Situated in the heart of Johor Baru and towering over
Jalan Trus and Jalan Wong Ah Fook, the Suasana Suites Iskandar not only
commands a panoramic view of the city but is also located close to the city’s
heritage quarter.
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| A Tiffin Afternoon Tea set served at Suasana Suites Cafe exclusively on Friday and Saturday afternoons only |
While tourists and visitors to JB may have discovered
some of the popular local snacks and delicacies to eat and buy home as
takeaways, there are still some traditional treats that only locals know about.
Taking this cue from them, the good people at Suasana Suites
Café decided to present these tasty treats all in one place for diners to
savour at leisure in a Tiffin Afternoon Tea set, exclusively – only on Friday
and Saturday afternoons.
So now there is no need to rush, queue or find your
way about the old town because JB’s popular local delicacies are served among
eight items, presented in a charming traditional tiffin carrier and served with
your choice of hot coffee or tea.
 |
| A tiffin carrier hand-painted in a charming lilac shade |
While the
charming tiffin carriers are served to the table, I hear exclamations of
delight as diners admire its colour and designs:
“I like
the Yellow colour!” and “The Orange design looks lovely too…” and they went on
and on…
Tiffin carriers have a proud tradition in our Asian
heritage, and I’m pleased to see that Suasana Suites Café is making use of
limited edition, hand-painted tiffin carriers, a signature product of JEIWA, the short-form for NGO, Johor
Empowerment of Intellectual Women Association.
 |
| A serving of afternoon tea with Chinese Jasmine tea |
It’s also
good to see our local specialties being featured in this charming Tiffin
Weekend Afternoon Tea set which serves two, with a choice of hot beverages like
coffee, English tea, Chinese Jasmine tea or Malaysian Teh Tarik or frothy
pulled tea.
At the
table, the serving staff gently unstacks the tiffin carrier, layer by layer and
reveals the contents inside each delicate bowl.
There are
no rules as to where to start because the spread is made up of both, sweet and
savoury cakes or kueh and local delicacies.
I’m told
that the items may change daily so that diners can savour different types of
local favourites each time they came for a Tiffin tea set here.
 |
| Local delicacies are served from a traditional tiffin carrier |
Looking
closer, I see that there are two portions of every item so that we can have an
equal share to taste every item in this tea set.
Wrapped
in banana leaves for an added fragrance, there is a taste of nostalgia in comfort
food like Nasi Lemak and Mee Siam.
When the
banana leaves are unwrapped, we see that the Nasi Lemak or coconut rice is
topped with sambal and half a hardboiled egg, with a side of toasted peanuts
and anchovies while the Mee Siam or fried rice vermicelli is topped with
sambal and strips of egg omelette.
The local
flavour continues in other items found in a separate bowl from the tiffin
carrier: I can recognise kueh lapis, kueh serimuka, kueh
ketayap and angku kueh.
 |
| Banana leaf-wrapped Nasi Lemak and Mee Siam are among the items in this Tiffin Afternoon tea set |
“Apa ini,
eh?” a Malay colleague asks with curiosity, pointing to the item in a smaller bowl.
This compels
me to share what little I know: It’s Mengkuang Kueh, a Chinese steamed pastry
filled with strips of turnip and dried prawns.
The
filling was originally bamboo shoots but as this is a rare and pricey item, the
makers of this pastry has substituted it with turnip.
This is
served with a side of chilli sauce for diners to enjoy an added zing to its mild
taste.
The two
slices of banana cake in the small bowl really need no introduction because they
are the famous must-have Johor Baru delicacy by Hiap Joo Bakery in the heritage
quarter!
It’s
presence in the Tiffin tea set comfortably completes the delightful afternoon
tea experience at Suasana Suites Café.
 |
| Crispy crackers [Left] exclusively available from Suasana Suites Cafe, can be highly "addictive" so just be warned |
In addition
to the items served from the tiffin carrier, a bag of crispy fish crackers is
served on the side as part of this tea set.
Just ask
the staff to help cut open the sealed bag when you are ready to have a
bite of these popular crispy crackers.
Be warned
that these tasty crisps can be highly “addictive” as you crunch your way
through the bag, and may wish/desire to have more…
Then it’s
good to know that these crackers are also available for sale and takeaways, offered
in two bag sizes. Just ask the friendly staff.
Suasana Suites Café is on Level 33A, the rooftop of Suasana
Suites Iskandar Johor Baru, an all-suites hotel located at No. 82-C Jalan Trus,
80000 Johor Baru.
Advance
booking is required for Tiffin Weekend Afternoon Tea, served only on Friday
and Saturday from 2pm to 5.30pm.
Price at
RM48 nett per set for two persons.
For
reservations, Tel: +607 – 267 0148 Extn: 7717 or +6017 – 283 5226.
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