SHAH ALAM: Muslim diners looking for a diverse array of local and international halal food need not look further than Grand Blue Wave Hotel’s contemporary new restaurant, Royale Songket.

All restaurants at the Grand Blue Wave Hotel, including the Chinese and Japanese specialty outlets, are certified halal.

This is a big plus for diners, as they can enjoy a wide variety of dishes from these outlets, alongside the offerings from the exclusive Royale Songket restaurant.

Diners will be spoilt for choice at the “Al Kareem Ramadan Buffet” as culinary masters prepare dishes from across the globe including the Middle East, Malaysia, Japan, China and the West.

Combined, these cuisines account for more than 250 dishes offered daily as part of the buffet’s extensive medley of appetisers, soups, live-action stalls, main courses and desserts.

Fans of traditional appetisers can find the likes of ulam-ulam, assorted keropok, kerabu and more in the buffet, as well as western starters such as pastries and salads.

For something more exotic, try the tabooleh, which is made from chickpeas, and hummus bi taheeni, a sesame-based paste. Both the tabooleh and hummus bi taheeni are from the Middle East and can be eaten on their own, but their slightly sour flavour makes them a perfect addition to raw salads.

Tabooleh, or chickpeas salad. | Photo: Kamarul Izzat – NST

As for broths, there is the spicy sup gearbox as well as mushroom and Szechuan soups. A Grand Blue Wave speciality is the miso soup.

“As miso soup normally contains non-halal ingredients such as mirin or sake, we had to amend the recipe using home-made fish stock to ensure the taste is similar to that of traditional miso soup,” said executive chef Azmi Sidek, who spent four years plying his trade in Japan.

More goodies await diners at the live-action stalls. Among them are the mee rebus, grilled seafood and meat, and pasta made a la minute.

The most popular of the live-action stalls is also the hotel’s most popular dish — stuffed whole lamb kebbeh with kabees el qarnabeet and Moroccan oozy rice.

“This is a dish I learned to cook when I worked for the royal family in Brunei. It is a dish loved by the royal family and often served at festive functions,” he said.

Azmi added that this dish is so popular among the hotel’s buffet goers, that they roast seven baby lambs a day throughout Ramadan.

Aside from the Morrocan rice, the lamb also goes well with white rice and the rare nasi kuning diraja which is made with basmati rice. The fine grains of rice are steamed together with ghee, kunyit and homemade chicken stock.

The rice also compliments the numerous traditional Malay dishes that include ketam goreng berlada rampai sari, daging rendang penanggah, ayam percik as well as international delicacies like chicken a la king, steamed snapper fillet with saffron fennel broth.

Tuck into other main dishes from the Orient like the stir-fried assorted mushroom with bean curd soya sauce, agehan sukiyaki, sanma shioyaki and the delectable ebi furai.

The addictive Japanese dish is the epitome of freshness. Fresh prawns are mixed with a batter and fried to golden perfection.

Before calling it a day, be sure to drop by the dessert corner for sweet delights like assorted Malay kuih, Shanghai pancake, dorayaki, baklava, strawberry mousse, mango pudding, walnut pie and the bread butter pudding with vanilla sauce.

The king of fruits makes its presence felt in the pulut durian. The recipe for this creamy pulut is handed down through generations and is made using local durians. Durian flesh is added in to give durian lovers the perfect ending to a marvellous buffet.

Hot and cold drinks such as sarsi selasih, sugarcane juice, soya milk, coffee and tea are readily available throughout the buffet.

The Al Kareem Ramadan buffet is priced at RM108++ per adult and RM60++ for senior citizens aged 60 and above and children aged between 4 and 11 years. The buffet is available from July 10 to Aug 7 from 6.30pm to 9.30pm.

For reservations, call the sales and marketing department at 03-5511 8811 or email [email protected].

*This article by Robin Augustin was published by News Straits Times. Read the original article here.