Good
food certainly brings people together and from my preview experience, I can say
that the Christmas Eve dinner buffet spread at Café BLD has all the festive
trimmings for family bonding over familiar food.
While
Café BLD has earned a strong reputation for serving grand buffets that feature
a choice of cuisine that ranges from Malaysian favourites, European staples of
salads, pizza and pasta to Japanese sushi, as well as a selection of delightful
desserts, I was pleased that the culinary team headed by Executive Chef
Syafiffi Tahir, have worked hard to ensure that the buffet spreads here remained
consistently good.
Carollers sharing the spirit of Christmas with
songs, at the lobby of Renaissance Johor Bahru
Speaking
of desserts, my eyes were locked onto the attractive display at the dessert
corner that showcased traditional Yule Log Cakes, Christmas Tree Cake, Fruit
Mince Pies, Chocolate Tarts and Strawberry Bavarols, among other sweet treats.
So
much attention to detail went into creating the Christmas Macaron Tower and
Éclair Tower that stood tall against the towering cone of colourful
Croqembouche Profiterols. I just thought that it would be a pity to destroy the
display (later!) when I plucked out an éclair or two.
A colourful tower of
Croqembouche Profiterols
Credit
must go to Pastry Chef Shahrul Mazlan and his team for their effort in creating
trays upon trays of cupcakes, pastries and puddings that were not only pleasing
to the eye but also pleasing to the palate of discerning diners.
When
I was told that the carollers have arrived, I had to tear myself away from the
dessert corner and headed to the front lobby where this group were assembled in
front of the Christmas tree, all set to spread the spirit of Christmas by
singing a repertoire of familiar Christmas carols.
The
carollers from St Joseph Church in Plentong, Johor, were a choir of youngsters
who joyfully belted out traditional hymns and popular Christmas songs.
All eyes on the lighted-up
Christmas tree in the lobby
The
excitement went up a few notches when children among the guests were invited to
gather around the Christmas tree for the countdown to the lighting-up of the
tree.
“Five-four-three-two-one!”
everyone counted loudly in unison. And when the button was pressed for the
lighting-up of the tall Christmas tree, balloons rained down from the ceiling,
much to the delight of guests gathered in the lobby.
While
the carollers continued singing, I joined diners at Café BLD to savour a taste
of Christmas specialties that started with appetizers and salads.
This
included delicate morsels of Spicy Tuna Tartare Vol-Au-Vents, Eggplant stuffed
with Ratatouille and Cheese and for connoisseurs of blue cheese (like me!) a
Steak & Blue Cheese Bruschetta with onion and roasted tomato jam.
...and balloons rained down from the ceiling
Fans
of Cold Cuts can look forward to the spread that features slices of salmon,
duck, chicken and roasted turkey as well as chicken pastrami and beef bresaola,
while cheese lovers will enjoy the choice of cheese to savour with crackers and
condiments like pickles and preserved fruits.
In
the carving station, there was traditional, whole rotisserie turkey, whole
roasted lamb, grilled prime beef and baked whole salmon with herbs.
Carving a traditional,
whole roasted turkey
I
was pleased to see that these meats were complimented by a range of vegetables
like slices of maple cinnamon roasted pumpkin, roasted Brussel Sprouts,
caramelized onions, chestnuts and button mushrooms, roasted in garlic herbs
butter. Such seasonal vegetables well complimented the Christmas buffet spread.
To
add more flavour to the meats, there was a range of sauces to choose from. It
was good to read the labels that indicated selections like Black Pepper sauce,
Truffle sauce, Citrus Cranberry sauce, Giblet sauce, Mint Jelly, Lemon Butter
sauce, and a choice of mustard and horseradish toppings.
Fans
of Seafood-on-Ice will be pleased that Café BLD has maintained this icy spread
that served items like whole prawns, crab claws, crab legs, cray fish, mussels,
oysters and scallops to enjoy, dipped in various sauces.
A generous spread of Cold Cuts
In
the hot buffet, there were dishes like Chicken Roulade, Seared Seabass, Oyster
Mornay, Four-Cheese pizza slices and Vegetable Lasagna.
From
tasting Italian favourites like pizza and lasagna, diners may go on to pick
their choices of pasta, ingredients, condiments and sauces at the live pasta
station to make their own serving of freshly-made pasta dish.
This
live station is located in the outdoor section along with the stall that serves
Seafood Paella, rich with flavours from chunks of fish, mussels, prawns and
squid.
A choice of pasta from this live-station
Nearby,
a stall serves Mexican nachos in choices of plain, paprika or salt & pepper
nachos and sweet potato chips, for diners to savour with condiments like
guacamole, sour cream, nacho cheese sauce or mayo, topped with lettuce slices,
cranberry tomato salsa, mango salsa or turkey bolognaise.
Going
from savoury to sweetness, I did not miss the stall for sticks of sugary-coated
churros where diners may drizzle with choices of sauces like caramel, chocolate
and/or vanilla ice-cream and sprinkles of chocolate rice.
The
sweetness went on (back!) at the dessert corner where diners may help
themselves to treats dipped in the chocolate fountain, and pick from a range of
Christmas cookies and candies to munch with hot beverages like coffee and tea.
Diners helping themselves to food
items at the Japanese cuisine section
Oh!
Did I mention that there was also soft-serve ice-cream from a dispenser as well
as assorted ice-cream potong from the freezer?
Popular
thirst-quenching Malaysian flavours continued with shaved ice treats at the
Do-It-Yourself counter for Ais Batu Campur or ABC. Diners may pick
ingredients like cendol, grass jelly, longan, lychee, sea coconut, creamy sweet
corn, sago pearls among other items to add to their mountain of sweetened shaved
ice.
The
carollers, who sang a number of carols inside the café, added to the Christmas
cheer and later, a young man dressed in Santa’s outfit, distributed sweets and
lollipops to diners at our tables.
The
REN Christmas Eve Dinner Buffet will be served at Café BLD on Christmas Eve, December
24, priced at RM208 nett per person.
Then
on Christmas Day, December 25, Café BLD offers the REN Christmas Lunch Buffet
priced at RM158 nett per person while the REN Christmas Dinner Buffet that
evening is priced at RM198 nett per person.
For
reservations and enquiries, Tel: +607 – 381 3333 or +6017 – 771 3327.
Café
BLD is located on the Ground Level of Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel, No. 2
Jalan Permas 11, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, 81750 Masai, Johor.
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