Eastin Hotel Penang features 328 meticulously decorated guestrooms and equipped with modern amenities for the comfort and convenience of the discerning business and leisure traveler. Their rooms are either facing the verdant green hills or the shimmering blue sea and Pulau Jerejak, home to tropical rainforest that's over 130 million years old or looking out onto an elegant landscaped gardens. The hotel has two restaurants - Swez Brasserie and Lobby Lounge.
We arrived at Swez Brasserie located on Level 1. The white-washed sparkling clean place offers an all-day dining gusto from breakfast, lunch to dinner. I was very impressed with the place at first sight for the soft pastel tint furnishing and the high glass frontage with the view of green climbers flowing down the metal louvres certainly provides a soothing ambiance for diners.
The range of starters at the salad bar was not extensive but enough for midday madness. The salad bar served the usual range of vegetables and fresh alfalfa grass with two types of pickled olives (my favorite) with four different types of dressing i.e. thousand island, french, Italian and balsamic dressing with condiments. They had tandoori chicken sausage salad, pasta salad with fresh prawns, chicken roll, smoked mackerel, potato salad and a few more types of salads. Since it was an international buffet, they also served two types of sushi and condiments.Chicken tom yam soup and vegetable soup were piping hot from the pot served with a range of breads. A vegetarian corner catered to the needs of vegans offering spring rolls and three other dishes.
As for the main course, they had spring chicken, delicious beef chili con carne served with tortilla chips, fish papillote, vegetable ratatouille, lamb kurma, fish in thai sauce, Thai beef curry, ikan goreng masak tiga, curry prawns and another grilled prawns, stir fried chicken with marmite sauce, stir-fried vegetable with garlic, deep fried crispy mussel, steamed fish and a few more delightful offerings.I confess I tasted 80% of the dishes - the exceptions being the noodle station (which according to my boy was superb), the ratatouille, roti john and bread pudding (which I used to make every other week anyway). Honestly, I was very impressed with the presentation, taste and cooking style of the chef. The meats were tender and cooked to perfection and well marinated to the extent that one could feel the burst of spices the minute the meat lands on our tongue! Impressive.
As many of my friends already know, I have a sweet tooth and thoroughly enjoy desserts. The range of assorted fruits and nyonya kuih held no attraction for me as I zoomed in on the French pastry, variety of cakes such as mousse cakes, the delectable moist chocolate cake, fine tiramisu and the fantastic cheese cake with such an unforgettable layer of fine cheese topping and chocolate sponge base!
An unforgettable dining experience indeed!
They also had a range of jellies in cups and glasses.
I deliberately waited till Buka Puasa time to put up this post out of respect for my Muslim readers. I have yet to attend any Buka Puasa buffet spreads and will do so as soon as I workout what I gained for lunch today.If you are in Penang, do check out Swez Brasserie, Eastin Hotel. I must say that the staff are friendly, courteous and always ready to please. Special thanks to Encik Md Fauzi HJ Shariff (Asst Manager) who gave me a copy of the menu of the buffet spread and Encik Rostam who were in attendance. The staff are well-trained, helpful and service always came with a smile. Most certainly, their warmth and sincere effort to be of kind assistance certainly made dining at Swez Brasserie a memorable experience.
My next post will be up after dinner. Do swing by again after 9p.m.! As for now, I am off to dinner with my family :-). Take care and have a lovely evening.
Cat-from-Sydney Aunty Paula,
Oh...this is soooooo sinful! Certainly lives up to Penang's reputation as the culinary capital of Malaysia. Eat your heart out, Malacca! Is this hotel new? Will certainly check it out. purrr.....meow!