Taman Sari Brasserie,
Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur City Centre,
73, Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2141 9988
Business hours:
Buffet breakfast: 6.00am-10.30am (daily),
buffet breakfast weekends and public holidays:
6.00am-11.00am,
buffet lunch: noon-2.30pm (daily),
high tea: 12.30pm–3.30pm
(Saturdays/Sundays/public holidays)
and dinner: 6.30pm–10.30pm (daily).
THE best thing about Ramadan buffets are the desserts and Hotel Istana’s Taman Sari Brasserie has some of the best sweet delights for this fasting month.
Bringing back some of the best kampung fare from yesteryears, executive chef Fathurrazi Mohamed and sous chef Mohd Khezir Idris are preparing almost 100 desserts each day.
“We have everything from appam balik to ais krim Malaysia (popsicles in plastic sheets) made from assam boi, Milo, corn and green beans. Those who lived in kampungs will remember air lonchan as well,” said Fathurazzi.
There is also cendol tapai, ice kacang and ice kacang with ice cream for those looking to cool down after the scrumptious main course.
While desserts are the main highlights this time around, both chefs have also ensured the main spread is equally appetising.
Sweet stuff: The ice kacang for those who want to cool down.
They have taken the best rated dishes of their Ramadan buffets for the past three years and combined them together for this year’s spread. The feast is guaranteed to satisfy all ages and races.
At the starters table, there is Somtam, a Thai salad that was quite delicious with a variety of ingredients. The chefs at Hotel Istana travelled to Thailand to be trained and even purchased the authentic Somtam wooden bowl.
A large number of Malaysian favourites like the authentic yong tau fu, claypot chicken rice, roti John and of course the naan and tandoori corner are also available.
“We are looking at quality this time around and perfected some of the dishes by doing extensive research. The claypot chicken rice, for example, took us three months to get it right,” said Khezir.
True enough, the chicken rice tasted authentic and was cooked to perfection as the rice was slightly crunchy and the chicken was soft and tender.
Each year, the tandoori and naan stall is a huge hit, prompting the culinary team to expand the stall and put up more Indian cuisine.
Tasty spread: Chef Fathurrazi with some of the Ramadan delights.
Chef Sabuddin Sekh who hails from India has prepared a list of delectable items for North Indian food lovers. There are a variety of Naans including Aloo Paratha, Butter Naan and Dhal Puri. There is also a variety of kebabs to choose from including Kalmi Kebab, Whole Tandoori Chicken, Tandoori Prawn Tikka and Haryali Tikka.
Fathurazzi also recommended three different types of Nasi Briyani Johor — with chicken, seafood and lamb — that will be rotated daily. He said beef was opted out to as a mark of respect for Hindus who do not eat beef.
Diners should look out for the Rendang Tok that is prepared using traditional methods and braised for over three hours. There is also the ever popular fish head curry, assam pedas and ikan bakar. The action stalls will be set up in the garden and will feature over 150 dishes for the crowd during the buka puasa season.
The buffet is priced at RM115++.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
