Iftar Preview @ Verandah Restaurant, Cyberview Resort & Spa

By Laura Lee

Thanks to Tourism Selangor, this year I had the opportunity to partake with my Muslim friends at least seven Iftar, a meal eaten after Maghrib which is usually around sunset during the fasting month of Ramadan.  

One of the earliest previews I did this year was Cyberview Resort & Spa’s Verandah Restaurant, which is known for its East meets West cuisine. I had selected this resort instead of another hotel in Petaling Jaya as I was recently back here for a weekend stay after its opening 20 years ago.

Although it was a long drive from my place, it was worth the effort as the restaurant has one of the best buffet spreads with its 23-stall concept offering a variety of cuisine from Malay, Chinese to Japanese, Italian and Mexican.

I  was rambang mata as there were so many choices. I ended up going for some of the local favourites and simple dishes like this stir fried vegetable or tao mew garnished with fragrant garlic.

During my recent short stay, I heard so much about its deep fried homemade crispy musang king durian rolls but didn’t have a chance to try it. Lo and behold, the first outdoor stall I came across was serving this. I went for it and had no regrets as I discovered later some of the guests had to queue for it as they are freshly prepared.

 

The stall next to it had an assortment of dim sum and steamed pau. They also have a variety of kurma or dates. I took some of that.

 

At its barbeque station, I went for its marinated lamb shoulder to go with some mushroom and black pepper sauce. Couldn’t resist having some beef satay as well when I came across its satay station.

I was told not to miss its kambing panggang golek station where the whole lamb has been marinated and roasted with fragrant spices and garlic. Took some Arab salsa to accompany the lamb but sans the Arab rice as I wanted to have room for some other food.

The butter style prawns were temptingly displayed indoors together with a variety of offerings from the Japanese station, where I went for a small piece of chicken.

I heard about its ice cream rendang. As an ice cream lover, I couldn’t resist not trying it. My verdict? It’s over rated.

I enjoyed by buffet here partly because when I entered its reception area, its staff remembered me from my recent stay and rushed to usher me into the restaurant.

The resort’s assistant director of marketing communications Sooky Au, whom I recently reconnected and the other restaurant staff whom I got to know from my staff were warm and friendly.

The spread was fantastic. Its weekend rates for the Ramadan buffet at RM100 nett per adult was a steal, especially if you are living around this parts. Its weekday rates was RM38 nett more.