Ellenborough Market Café - Awesome Variety of Quality Food Items

The sheer variety of quality food is definitely the highlight of this place. From taste simulating Tuna Tatare, 

Wholesome egg salad, Sashimi, very plain-tasting Seafood Platter, 

Awesome, tasty, nutritious Couch soup, spicy dumplings, crispy fresh corn flakes prawns, delicious deep-fried soft-shell crab,

Nonya food, 

Awesome orange mousse cake with strong aroma of orange and minimum sourness, 

to yummy desserts.

The place is pretty grand and super spacious, with Nonya touches here and there. Due to the big space, this is definitely a great choice for gatherings. I also love the variety of food here, ranging from Nonya, Chinese, Western, Japanese to Korean. This is one of my top choices for buffet.

Thoughts: Awesome Buffet!

Update: They changed the menu, and it’s for the worse, duh! The best food items on the previous menus, like the couch soup, soft-shell crab, tuna tartare are gone. The new items, being so-called kid-friendly, look boring. They are so generic that I can’t remember the names. All I remember is that they are like atas foodcourt food. So nope. In fact, I walk out of the restaurant right after a look at the menu. It’s totally not worth it.

Nearest car park: Swissotel Merchant’s car park

Nearest MRT: Clarke Quay

20 Merchant Road

Singapore

Cafe 2000 - Better than ever with Ala Carte Buffet

While I had written about Cafe 2000 before, it was during the time where all food was displayed out for patrons to grab. Yes, I use the word “grab” because it was Wild Wild South where everyone was scrambling to get their fill of seafood. The variety was awesome, and the seafood made the buffet very value for money, but I didn’t appreciate the ambience, too chaotic. I want to enjoy my food instead of stuffing my face with food to get the “value” back. Thus I am wowed by the concept of ala carte buffet here. The variety is great, with less seafood featured though, and the place has become way cleaner.

The appetizers here are awesome, with most being European variety. If I want to enjoy local food, I will prefer to go to kopitiams instead. So the appetizers definitely meet my expectations. Super fresh, plump, succulent prawns, buttery quiche with the goodness of cheese, well-seasoned fusilli pasta, refreshing potato salad with shredded egg and scallion plus the good old pizza and coleslaw, I love the choices of appetizers available here. The best part is all are served in bit size, so we get to try a little bit of everything without overeating.

Though I am not really into local delights in restaurants, but still got to order some satays since I love satays. And one of the things I love about ala carte is I can definitely get some satays if it is available in the menu and I want to enjoy some. If it is a no holds barred kind of buffet, I will never get to touch even a stick of satay because I don’t like to wait while watching the person in front of me grabbing twenty freshly cooked satays to put into his or her plate, leaving none for the next person. Yup, satays can bring out the worst in people at any settings. The same thing happened at my corporate events.

The soup of the day is very creamy and flavourful, a nice distraction from the solid food. It is cool that the eggs for breakfast set can be cooked in three different ways, depending on one’s preference. While my companion orders the congee and laksa to accompany his breakfast set as mains, I order Spaghetti Forest Mushroom Aglio Oilo, which get the thumbs-up from me due to the generous helpings of mushrooms.

The festive charcuterie is a nice addition for this Christmas season, but the huge slab of turkey meat does not really appeal to me. The gamey flavour is too strong to my liking, and I have never been into meat served in huge chucks anyway. What I like is the tangy mustard sauce served with the potato wedges, and I add it to the prawns to get the oomph out of it.

The cake selection is less than that of the previous style of buffet, but the quality is better now. Signature Durian King Cream Puff has my companion raving over it. He even said, “This is what I come here for.” As for me, I love odeh odeh cake and the warm, moist Chocolate Soufflé served in a coffee cup. There are other varieties of cakes, butter milk waffles with different toppings and ice-creams to satisfy the sweet tooth.

The service is pretty good, being prompt in responding to requests. And the setting has improved a lot. In fact, after the first visit, I have been planning on going there again soon!

My Thoughts: Thumbs up!

Nearest car park: M Hotel's car park

Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar

M Hotel Singapore
81 Anson Road
Singapore
Contact No: 65006112

Seoul Restaurant - Best Korean BBQ Restaurant

Few years ago, a friend of mine, who is a self-professed foodie, had recommended a Korean restaurant in The Regent Hotel. I was pretty interested since I have very good impressions of Regent's lineup of restaurants due to the fact that I like Summer Palace and Basilico a lot. Though I enjoy Korean cuisine, the truth is it is not exactly the type of cuisine I will jump into trying. So I never got around to trying the food there. By a twist of fate, I end up coming here for lunch, and found the best Korean BBQ restaurant in Singapore.

