Vasco’s @ Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Taste of Royal Cuisine 

April 15, 2019

Char Kway Teow a la minute

This Ramadan, the chefs at Hilton KL are dishing up a buffet “fit for royalty” at its all-day dining restaurant, Vasco’s. The break of fast buffet will be available daily from 6pm, starting May 5 to June 4.

Popular dishes, nostalgic dishes and mum’s cooking will take centrestage on the table alongside western cuisine, Indian specialties and Chinese fare.

Chilled drinks or hot tea/coffee to start your meal

Start with hot tea/coffee or a nice iced drink (there are 6-7 flavours to choose from). Then head for the seafood on ice to pick up mussel, prawn, lobster and clam. There’s also a variety of kerabu (salad), acar (pickle) salted fish, salted egg and salad greens.

Poached prawns

Cold mussels

Crayfish

I fill my plate with green mango kerabu, prawn with four-angled bean kerabu, salted fish acar, talang fish with fried onion kerabu and squid with glass noodle kerabu. I can be happy to just fill my belly with these but the other sections of the buffet spread are calling.

Kerabu prawn and four angle beans

Grilled Red Snapper

Chefs at the carving station offer grilled whole lamb and chicken

The Santapan DiRaja (Royal Meal) section is alluring. I love them all, parcels of marinated fish wrapped in banana leaf, stuffed squid in creamy gravy, whole grilled giant red snapper, chicken/beef satay, masak merah tiger prawn, stirfried spicy asparagus, chicken curry, chili padi chicken rendang and my Ramadan favourite, siput sedut which is cooked in a scrumptious masak lemak (turmeric-coconut milk) gravy.

Siput Sedut in creamy gravy

Chilli padi chicken rendang

Tiger Prawns masak merah

Chicken satay

Meanwhile, at the action station, the chef is stirring kway teow (flat rice noodles) in a huge wok as customers wait patiently and next to him, two chefs are busy carving a whole roasted lamb and spicy roasted chicken.

In the Indian corner, chefs are continuously baking skewers of chicken in the tandoori oven and making roti to go with the various curries.

The Chinese section has stirfried vegetables, roasted duck and steamed fish. For me, it’s always a pleasure to have a bowl of hot noodles prepared a la minute. 

Indian-style roti and tandoori chicken

Chinese-style roasted duck

Choose from 3 types of gravy at the Noodles Station

Customers choose vermicelli, yellow noodles or kway teow which the chef will blanch and then add condiments such as prawn, fish cake, egg, vegetables or beef and chicken. There’s always a choice of gravy. The mee rebus gravy is smooth and fragrant. A real treat!

At one end I spot a red snapper and barramundi which the chef will steam in small batches to ensure the fish fillet is not overcooked.

Pizza, loaded with cheese

If you want a bit of western fare, the pizza, with oozy, melted cheese is popular as are the two pasta choices.

But do keep space for dessert. Although I see chocolate cake, cheesecake, pandan cake and Swiss roll, I am more excited by the local kuih muih. 

Variety of Malay-style kuih muih

Kuih Cara with minced chicken filling

Tapai ubi and tapai pulut seem popular while I prefer the cendol jelly, kuih bakar, kuih ayu, kuih koci,  kuih ros, akok, cek mek molek, kuih keria, bahulu, kuih bangkit and serimuka. 

Kelantanese royal dessert, jala mas

I am intrigued by the Kelantanese royal sweetmeat of jala mas, looking like thickly spun golden thread. Not often seen or sold, it’s basically made of egg yolk and sugar, a delicacy when slowly savoured.

Cendol jelly

Marble cheesecake is popular

Badak berendam or soaking hippos

There are also hot dessert items, claypots filled with taufu fah (soya bean pudding), bubur kacang (sweet green bean porridge) and bubur pulut hitam (sweet black glutinous rice porridge). You can even catch badak berendam (soaking rhinos), a dessert comprising glutinous rice balls in a thick sauce made with coconut milk.

Or have fried banana/sweet potato and apam (I hope they put more peanut filling) and crullers as well as ais kacang (shaved ice with condiments).

Diners will also be treated to silat and gamelan performances during the Santapan DiRaja buffet.

 
Vasco’s @ Hilton Kuala Lumpur

3 Jalan Stesen Sentral

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Telephone

+603-2264 2264

Opening Hours

Buka Puasa Buffet

May 5 to June 4

6pm to 10.30pm

Promotion

RM188 nett; RM100 nett (child aged 6-11)

Bijan Restaurant

Back to the kampung

19 April, 2018

Bijan Restaurant may be sitting at the edge of busy Bukit Bintang in  Kuala Lumpur but its Head Chef, Shawal Basry, has looked beyond the concrete jungle and towering skylines for inspiration for Ramadan.

