Weekend High Tea indulgence at Causeway Cafe

It’s the weekend again and with the coming festive season, the mall was packed with a throng of shoppers, many just window-shopping while some were seriously shopping.

 

Diners at the entrance of Causeway Cafe,
located within St Giles Southkey

Weekend shopping is fun but with a long shopping list, it was often quite a rush to complete everything at one go.

 

So, it was good to take a break from browsing – and rest my tired feet – to indulge in a leisurely lunch at the Causeway Café, the all-day dining café in St Giles Southkey.

 

It was easy to find the entrance to St Giles Southkey by following the signages that pointed to its lobby, located on the Ground Level of the Mid Valley Southkey Mall.

 

A section of diners in Causeway Cafe

When the elevator doors opened on Level Six of the hotel, I was greeted by a queue of diners who were waiting for their turn to reach the entrance to the café.

 

I craned my neck and spied members of the kitchen team who were putting the finishing touches to the buffet spread and this queue, inching its way into the café, just increased my anticipation of the meal I would be enjoying at leisure here.

 

At a glance, I saw popular local and international dishes in the spread that ranged from soups and salads, sandwiches and bread rolls to savour with a choice of cheeses, Chinese dim sum and fried snacks like Cucur Ikan Bilis, Curry Puffs and Samosas.

 

A section of the buffet spread in Causeway Cafe

There were also sections that served Chinese, Western and Japanese cuisine and live-cooking stations for Noodles and Teppanyaki Hotplate items.

 

A peek at the Noodles Station revealed that it served a choice of Noodles in Chicken Emperor Soup and Assam Laksa.

 

Meanwhile, I observed diners making a beeline to the Japanese section to help themselves to a range of sushi and sashimi (within a chiller!) along with complimentary condiments of Japanese soup and salads.

 

Sushi and sashimi served at the Japanese section

In a separate section, Japanese dishes that were served under a warmer included Tempura Prawns, Vegetables and Crabmeat, Chicken Katsu, Saba Fish Fillets and Okonomiyaki.

 

For diners who must eat rice, there was steamed white rice to enjoy with a range of Asian specialties in the hot buffet.

 

There was Mixed Vegetable braised with Garlic Oyster Sauce, Beef Briyani, Buttermilk Chicken, Squid Sambal, and Lamb Tandoori topped with Mint Yogurt.

 

Juicy barbecued Lamb Balls

At the Western section, I read the label, Firecracker Sausages, next to the sausage rolls and thought this name was rather interesting as it was reminiscent of something rather explosive…

 

These sausages were in the section for Western cuisine, along with Pasta Aglio Olio and other mouth-watering items like Softshell Crab to savour with Spicy Chilly Coriander Dip, Barbecued Lamb Balls and Nut Breaded Chicken Fingers to enjoy with Chilli-Mayo Dip.

 

Hot buffet in Western section

As diners helped themselves to their favourite items, I was pleased to observe that the kitchen staff was alert to replenish the buffet items and ensured that there was always food to serve to the next diners.

 

It was also good to see coffee dispensers located in strategic spots around the dining hall for diners to help themselves to their choice of hot coffee brews.

 

Mmm… a hot cuppa was just right with a nibble of dessert at the end of a leisurely buffet meal such as this.

 

In addition to cakes and pastries, there were tarts, puffs, puddings and local sweet treats like Roti Bengali to dip into Bubur Durian (I could smell it from afar!)

 

Be prepared to wait in an orderly
 queue to enter the Causeway Cafe

For something cool and refreshing, diners can have fun creating icy treats using a range of ingredients topped with shaved ice.

 

Comfortably full from indulging in this high tea buffet spread, it was best to walk off the extra calories. And there was no better way than to head on back into the mall to continue with more browsing around and shopping for the best buys.

 

This Weekend High Tea Buffet is served from 12pm to 4pm at the Causeway Café on Saturday and Sunday from November 2022 until further notice.

 

Rate at RM88 nett per adult and RM44 nett per child aged six to 12 years.  

 

For every two (2) paying adults, one (1) child eats for Free.

 

Make your payment with Maybank Cards to enjoy 15% off your bill.

