There’s nothing fancy about the breakfast buffet at St. Giles Boulevard Hotel in Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur. However, don’t mistake this for being inferior. I got to enjoy the breakfast at the hotel’s Wildrice Restaurant and was actually floored not just by the flavors but also by all the colors that I saw. It was a feast for the taste buds as well as the eyes and I’ll hopefully do the buffet justice with these pictures and descriptions of my experience.
Breakfast Buffet at St. Giles Boulevard Hotel KL: A Feast of Flavors and Colors
As you probably know, I was lucky enough to have booked a room at St. Giles Boulevard Hotel (which I talked about in detail in another write-up). Now, most online booking platforms typically have an option to not include breakfast for this hotel. If you do decide to book a room with breakfast included, note that you’ll be looking at an additional 20MYR-30MYR. I might also be misremembering but I think you can also pay around 28MYR for the breakfast buffet once you’re already at the hotel (if you didn’t include it in your booking).
The buffet starts at around 6:30AM and when I got there, I immediately checked out the noodles section. Here are some of the toppings for the noodles and similar to JW Marriott’s, you won’t find pork here. Don’t worry though as there is beef, tofu, as well as mushrooms if you want more protein in your noodles.
If you want the soup of your noodles to have more umami then you can also add shrimp, oyster mushrooms, shredded chicken, and a variety of fish cakes/balls. Now you might be wondering if I got this for breakfast. Unfortunately, I didn’t as I typically don’t eat noodles for breakfast.
Another reason why I didn’t get the noodles is because they’re just too flavorful. I didn’t think my stomach could take on this much flavor and spice early in the morning. I think there were three kinds of chili oil here, not to mention the garlic. Now I could’ve foregone these ingredients to make the noodles less spicy but I think these add a lot of flavor and the dish just won’t be the same without the spice these ingredients bring.
Speaking of flavor, here are some of the soy sauces that you can add to your noodles. In addition, there’s some sliced chilis here if you want your noodles to have even more heat and spice. Again, this was early in the morning and I simply don’t think my guts could’ve handled these well.
Here’s a continuation of the noodle ingredients in this section. There’s another bowl of chilis here as well as fried onions, cilantro, sliced green onions, and white pepper powder. All of these are, I think, staples not just of Malaysian noodle dishes but cuisine as well.
Now understandably not everyone can be bothered to come up with their own noodle dish. If you’re like this then you can always just get Mee Goreng or Fried Noodles from this chafing dish. As for the pot to the right of the chafing dish, that’s specifically for cooking your noodles.
Speaking of noodles, this is the section where you can get them. When I shot this image, the buffet had Yellow Mee (basically egg noodles), Kway Teow, and Mee Hoon. Other than the noodles, you’ll also find chopped Chinese cabbage, bok choy, and bean sprouts here.
Of course, no noodle dish is complete without soup. Just beside the noodles you’ll find this container that has Chicken Soup and Mee Rebus. Now, if you’re wondering what Mee Rebus is, it’s basically noodles with gravy. The type of noodle used for this is the yellow egg noodles you saw earlier and the gravy is what’s in the container.
If noodles for breakfast isn’t your thing then you might want to visit the buffet’s pastry section. They say carbs are great for replenishing energy stores depleted during sleep. This section has plenty of carb rich food items that’ll probably power you through a day or two (and you’ll also need all those carbs if you want to workout on the gym or swim at the swimming pool here!). Aside from fruit and chocolate cakes, you’ll also find traditional kueh/kuih here.
Now if Western pastries are your preference, this section also has those. I saw red velvet and regular muffins as well as pain au chocolat and of course, croissants. As for their freshness, these were still quite warm which meant they probably just got out of the oven when I got here.
I wasn’t quite sure what the pastry on the lower left of the image is. It seemed like it was puff pastry diamonds though I could be wrong. Just above the diamonds was a basket of what I think were chocolate twists which was probably the pastry that I was eyeing the most here.
Aside from the pastries, I also came across these fruit juices here. This section had everyone’s favorite orange juice, pineapple juice, and pink guava. If these are too sweet for you, there’s also lemon infused water (labeled detox water here). Of these, I’d probably go with pink guava since that’s something that you don’t typically see outside of Malaysia.