Actually, he doesn’t really have to look too far as within the city; there are pockets of Malay kampung homes and folks that continue to cling to the old ways, especially when it comes to food.

He and his team have crafted four menus, gleaning recipes from The North, the South, East Coast and Central Peninsula. These menus will be offered on a rotation basis throughout Ramadan.

At the recent sneak preview, the media and bloggers sampled selected dishes from all the four menus.

Otak Otak and kerabu selections

Ingredients for Pecal

Otak Otak in mini pacakages

Kerabu offerings

We started with appetisers such as Kerabu Nangka with crabmeat Kerabu Ikan Pari and Kerabu Kerang Taugeh Bersantan. We helped ourselves to Pecal and ulam-ulam with Sambal Belacan and Sambal Pelam.  Otak otak came in little banana leaf boxes. Aromatic and creamy though I found it a tad on the sweet side.

Ingredients for Curry Laksa and Kelantanese Laksam

I spotted Laksam, a Kelantanese favourite that I loved. Bijan’s version is so delicious, with a white, thick and creamy fish gravy ladled over soft, house-made noodle rolls. Diners add their own condiments.

Then it was on to the mains, kept hot in claypots. Best eaten with rice; two types were served, plain and nasi lemak pandan. On other days, you may find nasi daging utara, nasi kerabu, nasi dagang and even nasi hujan panas.

Daging Opor

We ate the rice with Kerutup Itik, Opor Daging and the aromatic Ayam Goreng Berempah (whole chicken marinated with herbs and spices, fried and chopped into pieces).

Chilli Crab Berempah

Udang Sambal Berempah

Udang Sambal Tempoyak

Seafood dishes were in abundance. Chilli Crab was scented with coconut milk. Then there were prawns: Udang Sambal Udang Tempoyak and Udang Sambal Berempah.

Siakap Sambal Petai Hijau

Masak Lemak Ikan Salai Bacang

We tried two types of fish: Siakap Sambal Petai Hijau and Masak Lemak Ikan Salai Bacang. I preferred the former, which was cooked with stinky beans and a yummy green sambal.

Asam Pedas Ikan Pari

At one end, the Asam Pedas Station offered piquant gravy with choices of stingray, kembung fish or beef. Though diners have to be patient while their selections are being cooked in small individual claypots, this is definitely worth the wait.

Watch the chef preparing Beef Rendang 

Next to the Asam Pedas Station, you can watch the chef preparing Beef Rendang, slowly stirring the meat and rempah in a wok. Don’t worry that the meat won’t be tender since the rendang hasn’t been allowed to simmer for hours as only prime cuts of Australian beef is used.  

Then there is the grill station where a whole lamb will be carved daily, along with items such as Satay, Roasted Beef, Ayam Percik or Ayam Golek.

Ondeh-Ondeh in 4 flavours

Pulut Inti

Traditional Malay kuih-muih

Do save room for dessert. Ais kacang is a must, as is Apam Balik, made while you wait which is great as you can request for more of your favourite fillings, such as ground peanut or desiccated coconut and grated cheese. The apam balik is soft, not crunchy but it’s so fluffy it demands a second helping.

Then have some fresh fruit or pick from banana-leaf lined baskets filled with Serimuka, Ondeh-Ondeh, Pulut Inti, Pulut Panggang, Kuih Talam, Kuih Koci, Wajik, Pisang Goreng, Kuih Bakar and Tapai Pulut.

Prefer something hot? Try steamed glutinous rice with Pengat Durian, Bubur Chacha, Bubur Kacang Hijau or Bubur Pulut Hitam.

Then end the meal with a cup of hot coffee or teh tarik.

phoenixbee@gmail.com

Bijan Restaurant

(pork-free)

3 Jalan Ceylon, KL.

Tel: 03-2031 3575

www.bijanrestaurant.com

OPERATING HOURS

Kampung Warisan Buffet: 7pm to 9.30pm

A la carte: From 9pm

Bijan will be closed on the 1^st-2^nd day of Hari Raya.

PRICE

RM110++ per person.

Melting Pot Café @ Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Semarak Rasa

April 17, 2018

When it comes to the Ramadan buffet, The Melting Pot remains one of my firm favourites. At this year’s media preview, I notice that the kitchen team, led by chefs Dzulkarnain Salleh, Rogayah Sharif and Azizah Abdul Malik, has come up with new items.

