Nasi Beriani Buffet @ Café Downtown, Hotel Tropical Inn in Johor Bahru

I am an ardent nasi beriani fan, so when I heard that Hotel Tropical Inn in Johor Bahru has a nasi beriani buffet every Wednesday at RM25++, I immediately made up my mind to go for it J

Well, I found out that I was not the only one craving for nasi beriani.

The guests were greeted at the entrance of Café Downtown with mutton rendang made with whole legs of New Zealand lamb.

The cheerful Chef Ong personally cuts the guest's chosen part of the lamb's leg.

The lamb is tender and subtly fragrant with no hint of that gaminess associated with mutton (though personally I like that unique lamb flavour). The gravy is mild and gently aromatic.

The lamb is moist and loaded with flavourful juice inside.

The basmati rice cooked with ghee and spices such as star anise and cinnamon, and topped with fried shallots and chopped spring unions was delicately fragrant, fluffy yet slightly nutty and crunchy.

Of course, one cannot have nasi beriani without papadum and achar. I love the papadum here; they are fried just right - light and dry, without any residual oil clinging onto the crispy crackle. The crunchy achar was a nice blend of subtle sweet, sour, salty and spicy tastes.

Besides the signature nasi beriani, the Wednesday buffet at Café Downtown also serves a wide variety of other favourites such as ayam korma, laksa Johor, achar fish, and many other dishes.



Restaurant name: Café Downtown @ Tropical Inn
Address: 15, Jalan Gereja, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/uJXg
GPS: 1.465661,103.760456
Hours: Noon to 2:00pm
Halal

Date visited: 6 Jun 2012