Special thanks to Iconic Hotel for extending this food review invitation.
Iconic Hotel is a 4-star hotel in Icon City. This 195-room hotel is managed by Iconic Development, a property developer that has also constructed the rest of Icon City and Iconic Skies.
The main entrance of Iconic Hotel features a large marble-laid lobby with a mezzanine floor. Fanciful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling provide a charming sense of warmth and hospitality.
In conjunction with the impending Chinese New Year season, Iconic Hotel is offering the Chinese New Year Reunion (宴团圆) banquet from 14 January 2017 to 11 February 2017. There are 2 choices: Happiness Reunion (双喜团圆宴, RM588.00+) for 6 persons, and Blessings Reunion (福气团圆宴, RM888.00+) for 10 persons.
Today’s preview features the 8-course Blessings Reunion menu. The foremost dish is the anticipated Salmon Yee Sang (鸿运庆有余). An assortment of ingredients make up this dish, namely smoked salmon, jellyfish, seaweed, crackers, chopped peanuts, sesame seeds, shredded carrots and shredded daikon. Prior to tossing with chopsticks, five spice powder (五香粉), plum sauce (苏梅酱) and sesame oil (麻油) are added.
The second course is an appetizing one: Double Boiled Chicken Soup (祥龙戏凤凰). Besides chicken, the soup is also infused with rich flavors of dried scallops (干贝), shiitake mushrooms (香菇), fish maw (鱼鳔), wolfberries (枸杞) and cabbage. The overall experience is very pleasing.
For poultry, Steamed Chicken (富贵显凤凰) is served over a bed of water chestnuts, button mushrooms and onions. The ingredients are wrapped in lotus leaf and garnished with coriander.
Although the water chestnuts carry subtle sweetness, I feel that they are somewhat disjoint from the chicken. Perhaps the marination process should be improved so that all ingredients assimilate better.
Deep-Fried Red Lion Fish (鱼乐报春辉) is served with soy sauce and topped with a copious amount of coriander. Admittedly, I am not a big fan of deep-fried fish. I prefer steamed fish because delicate texture is more aligned with my preference.
The next dish is Braised Black Mushrooms & Pacific Clam (翡翠聚满堂). While the broccoli is fine, I feel that the mushrooms and clams are too small. Indeed, I would have preferred this dish better if it came with larger mushrooms and clams.
The similar sentiment also holds true for the Deep Fried White Prawns (金碧显辉煌). It is fine to have fewer shrimps, as long as larger ones are used. An advantage of using larger shrimps is the fact that their flesh remains juicy and crunchy. For this dish, the shrimps are coated with savory paste made from curry and salted egg.
I enjoy the Braised Egg Noodle (鸿图大展翅) very much as its texture is pleasantly springy. If I were to nitpick, I think the egg noodles are inconveniently long, making it quite difficult to transfer individual portions to smaller plates. This noodle dish comes with shrimps, cuttlefish (鱿鱼), shiitake mushrooms, bok choy (白菜) and carrots.
As for “tong shui” (糖水) desserts, Warm Honey Sea Coconut (合家满团圆) is served. The two main ingredients, sea coconut (海底椰) and snow fungus (银耳), provide jelly-like and gelatinous textures respectively. However, I feel that the syrup is excessively sweet for comfort. Perhaps the amount of sugar should be reduced significantly.
Iconic Hotel’s kitchens, including the banquet kitchen, have received halal-certification. Besides the course menus, the hotel also offers Prosperity Yee Sang (七彩鱼生) for take-out. There are 4 versions of ingredients: Jelly Fish, Smoked Salmon, Abalone and Three Treasure. The price starts from RM68.00+ for a 6-person platter.
Besides the banquet menu, Iconic Hotel has another 2 eateries that are directly under its management. Mezza9 is the main restaurant which caters breakfast for hotel guests. Buffet dinner is also available daily. Meanwhile, Crumbles & Cream is a cozy café which serves light meals, afternoon tea, desserts and pastries. The signature item here is Bombe Alaska, a meringue cake which is caramelized and flambéed while being served. I look forward to visiting these two eateries in the near future.
As for hotel rooms, Iconic Hotel offers 4 different size categories: Superior, Deluxe, Premier and Executive. Each category features 3 unique themes: Modern, Urban and Contemporary. Swimming pool, fitness center, sauna, executive lounge and business center are provided at the convenience of hotel’s guests.
Name: Iconic Hotel
Address: 71, Jalan Icon City, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 04-505-9988
Business hours: 12:00pm-3:00pm, 7:00pm-10:00pm
Website: http://www.iconichotel.com.my/dining
Coordinates: 5.34226 N, 100.43302 E
Directions: From the North-South Expressway, take the Bukit Mertajam exit and head east. Turn left just before Petron gas station, then turn right to the front entrance of the 15-floor Iconic Hotel. The hotel provides multistorey parking for RM5.00 per entry.
