Hubby's Birthday Lunch @ Prime, Le Meridien, Kuala Lumpur

"Where would you like to celebrate your birthday this year?", I asked Hubby.

"Prime at Le Meridien" was his response. Our first meal here had been nothing short of spectacular. The steaks here were so good, it had set a high benchmark for any other steaks we would eat in future. Hence, we had great expectations for our meal here today.

Two types of bread with 3 types of butter were served; the Emmental cheese & black pepper bread and walnut bread. We loved the freshly baked walnut bread, and even the spicier Emmental cheese bread is growing on us.

Freshly baked bread

Aragula, salted and dried fruits butter

For his appetizer, Hubby chose the Braised Inter-coastal Wagyu Beef with Creamy Fresh Ricotta Cheese Polenta and Shaved Winter Truffle. One of the things that attracted Hubby to this dish was the mention of shaved winter truffle, however, after looking high and low, he still could not find any truffles, so he concluded that either the truffle was incorporated in the sauce or the kitchen forgot to place shaved truffles on this dish. However, even without the truffle, this dish was delicious as the braised beef was wonderfully tender and flavoursome. The polenta portion was quite generous too, making this a satisfyingly filling appetizer.

I, on the other, chose a lighter appetizer, Homemade Smoked Salmon, Lobster and King Prawn Salad with Honey Dill Dressing and Melon Waldorf. To my delight this "salad" was laden with seafood and surprisingly light on the salad which was a treat.

We couldn't come to Prime and not order the steak for our main course. So we both had the Charcoal Grilled Australian Beef Tournedos with BBQ sauce, Mushroom Gratin, Cherry Tomato Confit and Rosti Potato. The two steaks which arrived at our table were quite different in size. Mine was significantly bigger than Hubby's, which I offered to swap with the birthday boy but he said it was okay. I couldn't wait to dig into my steak.

We ordered our steaks medium rare and mine was perfectly cooked. However, when Hubby sliced into his steak, he had doubts it was cooked as ordered. The colour of his steak was almost brown suggesting it was medium to medium well. I could tell that he was disappointed. We do not usually send food back to the kitchen, but since it was Hubby's birthday, and I wanted the meal to be extra special for him, I signalled the waiting staff over and explained.

My medium rare steak

This was quickly rectified by the kitchen staff and we were told that there was a 5 minute wait for a new steak to be cooked. While waiting, Hubby was served a lime sorbet palate cleanser which he enjoyed. Before he knew it, another steak was placed before him. This time, it was a perfectly cooked medium rare steak. Hubby tucked in and enjoyed his steak very much. What a difference it makes to have the steak cooked to the preferred doneness. Apparently, one can request for truffle sauce to accompany their steaks, so I will definitely try that next time.

The Pineapple Creme Brulee with Coconut Tuille that I had for dessert was lovely. This was the first time I've had fruits incorporated into a creme brulee and it was rather unique, I have to say.

Hubby enjoyed his Warm Hazelnut Cake with Strawberry Ice-Cream. The cake looked dry, but looks can be deceiving as the cake was actually moist.

When we were having our desserts, we overheard the restaurant manager telling the table beside us that they were having some "problems" with the soup that afternoon hence they were unable to serve it. This made us chuckle.... "problematic soup"? We are still wondering what the mishap may have been.

Illy Coffee or Dammann Freres Tea included with set lunch. Instead, I was served Cameron Tea in a Dammann cup... ran out of Dammann tea perhaps?

Complimentary chocolate chip cookies and biscotti

Prime delivered yet another great lunch, we will be back soon. Pretty good value if you ask me, 3 courses for RM85++ or if you're a light eater, there is the 2 course option for RM70++.


To read about our previous visit, click here.

Opening times: Monday to Friday: 12.00pm to 2.30pm (Lunch); Monday to Sunday: 6.30pm to 11.00pm (Dinner)

Service: Good

Location: Prime, 5th Floor, Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur, 2 Jalan Stesen Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Directly opposite KL Sentral station and next to KL Hilton)

Tel: 03- 2263 7555

Parking: RM6 for the first 2 hours, RM2 for every subsequent hour.

GPS Coordinates: 3.135685, 101.686524

Website: http://www.lemeridiendining.com.my

Prime no longer publishes their set lunch menu on their website, so email Dining Reservations at dining.lmkl@lemeridienkl.com for more information. Menu at Prime changes every 2 weeks. The above menu is available from 3rd to 14th January 2011.

*Winner of TimeOutKL Best Steak House 2011.