Bijan is unequivocally my favourite Malay fine dining restaurant. Without fail, I bring almost all foreign Caucasian guest here, because it somehow seems the right thing to do, to expose them to Malay food in a nice atmosphere and not at some nasi kandar stall. Here's the strange thing, considering where we are, it really is quite strange that there isn't a slew of choice for such quality Malay food. Arguably, most people would opt to go home to eat Malay food, but with the newer generation, I think if you were to peruse any random Malay recipe, you'd find the list of ingredients akin to the index of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy... And really, who has the time to whip us a rendang that takes hours to cook.
Anyway, I look forward to Bijan's annual buffet in the month of Ramadhan, because I love several dishes here, in particular, and was glad to see they are on this year's offerings.
For the more health conscious, or even as a starter, for health conscious or otherwise, a wide selection of vegetable based dishes, almost the equivalent of a salad, except these dressings are far more complex and robust. A gado gado sauce vs olive oil is like comparing a Kebaya to a guy's polo shirt for complexity.
This is my all time favourite dish, well, almost, OPOR DAGING. I actually bought the Bijan cookbook to replicate the item in the menu, OPOR RUSUK (Short Ribs Curry), and even bought the Rusuk, but the list of ingredients and the length of time needed to make this is totally off putting. Whilst this wasn't the usual rusuk, (ribs), the flavours were the same, and the meat was tender and if there was a bone, it would be falling off.
The other dish that really did it for me was the Assam Pedas (Spicy Sour), which has a choice of fish, which is cooked a la minute in individual claypots. I opted for the Ikan Pari (Stingray), which is borderline against my conscience as a scuba diver, I've been observing the rapid decline of these majestic creatures.
Another interesting dish was the Colek Betik, (which they had wrongly spelt as Colek Batik), and I overheard someone say Coli Batik (Batik Bra).
For the actual buffet during the fasting month, the choices will be even more abundant I think.
Udang Tempoyak... not very tempoyaki...
We were also lucky enough to watch the Chef prepare rendang Tok from scratch. Rendang tok is distinct because it is darker than the normal rendang for starters and is cooked laboriously over low fire for a longgggg time.
The almost ready Rendang Tok
A most delightful dessert came in the form of freshly cooked Apam Balik, a marriage between our traditional apam balik and the Indonesian version, resulting in a sweet savoury Apam that was really rather delicious, so much so I had two helpings.
And which durian lover can resist the seduction of the Pengat Pulut Durian.
Anyway the KAMPUNG WARISAN BUFFET :
Available : 21st May -13th June 2018
Time: Buffet from 7-9.30pm, Alacarte after 9pm
Menus : 4 specially tailored menus in rotation
Price : RM110++ per person, special early bird promotion at RM100 nett per person.
EARLY BIRD VOUCHERS CAN BE PURCHASED AT BIJAN OR ONLINE VIA TABLEAPP ONLINE RESERVATION IN THEIR WEBSITE
www.bijanrestaurant.com or Facebook
Bijan Bar and Restaurant
3 Jalan Ceylon, 50200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-20313575 Fax: 03-20313576
Opening hourse Monday to Sunday 4.30-11pm
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