Carousel

I haven't gone to any buffets that made me go, "WOW" for a really long time. And a visit to Carousel didn't change that.

We went for the buffet lunch on Saturday ($55++) which was from 12 pm to 2 pm. 

The food stations were spread out and this forces you to walk in between all that eating.

We started off with appetisers and salads.

There were some Assorted Grilled Vegetables which is an interesting (and relatively healthy) addition to the buffet spread.

The Japanese food selection had fresh sashimi. 

The Chilled Seafood section had prawns, crayfish, mussels, oysters etc. However, both my friend and I noted that the crayfish had a rather mushy texture to it and thought that it didn't taste fresh. The rest of the seafood were fine.

 Get to choose your bread to accompany your soup- I chose the Zuppa Di Vongole (Clam Soup) which tasted a little foreign to me. It didn't taste like the typical clam chowder that we are used to.

The selection of Indian food was pretty good- however, the naan was too oily and tasted more like roti prata instead.

We didn't waste our stomach space eating the Chinese food because nothing stood out in particular.

Three dessert fondues- that's a rare sight! However, as I am not a fan of fondue, I didn't try any of these. I tried the ice cream next to it instead- you really can't go wrong with ice cream!

After ice cream, I headed straight to the dessert section which turned out to be a real disappointment. Despite the variety of desserts, there was a sore lack of chocolate desserts. Of course, not everybody enjoys chocolate, but you definitely need some of those on the dessert table! The desserts were also not the most tastefully plated and were not replenished. Less of those desserts in shot glasses and real desserts please!

The yoghurt station is also one novel station that is seldom seen at other buffet places.

There was also a cheese section which really appealed to my cheese-loving friend.

The good thing about this place is that it is Halal certified. Their service is also exceptional- they clear your plates once you leave the seat. The waiters and waitresses are also very friendly. When we were there, they were doing some sort of jingle for those having their birthdays. A very nice gesture. Besides that, while there is quantity in the buffet here, quality is somewhat lacking.

Carousel
Royal Plaza on Scotts
25 Scotts Road
Lobby Level 

Read More

Oscar's Cafe & Terrace (Conrad)

After my first visit here two years ago, I revisited Oscar's last week. The quality of the food was good but it seemed that the variety was lacking. 

The usual- salad bar. 

Huge slabs of sashimi were placed in the glass counters and would be cut upon your request. I requested for salmon and they cut a thick slice of the salmon which was succulent and very fresh.

If you like frozen seafood, they have scallops, prawns, mussels and crayfish for you to choose from. Surprisingly, the crayfish and prawns retained their juiciness.

There was a counter outside where you had your pick of prawn noodles, laksa, bak kut teh etc. I had such a kick out of eating this prawn noodle. Savoury but not too salty, the prawn noodles soup was balanced and the chilli raised the shiokness of the soup by one notch.

There were also stations for Indian food and Italian food. I didn't try the Indian food because nothing looked too attractive. The Italian food counter had roasted meats, pasta etc.

Desserts time! You must try the their signature Chocolate Royal Hazelnut Crust. Rich chocolate laid on a crunchy and fragrant hazelnut crust- it's a crime not to go for second servings.

On a side note, a few years back, I won a Christmas cake from Conrad for joining some competition- that was when my love-relationship began with Conrad. Sadly, I think they have stopped making the Christmas cake. Every Christmas, I still dream of the whirlwind romance I had with this dense chocolate cake laced with orange flavour.

There was also a waffle-making counter. The waffles were very dark at the bottom, suggesting that they were slightly burnt? But the lady manning the waffles counter said that they weren't. So I took it and asked for a scoop of ice cream on it. Clearly, the waffles were slightly burnt as it was bitter. Nonetheless, the ice cream made up for it, definitely serving good quality ice cream here!

There was a variety of chocolates to choose from- by then, my guilt index had shot up so much that I could no longer convince myself to take a piece of chocolate.

Ended the meal with a cup of cappuccino.

The buffet is definitely above average. At a price tag of $54++, the quality and freshness of the food justify the price, although variety can be improved. Service is also good and friendly.

Oscar's Café & Terrace 
Conrad Centennial
2 Temasek Boulevard, Lobby Level
Tel No: +65 6432 748

Read More

Spices Cafe

For the record, I love crabs. Having a meal at Long Beach or Jumbo is always a treat and I get my hands dirty on those ridiculously fresh, big and juicy crabs. 

