Eating in Kuala Lumpur - Essence at Hotel Imperial

This is our third meal courtesy of the Starwood Privilege Membership. This time I did have to pay for it, but the damage was reduced by a RM 75 voucher, and 50% discount using the card. All in all a buffet dinner for 2 at a 5 star hotel for around RM 80.00, not a bad deal.

Essence is the coffee house at Hotel Imperial Kuala Lumpur. Imperial is an older 5 star hotel, but given a facelift recently. It is still one of the top hotels in town, but location wise not as convenient as the ones in Bukit Bintang. 

The look of Essence is modern Asian, with a strong colour palette. Red is used quite prominently, giving it a strong Oriental vibe. As with most modern coffee houses, the kitchen is visible from the dining area. Buffet lines are placed outside the show kitchen counters, with different stations for different types of cuisine.

The buffet dinner comes with a free flow of red or white wine, tea and coffee. The cooked dishes were all quite good, so was the cold deli section. One of the stand-outs was the chicken satay which was done to perfection. As in most hotel buffets, the highlight is usually the desserts , and Essence doesn't disappoint in this area. The dessert section is given it's own exclusive corner, with a beautiful spiral-shaped counter. All the desserts were done to a very high standard. The problem was knowing when to stop !

The spiral-shaped dessert counter.

Fresh oysters, prawns and other goodies.

Baked oysters, beef steak, salmon and baby octopus.

Nice desserts.