The appetizers are pretty standard fare of kimchi, which is nice, as expected, sweet potato tempura, beanspouts and potato salad. In this department, I still prefer Hansik's offerings. Then again, the highlight of Seoul Restaurant is the meat, so let's get to that now.

The meat here is the best among all the Korean BBQ places I had been to. The meat is incredibly fresh and thoroughly marinated, thus yielding very flavourful, succulent, juicy barbecued meat that is imbued with the aroma of charcoal. Yes, instead using the conventional heater, we barbecued the thick slabs of meat over charcoal, and this is one of the reasons that make this restaurant a winner in barbecued meat department. And it helps that the grill station is designed in such a way that the oil will not be sprayed onto me, unlike what regularly happened when I visited other self service BBQ restaurants. The sesame oil with salt is a great condiment to go with the meat. Highly recommend the pork collar since the meat is not too chewy like the ribs, and the pork is generally more flavourful than the chicken. Another suggested way of enjoying the meats here is to go light first by savouring the BBQ chicken first, then the pork. And one more thing: the pork belly looks like the thinly sliced type in the menu, but when it is served, I am shocked to see that each slice is at least one centimetre thick! So if one wants to try that, be prepared, especially since pork belly has high ratio of fat.

The spicy soft beancurd stew with clams and egg yolk is another must order. The umami of the clams is impossible to resist.

Seafood pancake is prepared right in such a way that the ratio of vegetables to flour is high.

Chilled buckwheat noodles soup is a novelty, which reminds me of cold soba that I love. Add a splash of vinegar and a dot of mustard, the smooth cold fine noodles, soaked with the essence of the soup, is a enjoyable, refreshing treat. But I do find it a tad too chewy as compared to soba.

Service is, well, pretty okay. Kind of like in the middle for all aspects.

If I want to have Korean BBQ, is fine with travelling down to Orchard area and do not mind the aftermath of strong barbecue smell on me, this restaurant is the first to come to my mind.

My Thoughts: My Number One Choice for Korean BBQ buffet

Nearest car park: The Regent Hotel’s car park
Nearest MRT: Orchard

1 Cuscaden Road
The Regent Hotel #03-02
Singapore
Contact No: 63388548

Gyu Jin - Shabu Shabu Buffet that turns out to be Good

This restaurant is no longer in operation

Actually, we had never noticed that a shabu shabu restaurant was newly opened in Nihon Street until we spotted it when we went to dine at Miyako. As the restaurant is part of the repertoire of Nihon Street, I was eager to check it out, but I was also held back by the fact that this place offers 50 minutes buffet. I don't really have good impression of buffets in middle-range food establishments, so I was unsure if I want to take the plunge. Well, my companion insisted on trying the food there, and luckily, he did!

I like it that this restaurant offers quite a good amount of privacy since each table is segregated by partitions attached to the back of the benches. The setting is pretty chic, making the place looks like a posh shabu shabu outlet. Most attention-grabbing set-up of the restaurant is definitely the rows of free flow of vegetables, noodles and fish/cuttlefish/pork balls shrouded in the mist of dry ice. Somehow, this does make me hyped up about getting the fresh vegetables from the counter.

The vegetables are very fresh and in good shape—you know how vegetables in most buffet establishments look pretty battered due to sloppy handling and such, so the restaurant gets a pass on this item in the checklist.

The thin meat slices are presented neatly in boxes that we can keep ordering from the staff. Even the chicken meat is sliced into thin pieces, and yes, paper thin chicken slices also taste better than those chunky pieces, if there is no marinade. The thin slices absorbs the essence of the broth very well, yielding flavourful, easy to bite delights. And I like it that the pork here does not have that strong porky smell. All these go so well with the starchy, pearl-like rice, which is also free-flow. Udon is a great choice for source of carbohydrates also due to its chewy texture and its inherent neutral taste. Avoid putting instant noodles into the soup base though. The taste of instant noodles will pretty much eclipse over any other flavours and ruin the taste of the broth. If one really craves for instant noodles, dunk it in at the end after done with drinking the soup.

