It’s a delightful assortment of kampung food for the breaking of fast in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, writes Teresa Yong-Leong
NASI ulam is a healthy rice dish that you can indulge in without much guilt this Ramadan. It is packed with herbs such as fragrant bunga kantan, daun kesum, daun selom, long beans, chilli padi and petai — all guaranteed to keep you fit and healthy.
Hotel Grand Continental head chef Jenny Fong says she adds petai to the dish as it is good for the kidneys, besides adding more crunch.
“This year, we are focusing on kampung cuisine at Marble Arch Coffee House for the breaking of fast.
“We are offering 150 dishes, ranging from the traditional kuih to our popular gear box soup. There are nine menus which will be offered on a rotation basis during the promotion.
“Besides the main offerings, there will also be stalls offering such favourites as bubur lambuk, roast lamb, ikan bakar, fried seafood and fried kway teow,” she says.
Other popular rice dishes are special fried rice, tomato rice, butterbean rice, nasi dagang and nasi kerabu that are offered on different days of the week. For a Western touch, there is pumpkin rice.
The main dishes like hati ayam belimbing buluh, gulai darat batang pisang, ayam kari ubi kentang, ayam golek Pahang, gulai botok and daging goreng kunyit terung pipit will certainly bring back fond memories of mum’s or grandma’s cooking for many urban folks.
Who can resist Malay salads such as kerabu mangga, kerabu pucuk ubi and kerabu pucuk pisang? Not to mention the various ulam-ulam and sambal like sambal bacang, sambal kelapa, tempoyak, budu and cencaluk.
A selection of pickles such as mangga, cermai, betik, kedondong and buah salak are provided to whet appetites as well as to help in the digestion of some of the very rich food.
For those who prefer to cut out the meat, Jenny has come up with a few varieties of vegetarian rendang. How about kangkung, potato, broccoli and cauliflower rendang?
“These vegetarian rendang dishes are popular with customers,” she says.
Traditional kuih such as tepung pelita, pulut panggang, lepat pisang, cempek goreng, cekodok, buah tamar, tapai ubi and tapai pulut will please those who love dessert.
For sweet broths, try the santan-rich pengat pisang, bubur kacang with durian and the hotel’s most popular dessert, cendol durian.
The hotel will also be selling five types of house cookies — mozolla, custard, choc chip, butter and macaroon — at RM20++ a jar.
The buka puasa promotion is on till Aug 18, from 6.30 to 10pm. It is priced at RM75++ per head and for the first week, there is a 30 per cent discount. Bookings for sahur packages are also available. Call 03-2693 9333 ext 2813/1123.
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