Archive for the ‘Buffet’ Category
Coffee and Crust – Part II
During our 1st visit to the Chocolate Buffet at Coffee and Crust, Mandarin Orchard, we missed out on their signature Chocolate Bomb. This explained for this follow up visit – solely to be blown away by Chocolate Bomb!
The Chocolate Bomb was served in front of each guest by the chefs and every customer is entitled to 1 serving.
Chocolate Bomb
Chocolate Bomb
Chocolate Bomb
The Chocolate Bomb, arrived in front of us, looking like a nondescript chocolate ball. However, when the chef poured the hot chocolate sauce over the ball, all magic and mayhem broke loose! The thin outer chocolate shell melted immediately, revealing a milk chocolate mousse with hazelnut crumble! From a nice quaint chocolate ball, what is left now is an absolutely drop dead gorgeous and tantalizing chocolate mess. The chocolate sauce brings both the mousse and the hazelnut crumbles together and really increased the stickiness of the dessert. The nutty aroma and crunchiness of the hazelnut crumble cut through the richness of the chocolate, such that the entire dessert wasn’t too sweet. Every mouth was just rich chocolately goodness, with the hazelnut crumbles flirting in the background.
Every chocolate lover’s dream.
Coffee and Crust
Level 5, Mandarin Orchard
333 Orchard Road
Coffee and Crust – Mandarin Orchard
Speaking about chocolate buffet and the restaurants that come immediately to mind include The Courtyard Fullerton Hotel as well as The Chocolate Bar at Marina Bay Sands. These 2 places are synonymous with “Chocolate Buffet”, with The Courtyard @ Fullerton Hotel being the longstanding, all-famous Chocolate Buffet destination.
Thus, imagine our delight and surprise when we spotted this poster at the lift lobby of Mandarin Orchard Gallery:
Chocolate Buffet @ Coffee and Crust, Mandarin Orchard
Available daily from 4.30 to 6.30pm at $20++ per pax, Coffee and Crust’s Chocolate Buffet promises an array of chocolate cakes, tarts, macarons, pralines, not forgetting the iconic chocolate fondue. The chocolate buffet is also available to diners of the Triple Three’s dinner buffet from 6.30 to 10.00pm.
Chocolate Buffet @ Coffee and Crust, Mandarin Orchard
Chocolate Buffet @ Coffee and Crust, Mandarin Orchard
The Chocolate Buffet at Coffee and Crust probably wasn’t as grand and extensive as the one at Fullerton Hotel. In fact, the buffet spread was only set up 10 minutes before the starting time of 4.30pm, on 5 square tables in the centre of the cafe. The chefs took quite a while to arrange the display of chocolate desserts and by the time the buffet spread was ready, it was already slightly past 5pm. Late service – not a great reflection of the resident cafe of a five-star hotel at Orchard Road.
A cup of coffee or tea was provided along with the buffet. However, do note that the tea/coffee isn’t refillable. 1 glass is all that you are going to get. And by the time the buffet spread was ready for consumption, our teas were already half drunk. No more tea to help to wash down the chocolate. Another minus point.
Chocolate Buffet @ Coffee and Crust, Mandarin Orchard
The buffet spread included 5 different kinds of chocolate pralines – white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, sea salt chocolate as well as chocolate mint. The pralines were of decent premium quality, and according to the serving staff, the pralines are of French origin. Decent quality, rich and decadent, perfect mouth poppers.
There were also various chocolate cakes like the triple chocolate mousse cake and a brownie-like chocolate cake. The only tart available was a chocolate caramel tart. Breaking apart the chocolate tart revealed a caramel layer within the tart. There were also other chocolate based desserts like macarons, tuile, wafer sticks and our favourite was a nut-crusted chocolate cone containing a caramel custard centre. The 4 main mini glass desserts were: tiramisu (which was sorely lacking in liqueur and tasted predominantly of cream), a passionfruit chocolate mousse (the refreshing sourness of the passionfruit cut through the rich chocolate, allowing our palates to deter away from the heaviness of the chocolate), a white chocolate mousse (with an evident taste of coconut) and a milk chocolate mousse.
On the whole, if you have the appetite and the stomach for chocolate, Coffee and Crust’s Chocolate Buffet is a value for money option.
