Seafood Rules @ Gastro Sentral, Le Meridien KL

What makes a seafood meal GREAT? When eating seafood, the most important thing is that the seafood must be fresh. Last week, we were at Gastro Sentral yet again to sample their Seafood Rules platter.. and man, was it delicious! Look at the variety of seafood we had, is your mouth watering yet?

Seafood Rules, Platter for 2

I think it's really nice here during the day when there's lots of natural lighting

The Seafood Rules promotion is available every Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. The platter for two (RM220 nett) comes with 6 live oysters, 6 boiled tiger prawns, 2 halved boiled Sabah spiny lobster,  4 pacific jumbo clams and 2 whole flower crabs as well as a bowl of mussels in lemongrass and Thai basil broth and Italian fristo misto di mare. And not forgetting, a jug of Carlsberg draught and free flow shoestring fries. What a feast we had!

Warm rosemary bread.. really good!

 An impressive platter... brimming with fresh seafood

The seafood (except the oysters) have either been simply poached or boiled, to retain its natural sweetness and freshness. The live oysters comes from Sabah tasted of the sea. My favorite from the platter has to be the Sabah spiny lobster, especially the HUGE lobster claw. Oh yes, they remove everything from the shell so it makes eating easy for you. That's what I call first class service. No struggling with a hammer to get the crab  meat out of the legs.

Four dips are provided with the platter, pimiento aioli, salsa verde, shallot vinaigrette and sweet Thai coriander chilli. Personally, I like the shallot vinaigrette best, it goes well with the flower crab. The pimiento aioli is good with the tiger prawns and the sweet Thai coriander chilli goes best with the shoestring fries. The fries were good, crisp but do eat them before they get cold and soft. And there are two shots of spicy Bloody Mary too.

Oysters, crabs, clams and prawns

 The presentation is really nice, don't you think?

Dressings

We enjoyed the mussels in lemongrass and Thai basil broth... the broth had a nice spicy kick to it.

Italian fristo misto di mare - deep fried battered squid rings and prawns

Lobster tail... so fresh, good on its own!

Thick chunky lobster claw

Hello, nice to meet you. Where are you from, Mr Lobster?

Chill, it's Sunday! ;)

Flower crab, pretty meaty

And if all that is not enough, you can add on more spiny lobsters (RM120 for 500g), live oyster (RM6 each), sea scallop thermidor (RM12) and many more. Or you could also order from the tapas menu.

The homemade nachos with classic tzatziki dip (RM12) was surprisingly very good. The nachos are made in-house, very crisp and goes superbly with the dip. I love the cute paper bag that it is served in too.

Crispy Fried Szechuan Salt & Pepper Squid (RM12)

Asian Spiced Lamb Meatballs (RM15) - juicy and flavorful

To end our meal on a sweet note, we tried the Sticky Toffee Pudding (RM22) which Hubby wanted to try during our last visit. It was served with butterscotch sauce, a berry coulis and a chocolate mousse. The chocolate mousse was really good.. so smooth that it outshone the pudding.

The Seafood Rules promotion is available every Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Platter for two (RM220 nett), platter for 4 (RM440nett) and platter for 6 (RM660 nett).


Read about our previous visit to Gastro Sentral here.



Opening times: Sun to Thur: 11am to 12am. Fri + Sat: 11am to 1am.

Service: Good.

Price: RM220 nett for platter for two.

Location: Gastro Sentral, Lobby Level, Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur, 2 Jalan Stesen Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03- 2263 7555

Parking: RM8 for the first 2 hours, RM5 for every subsequent hour.

GPS Coordinates: 3.135685, 101.686524

Huggies Dry Pants: Change for Better Convenience Roadshow - 25 February to 3 March 2013

Attention to all mummies and daddies!

From 25 February 2013 to 3 March 2013, check out the “Huggies Dry Pants: Change for Better Convenience” roadshow at Mydin USJ. Huggies® is one of Malaysia’s leading baby & child care brands, and is Malaysia’s first brand of disposable diapers which is clinically proven to help prevent diaper rash.

There will be live performances, special promotions, giveaways, games, magic tricks and activities to keep you entertained at the roadshow. Free samples of Huggies Dry Pants will also be given away and there will be lots of chances to win goodies! Just head on down to the concourse of Mydin USJ and see for yourself just how Huggies Dry Pants can make diapering easier and faster!Feel bring to bring your family along for a fun-filled Huggies event.

Details below: 
Venue: Concourse, Mydin USJ
Date: 25 February 2013 (Monday) until 3 March 2013 (Sunday)

There will also be sessions of the Huggies 30 Second Diaper Change Challenge and performances every day at 10.30am, 2.00pm and 8.00pm.