Each patron can choose 2 kinds of soup bases, and I opt for yuzu dashi and ginger chicken. The citrus in yuzu dashi is perfect for enhancing the taste of meat by adding that little kick. Ginger chicken is very flavourful, combining the goodness of chicken and ginger, which are good for eliminating the coldness in the body, according to traditional Chinese medicine theory. So this soup base is great for cooking the vegetables and udon—I love the slightly chewy texture of the udon. Spicy dashi is also highly recommended since this adds a punch to the taste while not overwhelming the taste buds. Tip: add some clams to the soup base for the extra umami.

Another highlight is the dazzling array of condiments available to dip the cooked ingredients in. From ponzu sauce, sesame sauce, grated radish, grated garlic mixed with salt, spring onions, parsley to chilli, one can try them all to see which dip works the best for different food. My personal opinion is that sesame sauce is more for the meats, grated radish adds a refreshing element to the taste of the food. As for ponzu and grated garlic, they go well with everything.

The service consisting of young, energetic staff is efficient. Okay, here comes the best part: it only costs $15.90 per person to dine here during lunch time! Talking about super value for money. Sorry Hai Di Lao, Gyu Jin has become my top choice for steamboat already since the price is way too attractive.

Note: The Value for Money is applicable to lunch buffet only. And during dinner time, due to the sheer size of the crowd, the food is replenished at a slower rate than consumption rate.

My Thoughts: It is one of my Favourite Haunts!

Nearest car park: Millenia Walk's car park
Nearest MRT: Promenade

Millenia Walk #02-09
9 Raffles Boulevard
Singapore
Contact No: ‭6253 9218‬

Just Acia - Very Value for Money

Actually, I have never intended to write about this restaurant since I am not feeling particularly inspired to do so. In other words, I kind of take this place for granted. It is only until I had visited Hifumi that I feel this place does deserve a mention here after all.

Ambience wise, the place is clean and pleasant to dine in. It scores more on functionality instead of aesthetics. The staff is okay; some are friendly while some are just doing their job, nothing more. The main drawing point is how incredibly value for money the set meals here are. For just $6 plus onwards, patrons can get free flow of drinks, soft-serve yoghurt and Mingo ice-creams to go with a main course. While these are not exactly something to rave about, I like the variety of drinks available, from the usual suspects of frizzy drinks and sugary drinks to Thai ice tea and hot beverages of coffee and tea. The ice-cream section features an interesting selection not commonly found in supermarkets, like lychee for example. To me, this is a huge plus point since I don't fancy eating ice-cream that I can easily get from NTUC or Cold Storage.

Main course dishes vary from mediocre to decent in terms of standard. The dumplings are bland, and the amount of filling inside is pathetically little. The Aglio Olio is surprisingly not bad. Not al dente, but the spaghetti has not fallen into the category of "soggy", in fact, far away from it, thus I still find myself enjoying this dish. And it helps that the aroma of garlic is pronounced in this dish. This is the dish that gives me the reason to visit Just Acia again when I am in saving mode. This is also the place that comes into my mind if suggesting a place for gathering since it will not hurt the wallets.

My Thoughts: Not Bad

For locations, click on the link below:
http://www.justacia.com/findus.html

Carousel - Really Great for Family Gatherings

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

Brasserie Les Saveurs - Better than Ever

Despite writing about this restaurant before, I decide to post a new separate post on this place since the spread, with exception to the desserts, had gone through an overhaul. This time, they really get all things right.

Gone are the various types of meat and a couple of local dishes being stuffed into heated trays for patrons' takings. Replacing them are mains being cooked and served piping hot upon selection and indication to the service staff that one is ready for the main course. I totally love this change. While now one can only get one main dish unlike last time, it is a dish lovingly and specially cooked for the one who ordered it. And it is obvious more efforts are put into preparing of these dishes. Main dishes should be freshly cooked and served hot, with exception to Japanese sushi, sashimi somen and such, and picking or scooping mildly warm meats or vegetables cooked in various ways, fried rice and those usual suspects just does not work for me. This place had once changed the spread when I commented about the lack of variety in the mains section. This time, they exceed my expectations to provide more than just variety.

Variety is definitely there when it comes to choosing the mains. I opt for the vegetarian dish: Choux Gnocchi. Infused with the woody aroma of truffle, paired with the light, flavourful cream sauce, the chewy but not overly so dumplings taste exceptional. Even my companion, a meat eater, sings praises of this dish.

I only try a bit of the sea bass, and I can say it is a fish well-done—no fishy smell and nicely cooked to achieve a bit of grilled meat flavour while retaining the moisture and pliable texture.

