Food Review - Zende

Name:

Zende Restaurant

Location:

Located right across from the Mall (which has since been renamed as the Sunway Putra Mall) and right next to the PWTC  (Putra World Trade Centre).

View Larger Map

Parking:

There are lots of parking if you are planning to dine here. You may either park at the hotel itself, the Mall or at the PWTC.

Service:

As there were lots of people present at the restaurant (actually, it was running a full house - could be due to the fact that many, like me, had bought the discounted vouchers as well.), the staff were scrambling with ushering diners to their tables and bringing out the food to the buffet lines (well, this is Malaysia after all - where people just grab piles of food on their plates and then just leave them on their tables to be cleared as it's obvious they can't finish the amounts they take).

Ambience:

I have to say the place looks really good. The glass ceiling provides the restaurant with a lot of natural light which adds a lot to the ambience. The light colored theme also makes diners feel very welcome & cozy. Top marks here.

Taste:

I have to say I was absolutely DISAPPOINTED with what we had to put up with! (Yes, I said put up with). 

This is because we have had food here at Zende before and it was infinitely better than what we had this day. The Dim Sum variety was limited (they only had about 6 types of Dim Sum, and some of them were un-available due to the greedy diners)

They had:

Chicken Feet

"Char Siew" Pau - well, it's halal

Siew Mai

Glutinous Rice in wrapped Lotus Leaves

Fish Balls

Congee or Porridge with condiments

Presentation:

The hotel had done their part in making the food look very presentable. However, due to the large crowds, by the time we got to some of the food containers, it had become a little messy (no fault of the hotel). Otherwise, the food presentation is pretty good.

Variety:

Not only the Dim Sum variety was limited but the other food items too. We didn't manage to get much satisfaction from the Dim Sum hence we thought of enjoying the other non-Dim Sum items but sadly, they too were limited in choice. =(

We took some deep fried items like Lobak & some Yong Tau Foo (which I'm disappointed to report was also lacking in variety)

They had an OK variety of desserts like bite-size cakes & sweets but by the time we got to the desserts, we were too depressed to even take the sweet items.

Value for Money:

On paper, RM48++ for a buffet lunch in a restaurant located in a 5-Star hotel like the Seri Pacific seems like a pretty good deal BUT with the food that diners got from their money, I'd say I can think of at least 79 other ways I can use my $$$ better. EPIC FAIL! 

Overall:

I'd have to say I really regretted coming here for the buffet despite having only paid a fraction of the original price. The whole time I was there, I was feeling so sorry for the people who had actually paid full price for the buffet.

So, based on this visit, I would say it's a definite "No-no" from me. I would not be visiting Zende again at least for another 1 year, when hopefully, the management realizes the kind of poor quality and value cannot be presented in a hotel and restaurant with a rich a reputable history.