CHATZ BRASSERIE,
ParkRoyal Hotel Kuala Lumpur,
Jalan Sultan Ismail,
50250 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2147 0088
Business hours: 6.30am-midnight, daily.
Seafood buffet dinner is from 6.30pm-10.30pm.
10 types of dishes to delight in.
CALLING all crab lovers! There will be a feast of over 10 types of crabs served for dinner at Parkroyal Hotel Kuala Lumpur’s Chatz Brasserie.
The Friday and Saturday seafood buffet dinners of local and international seafood fare will now also feature these crustaceans.
“Not many hotels have served such a huge variety of crabs in one sitting for a buffet, so we decided to try it,” said Restaurants, Bars and Events director Ivan Chin.
Being a fan of the crustacean himself, Chin expects this buffet to be a hit as most Malaysians love crabs.
Executive chef Gary Lim showing off the Wok-fried Crab in Marmite Sauce.
He said three food-tasting sessions were carried out before the top 10 crab dishes were decided upon.
Among them are the Sweet and Sour Meat Crab, Blue Flower Crab Masak Lemak Nenas, Fried Blue Flower Crab with Spices, Deep-fried Soft Shell Crab and the Wok-fried Crab in Marmite Sauce.
“Personally, I recommend the Wok-Fried Meat Crab with Salted Egg,” he said.
The other popular styles are Wok-Fried Chili Meat Crab, Steamed Crab with Egg White, Kam Heong Crab and Butter Meat Crab.
“We chose these flavours based on the general favourites among Malaysians,” said executive chef Gary Lim.
He said fresh supplies of crabs were brought in twice a week.
Wok-fried Chili Meat Crab.
On an average, the hotel buys 150kg to 200kg of crabs, and six kitchen staff are assigned to clean and prep the crustaceans for cooking.
“We cannot prep the crabs early because we want to retain its freshness, so we give ourselves about an hour to prep and cook it all immediately after,” said Lim.
He said the shells would be cracked a little before cooking to allow the flavours to seep into the meat.
He added that the cooking styles differed according to the types of crab.
“For example, the Indonesian Mud Crabs are mostly wok-fried, unlike the Blue Ocean Crabs and Brown Ocean Crabs that are cooked in curries, because the spices will destroy the natural sweetness of the Indonesian Mud Crab.
“Our Kam Heong Crab is a popular dish among the public,” Lim said.
Another of the restaurant’s specialities is the Steamed Crab with Egg White (top pic), which is tedious to cook.
Wok-fried Meat Crab with Salted Egg.
Kam Heong Crab.
“We cannot open the pot’s lid to check on the crabs while they are cooking because it will affect the outcome of the dish,” Lim explained.
Apart from the selection of crabs, the seafood buffet also offers a range of other dishes such as the Tom Yam Crab Noodles Soup, Crabmeat Soup and the Baked Crab Pudding.
In the Chinese section are Fried Yee Mee with Crabmeat Gravy while Crab Aglio Olio and Crabmeat Cream Sauce are available from the Western counter.
The buffet dinner is priced at RM85 nett per adult and RM57.50 nett per child. Reservations are required. The promotion is until Aug 30.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.