Special thanks to Royale Chulan Penang for extending this food review invitation.
Sri Tanjung Cafe is the main restaurant in Royale Chulan Penang. The coffeehouse is located at the ground floor of Boustead Building. This historical structure along Weld Quay (Pengkalan Weld) was meticulously restored as part of the hotel’s construction.
Effective October 2018, Royale Chulan Penang is introducing the 7 Continents Buffet Dinner to replace the Friday Night Poolside BBQ. The dishes in the new menu are the brainchild of the hotel’s Executive Sous Chef, Chef Khamarul, who amassed a diverse range of recipes while serving on a luxurious ocean liner several years ago. The 7 Continents Buffet Dinner is held at Sri Tanjung Cafe; the indoor setting makes the dinner more resilient to inclement weather.
One of the buffet’s main attractions is Roast Beef Striploin. The striploin is cooked to medium doneness, resulting in a pinkish middle that retains the meat’s natural juiciness. Black pepper sauce is provided. The beef is also served with grilled vegetables and mashed potatoes. In addition, there are also à la minute counters that serve local dishes like Mee Rebus and Char Koay Teow.
Chilled seafood is meant to represent the frozen continent of Antarctica. Served on ice are flower crabs, spanner crabs, shrimps and bay mussels. A variety of condiments such as tartar sauce and Thousand Island are provided to go with seafood.
İmam Bayıldı is an exquisite Turkish dish. Whole eggplants are stuffed with tomatoes, onion and garlic, and then cooked with olive oil for a lovely aroma. I love the juicy texture of eggplants and how they blend with the stuffings.
There are a variety of salads from around the world. For instance, Caprese Salad is a combination of mozzarella cheese, tomato and basil; these three ingredients represent the tricolored Italian flag. Also from European cookbooks are Mediterranean Squid Salad and French Mesclun Mix. As for local salads, there are Sotong Kangkung and Nyonya Prawns Kerabu.
For a taste of local Malay cuisine, Dhalca Kambing highlights the prevalent use of spices in the region. The pungent gravy is necessary to mask the strong smell of mutton. This spicy dish is cooked with potatoes, carrots, onions and tomatoes.
Meanwhile, Stuffed Chicken Kiev is a popular poultry dish from Russia. It is known in Russian as котлета по-киевски, which literally means “Kiev-style cutlet”. Made from chicken breast, the cutlet is rolled with butter and coated with eggs and bread crumbs. The roll is then fried to golden crispiness. The resulting dish is somewhat similar to Chicken Cordon Bleu.
An iconic dish in Louisiana cuisine, the Seafood Jambalaya brings green-lipped mussels, clams and shrimps together in an appealing presentation. The shrimps are particularly succulent. Other seafood delicacies this evening are Crispy Nestum Prawn, Stir Fried Squid With Dried Chili & Black Pepper and Baked Oyster Sabayon.
As for Asian style Stir-Fried Vegetables, the fresh ingredients here are broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, baby corn, capsicum, button mushroom and straw mushroom. The vegetables are cooked with light oyster sauce in order to accentuate their natural sweetness. This vegetarian dish serves to counteract the heavy flavors of previous dishes.
Moving on, the pastry section presents a variety of sweet treats to delight the taste buds. Western confectionery is represented by bread & butter pudding, strawberry pudding, chocolate moist cake, chocolate truffle and homemade cookies. On the other hand, Asian treats are longan jelly, strawberry jelly, sago gula melaka and sago & honeydew coconut cream. I am particularly fond of the cookies; they carry a gentle touch of sweetness in a non-surfeiting manner.
Last but not least, fresh tropical fruits like papaya, pineapple and watermelon serve to end dinner on a sweet note.
Royale Chulan Penang’s 7 Continents Buffet Dinner is served from 6:30pm to 10:00pm every Friday. The buffet is priced at RM75.00 net for adults and RM50.00 net for children and senior citizens. For every 3 paying adults, the 4th person’s meal is on the house.
Royale Chulan Penang is offering an exclusive discount to my readers. Simply provide the promotion code “RCPPGFFT7C” to get 20% discount off the total bill. You can just show the flyer below using your phone; there is no need to print on paper. This special code is valid until 2 November 2018. It cannot be combined with other ongoing promotions.
Name: Sri Tanjung Cafe
Address: 1 & 2, Pengkalan Weld, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 04-259-8888
Business hours: 7:00am-10:30pm
Website: http://www.royalechulan-penang.com/dining
Coordinates: 5.41700 N, 100.34401 E
Directions: From the ferry terminal at George Town, turn right and drive along Weld Quay (Pengkalan Weld). Royale Chulan Penang is located shortly on the left, at the same block as Made in Penang Interactive 3D Museum. There is a small lane right after the hotel, which leads to the main entrance and multi-level car park. Guests who dine in Sri Tanjung Cafe can get their parking tickets validated for a flat rate of RM5.00 per entry.
