Zende Restaurant,
Level 3, Seri Pacific Hotel Kuala Lumpur,
Jalan Putra, P.O Box 11468,
50746 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-4042 5555
Business hours: Lunch from noon to 3.00pm
and dinner from 7.00pm to 11.30pm
Halal
DISCOVER the spicy and rich food of Terengganu at Zende Restaurant at Seri Pacific Hotel Kuala Lumpur from now until June 3.
Held in conjunction with Citrawarna 2011, an annual event featuring Malaysian music and dance, guests are assured of the authenticity of the food as it is a Terengganu local, guest chef Hasbu Edrus from sister property Residence Resort Paka, who is behind it.
For this promotion named “A Culinary Journey of Terengganu Cuisine”, Hasbu recommends some traditional dishes as must-trys for guests.
“The Laksam is very common in Terengganu.
“It is made of rice flour that is steamed into sheets, then rolled and cut into bite-sized pieces.
“This is accompanied by a gravy made of santan (coconut milk) and ikan selayang (sardine) flavoured with a bit of black pepper,” Hasbu said.
Closely resembling the Chinese plain chee cheong fun albeit a paler version, the laksam, garnished with taugeh and some greens has a hint of the laksa taste, probably due to all the fish but it is not spicy.
The buffet line also offers Kuah merah (Red gravy) for the dish that is heavily flavoured in spices and dried chilli for those who like their food spicy.
Wide array: Hasbu with some of the dishes from Terengganu. The promotion is held in conjunction with Citra warna 2011.As a coastal state, Terengganu food uses a lot of seafood in its dishes and one particular dish, the Siput sedut masak lemak dengan pucuk paku (Snail with wild fern in spicy coconut gravy) stands out from the rest due to the way it is eaten.
“If you cannot suck it out, use a straw,” Hasbu jokes, saying that cooking it with santan gives the dish a certain richness that was just perfect.
The way to eat it is generally to suck through the top opening of the conical shell until the snail pops out into the mouth, though some recommend sucking the bottom, a much smaller opening first to release the air pockets inside, thus making eating this easier.
Other sea offerings are also available such as fish of which Hasbu recommends the Singgang ikan pedas (Spicy fish in gravy) made with tenggiri (mackerel) and Kari ketam ala kampung (Kampung style crab curry).
There are also other non-seafood items to savour such as Ayam kerutub Terengganu (Dried chicken in gravy), Telur itik masak lemak (Duck egg in coconut gravy), ulams, serunding (dried floss) and Sira labu peringgi (Fried pumpkin) and more.
Terengganu is also famous for a few specialty rice dishes such as Nasi dagang and Nasi kebuli, both of which as well as nasi kerabu will be available on alternating days during the promotion.
There will also be an assortment of fish keropok as well as a wide variety of dessert like pengat to the dainty akok.
Enriching the experience will be a special Gamelan performance featuring musicians on traditional instruments and dancers, courtesy of the Terengganu government.
They will entertain diners with soft tunes and graceful moves throughout the promotional period except for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The buffet is priced at RM69++ per adult and RM35++ per child and features four rotating menus, each with about 50 different type of dishes.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
