Sunday Roast @ E&O Hotel Penang

Time flies and it was almost three years ago since we last visited Eastern & Oriental (E&O) Hotel (GPS: 5.42361,100.33472) for its Sunday Roast. Recently, we re-visited this weekend’s buffet at the new location – Planter’s Lounge at 6th floor with breathtaking sea view.

Imagine indulging in fine cuisine surrounded by heritage architecture while enjoying the magnificent views of the Andaman Sea. This is exactly what the E&O Hotel offers at its Planters Lounge and Poolside Terrace now. Located on the sixth floor of the Victory Annexe, the once exclusive dining area for hotel guests is now open to diners following the closure of other dining options at the Heritage Wing – The 1885, Sarkies Corner and Farquhar Bar for refurbishment works.

If you are like us who never visited Planters Lounge before, now is the best time to do so. Who knows, it might revert back to hotel guest’s exclusive only once the old wing finished renovating. The Planters Lounge and Poolside Terrace are open daily from 11am to 12am. This time, we visited in one Sunday noon for Sunday Roast.

As the name applies, Sunday Roast is only available every Sunday from 12pm to 3pm. You may wonder on the differences between Sunday Roast buffet and Weekend Buffet Luncheon at Sarkies – the main restaurant in E&O Hotel serving daily buffet. While Sarkies buffet provides more varieties for guests, Sunday Roast is specially designed for roasted meat lover. Compared to Sarkies buffet which usually offers grilled food from their action stalls, Sunday Roast offers three type of roasted meat – chicken, lamb and beef, deliberately prepared by chefs from the kitchen. It is also cheaper (RM75.40 nett per person) compared to buffets in Sarkies.

Roasted Chicken Breast may look like an ordinary chicken breast from outside but once you sliced it opened, it has minced chicken meat, sage (an aromatic plant) and onion stuffed in it. We never expected to have such a tender chicken breast.

The lamb is taken from the shoulder part and is slow-cooked before roasting to perfection. We were surprised that it had little to none gamy taste commonly found in the lamb, not to mention the tenderness of the red meat in which you can enjoy it effortlessly.

For beef lover, there is no reason not to try Roast Side of Beef. It is best served with Yorkshire pudding and goose-fat roast potatoes. We strongly recommend our readers to try out Yorkshire pudding, best dressed with brown sauce.

Some of us, including ourselves, may have misconception that having a meal full of meat can be unhealthy. Sunday Roast, however, is an exception and is fairly up to you to define your Sunday afternoon. It can be a healthy meal by indulging yourself in the taste of succulent meats paired with sides of vegetables and flavorful condiments which tantalize your taste buds.

As a whole, Sunday Roast is a much-defined buffet by E&O Hotel providing premium food, from starters such as mushroom soup, salad, to desserts such as fresh fruits. Hurry before the price increases from RM75.40 nett to RM88.00 nett per person starting 1-Mar-2019.