A taste of East Meets West

Weekends are better in the Renaissance Johor Baru because Café BLD has earned an enviable reputation for its generous buffet spreads.

A live cooking station for grilling skewers of satay;
Above the flaming grill are whole Smoked Ducks!

Every Friday and Saturday evening in March and April, diners can enjoy an East Meets West dinner buffet at Café BLD.

As its theme implies, the menu served in this buffet will feature dishes that are distinctly Western and traditionally Eastern or Asian.

As I make a quick survey of the buffet, I’m delighted to discover a few fusion items where recipes from the East were creatively meshed with the West.

Meanwhile, regulars at Café BLD are familiar with popular staples like Seafood-on-Ice for fresh scallops, mussels, prawns and crabs to savour with a twist of fresh lime and a range of dip sauces, the Chinese section for soup noodles, dim sum and Chicken Rice, as well as the Japanese section for a selection of sashimi and sushi served with condiments and wasabi.

Fresh ingredients in the Salad Station for DIY Salads

There is also a Salad station for Do-It-Yourself salads to assemble the salad of your choice and drizzle it with your preferred sauce. Alternatively, there is a large salad bowl provided with all the ingredients to toss up your own Classic Caesar’s Salad.

Beside the Soup section, there is a live-cooking station for freshly prepared Pasta in the sauces of your choice – tomato or cream based – and in the spirit of East Meets West, there are also ready-made pasta choices prepared in Asian flavours.

I must say that both these items taste rather agreeable; Tom Yam Pasta topped with a range of seafood like whole prawns and mussels, and Ayam Merah Spaghetti, pasta tossed in local spicy tomato flavor popularly used for Ayam Masak Merah.

Ayam Merah Pasta

While pasta is often considered an Italian food, its origins can be traced back to ancient China where noodles are a staple food item.

In fact, there is a common belief that during Marco Polo’s travels in the 13^th century, he discovered noodles in China and brought its recipe back to Italy. And that was how pasta was created!

Still smiling over this trivia, I discover items in the Western section that include Oven-baked Oysters and Mussels, Chicken Roulade stuffed with potato, flavoured in black pepper sauce, Basil Lamb Goulash and a whole baked Salmon in the Carvery section.

Tom Yam Pasta

More East Meets West choices are prepared in pizza topped with Asian flavours like Lamb Rendang, Beef Rendang, Chicken Tandoori, Shashlik (meat kebabs). 

At the Indian kitchen, I’m impressed by the spread that includes Salmon Head Masala Curry and Railway Mutton Curry to eat with naan breads and Beet Root Briyani.

The Malay kitchen is distinguished by a live-cooking station for grilling skewers of chicken and beef satay with the rising smoke safely cordoned off behind a fiberglass wall and channeled out via an exhaust vent.

Pizza with interesting toppings; Please read the labels!

I pause in front of this smoke-filled cubicle and watch as the chefs fan the flames higher. I follow the flames and looked above the charcoal grill where I spied whole ducks being smoked – Itik Salai – another signature dish to savour!

Among the mouthwatering items here are Nasi Briyani Kambing (Lamb Briyani rice), Ayam Bakar (Grilled chicken) and a very tasty and refreshing Nasi Ulam, rice prepared with a variety of fragrant ulam or kampung greens.

While there is already a generous spread served in the café, I always remind myself not to miss the buffet served at the outdoor live-cooking stations.

Mouthwatering dishes at the Indian kitchen

Outdoors there are seafood and meat choices like marinated whole fish and squid that are grilled, wrapped in sheets of banana leaves for an added fragrance.

A range of fresh seafood are barbecued upon request and savoured with a choice of local spicy sauces.

Still outdoors, I did not forget to head to the station for local desserts like durian rolls wrapped in crispy batter and served freshly fried. 

Back indoors, the large dessert section offers a wide selection of sweet choices from fresh cut-fruits, ice-cream with toppings, local shaved ice with condiments, warm broths, as well as cakes, pastries and local cakes or kuih, including a live-cooking station for kuih ketayap, pancakes rolls stuffed with grated coconut flavoured with Gula Melaka or palm sugar.

Freshly grilled seafood and meats at the outdoor section

The East Meets West theme continues here in two interesting desserts; Cheesecake topped with a layer of Gula Melaka and Chendol, green threads of flour in a popular local dessert, and Doughnuts coated with spicy sambal!

As in most buffet spreads, the menu will rotate to serve a wide variety of dishes that reflect the East Meets West theme.

From now till end April the East Meets West Weekend Buffet happens every Friday and Saturday from 6.30pm to 10pm. Priced at RM120.75 nett per adult.

Café BLD is on the lobby level of Renaissance Johor Baru, at No. 2 Jalan Permas 11, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, 81750 Johor Baru, Johor.

For reservations and enquiries, Tel: +607 – 381 3322 or +6017 – 771 3327.