Launch of Eat Drink & More by Starwood Hotels & Resorts

catchy eat drink and more

Dining out just got a little more IT savvy with the launch of http://www.eatdrinkandmore.com/, touted as the website that brings you a one-stop online portal for food and beverage concepts. The "more" part is said to relate to spa treatments and weddings but judging from their website, this could be added on in the later stage. Launched by the Starwhood Hotels & Resorts, the portal currently covers branded concpet restaurants from The Westin Kuala Lumpur and Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur (in 2014, we welcome another Starwood Hotel in the form of the St Regis).

Favola - pesto mozzarella balls, creamy cheese stuffed roast peppers

Starwood is said to be the first hotel group to take this initiative to provide this service in Asia Pacific. From the diners' perspective, this means they get to search online about the restaurants in the two hotels and most importantly, there is an online reservation system. You also get updated on the offers and news like what Valentine Day promotions they will be having. Even though Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur didn't take part with the launch, the reservation system also covers their restaurants: Essence, Celestial Court, Pavilions Lounge and Villa Danieli.

nifty and alcohol laden cocktails - cherries placed in an ice disc allowing you to eat them easily

No more dealing with the uncertainty, getting a table to the always packed Favola or even Prego's Sunday brunch is a just a click away. Even though Prime of Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur was not featured in the launch, you can book this restaurant online. Nevertheless some hiccups do occur with the booking system, as you're limited to bookings for 2-6 persons only at the moment. I personally reckon the limit on the higher number of people could be a way to control the sitting of the tables, since most tables usually sit up to 6 persons and anything above will need a special arrangement that is best highlighted to the management. Not too sure about why dining solo seems to be excluded, maybe its easier to squeeze in a single diner?

double the temptation with Favola's Illy Tiramisu

The launch of the website showcased the 5 branded concepts restaurants starting from the youngest i.e. the just opened Favola and Latest Recipe from Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur. We subsequently moved on to The Westin Kuala Lumpur, where we jumped from Eest to Prego ending finally at Qba.

The Latest Recipe - yummy! says the Ravenous Rabbit, ketupat parcels of soba noodles topped with warm smoked salmon sprayed with ponzu sauce

It is interesting to see the various dining concepts on display. Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur put a lot of effort in recreating the atmosphere of their dining outlets - they even transported their Venetian masks, chairs and tables including their trademark scroll menus. A crudo bar was set up, which had their specialties - breadsticks with various dips in small Le Creuset and Staub cast iron pots, gorgeous melt in the mouth cheese stuffed roasted peppers, eggplant wrapped tuna with pine nuts, raisins on the side, freshly grilled ciabatta sandwiches and etc.

melt-in-the-mouth wagyu beef cheek with creamy polenta from the Latest Recipe's catering menu

Their infamous Illy Tiramisu also made an appearance. Simply heavenly stuff that we savoured and wished for more (one had to ration the stomach space since so many places to try). At the Latest Recipe, I loved the chocolates on display (creamy and decadent!), the fork tender wagyu beef with creamy polenta dusted with cocoa powder and the unusual warm smoked salmon with soba noodles and ponzu spray.

Eest - fluffy yam puffs, topped with curry prawns, meat skewer with a sweetish sauce

We moved on to Eest where we cleansed our palate with hot tea from Westin's special blends. Then, it's more food served in spectacular mirror mile-long platters - small dumplings, crispy crackers topped with salmon and ikura, fluffy yam puffs with curry prawns and meat skewers doused in a sweetish sauce.

Prego's creamy foie gras terrine

Next it is on to Prego where you get to view their open kitchen from the top. There's a selection of dry white wine and Chianti from Starwood's Wines of the World.

Prego - foamy risotto in martini glasses, Chianti from Starwood's Wines of the World selection

Food keeps pouring in - nifty looking spaghetti in carton boxes or literally takeaway-pasta-in-the-box, eggplant rolls, a creamy foie gras terrine, foamy risotto served in martini glasses and etc.

Qba - popsicles to cool down, eggnog white chocolate lollipops for a sweet ending

We march on to the next and final destination - the ever hip and happening Qba. It's a spread that is designed for fun - eggnog lollipops with a dulce de leche dip, self-serve popsicles with flavours like gin and soursop or mojito. There's also pina colada frozen peletas, churros with hot chocolate sauce and teeny weeny tacos.

creamy Illy coffee - one of the kind

My favourite of the whole lot - the drink part where we were introduced to Illy Creama - creamy and icy cold Illy coffee. Imagine melted Illy coffee ice cream, served in a shooter glasses and you have the ultimate caffenine addict's fix. Who needs affogatto where you have one of these creamy shots? The machine is said to be the first in Malaysia and only available at Westin Kuala Lumpur. For more pictures on the launch, see my Flickr set.

In conjunction with the launch, I'm giving a special treat to the blog readers, an opportunity to eat and drink at Prego, The Westin Kuala Lumpur - a dining voucher for Prego Presto Set Lunch for 2 persons (valid until 12 July 2010). It's very simple, you just need to answer these two questions, 1. Which hotel will be running a Shanghainese promotion? 2. Are Prego's pizzas made with a wood fire oven? Email your answers to masakmasakcomp1@gmail.com by 12 midnight, 22 January, 2010.

*This is an invited review of the restaurants. The dining voucher is sponsored by The Westin Kuala Lumpur.