In my previous post, I touched on the Journalist Day gathering hosted by the people from a local daily here. It was held at the Garden Hotel Coffee House. The curry was nice…
…and it went really well with the special rice they had, some kind of nasi minyak or something like that. The fried mihun and char kway teow tasted a bit burnt though. They had a really very wide selection in the buffet spread including this dish of sotong (squids)…
…and tofu…
…and even paku (wild jungle fern)…
There were a lot of other choices and I was beginning to think that the theme was probably “Malaysian delights” or something along that line…until I saw the pasta dish…
There was even the celebrated Sibu kompia…
…and do-it-yourself fruit rojak…
…and this was the dessert spread…
There were many other dishes but I did not take any photographs of the rest…and I did not eat most of them as well. I just had one helping and was not too impressed so I decided to just go for the dessert which wasn’t that great either.
I heard that the buffet dinner was RM30.00 per head, so I had expected something better than that. I think their regular weekend barbecue buffet dinner does not cost as much. For one thing, they did not need to have so many items on the menu. After all, nobody can eat all that – just a few selected dishes would suffice…and they can give something special like (freshwater) prawns and fish. I don’t think I saw any that night.
Prior to my retirement, I used to organise functions at the Li Hua Hotel Restaurant – the buffet dinners there were a lot cheaper. I don’t know the current prices but at the time, we could get some very delicious fare at RM10-12.00 per head, enough for everybody to eat to his or her heart’s content…and they had a very good P.A. system (and a stage) unlike what we had that night. The echo was annoying and the constant feedback was equally irritating. The equipment looked brand new…so probably that was the first time they were holding a function like that in their premises. Hopefully, they will learn from the experience and improve.
All in all, I had a good time that evening mingling with my fellow-bloggers and friends. So, thank you once again, Yan, for the invitation…
Comments on: "Garden Party…" (24)
wake up so early?
Where got early? Almost 7 here! You haven’t gone to sleep yet? LOL!!!
d time here now is 8 hours behind malaysia…. hv lots to study for exam so browsing thru ur blog is my entertainment for d time being
Well, well…glad that you find my blog entertaining…but looking at food your only form of entertainment kah? Goodness, your life’s really pathetic! Hahahahahaha!
ahah .. this is what I’m waiting for. BP belanja this only kah? No other extravagant food kah? Why so lokek one??? Ha ha ha
Not cheap lah! RM30! Go restaurant, RM300 a table quite good already! You go KL, even worse!! Where got buffet dinner there less than RM50 one… Of course the food may be good, but nobody can possibly eat all that on the buffet spread…not even me! Don’t think can eat RM50+ worth!!! LOL!!!
ha ha ha .. buffet steamboat got la .. RM20. :p .. yesterday’s jogoya costs us RM98 per pax. Luckily kompeni sponsor .. if not, sorry lah …
I think I would prefer buffet steamboat – RM30 per head, should be able to have prawns and crabs… LOL!!!
da sotong looks yummo! good morning stp
Dunno…I didn’t try. Not really crazy over sotong! Ya…good morning to you too…ummm…afternoon now! LOL!!!
Good morning STP..
Indeed rm 30 is a bit high for a buffet dinner such as this… anyway, i m sure u enjoyed yourself with the company u were with that evening… that is all that counts!
Morning… It’s cheap for a hotel, normally more than that especially at the bigger ones that but less than RM50 and the food’s not necessarily better. It depends… I only know of one that’s cheap and nice but last time in my school, the teachers didn’t want to go there. No class! I don’t mind…as long as the food is good (And the karaoke system BEST! Even my lousy voice also sounded nice! LOL!!!) – instead of paying for the place and get shortchanged on the food.
the food are nice! Slrrp, I havent try Garden’s food anyway. Always heard your comment on it only.
You should go and try! The a la carte food is nice…and comparatively cheaper than other hotels/cafes. They’ve renovated the place so it is very presentable, classier now.
Food not nice kah? But the photos looks appealing though! Must be yr camera doing the ‘talking’!
I just thought the curry and rice were nice, didn’t try most of them as they did not turn me on! Oops!!! Hahahahahaha!!! Had a bit of the pasta – not great, kinda bland! But definitely better than the buffet lunch I had at a Chinese restaurant in London – all noodles, supposedly cooked in different ways – Singapore-style, Hongkong-style and whatever styles…but all tasted the same – or all quite tasteless actually! LOL!!!
The sotong dish looks nice. Aiya, food not nice never mind lah, it’s the company that counts
Next time, they better let you handle the F&B part hor… hmm…that’s a very good idea!
Didn’t try the sotong. Ya, enjoyed the company… Would love to have more bloggers’ gatherings like this!
