Let’s Have A NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Marrakech Tea Party!

Infusing Creative Flavours with my Marrakech Tea!

I love parties. The older I get, the more I adore the excuse of throwing parties. The reason is simple. A party is the perfect excuse to round up family and friends to get together for a good time!

With any parties, food and drinks usually takes center stage. Usually in my parties, I always focus on the food. This time, I thought why not focus on creating some delicious thirst quenching drinks and served up simple food like snacks or canapés. After all, parties are made for mingling. And with the recent Hari Raya festive holidays, it’s perfect for me to put on my thinking cap for some fun drinks for parties.

Now previously, I was given the task to enjoy my NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Marrakech Tea here. I find the tea really delicious and easy to be paired with many dishes and snacks. Whipping up a cup of hot or cold Marrakech Tea is easy with the NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Mini Me. It is perfect for anytime of the day as I find it soothing throughout the day. Let’s not forget that it can aid digestion and provide comfort, especially when everyone is either indulging in holiday feasts or running around.

Of course, the best way to enjoy a cup of Marrakech Tea is in its original recipe.

With all the late nights of working and blogging, I always enjoy a cup of tea to lend some comfort. After the introduction of the NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Marrakech Tea, I have been sipping hot Marrakech Tea during my late nights. I find the soothing green tea very drinkable and the minty note utterly refreshing. This helps me stay awake at night. In the early mornings after my late nights, the Marrakech Tea works more wonder by perking up my senses. Soothing and smooth, the tea calms my tiredness.

My first recipe is the Marrakech Tea Smoothie. Simply perfect for mornings, I used my favorite fruit to partner the tea and threw in some greens for a healthy touch. I love this smoothie. It is very refreshing and minty, perfect for a morning wake up call. The second recipe is also a smoothie featuring Marrakech Tea with Kiwi Smoothie. This one is very tangy and refreshing. I love tangy flavours so this smoothie is another great drink to kick off my mornings. If you are having a breakfast or brunch party, smoothies are sure to charm your guests…

I brewed the Marrakech Tea with less water than the standard recommended for a stronger flavour since I am jazzing it up.

MARRAKECH TEA SMOOTHIE

100gm Fresh Pineapple

50gm Fresh Baby Spinach Leaves

Marrakech Tea (cold brew)

Ice Cubes

Fresh Mint Leaves (optional)

Blend them all together till it reaches a smooth consistency. Enjoy!

MARRAKECH TEA WITH KIWI SMOOTHIE

1 Kiwi (green or yellow is fine)

Marrakech Tea (cold brew)

Juice of half Lime

1tbsp Honey

Ice Cubes

Peel and chopped the kiwi. Add into blender with Marrakech Tea, lime juice from the half lime, honey and some ice cubes. Blend till smooth and enjoy.

I was inspired by a famous Indian drink called Lassi made from yoghurt as a base. And so I whipped up a simple Marrakech Tea Lassi. My Lassi uses Greek yoghurt for a stronger and thicker beverage. If you are a fan of Lassi, this one is simple and delicious!

MARRAKECH TEA LASSI

100gm Greek Yoghurt

Marrakech Tea (cold brew)

10 Fresh Mint Leaves (adjust to your taste)

1tbsp Honey

Ice Cubes

Blend every ingredient together and enjoy this creamy tangy concoction.

If you are having lunch parties, these recipes of lighter and refreshing notes will be very enjoyable to lighten up the day. My Marrakech Tea with Apple Mocktail, Marrakech Tea with Blackberry and Marrakech Tea with Cucumber and Calamansi are some recipes of easy-to-drink mocktails. Adults and kids will enjoy them.

The Marrakech Tea with Apple Mocktail has apple, tea and mint working in harmony. It has a soothing sweetness with a fruity apple note. The small cubes of green apples make great textures and flavours in the mocktail. The Marrakech Tea with Blackberry came up simply because I love berries and I happen to have it in my fridge that day. This one has a sour note and is an excellent source of anti-oxidant. Marrakech Tea with Cucumber and Calamansi was also concocted from another favorite drink of mine. I didn’t juice any cucumber for this recipe but I added the chopped cucumber as a textural component. This way, the tea and mint shines while light notes of cucumber with calamansi lend a background note.

MARRAKECH TEA WITH APPLE MOCKTAIL

100gm Apple Juice

Marrakech Tea (cold brew)

Green Apple (chopped in small cubes)

Ice Cubes

Put apple juice and Marrakech Tea into a shaker with ice cubes. Shake them well and pour into a tall glass. Top with chopped green apple and enjoy.

