Why the Silence? This.

It's certainly not for lack of material. We still have lots to share from our June sojourn in eastern Turkey ... and our winter trip before that and our fall travels before that. And from Kelantan and Penang and Chiang Mai and, and ...

But Dave's been preoccupied this last week with the likes of that gorgeous specimen above. He's shooting a food story in Mexico City (which you may know from some drool-inducing photos we've recently added to this blog's Facebook page).

I know from experience that he's the kind of photographer who never takes a break -- out before dawn and not back to his hotel till well after dark. So when he says he's too tired and busy to process even a few photos for a post, I believe him.

Hard as it sometimes even for me to accept .... shooting food really is work.

I did cajole him into sending one last image. "Blue corn tortilla, fresh squash blossoms and a bright tomato and red chili salsa at a stall off Reforma Avenue," is how he described it.

Regularly scheduled programm! ing resu mes later this week, after Dave returns from Tortilla Heaven.

Ramadhan Buffet 2012 JW Marriot, Kuala Lumpur

The Ramadhan Buffet at the JW Marriot Hotel, Kuala Lumpur has got to be one of the most lovely buffets I had this year. The Poolside area on the 6th Floor and the Starhill Conference Centre on the 4th floor of the hotel has been transformed into a Ramadhan bazaar; to replicate akampong ambience.

Guests have the option of dining al-fresco; sitting on the patio of the blue pool and breathing inin the evening crisp after-rain air just like I did or dine in air-conditioning comfort in the remodeled conference/dining hall.

After a hectic week, I chose to dine out in the open. Besides, I love space and air, not to mention the opportunity to catch all the action at the live cooking stations.

My perennial favourite; the lamb was exquisitely well done here. Well done not as in cooked right-through and tough in texture, but rather in terms of the marination and overall flavour. It remained juicy and delicious from the skin to the bone. Definitely one of the best lambs Ive had so far!

Guests of the Ramadhan Buffet at JW Marriot can expect to feast on a wide variety of traditional Malaysian delicacies this year; making this buffet an ideal choice for those who yearn for the traditional kampong experience AND the taste to match.

Below: Juicy meaty satay.

I was very impressed with the local delicacies; the curries had the right amount of heat and depth of flavour and the corresponding meat/seafood/vegetables was infused with the flavour right through. Kudos to the cooks in charge really!
The use of spices were generous and in balanced proportions, resulting in very very delightful dishes.

Below: The Rendang,Daging Salai Masak Lemak, Deep Fried Catfish in Sambal (this was really good!) and the Green Chilli Chicken.

From the soup station we slurped piping hot aromatic and flavourful Sup Kambing, Tom Yam and Sup Ekor.

The traditional Bubur Lambuk was prepared for us as well that day.

Geared towards preserving heritage, Jw Marriots Ramadhan Buffet will feature 108 of the besttraditional dishes from various states of the country customarily served during Ramadhan. What I sampled that night was just the tip of the iceberg and barely 30% of what the full buffet will offer when it starts during the Ramadhan month!

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Though not pictured here, some of the authentic Malaysian delights to look out for includestypical Malay dishes that are lesscommonly served nowadays namely Tongkeng Ayam (Bishop) GorengBercili, Daging Salai Masak Lemak dengan Bachang and Kupang Masak Rampai. Look out for the ubiquitousfavourites such asnasi dagang,ayam tandoori, roti canai, chicken rice, ais kacang and a fresh fruit station too!

Desserts were just as well prepared as the mains. Traditional Malay desserts are expectedly sweet, thus the chefs in charge has taken great care to keep the desserts here well-balanced. The ones I sampled that night were of acceptable saccharine levels and creamy enough to be claimedauthentic.

End your gluttony with some vitamins packed fruits.

Venue: 6th Floor, JW Marriot KL
Price: RM60.00++/pax at the Conference Centre and RM70.00++/pax atthe poolside area
Time: 7.00pm to 10.30pm

For reservations, call 03-2719 8666 or e-mail to bukapuasa@ytlhotels.com.my.

