[Buffet Review]

 

Grace and I headed over to Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel (which is under the Marriott International global portfolio) for their “Live Life to DiscoverSM” special preview of Guest Chef Youssef Issa’s  Arabian Delights at Vogue Café.

Coming all the way from Dubai, Chef Youssef brings along the flavours of Arabic cuisine utilising traditional recipes, authentic cooking methods and original ingredients for this special buffet menu. You can expect to find traditional Arabic mezzehs such as Baba Ganoush, Muhammara, Tabouleh, Fattoush and Moutabel, and Emirati Cuisine Meat Dishes such as Samaka harra, Chicken tagine, Dawood basha, Lamb shakria, Kebbeh bil laben, Chicken musskan and Kossa ablama. The live station offers either Chicken shawarma, Lamb ouzi, Fata, Falafel or Batata harra rotated on a daily basis.

Chef Youssef started cooking in 1999 when he visited his aunt in Damascus and saw his uncle preparing a dish in the kitchen. After watching the entire cooking process, he was inspired to become a chef and honed his skills in his mum’s kitchen before heading to Damascus to pursue his dream of becoming a chef.

Since then, he has catered for royal weddings and major events in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, including the Dubai Airshow, Taste of Dubai and many others, cooking for VIP guests, celebrities and royal families.  The  chef  also  represented  Dubai  during  the Arabic Cuisine Week in Singapore, and has been a member of the Emirates Culinary Guild since 2006, and received accolades in categories such as New Arabic Cuisine, Traditional Arabic Mezzeh and Emirati Cuisine Meat Dishes.

Here’s a look at some of the dishes in this special menu:

Soups – Lentil soup –puree of red lentil soup, onion, carrots, crispy pita bread
Cold Mezzeh

Hommous – chickpeas, tahina fresh lemon juice, olive oil

Moutabel – grilled eggplant mixed with tahina sauce and fresh lemon juice, olive oil

Tabouleh – parsley, tomato, onion, bulgur wheat, fresh lemon juice and olive oil

Muhammara-bread crumb, walnuts, tahini, pomegranates molasses

Vine leaves – Egyptian rice, tomato, parsley, onion, cooked with lemon juice and olive oil,

Mujaddara – lentil, fragrant rice, caramelized onion and olive oil

Cabbage salad – cabbage, tomato, garlic, fresh mint, lemon juice and olive oil

Fattoush – crisp romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, radish, fresh mint mixed with pomegranate sauce

Potato with mint – cubed potato, chopped mint, parsley, and olive oil

Baba Ganoush – roasted eggplant, tomato, parsley, fresh lemon, olive oil

 
Live Station – Chicken shawarma- Spit Roasted Marinated Chicken, garlic sauce, cucumber pickles

 
Main Course

Vermicelli rice – slow cooked rice with vermicelli

Okra bil zaite –garlic ,coriander ,tomato sauce

Samaka Harra – baked fresh catch of the day fillet, capsicum, onion, garlic and tomato sauce

Chicken tagine- slow cooks chicken with olives and saffron

Dawood Basha – meat balls, slice onion, tomato sauce, Arabic spices

Shrimp machbose –shrimp cooked with rice, cinnamon and cardamom

Mix grill – shish taouk, lamb kebab ,kebab hallabi,

Lamb Shakria -Lamb ,yoghurt sauce ,onion shallots ,pine seed

Main courses (pictured above)

For you sweet tooths out there, there are some special Arabic desserts and a whole host of Vogue Cafe’s signature desserts and cakes and even a big chocolate fountain for a sweet end to your meal!

 

This was actually my first time eating so many varieties of Arabic food and it was an interesting and delightful journey of taste into another region. Some of the dishes are quite heavily spiced and might take some getting used too while Grace found the muhalabia (dessert) rather too milky for her liking. I didn’t mind though and happily  finished her portion and found myself actually liking some of the dishes. Chef Youssef’s pomegranate walnut salad was refreshing and well-balanced with the nutty taste of the walnuts versus the acidity from the bell peppers. Do try it out if you have an open mind when it comes to food as I’ll bet that you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Chef Youssef Issa’s Arabian Delights at Vogue Café special buffet is available for dinner only at RM108.00++ per person and half price for children between 6 to 12 years old from now until 29 August 2014.

 

Vogue Cafe is located at

Lobby Level – West Wing,

Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel,

Corner of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Ampang,

50450 Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia.

 

Telephone: 03 2162 2233

Email: rhi.kulrn.fb@renaissancehotels.com

Website: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/kulrn-renaissance-kuala-lumpur-hotel/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RenaissanceKL