I had heard about Carousel all the time, with everyone raving about the place, so I do expect a huge crowd when I go there for Mother's Day celebration. And with this, my mind immediately brings out the stereotypical image of popular buffet places: chaotic, functional interior without consideration of aesthetics ... you get the idea. Well, the place is really crowded, with many people waiting at the lobby before opening hours, but I am pleasantly surprised to find the restaurant spotting a modern chic look with the ice cream counter located near the entrance to entice the patrons with pretty colours of the macarons. Most important of all, the place is very clean—a tall order for crowded places.
The awesome variety of food available is what makes this restaurant the top choice for gatherings since there is surely something here that one will like or suitable for consumption by kids. My favourite is definitely the seafood section, which has an impressive spread of fresh crabs, scallops, prawns, lobsters and oysters. The scallops and lobsters are very well-prepared as the flesh is not too chewy. The fact that the shells of the prawns can be easily peeled off with fork and knife is a testimony to the freshness of these crustaceans. The Canadian oysters are not crème de la crème of oysters, but judging them on their own, they are still pretty good. And of course, it helps that they are fresh.
As for the numerous live stations where the chefs are stationed there to prepare the food, I feel it is great to have these. But no comment on the food from here as I have not tried anything due to the crowd gathering in front of these stations. There are also many rows of trays packed with local delights. Frankly speaking, the variety here is almost dazzling. Though I only take the cumin seed basmati rice, smoked duck, duck salad and the fish since I am not into local food spread of international buffet. The rice is incredibly, fluffy, fragrant and flavourful. Besides the seafood, this got to be my favourite. As the fish, it is fresh with no fishy smell, so additional points for this. Smoked duck is a bit too tough in texture, and the smell of poultry is still too evident to my liking. They get it right for the duck in the salad though, due to the smooth texture of the meat.
The types of desserts featured is also impressive. Countless of cakes, soft-serve yoghurts, chocolate fondue, puddings, crème brûlée and ice-creams, it will be good to leave some room for them. I like the ice-cream section a lot because it has many unusual flavours of ice-cream to choose from, such as thai milk tea and chendol. I feel that there is no point in trying the ice-creams if they are of the same flavours as those supermarket ice-creams, right? Anyway, the chendol ice-cream really has the distinct strong taste of coconut milk, palm sugar and green rice flour jelly, which makes this an enjoyable treat. The crème brûlée is pretty good too due to the thick cream utilized to make the pudding part. The cakes are serviceable—nothing outstanding about them.
The service here is impeccable and wonderful. The staffs have smiles on their faces at all times and are always really to help. And given the huge crowd, they truly exceed my expectations to be able to cope with them. And even though the food is snapped up pretty fast, the staffs are extremely prompt in replenishing them, so there is hardly a moment where the plates or beds of ice are empty. And they even gave staffs cleaning up the accidental messes left by some patrons near the buffet counters. This is attention to details. Among the buffet restaurants I had visited, this restaurant got to the one that has the best service, not counting in those with semi-buffet spreads.
For dates, this is not the best place for me as I highly appreciate serenity, and jostling with the crowd is not my thing. Not to mention I prefer tapas form of appetizers and specifically prepared main courses. But for gatherings, I absolutely recommend this restaurant because the sheer variety of well-prepared food can cater to a spectrum of palates, where everyone will step out of the restaurant feeling satisfied.
My Thoughts: Nice!
Nearest car park: Royal Plaza on Scotts' car park
Nearest MRT: Orchard
Royal Plaza on Scotts, Lobby Level
25 Scotts Road
Contact No: 65897799
