A few weeks back, I got a phone call from Stephanie, from the marcomm of Doubletree Hilton asking me, "Hi, so are you coming for the review"? It was then to my HORROR I realised I had totally botched up my schedule, and instead of penning it down as the 14th, I put it under Thursday. Must be the very dormant Cantonese strain in me that translated the 4 to Thursday. (Pai Sei). When it actual fact it was a Wednesday. I was horrified at my mistake, and apologized profusely, and was surprised when they re-invited again (with a reminder phone call this time on the day itself...gosh, how embarrassingly malufying) to sample the latest offerings at Makan Kitchen in Doubletree.
Honestly speaking, I did go to Makan Kitchen when it first opened, as I had the Hilton Premium Card, (still do actually) and was absolutely unimpressed with the spread at the time (around 3-4 years ago, I think, when they first opened). So, it was with a bit of apprehension that I went. To my surprise, I was the only one (blogger) there that night, so I had the full attention of the two lovely ladies, Stephanie and Amanda, and private tour of the premises by Indian Kitchen Sous Chef Prem, and I have to say the buffet spread this time certainly looked rather good. I reserved my judgement at that point, because looking good doesn't necessarily equate to tasting good.
The purpose of the invitation was to sample the new unique dishes, reinvented Malaysian fare, that sounded positively fascinating. Alaskan King Crab Otak Otak, Braised Spicy Venison Ribs, Peking Duck Roll, Pansoh Manok, Tandoori Prawns and Long Rib Beef Rendang.
The premises are actually huge, with several private dining rooms, and also a whole section of Chinese food that looks misleadingly like a separate chinese restaurant. Don't miss the wonderful selection of double boiled soups in this section, which somehow was lacking in signage. I loved the double boiled soups.
The more local section serves a delectable selection of curries, ulams (fabulous, with all my favourite sauces too, like cincalok, tempoyak, sambal belacan)
Desserts, with the ubiquitous chocolate fountain. Personally I am NOT a fan, I don't see the fascination in covering everything in chocolate, especially a marshmallow which is already sweet enough to kill.
The nyonya kueh desserts were especially interesting, as I love pulut tai tai (Pulut Tekan to some), with Kaya, (Coconut custard jam), but alas, by the end of the meal, was far too full to eat it, but forced myself to have half a slice.
The Chinese spread even has roast ducks, chicken charsiu, stir fried vegetables, etc. As mentioned earlier, don't miss the double boiled soups.
A noodle and satay station, with freshly boiled noodles with a few choices of soup, and a whole truck load of choice of noodles, in all shapes, size and colours.
Obviously, when it comes to a buffet, one has to be discerning, and not load up on carbo, or water...
The ayam madu, chicken in honey and spicy sauce, looked totally tempting.
Sotong Goreng Kunyit. Choices choices...too many choices can be a bad thing.
Tell me, how can anyone NOT like cincalok? Greatest invention evah!
The first of the new dishes, the Long Rib Beef Rendang. Seriously, this alone made the trip worthwhile, falling off the bone, tender beef complemented by the rendang sauce that didn't overpower, but totally enhanced the flavour of the meat.
Tandoori Prawns, huge prawns marinated in a special mix of homemade yoghurt.
I might have mentioned that one shouldn't load up on carbs at a buffet, but this Cheese Naan, so so SO seriously good. I was surprised that at a recent dinner, these other couple I spoke to also referred to this legendary Naan. At the cost of the waistline and other dishes, I had two ...possibly three slices of this.
Peking Duck Roll, carved at your table, from the trolley that goes around. However, I found that the travels of the duck around the aircond premises made it cold. I like my duck a bit warmer.
Pansoh Manok - I'm SURE the original version of this dish has alcohol, but since the buffet spread is halal, this version is virgin. A traditional Iban dish, chicken cooked in bamboo, that reminds me of the chinese chicken with rice wine. I loved this dish. The broth was flavourful and aromatic, and the chicken tender.
Alaskan King Crab Otak Otak - An novel take on a traditional dish, ...I don't think there IS crab in the usual otak otak, certainly not at the prices they usually sell it for generally. Alaskan King Crab is probably the foie gras of the sea kingdom, the ultimate luxury dish...
The braised spicy venison ribs, which was seriously very good as well, but Argh, I was soooo full by this time.
And just what DO you call these??? Since the meat isn't all that nice, unlike the balitongs, I think we should just leave them in the sea.
Anyway, I was rather pleased that I went. It's like buying a CD, usually you're lucky if there are more than 3 songs that you like in an entire CD. Just like a buffet, usually if I can find more than two items I really like, I consider it good. This time, there were so many...double boiled soup, long rib rendang, cheese naan (swoooon, sooo good), pansoh manok, the ULAMS!!! Oh, and the ice kacang (sendiri bikin la..translation, DIY), and nyonya kueh selection!!
Priced at RM108++ per person.
Double Tree By Hilton at
The Intermark
348 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur
03-21727272
1 comment:
Yah u can consider yourself damn lucky.. the whole spread was great, i agree! :) Too bad we didn't do the review together, we could have swooned to death together:P
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