Ramadhan Buffet 2010 De Palma Hotel @ Seksyen 19, Shah Alam

Ramadhan month is drawing near to an end and the Muslims will be celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri in days. Hotels and places will be wrapping up their Ramadhan buffet and promotion soon.

I enjoyed the Ramadhan month a lot particularly when it comes to food. I have visited a lot of Ramadhan bazaars but when it comes to Ramadhan buffet, I'd had not visited any of them before. And my turn finally came during one of the previous weekends of Ramadhan, where I was at De Palma Hotel in Shah Alam with my father and his colleagues for a Buka Puasa session. The price for the Ramadhan buffet is priced at RM 65 nett per pax with senior citizens above 50 years old entitled for discounts.

De Palma Hotel in Shah Alam

I was a little surprised because the tables and food stalls were placed inside a ballroom instead of a designated cafe area. Something new to me.

The ballroom was used as a place for tables and stalls

We reached the place about half an hour before breaking fast. The ambiance was busy with people busy walking and taking their food to get ready for breaking fast. I followed suit and the first section I visited was the appetizer corner.

Appetizer Corner
Ranges from the pickles to some ulams(vegetables fancied by the Malay).

The busiest of the corner seen with people queuing up was the Authentic Malay Cuisine stall. I did not get any of the cuisine because they were not so appealing to me. I wanted to get the looked good Ayam Berempah (fried spiced chicken) but they went out of supply.

Malay Cuisine Corner

Stewed Beef Curry
Too bad, I can't consume beef. It scented and looked delicious though.

While browsing for food, my attention was caught by a Malay lady seated on the floor preparing some kind of cuisine. A closer look revealed that it is the East Coast Cuisine with different offerings of side dishes and fried chicken or curry fish to go with your rice. Just order from her and she will prepare you a nice plate of rice.

East Coast Cuisine

Upon seated, I was informed by my Dad's colleagues that the plate of rice I took was called as Nasi Dagang.

Nasi Dagang
Consisted side condiments such as salted egg, raw vegetables, coconut pulps and fish cracker. There was fried chicken and curry fish to go with your choice of red or blue rice with some drizzling of the specialty gravy. It was my first time having such cuisine and I must admit that I liked it, tasted good in a unique way.

If you are a fan of some hot and soupy stuff, Soup & Bubur Lambuk might just be your choice.

Soup and porridge corner

I was delighted that they served Murtabak as well. Since I'm a big fan of Murtabak, I had a few good pieces of them.

Murtabak Corner

Chicken Murtabak
Pretty good murtabak that is not too oily nor sweet with a mild crisp on the outisde. I'm still learning to take Murtabak with the onion that were infused with red syrup though.

As you passed by the Murtabak corner, you will come across the Frying Corner where you could see a lady busy frying keropok lekor, banana fritters and cempedak balls.

The Frying Corner

Freshly fried from the wok

Queue was pretty long and being impatient, I'd managed to get keropok lekor only.

Keropok Lekor and Popiah

The Roasted Lamb Stall was the crowd favourite stall and my favourite as well. The chef was spotted all the time busy slicing the lamb into chunks for the crowd.

The Roasted Lamb Stall

Roasted lamb
Meat were pretty decent with the tenderness and juiciness maintained. However, I must say the accompanying gravy was a let down as it was lacking in flavour!

Malay cuisine is incomplete without the inclusion of kueh-mueh. There is no exception at De Palma Hotel, with a corner specially designated with the offerings of local kueh-mueh delights.

Kueh-mueh corner

Cakes corner

A little bit of this and that
Pretty normal kueh and cakes. Nothing much to shout about.

Drinks and beverages corner
The beverages were watered down so badly. Tasted more like sugar water without a real taste there.

Just like usual, I ended my dinner with some fruits from their Fruits Corner. A little disappointed on why they named it as Malaysian fruits corner when they did not offer at least some of the seasonal fruits such as mangosteen or even langsat.

Local fruits and dates corner

Dates or known as Kurma
A favourite appetizer among the Malay during breaking fast session.

My first Ramadhan buffet experience ended in a so so feeling. Perhaps, I it was because I was robbed a chance to taste the Malay authentic cuisine such as rendang or even fried spiced chicken. There was a lot of food that were not replenished after the breaking fast time, with many empty tray spotted. As for now, I'm hoping for a better Ramadhan buffet come next year at other places of course!

