Some of you probably wonder…why on earth would I blog about food during the pageant. Simple. It calms me down. Every time I feel stressed out, I divert my attention to food and writing. And it helped keep me sane when the air was full of tension and competitiveness. 
On the 4th day of pageant week, we had a Malay style dinner at Bunga Emas Restaurant. Dinner started rather late — at 9.30pm. I was famished after a whole day of activities and little food.
Complimentary crackers. Rather oily, but we still polished them a jiffy. Many of the girls were as hungry as I was. 
The Sup Lambok Ekor Sapi was a Malay-style oxtail soup. Robust in flavour, but I found it very, very oily. The ratio of oil to soup was 1:1, I kid you not! I didn’t finish this.
Ayam Dara Panggang fared better. The richly flavoured gravy complemented the chicken, which was tender, moist and well-seasoned.
While some found the Daging Salai Lemak Cili Padi too spicy, I liked it. The beef was surprisingly tender, and the gravy was a delicious combination of spicy, sweet and savoury flavours. This went well with the Nasi Beriyani. 
Call me a pleb, but I prefer the stall version of the kari ikan jenahak better. This curry lacked aroma and oomph. I didn’t find anything special about the asparagus – it tasted like any other stir-fried vegetables from your local tai chow. 
The bubur pulut hitam was slightly unusual, in a good way. I liked how well the ice cream paired with the bubur, and the bits of glutinous rice added a nice bite to the dessert. After dinner, I realised I stained my sash with curry. Had to use some toothpaste to remove the stains. =_=
Ambiance: 7/10
Food: 5.5/10
Verdict: Dinner was alright, but it didn’t impress me enough.
Bunga Emas Restaurant
The Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur
6 Jalan Conlay
50450 Kuala Lumpur
03 2688 9688
10 comments
yea babe.. looks awesome delicious, can DIE!! yummie:)
Ooh ice cream in bubur pulut hitam – that's quite ingenious! That's my fav local dessert done good!
wah….they served this kind of food to the contestant…thought shud be something those diet food and not this kind of sinful dishes…kekeke….
the pulut looks nice ler…
I always like those people that are truthful and able to express well, just like u . Only these type of people deserved to be in the pageant rather than those with their oh-so-fakey look and attitude. U go girl~!
toothpaste to get rid of curry? good tip!
looked really good! something very malaysian!:)
I wanna get me some sup ekor!
Yeah I was about to ask, why on earth they chose a Malay restaurant with curries as their mains, when everyone's dressed to the nines?
Hmm …
J2Kfm – I have no idea. Sometimes, the way these organisers think puzzles me.
Frat – Go to Lucky Garden in Bangsar!
BBO – Tasted not bad either.
Joe – Yeah…I was desperate de. Quite a noticeable stain. >.<
Ken Jun – Thanks!!
vialentino – I think it was because we didn't get to eat much during the day. Was really, really hungry already!
min – Yup! I loved it. 😉
Cumi & Ciki – No la…cannot die yet. It was good Malay food, but not mind blowing lor… =P
You were so right, and I should have heeded to your critic. We tried that restaurant anyway, since we were staying at the Royale Chulan. It took the staff 40 mns to bring us the bottle of wine we had ordered, and one jasmine tea. They served my wife’s appetizer first, and mine…25 mns later. All the dishes we ordered tasted the same, which was overcooked oil with some spices haphazardly thrown into. The beef shank couldn’t have been cut into edible pieces, even with a chainsaw. A really disappointment but hey, you had warned us! TK