Another food item that I really wanted to get here was these pancakes. These were really fluffy and the cherries and strawberries were a nice touch. Just beside them was one bowl containing Maple Syrup and another that had Honey. Pair the pancakes with either of these sweet syrups and you should be set for breakfast.
If that pairing is too sweet then you could instead just get white loaf bread and baguettes in this section. Like the pastries earlier, these were relatively fresh and still warm when I took the picture. In fact, these were quite popular with the people here who were also having their breakfast.
If you did get any of the bread here, then you might also want to check out these spreads. For guests with a sweet tooth, there’s Nutella and some peanut butter that they can slather on their bread. Personally though, I’d have gone for the small packets of butter especially since the bread here was still warm.
After leaving the bread and pastry section, I decided to check out what other dishes from Malaysian cuisine were available here. I came across this table that featured Nasi Lemak condiments. These include cucumbers, boiled eggs, dried anchovies, and roasted peanuts.
As for the Nasi Lemak itself, it’s inside this large rice cooker. Now if you’re not familiar with this Malaysian national dish, at its core, it’s rice cooked with pandan and coconut milk. It’s then paired with the condiments earlier as well as other dishes and condiments that I’ll be discussing in the next set of pictures.
Quite possibly the most popular dish that’s paired with Nasi Lemak is Chicken Curry which you can also conveniently find here. Just a warning though, Malaysian curry can be a little spicy. Since this is a hotel though, it seems like they didn’t go overboard with the spice levels here. Still, if you’re not used to spicy food then you might want to stick with the bread or pastries.
Another pairing for Nasi Lemak is Sambal which, of course, can also be found here. The type of sambal they have here is Sambal Bawang which is made from onions, red chilis, salt, and garlic. Another word of warning again though, this is even more spicy than the Chicken Curry earlier.
Just beside the Sambal is this rice cooker filled with Nasi Lemak Pandan. Now you’re probably wondering how this differs from regular Nasi Lemak (which already has pandan by the way). To get this green color on the rice, they actually just added fresh pandan extract to the coconut milk it was cooked in. This gives it a stronger aroma which also somehow adds to the flavor of the rice.
If you’re tired of Western bread and pastries then there’s some Roti Jala and Roti Canai here as well. Roti Canai is a flaky flatbread and is probably the more popular of the two (at least outside Malaysia). On the other hand, Roti Jala is much more crepe-like in texture and consistency though I wouldn’t say that it’s less tastier. Both are popular breakfast food here in Malaysia especially when paired with Dhal and Curry.
Other pairings that work well with the Rotis shown earlier are Tomato Chutney and Condensed Milk. Tomato Chutney in particular, is just a smorgasbord of flavor that really complements the rotis’ often bland and neutral taste. As for condensed milk, its sweetness as well as thick and creamy texture pretty much makes it the equivalent of Maple Syrup or Honey for rotis.
If you really want something flavorful to pair with your roti though, you should be looking at either Dhal and/or Curry (technically Dhal is a type of curry). Thankfully, there’s Dhal and Curry gravy just beside the rotis you saw earlier. I don’t think they used any meat on either so vegetarians are sure to enjoy these.
If you’re in a hurry and just want something that you can quickly go through then there’s also some pumpkin pie here. It’s loaded with carbs which should help power you through at least noon. Admittedly, there weren’t that many people who were interested in this as there simply were just a lot of other options here.
I eventually moved on to the Chinese/Dimsum Section to check out what was available there. The first dish I saw here were these Fried Wontons that were unsurprisingly quite popular. I typically eat these as is but you could also pair them with some of the Thai Chili Sauce here.
Another Chinese Dim Sum staple that you’ll find here are Steamed Buns. Typically these contain pork but I’m not quite sure what the fillings are on these (considering this is Malaysia after all). Regardless of what’s inside of these though, I think steamed buns are just really great no matter the time of day you eat them.
If there’s a quintessential Chinese breakfast food, it would have to be porridge. Here you’ll find some plain porridge in a large electric soup kettle. Now, you’re probably wondering, “is plain porridge any good?” By itself, it’s quite bland but thankfully there are plenty of toppings and condiments you can add to it that completely elevates its flavor.