Coffee and Crust
Level 5, Mandarin Orchard
333 Orchard Road
Little Ice Cream Kafe
TGIF! Every Friday, LICK offers a $15 eat-all-you-can ice cream buffet from 6 to 8pm!
Ice Cream Buffet
As we went for the buffet, we had the opportunity to try most of the flavours. And sadly, most of the flavours weren’t to our liking, with only about 3 flavours garnering our 2nd try. Highlighting some of our favourite flavours:
Chocolate Brandy – Thick and rich in Brandy, this ice cream was the highlight of the night with its strong outstanding flavours.
Mao Shan Wang Durian – Mao Shan Wang was another ice cream which didn’t stinge on the characteristic pungent taste of durian.
Peanut Buttercup – Though still losing out to Udder’s Peanut Butter version, LICK’s version was still rich and fragrant in peanut butter. One downside was the slightly soggy peanuts which were soft and missing the crunch.
Little Ice Cream Kafe
258 Tanjong Katong Road
Zafferano
At $38 per person, Zafferano’s semi-buffet lunch has been a popular destination for the Shenton Way lunch crowd.
The lunch kicked off with a selection of starters from the buffet table.
Antipasti
Cheese Board
The selection of starters wasn’t as extensive as Basilico’s. But generally, the offerings were pretty unique, of a decent standard and using fresh ingredients. We particularly enjoyed the salmon terrine and prawn salad. We were also attracted to the cheese board. There were 3 different cheeses that day – Taleggio, Gorgonzola and Parmesan. 3 different cheeses of different tastes and textures. The Gorgonzola was soft and creamy, with chunks of blue veins. The Taleggio was slightly harder than the Gorgonzola, and with a milder taste. Finally, the Parmesan was the hardest and firmest, but also the mildest in taste.
Carnaroli Risotto with Taleggio cheese & asparagus
The cheeses from the buffet spread proved to be very important and useful in our main course – Carnaroli Risotto with Taleggio cheese & asparagus. The Risotto was very bland and under seasoned. It was lacking in cheese and the asparagus seemed to play no part at all. We had to resort to adding the cheeses from the buffet spread into our risotto, to increase the flavour as well as incorporate the cheesy and sticky texture into the risotto. A disappointing main course from Zafferano.
Roasted Iberico pork belly, balsamic vinegar sauce & mashed potatoes
The other main course, Roasted Iberico pork belly, balsamic vinegar sauce & mashed potatoes, was much stronger in flavour compared to the risotto. However, in our standards, it still fell short as the pork belly could have been more marinated and flavourful. The texture of the pork was also on the tougher and chewier side, lacking the “melts in the mouth” texture.
Desserts
The desserts were pretty disappointing too. General comments of the desserts – bland, forgetful, mediocre. The mango pudding looked stale and oxidized. Both the chocolate mousse and brownie were tasteless and not chocolate-rich. Not the best finish to the meal.
The view at Zafferano was great, a 270 degrees panoramic view! However, the meal was severely let down by the under seasoned main courses and unexciting desserts.
Zafferano
Level 43, Ocean Financial Centre
10 Collyer Quay
The Loft
We snagged a $12.50 voucher for an ala carte dessert buffet at The Loft. We haven’t really heard much about The Loft and the main appeal was just the dessert buffet!
(clockwise from top left) Peanut Butter Tart; Yogurt Panna Cotta with Blueberry Sauce; Valrhona Chocolate Cake; Chocolate Fudge; Mango Passion Cake; Chocolate Walnut Brownie; Choco Pot; Lychee Bavario
(clockwise from left) Blueberry Cheesecake; Raspberry Mousse Cake; Chocolate Brownie; Oreo Cheesecake; Apple Crumble
Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Cream
Banana Crepe
We tasted every dessert that was available on that day. Most of the desserts were at most mediocre and there was nothing fantastic about them. We broadly classified the desserts into 2 main categories:
1) The good ones which we went for 2nd servings – Valrhona Chocolate Cake, Choco Pot, Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Fudge Cake. Well, basically the chocolate ones were slightly better. We do have to emphasize again, that compared to our common dessert hangouts, these “slightly better” desserts were way off the scale. But at The Loft, these were the better ones. The Valrhona Chocolate Cake was pretty rich, but rather crumbly. It was like an imitation molten chocolate cake, without the molten centre. The presentation of the Choco Pot was pretty amateurish and home-made style. It was akin to a dollop of thick fudge. However, the fudge wasn’t very smooth, we tasted bits and strands resembling that of coconut. The Chocolate Brownie with dark and white chocolate chips atop was probably the best cake of the night. It was chewy and chocolately rich. The Chocolate Fudge Cake reminded us of steamed mala cake. It appeared to be flourless, and on the sticky side.
