Chinese New Year 2011 & Buffet Lunch at Essence in Sheraton Imperial, Kuala Lumpur

Chinese New Year is a whole 15 days affair.
Many traditions and customs take place during this period, most of which feature much merry making. One such tradition is Yan Yat, which translate into Everybody’s Birthday (in Cantonese).
Celebrated on the 7th day of the Chinese New Year, Yan Yat is traditionally known as renri, the common man’s birthday, the day when everyone grows one year older.

Traditionally, it is on this very day that the tossed raw fish salad (yee sang), is eaten. This is a custom primarily among the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore. People get together to toss the colourful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity.

Below: The cute yee sang with the motifs of rabbits at Celestial Court, Sheraton Imperial.

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Hence, what better day than the 7th day to hold a lion dance’s performance at the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel.
Although there are many stories on how lion dancing came about, most will agree that the dance is said to bring good luck and prosperity.

Check out the video below; I was mesmerized by the acrobatic prowess of the lions as they pranced, leaped over pillars & performed various precarious jumps on pillars measuring 1.2 metres to 2.4 metres. The lion was also playful and mischievous, causing much laughter amongst the audience.


The dance troupe started off with a blessing of the hotel’s heart of house areas including its’ Sales & Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Reservations, Purchasing and Front Office departments.

Essence in Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur

The dance continued into the hotel lobby, with the lions entertaining and ‘playing’ with hotel guests. The ‘fortune’ (platter of opened pomelo and oranges) was given to hotel General Manager, Mr Wolfgang Boettcher, as a symbol of wealth, good luck and prosperity for the year.

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Later on, the lions continued into the hotel, blessing the restaurants, kitchens, spa and pool areas.

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Members of the media were then treated to the scrumptious buffet at Essence, of which is the highlight of my post today.

For RM78++/pax, Essence brings cuisine from around the world to your table.

As usual I started out with the desserts! Essence features an awesome array of sweets; both western & local. I tried most, taking bites out of Jason Chan’s choices & mine, and I’m happy to report that most of their desserts are delectable!

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They’ve got an ice kacang machine here too. My favourite local dessert!
I loved the made-in-house ice creams here too. I didn’t managed to take a shot as I finished my ice cream before I realized my mistake! Well, there are about 10 flavours and the green tea one that I had was lovely, creamy & smooth & of passable sweetness.

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Another favourite station of mine at any buffet is the Japanese section.

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Fresh oysters & platters of sushi with different fillings are available.

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This counter rolls out fresh makis as per your request.

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Under an expansive skylight that lets in ample natural sunlight, we savoured cuisine from round the globe. There were the Asian favorites counter, western grill with the choicest steaks, selection of cold starters & salads, dim sum, Indian curries, premium cheeses, pasta expertly tossed at the noodle bar and the western preparations.

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It was a lovely lunch. Essence would be my ideal choice for a halal, affordable weekday buffet lunch in the KL vicinity. I love the airiness; and the open & spacious sitting arrangement is lovely for private conversations & business discussions.

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The lunch buffet is only available on Mon – Fri, priced at RM78++/pax.

Daily Dining 6:30 AM – 1:00 AM;
Buffet Breakfast Daily 6:30 AM – 10:30 AM;
Buffet Lunch Monday to Friday 12:00 PM – 2:30 PM;
Buffet Dinner Daily, 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM;
Buffet High Tea, Saturday and Public Holidays from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

For reservations:
Phone: +603 2717 9933 or via email [email protected]

ESSENCE
Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur
Jalan Sultan Ismail
Kuala Lumpur
50250 Malaysia

All pictures are:
rebeccasaw-samsungnx100

This Post Has 7 Comments

  1. Sean

    Essence should theoretically be my choice for a weekday lunch too … since all I have to do is take the elevator from my office, and I can reach the restaurant in 20 seconds! Hehe 😀
    I miss Chinese new year already. It was just last month, but somehow it feels like a long time ago, huh…

  2. Michelle Chin

    I don’t really fancy buffets but if most of the desserts are delectable, I don’t mind at all!

    1. Rebecca

      I’m not a fan of subpar buffets. But yup, w hole table of delectable desserts would be awesome!

  3. Leonard Loh

    WOW, totally love the food shown.

    Love the slight rare-ness of the was-it-beef?

    Rosemary-lemon/orange cake!

    Angku looks great too!

    1. Rebecca

      Everything looks good right?? It was a pretty good buffet with almost everything up to par!

  4. Timing

    walau, i’ve never never ever seen a yee sang that had any form of decoration other than ‘let’s just dump everything in a huge pile on a plate.’ that rabbit yee sang looks soooooooooo cute! dunno how you ladies had the heart to actually ‘lou’ it … hehe =)

    i don’t really like essense though, went there once for the free food voucher from starwood privilege but wasn’t impressed and never went back again 🙁

    1. rebeccasaw

      Hi Timing!
      Thks fr dropping by! I saw yr first comment on Sean’s blog.
      Oh, I went there twice, first time abt a year ago and recently but food was ok.
      Sorry to hear about yr experience.
      And yes, I love that creative rabbit motif ;p

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