Latest Recipe at the Le Meridien

New in town

By MARK LEAN

Hotel dining in KL heats up with the addition of Latest Recipe at the Le Meridien.

IT’S the time of year to throw plans for a svelte new you out the window. There’s a new dining destination in town – Latest Recipe at the Le Meridien, Kuala Lumpur.

Despite its unimaginative-sounding name, the all-day-dining restaurant serves up inspired Asian and international fare.

Variety is key: Seafood, authentic indian cuisine, tapas, vegetarian and desserts are available at Latest Recipe.

Latest Recipe gives new meaning – and taste – to the term “melting pot.” The establishment is the flagship for a series of similar eateries at Le Meridien hotels across the globe.

The predominantly white interior of the former restaurant One on One, has been given an Eastern makeover, courtesy of Thai-based consultancy firm, Hansell Design.

Now, jade green and vibrant orange flow through the curved space. The Asian theme is taken further with a New Age soundtrack to accompany your meal.

That’s all well and good, but does the food manage to excite? There’s a lot of it, for sure. And if you’re not careful, you might end up quaffing super-size portions.

The restaurant works on a tried-and-tested concept. Chefs are positioned at individual food stations, preparing a remarkable array of familiar offerings, reinterpreted by the hotel’s award-winning executive chef Antoine Rodriguez.

You may begin at the teppanyaki section. Here, sea-fresh scallops, prawns, squid, beef and chicken get the hot plate and melted butter treatment. The key words here are “sizzling” and “yummy”.

Those who enjoy sashimi and sushi, might like the unlimited servings of salmon, mackerel, butterfish, abalone, octopus and other oceanic selections.

Asian vibe: Jade, green and vibrant orange give it a contemporary look and feel.

Watch the friendly chef cook up a storm of stingray, prawn, slapper, lobster, green mussels, bamboo clam and prawns. Special sauces add local flavour (read: spicy) to your flame-cooked meal.

If fresh Chilean oysters, Pacific Prawns, Blue Yabbies and other delights are more your thing, make your way to the “Seafood on Ice” section.

Have an oyster or two or three, and wash them down with a glass of chilled sauvignon blanc. Now, isn’t this the life?

The restaurant is also particularly proud of its signature Hainanese chicken rice prepared steamed, sesame glazed and roasted. And if pastas are more your scene, the six varieties: tortellini, panzerroti, spaghetti, squid ink fettuccine, ravioli, and cappelinni, are bound to crank up the gastric juices.

The roasted marinated ribeye roll, is also bound to tempt meat lovers.

Indian cuisine is well represented here, too. Besides the usual tandoori and roti, there’s also a spice-rack worth of curries that are as authentic as they come.

Take your pick of mutton, squid, fish, chicken, and prawn concoctions, lovingly created by chefs.

Non-meat eaters are not forgotten, either. Check out the large spread of aubergine, potato, bittergourd, cottage cheese and cabbage curries.

At the heart of Latest Recipe is Chef Rodriguez’s signature tapas selection, which changes daily.

Delights such as smoked duck, salmon confit, seared lamb, and tomato terrine are prepared creatively.

Mouth-watering desserts like waffles are available.

The “live” theme is taken further at the dessert sections where the waffle counter creates delicacies that one normally would have for breakfast. But hey, who’s complaining?

A personal favourite would be waffles smeared with peanut butter and chocolate. Decadent? Definitely.

Even more so are the three chocolate fountains proffering endless streams of milk, dark and white chocolate.

The piece de resistance of the dessert section must surely be the ice cream teppanyaki “live” counter.

I initially wondered how that would work. Ice cream, after all, melts when heated, and there’s probably nothing as hot as a tepanyaki stove.

The answer soon became clear. A vast array of candy shop-type condiments such as croquants, gummy candy, cookie crumbs, feullantine, chocolate chips and the like are “cooked” together with the ice cream. Sound like a clever concept? Well, the results were interesting, to say the least.

The more conventional among us will also find the sugar rush-inducing variety of cakes and other confectionery something to look forward to.

Besides the usual buffet spread (dinner: RM78++ for adults and RM48++ for children), a special dessert buffet (RM38++ for both adults and children) is also available daily.