2) The bad ones which just wasted our calories – Banana Crepe, Peanut Butter Tart, Yogurt Panna Cotta with Blueberry Sauce, Lychee Bavario, Mango Passion Cake, Raspberry Mousse Cake, Cheesecakes and Apple Crumble. The Banana Crepe has got to be the worst crepe we have ever tried. The crepe was bland and tasteless, it was hard and stale. It was like Peking Duck skin which was left in the open for days. No matter how much chocolate sauce or strawberries/bananas added to it, the crepe was just not to our liking. We were also pretty disappointed with the Peanut Butter Tart. The fillings was just peanut butter flavoured cream, sitting in the middle of a stale and un-crunchy biscuit cup. The lychees in the Lychee Bavario wasn’t fresh. The Blueberry Cheesecake, though had a distinct cheese flavour, was too crumbly and the crust was an absolute disaster. The crust was stale, not fresh, not crunchy, utterly soft and bland. The Oreo Cheesecake tasted pretty artificial as well.
We pretty much regretted purchasing the dessert buffet vouchers. A total waste of money and time.
The Loft
41 East Coast Road
Peony Jade Restaurant
Following our last visit to Peony Jade, we were eager for more dim sum and hence we went back for a 2nd round. But this time, we went for the Weekday A La Carte Dim Sum Buffet!
Marinated Sea Blubber and Octopus
Shark’s Fin Soup with Crabmeat
Wok Fried Creamy Egg Yolk Prawn
Amongst the spread of more than 30 items available for the ala carte buffet, there were 3 items which were limited to 1 serving per table – the Marinated Sea Blubber and Octopus, Shark’s Fin Soup with Crabmeat and the Wok Fried Creamy Egg Yolk Prawn.
The octopus was well-flavoured, fresh, with an adequate chewiness to eat. The sea blubber was slightly bland, and could do with a bit more sauce. The Wok Fried Creamy Egg Yolk Prawn was a crowd pleaser. The crunchy fresh prawns were thoroughly coated with the thick creamy gooey egg yolk sauce. It was rich in flavours without tasting overwhelmingly salty. The prawns were absolutely finger-licking good.
Beancurd Skin Roll with Prawn and Japanese Seaweed
Steamed Phoenix Feet in Sichuan Chili Black Bean Sauce
Baked Flaky Cha Siew So
Prawn Rice Roll Cheong Fun
Barbequed Char Siew, Roast Duck, Baked Spareribs with Golden Garlic
Overall, the quality of dim sum at Peony Jade was excellent. Regardless of which dim sum item, the chefs did not stinge on the amount and quality of the ingredients. In particular, we were once again impressed by the Steamed Custard and Salted Yolk Bun, which we ordered many times. We were also won over by the Baked Flaky Cha Siew So. It wasn’t overly oily and the crust was baked to perfection. It was served piping hot, akin to freshly baked chicken pies! The skin was crispy and flaky, with a strong buttery fragrance. The char siew wasn’t too sweet nor overwhelming with the fermented bean curd taste. The char siew was tender and had a balanced proportion of fats and meat.
Besides the usual dim sum, there were also roast meat, seasonal greens and noodles/rice available for the buffet. However, the highlights of the buffet were still the fresh dim sum.
Chilled Sea Coconut, Hot Cream of Red Bean, Chilled Mango Sago
Lastly to end the meal, there were 5 different kinds of desserts up for selection – Chilled Sea Coconut, Hot Cream of Red Bean, Chilled Mango Sago, Hot Ginger Tea with Glutinous Rice Dumpling (Black Sesame) and Chilled Longan Tofu. Our favourite was the Hot Cream of Red Bean, which was thick and viscous, almost paste-like – a sweet ending to a great meal at Peony Jade Restaurant.
