MOTHER-DAUGHTER TIME = GOOD FOOD TIME.

I joined the FriedChillies “Mum & Me @ Le Meridien” Contest on a whim, thinking I would never win seeing as my luck always strikes out when it comes to slogans and contests. So imagine my excitement when I received an email telling me that I won 2 vouchers for a dinner buffet at Latest Recipe, Le Meridien Hotel worth RM98 each. It was a wonderful prize because it means I get to do something nice for my mom and we get to spend some quality time over good food.

Latest Recipe is located on Level 5 of Le Meridien Hotel. We were seated at a table for 2 by the wall-to-wall window overlooking a great night view of the roads that criss-crosses the perimeters of KL Sentral. Latest Recipe boasts a sort of hawker-esque concept—albeit a very posh one, where you have different "stalls" for different types of cuisine e.g. Japanese, dim sum, and North Indian.

The first thing we hunted down were fresh oysters. We took 4 each with a side of abalones, crabs, and prawns, topped with Tabasco sauce and lemon. They're definitely fresh because if they weren't, mom would've started itching. Next was a plate of salmon, tuna, and octopus sashimi and a mixed plate of chicken and beef teppanyaki sans the rice. The sashimi was also very fresh, sliced right in front of you, and the teppanyaki meat combo was my favorite with its tender meat and perfect sauce. Ask for extra sauce when you order the chicken teppanyaki because you'll be tempted to dip everything into the creamy brown slush.

I was looking forward to the dim sum but it fell short with its limited selection and the absence of chicken siew mai. The ones I picked were rather tasty but overall, they didn't leave much of an impression. I only had space for desserts so I headed straight for the chocolate fountain, where you can coat your grapes, marshmallows, and cakes with smooth milk chocolate. I wished there were more choices of fruits like strawberries, melons, and bananas that night. I took a little of everything from the dessert table but none of them were memorable—not even the chocolate pudding. It was only when we left that I remembered their talked-about teppanyaki ice cream! Bummer.

We ordered plain fruit juices, which ridiculously cost RM19 each, and paid RM10 for parking. All in all, I spent roughly RM50 for an experience that's worth so much more. But most importantly, mom had a good time and that's all that matters. But would I go again? Probably only when I'm earning a much larger paycheck so thank you FriedChillies!


My mom.


Latest Recipe, Le Meridien Hotel.


Latest Recipe, Le Meridien Hotel.


The view from our table.


Her fresh oysters, abalone, prawns, and crab.


My dim sum.


My octopus, salmon, and tuna sashimi.


My mom and her sushi, sashimi, dim sum, and otak-otak.


Yours truly.


Beef and chicken teppanyaki.


My dessert plate.


My carrot juice.


Mom's watermelon juice.