Spice Brasserie

Special thanks to The Light Hotel for extending this food review invitation.

This is my second visit to The Light Hotel since the Ramadan dinner preview in May 2016. Located within walking distance to Sunway Carnival Mall, this 5-star hotel at Seberang Jaya is provides luxury accommodation in an urban setting.

The grand lobby is decorated with fanciful chandeliers that hang dazzlingly from the high ceilings. Right next to the entrance is Spice Brasserie, one of the two eateries inside this hotel. The large dining hall appears remarkably spacious due to glass panels that extend from floor to ceiling, allowing natural sunlight to illuminate the area and provide a nice sense of warmth.

Today's event provides a sneak peek of The Light Hotel's year-end festive menu, particularly the buffet meals during the upcoming Christmas and New Year season.

Next to Spice Brasserie's open kitchen is the centerpiece of today's yuletide-themed feast - Roasted Turkey. Stuffed with chestnuts, the turkey can be enjoyed with cranberry sauce, giblet (innards) sauce and orange mint sauce. While giblet sauce is the traditional choice of many, my vote goes to the orange mint sauce which the chef so perfectly prepared.

A second Roasted Turkey is stuffed with an assortment of dried fruits, and is given a bath of white cream sauce with zesty orange flavor. The serving counter also offers cold cuts such as smoked salmon, turkey ham and beef pastrami.

Seafood On Ice is another captivating aspect of the buffet spread. The available seafood here are flower crabs, oysters, scallops and tiger prawns.

There are a handful of sauces to go with chilled seafood. In my opinion, the cocktail sauce is the best. To help to suppress rawness of oysters, Tabasco sauce and lemon wedges are provided.

For cooked seafood, I must recommend the Salmon Fillet With Blackcurrant Cream Sauce. The fruity sauce provides delightful sweetness and fragrance, making the salmon heavenly indeed. This dish is easily my favorite dish this evening.

As for poultry, Honey-Glazed Chicken Chop is appealing too. The honey-sweet seasoning really helps to draw appetite. Garnished with diced vegetables, this dish goes well with rice as the seasoning may be overpowering on its own.

Moving on, Braised Italian Lamb Shanks is blessed with flavorful gravy made from Italian herbs. The lamb is sufficiently tender, allowing the meat to peel off effortlessly from its bones. Also included in this savory dish are shallots and black olives.

Wok-Fried Mussels are given an Asian touch with a coating of tangy Vietnamese sauce. The overall taste is quite balanced. I also like the colorful presentation of this dish.

Traversing the globe to the Middle East, Shawarma (شاورما‎‎) is prepared from lamb cooked on a vertical spit. Constant rotation allows the lamb to be heated uniformly by the electric coils behind. As the lamb's surface becomes cooked, the chef slices off thin shavings to allow the next layer to be cooked.

The meat shavings are mixed with condiments such as tomatoes, onion and hummus (حُمُّص‎), then wrapped in pita bread. Overall, the lamb is seasoned perfectly and works well with hummus. However, the Shawarma should be eaten as soon as it is made because its greasiness tends to make the pita bread stick with wrapping paper.

There are also a small number of Indian dishes to represent flavorful delicacies from the subcontinent. For instance, Aloo Ghobi is a spicy curry dish made from potatoes (aloo) and cauliflowers (ghobi).

Switching to desserts, the variety of Christmas pastries is mind-boggling indeed. One of the more attractive ones, visually at least, is the Yule Log. Made from rolled sponge cake, Yule Log is layered with cream and icing so that it resembles an actual Yule log. Compared to the one presented at Olive Tree Hotel, this version has significantly more intricate details.

The recipe for Christmas Pudding originates in medieval England. The pudding is customarily brown in color due to the use of molasses, but Spice Brasserie's version is peculiarly white. The traditional recipe also involves brandy in order to extend the pudding's shelf life, but alcohol is not used here as Spice Brasserie is a halal-compliant restaurant.

Another Christmas specialty this evening is the classic Fruit Cake. This cake is littered with several types of candied fruits and nuts, giving every bite a unique combination of crunches. When compared to the version at Olive Tree Hotel, Spice Brasserie's Fruit Cake is noticeably denser and drier.

For something softer and creamier, the Blueberry Mousse is a sound choice. Blueberries provide the mousse with vibrant purplish hue, while satisfying the taste buds with sweet-tangy sensation. For aesthetic appeal, the mousse is topped with chocolate sauce, almonds, walnuts, cashew nuts and whole blueberries.

Lemon Cheese Cake is infused with piquancy of cheese. This should strike a chord with your palate if you has a natural affinity for cheese.

Green Tea Tiramisu is an assimilation of the traditional Italian cake with matcha. The main ingredients are ladyfingers, eggs, mascarpone cheese plus a hint of matcha powder. Ladyfingers line all three sides of the triangular cake. Meanwhile, fan-shaped white chocolate serve as decoration.

Moving on, the Apple Strudel is an Austrian pastry which comprises of pastry shell wrapped around apple fillings. After baking, the strudel is sliced and is typically served with vanilla sauce.

Empty spaces between desserts are filled with petite-sized treats such as walnut tartlets, panna cotta and chocolate mousse tarts.

Of course, Christmas would not be truly Christmas if not for the lovely Gingerbread House. The miniature house is constructed from pieces of gingerbread, which is actually the easy part in its preparation process. The more laborious aspect is the icing artwork required to produce finer details such as doors, windows and snow on the roof.

Spice Brasserie has 4 buffet sessions this year:
- Christmas Eve Buffet Dinner (RM128.00 for adult, RM77.00 for child)
- Christmas Day Buffet Lunch (RM78.00 for adult, RM47.00 for child)
- New Year's Eve Buffet Dinner (RM138.00 for adult, RM83.00 for child)
- New Year's Day Buffet Lunch (RM78.00 for adult, RM47.00 for child)

In the merry spirit of Christmas, The Light Hotel will be hosting Christmas carolers to delight the atmosphere with nostalgic Christmas hymns. Guests with children will be pleased to know that Santa Claus and Santarina will also make their dramatic appearance on Christmas.

In parallel to the hearty feasts in Spice Brasserie, The Light Hotel also offers a quieter setting for dining at Flavour@3. This semi-fine dining restaurant on Level 3 is offering 5-course dinner meals on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

Name: Spice Brasserie
Address: The Light Hotel, Lebuh Tenggiri 2, Pusat Bandar Seberang Jaya, 13700 Seberang Jaya, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 04-382-1111
Business hours: 6:30am-11:00pm (Sunday-Thursday), 6:30am-1:00am (Friday-Saturday)
Website: http://www.thelighthotelpg.com/dine.html
Coordinates: 5.39428 N, 100.39844 E
Directions: From Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan (North-South Expressway), take the Seberang Jaya exit and head west. Turn left just before the pedestrian bridge and drive all the way to the end. When the road splits, keep right. The Light Hotel is the first building on the left. Spice Brasserie is located next to the lobby. There are parking spaces within the hotel's compound. The parking fee is RM4.00 per entry.