For $25++ per pax (minimum 4 persons), you could enjoy a widespread of dishes from the menu. Additional charges were incurred from the wet towels, tea and peanuts.
Peony Jade Restaurant
M Level, Keppel Club
Bukit Chermin Road
Lippolis Italian Gelato
Lippolis
Ice Cream and Topping Flavours
Lippolis Ice Cream
Jumping onto the Deal voucher bandwagon, we snagged a $10 ice cream buffet deal at Lippolis Italian Gelato. Hidden along a secluded corridor in Chijmes, we have never heard of this ice cream outlet prior to the promotion. The buffet (usual price $19.80) spanned over 3 hours and you could choose from a spread of 12 flavours and different toppings. The 12 flavours of the night were:
Vanilla
Hazelnut
Dark Chocolate
Mango
Peach
Green Apple
Pineapple
Strawberry
Coconut
Pistachio
Buffalo Milk
Fruitta
Amongst the 12 flavours, the Dark Chocolate was our favourite. It was rich, thick and creamy. The Pistachio and Hazelnuts were slightly diluted and less distinct in flavour, but we enjoyed the creamy texture. The fruity flavours were less creamy, and more towards the sorbet nature. Taste wise, they resembled that of sweet fruity concentrates, and were less impressive. The Buffalo Milk was overwhelmingly pungent and we found difficulty appreciating the milkiness. In general, except for the Dark Chocolate, the remaining flavours were mediocre and some just didn’t make the mark.
Toppings wise, beside the wafer cubes and marshmallows, the other choices were just flavoured gel-like Lippolis manufactured concentrates which tasted overly artificial and sweet. It would be more appealing to have assortment of nuts, cornflakes etc.
Lippolis Italian Gelato
#01-06, Chijmes
30 Victoria Street
The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot
The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot
There has been too many steamboat places popping up everywhere in Singapore, claiming to be from Chongqing, Sichuan etc. But for good quality affordable steamboat in a comfortable environment, do visit The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot!
Chicken Broth; Ma-la standard spicy
Food Selections
The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot offers a wide range of the typical steamboat ingredients. Each ingredient was very fresh and well-prepared. A few items to point out were the fish paste, carp fish fillet, fillet of pork and bai ling mushrooms. The thin layer of fish paste was very fresh, absolutely no tinge of fishiness. Similarly, the thinly sliced carp fish fillet was fresh and very tender. The bai ling mushrooms could easily pass off as sliced abalone.
Xiao Long Bao
Egg coated glutinous squares; Fried rolled buns; Water chestnut jelly
Eight treasure "black rice"
Each patron was also offered a standard serving of Meat and Chives Dumpling, Xiao Long Bao, Egg-coated Glutinous Squares, Fried Rolled Buns, Water Chestnut Jelly and Eight Treasure “Black Rice”. We particularly like the platter of desserts. The sweet treats were a good contrast to the salty steamboat.
Eight Treasure Tea
We were also recommended to order the signature Eight Treasure Tea. Supposedly containing 8 different ingredients (though we could only isolate 6), the Eight Treasure Tea was fragrant and was a very good thirst quencher.
For good quality steamboat with fresh ingredients at an affordable price, the Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot is your best choice.
The Magic of ChongQing Hot Pot
#04-06/07, Tanglin Shopping Centre
19 Tanglin Road
Shin Minori
Shin Minori
Off to Shin Minori we went for their dinner ala carte buffet. A total of 146 items were offered on their menu.
Sashimi Moriwase (Assorted Raw Seafood)
The first item we ordered was the Sashimi Moriwase, which included salmon, tuna, yellowtail, swordfish and octopus. All the sashimi items were very fresh and sweet. Having a couple of these sashimi platters would easily make this meal value for money.
Grilled Items - Shiitake; Nasu; Saba Shioyaki
Grilled Items - Shake Teriyaki; Buta To Garlic
Some of the grilled items we ordered included Japanese mushrooms, egg plants, mackerel with salt, salmon with sweet soy sauce, breaded pregnant capelin and pork with garlic seasoning. We would not recommend the mackeral with salt which tasted rather bland. The grilled items with the sweet soy sauce such as the salmon and meat balls were delicious, tasting of charred sweet fragrance likened to those of char siew with a Japanese touch. The pork skewers with garlic seasoning tasted mildly of garlic, which we felt could be better if the garlic taste was stronger. Nevertheless, it was a Yaki-Tori dish equally well-liked too. The capelins used in the Yaki-Tori were fresh, big and well loaded with eggs too.