Atmosphere: 5/10
Overall varieties: 5/10
Food: 5/10
Price: 5/10
Verdict: How can Ramadhan buffet be lacking of Malay authentic cuisine? Disappointed at the lack of replenishment on Malay authentic cuisine.

De Palma Hotel Shah Alam
Jalan Nelayan 19/15
Seksyen 19, 40718
Shah Alam, Selangor
Malaysia
Tel: 603 - 5542 8080
Fax: 603 - 5542 0492

Pasar Ramadhan Bazaar Masjid al-Husna @ Bandar Sunway, PJ

Another year passed by and it's the Ramadhan month again for Muslims. Selamat Berpuasa to all my Muslims readers in this holy Ramadhan month! Throughout this holy Ramadhan month, the participating Muslims will refrain from drinking and eating from dawn until sunset.

Not only that, there are also many places being setup for stalls which offer foods and drinks for breaking fast time. It's a joy and I'd always enjoyed visiting Ramadhan bazaar. Every year, I will not missed out visiting the Ramadhan bazaar at Masjid al-Husna located at Bandar Sunway because it is the nearest bazaar to my house.

Ramadhan Bazaar at Masjid al-Husna

First thing to check out, which stall that offers good nasi lemak or nasi ayam berempah. There were a few of them selling the same thing so I'd always see the crowd. The more packed the stall is, the better food they sells and hence, Balqis Corner is my choice for nasi lemak ayam.

Nasi Lemak Balqis Corner

All prepacked and ready to go

I liked the part where they separated the sambal gravy from the rice and my nasi lemak won't look so messy anymore when I'm eating it at home.

Nasi Lemak Ayam (RM 4)
Pretty good with a fried chicken that was well seasoned. The sambal gravy were alright as well, not too sweet but were slightly oily.

If fried chicken is not your cup of tea, you can always opt for the grilled chicken wing.

Ayam Madu Bah

Besides chicken wings, there were other parts of the chickens such like the backside that are being grilled as well.

I'd ordered a piece of chicken wing (RM 1.50 each)
Decently marinated and grilled. It tasted alright but I disliked the part where it tasted so sweet. Perhaps that what you get for ayam madu which literally means honey chicken.

Another delicacy that I would not missed out on a Ramadhan bazaar is the kueh-mueh. The best part about it is that most of them were homemade and each stall offers different type of shape and taste.

The kueh mueh stall

Just pick your favourite assortment, and trust me, with homemade, they can never really go wrong. Definitely suits those that has a sweet tooth.

Onde-onde is always my favourite amongst the varieties (RM 2 for 5 varieties)

The pastry stall (RM 2 for 5 varieties)

Curry Puff
Pretty decent curry puff with a fluffy texture and mushy fillings. I liked how they shaped out their curry puff with some extra carving on it.

Next, my attention was caught by a stall selling some triangular shaped delicacy. Being curious, I went closer for a look.

Mega Mekar Sata and Otak-Otak stall

The triangular shaped delicacy were being wrapped in leaves before being grilled. I was informed that this delicacy is called sata and it came from Terengganu.

Sata (RM 1.80 per stick of three, RM 5 for three sticks)
The fillings were of the same like otak-otak but with the content of cocunut milk.

Fillings of Sata
A little fishy smell with a great hint of cocunut milk. Texture were kinda soft and it tasted sweet. Not something that appeals to me.

Otak-otak (RM 0.60 each)
This one suits me better.

Keep walking and you could see other varieties of food like Roti John, keropok lekor and some other fried food.

Fried assortments such as nuggets, fish balls and many more.

One of the many drinks stalls (RM 1 per pack)
Cocunut water is always my preferred choice.

Every year without fail, there is this stall that always pulled the crowd. You can never fail to spot this stall since it is located right at the front entrance of the Ramadhan Bazaar and always seen packed.

The long queue

It is the stall that selling murtabak. For years since I started buying murtabak from them, they had never raise their price which is at RM 2.50 each.

The murtabak stall

Queue time is expected to be at least 5 minutes if you are lucky.

Busy hand that never stop working

Chicken Murtabak (RM 2.50 each)
Pretty good murtabak with a great aroma and came with a generous fillings. At the price of their offerings, you could not have asked for more.

Nasi Lemak Balqis Corner: 6/10
Ayam Madu Bah: 5/10
Kueh Mueh Stall: 6.5/10
Pastry Stall: 6.5/10
Sata Mega Mekar: 3/10
Chicken Murtabak: 6/10

Overall varieties: 6.5/10
Price: 6/10
Verdict: Nasi Lemak Balqis Corner, Nasi Ayam Berempah, Kueh Mueh Stall, Pastry Stall and Chicken Murtabak are those stalls that you should not missed out if you happen to be there.

