Serena Brasserie — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

I have been a patron of Serena Brasserie for many years as part of the Gourmet Collection member. I have always enjoyed the food, the experience and the hospitality and have celebrated many life events at the restaurant. There were some minor issues during each visit but I usually overlook due to the overall positive vibes.

Unfortunately, my recent visit on the 3rd June for the Tex-Mex buffet, I have experienced my worst ever dining experience in all my years patronizing this restaurant.

Below are my observations: -

#1: Going to the restaurant without reservations. This would be the first time walked-in to the restaurant without making reservations, even though I was staying in the Club InterContinental. Biggest mistake of my life.

My family of 4 was given a table right at the far back corner, even though there were empty tables in the middle. It was next to impossible to get the attention of the waiters.

I initially thought it was ok to be seated so far away but after a while, I felt that the manager could have placed me at a better table where it is within line of sight of the waiters.

#2: The food were not replenished quickly enough. The sushi, sashimi and seafood (oysters and clams) are usually the most popular food in any buffet.

When I was there at 7:15 pm, I noticed that the above-mentioned food were almost empty; the sushi/sashimi trays are empty, the were two crayfish, zero oysters and mostly empty clams.

People were walking back and forth the area and none of the staff were even aware that people are loitering around the area. I had to complain annoyingly to the manager why were the food not replenished. Only then did he direct one of the crew to remove the empty trays and replenish the food.

When I wanted to pour myself some soy sauce, guess what? It was empty. Why isn't the crew checking the condiments to ensure every is topped up? I had to pass the empty pot to one of the passing chefs to get it refilled.

#3: The seafood were not fresh When the oysters were replenished, there were all shrunken and not fresh at all. Same goes with the clams.

The sashimi were also not fresh and the colour of the meat look drained as though they have been prepared days earlier and put on ice and refrigerated. How I know this? Because I could taste the ice and the meat was saturated with water.

#4: The oysters were contaminated. Because the oysters were stacked on top of each other, the shell flakes could be visibly seen on the meat. Please do a better job ensuring the food is presentable. This is a restaurant in a 5-star hotel.

#5: Super limited food. For a price tag of RM208+ for an adult, I expect a wide selection of food and options. What was presented that night was really pitiful and just not worth the price tag.

As for the drinks, there was only plain water and ais kacang. Were there any juices? Absolutely not. Juices should be standard offering in any buffet.

#6: Non-attentive staff, managers included. This batch of crew were the worst. Nobody offered to clear the plates off my table. I was stacking all my used plates on the next table. The occasion where a staff walked to my area, they would see the tables filled with plates and just walked off.

Gone are the days where the waiters would asked whether I wanted a cup of coffee and gladly get me one. Now, even when I walked to the coffee machine to get a cup myself, none of the waiters offered to help me. Instead, they were more focused with their conversation rather than helping a patron.

#7: Lack of interaction. Back in the heyday, the restaurant managers would make it their duty to ensure the patrons had an excellent dining experience. They would anticipate the needs of the diners to give their best.

At times, when the situation gets busy, the managers would get their hands dirty to ensure, clearing the table, inspecting the food levels, interacting with the diners, etc. I no longer see this.

#8: Conclusion Significant improvements required or else I am never going back to...

I had been here multiple times for the morning breakfast as part of my visit to Kuala Lumpur and I was really impressed with the amazing spread of items.It operates on the ground floor of this massive hotel which is located near to petronas twin towers

Menu - The buffet had dishes from various cuisines like Malayasian , Indian , Chinese and western

Place:

The place is immaculate with stunning interiors. For those who are staying in this hotel the breakfast is complimentary for them.

Service:

Hospitality was great. Service was top notch and I had a great time here. Staffs were courteous and professional in their presentation. Stewards were very proactive and kept an eye on my table all the time

My experience:

I had a great experience with this restaurant. I have tried their morning buffet for 3 consecutive days during my stay in Intercontinental and most of the dishes were same and they were only few changes in the items

The buffet spreads across from the starters to the desert items.

