Taman Sari@Hotel Istana, KL.

Demona: My aunt decided to take her sisters, and myself along, for a dinner treat. A belated birthday dinner for me cum family gathering. We had a hearty, tummy filling, glutton-binging buffer dinner at the Taman Sari Brassierie in Istana Hotel, KL.



Demona: My aunt had been good friends with a manager working here, and she managed to pull some strings, getting us a private room to dine in.



Demona: Ample fresh seafood made available. Too bad my tummy was a little weak since morning (bad bad sarawak mee the night before), hence I had to ease on the raw food. I only took an oyster, with lemon and tabasco sauce. SLURPYYYY SLURP!



Demona: I am known to be sugar high. Fail miserably when it comes to resisting desserts. The cheese and chocolate cake slices were chanting to me, "Pick me! Pick me!" Thus, I took one of each. Alas! The chocolate cake was a major let down. One bite of it, was more than enough. Its texture was too powdery and saturated, much like eating a brownie that was left in the freezer for a long, long time. The cheese cake, was so so. Not bad, as it was quite cheesy yet not overly done till it choked down your throat.



Demona: This, rekindled my memories of Sutera Harbour's Five Sails restaurant. The biggie prawns! With tuna bits and fish roe toppings (they were big in size! I actually felt the roe bursting in my mouth), and one half of a passion fruit beneath the prawn.



Demona: Sashimi! DROOLS. I ate the sashimis, but (Naughty, me) I left the sausage layers beneath them behind. The sashimis were quite thickly sliced, and savoury. I enjoyed them very much.



Demona: Chocolate fondue. JENGJENGJENG. Continuous flow of molten chocolate. Any girl's magic potion to happiness.



Demona: I took two sticks ( strawberries and marshmallows) and dipped them in the magic potion. They tasted briliant! I wished that the chocolate was bitter sweet though. I would have taken a few more sticks then.



Demona: This was the roast lamb with mint leaves. When I saw this, uncut, I imagined it to be aromatic, tender, juicy with a combination of crunchy layered skin. Unfortunately, it was a total opposite! The meat was over cooked. Its texture was rubbery, much like chewing down a gum.



Demona: I am a HUGE fan of broccoli and cauliflower. When I saw this dish, I got all excited thinking that this was a cauliflower, cooked in a unique way. I had never seen it looking like this before. I was totally wrong. It was mashed potato, which tasted like dhall.



Demona: ICE CREAM. ICE CREAM. My eyes widened and gleamed when I saw the ice cream section.



Demona: I took a scoop of vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Tossed in some chocolate chips, almond flakes, and to top it all, I drizzled over some hot chocolate fudge on top of it. The ice cream was so, so smooth. The experience was orgasmic. What else could be better than smooth, sweet ice cream with crunchy chocolate chips, almond flakes fused with hot fudge melting in your mouth?

Being females.. ONCE, is not enough.

HENCE....

HENCE....

HENCE....

HENCE....



Demona: Second round! This time around, I went over to the main buffet section and threw in the macadamia and almond nuts. (These are not cheap, CHIAK MORE!)



Demona: I was not the only kiasu person around. My uncle, who happens to be a all-time fan of nuts, took a plateful of macadamias, almonds, walnuts and cashew nuts, munching away like a chipmunk. He did not realise that I took a shot of his plate.

Verdict: The buffet cost was RM65++/ pax. My aunt managed to pull some strings, hence the cost per head was much cheaper, and we got our parking fees free of charge. The range of food offered in the buffet meal tonight was skewed more towards Indian dishes (more vegetables) because today was Deepavali.

The dishes tasted alright, slightly above average, but the services offered by the restaurant staff made our meal very enjoyable. The manager in charge (Zel) was very friendly and helpful. Every now and then, he dropped by to our room and made small chats, sharing with us about his work experiences. (Maybe we received this great service, was due to the fact that my aunt had spoken to the manager friend of hers the day before). Nevertheless, whatever reasons they could be, Zel and the other restaurant staffs around did made our meal a happy experience.