UTARA COFFEE HOUSE,
Armada Petaling Jaya,
Lot 6, Lorong Utara C,
Section 52,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: 03-7954 6888 ext 4557
Business hours: Opens 24 hours.
Cooking requires not just skill but also passion and love. A passionate team of cooks will produce creative culinary wonders.
At Utara Coffee House in Armada Petaling Jaya, two chefs have whipped some exciting local dishes with a creative twist for the Ramadan buffet.
Armada Petaling Jaya Junior sous chef Alifah Kandar, 58, loves cooking and experiments with new dishes even during her rest days.
She is fondly called mami by the hotel staff because of her motherly persona and how her dishes reflect her years of cooking experience.
Interestingly, Alifah started her career as a flight attendant but later switched to the hospitality field.
Her mentor has been the hotel’s executive chef Chew Teik Chye who is her biggest critic and source of inspiration.
“Learning under Chew’s guidance is difficult because he is a perfectionist and his expectations of his staff is high.
“He does not mince his words and I was trained well by him,” said Alifah who is of the Malacca Nyonya descent.
This Ramadan, Alifah is serving some of her culinary specials on the buffet.
If you love crab, try the Ketam Gulai Siam. It is Alifah’s own recipe and is prepared with coconut milk, green chilli, galangal and fresh crabs.
Ketam Masak Gulai Siam.
Fish head curry is commonly prepared with snapper but for the fasting month, Alifah has opted for salmon.
Siput Sedut Masak Lemak is also available on the buffet.
“During Ramadan, many fancy eating this dish especially those from Malacca and Kuala Lumpur,” said Alifah.
For a change, duck rendang is being served at the coffeehouse.
Fish head curry cooked with salmon fish.
“You need to know how to cook duck meat, otherwise it will taste weird.
“I have experimented cooking rendang and it has turned out well,” she said.
If you fancy briyani, you will like Alifah’s nasi rempah berlauk.
This rice dish is incorporated with chicken, fish and prawn.
There are about 100 dishes offered on the buffet, which is available from 6.30pm to 10pm.
Local desserts such as kuih pelita and kuih ketayap will be served at Armada Petaling Jaya Ramadan spread.
The buffet is priced at RM78++ per adult and RM39++per child.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