There were 2 live counters for omeletts and dosa and paratha. The partha and roti were there for 3 days (malayasian) and dosa (thosai in malay) was there on the 3rd day.

Idli (savoury cake) was also there for 3 days as part of the buffet. The accompaniments were coconut chutney and mango chutney. Both were good and the latter one was sweet.

In the omelette counter . The chef makes omellete for us according to our requirements. One type I had was the Salt and Pepper one and it was really good.

There were wide varities of juice in the juice section. They were (1) Mango (2) Orange (3) soya milk (4) water melon (5) pink guava juice (6) Green Guava . I had tried their mango and both variants of guava juice and both were really nice.

The coffe was also there. They provided Latte and Cappacino. On the third day they had indian coffee too

Coming to the rice we had fried rice (nasi goreng ) for all 3 days , herbal coconut steam rice was also for 3 days, Fried noodles and under porridge section we had veg porridge ,chicken and fish porridge . I had tried only their fried rice and coconut steam rice and it was nice. uppma was there on the second day.

In the main dish we had chicken redang and lamb redang. The former was on the last 2 days and the latter was on the first day. I really liked their lamb redang more than their chicken redang. Both were really scrumptious. There was aloo mutter from the indian cuisine. A chilly gravy in onion was also there.

There were egg scramble ,hard boiled egg and chunks of boiled egg.There were many half cooked items like ham and i havent tried those sections.

There were chicken slice , smoked beef brisk , fried hash potato , smoked chicken sausage for all the 3 days. I had tried their chicken sausage , hash potato and chicken slice. The sausage and hash potato were really good.

In the desert section we had chocolate donut, sugar coated donut , chocolate cake , cup cakes, fruit cake and lots more. The chocolate donut was very luscious. Cakes were also good. Cup cakes too were toothsome. Altogether I had a wonderful time for 3 days.

Cost:

Cost was expensive as its a five star hotel. We were 5 persons and for the buffet we had to pay 290 ringgits after getting 20% discount due to membership in Intercontinental which is equivalent to 4600 INR (approx.)

Final Word:

This is certainly the one of the best 5 star hotels in Kuala Lumpur. It has got an international brand and moreover the location is in the heart of Kuala lumpur city near to Petronas Towers and suria mall kl cc. It is easily accesible to all places like Petronas towers, Menara Kl tower,Bird park , Ampang Park Mrt station , Suria Mall etc from this hotel. The hotel also has shuttle services to various tourist spots and above all the staffs are very nice and...

Went to try the Sparkly Sunday Lunch Today with a family of 7. Below are my observations:

Food - Quality of food is a mix. There are excellent quality food such as the sushi, prawn, mashed potatoes, fish and beef wellington. And there are some found to be wanting such as the oysters, muscles, desserts, bread. The Naan was horrendous. The crawfish was not topped up after the first serving was finished. It was replaced with generic seafood. Cakes and ice-cream was nasty except for the Christmas log. it was fantastic. Spread was limited compared with other places but quality was there.

Service - I came with a reservation under "eatigo" app. The booking was for 8 but one of my family member was down with a flu and 7 came. To my surprise we were not allowed to enter unless i pay the price for 8 person or rebook via the app. I tried rebook using the app to get the same discount but was only given a slot 1 hour later. I asked if we can enter earlier but was refused. We only get short answers like "no" and "i cant do anything". There was no explanation on what we can do to get our lunch sorted. We felt that she just wanted us to just pay the price for 8 person or take the buffet without the discounts. Luckily paying with a certain credit card still offered some discounts although not as high as using the app. Left a bad taste even before we started to eat. Disappointing because I can feel the staff did not intend to help us. I can understand there's limitation on the app's terms and condition but i believe more can be done to facilitate this issue.

Atmosphere - We were early so the place is quite quiet. The tables were nice and clean. The staff inside the restaurant was cheerful and service was great. The toilet was convenient.

Though the bad experience at the start, the food tasted nice (most of them except for the naan.......horrendous) and the service was great (except the lady at the counter).

Too many better options outside so was not sure if will revisit in the future.

Parking is free for the hotel guest (people staying in the hotel). For those going just to have lunch, the parking is...