Puttin' On A Middle Eastern Festive Feast, Ritz KL

Puttin’ On A Middle Eastern Festive Feast

Words: Monica Tindall
Photos: Rich Callahan

Amongst the buffets offered over the month of Ramadhan this year, Puttin’ On A Middle Eastern Festive Feast at The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur provides something a little varied from the norm.

While the spread at The Cobalt Room in the hotel does have a selection of must-have local dishes, the highlight here is a showcase of Middle Eastern flavours. Running from April 16th through May 13th, 2021, from 6.30pm to 10pm, the assisted buffet is priced at RM128+ per adult and RM64+ per child. Additionally, there’s a Tuesday deal where three adults can dine for the price of two!

Puttin’ On A Middle Eastern Festive Feast – The Cobalt Room

The Cobalt Room is the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant and set up primarily to host buffets. The space has all the glamour you’d expect of The Ritz with its solid leather chairs, splashes of polished metals, and large geometric-patterned tiled floor. Middle Eastern tunes enliven the atmosphere, and a greeting with qahwah (Arabic coffee) sets the scene.

Puttin on a Middle Eastern Feast — The Cobalt Room

Cold Appetizers

Being a veggie-lover, I am happy to start and finish with appetizers. Hummus and mutabal with flatbread make a fine beginning, followed by fetush salad and a few pickles and olives tossed in.

Hot Appetizers

Carb lovers should be delighted with the hot appetizer section. Mixed fatayer features multi-coloured toppings on unleavened bread, and sambosa are stuffed with veggies. Fasolia Bil Zeit, pinto beans cooked with olive oil, makes a tasty meat-free option. Our top pick today though, is the batata harra; potatoes, capsicum cubes, coriander and garlic fried in olive oil.

Puttin’ On A Middle Eastern Festive Feast – Main Courses

The Middle Eastern menu rotates, offering three hot appetizers and three main courses daily. Although on the evening we dine, there seem to be more than that.

The traditional Syrian ouzi lamb is a highlight, given the chef is Syrian. In fact, you’ll find lots of recipes of Syrian influence here. This lamb is rubbed with a symphony of spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamon. The meat is baked for three hours to achieve optimum tenderness.

Dishes are not only limited to Syrian recipes, but we travel to other parts of the Middle East too. Daoud basha (meatballs in tomato sauce) and kousa bil laban (stuffed zucchini in yoghurt sauce), for example, both hail from Lebanon. Molokhia chicken is a traditional Egyptian preparation, including jute leaves. And, of course, you’ll find kebabs popular across the region.

Local Main Dishes

Local fare supports the Middle Eastern spread, and while it’s not the focus of the buffet, we do see diners making repeat visits to this counter. Rendang daging tok (braised beef in spiced coconut milk), ikan tenggiri asam pedas (mackerel in sour and spicy soup), and the ayam goreng berempah (spiced fried chicken) are all popular picks.

Desserts

Again desserts are composed of both local and Middle Eastern recipes, with the latter showcasing two a day and rotating through a selection of six. We see the awama, deep-fried doughnut balls soaked in syrup and Turkish delight on our visit. Both hubby and Rich take multiple serves of the doughnuts.