Tasting of Eastin Hotel Penang - Wonderful Indonesia Lunch Theme Buffet

After the tummy filling month of Ramdhan, its now moving to August and Eastin Hotel Penang is starting their theme of Wonderful Indonesia. As we are neighbouring countries, there is alot of similarities to our local Malay food and many of our local favorites are actually Indonesian of origin!

The Wonderful Indonesia Lunch Buffet is available on weekdays for the whole month of August and starts from 12 noon till 2.30pm. The buffet is priced at RM66 nett per adult and RM33 nett per child. As a bonus, senior citizens get a 50% discount!

Do check out my photos and thoughts on some of the dishes highlighted. Hope you enjoy the buffet

We start of with the Nasi Goreng Ikan which has nice texture to the fried rice. The addition of fish in the fried rice is a nice change but I would have gave it more stars if it was salted fish instead :) But then that might not be Indonesian. During the buffet white rice is also available.

 The Beef Rendang Jawa gives of an aromatic aroma before one bites into those chunky pieces of meat. The rendang is slow cooked and the meat was very tender. Definitely should go for 2nd helping for beef lovers. (I did not try this as I do not take beef but my buddy gave the 2 thumbs up when trying this)

 Pecel Lele is a fried catfish dish where the chunky pieces of catfish is deep fried. This was one of my favorite dish during the sampling and it was very appetizing. It goes really well on its own and one can keep snacking on it as the slight saltiness of the dish makes one wanting more.

For display the uncut cat fish

 Satay Ayam. Now Im sure many didn't expect to see Satay on the menu but this is actually Indonesian in origin. The chicken satay here is not like those you get at a pasar malam but uses chunky pieces of marinated chicken and each stick is full of goodness. Grab them especially after a refill as thats when its really juicy! The peanut sauce was also thick and crunchy and was the perfect compliment. Im sure many would be grabbing many sticks of this satay.

 This is surely a unique way of serving satay! I'm not sure if this will be just on display during the buffet but if you have a satay party at home, this will save you a plate and get compliments from the guests.

Sayur Lontong with Sambal Ikan Bilis is a very tradisional Indonesian dish which is serve in many households there. The lontong (rice cakes) is cooked in a pot of coconut milk and spices and you get this rich broth like dish. Do try it out.

 Perkadel of chicken Bergedil is a deep fried potato cake filled with chunks of chicken as the name suggest. The cakes has a nice slightly crispy skin to it and the filling was very moist.

 For noodle lovers, do try the Bakso. The chicken broth is filled with chicken meat balls and don't forget to add the condiments and sauce to get the best taste.

Yummy. Its good that they prepare small portions of noodles so that you don't get filled up by just 1 dish. You can try it, taste it, and go back for more if you love it :)

Now we can't miss Gado-gado can we? This salad is very similar to our pasembur and serve with fried Emping crackers on the side. Again there is a peanut sauce as dressing and try the emping with it. Very yummy as the emping has a more bland taste.

 Another Eastin specialty is their Gearbox soup but today we have Soup Ekor instead (Gearbox soup is only available for their Ramadhan Buffet). I feel the soup could have more spices in it as thats how I like it but again its subjective. Chunky bits of tail provided though.

And now for some dessert. Seems like Pisang Goreng is popular now and this one comes with cheese and chocolate topping. Only feedback I have is to make sure to have this when its piping hot as then he cheese is soft and the batter still crispy. When its cold then it can become abit soggy

Another dessert is their Indonesian Layer cake.

My favorite dessert is the Es Teler. Its a cold dessert filled with santan, mango and avocado chunks. The drink was refreshing and truly love this one.

And finally plates of my food. Do check out their buffet :)