Ramadan & buka puasa buffet – Contango, Majestic Hotel KL

Much has been raved about Contango; a 250-seater contemporary space featuring 2 open kitchens that boasts of an impressive spread ranging from local culinary recipes to Japanese seafood and Italian pizzas.

The daily lunch and dinner buffet has been consistently popular and this Ramadan, Contango welcomes diners to its buka puasa spread; with a special focus on classical Malay cuisine where the likes of roasted leg of lamb, rendang, tempoyak and briyani takes centrestage.

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List of Ramadan buffets in KL for Buka Puasa this 2014!

I’m feeling fat. Seriously.
I have been doing my rounds of Ramadan buffets and sampled so much that I’m bloated like a pig. LOL!

Anyhow, buka puasa sessions are important during this Ramadan month. For companies it is a ritual to reward their staff and also for them to treat their clients for a scrumptious meal.
A buffet is ideal as everyone would have their pick of what they like and no one has to worry about allergies, suitability and quantity of food.

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East & West Rendezvous Café Melaka – best nyonya chang, chendol, nyonya kuih & pineapple tarts!

After numerous trips to Melaka, I finally tracked down Grace from East & West Rendezvous Café. Though her shop is in the Jonker vicinity it is off the more popular stretch of Jonker and hence the difficulty of finding it.
I had to call her personally many times for directions and was near giving up but the need to try her famous Nyonya chang (glutinous rice dumplings) kept me motivated to go on yet another circle around Jonker to find her shop. LOL!

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Second Helpings Singapore & Peanut Butter Factory KL – Chunky Peanut, Cashew Butter & Almond Butter

I’m not entirely a hardcore peanut butter /nut spread fan but just like instant noodles it is one of those items that I’ll buy in every country that I have visited.
Europe’s supermarket shelves are amazing and I recall seeing some really good ones while I was in The Netherlands.
Even Singapore’s range of nuts spreads on its supermarkets’ shelves beats Malaysia’s anytime.

Having said that, I had moved away from buying commercial nut spreads a while back.

I started with Joey’s Peanut Butter as he was the first Malaysian (that I know of) that went commercial making peanut butter and selling them from home.
While his was ok, it didn’t quite hit the spot for me as I found it to be too mild.

Next I sampled Nuts Enough and was bowled over by the rich and and nutty taste of their nut spreads.
Having funky and creative flavours like Cookie Dough Cashew Spread (RM 25) and Dark Chocolate Cashew Spread (RM 25) does add to the novelty factor.
You can read about Nuts Enough HERE –> https://rebeccasaw.com/delicious-peanut-butter-nuts-enough-malaysia/

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Omakase in KL – Kame Sushi Japanese Restaurant, Hartamas

Becky’s 1 Minute Summary:
What: Japanese casual dining with not-so-casual prices. Be ready to part with hard earned cash for quality Japanese cuisine.
What to order here: Renowned for Chef’s Omakase literally meaning “I’ll leave it to you“ and thus entrusting the chef to feed you whatever he wishes and hopefully it’s worth the money paid. 🙂
On a serious note, this is the concept where the chef uses his experience and knowledge to select and prepare the meal for a customer without specific directions, usually expected to be the freshest and best ingredients in season or in his kitchen.
Overall experience: Based on my omakase set plus an ala carte order of sashimi, I would safely say Kame is a good bet for really good Japanese food – the fresh seafood and finely prepared courses that are definitely not available at your usual Japanese joints.
Price: I heard there are set lunches available which I aim to try next. An omakase set here starts from RM150++ to RM300++ or more – you can request extras from the chef.  Just pay up. 

For the long story, read on. :)

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Seeking an equivalent Japanese joint that serves comparable sashimi/fresh seafood to the ones in Tsukiji Market is probably not, well, probable.

Most outlets claims to have their seafood freshly flown in from Tsukiji. Places like TEN and Kampachi charges a bomb and yet still disappoints.
For Kame, I have heard of its reputation for a long, long time. I wasn’t entirely convinced of how good it had reputed to be somehow. Like I said, so many restaurants claims to air flown their supplies from Tsukiji and most doesn’t taste anything like the sashimi and sushi I ate in Tsukiji itself.
Anyhow I finally stepped in recently since my cravings for Japanese food was going into overdrive and there are no Japan trips in the foreseeable near future, sadly.

Between the 2 of us; shared an omakase set for RM150++ plus a sashimi platter for RM100.
The reason for my choice is simple, start at the lower omakase set to test the waters and since there are 2 of us, we could share the omakase and fill ourselves up with additional fresh seafood in case the omakase fell short.

Thankfully the food didn’t disappoint. For the RM150++ paid, I’ve had worst (if that’s any consolation).
Looking at my RM100++ sashimi platter, I should have gone for the omakase instead!

Service could be better for sure.
The Chef was perpetually busy and didn’t have time to speak much nor answer queries. The service staff are not very knowledgeable of whatever that was served.
I had to ask them to ask the chef for me each time a course was set down and after a while it just gets tiring.
In Japan, the sushi chef explains a bit of what’s the dish is while he serves it.

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Onde Onde Desa Park City – Penang food

Onde Onde at Desa Park City aims to serve well prepared Malaysian favorites. When I was invited to have lunch here I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I’m a Penangite, and frankly, I have an even fussier tastebud than most of my peers.

Except for a few, Penang food in KL hasn’t been too promising. Even for Penang One; where selected hawkers are in collaboration with the owner and they bring the fresh ingredients, soup and condiments directly from the hawkers themselves daily from individual stalls in Penang didn’t wow me entirely.
Food can be inconsistent and I only favour their Char Kuey Teow, Koay Teow Thng and Mua Chee. The rest is just decent.

So I didn’t have high expectations walking into Onde Onde, though I must say I left pretty satisfied.

Like all Nyonya inspired eateries, the nostalgic ornaments and oriental touches are present. Service is brisk and food arrived swiftly.

I started with the char kuey teow; probably one of the strictest litmus test for any “Penang cuisine” eatery. This was a let-down. Any Penangite can tell you that just from the picture below.

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