Known as Harvest of the Sea Buffet Dinner ($54++), I left work earlier than usual in anticipation of a good meal. 

This is one of the few rare buffet places that is not filled to maximum capacity. 

You get to choose from five kinds of crabs and they will deliver it to your table- you can order all five kinds as many times as you want. Choices of crab include Thai Curry with Basil Leaves Crab, Chili Crab, Black Pepper Crab, Butter & White Pepper Crab and Salted Egg Crab.

We ordered all five to share and my mum really liked the Salted Egg Crab. I found most of the crab choices to be very average. I prefer the versions at the East Coast seafood restaurants anytime over these crabs. Nonetheless, it was quite interesting trying new flavours for the first time- particularly impressionable was the Thai Curry with Basil Leaves Crab.

In general, the crabs didn't taste particularly fresh but nor were they unfresh. It was just that the meat lacked the chewiness and juiciness.

Each person also gets to choose from either a serving of baked half lobster gratinated with cheese or a serving of braised baby abalone with broccoli and mushroom. Unless you love abalones so much, I'm telling you- get the lobster. The lobster was delicious- all that warm melted gooey cheese with the springy lobster meat will make you forget about how your cholesterol is going to rise after this meal.

They also had a section with the seafood laid out on ice. I only tried the scallops here and I have to say that the scallop was pretty bad. It tasted exactly like how scallops would taste like if they were just taken out from the freezer. The scallops were small and dry.

They had a section where the chefs would cook laksa, herbal prawn soup etc.

I tried the Laksa which was pretty good.

The warm food section also had a lot of seafood dishes- Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab, Oats Prawns, Scallops and Broccoli etc. The soft shell crab was very crispy- unfortunately something was missing- the kick of crunching some shells was non-existent. It just felt like limp crab meat hidden below some deep fried goodness.

There was also a salad section. One of the dishes I tried (not in the photograph) was the Chicken Salad with Mango. I couldn't taste or see the mango which was a real pity because it sounded like a good combination.

Thank goodness desserts were fairly decent. I tried the Chocolate Cake and the Lemon Tart. The Chocolate Cake was made of bitter chocolate and didn't have the cheap chocolate cream taste in it. The lemon tart was also refreshing and not sickeningly sweet.

Food here is average, I wouldn't come here to satisfy my seafood craving. Friendly service.

Spices Cafe
Concorde Hotel
100 Orchard Road
Tel: 6 739 8370 

Read More

Aquamarine

I was on a boring bus ride home when I saw 52 Best Buffets by Hungrygowhere in my Inbox. To see the words "best" and "buffets" come together, I refrained from clicking the "delete" button which is what I usually do for most of the emails. 

The theme then was Penang Penang. We decided to drop by for the high tea buffet ($49.45). 

1) Salad, soup and appetisers 

It started off being rather promising. I didn't try the asparagus soup but my mum said it was good. The prawn salad was fresh and the flavours were light and refreshing with the accompaniment of fruits.

2) Japanese food 

The Japanese food section was rather limited in terms of the variety. There was seaweed, edamame, scallops (the kinds you see below), soba and the usual sushi.

3) Asian food 

Whether Penang food or not, I'm categorising all of them here. The Kueh Pie Tee was fragrant because of the dried shrimps in them.

The Char Kway Teow had wok hei and was spicy (people who can't take chilli, you have been warned!).

There was also lok lok, with a tub of hot water at the side to dip the lok lok in. I didn't try these because they didn't look too appetising. But apparently the food couldn't be cooked well even after dumping it in the hot water for quite some time because the water wasn't boiling water.

4) International fare

5) Dessert

I always judge a place based on its desserts.

How is it that a buffet place like this only serves yam and sweet corn ice cream?

The Opera Cake was the best of the lot- suitably bitter with a hint of coffee. The Kueh Lapis looked good but while the layers were distinct and spongey, it isn't fragrant enough. Avoid the puddings like a plague- the powder taste was so strong I classify it as nearly inedible.

Despite the average fare here, service was efficient and polite.

Aquamarine 
Marina Mandarin
6 Raffles Boulevard
Level 4
Tel No: 6 845 1111 

Read More

Greenhouse

I was really excited to step foot into the Greenhouse- have been reading great reviews of this place. Alas, it was just not meant to be. I guess buffet lunch just isn't as good as its famous Sunday brunch. 

