FINELY cut herbs and roots stirred into rice make up the traditional nasi ulam. Every family has its own recipe for this well-loved and healthy aromatic rice.

Chef Putri Farisya Amirza, who is from Perlis, let us taste nasi ulam made to her mum’s recipe as well as her own version with a modern twist, for buka puasa at Curate, Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur.

Her mum’s nasi ulam had my vote; I turned up fish and toasted belacan in the rice and picked up the fragrant notes of bunga kantan and  ulam raja and cashew nut leaves.

Putri’s contemporary version has truffle shavings on it. But I liked it even better when she added a century egg in yet another surprising take on nasi ulam.

The buka puasa spread highlights the diverse talents of each of its chefs.

Chef Alif Muazzam Saffarudin presented a stunning coconut cha cha creme brulee made with coconut cream and gula Melaka.

Studded with orange and purple sweet potatoes, yam and sago, the dessert was delicate and lightly sweet with an eggy kaya aroma to it.

His apam gula hangus, a soft, spongy caramel-flavoured cake, is a Raya delicacy in his family. At Curate, he dressed it up with nangka strips, coconut ice-cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Chef Hanif Ahmadiah offered a curry laksa of crispy egg noodles with luxe toppings of salmon and caviar.

I spotted fresh scallops, mussels, prawns and fish fillets at the Tuaran seafood noodles stall, which also offered lontong masak lemak.

You can take your pick of the seafood and have famous Sabah noodles fried for you on the spot.

It was lontong for me. I added fish, mussels and scallops and it was a tasty world away from the usual rice cake in curry sauce that I’m used to.

I had a small sampling each of rendang daging hitam, ayam goreng berlada. pajeri nenas timur, and pineapple fried rice, and I liked the rendang and the pineapple rice.

Another turn at the buffet brought helpings of kerabu pucuk paku, papaya salad, cockle kerabu and sardine salad.

The Indian section of the buffet is not to be missed.

My palate perked up at the tart, spicy mango chutney which I paired with the cone-shaped pappadam. The fish masala was excellent and I had it with mushroom briyani.

There were also chicken tikka, tandoori prawn masala, Goan crab curry, and spiced lamb rack.

Western dishes included roast prime rib, roast lamb, fish fillets with paprika sauce, Swiss meatballs with wild mushroom cream, and steak au poivre on burnt shallot cream.

You can also have your fill of oysters, crayfish, clams, crabs, scallops and prawns at the cold section.

I happily finished with the bite-sized and yummy classic apam balik with crushed peanuts and another version with banana sauce.

The buka puasa buffet is priced at RM289 for adults and RM145 for children. It is available until April 24. Call Four Seasons at 03-2382 8888, for reservations. – April 8, 2023.