Review: "Yam Lay Sek" Promotion at Mandarin Palace

Venue: Mandarin Palace Restaurant, Federal Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Overall comment: Extensive variety & of good value, especially if you can really eat!
Halal: No

For just RM40.00++ per adult, enjoy up to 48 different types of dishes at the "Yam Lay Sek" (All You Can Eat) ala carte buffet spread! There are soups, cold dishes, duck, pork, chicken, prawns, fish, vegetables, noodles & even rice dishes to keep your tummies satisfied to the brim. Available for both lunch (12:00pm - 2:30pm) and dinner (6:30pm - 10:30pm) daily, this is definitely one promotion not to be missed! All you need are just a minimum of 2 persons dining together & an empty stomach, waiting to be filled :D

There were 8 of us that night, so we ordered 10 dishes to try out. The"trick" at buffets like this is to order 1. the more expensive items like seafood & 2. your favorites. At least you're paying for what your money's worth & you get to enjoy your favorites at a good price! :)

Pork Rib with Plum Sauce 冰梅骨

This was my favorite among all the dishes that we've ordered for the tasting. The "pork ribs" (near the belly area) were tender & well marinated overnight with plum powder. I enjoyed the fragrant & mildly sweet pork pieces very much. Yums. It actually goes best with rice!

Talapia with Special Sauce 怪味金鳳魚

Surprisingly, this simple dish was the crowd's favorite! It's the aromatic sweet & spicy sauce, coating the deep-fried red Talapia fish that gave this dish a thumbs-up. Chef Yip Boon Ming & his team used a symphony of ingredients such as chili boh, lime juice ("kat chai sui"), assam skin, shallots, garlic, lemongrass & ginger-flower ("bunga kantan") to bring the spicy sauce to the next level. Tastes pretty Thai-inspired, no doubt!

Barbecue Meat of the Day 今日燒味拼

If you enjoy roast cuts, you may want to give Mandarin Palace's bbq meats a try. Their roast duck was quite nice, although I prefer the skin to be more crispy, while the bbq pork didn't make it to my top pick.

Thai Style Jelly Fish 泰式撈蜇花

This was a good appetizer. The dried jellyfish is soaked in warm water & blanched in hot water, before getting seasoned with spices, onions, chili & lime juice. Sweet, sour & spicy!

Stir-fried Vegetables with Nam Yee Sauce 南乳小炒皇

Stir-fried lotus roots often remind me of Chinese New Year. It's an "auspicious" dish, full of symbolic-significance. Mandarin Palace cooked this dish well, with enough of the "nam yu" taste & the lotus roots weren't too soft as well. It still has a nice crisp & crunch. The only things lacking in this dish were toasted almond flakes & fresh water chestnuts! Those are only available on the normal menu.

Shark's Fin Soup with Crab Meat & Shredded Chicken 雞絲蟹肉翅

  I'm not a great fan of shark's fin soup. For one, the way the sharks get killed for their fins is just too cruel. But since it's already served (and usually it's not REAL shark's fins), I'll just go ahead to drink the soup. Mandarin Palace, as a typical Chinese restaurant, has been pretty grounded on their traditional Chinese dishes like this one. The broth is cooked for up to 2 days using ham, chicken & pork to be served as a good stock for the shark's fin soup. My only issue with that night's soup was that it was heavy on the salt :(

Pig's Stomach & Salted Vegetables Soup 鹹菜豬肚湯

 This is my 1st time being served with pig's stomach & salted vegetables soup! The salted fish or even roasted pig's leg with salted vegetables soup are common but pig's stomach....?? Interesting. My cholesterol level is already high, so I didn't dare to indulge much into this soup although as a typical Cantonese girl, I grew up having such soup (and I love it!). The chef on that particular day was somehow very prone to putting more salt than required into his dishes & this was one of the 'victims' :S

  

Stir-fried Vegetables with Nam Yee Sauce 南乳小炒皇

I'm a great fan of claypot loh shu fun, but I certainly prefer the dark sauce version! The ONLY restaurant that I found VERY yummy for this version was at Restoran Yoke Heng in Seri Kembangan.  Mandarin Palace's felt like there's a lack in an ingredient. I suspected that it's the deep-fried dried shrimps & probably pork lard. Hahaha. They do have dried shrimps in this dish, but it's either insufficient or just not the type that would bring this dish to the next level.

Salt Baked Grass Prawns 椒鹽鮮草蝦

Taste was pleasing (surprisingly not too salty), but the texture of the prawns felt like it wasn't the live, still-swimming prawns. There are 3 other cooking-styles of prawns to choose from, so you don't need to just stick to this one :)

Yam Pot with Assorted Meat 佛缽又飄香

Good, powdery yams are key to this dish. I'm pleased that Mandarin Palace did a good job in picking the best yam for this dish! The taste is nothing very spectacular as it's a typical Chinese dish, but at least there's nothing to complain about this dish since it uses chicken thigh & a good mix of ingredients. 

Don't miss this opportunity to try out Mandarin Palace's all you can eat ala carte buffet! RM40.00++ per adult or RM28.00++ per child, 7 days a week & available for both lunch & dinner! Do call to make your reservation to avoid disappointment. This promotion has been a hit for the past years, so you won't wanna be turned down by a full house of customers upon arrival ;)

Mandarin Palace Chinese Restaurant

The Federal Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Jalan Bukit Bintang

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia.

Tel: (+603) 2148 8744, direct line to the restaurant

Tel: (+603) 2148 9166 (ext 2202)

URL: Mandarin Palace Federal Hotel KL

Ratings:
Presentation: * * * *
Price: * * * 1/2
Environment: * * * 
Taste: * * *
Service: * * *


Overall:





Wish I could fit more food into my tummy!