The Love Boat

Right off, I need to say that I believe Valentine's Day to be the most ridiculous claptrap to be included in the Western calendar. Completely Hallmark spawned, it is just a way to make money by brainwashing less-than-attentive partners and spouses with a load of guilt-inducing marketing bombardment until they cough out more than they should on products and services which are worth less than half the price tag.

And just for the record, I am not some bitter spinster trying to make myself feel better by Grinch-ing V Day. When Kit and I were going out, we made a pact that we would take turns in making the other a dinner at home on Valentine's. Hence, it was grill lamb chops, and mashed potatoes in the shape of a chicken (I still don't know why he choose that shape!) as Kit's first meal for me. I made him briyani and mutton the following year. We were married the next, so we invited mum-in-law and her friend for stuffed leatherjackets and Malaysian food. When we moved into our new house with baby Erin, Kit made a Western meal and turned down his photographic strobes to a romantic glow. Unfortunately, stressed by new motherhood, I bolted to a crying Erin not even half way through the meal.

This year, we celebrated Valentine's Day early at the invitation of the good people at Hotel Armada Petaling Jaya. It was their first foray into inviting bloggers to a food tasting. Lucky me, I actually have a food blog, aside from a real editor's job! And since Armada's Executive Chef Chew Teik Chye was the man in charge of Kit's and my wedding banquet, he was as close to a Cupid as we have.

I'm not active in the blogging community. My blog is for my friends who are either far away, or busy with their own thing, who use it to check on me, while getting the low-down on some food trends. As such I was a little wary about meeting these really true to life bloggers, who run their sites with the intention of generating profit.

How wonderful it was to find that these guys were a lot more down-to-earth with the press corp I am usually cattle-called with. There is a lack of one-upmanship with bloggers, as far as these other two were invited, and I really enjoyed that. So thank you Rebecca from RebeccaSaw.com and Pamela and Gerry from www.malaysianfoodie.com and non-blogger (but fun dinner companion) Ronny Saw from DLW Communications.

On to the food then. Armada is bucking the trend this year by offering a Valentine's buffet at Utara Coffee House. One school of thought is: how can you expect lovey dovey couples to break off from their cow-eyed gazing to look for sustenance? The other reality is the fact that there will always be a shortage of good wait staff for this day, and one of the most common complaints about V Day is the fact that the most sucky service happens on the most mushy day.

So, I think this is a good move. Some couples may not like to be fawned over and interrupted by a wine-pouring waiter. Some couples actually talk during this day and may enjoy the freedom of setting their own food pace, and having a choice of what they want to eat and when they want it, as opposed to having soup and salad pushed out in 15 minutes and then waiting for an hour for their badly done chicken.

For purpose of photography and tasting, the Armada team plated the dishes. It was a nice effort, but a tough job for an unprepared staff. I'm not sure if anyone else noticed the watermarks on the black plates for the sushi, but I sure did!

Set for romance, by Armada's own Anita Chen!

Pretty petals added a touch of luxe.

To be very frank, the food was everything that Chef Chew and his team do on an everyday basis, just with pretty little touches. The tuna sushi was shaped to form a heart, but whatever the shape, Japanese Chef Syed Helmi always puts a little surprise in his food, as was evident by a bit of unexpected spiciness in one of his rolls.

The Japanese component of the Valentine's meal.

The Heart-To-Heart chicken terrine with mesclun salad was good. The chicken was free from the powederiness that can develop with this dish, and I really liked the pesto drizzled over the terrine. The beetroot heart was a sweet little kitschy thought. I like kitschy in small doses, so this suited me fine. The cherry tomatoes were fantastic, with great flavour. The red one had its skin lightly grilled, so it was a crisp counterweight to the burst of tangy tomato.

I cannot stress enough that this serving was for photographic purposes! The real Valentine's meal is a buffet!

I loved the broccoli soup with its delicate little profiterole on the top. Culinary tip: when making any green soup, the trick to retaining a fresh colour, as opposed to a murky sludge, is to blanch the greens and puree them. Set it aside and add it to your stock base only after you are happy with your stock. A few minutes of amalgamation is all you need when pureed veggies meet hot stock.

Broccoli soup is a nice change from the usual mushroom for Valentine's.

Pastry Chef Natalie made these small plain and onion flavoured rolls. Served hot, they were exquisite!

Flashy fish!

I really took Chef to task when the 'poached mackerel with braised baby okra, sun dried tomato and curry gravy' turned out to be kari kepala ikan with fillets instead of fish head. Honestly, we need to be proud of our food and their original identity! This is a fantastic dish, one of Chef's best sellers. The recipe has followed him from Penang to Malaysia. Sultans have requested this! And they did not call it poached mackerel! Its sauce is amazing. You can talk about living on bread and water and love, but truly, I know someone who can live on the gravy and white rice. This is an amazingly standout dish and it does not need to be romanticized!

White glove service - applicable on V Day?

The butter prawns with golden egg floss and mixed spicy cheese were really yummy. Although smaller than I would have liked (a nod to honesty here, because it is the same sized prawn which will be used on the buffet line), they were well-fried, to the point that head, shell and tail could all be crunched down. Yummy!

The escalope of salmon with braised leek and mushroom was so Valentine-y. It was really the thing dreams are made of. Food erotica! Pale pink salmon, perfectly poached, falling apart at a touch, married with a silky cream sauce and balanced with the salt tang of one good oyster. Bliss! having had variations of this on the buffet line, I am confident that the salmon will continue to be tender and moist when served in chafing dishes on February 14.

Escalope of salmon will translate well from individual portions to chafing dish.

Dessert comprised of chocalate cheese brownies. While good tasting, even with the lemon-infused cream cheese, I found the dish a heavy end to the meal. Love and romance needs some airy-fairyness sometimes, and I think a lighter mousse, brulee or trifle may have served the purpose a bit better.

Sweet endings!

Armada's Valentine's buffet dinner will be priced at RM65++ per person. Senior citizens can keep the flame burning for RM55++, while children and domestic helpers eat at RM40++. Ladies receive a pretty rose and a very nice chocolate praline with a hazelnut fondant centre. The couple enjoy complimentary house pouring red wine, and a picture of your night out. Valentine's Night room packages are priced at RM388++ per room, per night and includes breakfast for two, romantic candlelight dinner for two, an exclusive Armada gift, a 4pm late checkout and complimentary upgrade subject to availability. For reservations and enquiries call +603 7954 6888 ext 4557.

Among the other items which will be on the buffet are marinated pasta salad, Kamaboko salad, fresh oysters, salmon sashimi, roast leg of lamb, assam laksa, mutton roghan, stir fried crabs with black bean sauce, braised sea cucumber, chicken fajitas, oyster gratin, chicken teppanyaki, assorted cakes and pastries, crepes, and fruit.

Having had all these items at one time or another, I think this may probably be the most satisfying meal food-wise that Valentine's can offer.

Thank you Myza Nordin, Public Relations Manager; Stanton 'The Gentleman' Thorn, PR Executive, wait staff Victor, Roeggie, Thinesh and co, and Chew Chew, for great company and hospitality!


Hotel Armada Petaling Jaya
Lot 6 Lorong Utara C
Section 52, 46200 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: +603 7954 6888