Special thanks to Cititel Penang for extending this food review invitation.
Cititel Penang serves buffet dinner in Main Street Cafe every Friday and Saturday evening. Seafood and Japanese cuisine are the theme on Friday, while seafood and roasts take the center stage on Saturday. Throughout the month of July 2019, the buffet menu also features a handful of durian desserts.
This Saturday evening, diners have the pleasure of enjoying Roast Beef at the carvery. The juicy beef goes remarkably well with thyme sauce and mushroom sauce. Also prepared are Yorkshire pudding, grilled vegetables and potato wedges.
Next, I am pleased to indulge in delectable medallions of Roast Lamb. Thick garlic sauce helps to mask the “raw” smell of mutton. The lamb comes with shimeji mushrooms and squashes on the side.
As for poultry, Peking Roasted Duck easily steals the limelight. The flavorful duck is meant to be dipped in sweet and tangy plum sauce. I cannot recommend this delicacy highly enough.
Stuffed Crabs are another noteworthy highlight this evening. In this dish, seasoned crab meat is baked in the hollow carapace of crabs. The dish is topped with curry leaves for better aroma.
Grilled Prawns are cooked with garlic butter, which delightfully lends a sharp taste. The medium-size shrimps are garnished with coriander for aesthetic appeal.
Chilled seafoods include oysters, scallops, mussels and prawns. Several dipping sauces are available. Lemons are also provided in case you find the oysters too “raw”. As for customers who like Japanese food, sashimi and sushi are prepared too.
Spaghetti Carbonara is cooked at the à la minute counter. The pasta is sautéed with chicken ham, garlic, herbs and milk on a pan. Once al dente, the dish is finished in a parmesan cheese wheel to allow it to attain a rich taste. Be sure not to miss this scrumptious dish!
Speaking of cheese, diners can savour cheddar, camembert, gouda and blue cheese from the cheese platter. There are dried fruits and nuts to go with gourmet cheese. Bread rolls are available too.
To welcome the ongoing durian season, the pastry team is giving the desserts a touch of durians. Durian-infused desserts this evening are Durian Cheesecake, Durian Cream Puffs, Durian Tiramisu, Durian Mousse, Durian Crème Caramel and Durian Ice Cream.
In addition, Durian White Forest Cake is inspired by the Black Forest Gâteau. Between layers of chocolate sponge cake is whipped cream laced with durian paste. As per the tradition, the cake is decorated with cherries and chocolate shavings.
Moving on, Pengat Durian is a soupy dessert of Malay origin. It is quite similar to Pengat Pisang but instead of bananas, this dessert contains durians. Pengat Durian has the strongest durian taste among all desserts this evening. However, I prefer the amount of sago to be reduced so that the soup does not become too starchy.
The desserts section also covers a number of non-durian confections such as Red Velvet Cake, Apricot Cobbler, Lemon Meringue Tarts, Chocolate Mousse and Mini Donuts.
Main Street Cafe serves buffet dinner from 6:30pm to 9:30pm on Friday and Saturday. Dinner is priced at RM103.00 net per adult. The price is RM52.00 and RM72.00 for children and senior citizens respectively. In addition, lunch sessions are available on Saturday and Sunday.
Name: Main Street Cafe
Address: 66, Jalan Penang, 10000 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 04-291-1128
Business hours: 24 hours
Website: https://www.cititelpenang.com/en/dining.html
Coordinates: 5.42156 N, 100.33247 E
Directions: Cititel Penang is a 16-floor building at Penang Road (Jalan Penang). Main Street Cafe is located at the far end from the main entrance. To park, drive past the lobby and up the ramp to Level 2. Parking is charged at RM4.00 per entry.