(clockwise from top left) Pumpkin with Special Sauce; Octopus Ball, Salmon with Special Sauce; Deep Fried Beancurd in Chicken Broth
(clockwise from top left) Chicken Pieces with Wasabi Mayonnaise; Deep Fried Baby Cuttlefish; Grilled Ginkgo Nuts; One Mouth Crab Tempura
The deep fried items were mediocre, something that we would not go on for more. The one mouth crab was interesting. As the name suggest, it was consumed in a mouth due to its puny size. The cold pumpkin side dish was unique too. A very good balance was striked between the natural sweetness, starchiness of the fruit and the salty soy sauce like gravy. The combination may sound a little weird but it tasted way better than imagined. Another interesting dish was the pumpkin chawanmushi. The sweet pumpkin pulp was the accompanying sauce on top of the steamed chawanmushi. This made an interesting and tasty revamp of the traditional Chawanmushi. The other grilled item of ginkgo nuts varied in standard. The first round was served lightly salted and tasted great. However, the standard was not sustained the next serving.
Overall, the quality of the food was commendable. However, the service could have been a lot better. We waited very long before our food arrived. Some of the items we ordered even went missing. It seemed that the waiter/waitresses had forgotten to key in some of the items. The size of each serving was also irregular and we did not know how much to expect every time we ordered. Some form of standardization is needed to ensure that customers know what to expect and would not over- or under-order.
Shin Minori
#03-15/16, UE Square Shopping Mall
81 Clemenceau Avenue
Wuhan Steamboat City
The deepest impression people would have about Wuhan Steamboat City would be its advertisement by Aunty Lucy. However, this seemingly did not improve its business and on a Saturday afternoon, Wuhan Steamboat City was pretty deserted.
Wuhan Steamboat City
Wuhan Steamboat City
Wuhan Steamboat City offers both cooked and raw food. Cooked food included glutinous rice dumplings, pickled cucumbers, braised items like duck wings, duck necks and tofu, deep fried items like chicken wings, samosa, spring rolls, dumplings. For the raw items, there were the usual seafood offerings like prawns, squids, cuttlefish, fish. Others include chicken, sliced pork and beef, oyster mushrooms, golden mushrooms, Shitake mushrooms, dumplings, yam, potatoes, lotus roots, various vegetables etc. There weren’t any exotic or unique choices.
Soup wise, the flavours offered were Chicken, Seafood, Tom Yam, Spicy and Tomato. We tried the Chicken, Seafood and Tom Yam flavours. The Tom Yam flavoured broth was the tastiest, providing a satisfying level of spiciness and sourness. It was a good alternative to the Spicy flavour which tended to be too oily. However, the Tom Yam flavour also felt like the one loaded with the most MSG and we moved on to the more bland chicken and seafood flavours after a while.
On the whole, we felt that there was nothing too special about this Wuhan Steamboat City. It felt like a typical local steamboat affair with no element of Wuhan injected into its concept. The cooked dishes were unimpressive and the variety of food seemingly limited. The only draw was the fact that we did not have to walk around to take our ingredients. Service staff weren’t exactly friendly and helpful too.
The lunch buffet on a Saturday costs $19.90 per pax. There’s an additional charge of $1 per pax for free flow of drinks.
Wuhan Steamboat City
#04-85, The Central @ Clarke Quay
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
Ice Cream Frenzy
Ice Cream Frenzy
The ice cream fanatics in us were drawn towards the ice cream buffet offered by Ice Cream Frenzy. For a nett price of $15, you can enjoy unlimited scoops of around 20 different flavours of ice cream, from 3 to 5pm on Fridays and Sundays.
Ice Cream Buffet
The flavours include (top left): Sesame, Italian Hazelnut, Sea-salt Walnut Caramel; (top right) Milo, Baileys Irish Cream, Dark Swiss Chocolate; (bottom left) Cookies and Cream, Avocado with Roasted Almonds, Mango Tango; (bottom right) Aussie Cheesecake, Durian Dude, Awesome Almond. Other flavours (not shown here) include Matcha Memories, Super Soy, Soursop Cranberry, True Blueberry Yoghurt, Strawberry Surprise.