MARRAKECH TEA WITH BLACKBERRIES

3-5 Blackberries

Marrakech Tea (cold brew)

Ice Cubes

Honey (optional)

Crush the blackberries with a spoon in a serving glass and pour in the Marrakech Tea. Add in ice cubes and honey of the blackberry is too sour.

*Blackberries can be replace with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and other berries. Adjust the honey according to taste.

MARRAKECH TEA WITH CUCUMBER AND CALAMANSI

Marrakech Tea (cold brew)

Juice of half Calamansi

Japanese Kyuri Cucumber (skin removed and chopped to small cubes)

Ice Cubes

Top the Marrakech Tea with juice from half a calamansi lime. Add ice cubes and topped with chopped cucumbers. Enjoy!

For evening parties, I whipped up a virgin cocktail version of Marrakech Tea Mojito. I love this recipe. In fact, my family loves this one a lot too. The flavours are vibrant, sour, minty and invigorating. It’s a perfect thirst-quencher for the evening. Guests can make their own Marrakech Tea Mojitos too! Simply provide the ingredients on a table and tell the guests to mix their own. The tea makes a nice addition to the Mojito while the mint is simply a must.

MARRAKECH TEA MOJITO

Marrakech Tea (cold brew)

100ml Sprite or 7-up

5-7 sprigs Fresh Mint Leaves

1stalk Fresh Lemongrass (bruised to release its flavour and aroma)

Juice of half Lime

Ice Cubes

Put mint leaves into a glass and muddled it with a muddler or a spoon. Add in Marrakech Tea, Sprite, lemongrass, juice from half a lime and ice cubes. Stir the drink with the lemongrass well for flavour to combine and enjoy.

*Go ahead and spike this up with rum if you must…

Besides all the cold beverages, here’s another two ways to jazz up the Marrakech Tea. Simply add in spice or citrus to add another flavour note to the minty tea.

I added a stick of cinnamon and some lemon slices to my hot Marrakech Tea. The Marrackech Tea with Cinnamon brings up more Moroccan flavours as Moroccans do often paired cinnamon or other spices with mint. The heat from the hot tea will gently infused the cinnamon and mint tea beautifully.

Lemon goes well with tea and mint. So when you’re calling it a night but have some trouble sleeping, Marrakech Tea with Lemon might just work out your tiredness and calm down your senses. This one is also good to cure dryness in throat. After a party with food, Marrakech Tea with Lemon will definitely end the evening well. The light floral and citrus note mingles well with the mint tea.

And there you have it… Ten ways to enjoy NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Marrakech Tea!

Make these on daily basis or in any parties. All my recipes use easy readily available ingredients in our fridge and with minimal ingredients. So there’s really no excuse to make these fast and simple for ourselves or guests. If you didn’t notice, no sugar is needed as the Marrakech Tea is sweetened already. Honey is used to add a mellow balance to citrus fruits.

I enjoyed the smooth and cool NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Marrakech Tea very much. My Marrakech Tea is Best Drank in its original recipe and also when it’s jazzed up with fruits, vegetables, spices and more.

This has certainly been a fun filled journey with NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto! Like all good things, I am glad I am able to share my experience of the Nescafe Dolce Gusto Marrakech Tea. I am already looking forward to other coffee and tea capsules. Easy to whip up in the comfort of any place, simply rejuvenating to drink and definitely more affordable than buying a drink outside, it’s no wonder I am hooked.

It’s a perfect cup every time with the Nescafe Dolce Gusto!

For more information about NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Marrakech Tea please visit, NESCAFE Dolce Gusto Malaysia at their website: www.dolce-gusto.com.my or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DolceGustoMalaysia

Chatz Brasserie, PARKROYAL Kuala Lumpur: It’s All About The Crab at the Weekend Seafood Buffet Dinner!

10 Crab Flavours takes center stage at the Weekend Seafood Buffet Dinner!

Crustacean lovers… get ready for a crab feast!

Its crab, crab and more crab at Chatz Brasserie’s weekend Seafood Buffet Dinner at PARKROYAL Kuala Lumpur starting August 1 to 30, 2014. Feast on 10 flavours of crab together with unlimited refills of freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juice at the seafood buffet dinner available every Friday and Saturday.

