Buka puasa buffet at Lemon Garden Cafe  – truly ‘istimewa’

The Sajian Istimewa Dinner Buffet for Ramadan at Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur winds its way round the Lemon Garden Café, leading diners to an outdoor bazaar with live warung stations. It’s a pulsating, colourful showcase of the traditional dishes from the different states for a buka puasa repast.

Five chefs at the Bazaar serve up their dishes, each with a tale to tell about its heritage — from Johor, Pahang, Selangor, Perak or Penang.

I love Laksa Johor and Chef Rasyafiq delivers in true Johor tradition a bowl of rich spiced gravy thick with ikan tenggiri and spaghetti, topped with slivers of fragrant bunga kantan and daun kesom. It’s so satisfying.

Next was Pahang Chef Hafiz’s Ikan Patin Masak Tempoyak. The patin fish, found in the rivers of Pahang, is in a savoury and mildly sweet tempoyak or fermented durian curry with coconut milk.

The star of the bazaar is Chef Muhammad Safri’s Kambing Bakar ‘Meletup’. It’s the most delicious and juicy roast lamb I’ve had. The chef, from Selangor, marinates the lamb with a blend of 10 spices (according to a family recipe) for 24 hours before grilling, so that the flavours “explode” on your palate. A turmeric coconut gravy goes with it, as does nasi bryani.

Chef Nahar’s Rendang Tok Daging Tulang Rusuk is a royal dish from Perak. Beef short ribs are slow cooked for eight hours till caramelised in spices, herbs, coconut milk and toasted coconut. It’s beef to be enjoyed with lemang, especially the black pulut one.

Chef Fazriza’s Kuih Bakar Dangai dengan Gula Melaka is an almost lost dessert from Penang. She delivers a toasty treat made with glutinous rice flour, coconut, and Gula Melaka (palm sugar). It’s crispy bites of coconut, touching a soft chewy inside.

Inside Lemon Garden Café, are Malay curries, a variety of kerabu, bubur lambuk, serunding and lemang, among others.

I had a portion of fried kwayteow and winter melon soup from the Chinese section. Here too the array of Chinese dishes, including steamed fish, dimsum and noodles are tempting. The fruit rojak is delish too, with a zesty sauce.

Chilled seafood, pizzas and pasta, cheeses, sushi, sashimi and tandoori dishes also make up the international kitchen inside

But the focus must also be on desserts, like the Onde Onde Cake, Kuih Lopes which I like, other kuih and sago pudding. I tried Kunafa, a Middle Eastern dessert, made of shredded pastry layers and soft milk pudding, drizzled with rose syrup and topped with crushed pistachios, even a Taiwanese style pineapple tart.

Western cakes and pastries are on the buffet, as are towers of macarons, choux pastries and dates. There are also icy treats like ice kacang and cendol

It’s RM260 nett from Monday to Thursday and RM308 nett on Friday, weekend and public holiday.

Enjoy an Early Bird Special with 15% off from now until 9 March 2025. For dining reservations call +603 2786 2378 or email at dining.kl@shangri-la.com