The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 05:22 PM PDT

A selection of ulam, kerabu, ikan masin and tempeh... yummy. — Pictures by Eu Hooi Khaw

KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — The month of Ramadan begins in just a few days, and all the hotels and restaurants in town have already planned their buka puasa menus, with some already doing previews of the food.

One of these is the Vistana Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, which has already held four previews of its buka puasa spread for guests and friends of the hotel.

Relaxing... the poolside setting for the stalls.

I managed to catch the last of the previews on Monday, and I was astonished to see how well attended it was. The dining room on the third floor of the hotel, which opens out to the pool, had a festive air, with the ceiling draped in colourful batik. The room seats 300 people, but if there are more, another room for 150 can be opened.

It was like it was already Ramadan. At 7.30pm, diners went to get their food, long queues formed around the roast lamb and satay stall. I headed for the appetiser side where there were fewer people, and helped myself to kerabu pucuk paku, papaya salad and Thai mango salad, and some fruit rojak. A piece of murtabak and I was ready to eat. There was also roti jala with chicken curry on this side of the pool.

They turned out to be good choices. The fruit rojak of papaya, pineapple and rose apple had all the right nuances in the sauce which was not too sweet. The kerabu pucuk paku was of young shoots, so it had my vote, as did the papaya salad or som tam, and the mango salad with its right balance of hot, sweet and sour.

A whole roast lamb at the BBQ section.

The murtabak was filled generously with a spiced minced chicken filling. The roti had crispy edges and a bite spilled out the delicious filling. I went back to the Makanan Kampung section, and was delighted with the Masak Tempoyak Ikan Sembilang. I had a small chunk of ikan patin in a light tempoyak or fermented durian sauce. It was scrumptious, so I went back for more.

The sweet, salty and fruity Masak Lemak Ikan Masin dan Nenas makes you want to eat more rice. I wasn't so fond of the Masak Lemak Nangka though. Ayam Percik is usually chicken marinated with lemongrass, chillies, shallots, garlic, turmeric, tamarind and coconut milk, and roasted over a charcoal fire. This one had a thick spiced gravy covering the chicken, and had a balanced flavour.

The roast lamb, marinated with a lot of herbs before grilling, was tender, and tasted good in its lamb gravy. No wonder it was so popular. I should have eaten the chicken and beef satay without the peanut sauce – it was too sweet! I always wonder why so much sugar is used in both the marinade for the meat, and the sauce for satay. It's like having a dessert instead of something savoury.

I had missed the Mamak food corner, so I went back for some Masak Daging Hitam, fried bittergourd with egg, Kobis Masak Mamak and Bendi (ladies fingers) curry.

Fried Kwayteow hot from the wok was done well, and this together with some Mee Siam had me nicely filled. Later I went back for ice kacang and a jelly from the very colourful dessert table inside the room. It had rows of different coloured jellies, cakes (including tiramisu), mango pudding, chocolate mousse and kuih, pengat pisang and other sweet bubur.

Later, Malay chef Hamdan Harun (left) pointed out the more than 100 dishes I had not tasted, and these included ikan bakar, bubur lambuk, pasta, a few asam pedas dishes, sup utara, sup kambing berempah, beehoon sup utara, nasi kandar and other curries and kerabu. There is also teh tarik and Nescafe tarik, air cincau and air longan. A jug of air selasih and some dates are placed on each table.

At RM43++ this Ramadan buffet is really value for money. Children between six and 12 are charged RM28++.

The Vistana Hotel is probably the best connected in the city in terms of transport. You can reach there by LRT, monorail, even the KL Hop on Hop Off double-decker city tour buses.

It's located at 9 Jalan Lumut, off Jalan Ipoh, 50400 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-4042 8000 ext 8208. It's best to book as the Ramadan buffet is immensely popular, though I was told the first few days of the puasa month is usually quiet, as it's about breaking fast at home with the family.

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Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Sabtu, 30 Julai 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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