Majestic Buffet Review: Dining at Contango Kuala Lumpur

Last updated: August 2026

A good hotel buffet should offer more than a room full of dishes waiting patiently beneath heat lamps. At The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Contango takes a more ambitious approach, bringing together Japanese, Indian, Malaysian and Western cooking in a contemporary dining room built around open kitchens.

Ian and I arrived with the usual questions. Would the food taste as good as it looked, and could such a broad selection maintain the same standard from one station to the next?

As it turned out, the Majestic buffet gave us plenty to discuss, from green tea soba and fragrant curries to roast duck, freshly prepared pizza and a dessert counter that required more than one visit.

Where Is the Majestic Buffet at The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur?

The Majestic buffet is served at Contango, the main restaurant in the Tower Wing of The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur. While the hotel’s original heritage wing recalls an earlier chapter of the city’s history, Contango belongs to the more contemporary side of the property.

The hotel stands on Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, not far from Kuala Lumpur’s historic railway station. Its location makes the restaurant convenient for hotel guests, although you do not need to book a room to enjoy lunch or dinner here.

We had already become familiar with the hotel’s combination of colonial architecture and modern hospitality during our stay. If you are curious about the property beyond its restaurants, our review of The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur covers the rooms, atmosphere and wider experience.

Inside Contango: The Restaurant Behind the Majestic Buffet

Contango is spacious without feeling like the dining hall of a conference hotel, which is already a promising beginning. Warm lighting, handsome finishes and carefully arranged seating give the room a sophisticated look, while the open kitchens introduce enough activity to keep the atmosphere from becoming overly formal.

The restaurant is divided into sections, each dedicated to a different style of cooking. Rather than confronting one endless buffet line, you move between Japanese dishes, curries, Western favorites, salads and desserts. The arrangement makes the experience feel more considered, although it also increases the odds of discovering another appealing dish just when you thought you had finished.

For us, the balance worked well. Contango feels dressed-up enough for a special meal but remains relaxed enough that returning to the dessert counter is unlikely to attract attention.

Majestic Buffet Menu: What Can You Expect at Contango?

The Contango buffet menu brings together several cuisines across a series of open kitchens and serving stations. During our visit, the selection included Japanese noodles and sushi, Indian curries, Malaysian specialties, Western main courses, salads, pizza and a substantial dessert counter.

Part of the appeal is the freedom to build a meal around whatever catches your attention. One plate might include Malaysian favorites, while the next takes you toward Japan or the Indian subcontinent. Nobody appears particularly concerned if your culinary itinerary makes little geographical sense.

Menus change with the day, season and buffet service, so the dishes below reflect our experience rather than a permanent selection.

The Japanese Station: Soba, Miso and Sushi

The Japanese section immediately caught my attention with its soba noodles, including an appealing green tea version known as cha soba. Guests could enjoy the noodles with a hot broth or a colder dipping sauce, making this one of the more adaptable choices at the buffet.

Miso soup sat nearby, complete with tofu, wakame and scallions. It’s the kind of simple combination that can disappear into the background at a large buffet, even though it often provides a welcome pause between heavier plates.

The sushi, however, was less memorable. It looked respectable, but its quality did not quite match the expectations created by the rest of the station. The teriyaki chicken proved more satisfying, with enough flavor to justify returning for a second helping.

Indian and Malaysian Dishes: Curry, Paneer and Murtabak

The Indian and Malaysian section delivered some of the most enjoyable flavors of the meal. Paneer tikka masala offered the comforting combination of soft cheese and richly spiced sauce, while a vegetable murtabak served with vegetable dalcha provided another satisfying option for anyone avoiding meat.

Ian, meanwhile, showed considerable enthusiasm for the chicken curry and pilaf. Once he discovered them, his exploration of the buffet became noticeably less adventurous, which is probably the most honest recommendation a dish can receive.

There were also papadams, five-spice chicken and several accompanying sauces. One of the more distinctive local ingredients was petai, sometimes called stinky beans. Their reputation makes them sound intimidating, but they are a familiar part of Malaysian cooking and worth trying if you want something beyond the more predictable hotel-buffet choices.

Western Dishes: Pizza, Pasta and Roast Duck

The Western station leaned toward familiar comforts, including thin-crust pizza, made-to-order pasta and small chicken burgers. A selection of cheeses added another reason to slow down, especially if your approach to buffets involves constructing several small meals rather than one heroic plate.

Ian’s favorite discovery was the roast duck, served with orange sauce and mashed potatoes. The combination felt more like a proper restaurant dish than an item designed merely to fill space on a buffet counter, and it quickly earned a place alongside the chicken curry in his personal ranking.

Grilled chicken and other rotating dishes rounded out the selection. While not every Western option demanded attention, the variety made sense for a hotel restaurant welcoming guests with very different expectations.

