Taste of village fare

Selera Kampung-ku is the theme for this Ramadan’s berbuka puasa buffet at the Marble Arch Cafe, writes TAN BEE HONG

LAST year’s Selera Kampung-ku Ramadan buffet at the Marble Arch Cafe was such a success that regular customers had started asking for it a month before the fasting month started.

So from Tuesday, you’ll get the smells of kampung cooking permeating the air, not at the Marble Arch Cafe but at the poolside on the 11th floor where pelita lights and the whole spread will be laid out, including a whole barbecued lamb spinning on the spit. You’ll get a view of the city skyline too, including the Twin Towers.

Don’t worry about rain or hot, humid nights. Tables for 400 are set up in the air-conditioned function room next to the pool so diners can eat in cool comfort. However, for private groups, special arrangements can be made to have your berbuka puasa at Marble Arch Cafe.

“We are serving 100 dishes daily from the various States. We have a total of eight menus that will be rotated on a daily basis,” says head chef Jenny Fong.

“From experience, we find that customers hanker for home-style cooking during the fasting month. They don’t want western food or Japanese dishes. Especially for city folks, their thoughts turn to mum’s cooking at this time of the year.”

“Roast lamb is always a favourite though,” chips in junior sous chef Saiful Jefri Jaafar. Few diners can resist the aroma from the whole lamb roasting over an open fire. The roast lamb is served with a choice of mint or percik sauce.

Diners can start with a drink to quench their thirst — sirap selasih, fresh lime juice, sirap bandung, soya bean, cincau and sugar cane juice for those who like it cold, while there’s teh tarik for those who like to break fast with a hot drink.

Or have a hearty soup to perk up your senses. There’s oxtail soup, sup gearbox, tom yam prawns, sup tulang rawan and sup daging.

For appetisers, take your pick local kerabu salads, sambal and pickles like cermai, betik, pala and kedondong.

It may prove difficult to choose between kerabu pucuk paku, kerabu perut muda, sambal ikan bilis petai, ikan sepat masin, serunding daging, paru goreng berempah, tempoyak, budu, rojak buah, sotong kangkung, kerabu jantung pisang, Thai-style kerabu mango and more.

There will be two types of rice daily. Apart from steamed white rice (which really is best with all those spicy main dishes), there will be a choice of nasi biryani, nasi dagang, nasi ayam, nasi tomato, nasi kerabu and nasi ulam. The latter two requires tedious preparation and I am always thankful to find it on the menu.

Nasi ulam, in particular, is a delightful serving of rice with finely shredded local ulam greens with pounded dried prawns and salted fish. Eat this with a sambal belacan for added zing.

For nasi kerabu, the rice tinted a brilliant shade of blue with the blooms of the bunga talang and tossed with fish, chopped vegetables, herbs keropok, sambal and budu.

Main courses run the gamut from chicken and beef to seafood.

There’s ayam berlada, daging kerutut kering, kuzi ekor lembu, ayam masak merah, sambal sotong kering, lemak siput, nangka masak lemak, ketam masak lemak nenas, udang berempah, gulai darat batang pisang, botok botok rengit and ikan asam pedas.

At the Rendang Corner, you’ll find rendang ayam, daging and sotong.

Meanwhile, chefs at action stations will be dishing up cucur udang, keropok lekor, popiah basah, satay, fried kway teow, roti John and bubur lambuk as well as grilled seafood and laksa.

To round off the meal, dig into the ever-popular durian cendol, the cafe’s signature dessert or kuih muih.

And while you eat, the Ghazal Sri Kencana group will entertain with golden oldies. The Ramadan buffet from Sept 2 to 30, is priced at RM52++ (adults) and RM26++ (children 4-12). For big groups of more than 10, one person dine for free.

Flash your Public Bank credit card to get a 20 per cent discount.

There will also be a lucky draw with a grand prize of a three-day, two-night stay at one of the Grand Continental Group hotels. Prayer rooms are available at the hotel.



HOTEL GRAND CONTINENTAL

Jalan Belia/Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2693 9333