PAYA SERAI,
Hilton Petaling Jaya,
2, Jalan Barat,
Petaling Jaya.
Tel 03-7955 9122 ext 4060
Business hours: 6am to 3am, daily.
Buka puasa buffet a PJ Hilton will have spread of 300 dishes.
THIRTEEN chefs, who are experts in their field, will present 300 dishes at the Hilton Petaling Jaya Paya Serai Restaurant’s Ramadan buffet under the supervision of the hotel’s executive chef Ridzuan Malek.
At Hilton PJ’s buka puasa buffet, guests will have a spread of dishes comprising Malay, Chinese, Indian, Western, Japanese and Mongolian food.
Hilton PJ Indian chef Raman Dorairajan, 50, proved me wrong. With 22 years of cooking experience, Raman certainly has mastered the art of cooking tasty Indian food.
His dishes did not sink in a thick layer of oil and his lamb curry was memorable. The meat was tender and the dish was not overwhelmingly spicy yet, was rich in flavour.
Raman’s tenggiri fish curry is another must-try. The fish curry tastes extra special because Raman, from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, uses his own fish curry powder.
Whole roasted chicken at the Western section.
His seven mix vegetable curry dish was another favourite because for the first time I tasted an Indian dish with grapes in it. Since dried raisins are often used in Indian dishes, chef Raman decided to include fresh green and red grapes instead. I even helped myself to a second serving.
When asked the secret to his tasty dishes, Raman replied: “I do not serve anything I am not satisfied with. Every dish is important to me and I cook with love and wholeheartedly. Without passion, the food will never taste good,” he said.
Besides Raman’s Indian dishes, I also enjoyed the Mongolian BBQ which reminded me of Japanese Teppanyaki.
What makes the Mongolian BBQ special is that it is prepared with a richer combination of sauce. The sauce ingredients consists of garlic, brown sugar, orange juice and coriander while the inclusion of cili padi made the sauce taste extra special.
As for Malay food, I enjoyed the Rendang Tok. The hours of preparation which went into the dish made eating it special.
For guests with a sweet tooth, the dessert line-up is filled with traditional and nostalgic treats.
Ridzuan said a quarter of the buffet spread comprised dessert.
“There is a range of classic Malaysian ice- cream including rainbow bread ice cream, ais krim potong and ais krim Malaysia.
As he was speaking passionately about ice cream Malaysia, I remembered how my grandfather used to sell ice cream Malaysia in his sundry shop.
I had not seen the cylindrical-shaped ice- cream since I was a little girl.
Chef Suhaimi preparing apam balik at the Paya Serai restaurant at Hilton Petaling Jaya.
The buffet spread will also bring guests back to the past with Hilton PJ’s range of steamed tapioca better known as ubi kukus.
The witty Ridzuan even named the tapioca corner Terkenang Zaman Jepun(Memories of Japanese Occupation).
Eating it brought me back to days when my grandmother, aunts and mother would prepare them as snacks.
Ramadan Delights at Hilton PJ is priced at RM139++ per adult and RM79++per child below 12, is available until July 22. The buffet is priced at RM119++ per adult and RM79++ per child below 12 from July 22 until July 27. The hours are from 7pm until 10pm.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro
