October Japanese Cuisine JP Perdana Budget a la Carte Buffet in Johor Bahru

Scrolling through the posts in 吃的平台 Facebook group, we saw a member shared about the a la carte buffet at October Japanese Cuisine in JP Perdana, Johor Bahru. So, we went there for dinner today.

Best Cheap & Good Korean BBQ in Johor Bahru. Myeong Dong BBQ Buffet

We bumped into Phoebe and family in Taman Mount Austin, and they suggested to us to try Myeong Dong BBQ Buffet. Phoebe and family are veteran food hunters in JB and they know a lot of good family friendly places to eat.

Good Food, Good Value. Tanba Japanese BBQ Buffet in Johor Bahru 炭馬日式烧肉 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I first visited 炭馬日式烧肉 Tanba Japanese BBQ buffet at Twin Galaxy in JB last year for an invited tasting. Today, I came back with friends as a paying customer and am glad to recommend Tanba to you.

Guoma Steamboat Buffet @ Mount Austin. JB 锅妈台式火鍋

After running our errand at Mount Austin, we checked around with locals on what is good to eat around here. A few people pointed us to Guoma Steamboat 锅妈台式火鍋 which is very popular with locals.

Puteri Cafe Weekend Hi Tea Buffet. Puteri Pacific Johor Bahru is CLOSED

So many good memories here at Puteri Pacific Hotel in the heart of downtown Johor Bahru. The iconic hotel is closed effective from 30 Aug 2020. There was no official word on the reason for the closure but it followed suspension of operations since Mar 2020 with the shutting of Malaysia's borders due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Many people in Singapore and Johor Bahru are sad to see it go as we have spent much good times here with friends and family. Thanks to all staff for the memories.

"Always and Forever in our Hearts, 1991 - 2020." 

Buffet at The Grand GEM in Johor Bahru, Grand BlueWave Hotel

Johor Kaki was invited to a preview of The Grand GEM's special buffet in conjunction with Ramadan.

The Grand GEM is located at the ground floor of The Grand BlueWave Hotel. This is my third visit to Grand GEM; read about my first and second visits.

The Grand GEM's special buffet consists of three different menus which will be rotated so that diners can experience different dishes at each visit.

We sampled just a small selection of Grand GEM's classic Indian dishes from the three menus during tasting session. 



Our starter of "chicken vada". Be warned that this vada is "booby trapped" with bits of fiery chili padi that will literally set the mouths of the uninitiated afire. As for me, I like the hot spicy spikes when I bite into a chili padi :D



Popular starter "onion pakoda" or crispy onion fritters are fried in a spiced batter.



The "Mixed Grill Platter" of grilled chicken marinated in yogurt blended with different herbs and spices. 



The tandoori grilled chicken were tender and rich with mild sensuous flavours and aroma.



The fiery looking "Bhuna Gosht" is a classic lamb curry. The pan fried mutton smothered in a thick blend of spices and herbs was tender and loaded with rich flavours and aromas. 



I like this richly flavoured and mildly spicy "mutton dalcha" which went very well with the breads.

This was so good, I was drinking it up on it's own.



Our basket of various types of freshly made roti naan.



Nasi goreng made with basmati rice.



Baryani rice



There was a sampling of vegetarian dishes such as this "broccoli with mushroom" topped with cashew and cheese.



The vegetarian burgers came towards the end of the tasting session and we were already full.

But, this turned out to be the surprise crowd favourite. 

As we were full by now, we all just took a nibble at this ordinary looking burger. Wow, we were impressed by the juicy flavourful, sweet, savoury and slightly tangy salsa spread, and the fluffy and crispy buns.

Somehow, we suddenly found space in our stomachs to finish all the vege burgers.

For the special buffet, The Grand GEM set up a "rumali roti" station.



The "rumali roti" action was very exciting to watch!

The flat dough is thrown upwards and forwards and it flies back to the chef like a boomerang!



The thin dough spread open is draped and cooked over a hot sea salt crusted upturned wok. The cooked dough is then folded just like the way one folds a handkerchief.



Made of wheat "rumali roti" is eaten like chapati or roti prata with curries.



For desserts, we had “gulab jamun” which is a very sweet deep fried milk ball served with rose and cardamom scented syrup.



We also had “kesari” which is a sweet semolina pudding flavoured with ghee and cardamom.



I rounded up the session with a nice masala chai.

The Grand GEM has three different menus for the special buffet which will be rotated.

Normal price is RM70 per person. Special rates of RM70 nett for two persons. And, 30% discount off RM70 nett per person for corporate accounts. 

If you are looking for a chance to sample many types of authentic Indian cuisine in a fine dining restaurant at a very reasonable price, this is the best opportunity that I know of.

Restaurant name: The Grand GEM (at Grand BlueWave Hotel)
Address: Jalan Bukit Meldrum, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/oAc8E
GPS: 1.460626,103.768948
Hours: Dinner only (and only during Ramadan).
Telephone: 607-2210-7171
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert

Date visited: 24 Jun 2014

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

Johor Western Food Buffet at La Prosperidad De Restaurant 兴旺发西式自助餐 in Kulai

My friend Mandy invited me to visit her relative Adrian's newly opened La Prosperidad De restaurant in Kulai. Besides it's rather unique tongue twister of a name, LPD's unique selling point is that it serves all you can eat Western food buffet at RM28.90 nett. Yes, you heard it right - RM28.90 nett all you can eat Western buffet. Wait! There is more. Children pay only RM13.90. (Sounding like TV commercial :P )

Restaurant name: La Prosperidad De Restaurant 兴旺发西式自助餐
Address: 49, Jalan Gangsa 1, Taman Gemilang, Kulaijaya, Johor 
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/DqCi7
GPS: 1.654114,103.588822
Hours: 5:00pm to 11:00pm
Tel: Adrian +6017-785-2660
No pork, not lard, no Halal cert

La Prosperidad De is a simple, small shop lot restaurant. The tacky décor and basic layout of the buffet line reminded me of those cafés at dinghy small budget hotels.



