Food Review-Nikko Hi-Tea-Revisited

look at those succulent and temptingly delicious oysters baked to perfection each smothered in rich and creamy cheese.....salivating already??..well you should be as the following pictures will make you salivating even more and wish that you can taste the foods right from the pictures..anyway the above dish is "Baked Oyster Au Gratin"..one of the new dishes introduced as part of the "revamped" menu of  Nikko Hotel's Hi-Tea Buffet. Apart from the menu, the price had also been reduced to only RM 58++ per person as compared to RM 70 something previously. (see my previous review on Nikko's Hi-Tea)

i admit that my previous experience with Nikko's Hi-Tea was not really on the positive side and was i surprised to be personally invited by the hotel's Director of Communications, Katie Hoo to sample the new offerings from the hotel and to compare, contrast and review the same and provide them with feedbacks on areas that they can actually improve be it taste, presentation or services wise of the revamped Hi-Tea Buffet.I really have to compliment the hotel, and Ms Katie especially in giving me this opportunity as it was given unconditionally and with the full realization that my review will not necessarily be positive in full and regardless of the invitation, i have promised to give a transparent and a strictly non-prejudicial review of the buffet. I do admire their positive thinking and acceptance of constructive opinions as these elements are strictly lacking in our services industry. I believe that the only way to improve the services offered to the public is by listening to the customers' feedbacks and opinions and to actually act on those opinions and feedbacks as at the end of the day the customers are the ones who will determine the ups and downs of the business....now on to our food review...

On the day itself, me and my friends were warmly greeted by Ms.Katie and we were immediately escorted to our table. After some brief introduction, i started to roam the kafe, with camera in hand to capture some photos of the selections, with high hope that it would be more tempting than the previous offerings. Layout of the buffet remained the same where you will find at the entrance on your left a long table with salad, fresh seafood (sushi?), and two types of cold drinks (syrup and ice lemon tea) and at the right ride is the coffee/hot beverage area. The seafood looks really fresh, though i didn't taste any of it..but according to my friend the oysters are fabulous..selections are adequate and you may choose to eat these seafood with different types of sauces such as tabasco and others as pictured below. i also like the fact that they offered ceasar salad as well here...more option for people who likes the "crunchy" type of salad...

moving further in the middle of the cafe is where you'll find selections of pastries and bread on your right, freshly baked from the oven and on your left are delectable samplings of fruits (local and foreign)..the bread and pastries looks very delicious and the fruits are fresh and vibrant in colours.....

 

fresh from the oven as well and served piping hot to our table by Katie were these very cute and delicious egg tarts and BBQ meat buns..these were just heavenly delicious..note that this is the first time that i've tried an egg tart as i don't really like any food with to much egg in it or which leaves "eggy" after taste..but this egg tart had none of that and  the filling was so creamy and fragrant.....the pastry with slight saltiness really compliment the creamy filling to make each bite of the tart wonderful...the meat buns were delicious as well with chunks of beef in BBQ sauce as filling to the soft texture of the buns......

moving further to the right is where you will find servings of soups, white rice and the side dishes to go along with it. on the day, there were 2 types of soup offered......

and the other one is pumpkin soup (if i recall correctly)....side dishes for the plain rice are as follows...

Lamb Kofta Curry

Indian Chicken Kurma

Wok Fried Soft Shell Crab With Salt & Pepper

Deep Fried Vegetable Rolls With Mayonnaise

Chicken Curry With Potato

Fried  Meehoon..is also served here

i do love the kofta and the soft shell crab..taste wise..they are to salty for my liking but this could be due to me not eating with rice...however, i noticed that the selections are quite monotonous as 2 types of curry based dishes were offered here and i didn't see any vegetable dish (apart from the deep fried pictured above) was served as part of the side dish for the rice. Maybe varieties should be introduced instead of having a "theme" of curry dishes as i think some spicy local dish such as prawn/squid sambal or black pepper beef should be served to cater to different taste buds and to create more selections to customers. A more "healthy" vegetable dish such as stir fried kailan/spinach/brinjal or braised local vegetables should also be served to balance that rather "heavy" taste of the curries and deep-fried dishes.

walk further up and you will find the grill bar, satay and at the furthest right corner is the noodle bar. small selection of quiche and pastry were also placed here...for no obvious reason or just to use up the free space?i have no idea but it does look quite misplaced........the grill lamb here is a must-try..so succulent and juicy...

grill selections..........

and the rather "mysterious looking" noodle bar......no signs/menus of what are being offered here.....

opposite the noodle bar is a circular table with western/non-local dishes...i believe the foods here are the "stars" of the hi-tea..as i do love to eat something which we don't see everyday whenever i go to any buffet..my favourite was the Baked Oyster Au Gratin (as pictured first above)..other delicious treats found here are as follows......