The grand finale will be happening on Sunday 3 March 2013 at 8.00pm – 9.00pm!

For more information on Huggies, log on www.facebook.com/HuggiesMalaysia

*This is a sponsored post.

Recipe: Japanese Miso Soup (Miso-shiru)

My children loves miso soup A LOT, whenever we visit the Japanese restaurant it would always be the first thing that they go for. Back at home, it's no different.... whenever I tell them that I am making miso soup, they would shout out in glee "Mummy, I want one bowl please!". It is incredibly easy to make, and is a great accompaniment even for our Chinese dinners.

We love Miso Soup!

Miso soup (miso-shiru) is made from dashi stock, miso paste and other added ingredients according to personal preference; I like to add tofu, super grade wakame, Shiitake mushrooms and scallions. Super grade wakame is a type of premium seaweed and is said to have a nutritional value 30 times higher than land vegetables and it will contribute to your health, well-being and radiant facial appearance.

Miso soup using pure miso paste contains many nutritional values such as excellent source of dietary fibre, protein, minerals and vitamin K. According to Wikipedia, researchers at Japan's National Cancer Centre suggested "eating three or more bowls of miso soup everyday could cut women's risk of developing breast cancer". Miso paste however is quite high in sodium; the original recipe actually suggested adding 50g miso paste to the dashi, however I have decreased the amount to half as I deemed it flavorful enough.

Baby C's favorite soup :)

Usually I would use either red (akamiso) or mixed (awase) miso paste. There is a miso paste brand called "Marukome Boy" which contains dashi already, so all you need to do is add it to water. Or you can also make dashi from scratch or using the sachets if you have more time.

We had a Japanese-themed lunch one afternoon... ebikko sushi, miso soup and Hokkaido cupcakes.

Japanese traditional miso soup (miso-shiru)
Recipe by Baby Sumo, slightly adapted from Japanese Bible
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5-10 minutes
Serves 2-3

Ingredients
450ml dashi stock II  or use sachets (recipe here)
1 1/2 tbsp red or awase miso paste
125g firm silken tofu
2 Shiitake mushrooms, soaked and finely sliced
1-2 tsp super-grade wakame
2 tbsp finely chopped spring onions

1. Place 2 tbsp of the dashi in a small bowl, add the miso paste and blend until smooth.

2. Place remaining dashi in a saucepan over medium high heat and bring just to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Spoon the miso mixture into the simmering stock, stirring continuously to dissolve the miso paste. Add shiitake mushrooms, tofu and wakame and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with spring onions and serve immediately.

*This recipe was featured on Asian Food Channel's FB page on 5 March 2013.

A Meaty Affair @ Zum Franziskaner, Munich, Germany

German meals can be a pretty meaty affair and standard German fare includes a huge portion of meat, some humungous potatoes and a side of shredded kraut/vegetables. We recently visited Zum Franziskaner in Munich and we definitely did not leave disappointed!

The restaurant has a casual, beer garden/brewery-like layout, so if the crowd gets going you might find yourself seated with a few strangers on a long table. Food here is on the slightly expensive side but well worth it and service is prompt and friendly.

Time dwells, rushes, divides and heals (Yes that's what is written on the wall but it just sounds better in German because it rhymes)

The emblems of various regions in Germany including Oberpfalz, Schwaben, Oberfranken, Unterfranken, Regensburg, and so on and so forth

The customary cup of beer if you are in Munich. This was the light version called Russn, comprising of Weißbier and Lemonade (€4,80 for 0,5L)

Schwammerlsuppe to start (€5,90)

Rich and creamy mushroom soup with meaty bites of three different types of mushroom

Spanferkel in Malzbier gebraten (€23,10) A total whopper of a pork dish! It is roast suckling pig served with Kartoffelknödel (potato dumplings) and Speckkrautsalat (cabbage salad). There is a "smaller portion" version of the dish available, but we were feeling peckish on the day. 

A tiny plate of shredded cabbage to remind you that it's not all bad for your waistline. (But you are quickly brought down back to earth by the sprinkling of bacon bits)

Pouring on the sauce

Sinful but absolutely delicious

Crispy skin and pork served the no-frills Bavarian way

Different mustards for different dishes such as Leberkäs (German meat loaf) and Weißwürst (Bavarian veal sausage)

The hallway

No prizes for guessing where the beer is produced

Outside the restaurant

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Opening times: Daily from 9.00am to 12.00am

Location: Zum Franziskaner, Residenzstraße 9, 80333 München, Germany

Tel: 089 / 23 18 12 0

Website: http://www.zum-franziskaner.de

*This is a guest post by The Unc.