Promotional price for the month of August for this delectable seafood buffet dinner is RM85 nett per adult! What a deal…

The Seafood Buffet Dinner not only serves up 10 flavours of crab but features local and international seafood delicacies such as a variety of frilled fish, prawn, cockles, clams and oysters. The Seafood on Ice will also be featuring chilled Mud Crab, Blue Ocean Crab and Sri Lankan Crab. Even the Salad Bar has Caribbean Crab Salad, Crabmeat & Mango Salad and Kerabu Isi Ketam. Expect the soup of the day to be Crabmeat Soup while the Noodle station will feature Prawn and Crabmeat Noodles and Tomyam Crab Noodle Soup.

Here’s a sneak peak at the 10 flavours of Crab that will be available at the Seafood Buffet Dinner …

We kicked off with the classic Steamed Crab with Egg White. Meat crab steamed till sweet perfection with soft egg white and ginger. Frankly this is still the best way to savor fresh crab in my books!

Now if you are lazy or simple just a soft shell crab fanatic, then you will enjoy the Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab. Crispy bits with tender meat make eating less effort than the rest of the crab clan…

If I need to pick a few more favorites, Wok-Fried Crab in Marmite Sauce, Kam Heong Crab and Butter Meat Crab rocks! These sauces just amped up the meaty crabs all to another level of flavours. The Wok-Fried Crab in Marmite Sauce is absolutely divine with a heavenly aroma of marmite. The creamy butter richness of the Butter Meat Crab makes me put in extra effort of licking and sucking the shells clean. Kam Heong Crab is a medley of complicated savory flavours all nicely balanced.

And how can we have a crab feast without the ever popular version made famous by the heavenly luscious salted egg? The extra cholesterol laden Wok Fried Meat Crab with Salted Egg may just make some of us break our cholesterol for weeks at one go but it’s all worth it, I tell you!

Sweet and Sour Meat Crab and Wok Fried Chili Meat Crab also have their own followers. Make sure to grab some Mantao to mop up both the luscious sauces…

Photo credit from www.choiyen.com

You may want to go adventurous and try out the flower crabs cooked in two styles such as Blue Flower Crab Masak Lemak Nenas and Fried Blue Flower Crab with Spices.

Photo credit from www.choiyen.com

To lessen the guilt, each table will be presented with a whole Steamed Fish for your own enjoyment. The Steamed Fish is cooked Chinese style with superior soy sauce and fried ginger and coriander.

Besides all the above, there’s more crustacean dishes like Baked Crab Pudding and Crab Aglio Olio. There is also a Baked Salmon Coulibiac at the carvery station served with Crabmeat Cream Sauce. The kaleidoscope of seafood is made merrier with the Juice Bar. Choose classic juices or customize your own!

Weekend Seafood Buffet Dinner featuring 10 Crab Flavours is available from 6.30pm to 10.30pm priced at 115 nett per adult and RM57.50 nett per child.

PROMOTIONAL OFFER FOR AUGUST 2014

However, for the whole month of August, the promotional price for this buffet is now available at RM85 nett per adult.  So make sure to make your reservations in August now!

For reservations or enquiries, please call 03 2147 0088 or email chatz.prkul@parkroyalhotels.com

PARKROYAL KUALA LUMPUR

Jalan Sultan Ismail,
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2782 8301

Email: chatz.prkul@parkroyalhotels,com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Parkroyalkualalumpur

*More pictures in my Facebook: ChasingFoodDreams

T.G.I. FRIDAY’S Launches New Menu!

14 New Dishes at T.G.I. Friday’s®

Believe it or not, I have always had great meals at T.G.I. Friday’s®! All those countless times of visits, they are filled with great and delicious food with portion size that battles most eateries here and service has been always with a smile. I have even celebrated few of my birthdays here and had lots of fun filled memories. There was even once when I had an upsetting encounter with another restaurant and thought my dinner with friends was ruin but was instantly cheered up when we moved our dinner venue to T.G.I. Friday’s®!

In the mid of June, T.G.I. Friday’s® launched a fresh new look for its menu with a special feature of fourteen new dishes in addition to the current classic favorites at every Friday’s outlet – nationwide. The fourteen dishes comprises of some from Starters and Grill to Burgers and Dessert. Expect hearty portions as always with affordable prices and lots of deliciousness!

Few of us gathered one evening after work for a sneak peak at its new menu. Walking into T.G.I. Friday’s® always feels good. One can immediately sense the laid back and comfort ambience. Few servers were already greeting me with chirpy welcomes. We immediately settled in and locked in some cocktails for our happy hours to begin.

For me, it’s the Top Shelf Mojito. Classic but I just love the vibrant flavors of rum with mint and lime. Others took on the creative giggle juices of Jackberry Smash, Strawberry Mojito and Mango Mojito.