Breaded Onion Ring With Parsley

Baked Potatoes

Roasted Chicken Wings In Hainanese Sauce

Seared Butter Fish

Mini Crab Cake With Cilantro Paste (unfortunately this ran out fast and was not refilled-replaced with other dish)

Sauteed Vegetable

 Couscous

the above are only part of the offerings whereby there was also a pasta dish and another vegetable dish that i didn't capture in photo..



having filled my tummy with the delicious dishes above..lets see what were offered as desserts at the hi-tea.....

Bubur ChaCha

Banana Crumble (i do hope they'll change it to apple crumble someday!)

Various types of cakes........

and the usual local kuehs..tiramisu and small and delectables sweet desserts.....

there's also a chocolate fountain here where you can dip various types of marshmallow/fruits/crackers in the rich flowing chocolate.


overall, we were satisfied of the food offerings and as compared to my previous visit, i can safely say that it has improved significantly. Service was a hit and miss as we did have some "pile-up" of plates sometimes before it was cleared. Coffee was served at the table by this one really nice lady and she also offered seconds but i declined..forgot to take her name but she deserve a credit for giving a warm and friendly service. At the price charged for this hi-tea buffet, i believe Nikko offers good value, adequate selections and nice ambiance at par with other hotels in the market. Varieties must be improved and mismatched of dishes should be minimized. Now i wont hesitate to sample the hi-tea buffet in the future if the current trend is maintained and improved..just make sure there's enough crab-cakes for me!!..

Rating out of 5:3

Flight Review-Royal Jordanian RJ 180-Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur

Many people are not aware that there are more options available now in terms of choosing which airline to fly with especially if you are planning for a trip around SE Asia, apart from the usual our own national carrier, Malaysia Airlines and of course the "always promising" low-fare-low-cost carrier, AirAsia.

Take example the Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur route...as at today there are 2 foreign carriers which have been granted with 5th freedom right to carry passengers between these 2 cities and they are Lufthansa German Airline and a new-comer, Royal Jordanian Airline. Actually, RJ is not a "new-comer" in a true sense as they did flew to KL circa late 90's but later withdrew and finally returned to KL in May this year with a flight routing of Amman-Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok-Amman.

This trip was more of an ad-hoc or rather an emergency trip as i need to sort out some issues with T. As finding a last minute ticket is not a best option for any traveller, i was relieved when i got the return ticket with RJ for only RM 455. It was more like a bargain really compared to other airlines' fees at that time whereby AirAsia's lowest fare was RM 470 (ticket only)..MAS RM1000something...Thai Airways RM 800plus...thus it's an obvious option for me to choose RJ though i do need to apply leave on Monday as they don't fly daily to KUL.

Currently RJ only flies to KUL 3 times weekly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Their Friday flight is suitable for those who wanted to do a short shopping break in Bangkok..or settle your personal issues..like yours truly. The flight will depart KUL at 10.20 and arrive in Bangkok around 11.30pm (Bangkok time is one hour late than KL)


On the day of the flight, after SMSing T and calling him to confirm our meeting point at the airport (it's always door no.3) and my arrival time..i rushed out of the office and headed back to home to collect my luggage and off again to KL Sentral to take the ERL to KLIA. I arrived at KLIA around 7pm plus and it was just nice for me to check-in for my flight and buying some essentials from the Body Shop before heading to BKK (nice and friendly salesgirl i met at the body shop).

The night flight was full to the brim with mostly Middle-East and African people dominating the flight. I sat besides an African lady, which was not friendly at all but it was not a problem as it was a night flight and maybe she's just tired and not really looking forward for the next 8hours flight to Amman.Flight catering was simple with sandwiches (egg and ham) and salad. Drinks and coffee run were done promptly. Most of the passengers settled for sleeping throughout the flight and the inflight entertainment (IFE) was not really extensive as most of the songs and movies/dramas are of Arabs or Indian..mainly suited for its typical passengers..maybe. We arrived at the airport around 11.27pm local time. Nowadays it is a breeze to pass thru immigration in Bangkok due to lack of tourist post-red shirt fiasco. T was already waiting at our usual meet-up place and we hugged and embraced anticipating for issues that are forthcoming between us....


