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Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa

Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa

best-good-place-to-buka-puasa Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa

During the fasting month in Malaysia, most of my friends would ask me – Where is the best place or a good place for Buka Puasa?

To be honest, the fasting month of Ramadan in Malaysia is the same every year.

Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa

Buka Puasa translates from Malay as the breaking of fast, and hotels compete against each other to offer the best selections for Buka Puasa.

Buffet prices will always be one of the main concerns, and several people will probably gain weight.

So, is there a best or good place to buka puasa? No, there is none. Each place has its own speciality catered towards different people.

Hotels, Ramadan Bazaars, and Malay Restaurants are the main places to buka puasa; therefore, there are many choices available nowadays.

Since Malaysia imposed the 6% Goods Sales Tax or GST, this created a domino effect, increasing food prices across the country. This, however, was a vast topic, and eventually, people got used to it.

But for the hotel industry, it is a dog-eat-dog world here. Many are trying to outdo one another and offer affordable buka puasa buffets for the locals and even foreigners.

Buka-Puasa-Malaysia Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa
Vascos offers some mouth-watering dishes during the fasting month in Malaysia (File photo).

Who goes for Buka Puasa Buffets? 
In Malaysia, going to a hotel for a buka puasa buffet has become customary during the entire fasting month. Socialites, politicians, and VIPs are known to host these sessions while the general consumer is visiting with family and friends, and many times during Ramadan. 
If you ask me, my personal opinion about buka puasa or breaking fast, started as a corporate trend in the country. Companies and corporations would take advantage of this time and host a buka puasa session at selected hotels around the cities.

They would then invite suppliers and clients to attend the buka puasa session, which would be an excellent opportunity for additional networking and business. It was all in good intentions, mind you, so it caught on well.

Things have changed over the years, and it has become normal for just about anyone to participate in breaking the fast here in Malaysia.

Tourists visiting Malaysia during the fasting month can experience the Buka Puasa at any of the hotels or even at the local Ramadan Bazaars. This would be an exciting experience.

buka-puasa-in-malaysia Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa
Local Malay food variety found at most hotels – Image DiscoverJB.

Buka Puasa at Hotels in Malaysia

While most hotels would look forward to these corporate clients, a huge growing pool of general consumers would personally go on their own for the buka puasa buffets.

Again, I know some friends or acquaintances who attend hotel buka puasa buffets simply because they like it and can afford it. 

Prices? In most popular hotels around the cities, the price range per person is anywhere from RM80++ to 120++ and some even above RM150. Yes, quite a steep price if you ask me, but society seems to have no qualms about it.

I remember back in the day, buka puasa prices were around RM35 to RM50, and many thought it was expensive. Much has changed in the last decade, and consumers can now spend easily for the sake of lifestyle.

Best-Place-For-Ramadhan-Buffet Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa
Some of the selections from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur

Buka Puasa Choices
So, what is it that you will get to the hotel buka puasa buffets? If you have attended some of these, you would know that the hotels sometimes go all out to impress the guests.

I have attended some invitations to see what food choices are being offered, and in most cases, they are just on an average level for me. 

Some hotels shout highly about their traditional Malay kampung menu, offering mouth-watering local delicacies prepared by their chefs, but as I have tasted them, they are just averagely edible. I’m not kidding, especially if you know your Malay dishes.

Many people have not tried authentic Malay kampung food from real places and, hence, do not know how to pass judgment, especially when doing reviews.

buka-puasa-2015 Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa
You can find all sorts of traditional Malay dishes at Ramadan Bazaars.

Buka Puasa Foodies
To be a good foodie in Malaysia, you must have vast knowledge, taste and experience with the local Malay Kampung foods all over the country.
Let me give you an example – Let us use Beef, Lamb or Chicken Satay served in the hotels; it is consistently average, though they claim the chefs have learned and mastered it; when you compare it to the authentic satay served on the streets, it is miles apart.

This is a catch-22 situation; most hotels can never get their stay right. In many cases, they cook the satay and leave it for guests to take, and most of the time, the satay is hard, cold, or under-average.

traditional-buka-puasa-food-dishes Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa
Terengganu traditional buka puasa food dishes.

Anyhow, when I write this, the best or good place to buka puasa is always where you like to have it. Home, your favourite hotel or restaurant, it is very subjective.

When you read reviews of buka puasa, you will always see writers or bloggers selling the event extra highly, even though they are just bloggers or writers and not professional food critics.

