Another Anniversary Lunch

My parent-in-law celebrated their 58th Wedding Anniversary yesterday. When Anita was pregnant for Irfan, we went there for a fabulous lunch buffet at Genji, PJ Hilton. We went there again this time around for old times sake.

Over the years, the place retained the nice food although there were plenty of items being taken out from the menu now. No more oysters - my brother-in-law’s favourite. But the rack of sashimi was still sublime. So was the tempura and tappenyaki. Idlan especially loved it.

This way to Genji ...The startersWe spent a good couple of hours at the restaurant, taking multiple trips to the buffet line. By the end, the boys made their way through the food and picked up what they liked. We topped it up with a nice cake that Anita brought through an instagram advert. Pandan cake topped with gula melaka. Sublime! Even the restaurant staffs asked for a slice. A flavour not very common I guess ...

The restaurant was pretty secluded, located right at the deep end of the hotel on the first floor. I had to ask around for directions not being able to find the place from the car park.

Cosy interior

In the old days, one had to make an advance booking to get a table there. Now, there were plenty of fast sushi outlet as well as other competitions. The place was not as popular. In fact, despite being a Sunday lunchtime, patrons can walk in and ask for a table. It was something we never even dared to do before.

The food was great. Everybody enjoyed themselves. The staffs were very nice - all of them Malaysian. Definitely would be going there again now that we knew that the boys loved the food. Price-wise it was comparable with many 5-star restaurants in town, but this being a buffet and if you loved Japanese cooking, then it was well worth it ...

The Joy of Being Driven

I woke up this morning with a right sore throat. My brother-in-law, spending Hari Raya break from Turkmenistan was feeling feverish since yesterday and I was not surprised if I were to catch the bug off him. The fact that I had been traveling during the weekend did not help.

My voice went all nasal by mid-morning, and I had a couple of lectures to deliver in the afternoon. My voice became worst by lunchtime, so I had some soup and salt water gargle, and the throat improved a bit. I was too tired to drive myself to PJ Hilton for my talk, and had to ask our driver to take me there.

I arrived just in time for some more soup. One of the organiser brought me some warm honey to drink and it worked a treat. Managed to deliver the talk - nasal of course. I napped on the way back in the car.

Felt a bit rough still when I woke up at home. Just had some paracetamol and dinner. Feeling less feverish. I was sure Anita would ask me to sleep in the study. She would be worried if the boys caught the virus from me. Planning for an early night.

Paya Serai

So, after the long wall in the showroom with the boys already getting grumpy, we needed to stop for lunch. Happy after booking her new Peugeot, my mum-in-law wanted to have lunch at PH Hilton, a once of the and I might argue still, the best hotel in PJ. The Japanese outlet serves a grand lunch buffet during weekends, and for today, we decided to try out its main cafe, Paya Serai.

The buffet was over. Even the chocolate fountain has been switched off.We were rather too late to join the buffet lunch. Going a la carte wasn't that bad either. They had nice selection there on the menu. I had some salad followed by chicken tikka masala for the mains. The boys ordered some fried rice and chicken nugget. What compelled me to write this entry was the great service I enjoyed there. The waiters - all local - made us welcomed, sat the boys down, dealt with all our quirks. They got our order attended to straight away despite being busy clearly out the afternoon buffet. When Idlan's order came a bit late, they got the boys some ice-cream on the house, without us even needed to day anything. They came over to talk to the boys and were generally great company. I can tell that they enjoyed serving there, a rare trait.

The table setting .... elegant Avocado and buffalo mozzarella saladMy main, chicken tikka masalaNow lets talk about the food. They were nice. Nothing extra special but not too shabby either. I can't comment about the buffet though. I have to confess that Latest Recipe at Le Meridien may be a touch better but you don't get the personal attention as you do here except maybe if you were a foreigner. That's Malaysia for you. My tikka masala was rather 'pasty' - reminding me of the pre-prepared sauce I used to use to cook chicken with when I was in the UK. The salad was great though. The fried rice that Idlan had was good as well, but nothing out of the ordinary here. Will I recommend this joint to others? Of course I will but it may be a touch expensive for casual dining. For a special occasion, maybe. For me, I still prefer the Japanese buffet for lunch .....