Roselle

Special thanks to Lexis Suites Penang for extending this food review invitation.

Lexis Suites Penang belongs to an exclusive club of restaurants that takes delivery of live seafood every day. The best way to appreciate fresh seafood is through the Ocean Delight's Seafood Fiesta Buffet.

The buffet is served at Roselle Coffee House and is available every Saturday from 6:30pm to 10:00pm. As the name implies, Ocean Delight's Seafood Fiesta Buffet features a plethora of seafood dishes across multiple cuisines.

Starting with seafood on ice, diners can savor fresh marine delicacies such as prawns, yabbies, squids, baby octopuses, mussels, scallops and clams. If seafood items need to be cooked, they can be blanched in a pot of boiling water. Lemon slices and several dipping sauces are provided.

The chafing dishes cover a range of Mediterranean fare. Maskli Pikkanti is essentially jumbo mussels cooked with spicy gravy. In fact, "maskli pikkanti" means "spicy mussels" in Maltese.

Monaco Sanma also hails from the Mediterranean region. This fried dish uses mackerel pike, which is ironically only found in the Pacific Ocean. Spicy soy sauce serves as the condiment.

Bouillabaisse is a traditional fish stew from Marseille. The recipe was originally created by fishermen to salvage unsold fish. Sour Istiridye Bouillabaisse is simmered with vegetables like onions and tomatoes. Although "istiridye" means "oysters" in Turkish, this dish uses clams instead.

As for Asian flavors, go for Oven Baked Salted Egg Lobsters. The slipper lobsters are baked with salted eggs, giving them creamy and savory taste. Meanwhile, dried chili peppers impart a hint of spiciness. It would be nicer if larger lobsters were used.

Moving to the carvery, the Roasted Lamb Leg has a crumbly coating of garlic herb crust. The lamb is served with rosemary sauce and grilled vegetables.

The sausage counter provides several types of sausages including cheese-filled and herb-flavored ones. Condiments to go with sausages are garlic sauce, cheese sauce, spicy mayonnaise sauce and sweet chili sauce.

The à la minute counter is where Char Koay Teow is cooked. Ingredients for this noodle dish are flat rice noodles, bean sprouts, garlic chives, eggs, garlic, chili paste, soy sauce and cooking oil.

The Japanese counter has a wide assortment of nigiri- (握り) and maki- (巻き) type sushi (寿司). Also present is the sashimi (刺身) platter which contains raw salmon, tuna and butterfish (白マグロ). Condiments like wasabi (山葵), pickled ginger (ガリ) and soy sauce (醤油) are provided.

The Japanese counter includes several hot pot (鍋物) dishes too. Choices this evening are Miso Wakame (味噌わかめ), Negi Stew (ねぎ汁) and Oden (おでん).

Since Lexis Suites Penang hosts a significant number of guests from the Middle East, the buffet spread covers several Arab dishes too. For instance, Lamb Shawarma (شاورما لامب) is cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Lamb is sliced off the stack and rolled in pita bread.

Chicken Mandi (مندي بالدجاج) is another iconic dish from the Middle East. This rice dish originated in Yemen but it is now widely enjoyed throughout the Arab world. Long-grain basmati rice is used. Basmati rice has a lighter texture than jasmine rice.

The salad bar allows diners to mix their own salads using fresh produce such as romaine lettuce and red chicory. There are also mixed salads like potato salad, pasta salad and acar jelatah. Meanwhile, cold cuts include beef salami, chicken slices and smoked salmon.

Proceeding to desserts, Bread & Butter Pudding is meant to go with vanilla sauce. Strawberry Chocolate Fondue is also available. Fresh fruits include nangka (jackfruit), jambu air (rose apple), longan and more.

Do not overlook the additional desserts on the shelf. There are several types of mousse cakes, puddings and fruit jellies to satisfy your sugar cravings.

The Ocean Delight's Seafood Fiesta Buffet is priced at RM120.00 net per adult. Children and senior citizens enjoy discount prices of RM40.00 and RM60.00 respectively. If you enjoy the seafood dishes at the Japanese counter, you will definitely love the Sunday Buffet Lunch at Umi Japanese Restaurant.

Name: Roselle Coffee House
Address: 28, Jalan Teluk Kumbar, 11920 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 04-628-2888
Business hours: 6:30am-11:00pm
Website: https://www.lexissuitespenang.com/dining/roselle-coffee-house
Coordinates: 5.28691 N, 100.23244 E
Directions: From Bayan Lepas, drive along Jalan Teluk Kumbar towards the intersection with Jalan Gertak Sanggul. Lexis Suites Penang is the tall building on the left just before the intersection. Roselle is located at the Mezzanine Floor, just above the lobby atrium. There are parking spaces inside the hotel.