Feasting at BCCK Ramadan Buffet ...

So many things to eat, so little time...

And when you're being invited to a free dinner with an all-you-can-eat menu, always remember not to starve yourself the whole day because you tend to get full prematurely, and you tend to overeat, and then regret them later. Best to go for the main course first because if you follow the exact serving protocol, you'll get yourself stuffed with appetizers way before the first course is even served.  (We're Asians... our portions of each course aren't exactly small ...)

Anyway.

I had the priviledge of being invited as part of Sarawak Bloggers, to a food tasting by Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) last week, to their Ramadan Buffet. Shall I give you a fair warning to start off? Firstly, I don't fast so my food tasting experience should fairly differ from those who actually do. Secondly, I'm not much of a food reviewer ha ha ha but then again, since taste is solely subjective, who cares anyway. And lastly, I might get very wordy so if you get bored, just look at the pictures. :p

Lamb! Whole roast lamb! Yep... always go straight for the main course. No point wasting time. Can't miss it. There it was in the exact spot just as I remembered last year, the freshly roasted whole lamb. Not even embarassed about asking for more cuts and carved lamb meat from the carver who stood ready by its side. Actually, if I had it my way, I would prefer him to keep cutting away, put slabs and slabs of them on a big plate by the side so I could just help myself to it instead of waiting with outstretched hand holding an empty plate while the queue keeps getting longer behind me. It was amazingly slighly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Too bad they didn't have black pepper sauce then, it would've been surreal. Sigh...

With mint sauce. That time they didnt have black pepper sauce...

Ever tried ayam pansuh (chicken cooked in bamboo)? Mike Cheng from BCCK swore that it was cooked using bamboo, I guess I had to take his words for it. It was just nicely done, although if they had used ayam kampung, it would've been much much better. And with the country-bred chicken (ayam kampung), they should use more tepus, more tapioca leaves, and more lengkuas (galangal)... THEN it would've been just as nice as how my mother used to cook it back when she still visited the kitchen.

 Ayam pansuh...

There was a delightful surprise waiting at the appetizer table... Fried Tempoyak or fermented durian! I know many maybe are not fans of durian, but a fermented durian is another thing altogether. It's not even as smelly as durian. And to even say it's smelly, well, it's an acquired smell, need I say anything more? I'm a huge fan of this stuff, and to me, it's THE appetizer, so... tada! Normally when I fry this stuff, I'd want to make it sweet instead of sour. Even thinking about it now makes my mouth water...

 Fried tempoyak... with just enough chillie...

Also tried the poached prawn on egg. It was a bit plain for me though, but that's the idea, isn't it? It does look really eye-catching by the appetizers table looking all reddish and glistening. Dip them in mustard sauce or thousand island and voila...

 Poached prawn on ice...

There were also mussels with cheese and some other stuffs they put on top. It was reportedly the quickest dish to finish and one that keeps getting replenished. It's not oysters people, it will probably give you only one-third of the desired effect. Ha ha. I tried just one and Ok no comment... just that I never tried it being prepared like that.

Mussels...

I actually went round and round looking for the satay and was almost disappointed I didn't see it, until I braved myself asking an elderly gentleman holding a generous amount of satay sticks on his plate where he got those. He looked at his plate, laughed and pointed to a corner by the side corner. Oh God be praised! But hey, they should be sitting next to the grilled lamb so people like me could easily find them. But haiya... after taking a bite with some difficulties, I had to declare that I was disappointed. It was kind of hard to chew, not tender enough, and I actually struggled to bite them off the sticks. Too much excitement and anticipation of meeting the satay? Haha... probably. I hope by now they have done some major improvement to the satay like they said they would. Maybe my next round will be so much better...

Beef satay ...

This tiny little folded heaven is called shawarma and I'm newly acquainted with it. One word: Delicious. Healthy stuff too.

 

 Shawarma...