 

Causeway Café on Level Six of St Giles Southkey is located within Mid Valley Southkey Mall at No. 1 Persiaran Southkey 1, Kota Southkey. 80150 Johor Baru, Johor.

 

For reservations, Tel: +6016 662 9321 or email to fnb.skjb@stgiles-hotels.com.

For more info, visit webpage: www.stgileshotels.com/st-giles-southkey

Weekday buffet lunch at Spice Kitchen

 

I was last at the Spice Kitchen in 2019 for my taste experience of chaat, a pure vegetarian Indian street food and a refreshing but filling snack popular in North India that locals would eat on-the-go.

 

It was good to be back at Spice Kitchen again

Spice Kitchen, a restaurant renowned for their menu of Indian, Indian-Chinese and Thai cuisine, had set up a live-cooking station dedicated to serving freshly-made chaat.

 

More than two years had since passed so I was delighted to receive a call from Sumit Kumar recently with an invitation to experience the buffet lunch at Spice Kitchen on Tuesday.

 

He shared with me that Spice Kitchen had launched their weekday lunch buffet in early 2020 and it was doing very well until the global pandemic compelled the restaurant to cease operations temporarily as the nation went into lockdown.

 

A section of the dining hall in Spice Kitchen

That Tuesday as Sumit welcomed me into Spice Kitchen again, my thought was, “It was good to be back again.”

 

I believe this sentiment was echoed by regulars who frequent the Spice Kitchen for a familiar taste of good North Indian cuisine.

 

From the way some tables were grouped together, I guessed that these were for group diners and Sumit confirmed that one was a reservation by a group who chose to dine here almost every week.

 

The live station that serves
freshly-made chaat

He explained that as the economy reopened, people were back at work in the offices located within Wisma S P Setia. So (I privately thought!) this accounted for the full carpark and a good crowd in the restaurant, seeking a tasty business lunch.

 

Early diners were already trickling in as Sumit escorted me around the buffet to show me the various sections laid out for Appetizers, Salad, Curries, Rice and Dessert while Naan and Chaat, he said, will be freshly made at the live stations.

 

While it was not a huge range, I thought this spread was just right for a weekday lunch. The menu will change daily so that regulars can savour a different choice of dishes even if they dined here every weekday.

 

I recognised the familiar sight of plump Delhi Samosa next to the Kolkata Fish Cutlets and the Dry Cauliflower Manchurian among the appetizers just made my mouth water because it was an all-time favourite for many.

 

The live station that serves freshly-baked
breads with the Dessert counter in front

In the fresh salad section, there were fresh ingredients like lettuce, cucumber, mango and tomatoes with dressings choices of Apple Cider Vinegar, Lemon Garlic, Cream Basil and Honey Ginger for diners to create our own salad.

 

I was getting impatient to discover what else was served in the hot buffet and was delighted to see that there was Briyani Rice to savour with gravies like Chicken Butter Masala, Chicken Vindaloo Curry, Keema Matar, Dry Chilly Chicken, Sweet & Sour Fish fillets, Chicken Tandoor Kebabs and Roasted Chilly Eggs.

 

A serving of Sev Puri Chaat

Assured that the Spice Kitchen always used fresh ingredients to prepare their dishes, I helped myself to small portions to enjoy the individual flavours.

 

Each item was so full of flavour and I only tasted a hint of spicy-hot in the Chicken Vindaloo.

 

While I was happily distracted by the fragrance from the food, Sumit offered to serve freshly-made Butter Naan and Garlic Naan to my table so that I could savour the breads with gravies like Dal Tarka, Palak Paneer and Kadai Vegetables.

 

Diners helping themselves
to items in the hot buffet

When the traditional breads were served, I was reminded to save some space for the chaat that was being freshly prepared in the live station.

 

The Sev Puri Chaat was a serving of six tiny deep-fried puri stuffed with refreshing ingredients.

 

Sumit smiled widely when he heard me telling my lunch partners that the way to eat the sev puri was to pop the entire puri in the mouth to experience an explosion of flavours.

 

My friends were familiar with the Japanese way of eating sushi – by putting the entire sushi in the mouth – so they were ready to eat the whole puri in one mouthful.

