DURIAN is commonly not allowed in a hotel’s premises due to its strong smell. However, the Hilton Petaling Jaya Paya Serai restaurant is serving this popular fruit during Ramadan, partly because it is durian season.
The hotel’s sous chef (Muslim Kitchen) Noor Hisham Ismail said there was a durian stall and guests could choose their fruit.
“We peel the durian and serve it on-the-spot,” he said.
Besides durian, the restaurant is serving Malay kampung food such as bubur lambuk, ayam percik, rendang daging and rendang tok.
Noor Hisham has over 20 years experience in cooking Malay, Asian and European food. His signature dish is the rendang tok from Perak. His version of the dish is different compared to the other types of rendang because the beef is typically bigger and the meat more tender.
“The beef pieces are about 3.8cm in width and length. The meat is extra tender compared to other rendang daging and that makes the dish popular,” he said.
Rendang tok should have brown sugar added to achieve its mild sweet taste.
“If you add white sugar, the sweetness will be too intense. Brown sugar is better,” he said.
Noor Hisham said guests could also look forward to his bubur lambuk which he claimed was much tastier than the one at Kampung Baru.
“I don’t mean to brag but I’m often told that my bubur lambuk is special,” he said.
Hilton PJ’s signature ayam percik is another favourite.
“We have been preparing ayam percik using the same recipe for the past 10 years because our guests love it,” he said.
Another old-time favourite is Ikan Terubuk Panggang. This dish is made of grilled river herring marinated with the chef’s secret ingredients and wrapped in banana leaf.
Nasi Bokhari Ayam – basmati rice seasoned with fragrant spices and chicken will also be served in the Ramadan spread.
New dishes include Ikan Patin Bakar Tempoyak. This grilled dish will be prepared using catfish marinated in bird’s eye chilli, lemongrass, ginger and shallots wrapped in banana leaf. The fish is relished with a tempoyak dip.
Sup Gearbox — a bowl of soup with beef shank, potatoes and carrots will also be on the menu.
Other must-try dishes include Udang Goreng Daun Kari, Mee Rebus Tulang Kambing and Lamb Shank Briyani.
Lemang, ketupat and some 30 varieties of festive cookies will be served too.
The Ramadan buffet is priced at RM129++ per person.
PAYA SERAI, Hilton Petaling Jaya, No 2, Jalan Barat, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. (Tel: 03-7955 9122). Business hours: 6am to 3am.
This is the writer’s personal observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro
