Expatriate in KL: Makan Kitchen CNY Eve 2014

Saturday, February 08, 2014

Makan Kitchen CNY Eve 2014

This year we spent the Chinese New Year eve here in Malaysia. Decided to try something new. We have never been to Intermark yet, despite hearing some stuff about it over a year now. It's just not that appealing to drive into town anymore, especially if you have 2 kids in tow.

So for CNY eve, we opted someplace we haven't been to. On the last minute, we booked Makan Kitchen and they still had seats available. We arrived at the start of the buffet, simply because we were afraid the kids will get sleepy and cranky if it gets too late already.

It was a bit tricky for us to locate the place. We were walking around the mall asking the staff there where is Makan Kitchen. Thankfully it was a short discovery, and we were on our way.

You need to take the elevator from the Hilton Hotel, which is nearby the lobby area.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by a receptionist, who showed us to our table.

Let me just quickly summarize the points about this restaurant, on CNY eve:

Service: definitely the people are more than helpful. I would say that they are well-trained and always available to help out immediately. Plus points for this place
They have 3 buffet areas : Chinese, Malay together with some Japanese and Western, and Indian food. For me, the Chinese food was average. While the Indian food was superb!
They had a nice dessert spread, complete with marshmallows & fruits for the orange-flavor chocolate fountain (my daughter was happy about that!)
For CNY eve, they had a simple activity which was Chinese calligraphy writing. They had some Chinese people seated where they can write out your Chinese name, and for hubby who had no formal Chinese name, they just simply invented the characters based on the sound of their English name
The Indian food: loved their cheese naan. It was freshly made and delicious.
The CNY dinner included the loh-sang plate... I didn't expect that. It was a nice surprise.
They are flexible, which I appreciate. I ordered a la carte for my helper while for my daughter (who is 4 years old) ate for free. These are some of the things you appreciate when you have a family in tow
The sate were yummy, freshly barbecued at the place, so it is piping hot
The disappointing part was the Japanese. The sashimi didn't look too fresh. They didn't have tempura. It was a small Japanese selection.
Their dessert was a highlight for me: I was utterly happy to have found the purple ice cream that I have been craving for ... the yam flavor purple ice cream. I indulged on a scoop that evening!
The chocolate pudding cake they had was superb... together with some tea / coffee... it was heaven.
Reservation was a breeze. They even sent SMS reminder.

Overall, I would go back again. Mostly for the Indian food and for their service. If they had a promotion, I would surely check it out.

Ambience: 9/10 - tables were aplenty, with small "function room" types and different table settings

Service: 9/10 - definitely were out to please the customers. Despite a full house that evening, all the staff were smiling and willing to help

Food: 8/10 - not superbly blow-your-mind, but good, clean and tasty. No surprises.

Price: that evening was special so they priced it higher.. however I think for the normal days it should be okay for a buffet type of meal (about RM100+ per person that CNY eve)