Browse more if you wish:

Dorsett Regency, Kuala Lumpur

MayTower Hotel & Serviced Residences, KL

The Mill, Grand Millennium Hotel, Bukit Bintang

The Lounge, GTower Hotel, KL

The Living Room, Westin KL

Cinnamon Cafe, One World Hotel

Latest Recipe, Le Meridien KL

Paya Serai PJ Hilton

These are for last year Ramadans!
Which is your favourite of all the above? As you know, Im running the Beckys 30 Days 30 Giveaways and for coming days it will be mostly Ramadan buffets for 2 pax! . So do visit my pageRebeccaSawBlog FB here and stay tuned for the announcement!

Heres the round-up for 2012Ramadan Buffets.Ill include the links once I published the posts this week. Im trying to write as fast as I can!

1. Ramadhan Buffet at Melting Pot Cafe, Concorde Hotel, KL
2. Ramadhan Buffet at Soi 23, Pacific Regency, KL
3. Ramadhan Buffet at Fuzion, Sunway Spa and Resorts
4. Ramadhan Buffet at Checkers Cafe, Dorsett Regency, KL
5. Ramadhan Buffet at Flavors, Swiss Garden Hotel, Pudu KL
6. Ramadhan Buffet at Cinnamon Coffee House, One World Hotel
7. Ramadhan Buffet at Kitchen Art Brasserie, Empire Hotel Subang
8. Ramadhan Buffet at The Mill, Grand Millenium Hotel, KL
9. Ramadhan Buffet at Jw Marriot, KL

10. theres more for sure let me eat first and Ill update!

Leave me a comment if you have any enquiries onRamadhan Buffets this year ok?

FLAMs The Thin Crust Pizza @ Changkat Bukit Bintang, KL

Tarte flambee is like a pizza, and if you looked up its origins you would know that it is actually a unique dish from Alsace the fifth smallest region in France. Strictly speaking, you cant call Tarte flambee a pizza but for marketing purpose I guess calling it a thin-crust-pizza will sell better. You could get this rather unique food at FLAMs located in Changkat Bukit Bintang and luckily, pizzas are not the only good stuff on the menu.

Since we are new to this variant of pizza, we asked for a recommendation and got the Mushroom Flams Deluxe @ RM38.80. The number of toppings (the types, not amount) are kept to a minimum, consisting of only mushrooms, a few types of cheese and herbs so that the flavors are simple, yet still enjoyable.

After placing your order you could see how your pizza is made right from the scratch. There is an open kitchen at the end of the restaurant where a huge, bright-red brick oven is at. The pizza is only baked in the wood-fired oven for a couple of minutes because of the thin dough.

Done, some chopped parsleys are sprinkled on top. You should notice that no tomatoes are usually used in a traditional Tarte flambee because it is considered a scarce ingredient at where it came from.

Then it is cut into pieces using a pizza wheel as not to dislodge any loose toppings, as well as maintaining the perfect shape.

As you can see the pizza is really thin and the base has a delightful crunch to it while it is still hot. And instead of eating them like how you would eat a traditional pizza, you could try rolling them up and eat it like a crepe. It is quite fun!

If you prefer having meat instead of flour, you will be glad that the Rotisserie Chicken (Ayam Golek) here is surprisingly good for a pizza restaurant. In fact, I felt the roast chicken outshines the pizza and could even put Kenny Rogers and Nandos to shame. Despite the rather steep price tag (RM26.80 for half a chicken) we felt it was worth every penny. The homemade spicy dipping sauce hit the right note too and complemented the tender and juicy chicken perfectly.

OK not another m! ushroom soup again. Well, except that this is freaking good and ranks among the better ones. RM13.80.

Seafood Pasta @ RM26.80, worth ordering just for the amount of seafood (scallops, tiger prawn, squid, mussels and clams) given. So the fact that it tastes good as well makes it even better. Anyway, it might seem like I have a lot of good things to say about FLAMs in this post but there are actually a few items we had that I did not really like. For example, the escargots are outright weird tasting and waterish, while the desserts are slightly lacklustre.

FLAMS (The Thin Crust Pizza)
Address: No. 37, 39, 41 Changkat Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel No.: 03-2145 8111
Fax No.: 03-2145 8999
Website: www.flams.com
Facebook : flams.kl
GPS Coordinate: N 3 08.860 E 101 42.484