nadine’s favourite was the American Classic Cars showcase while Thanuja favourite is the Hyundai facelifted Tucson. The highlight of the day was when they excitedly jumped into the Ford Transit which has been transformed into an ambulance for display at KLIMS13 and commented that they had not sat in an ambulance.
Datuk Aishah Ahmad, President of Malaysian Automotive Association said “We are pleased that KLIMS13 is receiving tremendous attention. Those who have visited the motor show have found cars and automotive products which thrilled them. We hope the public and car enthusiasts will take the opportunity to visit KLIMS13 before it closes its door as it may be another three years before KLIMS makes its appearance again.”
Peugeot capitalized on the crowd and celebrities’ visit to launch the Peugeot 2008 Urban Sports Uility Vehicle. Peugeot is aiming to conquer a market segment that is looking for a smaller SUV vehicle suitable for city and country driving. Peugeot 2008 comes with added features like Smart park assist and Smart One Touch foldable rear seats. The sporty vehicle will be available in January next year and visitors can make their bookings at KLIMS13. Peugeot booth has already sold 20 units of vehicles on the first 3 days of exhibition at KLIMS 2013!
For show and ticket info you can read my general info post on KLIMS 2013 – https://timchew.net/2013/11/15/kuala-lumpur-international-motor-show-klims-2013-preview/
Photo credits: KLIMS 2013