Vegetarian Options and Malaysian Favorites

Vegetarian diners should find more than the usual emergency plate of salad. During our visit, the buffet included artichokes, asparagus, paneer tikka masala, vegetable murtabak and several lighter dishes that could be combined into a proper meal.

The kerabu mangga, a Malaysian green mango salad, was a standout — sharp and refreshing enough to balance the heavier curries and fried dishes. There was also gado-gado, an Indonesian salad served with peanut sauce and two types of tofu.

As with any buffet, ingredients can vary, and seemingly vegetarian dishes may contain fish sauce, seafood-based seasoning or meat stock. Guests with strict dietary requirements should confirm individual dishes with the restaurant team.

Desserts: Cakes, Ice Cream and Local Fruit

The dessert section looked ambitious, with petit fours, chocolate cakes, fruit tarts, warm puddings and ice cream competing for attention. Some of the smaller cakes were more attractive than memorable, but there were enough strong choices to make the counter worth exploring properly.

The lychee-and-rose dessert stood out among the petit fours, as did a miniature fruit tart. Opera cake was another success, bringing the familiar layers of coffee and chocolate that rarely require much persuasion.

One of my favorite combinations was a brownie served with cream and fresh jackfruit. The fruit added a distinctly tropical note that made the dessert more interesting than a standard hotel-buffet chocolate square.

Warm apple crumble and chocolate lava cake offered heavier alternatives, while chocolate and green tea ice cream provided a lighter ending. During our visit, the ice cream was served with disposable plastic spoons, a small detail that felt slightly out of step with the otherwise well-put-together presentation.

What Drinks Are Included at the Contango Buffet?

During our visit, the Majestic buffet included several nonalcoholic drinks, including water, coffee, Twinings tea and fruit-flavored refreshments such as calamansi, pink guava and fruit punch.

The selection was useful between courses, particularly after the heavier curries and desserts. Calamansi added a pleasantly sharp citrus note, while the pink guava drink felt more in keeping with the tropical setting.

Wine, beer and spirits were not included and had to be ordered separately. As drink policies can change between lunch, dinner and promotional packages, confirm what your reservation includes before arriving.

Majestic Buffet Prices: Lunch or Dinner?

Lunch is the most accessible way to experience the Majestic buffet. Based on the hotel’s currently published rates, weekday lunch (Monday to Friday) costs MYR 118 (approximately $29) per adult, while weekend lunch (Saturday and Sunday) costs MYR 128 (approximately $32). Dinner starts at MYR 148 (approximately $37) from Monday to Thursday, rising to MYR 158 (approximately $39) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

For most visitors, lunch offers the strongest value and still provides a generous introduction to Contango. Dinner suits a more leisurely occasion, when the warm lighting and slower rhythm of the restaurant become part of the experience. Prices are listed in Malaysian ringgit as published by the hotel, with USD conversions for reference only, and may change with exchange rates, taxes, service charges and seasonal menus. Festive and promotional buffets, such as Ramadan or Chinese New Year menus, are typically priced separately and may run higher than the standard rates above.

Planning Your Visit

Contango serves breakfast, lunch and dinner at The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur. Lunch commonly runs from noon until 2:30 p.m., while dinner generally begins around 6 p.m. Service times and buffet availability may change during public holidays or special events.

Address: The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur, 5 Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Reservations: +60 3-2785 8000.
Dress code: Casual.

Booking ahead is advisable for weekends and festive periods, when the restaurant tends to be at its busiest.

How Does the Majestic Buffet Compare?

Contango’s strength lies in its combination of choice and atmosphere. The cooking was not equally convincing at every station, but the Indian and Malaysian dishes gave the buffet a stronger sense of place, while the open kitchens made the experience more engaging than the usual procession of serving counters.

The Mosaic buffet at Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur offers a useful comparison, while our guide to the best buffets in Kuala Lumpur brings the city’s leading options together.

Our Final Thoughts on the Majestic Buffet

What stayed with us was not simply the size of the buffet, but the freedom to enjoy it differently. Ian gravitated toward the chicken curry and roast duck, while I found myself returning to the green tea soba, vegetarian dishes and the brownie with fresh jackfruit.

Contango may not deliver the same standard at every station, but its most successful dishes, comfortable atmosphere and reasonable lunch prices make the Majestic buffet an easy recommendation. If one of you prefers curry while the other is already considering a second dessert, so much the better. This is the kind of restaurant that leaves room for both.

Majestic Buffet Review Card

• 9.2/10
  ATMOSPHERE – 9.2/10
• 9.4/10
  FOOD OFFER – 9.4/10
• 8.8/10
  PRESENTATION – 8.8/10
• 9/10
  SERVICE – 9/10
• 8.8/10
  FOOD TASTE – 8.8/10
• 9.3/10
  VALUE – 9.3/10