 

Small portions to savour each flavour

It was their first taste of chaat and when they found it rather agreeable, just wished that they had more space in their stomachs to order another round of the same…

 

There was still dessert to enjoy and it was good to help myself to portions of familiar sweet items like Gulab Jamun, Kesari, Carrot Rice Kheer and Ras Malai, milk solids soaked in clotted cream and flavoured with cardamom.

 

This weekday buffet lunch is served from Monday to Friday, 11.30am to 3pm.

 

Tasty gravies to enjoy with naan bread

Rate at only RM39++ for single diner and RM69++ for two diners.

 

The Spice Kitchen [Halal] is located at No. S3-0120, on the ground level of Wisma S P Setia, Jalan Indah 13, Taman Bukit Indah, 81200 Johor Baru, Johor.

 

Convenient car-parking facilities available in the nearby Lotus’s Bukit Indah carpark.

 

For reservations, Tel: +607 – 237 3311 and +6012 788 4047.

Taste the world at the Global Taste Fiesta

 

Do you know that Qatar, the host country for FIFA World Cup 2022, is the first host country that had never played in the World Cup before?

 

Well, now you know.

 

Get a taste of salads prepared from recipes
popular in nations around the world

As this will be the first World Cup tournament hosted in an Arab nation, Chef Harmandah who specializes in Middle-Eastern cuisine, was inspired to create an exciting menu that highlights the cuisine of the Arab nations in the Global Taste Fiesta served at Dine@Eight in the Holiday Inn Johor Baru City Centre.

 

The Global Taste Fiesta dinner buffet presented on Friday and Saturday evenings, will offer diners a taste of some 70 popular dishes from 16 countries in the world.

 

It was a wonderful opportunity to discover items – both familiar and new to me – from soups and salads to items in the hot buffet and delightful desserts that will let me have a taste of food from various nations.

 

Chef at the Shawarma 
live station

When I made a quick survey of the buffet spread, I was pleased to read the labels arranged next to the dishes, designed with a small flag, to inform and educate diners about its country of origin.

 

As I looked at the collection of flags, I thought this was also a good way to get acquainted with the national flags of countries from around the world.

 

At the Salad Bar, there was a selection of salad recipes like Insalata Caprese and Caponata Salad from Italy, Tzatziki and Roasted Pepper Salad from Greece, Cob Salad from Spain, Eggplant Salad from Morocco, Luke-warm Prawn Salad from the United Kingdom, Spring Rolls from Vietnam, Pecel from Indonesia and Malaysia’s own Rojak Buah or fruit salad served with peanut sauce.

 

Freshly-made naan in
tandoor oven

A choice of hot soups included Red Lentil Soup, a popular soup in Turkey and Cyprus, Italian Seafood Minestrone and our Malaysian Sup Daging Berempah.

 

Local diners may be familiar with Italian pasta served with a swirl of cheese in the Grand Padano cheese wheel but it was good to see a wide choice of pasta – from spaghetti, penne, fettucine, farfalle, tagliatelle, fusilli to vermiglioni – to pick from to mix with Alfredo or Pomodoro sauces and toppings.

 

Another live cooking station was the Tandoor and Shawarma section where chefs were preparing to bake traditional breads in the tandoor oven and serving freshly-baked naan with Tandoori Chicken or slices of Chicken Shawarma complemented by a choice of sauces and condiments.

 

Nearby, the Cotton Candy station offered a fascinating experience of watching how multi-coloured cotton candy was created and served on a stick.

 

A wide choice of pasta to pick from at the
Grand Padano Pasta Station

It was interesting to discover dishes in the hot buffet like Al-Kabsa, a traditional rice and chicken dish from Saudi Arabia, Russian Beef Stroganoff, Coffee Lamb from Taiwan, Egyptian Bamia Basti – an okra and meat stew, Korean Dak Gang Jeong – sweet, crispy fried chicken, Kashmiri Gaadh – a fish dish from Pakistan, along with Chinese dishes like Tri-Colour Steamed Eggs and Dry Butter Prawns and Malaysian Nangka Masak Lemak or Jackfruit braised in coconut milk.

 

A chef at the Carving Station helped to serve cuts of oven-baked Leg of Lamb with Briyani Rice for diners to savour with a range of sauces.

 

Twirl and whirl an umbrella
of cotton candy!

