Restoran Rebung

Photo with the owner, Chef IsmailIt was my Mum’s birthday yesterday. She wanted a nice Malay restaurant to have dinner at and after much pondering, Anita came up with the idea of booking a table at Restoran Rebung. The one owned by a celebrity chef, Chef Ismail and the Angkasawan, Muszaphar Shukor. The hotel is situated at a couple of bungalows at Lorong Maarof in Bangsar, just round the corner from Bangsar Village. Lorong Maarof actually run parallel to Jalan Maarof, so getting there was easy. The hard part was getting a parking spot as there was no designated parking area for the restaurant.

It was raining heavily and getting there was rather slow as Julia - my sister - was driving the other car with my Mum and her children. Got there around 8.30 in heavy rain. With the earlier booking, we were given a room - a nice comfortable one I must add.

We were lucky as the owner, Chef Ismail was on hand to look after us, and he was at his charming best. Spending some time chatting with my Mum - she is a big fan of his - singing Happy Birthday to her and we were looked after very well indeed. The restaurant does buffet in the evening, although we a la carte was also available - at least to my boys. And the spread was authentically Malay and tasted like home-cooked meals. Very nice indeed.

The restaurant was only half full, that being a Monday evening and with the heavy rain outside. The ambiance was simple but cozy and homely. The restaurant itself was a couple of converted single story bungalow houses. There were sets in the lawn I an open garden concept - that was where the buffet spread was, and indoor dining, with air conditioning. There were function rooms inside which can easily seat at least 80 patrons.

The pick of the food was the satay, with a gorgeous peanut sauce. The sambal tumis that I had was not bad either. There were nice selection of Malay kueh and the bubur kacang was the best I had ever tasted. If you want and authentic Malay buffet in a nice cozy restaurant, nice food and frindly hospitality, I would recommend Rebung, no doubt about it. And there was an incident as well.

Irfan being all excited meeting his cousin went on to vomit out his dinner right in the middle of the room. Far from being rude, the waiters just came in with the napkins and mops, showed us where the wash area was. We got Irfan cleaned up and by the time we got back to our table, everything was cleaned up. I did not even have to say anything but apologise. The Chef then came over, brought Irfan some drinks and asked if he was feeling OK. Irfan proceeded to gobble down more satay and up and running before we knew it!

After an hour or so, the rain had subsided and it was time to go. Chef came over with some pulut for my Mum’s birthday and obliged for some photos. The price was also very reasonable. And my Mum really enjoyed the dinner and the hospitality.

Restaurant Rebung Chef Ismail, No 4-2 Lorong Maarof, Bangsar Park, 59000 Kuala Lumpur (Landmark: Dataran Maybank). Tel: Tel: 03 22832119. For more information, head to http://www.rebung.com.my/

Iftar at Nikko

Finally, the family decided to have berbuka outside. This would have been the only second time we had berbuka outside as a group, the last being at Flamingo. This time around, it was for Puan Anita’s birthday. It was also the final iftar for this year’s Ramadhan. So it would be Aidilfitri the next day. Anita’s brother was also back from Turkmenistan for the Eid, so it was a nice occasion for the family.

Nice serene surroundingThe grills at the balcony areaSince it was a day before Eid, I got the usual flowers and cards for Anita, but she wanted to delay her presents until after the Eid break. Not really sure what she wanted, but she did hint on an iPad. I’ll leave her to make her mind up. So back to the berbuka vanue this time, Hotel Nikko, in Jalan Ampang.

The main entrance to the hotelHotel Nikko was infamous for its Ramadhan buffet, mainly because it was damn expensive and it was notoriously crowded and popular among the corporate types. I remember a couple of years ago, people were making a fuss about it. It cost more than RM100 per head to get in. I didn’t how much it cost this time around as it was not me who footed the bill. Since it was the final evening of Ramadhan, there were only a handful of people at the restaurant. We were left to our selves to enjoy the food.

Puan Anita and his brother, RazakI will talk about the iftar in three parts, first, the venue. It was located on the ground floor and as my parents-in-law were also there, access was not an issue. We dropped them off at the main entrance, and went to park our cars at the basement. There were no stairs for them. 50m later and they were already on their seats. The venue was I think their main restaurant. Nice seating area, spacious area for food display and efficient waiters.

The second would be the spread for the buffet. It was a varied selection. We have the grilled section on the balcony, with the smoking area. They had roast lamb, satay, chicken kebab, biryani and other Indian selections. Coming inside, the main spread consisted of sweets for breaking fast, rice and curries, mini pizza, dim sum, spaghetti, some sushi and salads. There was also chicken rice and other main dishes. Next, by the entrance were a few stalls doing apom balik, rojak, yong tau foo and sweets. There was also the obligatory chocolate fountains - a hit with the boys.

