Another day, another pre-Ramadan feast! As we approach the fasting month, a slew of eateries nationwide are unveiling their Ramadan food promotions – and we’re gagged!
During Ramadan, preparing meals for iftar can be challenging. The best option? Consider a range of Ramadan buffets offered by the country’s top hotels! Not only will you enjoy quality time with family and friends, you’ll be treated to a delicious feast of international and Malaysian favourites (plus, you don’t have to do the dishes!) by amazing chefs and their teams. Among them, the team at The Gardens Hotel’s The Spread will be buzzing upon the launch of their annual iftar dinner, called Selera Bazaar Ria Buffet Dinner.
Featuring five menus on rotation, The Spread’s must-try dishes include chef’s specialties such as Lamb Bone Marrow Biryani, Udang Goreng Ala Mamak, Chicken Shawarma, Kambing Bakar, Tempe Goreng Berlada, Ayam Madu Special, Satay Ayam/Daging, Ikan Siakap Ala Pak Wan, and Asam Pedas Ekor, and many more at a variety of food stalls.
We had the pleasure of sampling the preview dishes recently, and we were floored! We started things off with a classic item, the chicken and beef satay topped with peanut sauce. Despite appearing a little bit dry, the chicken satay was actually very tender and perfectly grilled. The peanut sauce was sweet and nutty in flavour. We thoroughly loved a good number of perfectly prepared satays.
Next, we helped ourselves to the Lamb Bone Marrow Biryani. Visually, it looked so tempting, because the bones were huge, but not that fleshy. Taste-wise, we were expecting a strong, gamey lamb flavour, but it was very, very mild. So it was a hit and miss dish. The rice was perfectly cooked with lots of spices, though. To compliment the biryani, they had a simple curd. We felt that the curd should have been thicker and not watery.
We next sampled the Ayam Madu Special. We loved this dish and in fact, it was our favourite. Tender, juicy and sweet, the ayam madu paired so well with white rice and the biryani. Unlike other establishments where ayam madu is served dry, here, the dish had lots of flavourful gravy. We also tried it with the tom yum fried rice, which was epic. We really loved the Thai flavours!
Moving on, we tried the Chicken Shawarma and Roti John. To be honest, we had high expectations, because these two items are staples when it comes to Ramadan meals. The Chicken Shawarma was served in small pita pockets instead of wraps. With the chicken, they had onions and cucumber. They added some kind of sauce to the shawarma, but we couldn’t tell what it was, even after tasting it. We thought it could have been the garlic sauce, but the taste said otherwise. As for the Roti John, the plus point was that they made it on the spot and served them hot – but sadly, it kinda lacked flavour.
After all the mains, we attacked the desserts. The Spread’s Ramadan buffet offers a variety of local desserts. From cakes to ice creams, there’s just so much to choose from. We tried some of the local kuih first – and they were so good. They had the right amount of sweetness, and all the flavours that we expected. Then we had some local fruits like rambutan and mata kucing since it’s been ages since we’ve had fruits like those. We moved on to ice kacang, which wasn’t that bad, but it wasn’t that sweet. Maybe if they had someone there to standardize the recipe and do it for us, it would have been helpful. Last but not least, the drinks. We were excited to find barrels filled with Milo, Thai Milk Tea and Yam, which looked exactly like the ones you’d find at Bazaar Ramadan. The only disappointment was that the drinks had become too diluted from way too much ice.
The buffet spread will also feature a variety of dishes from different cuisines, such as Indian, Malay and Chinese, and a live cooking station. Book your dinner at The Spread restaurant for 27th March to 20th April (7pm to 10.30pm), priced at RM158nett per adult, RM79nett per child (6 to 12 years old), RM128nett per senior citizen (55 years and above). Enjoy an early bird offer at RM128nett per adult, valid from now until 19th March.