At the Kids’ Corner, all-time favourites served include Chicken Nuggets, Mozzarella Cheese Sticks, Cheesy Wedges and Grilled Chicken Sausages for the kids and all who are young-at-heart.

 

There was a choice of hot coffee or tea to enjoy with a sweet selection of desserts that have their origin in Greece, Turkey, Italy, Greece, France, Spain and Morocco.

 

It was easy to identify Turkish delights like Baklava, Halva and Baked Pumpkin with Tahini, cups of Italian Tiramisu and Crème Brulee, a French favourite.

 

This array of desserts continued with assorted cut fruits, small cakes and pastries, and sticks of cut fruits and marshmallows to dip into a chocolate fountain.

 

Choices of delightful desserts

So come, taste the world at the Global Taste Fiesta weekend dinner spread served every Friday and Saturday from 6pm to 10pm at Dine@Eight.

 

Rate at RM128 nett per person with a Buy Five-Free One deal, 50% off for children aged six to 12 years and 30% off for seniors aged 60 years and above.

 

IHG One Rewards members will enjoy 20% discount.

 

Dine@Eight is on Level Eight, the lobby level of Holiday Inn Johor Baru City Centre, located in Johor Baru City Centre Mall, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, 80000 Johor Baru, Johor.

 

For reservations, Tel: +607 207 8888 or +6011 3603 3163.

 

Catch the World Cup fever at The Lobby Lounge which will be transformed into a sports bar from Nov 20 to Dec 18, and open from 6pm to 6am to celebrate the FIFA World Cup season with a one-for-one beverage promotion all night long for only RM35.

 

Watch your favourite teams in action on big screens and enjoy snack bites presented in creatively themed names like Free-Kick Chilli Con Carne, Saved Akkawi Manakish, Beef Shawarma Hattrick, Mid-fielder Truffle Chilli Fries, Defenders Honey Chicken Wings and of course, the World Cup Champion Platter.

 

For more information, visit the Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre official Facebook and Instagram pages for holidayinnjbcc or website: holidayinn.com/johorbahru

Happy LEGO Birthday dear Jamieson

 

Jamieson, my grand-nephew in the UK, celebrated his seventh birthday recently but before that important date, his grandmother, my sister Pearly, made a video call to me on October 27 to let me witness the moment when she presented the LEGO gift to him.

 

Receiving my LEGO prize at
the Build the Thrills Festival in April 2022

Even though we are separated by distance, video calls have kept families in touch and my sister felt that it was important for her grandson to know that the LEGO gift came all the way from Johor Baru in Malaysia, presented from me (and let him make the connection visually!) to him for his birthday.

 

Later, I received a photograph (captured by Melanie, my niece!) of Pearly with her two grandchildren while they were on this phone-video call with me.

 

Pearly was holding up the LEGO gift box while Jamieson was by her side and his sister, Thea, was mischievously doing a close-up with me on the screen!

 

That's me holding the LEGO
trophy as the top prize winner!

LEGO has been part of our lives for generations. Since my brother started playing with LEGO, my nephews here and in the UK, also enjoyed LEGO. And now my grand-nephew also enjoys LEGO.

 

And when Legoland Malaysia Resort opened in Iskandar Malaysia, I had the privilege of being part of the history of the park that started with witnessing the Groundbreaking ceremony for its construction to the first day the park opened to welcome the public.

 

Since its inception, I had observed how the park developed as I accepted invitation after invitation to the introduction of each new attraction in the park as well as to a host of exciting events annually.

 

When the park reopened in April 2022 after two challenging years due to the global pandemic and resulting lockdowns, I was delighted to join the happy crowd at Legoland Malaysia Resort again for the Build the Thrills festival.

 

My sister Pearly, holding the LEGO
gift with Jamieson while his sister,
Thea, has a close-up with me!

This festival was designed with activities that featured sports cars and the team, dressed in sports racing outfits, presented an energetic Live show on the stage.

 

Upon arrival, we were invited to drop our name-cards at the registration counter and I guessed that this was for the usual record purposes after the Lucky Draw.

 

At the close of the thrilling show, the announcement said that there were two Lucky Draws, one for the media and the other for their guests.

