> Quick view: St. Giles Southkey has a new buy 3, get 1 free buffet, this time for Deepavali on Friday 6 to Sunday 8 November 2026, at RM138 nett per adult. It pays off for four or more adults: four pay RM414 instead of RM472 on a normal weekend. Couples and families with young kids pay less at the standing RM118 weekend buffet. Two things changed since September: CHM Club now gives 10% off, not 20%, and the RM18 Xpress Lunch has dropped off the hotel's offers list.
What is new: the Deepavali buffet, 6-8 November
The hotel's offers list, read on 30 October 2026, now carries a Deepavali Festive Buffet at Causeway Café, Level 6 of St. Giles Southkey Johor Bahru. It runs three days: Friday 6, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, Deepavali Day itself.
- Lunch: 12pm to 3pm. Dinner: 6pm to 10pm. Both sittings run on all three days, so this is the only Friday lunch buffet the café has listed.
- Price: RM138 nett per adult, RM98 nett per senior and RM68 nett per child. The Deepavali page does not restate the age bands; the hotel's September festive buffet used 60 and above for seniors and 6 to 12 for children, with 5 and below free, so confirm when you book.
- Buy 3, get 1 free: applies to adults only. Pay for three adult buffets and the fourth adult eats free. Seniors and children are paid at their own rates and do not count towards the three.
- Booking: WhatsApp +6012 309 9762 (wa.me/60123099762). The offer page asks you to enquire there to claim the buy 3, get 1.
What is on the Deepavali buffet
The hotel's published Deepavali menu (an AnyFlip booklet uploaded 22 October) is a full international spread with an Indian centre:
- Indian and Asian section: chicken varuval, lamb masala, fish head curry, chicken biryani with biryani rice, lamb masak hitam, fried chicken with curry leaf, vegetable dhal, turmeric cabbage, plus sambal belacan, sambal udang kering, acar buah, budu and cincalok.
- Tandoori live station: chicken tandoori, chicken 65, butter chicken curry, lamb varuval, dalca sayur, paratha and naan with curry gravy.
- Seafood and Japanese: tiger prawns, NZ mussels and crabs on ice; salmon, butterfish and tako sashimi; sushi and maki including unagi, tamago and inari.
- Live counters: asam laksa, pasta tossed in a cheese wheel, roasted lamb leg with black pepper and mushroom sauce, chicken and lamb satay.
- Desserts: chocolate fountain with five fruits, pengat durian, pulut hitam, ABC, kuih lapis, three kinds of kuih talam, lepat pisang, tiramisu, pandan gula Melaka cake and Baskin-Robbins ice cream.
The menu notes dishes may change with seasonal supply.
The standing weekend buffet, and what changed
On every other weekend Causeway Café runs the "One Perfect Balance" buffet in two halves:
- Yin, Asian Heritage lunch buffet: every Saturday and Sunday, 12pm to 3pm, with a Chinese face-changing performance and a clown show.
- Yang, Western Grill dinner buffet: every Friday and Saturday, 6:30pm to 10pm, with face-changing and a magic show.
- Price: RM118 nett per adult, RM59 nett per senior citizen or child. Children 5 and below eat free.
CHM Club is now 10% off, not 20%. In September the weekend buffet page gave CHM Club members 20% off adults. The same page and the hotel's CHM Club F&B offer page now say 10%, adults only, so RM106.20 per adult. The 10% also covers à la carte food and non-alcoholic drinks at Causeway Café and The View Bar & Lounge, and it cannot be combined with any other promotion, which rules it out on the Deepavali buy 3, get 1.
The RM18 Xpress Lunch is no longer listed. The weekday set lunch (Monday to Friday, 12pm to 3pm, served in 15 minutes or free) had its own offer page in September. On 30 October that page returns "not found" and the offer is missing from the hotel's offers list. It may still be served, but the hotel no longer advertises it, so ask on WhatsApp before you go for it.
The hotel has not said whether the regular weekend buffet runs alongside the Deepavali buffet on 6-8 November. Expect the Deepavali menu at those sittings and ask when you book.
Worked examples
Four adults, Deepavali Saturday dinner. RM138 x 3 = RM414, the fourth eats free. On a normal weekend the same table pays RM472, or RM424.80 with CHM Club. Deepavali is the cheapest option by RM10.80 to RM58.
Eight adults, Deepavali lunch. Two free seats: RM138 x 6 = RM828, or RM103.50 each. A normal weekend lunch costs RM944.
Three adults. RM414 at Deepavali, no free seat. On a normal weekend RM354, or RM318.60 with CHM. Bring a fourth adult and the bill stays at RM414.
Two adults. RM276 at Deepavali against RM236 on a normal weekend, or RM212.40 with CHM. Couples are better off skipping the festive weekend unless they want the Indian menu.
Two parents, children aged 8 and 11. Deepavali: RM276 + RM68 x 2 = RM412. Normal weekend: RM236 + RM59 x 2 = RM354, or RM330.40 with CHM. The Deepavali child rate is RM9 more per child.
Three adults and a grandparent aged 65. Deepavali: RM414 + RM98 = RM512, because the senior does not count towards buy 3, get 1. Normal weekend: RM354 + RM59 = RM413.
Who it suits, and who should skip
The Deepavali buffet suits office groups, extended families and anyone booking four, eight or twelve adults, since every fourth adult is free. It also suits anyone who wants Friday lunch, which the regular buffet does not offer, or an Indian festive spread on Deepavali Day.
Skip it if you are a couple, a small family with children or bringing seniors. The September festive buffet worked the same way: the free seat only helps tables built from adults. Book the standing RM118 weekend buffet on another weekend instead, and join CHM Club if you dine here more than once, since 10% off two adults is RM23.60.
Fine print that trips people up
- Buy 3, get 1 free counts adults only. Seniors and children are paid at RM98 and RM68 and never earn a free seat.
- CHM Club 10% cannot be stacked on the Deepavali offer or any other promotion, and it covers adults only on the buffet.
- The regular buffet has no Sunday dinner and no weekday lunch. Lunch is Saturday and Sunday, dinner is Friday and Saturday.
- The hotel is doing facade rectification work from 4 May 2026 to 28 February 2027, daily 8am to 6pm, which overlaps lunch sittings.
- Buffet selections are subject to change without notice, says the menu.
The offers are on St. Giles Southkey's Deepavali buffet page, weekend buffet page and CHM Club F&B offer page.
The September Malaysia Day buffet, for the record
The "Flavours of Unity" buffet ran on September weekends and ended on 27 September 2026. It used the same prices and the same buy 3, get 1 on adults as the Deepavali buffet: RM138 adult, RM98 senior (60 and above), RM68 child (6 to 12), children 5 and below free. Each weekend had a regional theme: Streets of Penang, Taste of Malacca, Peranakan Cuisine and From Borneo with Love, on a base of seafood on ice, sashimi, satay, dim sum and Hainanese chicken rice. Four adults paid RM414, the same as at Deepavali.
