I bet you have heard about Aloft hotels and their impressive design. This American hotel chain is well known for its funky vibe and easy-going stay. However, the Aloft Kuala Lumpur is known for more than just that. Their Nook restaurant is offering a whole day dining experience, with a buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We checked how they preform and here is our Aloft Kuala Lumpur Buffet Review.
Contents
Ambiance
The futuristic setting of the Nook restaurant appears airy and uplifting. Spirits are lifted with intense colors, and lighting, which add the playful element. Personally, we like the easy navigation and excess of space around the buffet.
Drinks
One can quench thirst with free flow of four chilled beverages, or check Nook’s menu. We especially liked water infusions, lemon & cucumber, and apple & watermelon. In addition to that, tea and coffee are also in an endless supply for the duration of the Aloft buffet. Let it flow!
The Food at the Aloft Kuala Lumpur Buffet
An abundant variety of dishes is set to make vegetarians content, but the omnivores are in for the treat. Regardless of your diet, you’ll find plenty of options to test your belly’s capacity. Chances are you’ll find yourself overindulging into the traditional Malay dishes if not in international ones. We like the balance between the classics and ingenious bites, which makes Aloft buffet Kuala Lumpur more exciting.
Appetizers
Creative appetizers are our favorite part of the Nook buffet at Aloft KL Sentral. For this reason, we kept returning for compressed watermelon with feta cheese and artichokes with sautéed onions. Both were mouthwatering and shared the pleasing sweetness that was highlighted with light seasonings.
Salads
On the salad aisle, we found the combination of thick mayonnaise dressing on the apple & orange salad the most enjoyable. After all, that doesn’t mean other salads weren’t thoughtfully put together. Notably, the most fulfilling one was the chicken salad with chickpeas, beans, and black olives.
To point out, part of the self-service salad bar was a mixture of leafy greens with classic and more daring dressings. We customized it with tuna tartare in a tasty marinade with shallots.
Cold Cuts & Cheese
Next to the salads, we found smoked salmon and cured belly, while Camembert, Gorgonzola, and Cheddar cheese were right next to the freshly baked bread, nuts, and butter. However, the cheese selection outnumbered the modest collection of cold cuts. It wouldn’t hurt if there would be a bit bigger offer.
Seafood
Those looking for ocean taste, we advise walking around, to discover the daily seafood offer. We found whole black mussels and prawns on the ice, while tuna tartare and smoked salmon were only a few steps away.
Soup
Soup section spoiled us with sweet corn soup that had a generous amount of coconut milk in it. This creamy soup was incredibly rich in all its simplicity. On the other hand, more complex and completely different was the clear herbal chicken soup with vegetables.
To our surprise, we found the creamy mushroom soup to be the mildest tasting. Surprisingly enough, but it is possible that the mushrooms weren’t the strongest tasting bunch since they lacked the desired umami flavor.
Noodle Corner
Asia is crazy about noodles, and Aloft Kuala Lumpur Buffet is no different here. For the first time in our travel around Malaysia, we come across the Sarawak laksa. We liked the fragrant herbal base with medium heat thinned down with coconut milk and chicken stock. In addition, the bounty of add-ons included vegetables, fish balls, prawns, tofu, and four different rice noodles. Among them, we picked a traditional Sarawak laksa option – thin rice vermicelli noodles.
Besides Sarawak laksa, we also tried vegetable broth, chicken broth, and prawn mee. They were decent but didn’t satisfy our hedonistic souls. Kind staff complied with our desire for tiny portions, which is a good idea if you want to try as much different food as possible.
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Mains
The international array of mains present Malay classics in strong light, but it doesn’t outnumber the western style dishes. In general, the food was tasty, even though as time goes by, the quality declined.
For this reason, the chef tackled a problem by creating some hardy items, like thick lamb stew or vegetable dhal. Additionally, there is also Italian (pizza and pasta) and satay live station, to maximize the freshness.
Desserts
Fine looking sweets were neatly displayed on the dessert aisle. Some were bite-sized, others ready to be cut as pleased. Cubes of moist opera cake and Malay Kuih were a handy bite on the go for seconds, but tiny cupcakes and peanut butter cakes were best next to the coffee.
However, the majority of the desserts did disappoint as we could taste the powdery additions. Among all, we liked the creamy coconut panna cotta and coffee brulee the most.
Everyone should try local specialties; the refreshing sweet lotus seed soup and the popular Ais Kacang, known as the shredded ice. We really liked the board with the guidelines so anyone could make the proper version of it.
Conclusion
Aloft Kuala Lumpur Buffet is a playful buffet where you can try local and international specialties and classics. The offer is big and the quality of the savory bites is good. However, the dessert section has room for improvement. After all, the sweet kick makes the biggest impression. Or are we spoiled from the unforgettable Mandarin Oriental Buffet? Nope, sweet standards should be high!
Aloft Kuala Lumpur Buffet Review Card
- ATMOSPHERE – 9.3/109.3/10
- FOOD OFFER – 9.2/109.2/10
- PRESENTATION – 9.2/109.2/10
- SERVICE – 9.3/109.3/10
- FOOD TASTE – 9.1/109.1/10
- VALUE – 9.2/109.2/10
Price & Location
Kuala Lumpur Nook Buffet at Aloft hotel is possible every day for breakfast (6:00 am -10:30 am), lunch (12:00 pm – 2:30 noon), and dinner (6:30 pm – 10:30 pm). Here is a link to the Aloft Sentral for easier navigation to your buffet.