Merry Feasts at Element Kuala Lumpur

Terrific 180-degree views that sweep through the city's shimmering skyline; tantalising specialities that span sous-vide turkey roulade to Australian steaks and Moroccan-style lamb shank, plus a unique high tea that brings an engaging experience of artistry and craftsmanship served at the table: Perched on the 40th floor of Element Kuala Lumpur, TRACE Restaurant & Bar offers both style and substance in a slew of festive sky-dining feasts to wrap up 2020 and ring in a better year to come.

On Christmas Eve, a semi-buffet with a choice of main course will seize the spotlight, priced at RM138 nett per adult and RM69 per child. The feast includes Christmas classics with a sophisticated flourish - for the most wonderful time of the year, this could be your most wonderful meal of the year.

The semi-buffet includes an all-you-can-eat selection of starters, salads, soup and desserts, with a choice of one main course, such as sous-vide turkey roulade, grilled Australian steak, honey mustard cod fish or roasted rack of lamb.

If you'd like to start your celebrations early, explore the Festive Dining Sets from 17 December to 30 December 2020, priced at RM108 per adult.

Keep the merriment going till New Year's Eve, with another semi-buffet and choice of main course, similarly priced at RM138 nett per adult and RM69 per child, with a fresh selection of temptations for the final day of 2020. Usher in 2021 with an all-you-can-eat selection of starters, salads, soup and desserts, with a choice of main course such as roasted spring chicken, BBQ short ribs, pan-seared red mullet or braised lamb shank.

TRACE’s Festive High Tea will also spread cheer every weekend throughout December, as well as on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, priced at RM128 nett for two persons.

This high-tea is a signature experience unlike any other - TRACE's culinary team will assemble the dessert items one-by-one at your table, so that you can see the entire presentation constructed in front of you, a visual thrill with plenty of colourful Christmas-themed flourishes filled with seasonal flavours. Break open the dessert in a gold ball with a hammer to reveal a special cake within!

Call 03-2771-3388 or email TraceRB.Elementkl@elementhotels.com for reservations. 

Or WhatApp at: https://wa.me/60102670338

Element Kuala Lumpur is at 8, Jalan Binjai, Kuala Lumpur.

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Willow, W Kuala Lumpur

From heirloom tomato tarts with anchovy mascarpone to beras keladi with dehydrated watermelon, Willow serves up a menu with ambition and allure in equal measure.

We went for two pasta-based mains with tantalising twists. Our favourite was the zitoni, pasta tubes presented intriguingly, ringing an inner circle of red snapper and Sabah clams, surrounded by a moat of garam masala sauce, for a surprisingly soulful recipe of Italian-Indian influences, textured like the former with dried al dente pasta perfectly matched with flaky and firm forms of seafood, flavoured like the latter with deeply savoury, spiced notes (RM70).

Agnolotti, the stuffed pasta, also secures a modern makeover, filled with fleshy confit duck leg meat, sprinkled with crisp morsels of duck crackling, showered with a rich red wine foam and coriander oil, for a confidently executed ensemble that could fit in comfortably at a Piedmontese ristorante (RM58).

For dessert, the goat's milk cheesecake seems to be distinctly Heston-inspired, evoking the British chef's goat's cheese sambocade, swapping out his elderflower jam filling with fig brulee instead, nectarously buoying the goat's cheese earthiness, sweetened further by mascarpone ice cream and 25-year-aged balsamic for a balanced finish (RM50).

If you prefer a zestier end, the variations of yuzu unpeels the citrus fruit in different dynamics and dimensions, laced in a cake, tinged in puree, rounded out with an olive oil sorbet and perilla leaf granita for another pleasurable preparation that brings the culinary world closer together (RM50).

Cocktails complement the meal from start to finish. The Eden Watermelon works well as an aperitif, gentle with gin and Galliano, brimming with frozen, pulpy cubes of watermelon juice that melt beautifully into a beverage made aromatic with thyme and vanilla (RM55).

