NOSTALGIC TASTES AT SPRING GARDEN

 

Imagine feasting on the King of Fruits when you break fast during the weekend at Spring Garden. Yes, diners can look forward to enjoying a durian buffet (while stock lasts) when they buka puasa at the lakeside restaurant on Saturday and Sunday.

The spacious restaurant is heavily wood-accented and sits right by the Botanical Garden lake in Putrajaya. There's even a wide patio dining area with a splendid view.

 

 

True-blue Malaysians who are partial to the creamy, sweet flesh would be thrilled - well, we were when we treated to the thorny delight during the sneak preview!

 

We reckon coming in a close second has to be grilled seafood, ranging from irresistible flower crabs to stuffed squid. The ones we had were fresh and sweet, their delicate flesh imbued with hints of spices.

Suffice to say, just the sight and aroma of them being grilled alone would leave you drooling. Other choices to try include local fishes: kembung and pari which are perennial crowd faves.

Of course, no buka puasa dinner is ever without the all-time Malaysian satay and rightly so. Whether it's beef or chicken, these tempting skewers must be enjoyed with the trad accompaniments of nasi impit (ketupat is even better!), peanut sauce, chunks of cucumber and onion.

True to its Sajian Nostalgia Kampung theme, the spread offers plenty of familiar delicacies such as tahu sumbat (stuffed fried beancurd with yambean and carrot shreds), assorted fresh ulam and kerabu (the kerabu tempeh ikan bilis is rad) alongside a wide plethora of kampung-style main dishes.

City folks would be pleased to find yummy fried snacks: keropok lekor, spring rolls, sweet potato and banana fritters to nibble on. Our multi-racial foodscape means yong tau foo, steamed baos (top marks for the chicken barbecued buns), siew mai dumplings, nasi briyani and acar sayur would likely be on the menu. We can vouch for the specialities mentioned on the sedap scale.

Kid-friendly fare is part of the equation too. My finicky teen gave thumbs up to the fried rice, spice marinated fried chicken, ayam madu mamak and deep-fried prawns with oats.

We didn't eat much dessert that evening after overloading on durians. But rest assured, there are lots of sweet treats laid out to end the meal with. Here are the menus for reference.

For reservations, call Spring Garden, tel: 03-8889 1188. The restaurant is located at Taman Botani Putrajaya, Presint 1, Putrajaya. Reservations are advisable during the fasting month.