Pasar Ramadhan Masjid al-Husna Bandar Sunway
(directly opposite Sunway Pyramid beside NPE highway)
Jalan PJS 10/22
Bandar Sunway, 46150
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Malaysia

Roaring Tiger Year Day 1

It was the first day of the Tiger year as well as the Valentines Day. The day starts with visiting my Aunt who lives in Gunung Rapat. We then continued the day by visiting my another uncle and aunt who lived at Bercham, lied somewhere near the Ipoh. Counting my fingers, it has been almost 9 years since I last visited them. Oh well, they still looked pretty much the same minus the part where they looked a little bit older.

So, while we were at Bercham, we were being served with the homemade cookies prepared by their future daughter in-law.

Homemade Cookies

Fried Crab Stick Meat
This snack has been the "in" thing for the past few years. I have tried many of them, but this stands out the most as it was crispy, crunchy and not oily.

We lingered around at my uncle house for an hour before we moved on to a street market located somewhere in this little garden called Kg. Terusun Temasek.

It was crowded

Wondering what were the people crowding for?

Yes, it was the Roasted Pork stall
The roasted pork was huge, and it was seen tangling around while people crowding in to get their share. The selling price for it was RM 50 for 1 kilogram. It makes me wondered at that time, is this roasted pork really that good?

Fried Chicken and Duck
Spot how the uncle fried the duck. Not something that is really healthy.

Roasted Chicken and Duck
We opted to get the duck meat from this stall because the duck was roasted, which means it will be less oily. At RM 26 for the whole bird, we really think it was a bargain.

I managed to check this stall where they sell a lot of lovely look steamed buns.

Orangy Steamed Bun

Pinky Steamed Bun

Prosperous Bun

iIt was almost 5 pm by the time my mum and aunt finished shopping at the market. Time to head back to my aunt house at Simpang Pulai to prepare for the dinner.

Smooth road heading south on PLUS

The "wonder works" of humans

So while waiting for the dinner to be ready, I had some drinks and munch to some little sesame balls.

Sesame balls
There were no fillings, but somehow it tasted decent. It was my mum's favourite.

The clock was showing 6.30pm when the dinner was ready. I realized that the people in Ipoh really had their meal on time, which is good for the body system I suppose.

Roasted Duck
Decent roasted duck. The skin was not crispy but the meat was tender and juicy. At RM 26 for the whole bird, we couldn't really have asked for a better bargain.

Stir Fried Nestum Prawn
A dish that was prepared by my cousin sister. The prawns were fresh and it was all well-coated with the Nestum flakes.

Roasted pork
This roasted pork was a bomb! The skin were crunchy and crispy while the meat were juicy and succulent. And this explains why the stall was crowded with people even though it was a little pricey. Definitely one of the best roasted pork I have had before.

Blanched Choi Sum
According to mum, this choi sum came from Kampar. The stem was sweet and there was no room for the taste bud to sense any bitterness.

Steamed Tilapia Fish
Usually tilapia fish was well-known with their muddy taste. However, this tilapia has no hint of any muddy taste. Reason because this fish was reared by my Bercham Uncle using the fresh water of waterfalls at his farm. Mum prepared this dish by adding on minced garlic, chillies, ginger and some black beans. End result was a fantastically flavoured gravy that blends well with fresh fish.

Chicken Soup with Octopus Fishball
Time to reheal the body with some chicken soup.

Fireworks box

It's the night time, time to get ready for another fireworks display. Heard my uncle bought a few box of fireworks sets ready to be lighted up to welcome Day 2 of the Tiger year.

The alley of Lorong Simpang Pulai 5

Rooooar for the Tiger Year!

And obviously, it was the Valentines day as well. First time spending time in Ipoh and spending Valentines with families, a double festive with double joy=)

Wishing my loved ones a Red Valentines Day=)

The cracking noises of red fire cracker

The Beer for the year

Though it has been a long time since I went back to visit my relatives, they still do remembered me a lot. I felt touch with the warm greetings and their concerns. They were very friendly, and even the strangers would just greet you with a very wide smile.

I had a very first time experience of ushering Chinese New Year in Ipoh. Awesome is not enough to describe it all. It was just an indescribable feeling. I promised them I will make it an annual thingy to usher into the Chinese New Year together.