Everything seemed so promising when we first entered Greenhouse- lots of natural light (check), witty quote by Virginia Woolf printed on its cards: "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well" (check), nice little touches such as the blown glass on the walls (check). What's there not to like about this place? 

Interesting selection of bread. Unfortunately, I left my stomach space for other food instead. I tried the mushroom soup and it was rich, creamy and full of flavour with little chunks of mushroom in it.

I came back to this section again and again. I don't usually go for seconds when it comes to the salad/appetisers part, but the selection here was really quite good. Worthy of mention was the couscous and chicken. The chicken was admittedly a little tough but it went well with the couscous. The mushrooms were also bursting with juice.

The sushi and seafood section had a few hits and misses. I think Greenhouse tends to overcook its food- the cooked prawns were far too hard in some dishes, the char siew in the carving section while tasty, was too hard as well. Even the chawanmushi was lacking the jiggly consistency and instead felt more like Chinese steamed egg.

Talking about overcooking the food, I didn't take a picture of the Chinese food section. The salmon in lobster sauce was far too hard as well. I know you are concerned about us eating uncooked food... but still, this isn't the way to go! Other dishes included buffalo wings, vegetables in XO sauce etc. (all worth skipping).

The Indian food section was pretty good. I loved the pairing of nann and Chicken Curry!

If you dare display your desserts section at the entrance, my bet is that it has to be pretty good! So, there was a wonderful selection of ice cream- Good quality ice cream by the way. Not the normal supermarket chocolate/strawberry/vanilla.

But good times did not last. The kuehs were bad- I'd rather the dessert chefs stick to what they are good at as opposed to trying to make things that are not their specialities. The ondeh ondeh is one of the worst I have eaten in quite a while- extremely thick skin and no gula melaka splashing out at all! The rest of the kuehs were equally subpar.

These beautiful dainty little desserts, while at first appealing, turned out more appalling than appealing. Maybe that's putting it too strongly since the chocolate dessert was quite good. But see that orange thing in the picture, I took a bite of it, made a face and officially declared it the worst thing I have eaten in quite some time. I don't even know what it was because as you can tell, there are no signs!

The chocolate cake was rich and suitably bitter. The hazelnut cake, while acceptable, was a tad too sweet.

At $58++ for buffet lunch, the buffet was a letdown. While we were at first impressed with the service staff (one waitress was especially friendly), we realised that the service staff were a lot friendlier to tourists. This was a far cry from the impeccable service from Summer Pavilion- once we've been there, all service standards pale in comparison. 

The Ritz-Carlton Millenia
7 Raffles Avenue
#03-00
Tel No. 6434 5288

Read More

Ellenborough Market Cafe

I have been to Ellenborough Market Cafe at least 3 times in the past few years and I think standards (both food and service) have slipped. 

Fresh sushi.

The seafood was absolutely disappointing. The prawns were not fresh, the mini lobsters were ridiculous because there was very little meat within the shell. After trying these two, I didn't bother trying the crabs but apparently they weren't fresh also.

An interesting selection of salads- curry chicken salad, squid salad etc. There was also a Peranakan section which had my favourite kueh pie tee. Chinese food was pretty ordinary. Soup (Seafood chowder) was far too salty.

The only thing that everybody remembers about this place is the durian. How often is it do you get to eat durians without your hands smelling like durians? This was addictive.

Keep a lookout for the replenishment of desserts because after this batch ran out, they changed it completely to kueh lapis and mini tarts. The Chocolate Ganache was so-so, the kueh lapis were okay, mini tarts looked like supermarket pre-made plus the kueh lapis was slightly cold and slightly warm at some parts- totally gives away that these didn't come out fresh from the oven.

A pretty good selection of kueh as well. There was a crepe station where you get to get your crepes freshly made and they will scoop whichever flavour ice cream you would like. Queue can get pretty long, so, if you want just the ice cream, too bad you still have to queue. The chocolate ice cream is rich and sufficiently bitter!

All in all, the food wasn't particular impressive but not so bad that it would enter my won't-eat-again-list. What this place sorely lacks though is good service- plates being stacked up at our tables, not getting our cups of water, water not getting refilled etc. Although they tried to spread the stations out, there was still bottlenecks and overcrowding. For $48, I think I can get a better stretch for the buck somewhere else.

Ellenborough Market Cafe 
Swissotel Merchant Court
20 Merchant Road
Tel No.: 6 239 1848

Read More