Nostalgia Rasa Renaissance Iftar at Cafe BLD

 

The moment I stepped into the lobby of the Renaissance Johor Baru, I was enveloped by traditional festive music presented by a live band with vocalists from Yayasan Warisan Johor or the Johor Heritage Foundation.

 

Indian cuisine is part of the Nostalgia Rasa
Renaissance Iftar buffet at the outdoor terrace

I am familiar with the flavours of the Ramadan spread at Café BLD and was pleased to see the sumptuous spread in the preview of this year’s traditional breaking-of-fast treat in the theme, Nostalgia Rasa Renaissance Iftar.

 

This impressive spread invite diners to break their fast with a wide array of mouth-watering dishes and delicacies served specially from March 12 to April 10.

 

I spied much activity happening at the outdoor terrace and did not hesitate to head outdoors to see the teams, busy at the live-cooking stations set up to serve freshly made items in this buffet spread.

 

Live station that serves Shawarma

Chefs for Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisine were at their work stations to prepare favourite items like deep-fried dim sum, popular at Wan Li, their Chinese restaurant as well as deep-fried snacks and irresistible desserts like durian rolls wrapped in crispy batter.

 

Next to the whole roasted lamb where diners will be served slivers of carved tender meat to savour with a drizzle of sauces of their choice, a chef was busy preparing portions of Shawarma.

 

Durian rolls wrapped in
crispy batter

Another team were fanning burning embers to barbecue skewers of the signature BLD Beef and Chicken satay for diners to savour with spicy peanut sauce and condiments of raw cucumber and onions.

 

Another eye-catching choice must be the Giant Freshwater Prawns prepared in the traditional South Indian deep-fried “65” recipe.

 

The spread of traditional dishes continues in a range of signature Gulai Kawah items presented in warming kawah or giant wok, that will be served on a rotation basis for Monday, Wednesday and Friday alternating with Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

 

There are fresh ingredients to make salads topped with a variety of sauces and a range of ready-to-eat local salads or kerabu created with various ingredients like squid, beef lung, mixed seafood, barbecued chicken, mango as well as local greens, ulam-ulam fern leaves.

 

Dedicated to fans of Hummus

Diners at this Ramadan buffet will enjoy the various Do-It-Yourself or DIY sections to assemble their own Pasembor (Monday & Friday), Indonesian Gado-Gado (Tuesday & Saturday), Nyonya Fruit Rojak on (Wednesday & Sunday) or Nyonya Pai Tee (Thursday).

 

There was even a corner dedicated to serving Mediterranean Hummus for diners to enjoy a range of hummus including Pumpkin Hummus, Roasted Beetroot Hummus, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Tex-Mex Hummus and Classic Garlic Hummus with cucumber and carrot sticks, broccoli and cauliflower florets, among a range of items.

 

This meal comes with live
music entertainment

The traditional breaking-of-fast meal will not be complete without a taste of juicy dates along with comforting Sup Ayam Berempah, a spiced chicken soup, and Bubur Lambuk, traditional rice porridge, from the Soup Station.

 

While the Chicken Soup will be a regular item on the menu, diners can expect dishes like Mee Jawa (Monday & Friday), Mee Rebus (Tuesday & Saturday), Laksa Johor (Wednesday & Sunday) and Mee Bakso (Thursday).

 

Fans of comforting hot soup can look forward to traditional spiced beef soup, Aneka Sup Campur Berempah, which diners may top with items like beef tripe, beef lung, ox tail or lamb bone marrow, fondly known as Gear Box.

 

Festive favourites like Lemang, glutinous rice with coconut milk baked within bamboo sticks, and Ketupat Palas, glutinous rice cakes steamed in coconut leaves, are kept warm within a Chinese bamboo steamer, and served with a choice of Serunding or tasty meat floss made from beef, chicken and fish.

 

My friend, Norfy, helping herself to fried
carrot cake, a popular item at Wan Li

Meanwhile, the Seafood-on-Ice, a popular BLD staple, offers fresh-water prawns, premium mussels, flower crabs, lala shellfish and Hokkaido scallops, for fans of seafood to enjoy these cold items with a twist of fresh lime and a range of dip sauces.

 

At the Dessert section, a live station serves freshly-made Kueh Ketayap and the BLD signature Serawa Durian, cubes of steamed glutinous rice topped with durian sauce.

 

Savour a taste of tradition in dates, dodol,
cakes, cookies and a range of pastries and kueh
 

This buffet comes with hot and cold drinks as well as a selection of cut fresh fruits and a wide range of traditional festive cookies, assorted pastries and cakes, traditional Malay kuih and dodol in three flavours: original, pandan and durian.

 

Nearby, an entire counter was dedicated to serving sweet porridge desserts like Bubur Cha Cha, Bubur Pulut Hitam, Pengat Pisang, and Bubur Barli.

 

The taste of nostalgia continues with Air Batu Campur or ABC, a traditional shaved-ice dessert specialty for diners to top with a choice of ingredients, drizzled with syrup and palm sugar, as well as traditional ice-cream potong in a range of flavours to pick from the chiller.

 

A live station that serves Kueh Ketayap rolls
and Seraya Durian

The Nostalgia Rasa Renaisssance Iftar Buffet will be served at Café BLD from March 12 to April 10, from 6.30pm to 10pm.

 

Priced at RM198 nett per adult and RM99 nett per child aged between six to 12 years old, while children below six years old will enjoy complimentary dining.

 

Club Renaissance Johor Baru members are entitled to 15% discount.

 

Take advantage of the Early Bird Promotion by buying your dining vouchers without delay.

 

Welcome to Cafe BLD, located on the
lobby level of Renaissance Johor Baru

Every 10 vouchers bought from now to Feb 29, will receive two complimentary vouchers.

 

Every 10 vouchers bought from March 1 to March 10, will receive one complimentary voucher.

 

Enjoy a RENtastic Deal for dining vouchers bought from now to Feb 25, to dine from March 12 to March 20, to get two complimentary vouchers for every 10 vouchers bought.

 

Diners who wish to host their own breaking-of-fast gatherings, Private Dining with a minimum of 30 people is offered with a choice of two menus at prices starting from RM108 nett per person.

 

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

 

For enquiries and reservations, email to: rosliza.lazim@renaissancehotels.com or evelyn.soh@renaissancehotels.com.