Chinese New Year Menu 2013: Latest Recipe, Le Meridien Hotel KL

I was quite curious as to what The Latest Recipe in Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur could possibly offer in their upcoming Chinese New Year’s buffet menu considering that Le Meridien doesn’t have a chinese restaurant per se. The last I visited was in 2011 where I reviewed their Ramadan buffet (You can read about it HERE) and even back then I had thought that their buffet food to be decent though nothing out of the ordinary. Nevertheless it has remained as one of the leading buffets venue in KL and one can’t deny from its consistent crowd that the Latest Recipe buffet is rather popular.

And in a clever marketing move, it turned out that Le Meridien KL is offering Chinese New Year feast buffet-style, banking on the popularity of The Latest Recipe buffet and is adding to their daily buffet spread certain items that reflects the auspicious festival.

On the EVE of CNY, a Lunar New Year’s Eve Prosperity Buffet Dinner, priced at only RM138++ per person and just RM69++ per child or senior citizen is available so that’s ideal for those who have decided to take a break from cooking and washing. And from 4^th to 8^th February 2013 and 10^th to 24^th February 2013, Latest Recipe will feature a Lunar New Year Prosperity Buffet Dinner spread, priced at only RM108++ per person and at RM54++ per child or senior citizen. A surcharge of RM10++ is applicable for buffet dinners served from Friday to Sunday. Salmon Yee Sang will be available for every 10 paying adults, so be sure to check them out.

Here are the Day 1 to Day 7 Menus:

After studying the menus closely, I thought they are rather well worth the price. A standard table for a Chinese New Year feast of 10 pax is typical about RM1188. Divide the cost by 10. That equals to about RM118++ per pax. For a course by course meal, each dish is served once and once the group finishes the plate, that’s the end of it.
A buffets offers unlimited servings of soups, sea cucumber, fish and meat (duck, chicken) for one price. I trust the buffet would be replenished in a timely manner and there’s enough to go around for everyone. If so, then the CNY buffet at Latest Recipe seems to be a favourable choice.

As mentioned above, Salmon Yee Sang will be available for every 10 paying adults, so be sure to gather a minimum group of 10 for a feast here. I sampled the Yee Sang during the preview and though it was pretty ordinary, the ingredients were crisp and fresh and the salmon fresh and thick.

Braised Fish Lips Soup with Fresh Crab Meat and Dried Scallop was heavy on ingredients but light on taste. A touch of vinegar did help.

The Steamed Sun-dried Oyster with Seamoss and Broccoli was strictly basic and traditional. Grannies, aunties and your great grandfather would approve.

Just as I acquiesced myself to an ordinary dinner (thankfully the buffet spread kept me busy), the Jasmine Tea Smoked Duck arrived and transformed the rhythm of dinner. Smoked by the Chef himself, the duck was deliciously fragrant with smoke and the aroma of Jasmine tea. The prerequisite fatty layer on top of each slice makes each chew satisfyingly flavourful.

After a saltish dish, something sweet and spicy on the palate was next. Chef Jame’s Wok-fried Fresh Prawn Meat with Sweet Chilli Sauce spiced things up a little for the evening. The sweet chilli puree was his own blend of red chilli and matched well with the natural sweetness of the prawn.

Wok-fried Green Mussels with Black Bean Sauce was an unexpected but welcomed surprise. Cooked with Chef’s very own secret black bean sauce with a myriad of spices including lemongrass, ginger and crushed garlic, the dish was a rather enjoyable addition and I hope it would be part of the CNY buffet during the promotional period.

The Steamed Chicken Guava Dumpling with Oyster Sauce and Ebiko is a current and popular item on the buffet spread in The Latest Recipe and thus this item will remain on the the CNY buffet as well. I ate one in anticipation of some fruity guava crunch and was puzzled to not be able to detect any.
Turned out that the dish does not do the name any justice as there was no guava per se in the dumplings. Garnished with caviar and served on a bed of crisp lettuce leaves and oyster sauce, this colourful dish tasted just like regular dumplings to me.

There were no Chinese New Year’s dessert served that night. We helped ourselves to The Latest Recipe buffet while eating, so the desserts that we had was not related to the Chinese New Year’s menu preview.

Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur

2 Jalan Stesen Sentral
Kuala Lumpur Sentral
50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Phone
+603- 2263 7434

Email: [email protected]

Here’s my round-up for 2013 Chinese New Year Menu in KL. I’ll include the links once I have published the posts this/next week. I’m trying to write as fast as I can!

1. Chinese New Year Menu 2013: Ti Chen Chinese Restaurant, The Saujana Hotel
2. Chinese New Year Menu 2013: Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant, One World Hotel
3. Chinese New Year Menu 2013: Li Yen Chinese Restaurant, The Ritz Carlton Hotel
4. Chinese New Year Menu 2013: Shanghai Restaurant, JW Marriott Hotel
5. Chinese New Year Menu 2013: Cheng Ho Court Chinese Restaurant, Mines Wellness Hotel
6. Chinese New Year Menu 2013: West Lake Garden Chinese Restaurant, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa
7. Chinese New Year Menu 2013: Armada Hotel PJ
8. Chinese New Year Menu 2013: Five Sen5es, Westin KL
9. Chinese New Year Menu 2013: Celestial Court, Sheraton Imperial Hotel KL
10. Chinese New Year Menu 2013: Latest Recipe, Le Meridien Hotel KL
11. Chinese New Year Menu 2013: Di Wei Chinese Cuisine Restaurant, Empire Hotel Subang
12. Chinese New Year Menu 2013: Tai Ze Heen, Prince Hotel KL
13. Chinese New Year Menu 2013:  Xin Cuisine, Concorde Hotel KL
14. ..

….
and more!