Special thanks to Georgetown City Hotel for extending this food review invitation.
After a long week at work, my next visit is Georgetown City Hotel at Pulau Tikus. This hotel was formerly known as Berjaya Penang Hotel.
My previous visit to The Cafe was during the International Buffet Dinner on weekends. On Friday evenings like tonight, the restaurant serves Oriental Buffet With Teochew Porridge Specialities. This buffet is open from 7:00pm to 10:00pm.
The main specialty in this buffet is Teochew Porridge. Teochew porridge is notable for having a large number of condiments to go with it. Examples are dried shrimps, salted duck eggs, peanuts, anchovies and douchi just to name a few.
There are two types of porridges to choose from. For Sweet Potato Porridge, it has a mild sweetness without being overpowering. This is the preferred choice if you want to enjoy the condiments directly.
But if you prefer porridge to be more savory, the Oyster Porridge is the one for you. Within the porridge are dried oysters with strong flavor.
Another important feature of tonight’s buffet is the grilling station. Manning the station is Chef Sim, Executive Chef of the restaurant.
Unlike the International Buffet Dinner, there is only one type of “meat” at the grilling station: Tilapia. But even one item is more than sufficient. Nicely-marinated fillets are presented on a bed of ice.
Since it is important to serve fresh food, tilapia is only grilled when ordered. It is worth the wait (several minutes) because the fish is nicely flavored and blessed with toasty aroma.
As for condiments, Air Asam and Sambal Kicap are provided to go with the grilled tilapia.
As for pre-cooked dishes, the poultry dish is Ayam Madu, which means “honey chicken” in Malay. The chicken is stewed with rich, creamy curry for a satisfying dining experience. I also like the mild sweetness present in the chicken flesh.
Mutton-lovers will be delighted to try the Tamarind Lamb Chops. Succulent steaks of lamb are grilled to perfection and flavored with lovely tamarind gravy.
Moving to the marine kingdom, the next dish is Fish Curry With Lady’s Fingers. The level of spiciness is quite respectable.
Telur Dadar is a Malay-style omelette. It is made from beaten eggs are baked with red chili pepper, onion and scallion (spring onion).
Chinese-style cooking is represented by this dish of Tofu With Tau See Fish. Here, dried bean curd is cooked with fish flavored with fermented black soy bean (豆豉). Other ingredients are bell pepper, carrot and onion.
If you like something with strong flavor, have some Mui Cai (梅菜) or pickled Chinese mustard. This dish is topped with fried garlic for improved aroma.
As for Seasonal Vegetables, the ingredients are shiitake mushroom, broccoli and carrot.
At the back section of the restaurant is a station for Char Hor Fun. A pot of egg gravy is kept boiling for customers to use for reheating the noodle.
The noodle is prepared upfront and is technically cooked already. To enjoy this dish, simply reheat some noodle into the egg gravy for several seconds.
Ingredients to go with Char Hor Fun are fresh shrimp, fish ball and button mushroom. I tend to go gaga over fresh shrimp.
Next to the Char Hor Fun counter is another local delicacy, Penang Rojak. Customers can choose from a handful of fresh fruits to be mixed with sweet shrimp sauce.
Like my previous visit, the salad bar does not fail to awe.
Seafood lovers may want to start with Prawns & Apple Salad.
There is also Diced Sausage Salad which is flavored with Thousand Island dressing.
The Hash Brown Salad is another salad of choice today.
For cold cuts, Chicken Ham is available for customers’ enjoyment.
Considering the pricing of this buffet, the dessert section is also not something to be trifled with. There is a good variety of pastries and sweets to satisfy everyone.
Cocoa-philes should find the Chocolate Cake irresistible at first sight. Cubes of chocolate sponge cake are coated with thick chocolate syrup and sprinkled with crunchy almonds.
Next is Butter Cheesecake, which is presented in convenient bite-size pieces. A shower of powdered sugar covers the top.
The Pandan Cheesecake is also prepared in small portions for sampling. By now, it is evident that the pastry chef goes through great lengths in cake decoration.
We subsequently move on to Pineapple Tarts, where crunchy almond is set on top of the pineapple confiture.
You may also want to sample a piece of Raspberry Cake. Once again, the cake has been cut into convenient bite-size portions.
For something sweet and fruity, help yourself to some cooling Mango Custard.
Alternatively, there is also Strawberry Jelly with evaporated milk on top.
Surrender to your desire to dig in a cup of Cream Custard. Or perhaps some marshmallows too, just because you have been longing for some.
As for a cooling dessert, the Ice Kacang should do the trick. Ingredients available are attap chee (fruit of nipa palm), basil seed, red bean, sweet corn, nutmeg, peanuts and raisins. Just choose your favorite ingredients and let the staff assist you with the shaved ice.
Several ice cream flavors are also available. I am adding a scoop of yam-flavored ice cream on top of my Ice Kacang. Feel free to up the ante with double- or triple-scoops!
Last but not least, conclude the meal with some iced Fruit Punch. This sweet-tangy dessert is an excellent thirst-quencher to conclude a very satisfying meal.
The Cafe’s Oriental Buffet With Teochew Porridge Specialities is priced at RM31.00 for an adult, RM25.00 for a child. These are net prices. Relative to pricing, the quality and variety of dishes has good value for money. In addition, credit card holders of CIMB and Standard Chartered Bank enjoy 20% and 15% discount on top of the already-attractive prices.
Name: The Cafe
Address: Georgetown City Hotel, 1-Stop Midlands Park, Jalan Burma, 10350 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 04-220-7373
Business hours: 7:00pm-10:00pm
Website: http://www.georgetowncityhotel.com/en/dining
Coordinates: 5.43301 N, 100.30679 E
Directions: Georgetown City Hotel is adjacent to Midlands 1-Stop. The Cafe is located towards the right from the main entrance. There are ample of parking spaces at the basement. Diners at The Cafe can get their parking ticket validated for flat parking rate of RM3.00 for 3 hours.