More stalls on the sidesA rather lame attempt at apom balik actually - the dough did not set properlyPart three - ambiance. Since the eatery was the main food outlet for the hotel - I was sure the breakfast were served there everyday - transforming the whole place would be impossible. What the management did was to put in elements of Ramadhan here and there. That being the final evening, and Eid was the next day, the decor was almost complete. At the balcony, there were torches. The staffs were dressed in traditional costumes already. 

Finally, was it worth the asking price when we talk about the quality of food. A resounding NO! That did not mean the food was bad. There were just nothing special. According to my brother-in-law who was there a couple of evening previously with his friends, the food selection was different. That meant that the menu was rotated, which is good. Less chance of left-overs slipping through. But considering the stature of this establishment, I would not expect this to be so.

The roast was overdone. The biryani was so and so. Rojak was a disaster. Sweets were nothing special. Basically, it was just above average. A safe bet if you were bringing a business associate to impress but if you took a girl for a date, there was no guarantee that you would have wooed her. It was not exactly Harrod, although you were paying for a similar price.

Since the place was only half filled on the evening, getting a seat and parking spot was never a hassle. Would I go there again next year? Not unless somebody drove me there, book a table and pay for the tab. Would I recommend it to somebody else? If you were paying on a corporate account, then why not? I would have preferred my Mum’s cooking.

Birthday Celebration

Yeah! 38 today! Should be grateful with everything Allah gave me, family, stability and health. This year, with my colleague returning from Ireland, I have decided to take some time off work, to celebrate the birthday and also the World Cup Finals. It happened to be my father-in-law’s 75th as well on the same day - quick tip, one sure way of getting a father’s blessing in marrying his daughter is to have the same birthday. It was also a sure way to make sure your wife remember your birthday and for the kids to get really confused and started asking - “who’s birthday is it really? Dad or Granddad?”. Worked for me like a charm!

Irfan didn't think much of itWhile Idlan busy smearing his bread ..... la di daIt was a bright start for the day. Gorgeous weather. I had the duty of being a chairman of a session for the Malaysian Society of Transplantation in Subang in the late morning. So I had lunch with a few friends there. Had to rush back since Puan Anita had a date with on Edward Cullen - don’t really know who the hell he is, heard that he is dead ugly! - at  the cinemas. So I was on babysitting duty. The highlight of the day will be dinner at Harrods. We booked a table for eight with one of our auntie coming along. Since we booked for dinner at 6.30, there were hardly any other patron at the restaurant, which was sensible since the boys were in their elements, running around and all.

I went for asparagus as starterEverybody had the beef and Yorkshire pudWhile I had some codCheers eveyoneEverybody ordered beef and Yorkshire Pudding - sigh! I went for the cod instead! Even Idlan finished a couple of slices of the roast. Fat boy! We enjoyed some cakes and pudding afterwards. Thank you Puan Anita for organising the dinner for me and Dad. After all the medical scars he gone through earlier in the year, having to be admitted twice into UMMC, there were course for celebration. It’s a shame that my other two brother-in-laws can't join us. One was abroad, and another had a prior engagement.

A slice of birthday cake to finish things offBread and butter puddingBurp!However the celebration has not finished yet. We were planning to travel for seafood lunch today on Sunday to Kuala Selangor. More food ahoy! I was also eternally grateful for all the facebook messages, tweets and emails I received to wish me a Happy Birthday. Really appreciated them.

Halfway

Was rather tired last night and slept much earlier than I expected. Managed to edit half of the photographs when I woke up this morning. Congratulations to Inter Milan and Mourinho for lifting the Champion’s League title. I woke up too late for that. Now getting ready to leave for my cousin’s wedding. Hopefully all the photos will be ready for upload and printing by later today.

Both Idlan and Irfan were clearly tired, and was still fast asleep. So was Puan Anita.

Doing the Booking

Now that things had settled down, we were able to sort out a few domestic things. Top of the agenda was finalising Idlan's birthday party booking. Even though it was a couple of months away we thought it might better to sort it out early. So off we went to te Bird Park.

I was doing the morning rounds earlier and will have to be at Ampang after lunch for a talk, so Anita had to go with the driver. They were caught in a jam while I got there almost half an hour earlier. I guess coming from PJ has it advantages. So I was now starig at the entrance waitig for them. I hope it won't be long as I was starving!