Clockwise from top: butter, bread, potato salad, chuka hotate, smoked salmon with smoked trout underneath, jellyfish, foie gras terrine. Chicken salad in the centre.

The hors d'oeuvres were good last time due to the feature of pretty exotic dishes. Now, they are excellent because of the sheer variety of appetizers, with more seafood used. Staples are smoked salmon, potato salad, garden greens, hams, fresh sliced red tomatoes, maki rolls, salmon terrine, rillettes and salads that have beef, which I did not touch. These dishes do fine to cater to different palates, but what steal the show are the seasonal ones. Crab salad made with real, flavourful crab meat, and put out in generous portions, chuka hotate, jellyfish—yes, it's the kind most enjoy at wedding banquets, fresh, huge whole prawns, chicken salad—the combination of pickled capsicums and roasted sliced chicken simply works and foie gras terrine, which is a real decadent treat—the chocolate sponge may not be match made in heaven with the foie gras, but the duck liver is so insanely flavourful, without the oiliness, that I have no problem finishing two large slabs of them. The appetizers here are more than enough to create a happy belly.

Some of the breads score points from the herbs added into them.  There are namely two kinds of bread I will like: warm, freshly baked artisan breads and those with unique tastes that complement the dough well. And the bread I had tried belongs to the latter. Would have been better if they are served warm, but since this is a buffet, it is hard to nit-pick on this.

The additional Pacific Oysters ordered meet our expectations also, being fresh and clean in taste. And there is a nice touch of wrapping the lemon in muslin cloth so the fingers will not be drenched in lemon juice, and seeds will not be scattered all over the oysters.

Desserts are still as good and impressive. As seen in one of the photos below, my desserts of the day are Citrus shooter, where the mildly tangy citrus custard complements the rich cream very well, berry cake and Strawberry Champagne—champagne jelly and strawberry custard, the great pairing of tastes.

Service is as good as ever, and one of the managers even remembers us. The interior of the restaurant is very grand as I had mentioned before.

Last time, I had written that this restaurant is worth a try. Now, I will say this restaurant is a must try, especially when the lunch experience costs $54++ only.

Update: There are several changes to the menu, including the shrinking of the selection of the free-flow of appetizers. Mains are very different too. Yes, no more gnocchi that I love. It’s replacement is hardly noteworthy for me to even remember what it is. Hope things will go back to how it was soon.

My Thoughts: Nice!

Nearest car park: St Regis Hotel's car park
Nearest MRT: Orchard

The St Regis Hotel
Lobby Level
29 Tanglin Road
Singapore
Contact No: 65066860

Osia (Resorts World Sentosa) - Nice, Leisurely, Casual Fine Dining

Usually, one will not associate the words, leisure and casual with fine dining, but Osia makes it possible. One does not have to dress formally to have a nice decent meal at Osia and surprisingly, kids are welcomed also! Despite these, the ambience is still quiet and elegant with the nice and lush greenery outside the restaurant which embraces nature at the same time.

The food is nice, tending towards simulating kind of tastes with lemons, etc, and exciting the tastebuds, thus allowing me to have a strong impression of the dishes. The barramundi is very fresh and well-cooked to retain the moisture which complements very well with the sauce. However, though the dishes are able to awake my senses, they did not make me go, "Oh, this is so perfect, it is heaven sent!" To be fair, the set lunch is only $38. The seafood experience did not meet my expectations. The main reason is that the flat scoop does not allow one to scoop out both the flavoured ice and seafood together to truly experience the combination of the tastes. Some of the ice is too bitter with alcohol and overshadows the delicate taste of raw seafood.

Updates as of July 2015: the current dishes are fantastic.

The Sunday brunch is big thumbs up, extremely value for money and highly recommended.  For $58 only, one gets to enjoy free flow of tasty food delicately made with fresh ingredients and the succulent oysters paired with the simulating and sublime horseradish cream. The freshly baked (right out from the oven) flatbread here is truly the epitome of quality bread, bursting with that warm, sweet aroma of baked dough. The canapés are delicious: from the foie gras, light yet creamy and flavourful soup of the day, to many others not easily found in any other restaurants.

The desserts are of huge variety and most are creamy and delicious; easily beat the desserts in many other restaurants. Helps that Valhorna chocolate is used in their chocolate desserts.

The service is ok, with smiles, greetings and farewells.