On the day of our buffet, some alcoholic flavours such as Rum and Raisins and Lychee Martini as well as the Peanut Butter Crunch which we were interested in trying were sadly missing. Our top three favourites of the day were: Super Soy, Aussie Cheesecake and Dark Swiss Chocolate. The Super Soy had a very dense and sticky texture, without tasting overly sweet. Being made from Soy beans, this is a healthier low-sugar tasty choice. Aussie Cheesecake was unique where we could taste the fine grained Ritz cheese biscuit-like crumbs. There were also white sticky bits which we thought could be cheese. The Dark Swiss Chocolate wasn’t exactly the best we’ve tried, but it was one of the best from Ice Cream Frenzy.
We have also identified some of the worst flavours, namely Awesome Almond and Matcha. The Awesome Almond was a dilute version of milky almond paste. Matcha had a very unbearable bitter after taste. In general, most of the flavours were lacklustre and pretty mild in taste. There was also seemingly a high concentration of ice crystals, which made the ice cream less dense and sticky enough.
Ice cream aside, the owner was rather particular about wastage and more inclined towards giving smaller scoops for the buffet patrons.
Ice Cream Frenzy
#01-250, Block 501
West Coast Drive
Basilico
Basilico
Basilico is one of the dining places in The Regent Hotel and offers fresh, authentic and seasonal Italian cuisine. Dinner at Basilico started off with an antipasti buffet, a main course and ending off with an Italian desserts and gelato buffet. Simply to say, besides the main course, we had a free flow of appetizers and desserts!
Assortment of Cheeses
Bread
Cured Ham
Appetizers wise, there was a wide variety of salads, cheeses, breads, marinated seafood, seasonal greens and cured ham. It was really an eye opener to see such a huge spread of Italian produce. There were some hits and misses with the appetizers though.
For ham/meat lovers, the selection of cured ham at Basilico has got to be the most comprehensive one in Singapore, ranging from Prosciutto to Pork salami to Pancetta etc. There was also a wide range of fresh, unsalted macadamia, walnuts and chickpeas and dried fruits like prunes and figs which made very healthy snacks for us to munch on while chatting. The prawn salad was made up of fresh and shelled boiled prawns tossed in an appetizing vinegarette oil base sauce.
The Queen Scallops Salad was a feast for the eyes with those huge, succulent-looking scallops. Sadly, the scallops were soft, lacked chewiness and were very bland. Also available were many different kinds of honey like truffle honey, orange honey, lemon honey. A pity we did not know what we were supposed to do with them in an Italian cuisine. These were left unexplored.
Main courses wise, we had a list of 9 to choose from:
Lumaconi Pasta Stuffed with Braised Guinea Fowl, Porcini Mushroom, Piedmont Three Milk Robiola Cheese
Carnaroli Risotto with Zaffron, Aged Balsamic Seared Foie Gras and Black Truffle
Linguine Pasta with Tiger Prawns, Scallop, White Clams, Broccoletti, Sicilian Tomatoes, Taggiasche Olives and Fresh Basil
Asparagus and Ricotta Tortelloni with Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce, Hazelnut and Freshly Shaved Black Truffle
Roasted Monk Fish with 36 months cured Parma Ham, Wild Rocket and Castelluccio Lentils
Pan-seared Seabass with Clams in Pinot Griogio White Wine Sauce
Roasted Iberico Pork Chop with Spicy Peperonata of Stew Bellpeppers, Wild Herbs Salad and Toasted Pistachio
Grilled Lamb Chops with Portobello Mushroom and Smoked Scarmoza “Millefoglie” Dry Tomatoes and Artichokes
Grilled Angus Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Mushroom Polenta, Asparagus and Taleggio Cheese Fondue
The mere descriptions of the main courses were enough to make us salivate and after much struggle and debate, we made our final decisions on the Risotto, Sea Bass and Guinea Fowl.