However, based on years of experience, I have some examples of places to buka puasa below for writing purposes.

petaling-jaya-hilton-pj-buka-puasa Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa
The PJ Hilton is a popular place to buka puasa

Best or Good Places for Buka Puasa 
Holiday Villa Subang is a popular recommendation during Ramadan, and its variety is claimed to be one of the best in Klang Valley. I have tried it, and I agree with their selections. However, occasionally, the chef’s changes and quality can vary. I don’t know if they are still active as before the pandemic.
Shangri-la Hotel KL is one of the old-timers in the buka puasa scene, and most patrons would know that the feast comes at a price and quality. Usually, affluent people are seen here entertaining friends and families or even for business meetings. 
Concorde Hotel KL is one of the places where the food quality is on par with that of many other places. They have been around long and cater to a mixed crowd of locals and hotel guests. 
Petaling Jaya Hilton, or PJ Hilton, is one of the oldest players in the buka puasa buffet scene. For many years, locals have respected the place for its food choices. The place tends to get fully booked, and it is recommended to book well ahead.
Plus, many other new hotels and larger restaurants cater to Ramadan buffets. Therefore, you may need to check other later hotels like St Regis KL and W Kuala Lumpur.
The above are based on my experiences at these places over the years, and if you think other hotels make this list, please let me know by commenting in the form below.

sheraton-pj-buka-puasa-buffet Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa
Japanese selection at the Sheraton buffet.

New Hotels to Buka Puasa in Kuala Lumpur

Since writing this article in 2015, many new hotels have opened all over the Klang Valley, and some of them have offered outstanding choices for breaking-fast buffets. I have yet to try them, but hopefully, this year, I will manage to experience them.

St. Regis Hotel Kuala Lumpur – One of the luxury hotels in KL City that has been highly popular among the locals. Five-star service with five-star quality is what you can expect from the St. Regis KL.

Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur – Another luxury hotel that caters to well-heeled consumers, and you can expect some premium quality buka puasa buffet here.

Hilton Kuala Lumpur – A favourite among the lifestyle urbanites, you can expect this place to be pretty crowded during the buka puasa time.

Sheraton Hotel Petaling Jaya – Recently opened and in the limelight of the recent Malaysian elections, this new hotel in PJ will live up to its standards after Tun Mahathir chose this hotel as his base of final operations in the elections.

Of course, many other hotels offer buka puasa buffet packages, and there are probably too many around. However, as mentioned, the consumer will pass judgment and have a personal favourite.

I also have another article highlighting the Ramadan buffet prices for hotels in Klang Valley. This will indicate how much you need to pay to buy a buka puasa at the various hotels.

ramadan-bazaar Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa
A typical scene at a Ramadan Bazaar in Malaysia

Buka Puasa in General
While the urban community favours hotels for buka puasa, the more common layman does their buka puasa at home or at general restaurants, cafes, warungs, and coffee shops.

Ramadan Bazaars in KL or PJ are also trendy places where locals flock here to get their local Malay food dishes to take home for breaking the fast.

At times, you can find some of the best Malay foods at these food bazaars located at strategic places around the Klang Valley and across every state in Malaysia.

malaysia-ramadan Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa
Blue Rice for Buka Puasa.

Some of these Ramadhan Bazaars have well-known and famous Malay dishes, and long lines are seen at these stalls. Sometimes, people wait for 30 minutes just to buy that one dish.

My recommendation is to visit these food bazaars and try the local experience, as it is fun and unique, especially if you are a traveller or visitor to Malaysia.


On a side note, just because you have been to one doesn’t mean that you know it all. Different bazaars offer different experiences and styles of food overall. It’s like eating one type of pizza and passing judgment on all types. 
This is one of the festivals and events that make Malaysia Truly Asia. People from all walks of life congregate in one area just for the sake of food.

Again, Malaysia is a multiracial country that offers all kinds of foods from the many different races here. Ramadan is just one of them.

ramadan-food-bazaar-malaysia Best or Good Place to Buka Puasa
Common Ramadan Bazaar in Malaysia – Image by JohorKaki.

Conclusion
You may have contradicting views about my article, but this is a general overview based purely on my experiences.

I may not be a professional foodie or food critic, but my job takes me to many off-the-beaten-path places, so I have had my fair share of sampling local and traditional food from all over Malaysia.

I also take the initiative to explore Malaysia’s hidden culinary scenes, and you can read my article about the rare and unique Bario Food Festival or Pesta Nukenen Bario, held in the highlands of Bario in Sarawak.

Overall, certain places hold strong values to their food, and I won’t agree or disagree as food is and has always been a very subjective matter to all humans. At the end of the day, we all like to read and hear about the best places to visit in Buka Puasa in Malaysia.

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