The young kitchen crew is led by Amos (right) who is also a partner at La Prosperidad De. Amos had trained in Kuala Lumpur, worked in Singapore and now a partner in his own start up.

Initially, I was healthily sceptical about what kind of food a customer would get for a RM28:90 nett all you can eat buffet.

There turned out to be a couple of pleasant surprises.



My favourite dish of the evening was La Prosperidad De's chicken chop. It was a well marinated thick, chunky piece of grilled chicken topped with savoury sauce. The chicken was juicy, tender and nicely sweet. I can easily and happily go for two of this chicken chop in one sitting.



La Prosperidad De's fish and chips was another winner in my opinion.



The batter was nicely browned encasing quite thick strips of dory that were still succulent and sweet. This was better than some places that slice their dory too thin and made it too dry. Inexpensive fish and chips are seldom palatable but LPD's version bucks the trend.



La Prosperidad De also serves pretty good lamb chops made with Aussie lamb. Nicely grilled, still tender and juicy with that lovely gamey flavour that lamb lovers enjoy. However, understandably for cost reasons, each customer is limited to only one lamb chop per person.

 

The spaghetti today was average with the pasta a little limp.



Besides the main courses there are various sides. There is even a clunky small chocolate fondue fountain - a crowd pleaser, especially for the young.



There are also soups, salads, wieners, sausages, French fries and other sides which I didn't explore. Am already stuffed, just tasting the chops. 



It was near full house when we were there on a rainy evening - value seekers have already found La Prosperidad De. Not surprisingly, most were families with children.

If you are shopping with family at Johor Premium Outlets and want to explore small town Kulai, a simple dinner at La Prosperidad De may be an option.

Date visited: 27 Oct 2013

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Johor Dinner Buffet at Harbour Café at TRADERS Hotel at Puteri Harbour

Aida, Communications Manager at newly opened TRADERS Hotel at Puteri Harbour invited us to visit their Harbour Café.

All guests are warmly welcome at the bright reception and entrance to Harbour Café.



Once pass the Café reception, guests are greeted by this unique cheerful display of fruit and vegetable pickles in large bottles.

Harbour Café offers a wide range of International and local favourites. Obviously, I couldn't taste them all in one day even though I wish I could :P and I could only take photos of food that caught my eye. So, there is much more on offer at Harbour Café than what is shown in this post :)

Alright, let's take a walk around at Harbour Café.



The heap of sweet and succulent blanched shrimps chilled on a bed of ice at the seafood station.



Lots of blanched flower crabs for crab lovers. Fresh crabs, no need for fancy cooking. Best on it's own,  au naturel :)



The Indian section has a large traditional tandoor (clay oven) where the meats on skewers and naan (Indian flat bread) are baked.



Executive Chef Alan, a hands on leader, demonstrating his roti canai flipping skill. 



Thin, crispy roti canai (prata) straight off the hot griddle.



William is the Station Chef in charge of the Indian station at Harbour Café. William who loves Indian cuisine learnt his craft under an Indian master, and now specialises in Indian dishes.




William's freshly baked masala chicken from the tandoor.



Executive Chef Alan who has worked in many countries in hotels under the Shangri-La group, is very proud of his herbal stew and soup station. Alan who hails from the town of Tapah in Perak, Malaysia proudly declared that his mother's cooking is his inspiration. Alan, a Cantonese, said that Cantonese people must have soup at every meal, and he grew up on his mum's soups and stews. I trust any chef who tries to serve us mum's cooking. Mum's cooking is best - no kidding.



I took a bowl of Alan's herbal lamb stew back to our table for three of us to share. I like the tender, flavourful lamb so much that I ended up eating up all three persons' share because they were too slow hehe and I forgot to wait for them haha :P



Chef Meng, the Chef De Cuisine in charge of Harbour Café whipping up a bowl of curry mee for us. Chef Meng also has many years of overseas experience with the Shangri-La group, including in Shangri-La, Singapore.   



Harbour Café's curry mee is as good as any of the old names in Johor Bahru town. Good balance of spices and santan, not overly spicy despite it's fiery looks - actually, just the right amount of spicy hot. The two good sized succulent, shelled prawns is a nice touch.



Chef Meng at the dim sum station. I need to come back to try this as many readers have been asking me where to find good no pork, no lard dim sum.



Pan fried salmon with creamy sauce and zucchini. Looks nice but I didn't try it this round. Too much good food, saving this for my next visit :)



The pasta section. I didn't try the pasta as there was just no more room in my seriously overstretched stomach.





The sashimi station is my personal favourite. Here we can indulge in fresh sashimi to our hearts' content LOL.



Chocolate lovers! Harbour Café has a chocolate fountain! Irresistible to the young and young at heart :)



Coming up next, my Harbour Café breakfast buffet experience :)

Restaurant name: Harbour Café
Address: TRADERS Hotel, Puteri Harbour, Nusajaya, Johor
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/3xCnf
GPS: 1.416727,103.659063
Business Hours: Dinner 6.30pm - 10.30pm @ RM78++ (10% svc charge and 6% gov tax). Children below 6 dine for free with two (2) paying adults, children 6-12 at 50% off.
No pork, no lard, no Halal cert

Date visited: 17 Jun 2013, 18 Jun 2013