Pan-Seared Sea Bass with Clams in Pinot Grigio White Wine Sauce
Branzino in Padella con Vongole in Brodetto (Pan-seared Sea Bass with Clams in Pinot Grigio White Wine Sauce) – The sea bass was extremely fresh, soft, smooth and juicy. There was not a tinge of fishiness. We could just slowly allow the fish meat to disintegrate in our mouths – pure bliss! The sea bass skin was slightly charred, crispy and salty, adding the extra bite to the soft fillet. There was quite a number of clam shells atop the fish, however most were devoid of the clam meat. But guess it matters little as the flavours and freshness of the clams had been thoroughly incorporated into the white wine sauce. The flavours of the white wine sauce was very strong, in fact it was a little too rich on the palate. Thankfully, the fish hadn’t absorbed the sauce, hence it still retained its intrinsic sweetness.
Carnaroli Risotto with Zaffron, Aged Balsamic Seared Foie Gras and Black Truffle
Risotto allo Zafferano con Fegato Grasso al Balsamico Invecchiato e Tartufo Nero (Carnaroli Risotto with Zaffron, Aged Balsamic Seared Foie Gras and Black Truffle) – The risotto was thick and gluey. The rice grains weren’t all that mushy, it was cooked al dente, still retaining a slight grainy hardness. The saffron taste was not overpowering, far from what the intense yellow dyed risotto would have suggested. The foie gras atop was on the bland side, but was still as oily and fatty as it should have been. Every mouth oozed of soft molten fats. The foie gras left behind a pool of oil on the risotto. We felt they could have prepared the foie gras in a less oily manner. Sadly, though being highly priced produce, the black truffle and foie gras seemed to have done nothing to accentuate the taste or texture of the dish. The risotto shone on its own without these accompaniments.
Lumaconi Pasta Stuffed with Braised Guinea Fowl, Porcini Mushroom, Piedmont Three Milk Robiola Cheese
Lumaconi Farciti di Faraona Brasata, Porcini e Robiola Tre Latti (Lumaconi Pasta Stuffed with Braised Guinea Fowl, Porcini Mushroom, Piedmont Three Milk Robiola Cheese) – We have never had guinea fowl before, but decided to give it a shot anyway. This was like a dumpling, where the skin was made of the lumaconi pasta, and the fillings were predominantly braised guinea fowl. The pasta was done al dente. There were signs that it had been pan-fried prior to being served, and we liked the slightly charred and chewy texture. The guinea fowl fillings had a texture similar to that of canned tuna. It was rather soft and came in strips like fish, rather than in chunks like pork. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much characteristic taste of the guinea fowl, it can even be passed off as chicken. It was the accompanying sauce which heightened the flavours of the dish. With its strong milky and creamy taste and fragrance, it was definitely for the diary products lovers.
Desserts
Cakes
Gelato
And the finale of our dinner – the dessert buffet! We weren’t all the impressed with the warm desserts which included red wine pears and baked peaches. The taste of red wines in the pears was barely detectable and the baked peaches were akin to canned peaches, nothing too fantastic. There were 4 different chilled desserts sitting prettily in the glass display drawers – Panna Cotta, Strawberry Gellatine, Chocolate Zuccotto and Chocolate Sabayon. The Chocolate Sabayon has got to be our favourite. Chocolatety and thick – it had a consistency intermediate between fudge and mousse. It was just pure decadent velvety chocolate!
The highlight of the desserts has got to be the gelato! 6 flavours of the night included vanilla, raspberry, pistachio, hazelnut, liquorice and cherry. Our 2 favourites were the pistachio and hazelnut. The hazelnut tasted more like chocolate, though its rich flavours and sticky texture appealed to us. The pistachio was a winner! Every bite exuded the distinctness of pistachios and likewise, the thick and luscious texture was just absolutely delightful.
Service wise, we have got to give credit to our server of the night – Ms Khoo Lih Chang. Her service was impeccable. She was prompt in clearing our plates and filling our glasses of water. In addition, when we mentioned to her that we were freezing cold at our seats, she offered us shawls to keep us warm and even brought us a pot of hot water with lemon. Her initiative and kind smiles made the entire meal an enjoyable one.
We’ve never had an Italian buffet before, and Basilico’s semi-buffet dinner was truly a remarkable one. The quality of food and service was worth every cent of the $65 we each paid.