Fermented kedondong anyone? They're very addictive... take a bite and you will want another and another and another... You can eat them just like that, or with rice. And if you're the adventurous type, can also dip them in sambal belacan and take with freshly steamed rice out of the pot. Oh Lord... salivating now.

 

 Fermented 'kedondong' or ambra as they're called in some region...

And for the desserts... kids would normally head for the choc fondue, dip-twist-and-turn all kinds of stuff in that choc sauce... but I thought it was a little juvenile for me. Not much of a fan of chocolate and dipping my sliced fruits in them? oh No No... But don't let me stop you! To each his own. I did try the other desserts though and those little individual servings of cocktail dishes. (By now, I would be kind of guilty of mixing and matching the appetizers with the desserts... ha ha ha...)

desserts, choc fondue... assorted pastries...

And there's ABC! There was this friendly server girl behind the ABC counter who responded with an honest reply of ''You're welcome" to every Thank Yous she received just for preparing guests with the creamy iced dessert. Wow... such professionalism and sincerety. I know... I was sixth in the long queue and her smile never wavered the whole time.

Air Batu Cendol...

And finally... what's a night without coffee huh? They served a real mean strong cappucino here, just the way I like it. The barista made sure all brew was perfectly done and if it didn't come out quite as perfect, he would start with a fresh one. Weh... I saw him redoing a cuppa for the couple before me... and I was totally impressed! I even had the right amount of bubble!

A cup of hot cappucino... Let's call it a night?

The feasting experience at BCCK was one heck of a food adventure by itself. All that food... you'll be spoilt for choice! For RM72 nett per person for an adult and if you're bringing kids between 5 to 12 years old, you'll only be paying RM28 nett for each of them -- I'd say it's totally worth it. 

I must come back the second time to try out what else I didn't manage to err... eat. What are you waiting for? It's only until 14th of August, so make your reservations now! Jangan menyesal tak try wei... Ramadan hanya sekali setahun. ;p

To make reservations, call 082-392889.

The Dark Knight Rises ...

One word: INTENSE.
Two more words: MUST WATCH.

Always did like Christian Bale. And I'm a little biased when I say that He is THE Batman of the century. Try comparing him in that caped suit with the previous Batmans... and see who wears it better, both in stature and size, facial expression, and not forgetting the muscles. The rest of him and the whole storyline just fit like a glove.

The 3rd installment of the Dark Knight this time is hell-bent on being awesome compared to the previous two, but then again, it's expected because this is where the buildup is, the drawn conclusion of the first two in the trilogy. I swear I didn't even feel the 2 hours and 44 minutes runtime. Yes it was that long, and although I didnt watch it in 2D nor 3D, it didn't matter because the storyline and the twist was so brilliant. The part where the terrorist Bane began the revolution seemed so real I kept thinking what if the End of the World began in the same way, with ruthless lawlessness and unthinkable violence, would we even survive it? Where would we run for sanctuary? Who would protect us? That kind of mental images are hard to shake... Oo Tom Hardy makes a really mean terrorist... if you ignore the beautiful beguiling eyes behind the mask that is.

Google the storyline yourself, if you don't already know. But if you want to be able to follow the plot and some of the past characters that emerged, you better first watch Batman Begins and The Dark Knight to know how this became that and why he became thus or why they became that way.

I know that this is the epic so-called closure, but how it ended just gave some hope that there will be a spin-off or a 4th movie because there's the discovery of Robin. Which reminds me, hey, when did Joseph Gordon-Levitt got all deep-voiced and sexy? Last I saw him in 500th Day of Summer he was stuck between adolescent and adulthood! (sorry JGL fans...) Ohhhh there should be a Batman and Robin. And I hope Bale will still be the caped crusader. The two of them looked good teamed up together.

Officer Blake: Need a ride, Mr Wayne?

Playing NOW people! Catch it in the cinema closest to you! And no, I dont get get paid for this review... Hahaha. This is not even a review. 


P/s: Suddenly datang rajin update blog. Must be a lucky month this July... why aa?