Paya Serai

So, after the long wall in the showroom with the boys already getting grumpy, we needed to stop for lunch. Happy after booking her new Peugeot, my mum-in-law wanted to have lunch at PH Hilton, a once of the and I might argue still, the best hotel in PJ. The Japanese outlet serves a grand lunch buffet during weekends, and for today, we decided to try out its main cafe, Paya Serai.

The buffet was over. Even the chocolate fountain has been switched off.We were rather too late to join the buffet lunch. Going a la carte wasn't that bad either. They had nice selection there on the menu. I had some salad followed by chicken tikka masala for the mains. The boys ordered some fried rice and chicken nugget. What compelled me to write this entry was the great service I enjoyed there. The waiters - all local - made us welcomed, sat the boys down, dealt with all our quirks. They got our order attended to straight away despite being busy clearly out the afternoon buffet. When Idlan's order came a bit late, they got the boys some ice-cream on the house, without us even needed to day anything. They came over to talk to the boys and were generally great company. I can tell that they enjoyed serving there, a rare trait.

The table setting .... elegant Avocado and buffalo mozzarella saladMy main, chicken tikka masalaNow lets talk about the food. They were nice. Nothing extra special but not too shabby either. I can't comment about the buffet though. I have to confess that Latest Recipe at Le Meridien may be a touch better but you don't get the personal attention as you do here except maybe if you were a foreigner. That's Malaysia for you. My tikka masala was rather 'pasty' - reminding me of the pre-prepared sauce I used to use to cook chicken with when I was in the UK. The salad was great though. The fried rice that Idlan had was good as well, but nothing out of the ordinary here. Will I recommend this joint to others? Of course I will but it may be a touch expensive for casual dining. For a special occasion, maybe. For me, I still prefer the Japanese buffet for lunch .....