Lunar Afternoon Tea at Hyatt Place

 

Johor Bahru folks may recall that there once was a Hyatt Regency here but do they know that the Hyatt brand has now returned to Johor in the Hyatt Place Johor Bahru?

 

The happy culinary team at
Hyatt Place Johor Bahru

Ever since I witnessed the signing ceremony between the Hyatt Group and WCT Holdings in 2019, I eagerly anticipated the opening of the Hyatt Place Johor Bahru that will provide visitors with a relaxed, quality hotel experience in a prime leisure, entertainment, retail and dining hub like Paradigm Mall Johor Bahru.

 

Building construction was in gradual progress above the mall and when the Hyatt Place Johor Bahru was ready to welcome guests, a hotel entrance was opened on the Ground level within the mall where an elevator conveniently links the mall to the hotel on Level Seven.

 

Hotel entrance by elevator on
the Ground level of
Paradigm Mall Johor Bahru

This hotel is part of the property’s integrated development plan that features 202 guest rooms, café, outdoor swimming pool, 24-hour fitness centre and meeting space that offer casual hospitality and purposeful service in a smartly designed, high-tech and contemporary environment.

 

I have always liked hotels that are linked to shopping malls because the shopper in me enjoyed shopping at leisure before dropping off my shopping in the room and then returning to the mall to browse around for more best buys…

 

Meanwhile, I followed the hotel’s driving directions to the carpark within the mall and made my way to On Seven Bistro to join the media preview for the Lunar Afternoon Tea hosted here.

 

Well into the festive mood, the good people at Hyatt Place kicked off the event with a traditional Yee Sang prosperity toss topped with curls of Smoked Salmon.

 

A range of TWG tea to enjoy with
the Lunar Afternoon Tea set

While we were there to preview the Lunar Afternoon Tea, our hosts also wanted us to sample some of the dishes curated by the culinary team in their Lunar New Year Eve buffet spread that blends traditional flavours with modern culinary creativity.

 

This sumptuous spread for the festive celebration will include a range of dishes with auspicious significance like Beef Kung Pow, Butter Oatmeal Prawns, Sesame Duck with Orange Sauce, Deep-fried Fish Fillet in Nyonya Sauce, Broccoli and Black Mushrooms and Baked Mussels in Black Bean Sauce.

 

While waiting for the Lunar Afternoon Tea set to be served, we helped ourselves to the choices of freshly-brewed tea from the TWG collection and coffee selections from the dispenser.

 

The Lunar Afternoon Tea set

I liked that this Afternoon Tea set comes with free-flow of coffee and tea so I had the opportunity to enjoy various fine tea choices like the Emperor Sencha, Marrakech Mint Fresh, Jasmine Queen and White Sky Tea.  

 

When it was presented, the two-tier afternoon tea tray, decorated with spring blossoms in pretty pink, exuded a festive charm that matched with the season.

 

The tea tray comprised a mix of savoury and sweet cakes and pastries with side items of a fresh fruit platter – including auspicious Mandarin oranges – and bingsu, a refreshing Korean icy treat.

 

While the cakes and pastries presented on the tea tray may vary from day-to-day, I was pleased to savour a range of sweet and savoury items in small delectable portions.

 

There are really no rules about where to begin but I prefer to start with the savoury and end with the sweet.

 

A serving of bingsu, a Korean icy treat

So I worked my way through the croissant stuffed with tuna-mayo, followed by the mini chicken pie and continued with the scone that came with strawberry jam.

 

Between sips of tea, I enjoyed nibbles of Nyonya kueh of Seri Muka and Red-Bean layered cake before tasting two traditional Angku kueh, a tortoise-shaped cake, one stuffed with mashed mung beans and the other with red bean paste.

 

The taste of tradition continued with deep-fried Nian Gao layered with slices of sweet potato. This sticky rice cake, also known as Kueh Bakul, is a festive favourite.

 

Deep-fried Nian Gao layered
with slices of sweet potato

As I sank my teeth into this festive delicacy, my thoughts flashed to the traditional origins of this sweet, sticky rice cake which traditional Chinese families made to offer to the kitchen god, near the end of the lunar year.

 

They believed that the kitchen god will return to heaven at year-end to make a report to the god of heaven. So the aim of this sticky rice cake was to seal the lips of the kitchen god and prevent him from making any report about them, probably because that family was more naughty than nice!

 

Our leisurely afternoon tea experience continued with lively conversation over freshly-baked cup cakes and cubes of Red Velvet cake, Blueberry Cheesecake and Chocolate Tarts, washed down with hot tea.

 

The Lunar Afternoon Tea experience is available from January 15 to 28, served daily from 12pm to 5pm. Priced at RM88 nett per set for two persons with free flow of coffee and tea.

 

Priced at RM128 nett per set, Yee Sang at On Seven Bistro is available for dine-in and takeaway, with orders required two days in advance.

 

The Lunar New Year Eve dinner buffet will be served on January 28, from 6.30pm to 10pm. Priced at RM168 nett per adult and RM84 nett per child (aged 12 and below) with 20% off for bookings made through TableCheck.

 

For further info and reservations, Tel: +607 291 1234, WhatsApp Tel: +607 291 1294 or email to: hyattplacejb@hyatt.com. Visit webpage: hyattplace.com and official pages on Facebook and Instagram.