Basilico
Level 2, The Regent Singapore
1 Cuscaden Road
Blue Garden Korean BBQ Buffet Restaurant
Side Dishes
Side Dishes
Assortment of Grilled Porks
Blue Garden offers a wide variety of side dishes to our initial delight. However, the quality and taste of all the side dishes were far from impressive. The warm dishes included Korean leek pancakes, kimchi fried rice, spicy rice cake, boiled squid, boiled pork belly, stewed chicken with potatoes and vermicelli and inari. The leek pancake tasted very starchy despite being loaded with leeks. The kimchi fried rice tasted very bland and seemingly lacking in the typical sticky chewiness of pearl like Korean rice. The rice cakes were solid hard and lacking in flavour too. The inari was definitely inferior as the rice lacked the essential vinegar flavouring. Fried items like salted chicken wings, assorted vegetables and a strange deep-fried dough coated with coarse sugar were also served. The nicest cold dish were the bean sprouts and the spring onions. The kimchi and the chilli flavoured vegetables (leeks, spring onions, cucumbers, radish) were boring. Abalone porridge was also on the list but we decided to give it a missed, judging from the standards of the other dishes. There were Korean ice cream popsicles but we were required to pay for them.
The barbeque items were much better than the cooked food and cold dishes.There were a number of meat served: pork belly, marinated pork, pork collar, bulgogi (pork), wine infused pork belly, bulgogi (chicken), prawns and many other different cuts of beef. The pork belly lacked flavour and the beef belly was overly loaded with fats. The wine infused pork belly tasted slightly better, with a slight tinge of alcohol. We liked the marinated pork and bulgogi the most. In general, we felt that Blue Garden Korean BBQ Buffet Resturant was nowhere comparable to the other BBQ restaurants which we had tried thus far – SSikkek, 2D1N Soju Bang and Ju Shin Jung. No doubt the environment was more conducive at this hotel restaurant, with a smaller crowd and more appealing display of food, the food was lackluster and much less value for money (S$29).
Blue Garden Korean BBQ Buffet Restaurant
#01-07, Link Hotel
50 Tiong Bahru Road
Ssikkek Korean Grill BBQ
Ssikkek Korean Brill BBQ
Barbeque Grill
Ssikkek offers quite a wide range of 5 kinds of beef, 3 kinds of pork, chicken, sausage and prawns. There were also many cooked food items in the buffet which includes fried rice, deep fried chicken, Korean kimchi pancake, vermicelli, amongst other typical Banchan (Korean side dishes). The cooked dishes were rather cold despite being placed on the food warmers and we had to re-fry most of these items on our own bbq grill. The soup came in three flavours: kimchi, seaweed and miso. Ssikkek was very generous with the ingredients in the kimchi and seaweed soup. On the list of items was also cold kimchi soup which we could either have it as it is or with the addition of korean noodles to make cold soba. However, the cold kimchi soup was way too salty. The gochujang (Korean chilli paste) that went with the barbequed meat was not spicy enough too. Desserts were sweet rice soup and watermelon. The rice soup tasted seemingly like barley water. Ice cubes were also provided should one find the rice soup too sweet.
(clockwise from top left) Deep fried chicken and assorted vegetables; Kimchi Soup, Cold Kimchi Soup with Noodles; Seaweed Soup
There was a wide range of condiments such as sesame oil, sesame salt, garlic, onions, soya sauce for us to use in the grills. One could attempt to whip up a variety of dishes according to your taste buds. Besides barbequing the meat, we had prawns barbequed on a bed of sesame sea salt. Our innovative minds also resulted in us creating stews by wrapping the meat together with the garlic, onions and sesame oil in the aluminium foil.
Barbequed Meat and Fried Rice
Food Ph.D's Stew
Service was efficient. The aluminum foil was frequently changed without us having to request for new ones. The place is well ventilated and more spacious than 2D1N Soju Bang. At a price of $24.60 for weekday dinner which is a couple of bucks more expensive than 2D1N Soju Bang, the wider variety of food and the shorter queue at SSikkek gives 2D1N Soju Bang a good run for their money.
SSikkek Korean Grill BBQ
#01-01/02, Novena Ville
275 Thomson Road
Ph.Ds of FOOD 