We had the Loaded Chip Nacho to start. Mimicking its famous cousin, the tortilla chips Nachos, this one uses thin crispy home-style potato chips. Beef bacon crumble, cheddar queso and melted cheese are piled on in between layers of chips before it’s crowned with more beef bacon, Colby cheese and green onions. Love it… the chips stayed crispy even with the hot melted cheese. I wanted more after trying this dish!

By now, you guys should know that I am not that into salads. I am weird, I like my greens cooked. However, there are some salads I would eat because it’s not the typical boring salads. Here’s one I happily chomped on. Chipotle Yucatan Chicken Salad is lovely and yummy. I love how the chopped mixed greens are piled high with garlicky and spiced up roasted pulled chicken breast, creamy avocado, sweet tomatoes, red onions, cheese, crunchy chips and dressed with a tangy cilantro lime vinaigrette and sriracha aioli. Squeezed the fresh lime on to the salad and you get a bright and flavorful salad with hints of heat and citrus. This is what I call taking salads to new heights…

For mains, we shared four new main dishes of Miami Cubano Chicken Stack, Honey Pecan Salmon, Cowboy Triple Meat Burger and Wild Mushroom Farfalle.

I really enjoyed the Honey Pecan Salmon tremendously. Cooked till just right, the grilled salmon remained moist and very lightly cooked in the middle so that it just melts-in-the-mouth. The skin is nicely glazed with a pecan honey butter sauce and crushed pecans. Seasoned with a medley of 7 spices, the salmon has a sweet and spicy note. It paired so well with the savory rice pilaf, mushrooms and steamed vegetables. I would definitely order this again.

There is another new salmon dish in the form of Salmon with Tomato Basil Salsa that I would also love to try as it is baste in lemon & olive oil before grilled and top with cherry tomato salsa and served with broccoli slaw. I will save this for another day…

Miami Cubano Chicken Stack makes a play on the famous Cubano sandwich in Miami minus the bread. Here it is turkey ham, sautéed mushrooms and mozzarella cheese is sandwiched between two pieces of golden crumbed chicken. A lemon cream sauce is drizzled over the chicken stack to make this even more desirable. Though there’s a lot of ingredients’ going on, everything works well. I like the texture and flavor combination. Crispy, cheesy, savory and creamy, it’s a dish that is destined to please many.

When Cowboy Triple Meat Burger arrived, I can’t help but to be in awe. Stacked to an impressive height, the three meat burger consisted of a thick beef patty, roasted beef bacon and slow braised BBQ meat completed with a tower of crispy golden fried onions. Besides that, there still the usual burger sidekick of lettuce, tomato, cheese, French fries, horseradish sauce and ketchup. It’s a carnivore’s dream burger. Lots of bold beefy flavors and the BBQ meat is sticky sweet that goes so well with the fried onions. I can barely bite into this tower of deliciousness but I guess that’s the point they were trying to make... such an indulgence of a manly burger!

Our last main took on a simpler flavor. The Wild Mushroom Farfalle has farfalle pasta sautéed with wild mushrooms and arugula in a roasted garlic broth. Flavors are more delicate with lots of earthy notes. A light hint of bitterness from the arugula and creamy parmesan added more flavors. This dish fared decent and is perfect for those who want to go meatless.

T.G.I. Friday’s® has always been able to tempt me with their dessert menu… the hardest part is saving stomach space for it. This round, they have three new desserts. Since we can’t decide which one as all three sounded equally tempting, we had all three.

Molten Chocolate Cake has always been a favorite of mine. The name itself is enough to justify all the lusciousness of calories it comes with. A dark rich chocolate cake with an erupting volcano molten chocolate ganache when executed perfectly can take me to cloud nine. This one fared decent and yes, it has a molten center. Served with whipped cream and sauces, it could have fared better if all of these were replaced with a big scoop of ice cream.

Oreo Stack is divine. Imagine brownies with white chocolate cheesecake, white chocolate mousse, Oreo chocolate ganache and Oreo cookies coming together. A sinful concoction that takes the word dessert over the edge. We love this so much!

Two High Carrot Cake has two layers of moist dense carrot cake studded with raisins, walnuts and crushed pineapple sandwiched with thick layer of cream cheese icing. Some may think a cake that includes vegetable sound weird but to me, its delicious. One of my favorite all time dessert although I secretly think that it’s the cream cheese icing that I am lusting after for…

Best part of T.G.I. Friday’s® … In Here, It’s Always Friday!

Find out more at their Facebook: www.facebook.com/fridays.com.my or website: www.fridays.com.my