A good roast on a Sunday

The Lobby Lounge,

Ground Floor, The Ritz-Carlton,168,

Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2142 8000

Business hours: Every Sunday

from 11.30am to 3.00pm

Halal.

SUNDAY Roast at The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur is not just about the good old fashioned roasted prime beef rib, but it also offers a medley of European classic favourites with authentic ingredients

“Our cheese is from Italy and the fish roe from the Scandinavian countries. We want to be as authentic as possible and import some of the ingredients if a particular dish warrants it,” hotel executive sous chef Mohd Firdaous Mohd Izhar said.
However, the highlight of the buffet is the roast which is made from Black Angus beef imported from the United States.

Enticing: The tastefully presented Sunday Roast buffet at The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur’s Lobby Lounge.

“The meat, once it arrives needs to be aged two to three weeks before roasting. Ageing here means putting it in the chiller with herbs and spices,” Firdaous said, adding that the roasting took about seven hours.
All that work is so that they are able to serve tender and tasty beef that has been well done to rare cuts on a single roast, depending which section of it is selected by the diner. Recommended to go along with the roast is a side of stewed cabbage that has a taste reminiscent of sweet prunes and Yorkshire pudding.
“Our stewed cabbage is deep purple because it has a variety of fruits and herbs. It is a classic European way of cooking,” Firdaous said.

Another classic item on the menu is the salmon coulibiac, a French favourite consisting of salmon, hard-boiled eggs and fragrant rice all cooked in a pastry and served in slices.

Meaty delight: The highlight of the Sunday Roast is of course, the roast itself.

“As there are a lot of different ingredients in a single dish, its quite hard to cook this particular dish which needs patience and attention to detail to prepare,” Firdaous said.
The buffet also features a small Asian section dedicated to sushi and choice sashimi cuts.
“This is to cater to the Asian diners who must have some rice in their meals because for most it is a staple food,” he said.
The buffet also includes many other delicacies such as deep-sea oysters, mini-lobsters, pates and smoked salmon.
Though the buffet is relatively small compared with most other buffets, the Sunday Roast still manages to pack in a variety of desserts all with the diners’ preference in mind.

For the fondue: Rows of fruits and marshmallows sticks that can be dipped into the creamy chocolate fountain.

“Other than the usual chocolate fountain with a variety of bite-sized items like fruit and marshmallow on sticks to dip in, the other interesting dessert item we have are macaroons,” Firdaous said.
He said when coming up with the menu, the team had wanted to make a light dessert that was not as heavy as chocolate that some diners enjoyed after a meal.
“Macaroons are sweet without being too sweet. Diners need not worry about the bright colours our macaroons come in as it is all entirely due to the various natural ingredients.
For instance, for strawberry macaroons we will use real strawberry paste for the colour,” Firdaous said.
Firdaous, who has been working in the industry for the past 14 years, said it took about two months to prepare the menu for the roast.
“The idea is to provide our guests with a taste of Europe,” he said, adding that it was pointless to serve ordinary local food at the classy lounge because the best ones are more likely to be found on the streets.
The price per person for the Sunday Roast is RM130++.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by Star Metro.