I Love Mexican at Serena, Hotel Nikko
This month is definitely an international month for me, for I had the chance to savour cuisines from all over the world including Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese and now, Mexican! Serena Brasserie of Hotel Nikko, together with the Embassy of Mexico are currently running a promotion on Mexican buffet in conjunction with Mexico’s Bicentennial Celebration, ‘A Festival of Flavours’ featuring renowned Chef-Owner Daniel Ovadia from Paxia Restaurants.

Serene Brasserie, Hotel Nikko

Variety of food
It was my first time at Serena Brasserie and I totally fell in love with the environment and the decor. It was simple yet stylish, and the decor was chic and inviting. One can opt to dine indoors as well as al-fresco, in the company of the waterfall and fishes.

Comfortable dining ambience

Al-fresco dining
“Mexico: A Festival of Flavours” will highlight the rich cultural heritage and evolving gastronomy of Mexico… a complex transformation in tune with current culinary expectations for healthier international dietary trends without loosing its core qualities. We were lucky to have our meal prepared by renowned Chef-Owner Ovadia all the way from Mexico.
Appetizers

Cheese platter with crackers

Salad and various dressings

Seafood on ice

Glorious sashimi

Japanese sushi – salmon, tuna, shrimp

Smoked salmon
Mexican Appetizers
The range of Mexican appetizers available is aplenty so make sure you save your stomach to try each one of them!

Fish Tacos al Pastor, Dehydrated pineapple, guacamole, onion and coriander

Lettuces with dehydrated pineapple, grapefruit, goat cheese and mango

Palm heart salad with artichoke and Chives dressing
I especially loved these cute little tortas here, with their yummy bread and the flavourful veal. I could easily have two of them and not get tired of it.

Small Tortas Ahogadas filled with barbequed veal

Mains
Mexican food always revolves around enchiladas, tortillas and rice, so at Serena Brasserie, you could have all that and more. Until your heart’s contented! Or should I say, stomach?


Red rice with Fried Plantains

Duck Enchiladas with Green pipian and Red onion

Fish fillet with Shrimp buttered with Chile Ancho

Beef Fillet with Poblano mole sauce and Rice cooked with Horchata

Baked Duck, Mango and Manzano Chile Sauce with flour Tortillas
There was also a pasta station ready to prepare any kind of pasta that you want. Since it’s made-to-order, you can be sure to get pasta hot and al dente instead of cold and soggy.

A little taste of Italian – Pasta station, cheese & chili toppings and Pizza
Also, there was another station standby with a chef ready to fry noodles! I saw some plates of char kuey teow and fried mee being ordered, and Saucer couldn’t resist but to order a plate too! The noodles were fried with enough heat of wok, but it was tad salty.

Custom-fried noodles
Desserts
Of course, buffets won’t be complete without desserts! The range of desserts here is simply ENORMOUS! Never have I seen so many different cakes, kuih, ice-cream and pies before. They all just looked so tempting that I found it hard to pick my favourites!

Chocolate fountain and its accompaniments

Fruits and Desserts galore

Chocolate fondants and pies

Raspberry cream brulee

Strawberry fruit flan cake

Conchas with Hot cocoa

Caramel Fritter with Piloncillo reduction
In the end I settled with a few choices due to my limited stomach space.

My buffet plates
Set Menu
Apart from the Mexican buffet available, Serena Brasserie is also offering set menus for those who prefer not to indulge in a buffet.


Huitlacoche Ravioli with Three Cheese Sauce

Fish and Shrimp Meatballs with Tomato Sauce and Rice

Aztec Pudding with Duck, White truffle and Foie Gras

Pineapple Muffin with Tepache
Chef Daniel Ovadia
All these fabulous dishes would not have been possible if not for the renowned Chef Daniel Ovadia.
One of the youngest and most brilliant chefs in Mexico’s gastronomic industry, Chef-Owner Ovadia leads a team of 150 people in three Paxia restaurants, inspired by his energy, discipline and attention to details. The award-winning Paxia Restaurants are recognized in Mexico City for their exquisite dishes of Contemporary Mexican Cuisine that are prepared under strict supervision and purposeful vision of Daniel Ovadia, while the staff works hard to serve its patrons with the greatest kindness and efficiency, as he requires.

Chef Daniel Ovadia

witch with Chef Ovadia

Group picture: CK Lam, Coco, Chef Ovadia, Uli, Jamie and Amy of Hotel Nikko
Now, now, we don’t want to fly all the way to Mexico just for Mexican food, do we? Just come to Hotel Nikko to discover Mexico!
The Mexican buffet and set dinner are only available at Serena Brasserie from 23rd March to 3rd April 2010.
Buffet Lunch – RM68.00++ per person.
Buffet Dinner – RM80.00++ per person.
Set Dinner – RM150.00 ++ per person.
For reservations, call Serena Brasserie at +60 3 2782 6228.
Hotel Nikko Kuala Lumpur
165, Jalan Ampang,
50450 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
Tel: +603-2161 1111
Email: [email protected]
www.hotelnikko.com.my
*Update: Hotel Nikko has since been taken over by Hotel InterContinental KL.
Comments (19)










Yummy…..I missed the ice-cream that day…was too full
.-= uLi´s last blog ..Yummy-licious Dim Sum @ Dragon One (???) =-.
LOL! You don’t eat much also what!
oh my, there are lots of desserts
hungry hungry~
.-= ai wei´s last blog ..BKK Day1 2009 =-.
Yea I think I ate barely 10% of the desserts! Very yummy!
Looks so yummy! I am totally going to break my no-buffet vow for this!
.-= 550ml jar of faith @minchow´s last blog ..I Just Wanna Get Along at Blue Cow Cafe, Plaza Damas =-.
LOL at your no-buffet vow! I know I wouldn’t be able to keep the vow for more than 1 week!
hmmm, mexican theme buffet that was?? i know nothing much about mexican food, but hey, aren’t those japanese sushi & sashimi, malaysian kuih-muih & mee goreng?? a bit funny to find them in there~~ :p
anyway, i think those a-la-carte mexican dishes are really interesting and would like to try them..
.-= [SK]´s last blog ..25.03.2010 | ???? =-.
LOL! This was a Mexican-themed buffet, meaning the Mexican dishes were the main dishes. So the Malaysian and Japanese food there were just sidelines.
If you plan to try them, remember to be fast coz they’re only available for a limited time!
wow.. nice spread of dishes. we’ve only had Mexican dishes once. I’m eyeing on those Mexican dish!
Oh where did you have Mexican dishes before??
Mexican food – I was expecting things like taco, burrito… Very different from what I thought.
.-= khengsiong´s last blog ..Earth Hour – Before & After =-.
Those food like tacos, burritos are more known as street food or casual food in Mexico. I suppose they are introducing more of restaurant food in Hotel Nikko this round.
the food looks good, great photos !
Thank you! <3
I love Mexican Foods!
.-= email2me´s last blog ..House Of Tang Bring The Best Of Guang Zhou Dim Sum to KL =-.
The CHEESE!!!
Cheers, excellant post.
Thanks for that. I moved to England when I was really young, and I really want to rediscover my heritage. I’ve been trying out a lot of random mexican recipes, and the best I’ve found yet is this taco recipe – it totally remind me of my childhood. I dont remember much of it except for the lovely smells and tasty food on every street.
Hi there, long time reader and lurker here with my first comment! My only daughter is getting married to her lovely mexican boyfriend soon, and I’m tasked with doing the wedding party! I thought enchiladas would be a nice party snack, so trying to find some good enchilada recipes. What do you think? Any more ideas?? Anyway, thanks for your hard work as ever…