Tadau Kaamatan @ Sutera Marina

Happy harvest festival to all our Kadazan family and friends! 

We stumbled upon this buffet in Sutera Marina club yesterday. We haven't had a buffet meal for ages as with all buffet we tend to over indulged and lose all sense of control. However, we gave in to this one because the spread look so home cook and featured the mood of the festival. It also offered less choice as compared to normal buffet and we reckoned we could moderate our intake (wishful thinking...).

The pickled bambangan, a must-have for any Kadazan feast but this didn't taste fresh. I suspect this could be last season's as bambangan season for this year is not here yet.

Hinava (pickled fish) another must-have in Kadazan cuisine. This was done very well and I made three trips for this *blush*. 

This terung bakar (bbq eggplant) reminded me of the same dish my late MIL used to cook and with a squeeze of lime...em... pure bliss.

I love this bouquet of ulam, all because of the sambal that went with it. Its fiery kick and aroma of the freshly grilled belacan (shrimp paste) with chili padi and lime created the ultimate salad dressing to accompany these veggies. 

Another favorite dish, rebung masak lemak (bamboo shoot with coconut milk). Made me polished off so much nasi bukit (hill rice)...

Nasi bukit.

The beras bukit was cooked with a subtle hint of santan and salt (almost like nasi lemak but less obvious). It was good even with just the duan raja, sambal belacan and of course, the hinava.

Ayam masak nanas (chicken with pineapple). 

Daging  kicep (Beef with soy sauce). 

These two meat dishes were very well done but for us, they were kinda of eclipsed by the veggies and fish dishes.

 

The only dessert I went for but found the santan (coconut milk) lacking.

K took this shot of the amazing view from the restaurant which we very often take for granted.

Once again, Kotobian Tadau Kaamatan.