 

I never win anything at Lucky Draws so I did not pay much attention as the draw was in progress… until I heard my name being called out as the winner for the top prize!

 

Cheered on by the crowd, it was a rush of adrenalin that sent me up to the stage to receive my LEGO prize from Legoland Malaysia Resort, Divisional Director, C S Lim.

 

Someone placed a giant trophy made of LEGO in my hands and because it was impossible for me to hold this trophy and my prize – and stand on the podium at the same time – they put my prize on the ground while I posed for a photo memento.

 

Four-year-old Jamieson with a
giant LEGO ice-cream cone at
Legoland Windsor in 2019

A glance at the cover design on the box prize showed me that it was a LEGO version of the DeLorean DMC-12, the car/time machine featured in Back to the Future, one of the best movie cars of all time.

 

While I read from the side of the box that this LEGO box set was for ages 18+ my first thought was to send it to Jamieson and let his dad, my nephew Jamie, help him fix it.

 

[A very long time ago, Jamie and his sister, had their LEGO experience at Legoland Denmark when they travelled with their parents from the UK by overnight boat, then by coach and enjoyed a hotel stay for a most memorable Legoland holiday.

 

In fact, Jamie fondly recalled that he came back with a LEGO fire rescue boat that could float!]

 

Jamieson and Thea enjoying
painting fun with grandmother

When Jamie became a father, he shared his love for LEGO with his son and I still have a cute photograph of Jamieson received in May 2019 – when he was aged four – standing next to a giant LEGO ice-cream cone when they visited Legoland Windsor.

 

Jamie brought his family to Legoland Windsor quite a number of times because it was close to where they live and entry was Free-of-Charge for kids under age two.

 

With my decision to present this LEGO prize to Jamieson, the next challenge was to find a way to send it to him in the UK.

 

While waiting for a solution to this dilemma, I wrapped the LEGO prize and stored it away carefully.

 

Then in August 2022, cousin Bernice and family who live in Wimbledon, came to visit us and I seized the opportunity to ask if she could please help carry this LEGO box back to the UK for me.

 

Jamieson started on his LEGO
project since 7am on Saturday

All I needed was her help to pack this box in her luggage and take it back to the UK… Then I would arrange for my sister or nephew to collect it from her.

 

When Bernice saw the LEGO box, she gasped, not only because of its size but also because of its weight.

 

I was relieved when she agreed to carry it back for me and when she was packing to leave for the UK, she asked if it was OK with her opening the box and packing its contents away and then folding the box flat to carry in her luggage.

 

I agreed without hesitation, aware that she was a seasoned traveller who would pack everything carefully and knows best, how to reconstruct this bulky box when it arrived safely there.

 

Having entrusted this gift for Jamieson into her good hands, I was more than pleased that my LEGO prize was on its way to a young man who would have fun fixing it with the help of his dad, in a wonderful father-and-son bonding time.

 

I do not remember when this gift was collected from Bernice but I knew that it was already safely there for Jamieson.

 

So when I received the video call from my sister on October 27, I was delighted to witness the official presentation of this gift to Jamieson who (I was told later) was more than ready to start on the LEGO project.

 

I remember telling Jamieson to show it to his dad and get some help from him… but this energetic boy could not sit still long enough for me to complete the sentence… so I just wondered how much he heard what I was saying.

 

Jamieson with his LEGO 
DeLorean DMC-12 car with two
LEGO figures, completed by 5pm

Among other things, he was trying to show me his new set of teeth – now growing back – after he had lost his milk teeth.

 

Later I was told that on October 29, Jamieson read the instructions and was determined to start the LEGO project on his own from 7am that morning, pause for breakfast and continued on till 10am.

 

Jamieson worked on his project in the following hours and his dad told me the youngster did almost all of it by himself. In fact, Jamie only stepped in a couple of times when his son needed to correct things or fit in bits that he missed.

 

By 5pm that day, Jamieson had assembled his LEGO DeLorean DMC-12 Time Machine that comes with two LEGO figures that represent the characters played by Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd in the Back to the Future series of movies. Yay!

 

It was indeed a commendable effort for this seven-year-old boy because the info printed on the LEGO box said that this set was for ages 18+

 

“Well done and Happy Birthday, Jamieson!”