The Fastidious Feast

When you break your daily fast this Ramadan season, do so in style. Buffet style, that is. Among the many Ramadan feasts available, the Ramadan feast at the Royal Plaza on Scotts is one of the most popular in town. Even if you're not a Muslim, you can also join in the feast and try out some good Indonesian food.

Formerly known as the Holiday Inn Royal Crowne Plaza at Scotts Road, this hotel has always been a fave of the local Muslim community at every Ramadan, perhaps helped by the fact that the Sultan of Brunei owns it and is fastidious about quality.

When you stepped into the fifth floor on Palm Terrace, you are greeted with traditional costumes and other accessories on sale. As you walk past the pool, you will see a large white marquee with set tables and chairs. So, you can eat here whether rain or shine.

This Ramadan buffet offers Indonesian classics and the range is varied. The three guest chefs Mugiano, Ariffin and Enjang Juanda whipped up the feast. Working for the Hotel Sahid Jaya, they count celebrities like Cindy Crawford, Richard Clayderman, Muhammad Ali and a string of Indonesian and overseas diplomats as their more memorable clients.

The buffet has traditional dishes culled from different areas in Indonesia like Jakarta, Yogya, Sumatra, Bali, Lombok, Maluka, Sulawesi and Kalimantan. From soto ayam to rojak to sambal goreng udang and tumis kangkong, it is not difficult to see why it is packed with diners almost every night. You have to book early for a table.

We have a few favourite dishes that we can't stop going back for more. The rendang is well marinated and tender to the bite. The ikan kuah asam is very good--fresh piece of fish with a thin layer of batter. The telor bumbu kecap is also tasty--hardboiled egg in gravy. Looks like an ordinary dish with hardboiled egg but the gravy keeps you eating piece by piece and before you know it, you might just have chewed up five eggs! The sambal goreng udang has just the right amount of spices and not too hot to the tastebuds.

An interesting dish is the aneka gorengan -- fried banana fritter dipped in sambal chilli. The sambal chilli is very good but eating it with banana fritter takes getting used to. The ayam goreng jakarta is freshly fried on the spot but it would have been a winner if the marinate is stronger.

If your stomach can take more after this feast, the desserts with fruits, kueh and cakes are quite a spread. But if you can't eat anymore, we would recommend that you just try the pulot hitam--it's worth a space in your stomach!

This buffet costs S$36+++ per adult and S$18 for kiddies below 12. The feast starts at 6.30pm and is located at Palm Teracce on the fifth level. This buffet promotion is on until 25 December 2000.