KEN HUNTS FOOD: Brazilian Bonanza @ Swez Brasserie, Eastin Hotel Penang.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Brazilian Bonanza @ Swez Brasserie, Eastin Hotel Penang.

The month of June comes with an exciting and unique food experience with Eastin Hotel Penang, in conjunction with their upcoming June promotion, Eastin Hotel Penang welcomes guests to join them into exploring the alluring and wonderful culinary journey. It was my honor to be invited to sample some of their delectable dishes to be offered next month.

Prices for the buffets are as follow:

Lunch: Monday - Friday

12:00pm - 2:30pm

Rm 48++ (adult) Rm 24++ (child)

Hi-Tea: Saturday and Sunday

12:00pm - 3:00pm

Rm 55++ (adult) Rm 28++ (child)

Hi-Tea: Festive Occasions
12:00pm - 3:00pm

Rm 68++ (adult) Rm 34++ (child)

Semi Buffet Dinner: Sunday - Thursday

6:30pm - 10:00pm

From Rm48++ per person

June Credit Card Promotions:

MAYBANKAD, Standard Chartered Bank, OCBC Bank, CIMB Bank, Citibank and VISA card members, guests can enjoy 15% discount for Brazilian Bonanza Semi Buffet Dinner (Monday to Thursday) and Weekend Buffet Dinner (Friday and Saturday) from 6:30pm to 10:00pm.

For inquiries or reservations, kindly contact Eastin Hotel Penang, Swez Brasserie at +04- 612 1128.

This Brazilian Chicken Salad (Salpicao/ 巴西式鸡肉沙拉) was one of the first starters served. It has some Kidney Red Beans, Onions, Capsicums, Chicken Breasts and Olives. I don't quite agree on the Mayonnaise as I thought they were rather heavy and too creamy to my liking. In fact, if you were to google the name Salpicao out, you would have noticed there are many versions of Salpicao but not necessary with Mayonnaise.

A very famous street food in Brazil, their Black Eye Peas Deep Fried Dough (Acaraje/ 黑豌豆油炸面团) was decent. Most of us seemed to enjoy the dish where Black Eye Peas were mashed, shaped and deep fried till perfection. Probably due to the adding of Baking Powder, the Acaraje was crispy as well as reasonably flavored, with a touch of Black Pepper and Garlic. Those were chopped Tomatoes with Onions, more to a Salsa-kind of sauce if you are wondering what has been stuffed between.

The only soup served to us was this Brazilian Shrimp Soup (巴西式鲜虾浓汤) which came in very good in my opinion. It has some Coconut Milk, Lemon juice, Parsley, Coriander, Capsicums and Onions. The soup was creamy with a sweet ending. A fresh and succulent Prawn was included into the soup, making it a delightful dish.

Moved on to the main course, Paraiba Style Leg of Lamb (Pernil De Cordeiro/ 帕拉伊巴风格羊腿), although the Lamb was very tender and juicy, I actually thought the sauce was slightly too sweet to my liking. The sauce has some Onions, Garlics, Tomatoes, Mustard, Honey, Parsley and Paprika. I didn't find the sauce good enough to complement with the Lamb either. I would definitely prefer the old school Brown Sauce instead.

Seafood Ceviche with Starfruit (Ceviche de Peixe e Camarao Com Carambola/ 杨桃海鲜酸橘汁腌鱼) includes some Prawns, Squids as well as Fish. No, they don't serve the Starfruits together but instead, the Starfruits were being blended in the making of the cream sauce, which consists of some Red Onions, Tomatoes and Coriander as well. I found the Seafood lacked of some flavors and the sauce was okay on its own but it doesn't seem to complement the Seafood well enough, the sauce was creamy and has a hint of sweetness.

Another interesting dish worth to mention was this Gratined Deviled Eggs (Ovos Recheados Gratinados/ 巴西式焗蛋), as much as I like the texture, I actually found the eggs too dry to my liking, the stuffing includes Turkey Ham, Mozarella and Parmesan Cheeses. The eggs will then be baked.

The dish served next was this Chicken with Okra/ Ladies Fingers (Frango Com Quiabo Mineiro/ 秋葵鸡肉), it amuses me when Chef Fauzi told me the Okra/ Ladies Fingers were blanched and placed on top only which serves no specific purposes to me. I was also told that the sauce was cooked with Garlic, Paprika, Parsley, Onions and Chicken Stock. The Chicken tasted like a very normal grilled Chicken to me, nothing much to shout over.

Maracuja Mousse (西番莲果慕斯) was one of the favorites of the day, it wasn't too sweet, with a right balance of sourness and the refreshing fruits, it was just a perfect dessert to put a stop on this scrumptious meal.

I was expecting more from Brazilian Chocolate Bon Bon (Brigadeiro/ 巴西式棒棒巧克力) which turned out to be just a very ordinary Chocolate cake, fortunately, it was moist and not too sweet for us.

Semi-Buffet Dinner Main Course:

We didn't get to sample these dishes, I will just make a list on what dishes are made available during their June promotion.