Straits Cafe @ Hotel Rendezvous

I resisted going to buffets for a while despite my mum trying to entice me to go for them. I told her eating so much would only make me pile the pounds on. Then she said, of course not! buffet, 不肥! The logic of things.

Anyway, so yesterday I went to Straits Cafe @ Hotel Rendezvous. And it was difficult trying to find the entrance to this place if you didn't drive. They are currently under renovations now. So you basically have to find the staircase which leads to the second floor, then take the lift to the first floor.

There was a pretty wide spread of food here. The standard Chinese food, like braised duck, BBQ prawns, kailan etc. And then there was the carving station. The pork ribs were pretty sweet and not too hard like a lot of pork ribs. Didn't really like the fish though, was a little dry.

Besides the popiah and kueh pie tee station where you are provided with a wide range of ingredients to add to your food, the japanese station where you had sushi prepared there and then, there was also a salad station. Liked the italian herbs on the chicken.

Here's the seafood station. I tried the crab legs and it felt like salt-overdose. I'm pretty sure it wasn't meant to be so salty. Apparently, the raw oysters were super good. (I don't eat raw food). And the scallops didn't have a out-of-the-sea taste.

There are also chefs manning the counter for making prata, laksa and waffle. The waffle was thinner than my favourite Gelare waffles (i still haven't got over the fact that it closed down without bidding me farewell). A wide range of jams is provided, or you could go over to the ice cream station for some ice cream. The ice cream included raspberry sorbet and coconut ice cream. And they also have potong sticks which I found a little weird being part of the ice cream selection.

For the prata, they give you the curry in a small little bowl. Are they trying to conserve curry because they know that this is a country of curry eaters?

Honestly, this shouldn't be the last picture. But I'm saving the best for the last. Because the best part of a buffet always lies in its desserts. There are so many desserts here, more than a standard buffet. There are cakes like Italian tiramisu, strawberry mousse, brownies, random cakes, a white chocolate and dark chocolate fondue fountain. Now, this surprised me a little because normally restaurants only have dark chocolate fondue. I don't eat white chocolate, but I thought it was a pretty cool addition.

And lastly, the station for durian lovers. Which was hidden in a little cold storage. Am not sure whether this is because it's necessary to keep the durian fresh, or was it to protect those anti-durian people from fainting after taking a whiff? I was attracted to the durian like how bees get attracted to flowers. The durian fudge cake was pretty decent, although I have to admit that there are places with better durian cakes like the all-time favourite at Goodwood Hotel. There were also durian eclairs, durian puffs and durian pengkats.

I think the durian taste was moderated for people who are neutral about durian. (How's that ever possible, you either love it or hate it right?) But anyway, the addition of milk and coconut milk to it kind of diluted the taste of the durian instead of being 100% durian paste.

Overall, I think this place has a rather wide selection of food. As usual, a few hits and misses with their food. But it should be enough food for you to walk away filling full and satisfied.

Update: Click here for new entry on 11 January 2012 

Straits Cafe @ Hotel Rendezvous

9 Bras Basah Road

1F Rendezvous Hotel

Singapore

Tel No: +65 6336 0220