Speaking of condiments and toppings, here’s some of the ones that you’ll find just right next to the electric soup kettle. There’s chili oil, beans, sliced green onions, fried onions, mushrooms, and fried garlic (just to name a few). If you want your porridge to be a little more salty then there’s also some soy sauce here.
Other than porridge, this area also had these Stir Fried Long Beans and Braised Tofu Pok. Take note though that the long beans dish isn’t vegetarian as it actually has some minced chicken. Fortunately, the braised tofu doesn’t have any meat on it so vegetarians are welcome to give it a try instead.
If you want more flavor in your porridge but don’t want to add toppings or condiments to them then there’s another electric soup kettle here that has Chicken Porridge. This is more flavorful than the plain porridge earlier. Having chicken as one of its ingredients also means it has more than just carbs. More importantly, you can still add toppings and condiments to it if you want it to be more flavorful.
After checking out the Chinese dishes, I then went to the Fruits and Cereals sections. Here you’ll find a wide selection of melons as well as muesli and even yogurt. I was especially eyeing the honeydew (right next to the red watermelon) as it had been quite a while since I had some.
Other than the honeydew and regular watermelon, I also saw a yellow watermelon here. I think these are considered a little sweeter than the regular watermelons though I wasn’t able to check if that was the case with the ones that were displayed here. I will say though that these didn’t seem to be overripe and actually looked crispy.
Aside from plain Yogurt, you can also get Kiwi Yogurt here. Based on the number of people I saw here, the Kiwi Yogurt seemed like the most popular. Personally though, I still prefer plain yogurt just because that’s what I grew up with. That said, I think you won’t go wrong picking any of the yogurt available in this display.
So the muesli here is already mixed but you should still be able to add your choice of yogurt if you wanted to. Additionally, you can even mix the melons from earlier. I wouldn’t say that I don’t like Muesli but I feel like either the plain or chicken porridge from the Dim Sum section would make for a much tastier breakfast.
Here’s another look at the Fruits and Cereals section. I actually think they could’ve done more for this section by adding other fruits on top of the melons. That said, it might just be that those were the only fruits in season when I was there.
Moving on to the beverage section, you’ll have access to hot water and tea. What I liked about this section is that the water in the hot water dispenser is always filled whenever the levels get too low. Once you have your cup, you can also get a teaspoon here and you’re pretty much set to prepare your tea.
At the time when I took this photo, the available flavors there were OSK’s Japanese Green Tea and BOH’s Cameronian Gold Blend. And while the box these were in had Twinings branding, there was unfortunately no flavors from this brand there. Both BOH and OSK are rather popular here in Malaysia so them being on display here is understandable.
For sweeteners, you can choose from either brown or white sugar. There’s also a small basket here where you can conveniently place your sweetener and tea bag’s wrappers. On a side note, I’ve actually been looking for small baskets like these as a souvenir. They’re really great for placing stuff like keys and coins.
One of the things that I’d recommend if you like tea and you’re in Malaysia is to drink Teh Tarik. It’s Malaysia’s national drink and it’s basically the country’s version of milk tea. Here you can get some from a dispenser just beside the sweeteners in the previous image.
If Teh Tarik is Malaysia’s take on milk tea then Kopi is the same but for coffee. From what I understand, it still makes use of coffee beans but the roasting process is different resulting in a distinct flavor that’s quite different from your regular cup of joe. The buffet has a dispenser for Lokal Kopi O which is basically black kopi with sugar.
The salad section probably is one of the most colorful areas of the buffet. Here you can choose from a wide selection of vegetables and dressings to come up with your own salad. When I took this picture, the available veggies in this section included young corn, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, and lettuce.
Aside from the veggies in the previous image, there was also rocket arugula, cabbage, julienned carrots, cucumbers, and mung bean sprouts. To ensure that the veggies stayed fresh, their containers were placed on ice. Moreover, the staff here also made sure that these were replenished regularly.
Beside the veggies is where you’ll find the dressings and pickles for your salad. When I was there, the options were limited to Thousand Island, Herb, or Sesame Dressing. For pickles, you could opt for green olives, black olives, and/or capers.
Next to the dressings and pickles was the cold cut platter. Now since this is Malaysia, this only had cuts of chicken ham. It’s still delicious in its own right but definitely not as tasty as something that’s made from pork.
