I absolutely enjoy good food — and though my blog is mainly about travel, I love writing about food from time to time because well, they are both related. For this post, I was invited to a food preview by Resorts World Genting to try out three international food chains that are Malaysia’s firsts, located in the SkyAvenue Mall in Genting Highlands.
A Little Bit on Genting Highlands
Genting Highlands is a hill resort in the state of Pahang, about an hour away from the Malaysian capital city of Kuala Lumpur. It is located along the Titiwangsa mountain range, and the resort is about 1700m above sea level — so it makes a convenient quick getaway for the locals for some cool mountain air.
Opened since the 1960’s, Genting Highlands is known for being a fun family vacation spot with its shopping and entertainment opportunities, its casino, and its theme park (at the moment, the 20th Century Fox World theme park is being developed on the site). I remember heading up to the resort almost every school holidays as a child — it was always a treat.
So during my visit to Genting Highlands this time around, other than the opportunity to enjoy some cooling weather (as compared to the hot and humid one back home in Kuala Lumpur); I was invited to review Burger and Lobster from London, Cafes Richard from Paris, and Motorino from Brooklyn, New York. These are my experiences.
Burger and Lobster
A combination of burgers and lobsters — what’s not to love? The UK restaurant chain, Burger and Lobster has finally made its way to our shores, and I’m really glad because I can finally have a go at it without worrying too much about a ‘travel budget’. Despite the premium dish of lobster, I’m glad the restaurant has a pretty casual and chill-out vibe — that means that I can enjoy this delicious crustacean with my hands, wear that plastic bib, and not look out of place at all!
With a menu of Nova Scotia lobsters that can be steamed, grilled or mixed in a claypot of chili; burgers with beef flown all the way from the Aussie, and lobster rolls — I had a feast! The cocktails and mocktails are served in creative ways too (imagine a high cocktail tower for sharing, or your drinks served in a plastic bag), adding some extra fun to the already awesome meal.
I thorough enjoyed my meal at Burger and Lobster. I appreciate the nod to our local tastes with the Chili Lobster (it’s savory and not too spicy), but I still love to taste the natural sweetness of my lobster so I preferred the Steamed Lobster that comes with a lemon and garlic sauce. It was pretty thrilling just watching the juicy flesh slide off the shells, or pullout a perfectly shaped claw flesh! Another dish that I was really impressed with was the B&L Burger. Imagine the beef patty and the lobster flesh, nicely wrapped up in a charcoal baked sesame seed brioche bun. Delish!
The steamed lobster dish costs RM153, and the B&L burger is the same price. Chili lobster costs RM173. Lobster rolls, RM105/RM153. Genting members get a lower price.
The hype is real. And boy, was I satisfied.
Cafes Richard
I really appreciate a good cup of coffee; so I was delighted to hear that Cafes Richard, France’s premier coffee roaster has chosen Malaysia as the location for its first international retail café. They have been a family-run business since 1892, with a couple of outlets in Paris. Now its also in Genting’s SkyAvenue, so we can have a little taste of France, without being in France!
Cafes Richard serves an array of coffee — and their top choice of coffee beans is the Perle Noir (black pearl), 100% Arabica brewed the Cafes Richard way. It is used in their espressos and hot milk coffees, as well as the frappes; costing about RM13-RM20. The cafe also offers coffee cocktails and moctails, tea selections, and of course, delicious French food.
I had a go at the Parisian High Tea, and absolutely loved the small ‘cabinet’ filled with 13 small sweet and savory delights like salmon bruschetta, mushroom quiche, cheese cakes and macaroons! It’s RM143 for two, served from 2.30-5.30pm.
I was most impressed with the descriptive menu of the variety of coffee beans offered at Cafes Richard, from all over the world like Ethiopia and Costa Rica (RM21), and even the high end Blue Mountain from Jamaica (RM62). And the best part was choosing how we liked it brewed — French Press, Chemex, Syphon and the Cold Drip method.
I ordered a Chemex brewed Costa Rica Tarrazue (coffee brewed in this method is filtered by bonded paper over an hourglass-shaped flask with a funnel-like neck). The coffee was served in a wine glass, and was light and aromatic without the bitterness. I got my little finger up in the air as I sipped on my drink! My sister ordered her drink brewed the Syphon way — and her drink had a rich coffee taste.
It’s quite educational learning about the many brewing methods at Cafes Richard; and I will return to try the many varieties of coffee available at the cafe. If you love your coffee, you’ll appreciate what’s on offer at Cafes Richard.
Motorino
Another international chain that has opened up on the 1st floor of Genting’s SkyAvenue is the popular Brooklyn and East Village pizza place — Motorino. Some sources say it’s the best authentic Neopolitan Italian pizza restaurant in New York!
The Motorino restaurant here is done up in a diner-style, with gold-bordered Italian windows. It also has two huge wood-fire pizza ovens shipped all the way from Naples, Italy. The kitchen is an open concept, so it was fun watching the cooks prepare our pizza — from the kneading of the dough, to pressing it out, then adding in the ingredients, and finally sliding it into the oven on a huge ladle.
Motorino offers 9 different types of pizza, including the traditional Margherita Pizza, and interesting choices like the Arugula and Bresaola Pizza that has air-dried beef. Prices per pizza ranges from RM48-64 for non-Genting members. There are also 20 different toppings that can be added onto the pizzas — including brussel sprouts, cured anchovies, clams and buffalo mozzarella.
Honestly, I prefer my pizzas thin-crust, wide, extremely cheesy and foldable; so Neopolitan pizzas with their thick crusts aren’t exactly my thing. But if you’re all for pizzas done the Italian way — get a slice at Motorino.
Other Restaurants
Other than these three international restaurant chains that has made its way into Genting’s brand new SkyAvenue — there are other ones as well, including South Korea’s chicken restaurant, Kyochon; Singapore’s Nyonya restaurant, Tampopo; as well as local Malaysian restaurants like Dragon-i and Madame Kwan’s, just to name a few. SkyAvenue is made up of 5 floors of shopping, eating and entertainment goodness, so there’s just so much to enjoy!
There will also be a Malaysian Food Street at the highest floor of the mall, where guests can enjoy the wonderful hawker fares Malaysia has to offer, all in one place. Isn’t that something to look forward to?
My sister (right) and I, enjoying the gastronomy delights at SkyAvenue, Genting Highlands. Photo by Ashley Yeen.
*She Walks the World visited these restaurants at Genting’s SkyAvenue as a guest on a Media Trip with Resorts World Genting. As always, all opinions stated here are my own.
* All prices stated are accurate at the time of writing in January 2017.
* Photos by Michael Marvin Photography are watermarked.
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Categories: Asia, Food Trails, Malaysia, Pahang, Southeast Asia