Despite my initial comment that I would only visit Osia if I happened to be in RWS, I have been patronizing this restaurant on numerous occasions—I specially make my way down to there for lunch or Sunday Brunch.  I find that among the restaurants serving European cuisines, Osia's food caters the best to local tastes while still possessing that distinctive traits of European dishes. So naturally, I like the food there a lot. Oh yes, or if I want to enjoy fine dining with my kid around, this is the place to go to.

My Thoughts: Awesome!

Nearest car park: Resorts World Sentosa's car park
Nearest MRT: Habourfront

8 Sentosa Gateway
Level 2 World Square
Resorts World Sentosa
Singapore
Contact No: 65776560

Basilico - Best Sunday Brunch Buffet

Basilico is where you'll find the Best Sunday Brunch Buffet. This place serves a wide, dazzling array of pure, authentic Italian food (unlike those "international buffets" that always serves common hawker fare which I can get at a fraction of the price at kopitiams).

No punches pulled back when it comes to presenting all those delicious Italian food with the fresh and glorious ingredients. Due to the generous amount of herbs, seasonings and quality oils (think truffle and olive) used, resulting in the food there being pure indulgence. The freshly prepared pasta drenched in thick, flavourful sauce is thoroughly cooked while still retaining the firm texture (as preferred by locals, rather than the al dente favoured by Europeans). The grilled fresh meats and vegetables are done just right: have the distinct smoky aroma yet not burnt. The thin-crust pizza is filled with premium ingredients sitting on top of the very thin dough, just how I like it. 

My favourite of the spread got to be the readily replenished fresh seafood consisting of prawns, crabs (shell cracked already, so it is easy to get the meat out, plus points for this), lobsters, crayfishes, scallops and more. Just this section is enough to keep me happy. Also love the cold dishes section where I can try a variety of Italian dishes not regularly found in buffets in other places. The use of olive oil, Italian seasonings, sweet ingredients make these dishes absolutely enjoyable to tuck into. Don't miss out on the decadent foie gras. However, I find that the cooking standard of foie gras varies on my several visits. Sometimes, it is perfectly cooked with the fatty, flavourful core wrapped in a thin layer of crisp, while there are times where the little morsel coated with bitter charred surface. To be fair, I got the over burnt foie gras during the earlier visits, which is quite long time ago, rather than the latter.

Another must try is the Parma ham. Would not want to eat other types of ham (saved for Iberico) after savouring the premium Parma ... I wanted so much to go at least 4 rounds to enjoy myself fully with all these great food, though alas, my stomach says that I can only go for max 2 rounds. 

The dessert section is another winner, featuring panna cottas, gelato, amaretto desserts, Italian tarts and cakes, which all meet my expectations. Another big plus point; real vanilla beans are used. Though I admit that I prefer the desserts in the buffet spread of another three establishments.

The place is very posh with good service.

A place great for indulgence.

My Thoughts: Wow!

Nearest car park: The Regent Hotel's car park
Nearest MRT: Orchard

1 Cuscaden Road
Level 2 The Regent Singapore
Singapore
Contact No: 67253232

Cherry Garden - The Brunch is Great

The ambience is so classy and the service is so immaculate. It is easy to be impressed with this place based on these alone.

As for the food, there are hits and misses. The dim sum items are just ordinary lacklustre stuff that lack the variety, creativity and depth, not exactly what I expect from a high end restaurant. Exception being the steamed bamboo and prawn dumpling with gold powder (luxurious) and conpoy dumpling (full of fresh seafood flavours), as seen in my photos. 

Brunch is good value, in which one can try many of their signature dishes (kurobuta pork is flavourful and good, drunken prawns soaked in herbs and wine infused soup, are extremely fresh) in the brunch (avoid the Patin fish though, it tasted fishy), which are really tasty and not bad. Not to mention, there is free flow of dessert, which is the best thing about this brunch since the avocado dessert is so heavenly good. Talking about the avocado dessert, it is served in a mist of dry ice, 100 points for presentation on this one! The taste is very refreshing and unlike any other dessert I had tasted, so actually, I like it quite a lot.

Worth to go for the brunch.

My Thoughts: Very Nice!

Nearest car park: Marina Shopping Mall's car park, free valet parking at Oriental Hotel for patrons of Cherry Garden

Nearest MRT: City Hall

5 Raffles Avenue Marina Square
Level 5 Mandarin Oriental Singapore
Singapore
Contact No: 68853538