My stay in Bangkok this time was a mix of feelings. Happy to see T...stress on the issues between us which requires immediate solutions and answers with explanation...and also tense when we fought for the first time over this issue. Regardless of it all, at the end i was relieved to have gotten the much needed explanation from him and the solution to our problem...our fighting over the issues actually lead to more understanding between us and i respect him and care for him more ever since...


okay..enough of the "Bangkok Love Story"...this post is actually the review of the outbound flight to Kuala Lumpur. Bangkok was showered with heavy rain during the morning and afternoon of my return day as we checked out of our hotel and T drove me to the airport. We arrived at the airport at just the right time for me to check-in for my 4.16pm flight and to have a quick lunch before we hugged and bid each other good bye..for now...

The outbound flight originated from Amman. When i entered the waiting area, the flight has not arrived and the plane actually docked-in at the gate 10-15 minutes late. For your info, RJ is one of the airline in the world which carries air-marshals in many (or all?) of its flights. I noticed 4 big and bulky Arab men were part of the aforesaid as they were monitoring the passengers movement during boarding and walked around the plane at some intervals of time through out the flight.So don't try to do something funny or you'll end up in trouble..i did my best to be discreet in my picture takings though...

My flight had just arrived from Amman

Most of the passengers from Amman were seated at their place as they're not allowed to leave the plane during the transit in BKK. Boarding commences smoothly as only a handful of new passengers boarded the aircraft from Bangkok including myself. Headsets were distributed on the ground but i didn't take it as i knew from the earlier flight that there's nothing interesting being offered in the IFE. One thing i like about RJ is that they played the "travel prayer" to bless the flight before departure..it gives you this feeling of safe and assurance of a smooth flight..as your flight is (hopefully) blessed by God. I was seated at the window seat besides the left engine..good seat as i love the red engine and winglet...

Take off was smooth and the weather above the cloud are good in contrast to the below. Once the seatbelt sign was switched off, the cabin crews sprung into action and started to serve late lunch. Another bonus point for RJ, for a relatively short flight of 1hour 50 minutes, RJ actually offered 3 meal options consist of beef, chicken or seafood. I chose the beef noodle and i didn't regret it as it was delicious! I also love the dessert which was an apple crumble..it tasted so good with the coffee. Point to note, MAS usually serves "Snack-Box" on this route..which means a mediocre offering compared to what RJ is offering. RJ serves it meals in a proper tray and can be considered a complete course meal as each tray comes complete with warm bread, salad, main course, dessert and drinks...together with salt, sugar, paper, tooth pick...refreshing tissue...having said that..i can even say it's a luxury compared to MAS's...dont even bother talking about AirAsia where you have to pay for every single thing....they are totally not in the same league as RJ in this department...

The meal carts came first and followed by beverages..options consist of the usual juices, soft-drinks, mineral water. Afterwards, the crew came around with jugs of tea and coffee. It's really interesting to note that they just merely asked each passenger with the word "yes please?" in enquiring about your choice of drinks..rather simple  but effective way of communicating to passengers bearing in mind the short duration of the flight.

I spent the rest of the flight with (trying to) sleep..counting the clouds..listening to my MP3 and observing the flight progress through the moving map.....

After 1 hour 50 min on air, we finally touched down at KLIA around 7.30pm local time. Felt sad as always after leaving T behind in BKK and at the same time felt relieved that our relationship had reached a new height and his affection for me are more apparent thereafter.

I was really satisfied with the product offerings of RJ and at the price of RM 455 for a return flight (all inclusive) i personally would rate it as my favourite, as at todate, for the KUL-BKK route. There are still venues for improvement especially on the pre-flight services such as no online check-in for departure outside of Amman and also the notification for reservation which was quite confusing as at first i was given the impression that i was required to effect payment at it's ticketing office when in actual fact my card had been debited accordingly.Cabin crews can be said as having mix of attitudes whereby i noticed that the Thai's were much more friendlier than their counterparts of Arabs or Indian decent.I do hope that they are going to fly daily to KUL for better option on traveling dates.

If you are planning for a holiday in BKK, i would recommend you to try RJ for its value for money and services which are better than the other carriers flying this route.



Rate out of 5:3.5