The Straits Cafe & Lounge

This article is part of my Chinese New Year 2020 compilation.

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

Since Chinese New Year is fast approaching, Ixora Hotel is using festive decorations to welcome the Festival of Spring. The hotel is also serving Tuan Yuan Reunion Buffet Dinner (团圆年夜饭) on Chinese New Year's Eve (24 January 2020). The buffet will be held at The Straits Cafe & Lounge.

For the preview event this evening, I am starting the meal with Treasure Chowder with imitation shark fin. Meanwhile, Double-Boiled Herbal Soup contains black chicken and fish maw. Both soups are quite satisfying and helps to stimulate appetite before a huge feast.

Next, Teow Chew Noodle is served with a generous amount of prawns. The noodle has a rough texture that I find quite interesting.

Gold Coin Bean Curds are served with minced prawns and crab meat sauce. Meanwhile, Jiu Hu Char is a Nyonya (Peranakan) dish made of dried cuttlefish, jicama and carrots.

Fresh Scallops are served with assorted mushrooms, vegetables and fatt choy (发菜). Fatt choy is considered auspicious because it sounds similar to "striking rich" (发财) in Chinese.

There is a barbecue corner at the outdoor section of the restaurant. Diners can help themselves to grilled beef, lamb, slipper lobsters, flower crabs, prawns and Hokkaido scallops. I am most impressed with the slipper lobsters; the succulent meat is gratifying indeed.

The Seafood Dumpling Noodle Soup is highly recommended too. Egg noodle is blanched in hot water very briefly so that it remains springy. The dish is then topped with cabbage, coriander, spring onions, fried shallots and red chili peppers.

Another major highlight this evening are Oysters On Ice. This delicacy is seldom served in buffets nowadays. There are several dipping sauces to go with the oysters, but I prefer a squeeze of lemon juice instead.

Ixora Hotel's pastry team is pulling out all the stops in preparing today's meal. I am very impressed with the colorful assortment of sweet confections at the dessert section.

In line with the Lunar New Year, there are Chinese-style jellies such as osmanthus jelly, chrysanthemum jelly and herbal jelly. Meanwhile, panna cotta comes in fruity flavors like mango, lychee, honeydew and coconut. Tiramisu and omochi are present too.

Ixora Hotel's Tuan Yuan Reunion Buffet Dinner is priced at RM98.00+ per adult, RM68.00+ per child, and RM78.00+ per senior citizen. For every 4 paying adults, the 5th person's meal is on the house. This promotion is valid before 20 January 2020.

On the other hand, diners who prefer Chinese course dinners can opt for Ixora Hotel's Lunar Feast (发财年菜). There are 3 menus to choose from.

The course dinner is available from 1 January 2020 to 8 February 2020. 2-day advance booking is required. A bottle of wine is given for every 5 tables.

Furthermore, Ixora Hotel is offering Prosperity Yee Sang for dine-in and take-away. The yee sang contains crab meat and comes in 2 sizes: medium (RM98.00+) and large (RM108.00+). Customers are advised to book 1 day in advance.

Name: The Straits Cafe & Lounge
Address: 3096, Jalan Baru, Bandar Perai Jaya, 13600 Perai, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 04-382-8888
Business hours: 6:30am-11:00pm
Website: https://www.ixorahotel.com/the-straits-cafe
Coordinates: 5.37805 N, 100.39825 E
Directions: From Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan (North-South Expressway), take the Prai exit and head west. After Megamal Pinang on the left, turn left and follow the road to Ixora Hotel's basement parking. The Straits Cafe & Lounge is located next to the lobby.