A Pinch of Cinnamon? Malaysia’s Must-visit Seafood Buffet

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Though not without its flaws, the Cinnamon buffet at One World Hotel, One Utama succeeded in
impressing us enough to secure a spot on our shortlist for a revisit!

We actually stumbled upon this buffet by sheer chance.

It was Mother’s Day here in Malaysia, and to
celebrate we had decided to splurge a little and head to Kura(???), a Japanese restaurant at the One World
Hotel.

Apparently we had underestimated its popularity (and not only – it turns out – due to the fact it
was Mother’s Day) since Kura, a Japanese restaurant was fully booked with “no chance of cancellation”

(subsequently we have
attempted to book up to 2 days in advance only to be told the same thing; one day we will manage it!).


Somewhat disappointed but not about to give up and go home, we ventured a bit deeper into the hotel
and were greeted with a large colorful poster Mother’s Day Buffet – Cinnamon – RM168 ++ per person – 10% off with One World Club Card.

Oh! I have a One World membership, but did I have my card with me?


After a quick check I realized both that I had indeed brought it with me, and that the deal may be on.


It is worth noting at this point that tonight’s price is slightly higher than is usual for the Cinnamon buffet.


Bryn says that he politely asked why that was while being shown around, and the reply was that “there
are a few special additions for Mother’s Day” (the “special additions” would later reveal themselves to
include a Mother’s Day mocktail and a free Mother’s Day prize draw.

We weren’t impressed with the mocktail
and we didn’t win the draw, but hey, it was a nice touch).


Partly a rebound reaction to having been turned down by Kura, and partly in response to the promise of
fresh oysters, I decided to send Bryn in for a brief reconnaissance mission.

If someone as fussy as Bryn is
convinced, then it’s probably safe to say it’s worth it.


5 minutes later Bryn came back looking pleasantly satisfied, if not quite ecstatic. Spoiler alert.. Bryn says
there are oysters!

Good enough for me. Let’s book it!

There were only 30 minutes to go before the
buffet opened, but the outside seating/waiting area was beginning to show signs of activity and we
didn’t want to risk a second disappointment.


Half an hour and a few rounds of hide and seek with Berry later, the call comes, we all stand up and
make our way towards the dining area, sort of in a semi-rush to get in but trying to disguise it the best
we can.

The excitement is palpable.


We are assigned to the second-furthest of all the tables.

At first we think it’s a bit far but we soon realize
the table is actually perfect as it turns out to be one of only a select few that avoids getting squeezed
past by diners later in the session.


Right then it’s time to get down to business. We’re all nice and hungry and ready to go.

Let’s start with the oysters. So fresh and delicious!

Wow!! These were as good as any we have had.
Amazing!

Worth the price of the buffet on their own. Realizing this took a bit of pressure off the rest of
the buffet.

Even if it the rest was terrible, it still wouldn’t be a disaster thanks to the fresh oysters.


Obviously they were a very popular item, so make sure you’re nearby when they get topped up so that
you can ensure you get some.


Next to the oysters were several other types of seafood including crab, prawns, and mussels.

Now for my second favorite thing on the menu – the salmon sashimi. Normally I avoid sashimi at
“international” buffets offering everything under the sun, and save it for Japanese buffets that specialize
in it.

And indeed the sashimi on display here was just so-so too.

But here’s a little trick I like to try that
sometimes works.

I went straight to the “sushi guy” and asked him if he had any salmon belly. While
salmon belly was not on the menu as an officially-listed item, if you’ve got whole salmon in the fridge
then you’ve got salmon belly, because, well, all salmons have bellies.

It’s just a matter of whether
they’re willing to slice some off just for you.


Fortunately the sushi guy was more than happy to do just that and I ended up with a large serving of
lovely salmon belly straight out of the chiller, WAY richer, fresher and more flavorful than the rest of the
salmon that had been sitting out there on display. Hehe. Brilliant.?


Now I can’t possibly go over every single remaining item on the buffet, there’s just so much. So I’ll
choose a few of our favorites from the other sections.


Oxtail soup. Hidden away in the far corner of the rarely-approached Indian counter (seemingly the least
popular of all the counters and presumably located right at the back for this reason) was a little
underrated gem that unfortunately we only discovered later on as we were starting to get full.

One pot
for the oxtail, another for the broth, and a little bowl of chopped spring onion for the garnish. Simple
but effective.

The rusty silver pots looked like they were straight out of a mamak but the soup was
actually delicious and the meat tender.


Cheese selection. Too often at buffets in Asia only the cheapest, mediocre cheeses are available, unless
the buffet happens to specialize in cheese.

Here we were pleasantly surprised to find two or three very
nice ones, including a goat’s cheese served with walnuts, olives and other Mediterranean delights.


Bread and butter pudding. We found the dessert selection to be of good quality in general (well, at least
I did;

Bryn is notoriously hard to please when it comes to desserts unless we are talking about France or
Italy).

The stand-out was easily the homemade bread-and-butter pudding, rich and creamy with a thick
chocolate sauce drizzled all over it,

and a separate vanilla sauce to be poured on if you need more
calories.


Fruits. Exceptional for a buffet. Not so much the selection (it was the usual watermelon, hami melon
(hamigua), papaya, pineapple and dragon fruit) but the quality was far above what we are used to.

As if
we’d bought them from our trusted sellers at the wet market. As soon as we realized this we began to
squeeze in a quick round of fruit between each main course.


The hami melon in particular was ridiculously sweet, as sweet as they come. Bryn could hardly believe it.
These are normally expensive.

The melon must have been right in peak season; that’s the only
explanation.


Of course there were plenty of solid dishes, hot and cold, not mentioned here, comparable to the kind
of thing you would expect to find at any buffet in this price range.

It’s not that they weren’t any good;
they were ok. they just didn’t particularly stand out to us.

Nor did the dim sum (not worth trying), nor
the Chinese section in general.


When the time finally came to get up and pay, we noticed about a dozen or so awards on the wall (we
must have been too excited to notice them on the way in!)..

Check these out.

All in all we both agreed (as indeed did Berry!) that this buffet is worth a second visit. Good value for
money and really good oysters and salmon belly – don’t be afraid to ask for it!

Cinnamon Coffee House @ One World Hotel

Address: Lebuh Bandar Utama, Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

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