Willow's head bartender is Borneo-born, so be sure to sip the Sandakan Sling (RM50; gin and sweet vermouth with Sabah's lihing rice wine, coffee and East Imperial Burma Tonic) and Native digestif (RM35; linutou mild tapai blended with red beans and cinnamony Amaro di Angostura).

Willow Kuala Lumpur

Level 8, W Hotel, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. Open for lunch and dinner; closed Sundays. Tel: 013-235-0542

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Li Yen, The Ritz-Carlton

For dim sum done at the peak of the kitchen's prowess, Li Yen remains the city's most reliable destination. You'll be hard-pressed to find har gao that's so expertly executed, with fresh prawn meat and steamed bamboo shoots packed tightly in perfectly proportioned skin. Beef siew mai also boasts triumphantly thin skin, shining the spotlight on the stuffing for these delectable dumplings.

The creamiest lo bak go in the city? Li Yen also earns that distinction. Order the chai tow kway too, featuring produce at its prime in the form of remarkable radish, partnered with silky scrambled eggs.

Li Yen at The Ritz-Carlton is currently also serving specialities from Shanghai Restaurant, its sister restaurant at JW Marriott, so you can also order irresistible Shanghainese recipes like pan-fried spring onion pancakes, beef tendons braised in sweetish red wine sauce, and firm, flat glass noodles with a rich, thick peanut sauce.

Li Yen

The Ritz-Carlton, Jalan Imbi, Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Zuan Yuan, One World Hotel: All-You-Can-Eat Dim Sum

Dumplings, steamed and fried; rice rolls, buns, freshly baked tarts and more: Every weekend morning, One World Hotel Petaling Jaya's Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant serves an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of dim sum for more than four hours - the perfect destination for families and friends seeking to devour dim sum to their heart's content.

What's more impressive is that Zuan Yuan has maintained the price for its popular dim sum buffet throughout the past decade (also available on public holidays). Way back in 2010, this spread clocked in at RM48++; now in 2020, it costs only RM48 nett per adult and RM24 nett for children between six to 12 years old.

All the basics are accounted for - you can watch your baskets of piping-hot, pork-free temptations surface from the bustling open kitchen, bearing everything from siu mai with flying fish roe to shrimp dumplings, house-made squid balls laced with chilli and garlic to bean curd rolls in abalone sauce. Textures prove tender and flavours taste mellow, ideal for all generations.

We can't resist turnip cakes, so we're happy that Zuan Yuan offers them, both in stir-fried and pan-fried form. Taro dumplings with scallops and miso sauce are another crowd-pleasing indulgence, though we won't say no to extra helpings of the crisp, chicken-stuffed Shanghai dumplings either. For this round though, we ran out of space for the spring rolls and sesame balls.

Cheong fun and congee come in various preparations: Have the former with prawn meat or chicken char siew, and the latter with century egg and dried oysters (our favourite style), shredded chicken, sliced beef or fish fillet. Classic, comforting fare.

The baked fare is scrumptious too, with highlights of sweet-savoury buns filled with barbecued chicken or salted egg yolk custard. Egg tarts also emerge straight from the oven to your table, with unmistakable crunchy crusts and creamy centres.

You can complement your dim sum with a selection of platters, including Hong Kong-inspired rice noodles with beef and the familiar Yangzhou-style fried rice. Stir-fried vegetables help to ease any guilt pangs, including kai lan, broccoli, choy sum, baby nai pak and baby cabbage with garlic or oyster sauce.

With a total of 33 items to choose from, it's a feast that will leave no one hungry. Finish with soothing chilled desserts - herbal jelly with honey, lemongrass jelly with aloe vera and soy bean with snow fungus. Note though that tea isn't included in the cost.

Zuan Yuan's sprawling space ensures this will be a safe, comfortable experience. Private rooms are also available.

Many thanks to Zuan Yuan for a belly-busting dim sum lunch.

Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant

One World Hotel Petaling Jaya, First Avenue, Bandar Utama City Centre, Petaling Jaya, 47800 Selangor.

Open Monday-Friday, 12pm-230pm, 630pm-1030pm; Saturday-Sunday, 10am-230pm, 630pm-1030pm. Tel: 03-7681-1159

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com