Surprisingly, this section also had these glass containers with whole fruits in them. There was a container for oranges, pears, as well as regular and green apples. Initially I thought these were just decorations but apparently, the fruits were real and you could actually get from these containers.
There was also a cheese platter here though it does seem like the selection is very limited. From what I can tell, there’s only Swiss Cheese (or something similar) and Paneer. To make up for the lack of cheese, the buffet made sure to include fruits like strawberries, raisins, dried oranges, and grapes that all pair well with the cheeses available.
Here are containers with other dried fruits that you can pair with your cheeses. If I’m not mistaken these include dates, dried oranges, and raisins (among others). If you wanted to, you could even add these to your salad for even more flavor and texture.
For most people, no breakfast would really be complete without coffee. If you’re not used to kopi’s taste then there’s a CafeMATIC dispenser here that should be perfect for you. You can use this to get an Espresso, Latte, Americano, Coffee Crema, Double Espresso, as well as Hot Water and even Warm Milk.
Speaking of milk, the buffet also has a dedicated dispenser each for Soy Milk and Fresh Milk. These are also pretty accessible being in the same section as the dried fruits and salad ingredients. Now you could drink these or use them for the breakfast cereals which you can also find in this section.
So these are the breakfast cereals I was talking about. Unlike in the other section, the Muesli here is still not mixed. Other than the Muesli, there’s also jars for Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes here.
Rounding out the cereals are these jars of Honey Stars, Fruit Loops, and Koko Krunch. Of all the food items here, these were possibly the ones that I was craving for the most. It’s just been so long since I had eaten these cereals in particular that seeing them here made me want to get a bowl. Then I remembered just how high in sugar these were and I eventually decided to just move on.
A couple of steps from the cereals I came across this steamer that had Mantao in it. So if you’re wondering, this is basically a steamed bun without the filling. By itself, a mantao/mantou doesn’t taste much. Its neutral flavor as well as soft, chewy texture though, make it great for dipping or as an alternative to rice for pairing with savory dishes.
So here are some of the sauces that you can dip the mantao in. On the right is the sweet sauce which has some cocoa/chocolate in it. If you’re into spicy flavors then you should get some of the spicy sauce on the right.
Not fond of sauces? You can also pair mantou with mixed vegetables. This is a really savory dish that goes really well with mantou’s neutral flavor. Most people I know cut the mantou like you would a regular bun and sandwich these vegetables between the two slices.
Here’s another great pairing for mantou. The Baked Beans’s sauce is sweet and tangy which, again, is perfect for mantou. You can dip your mantou in this sauce much like how you’d dip roti in dhal or curry.
Not all the dishes in this section are necessarily good pairings for mantou though. For example, these roasted potatoes were not only great on their own but also when eaten together with meat and other savory dishes. At the time I took this image, these were seemingly popular with the guests who were at the buffet.
For meat, the buffet had this tray of baked fish that also was quite popular. Malaysia has one of the highest per capita consumption of fish in the world which is pretty evident in the image. As for taste, this was seasoned really well and the fact that it’s baked also means that it’s relatively healthy.
With meat options being limited here, I can kind of understand how there’s less than half of the Chicken Sausages remaining in this tray. To be fair though, chicken sausages are generally really good and the people I asked here who got these seemed to like them too.
If highly processed meats aren’t your thing then you could just opt for the Lamb Stew here. This was bursting with flavor and the lamb meat was actually quite tender. Ideally you want to pair this with rice but the mantou from earlier also works as it can soak up the stew and all its flavors.
Another protein source that you’re probably going to want to check out are these boiled eggs. What’s nice about these is that yokes are a little runny due to being only half boiled. Much like mantou, eggs are quite versatile and you can pretty much go well with some of the food here that I covered.
With this, my breakfast buffet experience at St. Giles Boulevard Hotel ends. The food here was honestly good though I wouldn’t say that it was the best I’ve ever had in Malaysia. There were a couple of misses though I think these were more just nitpicks on my end. Overall, I enjoyed the food and appreciated the convenience of not having to go outside of the hotel for my breakfast.
What are your thoughts on hotel breakfast buffets? Do you go out of your way to try out the breakfast at the hotels you’re staying in? Share your thoughts with us and join in on (or start) the discussion in the comments section!