Gearbox Soup and Beef Soup with soft bone, tripe and oxtail

For instance, apart from the ever-popular Gearbox Soup, diners can now take their pick of pre-cooked oxtail, tripe and soft bone – individually or combined – and the chef will heat this up with beef stock.

Roti John with chicken and beef filling as well as Murtabak

Then there’s Roti John, stuffed with chicken or beef serunding. The chicken version is so moist and delicious that I am tempted to have seconds.

Chapatti with dhal and sardine sambal and murtabak are also new.  While I am not enamoured of the chapatti, the murtabak is worth a try.

Ulam-ulam with various dressings

Chicken Liver kerabu

Green Mango Kerabu

Kerang (cockle) kerabu

Thai Prawn Salad

Oysters on ice, ready to be shucked 

Seafood on ice

But let’s get back to the appetisers. There are western style salads with the various dressings as well as dressed salads. For kampung flavour, there’s ulam-ulam with sambal belacan, budu, air asam, tempoyak and cincaluk or various types of kerabu that include Thai-style Prawn, Green Mango, Chicken Liver, Cockles and Deepfried Fish Egg.

Seafood on ice is popular, especially freshly shucked oyster, red prawn and mussel.

Hot and steaming Bubur Lambuk

To start with something hot, go for teh tarik/coffee or Bubur Lambuk, a must-have for the fasting month. Or chill with iced drinks such as soya bean milk, air bandung, mango juice and sugar cane.

Teppanyaki station

Some diners prefer to dive straight into the hot mains. At the teppanyaki station, chefs stirfry or grill your choice of fish, prawn, squid or meat while you wait.

Fish head curry with eggplant and lady finger

Beef Lungs in Chilli

Lamb Shank Stew

I am rarely bothered to wait, so I head for the trays and claypots filled with Indian-style Fish Head Curry, Ayam Lemak Pucuk Ubi and Dry Spicy Beef Dendeng or Lamb Shank Stew.

Siput Sedut with basil leaves

I spot my favourite, Siput Sedut Daun Selasih. The sea snail is cooked in creamy coconut gravy with basil and best of all, the flesh comes out without much hard coaxing on my part.

Chilli Clams

Sambal Kepah

Chilli Crab

Spicy Udang Galah

Seafood is a favourite ingredient at Melting Pot. Claypots are filled with Spicy Clam, Sambal Kepah Minang, Spicy Crab and Spicy Udang Galah. The Spicy Crab is delicious enough to make me get up from the table to grab another piece.

Deepfried Tenggiri marinated in spices

Then there’s tenggiri fish, well marinated in spices and so well deepfried that the meat remains moist while there’s a pleasing crisp on the outside.

The good thing is that the food is cooked in small amounts and continuously replenished throughout the evening.

Sambal Udang Tempoyak with Petai

Durian lovers will enjoy Sambal Udang Tempoyak with petai (stinky beans) though my main complaint is that the aroma of petai seems subdued by that of durian.

Ikan Percik is popular

Kailan with Salted Fish

A whole fish is cooked Percik style but if you prefer something less spicy, the Chinese corner offers, besides dim sum, fish steamed with ginger and there’s Stirfried Kalian with salted fish too.

Roasted Lamb and biryani 

Roasted Whole Lamb is carved and served with mushroom sauce, rosemary sauce or mint jelly with biryani rice on the side. The rice pairs well with Asam Pedas Ekor, scented with bunga kantan.

Pucuk Manis with Keledek

To my surprise, my favourite dish of the day is Pucuk Manis with keledek. This is so well balanced in flavours and there’s a creamy texture that gives this humble vegetable dish a star quality.

Part of the dessert counter

Local Malay pastries

Dessert is a choice of  fresh fruit, bread and butter pudding, cakes, pastries, ice cream with various toppings and local kuih-muih such as kuih lompang, serimuka, ondeh-ondeh, kuih talam, cekodok, fried banana, fritters, kuih keria, kuih cara, serawa durian, bubur pulut hitam and sago gula Melaka. 

Midway through dinner, Begema 5, a band from Indonesia which has been rocking Concorde for decades, serenades diners at their tables.

phoenixbee@gmail.com

MELTING POT CAFÉ

Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Jalan Sultan Ismail, KL

Tel: +603-2717 2233

When & How Much

Buka Puasa buffet

May 21-June 10:  RM148 nett 

May 1-20 & June 11-14: 15% discount

Sahur (pre-dawn) buffet

RM55 nett

Sun to Thurs: 3am to 5.30am

Fri & Sat: 11pm to 5.30am

The special sahur spread includes bubur lambuk, mee mamak, nasi lemak, Teochew porridge, assorted sandwiches etc.