Sashimi platter at Melting Pot Cafe’s weekend dinner buffet with tuna and butter fish among the selection. — Photos: GLENN GUAN/ The Star
The hotel where Michael Jackson stayed and long queues at weekend supper buffets.
These are some things Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, which opened in 1990, will always be remembered for.
The suite hosting the late King of Pop when he performed at Merdeka Stadium in 1996 as part of the HIStory World Tour, has been named after him.
The butler who was assigned to take care of the star, Badrul Hisham, is still with the hotel. He is now the safety and security director.
However, some things have changed.
The weekend buffet which was popular with the late night dining crowd and partygoers was discontinued in 2015.
Taking its place is the weekend dinner buffet at Melting Pot Cafe headed by new executive chef Adriano Teng.
Diners will find many of the hotel’s signature and favourite dishes in the line up.
One is the fragrant chicken rice with its heady aroma.
We were told that the recipe requires the use of rendered chicken fat, sauteed with garlic, shallots and screwpine leaves.
Seafood on ice with prawns and buttery New Zealand oysters.
The prawn noodle is also a winner with its deeply flavoured broth.
Made with roasted prawn shells and dried shrimp, it goes through a triple reduction process.
Choice of garnishes include large, shelled tiger prawns, lightly boiled to maintain their sweet, succulent texture.
Another signature dish – rendang tok – features sirloin cuts with toasted desiccated coconut blended into a paste and finely chopped turmeric leaves.
This meat dish also pairs well with the selection of house-made bread at the soup station.
The pumpkin soup, which uses a base of pure chicken stock, is a personal favourite.
The chicken pies with shortcrust pastry is likened to the consistency of buttery scones, and goes very well with the soup’s earthy sweetness.
The baked salmon with spinach in filo pastry and roasted leg of lamb are the main draws in the Western section.
For flavour, the lamb leg has some 16 garlic bulbs buried in the flesh.
It is then marinated overnight in Dijon mustard, rosemary and thyme, before going into the oven for no longer than 90 minutes at 160°C – ensuring that under the heating lamp, the flesh retains its juiciness.
Among the desserts served at the buffet is carrot cake.
The seafood aglio olio pasta, with mussels standing upright in their shells, also clamours for attention, while you should not miss the pan-fried lamb shoulder served with button and shiitake mushrooms.
According to Teng, the highlights of the buffet are in the selection of seafood on ice, Japanese sashimi and live barbecue station offering a choice of freshly grilled stingray, yellowtail scad, salmon and mini chicken and lamb steaks.
Do not be fooled by the thin flesh of the shucked New Zealand oysters as they have a buttery flavour with slight salty hints.
To ensure only the freshest local ingredients are served, Teng makes it a point to visit Selayang wholesale market just as the fish is offloaded at the delivery bays, which is around 11pm.
Over at the dessert counter, diners will find the hotel’s top selling cakes.
These include carrot cake, burnt matcha cheesecake and Charlotte Symphony.
Fresh fruits are also available for the health conscious.
The theme of the weekend dinner buffet is pairing good food with good live music.
The latter is served by Concorde Hotel’s in-house Batak strolling band, Bergema 5.
The long-serving Bergema 5 entertaining diners.
The band, just like the signature dishes, has been with the establishment since its opening and has performed for prime ministers as well as royalty.
The weekend dinner buffet, from 6.30pm to 10pm, Fridays and Saturdays, is priced at RM142.80nett for adults and RM84nett for children aged six to 11.
There is no charge for children aged five and under.
For birthday celebrations, a complimentary cake comes with a booking for 20 guests.
MELTING POT CAFE, Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Ismail. (Tel: 03-2717 2233) Business hours: 6.30am to midnight.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
