The Resort Café Ramadan Buffet @ Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa

Gorgeous is an understatement when it comes to The Resort Café. And there’s no better excuse to visit this spanking new restaurant during the Ramadhan month.
During this festive period from 18 June to 16 July 2015, The Resort Café comes to live with a “Bustling Asian Food Hall” theme, where a team of over 60 chefs will gear up to cook over 300 dishes prepared ala minute in the buffet.

Besides Malaysian dishes, the 60-meter long open-exhibition kitchen will also feature dishes and recipes from around the region and even the Middle East. For your information, the buffet is priced at RM168 nett per adult and RM78 nett per child aged between 6 to 12 years old.

One of the restaurant’s must-try dishes is the ‘Soup Gearbox Turbo‘, an abiding local favourite. Cooked over a slow fire for 8 hours in a large cauldron, the resulting broth is rich in spices and smelled aromatic.
Not only that, the prized bone marrow contained in the bones have plenty of health benefits and not a drop of it should go to waste.

The highlight at The Resort Café is the range of premium meats, seafood and fruits selections through its Churrasco and Rotisserie, where diners get to enjoy tender and juicy grilled meat on large skewers. Expect to see Wagyu beef, venison, chicken, lamb, tiger prawns, pineapples and even rabbit meat as part of the offering.

The meats were marinated with minimal seasoning as to maintain their original tastes and are freshly grilled upon the arrival of guests.
I especially liked the ever-delicious wagyu, tiger prawns and the sweet pineapple which had some nice caramelized bits after being grilled. For an extra boost of flavour, dip the meats into sauces like Chimichurri, guava, mustard and Thai chilli coriander.

Seafood enthusiasts will not be disappointed by the range of fresh seafood on ice including clams, prawns, mussels, flower crabs, scallops, salmon and tuna sashimi. A good variety of sauces and dips are also provided to complement the experience.

One of the more unique appeal here would be the Middle Eastern dishes, all prepared by the Jordian-born Chef Ala’a Ali so you could be assured of the authenticity. Some of the commonly savoured dishes during the season will make a special appearance.
They include dishes and desserts such as assorted Baklava, Prawn Kabsa, stuffed chicken with Freekeh, Shish Tawook and ostrich Sharwarma, just to name a few. Personally, some of them are an acquired taste but interesting nonetheless.

Not to missed also are a few traditional Ramadan drinks that are consumed in the Middle East including Qamar Alddin (dry apricot), Jallab (smoked berry), tamarind and Laban Up (blended yoghurts with mint). You seldom see these drinks around so it’s a good idea to sample a bit of everything.

Other signature favourites that are available are no stranger to us. It’d be impossible for me to list down every single one of them but as usual, you’d see ikan bakar, satay, noodle dishes, rendang and an extensive range of lauk-pauk from around Malaysia.
While most of them are pretty good, sad to say the satay did not meet my expectations because they tasted rather tough and chewy. The roast whole beef leg however, was one of the night’s biggest crowd puller for the obvious reasons.

Over at the Roti Station, the chefs will be toasting up a handful of favourite Malaysian roti like the murtabak, roti pisang, roti jala and roti tisu. All of these can be enjoyed with the Gulai Kawah of your choice.

The Mee Rojak and Pasembur are equally delicious and should be worth a try just for the elaborate ingredients alone.

The Noodle Corner will feature seven types of soup and gravy based noodles on rotation daily. I am not sure what kind of noodle will be available during your visit, but if it’s the Uncle Ray’s signature Nyonya Laksa, you simply have to try it. Topped with juicy big prawns and bloody cockles, it was one of the best Nyonya Laksa I have had outside Melaka.

But perhaps the most impressive element of The Resort Café is its two octagonal-shaped Monumental Towers – named the Fruit and Salad Towers.
These towers are more than eye-catching and actually function well to keep the stored greens and seasoal fruits cool and at their freshest. The usual fruits aside, you can also find some more special ones such as soursop.

To ensure you get to savour them at their best, some of the fruits such as mango, apple and orange are available in whole. Simply flag any the staff down and they’d cut and serve it to you immediately. I think this is the first time I’ve seen this being done at any buffet so kudos to the team for coming up with this.

Completing the buffet experience is a HUGE assortment of desserts including traditional Malay kuih-muih along with soup-based desserts like Pengat Labu and Bubur Kacang Merah.
The dessert bar will also offer delectable desserts of cakes, ice-cream, festive cookies and a chocolate fountain with various dipping condiments.

Besides The Resort Café, another restaurant at the same hotel called Fuzion will be offering a “Live Street-Food Bazaar” showcasing 10 ‘live’ action stations as well as over 100 dishes on the buffet.
Set at the Fuzion Terrace, these stalls of local street-food favourites and six Kawah stations will provide a lively interaction with the diners for a feast of the senses.
Dinner at Fuzion is cheaper at RM138 nett per adult and RM68 nett per child between 6 to 12 years old. Advanced reservations are encouraged to secure preferred seats and/or tables.

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