Ramadan specials and one-of-a-kind hotel and restaurant offerings are among the nicest things to anticipate during the Holy month, and The RuMa Hotel & Residences has a special treat for you this year.
This festive season, The RuMa Hotel & Residences celebrate the spirit of Ramadhan by paying tribute to the rich and varied tastes of traditional Malay fare. Journey and discover the authentic and bold flavours of our country all at one place. The best part is that you get to feel entirely at home when partaking in The RuMa’s delectable dishes. Read on to find out how!
Hidangan Tradisi: Edisi SANTAI
Buka Puasa with loved ones at SANTAI, where Chef Mohammad Rizuwan, Chef de Cuisine of Production Kitchen at The RuMa Hotel & Residences, draws from the flavours of his childhood, which shaped his palate and culinary abilities. The buffet will focus on the more distinctive and frequently overlooked elements of traditional Malay cuisine, in addition to crowd-pleasing favourites.
Expect a glorious spread of lemang, daging serunding, satay and ayam rendang complemented by a large variety of ulam-ulaman, and kerabu as well as punchy jeruk and crunchy keropok. Alongside these favourites are modern iterations of Malay classics, from salmon bakar and slipper lobster percik, to durian strudel and pandan crème brûlée to finish on a sweet note. Here’s some of what we tried:
For starters, we had the satay and peanut sauce. The chicken satay was really tender and charred to perfection. As for the peanut sauce, it was sweet and nutty. We really enjoyed a good amount of well-cooked satays. You can also choose to pair some nasi impit or even lemang with the peanut sauce. Definitely a yummy combo.
Next, we went for the mains and tried the nasi kabsa with gulai daging, daging masak kurma, and ikan jenahak asam pedas, which were all our favourites from the buffet spread. The nasi kabsa was served with a huge tender and juicy lamb hanging over it. The rice was aromatic and blended well with almost all the gravy items served at the buffet. The gulai daging was tender and juicy, and also had a hint of sweetness. The daging masak kurma was was creamy and flavourful, but the meat wasn’t as tender as the gulai daging. The ikan jenahak asam pedas was another favourite, simply because it was fresh and had a spicy-sour flavour. It added that tickle to our tastebuds which made us go back for more.
The dessert section was the main deal for us, because we just love all things sweet. The desserts served during our visit were a mix of traditional and modern flavours, as well as presentations. We’ll rank our favourites starting with the passion mango tartlet. One bite and you get this citrusy pop in your mouth. We loved how the entire tart is filled with a sweet-sour filling and topped with fresh and sweet mango to balance out the sour filling. Next up was the pandan crème brulee. You’ll never have crème brulee any other way after trying this – we absolutely loved how the pandan flavour was so balanced and super creamy. It was sweet on its own, but you can always scoop on caramelized sugar for extra sweetness. Last but not least, the cherry tart. We weren’t really into this dessert, but we kinda liked the sourness from the cherry. We also tried some local kuih like seruling, seri muka and a few others, which were really good.
The highlight of the entire buffet was the Ice Cream Malaysia. This once-upon-a-time-popular ice cream will definitely take you down memory lane. It comes in all sorts of flavours, like sirap bandung, milo, kacang merah and many more. The simple, yet nostalgic treat made the entire buffet truly memorable.
Apart from the delicious and unique food, we found the venue to be unique and welcoming. Instead of the trappings of cliched indoor fancy dining, The RuMa offers not just indoor dining but outdoors as well, where you can sit by the pool area. And we bet that you’ll absolutely fall in love with the ambience and setting of the outdoor seating area, especially at night. It’s super peaceful and a good spot for some OOTD pics!
Eid Al-Fitr Delicacies
One of the culinary must-haves of Ramadan are the iconic traditional cookies and dates, and The RuMa has got you covered with their well-presented box of sweet treats that come with a selection of dates, a packet of elegant sampul raya, and cookies such as kuih bunga dahlia, peanut cookies, pandan sable and chocolate chip. They’re yours for just RM128 per box.
The Hidangan Tradisi: Edisi SANTAI buffet will be available from 28th March till 16th April 2023 with a special early discount of 20% if you purchase before 31st March. For more information or bookings, visit theruma.com.my.
