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
No comments:
Post a Comment