A Taste of Thai Temptations this June

 

This June, you can take a weekend trip to Thailand without leaving the city.

 

“How lah?” you ask in disbelief.

 

Mango Sticky Rice, a familiar Thai dessert

All you have to do is to step into Dine@Eight Restaurant at the Holiday Inn Johor Baru City Centre for the Thai Temptations buffet dinner served on Friday and Saturday evenings, only for this June.

 

Your Thai culinary adventure begins as you are warmly welcomed with, “Sawasdee,” [pronounced, Sah-wah-dee], into a distinctly Thai street market ambience to the upbeat sounds of popular Thai music that will instantly transport you to your favourite dining spot in Thailand.

 

An array of mouth-watering Thai favourites that range from appetizers to gravies and desserts in this weekend Thai-inspired buffet spread, is championed by Chef Mohd Zulkiflee Ismail.

 

Ingredients to make Miang Kham

And there he was at the live station, surrounded by diners observing his demo, with keen interest to have a first taste of freshly-made Miang Kham.

 

In a step-by-step demo, Chef Zulkiflee assembled fresh ingredients like chopped fresh shallots, small dried shrimps, chopped peanuts, roasted coconut shavings, unpeeled limes, peeled garlic and ginger, and the all-important red or green bird’s eye chilli slices (AKA firecrackers!) on a Thai betel leaf or daun kadok.

 

The Miang Kham was completed with a drizzle of syrup sauce made with palm sugar, tamarind and fish sauce before being wrapped into bite-size treats.

 

At another live station, a variety of refreshing salads were being mixed and served to patiently waiting diners.

 

Chef Mohd Zulkiflee using the
Thai mortar and pestle to
prepare servings of Som Tam

The familiar thump-thumping sounds from the traditional Thai mortar and pestle sets filled the restaurant as culinary staff helped to prepare a choice of Som Tam, young papaya salad, Rainbow Thai Salad and Red Pomelo Salad.

 

While I waited for my portion of Som Tam, I was delighted to observe that a wedge of boiled salted egg was mashed into the salad while another wedge of salted egg was also served on the side.

 

I made a mental note to look out for the firecrackers hiding inside the salad and aimed to remove any bits before taking a mouthful or risk setting my palate on fire.

 

Fans of seafood will relish the taste of steamed river prawns in Annatto sauce and roasted seabass marinated in Thai flavours.

 

A serving of Thai Pineapple Rice

There was also fresh Seafood-on-Ice that featured whole prawns, oysters in half-shells, cray fish and bamboo clams to savour with a choice of dip sauces.

 

I joined diners to preview the highlighted items in the hot buffet and saw familiar Thai gravies to savour with Thai Black Rice or Thai Pineapple Rice.

 

I was pleased to discover that the fried rice was mixed with diced pineapple, raisins, sweet Thai basil and cashew nuts for an authentic taste of Thai Pineapple Rice.

 

Thai Green Curry made with Chicken

It was also good to see a serving of the ever-popular Thai stir-fried rice noodles, Pad Thai, and even better to taste its distinct sweet and savoury flavours.

 

Among the gravies in the hot buffet were Thai Green Chicken Curry, Thai Red Curry Duck with fruit cocktail and stir-fried Tilapia fish in Thai soy sauce.

 

To add more authentic Thai flavours to your meal, there is also choice of Thai Herb Dip Sauces to drizzle on your food.

 

Refreshing Thai Milk Tea to
drink with the Thai buffet dinner

Meanwhile, the Thai Coconut Chicken Soup was pleasant to the palate, not as fiery as in the version of Tom Yam soups that locals are familiar with.

 

As I enjoyed the rich and spicy flavours typical of Thai cuisine, I reminded myself to save some space to indulge in the delightful Thai desserts.

 

Among the luscious favourites were Mango Sticky Rice, Red Rubies, Lychee Fruit pudding and Coconut Jelly served within fresh young coconuts and kept chilled on a bed of shaved ice.

 

This culinary adventure in Thailand may end sweetly as you spoon and savour the chilled Coconut Jelly that continues into the soft and juicy flesh of the young coconut.

 

The Thai Temptations buffet will be served from 6pm to 10pm at Dine@Eight Restaurant every Friday and Saturday from June 9 till 1 July 2023.

 

This is the way to drizzle the syrup sauce
onto the Miang Kham before it is wrapped
into bite-size appetizers

Priced at RM108 nett for adults, RM88 nett for senior citizens aged 60 years and above, and RM48 nett for children aged 6-12 years. Kids aged 5 years and below will eat for Free.

 

Get rewarded with 20% off IHG One Rewards Dining Privileges, Terms & Conditions apply.

 

For reservations or more information, call Tel: 607 - 207 8686 or email info@hijbcc.com.

 

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