A~lar! Dah lar I cannot go, and now you wanna torment me by showing these delicious foods! Hmmpp
Hahahahahaha!!! I enjoy torturing people. Must be my sadistic side!
oh, i love the food at li hua’s also, and i remember it was at ard tat price too! but the last time i was there was some 3 – 4 years ago also lar >.< even thinking of it makes me drool~~
They used to have buffets in their coffee house on Saturday nights at only RM10.00 per head with free flow of orange cordial or rose syrup… Dunno if they still have that or not. The buffet spread was just sufficient – maybe at least 6 items besides the rice and fried noodles, there was the salad bar…and dessert too. Really cheap…and most importantly, delicious!
The curry looks thick and good. Agree with you, rather have good prawns or fish with less dishes spread. LOL!
Ya…the curry was good…and I didn’t join the crowd but as I went to help myself, they refilled the curry! That’s why I could get one big drumstick! Hahahahahaha!
walao eh look at those dishes, pasta, curry, squid, rojak. better check your cholesterol levels teacher. oh wait, my bad. u didnt have them all. lol. i really miss the midin. no where to get here. no cangkuk manis oso. im damn sad liao.
Ya…they had cangkuk manis too that night. I didn’t take a photo of that! Well, you went to Oz for ur summer hols instead of coming home…so now you have to suffer until you can come back! Hahahahahaha!
the food spread is good but where’s the other type of food? err… i mean men?!!
None that would interest you…except the ones in the 1st pic in my previous post! They’re RICH…but old…and I guess they’re all married! Forbidden fruit is sweeter? Hahahahahaha!!!!
okay i havent had lunch.. and this entry makes my tummy go “TIME TO EATTTTT!!!” haha..
anyway, garden party is always nice =)
LOL!!! It wasn’t exactly a garden party…but at the Garden Hotel here! I wouldn’t want a garden party – in the open, no aircon…so hot! Hahahaha!
Somebody’s getting on my nerves.
Either he didn’t read your blog post or he probably doesn’t understand it.
He does the same thing on my blog too!
I wonder if I should start a blog war & bask in the popularity I would gain from his unpopularity.
Your comment has been edited… There are more than one of them – many will just “hit and run”. They read a line or two and post a comment as they simply do not have the time having many blogs to go to and comment (and often missing the point)…in the hope that everybody will go and comment in theirs. One way to increase traffic. You can deal with him in your own blog…as things can get pretty ugly. Don’t want that to happen again here…
yeah I understand the echo can be very annoying & “destroying” the entire environment! So the good PA sys there didn’t trouble u mingling with the fellow bloggers, that’s great
The good PA system was at the other place, not this one. But thank goodness there were only two very short speeches, so it wasn’t so bad.
RM30 per head for buffet dinner is consider cheap. I’m surprise to see “kompia” on the buffet spread.
Garden Hotel? Is it opposite Ngui Kee?? I really cannot remember where is where.
Ya…I wonder if anybody took the kompia. Nope, the one near Ngiu Kee is Orchid Hotel. This one is across Kampong Nyabor Road from Premier Hotel, not too far from Sacred Heart Cathedral…
lol.. i’d have taken the kompia…
hey.. don’t laugh! I still miss it!! hardly get it okay?
Then you can have all of it! I’m not a fan of kompia…whichever way you prepare it.
everything looked yummy n good presentation. Best curry is still from the Dimong Clan…wonder how many in the family still got that skill…..seemed everybody go for A1 now. .short cut. haha
The older ones all can cook…and my missus…and I’m sure Gundot can too, and Ah Hiok and Lansat (if you know who she is)…just that it’s not worth all that trouble. When we use A1, we add some extra ingredients to make it taste nicer…
Lansat?! I think i know who,gosh till now, forgotten this person exists. She used to work for TOC’s family rite? I thot her name is ‘angsat’? Yr version sounds so ‘vulgar’ lah!LOL!
It’s all in the mind, my dear, all in the mind. Langsat is the name of a fruit! LOL!!! Ya, that’s the one! She was working for me for a few years – the best years of my life! It seemed that she had picked up the culinary skills of TOC’s father…and she would cook and I would enjoy to my heart’s content. Really good worker – I had an automatic gate then (She would wait for me to come home and open the gate for me!!!)…but my missus had this thing about maids and the poor lady was given her walking orders… SIGH!!!
RM30 is real cheap for a buffet spread in a hotel. You try coming to the buffet in some of the hotels in Kuching then you’ll know what I mean. More than RM50 per head that’s for sure unless someone can tell me otherwise!
Yeah…it is cheap even when compared to the bigger hotels here…but it isn’t that great! I think there were more than 10 items – maybe 5 or 6 would be enough but offer some better stuff instead…of say, kompia…or cangkuk manis!!! It was not a dinner for tourists or visitors from abroad…
i so hungry read tis post*i mean d fruits only* LOL
Wah! Healthy living?…Real cheap to feed like that! Hahahahaha!!!
[...] certainly looks nicer than what was served at a buffet dinner at a local hotel that I attended sometime [...]