Citarasa Malaysia Iftar Buffet Dinner @ Kontiki Restaurant Federal Hotel Kuala Lumpur
The holy month of Ramadhan is a month of detaching one’s mind from worldly desires and pleasures. Families observing Ramadhan will come together to share a meal; breaking fast together. Restaurants and hotels offer plenty of delicious food and we had our fill of delicious buffet. One place I have enjoyed an Iftar buffet dinner at is the Kontiki Restaurant in Federal Hotel Kuala Lumpur.
Federal Hotel has been around since 1957. It is a historical building that was launched three days before Malaysia’s Independence Day (31st August 1957). Federal Hotel has for a long time been a favourite place to buffet lovers around areas in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. During my visit, the Kontiki Restaurant where I enjoyed the Citarasa Malaysia Iftar buffet dinner was full; testament to the tasty food available there.
Chefs cooking at one of the stalls by the pool.
Plenty Of Choices
It is impossible to sample every single dish here at the Citarasa Malaysia Iftar buffet as there was just too many delightful food to choose from. There are over a hundred traditional dishes to choose from, from starters such as fruit rojak, salads, ketupat, lemang, serunding (meat floss), etc. to main dishes such as fried seafood, meat dishes, satay, noodles, etc. and on to delighful desserts such as cakes, kuih muih, puffs, ice-cream, etc.
Chefs preparing roti canai; a Malaysian favourite.
With such a wide selection of food it is wise to focus first on the highlights before heading out to the others. The highlight will have to be Favourite Dishes From The Tunku’s Kitchen Cookbook. Tunku refers to Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj. He is the first Prime Minister of Malaysia; more fondly known as Bapa Malaysia (Father of Malaysia).
This compilation of specially selected recipes of which were the favourites of Tunku’s was done with the collaboration of Y.T.M. Tunku Datin Paduka Khadijah (Tunku’s daughter) and Y.T.M. Dato Mukminah Jiwa (Tunku’s niece). With this collaboration; Favourite Dishes From The Tunku’s Kitchen, a 168 page coffee table cookbook was born. This cook book contains over 70 private recipes from local to international cuisines.
Spicy Beef from “Favourite Dishes From The Tunku’s Kitchen” section. I found this a little too spicy but if you love spicy food, you will love this.
Some of the dishes from “Favourite Dishes From The Tunku’s Kitchen” served here at the Citarasa Malaysia Iftar buffet are ikan goreng serai (lemongrass fried fish), daging kicap and kacang pis (beef in soy sauce cooked with peas), sambal udang petai (stinky beans prawns cooked with chili paste), daging pedas (spicy beef), itik goleh (duck dish), ketam masak sos tomato (crab cooked in tomato sauce), telur cuka (vinegar egg), ayam masak kuning (chicken dish cooked with yellow spices), udang goreng manis (fried prawns), and Opor ayam (chicken cooked in coconut milk, herbs, and spices).
The dishes that I tried and love from the “Favourite Dishes From The Tunku’s Kitchen” menu are Sambal udang petai, itik goleh, and the daging masak kicap and kacang pis. The duck dish (itik goleh) tasted good as the duck was tender and juicy. Duck is one tricky meat to cook and they did well. I like beef and the daging masak kicap and kacang pis was tasty (a dish I had never tried till now). Amongst the three, the one that stood out for me is the sambal udang petai. I love petai when cooked with chili paste and prawns. The sweetness of the prawns certainly adds plenty of flavours to the dish. I did not try all of them as I needed space for more delicious food.
Delicious Sambal Petai Prawn from “Favourite Dishes From The Tunku’s Kitchen” section.
Favourite Delicious Yummies
There are just way too many delicious dishes to be listed here. Listing all of them down will probably bore one to sleep unless one just love reading food names. So instead, here are some of my personal favourites that I enjoyed while dining at the Citarasa Malaysia Iftar buffet.
Fried Liver
I personally love liver. Liver has got this bitterish, butterish, and rich taste that I just love. That said, liver is one tricky organ to cook. It must be cooked well to kill whatever parasites and organisms that are found in them, but not overly cooked lest they turn hard akin to dried rubber, loosing that creamy texture. The fried chicken liver here is cooked just nice.
Plenty of delicious food from fried squid (calamari) to delicious fried liver.
Satay
Another local favourite that I love is satay. Satay is simply meat on a stick. The meat has got to be very well marinated and cooked just right. This gives it the meat a sweet and fragrant aroma. The meat must be juicy too or it’ll be like eating a fragrant piece of wood. I have tasted some really good ones and some really bad ones. The satay served here fall into the side of the good ones.
Delicious satay waiting to be savored. There are chicken and beef satay.
Bone Soup (Sup Gearbox)
The soup that I enjoyed thoroughly here is the bone soup. This soup does not only contain bones. It has lots of tender and delicious meat too. It is called so because the bone and what’s contained in them gives the soup plenty of flavour and aroma as well as healthy goodness. The bone soup here is rich with flavours from herbs and spices too. The bone soup should ideally be drank hot (but not too hot will one’s mouth gets scalded). When it cools down some of its flavours go into hiding.
Delicious bone soup also known as sup gearbox in Malaysia.
Tasty Desserts
Finally I ended my indulgence with sweet tasty desserts. I had delicious cakes and a sticky delicious Nyonya kuih (cake). The cakes are nice but what stood out for me is the red turtle cake called ang ku. Ang ku is a Nyonya traditional cake that has a soft sticky outer “shell” and sweet salty feeling that is made of mashed beans. Ang ku is my favourite Nyonya traditional cake and when I saw it, I just had to indulge.
Delicious cakes at the buffet.
My favourite Nyonya cake; Ang Ku (turtle cake). These cakes do come in other colours too.
Doing Something Good This Ramadhan
During the dinner, I noticed a long table filled with children enjoying the food too. I enquired and was told that they are from a home called Pusat Jagaan Kasih Murni, a welfare home that houses 30 children who are either orphans, or from poor or broken families. The hotel invited them over to share with them some love and of course delicious food. The children were also given gifts and ang pows (money packets) by the hotel.
Hotel personnel handing out money packets to the children during the buffet.
Do Indulge
With so many food places offering Ramadhan buffet dinner during this month of Ramadhan, it can be hard to choose where to dine at. The Kontiki Restaurant in Federal Hotel Kuala Lumpur is certainly a good place to consider. The variety of food is big and good, and the food is delicious. For more information contact them at the details below.
The Federal Kuala Lumpur
35 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Email: rsvn@federal.com.my
-Escapy Travel News
Google Maps to Federal Hotel Kuala Lumpur.