Ramadhan Buffet at Halia Restaurant, Sime Darby Convention Centre

Every weekend, we try to have our iftar (a.k.a. buka puasa) out, to give our maid a break. Ohh alright, I admit, that was a rather lame excuse to partake in the heavenly Ramadhan buffet spread available out there, but as they say in France - What the heck? (In France, they say it in French, of course).

Yesterday, I was given the task to look for a place. I searched the net and came up with this - Halia Restaurant at Sime Darby Convention Centre. Located off the Sprint Highway, near Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC), it is not difficult to locate. We arrived at 6.30pm and there were already people there piling food onto their plates.

According to the restaurant's webpage (available here - you will need to click the link - "Halia"), the restaurant serves local, Asian & western cuisine with a daily BBQ buffet & Weekend Hi Tea. When I came, I realised that the Ramadhan buffet is mainly Malay.


This is the roti john, roti jala & beef noodle soup station at the furthermost end of the restaurant. (Note the painting of the various types of ginger flowers on the wall. Ginger = Halia, geddit?)

The Ramadhan buffet here is comprehensive enough without being too overwhelming like some hotel Ramadhan buffets. Besides Malay & some Chinese dishes, there are also stations for chicken shawarma, roast lamb, Thai seafood salad, Western-style desserts and ice cream.

Among the highlights of the spread:

-White rice
-Roast Hainanese chicken
-Baked Siakap(sea bass) with tomyam sauce
-Chicken curry
-Chinese-style fried mixed vegetables
-Fried koay teow with cockles
-Chilli crab
-Fish masak lemak
-Chicken & beef satay
-Roti Jala
-Thai seafood salad (basically a Thai-style kerabu with a choice of fish, prawn and squid)
-Sup kawah (with a choice of beef, chicken or fish)
-Malay-style kerabu (spicy chicken, spicy fish and jantung pisang[banana flower])
-Ulam (Raw/blanched vegetables) with the various sambals (tempoyak, budu, cincalok, sambal belacan, sambal kicap, etc)
-Roast lamb
-Durian desserts - e.g. durian cream puffs, durian crepe, pulut durian, etc.

Generally the food was good and the ambiance just right. I was glad that this place was a lot calmer than a hotel Ramadhan buffet attended a few days back which I felt was a little too chaotic. Here, you enjoy a peaceful iftar with live music without the long queues at hotel buffets. There is a surau (Musolla/Muslim prayer room)within the convention centre for your convenience as well.

Hey, there's live entertainment, too! This is the bunch of musicians playing traditional Malay music to entertain you while you buka puasa.

Beef and chicken satay - nice!

There is a door within the restaurant that opens into this nice courtyard with a water feature.

The main walkway of the restaurant. Note the long table with all the chafing dishes where the white rice and lauk-pauk were placed.

I like the modern and simple decor of the restaurant. Throughout the restaurant, there are paintings of ginger flowers and ginger root placed on the walls (As part of the "halia" - Malay for ginger - theme, I guess).

The single chrysanthemum in Ikea vases placed on all dining tables of the restaurant. Wouldn't a ginger flower be more appropriate - or would that be too cliche? Who cares? The food is good!

The drinks bar area of the restaurant.

Dayana, Julina & Hilman posing by the water feature at the courtyard.

Dayana & Hilman at the main entrance to the Sime Darby Convention Centre.

We left at around 8.30pm and took a drive around KL city centre before we headed back home to Sri Damansara.

Ciao!

Amir Fuad.