Mezza9

Special thanks to Iconic Hotel for extending this food review invitation.

Mezza9 is Iconic Hotel's all-day dining restaurant. Located at Level 2, the coffeehouse serves local delights and international dishes throughout the day. Mezza9 is also where in-house guests have breakfast in the morning.

For a limited time, Mezza9 serves Fisherman's Hook Seafood Buffet every Friday and Saturday evening. Dinner is served between 7:00pm and 10:00pm. This is one of two on-going buffet meals at Iconic Hotel; the other is Desser-ticious Buffet at Crumbles & Cream.

As the name implies, the Fisherman's Hook Seafood Buffet features a variety of seafood dishes. To ensure that the kitchen gets the freshest fishes, Iconic Hotel sources them from a local aquaculture farm. The best way to enjoy steamed fish is by dipping them in Iconic Hotel's signature Nyonya sauce.

Meanwhile, seafood on ice includes yabbies, tiger prawns, spanner crabs, green-lipped mussels and black mussels. A handful of dipping sauces are provided.

Deep-fried soft-shell crabs are prepared at the action counter. The crabs are coated with batter and deep-fried until they are crispy. In addition, octopus balls or takoyaki (たこ焼き) are available too.

As for teppanyaki (鉄板焼き), customers can opt for seafood like fish, prawns, squids, cuttlefish and mussels. Seafood is fried with juicy vegetables like cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, scallions and onions. Diners can request for Oyster Omelette too.

Fish Head Curry uses salmon head, which is a natural choice because Mezza9 serves salmon sashimi. In fact, this dish is a brilliant way to salvage unused parts of the fish. The curry is also cooked with okra (lady's fingers).

Wok Fried Squids are seasoned with sweet-and-spicy kam heong (甘香) sauce. The squids are flower-cut not only for aesthetic appeal, but also to allow them to be cooked thoroughly.

The Japanese corner has a variety of sushi (寿司) and sashimi (刺身) for customers to enjoy to their hearts' content. For sushi, my favorite toppings are omelette (玉子), fried tofu (稲荷) and jellyfish (水母). Meanwhile for sashimi, available choices are tuna (マグロ), octopus (たこ), salmon (サーモン) and butterfish (白マグロ).

As for noodles, diners can pick from a variety of ingredients to blanch in hot water. Of course, these include seafood items like crab sticks and fish balls. Clear soup is prepared today.

Sotong Kangkung is a local favorite dish. The two main ingredients are cuttlefish and water spinach. The delicacy is typically dressed with sweet-and-spicy sauce. Sesame seeds and crushed peanuts are often added too.

Fresh fruits this evening are apples, oranges, watermelon and pitaya (dragon fruit). Meanwhile, soupy desserts are Red Bean Soup and Snow Fungus Papaya Soup.

Popular pastries to satisfy one's sweet tooth are chocolate walnut cake, orange sponge cake, meringue tartlets, green tea mousse, chocolate mousse and cendol jelly. Diners can also indulge in durian-flavored desserts like butter cakes, tarts, macarons and profiteroles. Durians are sourced from Iconic Group's own plantation.

The Fisherman's Hook Seafood Buffet will be available until the end of October 2019. The price is RM98.00+ per person. Children and senior citizens enjoy 50% and 30% discount respectively. All customers enjoy free flow of Merry Me ice cream during the buffet.

Name: Mezza9
Address: Iconic Hotel, 71, Jalan Icon City, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 04-505-9988
Business hours: 6:00am-11:00pm
Website: https://www.iconichotel.com.my/dining
Coordinates: 5.34206 N, 100.43287 E
Directions: From the North-South Expressway, take the Bukit Mertajam exit and head east. Turn left just before Petron gas station, then turn right to the front entrance of the 15-floor Iconic Hotel. Mezza9 is located on the Mezzanine Level of the hotel. The hotel provides multistorey parking.