The restobar at Siloso Beach, Sentosa, has unveiled a brand new food menu with an extensive range of Mediterranean and international cuisine. Apart from sunbathing and sipping on a Mojito at the swim-up bar, you can now enjoy a sumptuous seafood meal while admiring a panoramic view of the sea.

Photo by Café del Mar

The indoor dining area is decked out in blue, white and pink. A huge bar counter dominates the center of the restaurant, with the tables spilling outdoors by the kidney-shaped swimming pool.

Photo by Café del Mar

The menu features a selection of starters and salads followed by pastas and main courses such as baked Pacific dory.

Starters

Bruschetta
SGD6++

We start with a half dozen bruschettas. These are rather filling, with mozzarella cheese, chopped tomatoes and olive oil served atop grilled French loaf. Great when you need a quick bite!

Classic Caesar salad
SGD12++

The classic Caesar salad is a mix of bacon bits, croutons and romaine lettuce. We dig the delicious dressing and the toasted cubed croutons!

Pastas

Linguine Pescatora
SGD20++

I love a perfectly cooked pasta in a tomato-based sauce, so I find the Linguine Pescatora very enjoyable. Pescatora is Italian for “fisherman’s style”, which means that it is done just the way the fishermen like it, with chock full of seafood and a succulent, flavorsome tomato sauce. How very satisfying!

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio with seafood
SGD12++ (top up SGD3 for ham, chicken or seafood)

The spaghetti Aglio e Olio is cooked al dente, not too bland or overpoweringly garlicky. You can choose to add on ham, chicken or seafood. Check out the load of seafood that includes mussels, whole scallops, clams and prawns. Not bad at all!

Children aged 12 or below can order smaller portions of the pastas at half the price.

Mains

Baked Pacific dory
SGD24++

The chef’s specialty of baked Pacific dory is quite inventive. The fish arrives on a bed of mashed potato, drizzled with a garlic butter sauce and baked to perfection. The potato bears a slight hint of wasabi that lends some spice, yet is mild enough to not burn the nostrils. Coupled with the thick, tasty butter sauce, it is hard not to enjoy this dish. So it’s a good thing that it comes in a good-sized portion.

Marisco Paella
SGD28++

For something even more substantial, go for the Marisco Paella. In this Spanish rice dish, saffron rice is baked with seafood morsels and tomatoes. The rice is fragrant and savory with herbs and spices.

Rib-eye steak
SGD28++

Meat lovers have the options of roast chicken, pork ribs, lamb chops or the rib-eye steak. A medium order of the steak turns out firm on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, and drenched in a sweetish red wine sauce. Perhaps it is the chorus of delicious seafood before, we find this dish rather forgettable.

Cocktails

Bailey’s Comet

Don’t forget to wash down all the goodies with one of Café del Mar’s signature cocktails!

Photo by Café del Mar

If you are yearning for a meal away from the hustle and bustle of the city, you now have a wonderful dining option right by the beach. Coming here at night would be even more memorable and enchanting, with the cool sea breeze and a resort-like setting under the stars.

Have Your Say!

Does dining by the beach appeal to you? Are there any more of such seaside restaurants that we should know about? Share with us below!

Café del Mar
Sentosa
40 Siloso Beach Walk, Siloso Beach
Singapore 098996
(65) 6235 1296 | Website | Menu
Service:

Opening hours:
Mon – Thur, Sun: 11am – 11pm
Fri & Sat: 11am – 2am

Posted by Veron in Food category | alfresco/outdoor dining, bar, International, Mediterranean, pasta, restobar, salad, seafood, Sentosa, waterfront

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/food/cafe-del-mar/ | 12 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

Ever since stumbling upon the Rendezvous buffet dinner quite by chance a few years ago, I have returned at least twice every year to feast on the goodies.

While the buffet is international style with both Western and Asian dishes tossed in the mix, what I love most is the seafood. If I could use one word to sum up the dinner buffet, it would be quite simply “crayfish” — loads and loads of it!

Over here, the staff always refill the trays once the food runs out. You can be sure to get a bellyful of the shellfish each time!

Of course, apart from that you can also indulge in other seafood such as baby octopus, crab legs and scallops. These go especially well with the Thai sweet chili sauce provided, among other dips.

Look, the canapé is topped with a slice of bak kwa (sweet barbecued pork)! These days, bak kwa sure is showing up in many unconventional dishes, including mooncakes!

Spot a running theme here? Yes, the crayfish is omnipresent on every dinner plate. That is my single most favorite item in the buffet spread.

As for desserts, a few durian specialties are offered. The blended durian purée is melt-in-your-mouth goodness. If you love durian mochi, you would absolutely enjoy this!

Then there’s also the hotel’s well known durian fudge cake that is filled with layers of soft durian pulp, minus the durian stench. Yum!

Perhaps what is lacking in this buffet is a nice chocolate fountain and more ice cream flavors.

Love the colorful picks!

International buffet
Lunch 12noon – 2:30pm: SGD37++ per adult
Dinner 6:30-10pm (Weekday/Weekend): SGD44++ / SGD47++ per adult

Promotion

This June, every child dines free with each paying adult. Wow! Check out the buffet promotion. Don’t forget to join our Facebook Page to get fresh updates of new dining deals!

Have Your Say!

Where is your favorite hotel buffet in Singapore? Share with us below!

Straits Café
Rendezvous Hotel
9 Bras Basah Road Singapore 189559
(65) 6335 1777 | Website
Service:

Bus services: 7, 14, 16, 36, 77, 106, 111, 124, 128, 131, 147, 14E, 162, 166, 167, 171, 174, 175, 190, 502, 518, 587, 590, 598, 700, NR7, 162M, 174E, 502A, 502B, 518A, 518B, 700A, 857
Nearest MRT: Dhoby Ghaut

Posted by Veron in Food category | buffet, International, Rendezvous Hotel, seafood

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/food/rendezvous-hotel-buffet/ | 7 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

Update: Hotel Re! has updated the price along with these new additions to the buffet spread.

Over the weekend, we were invited to a “simulation brunch” for media partners. Having enjoyed their permanent themed set meals and that unforgettable wine pairing dinner, we are definitely eager to try this out! The spread pictured here is less than the actual thing, but should give you an idea of what type of food to expect.

Right off the bat, we spot a varied selection of cuisines ranging from the Japanese sushi…

… to Chinese dim sum that include the ever popular dumplings!

These “pouches” are glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf.

At this station, you can watch the chef whip up bowl after bowl of piping hot laksa.

Yum! Unfortunately the laksa does not come with hum (cockles), perhaps due to the recent shortage of the shellfish.

Of all the food I sampled, my favorite is the pasta which comes in a kickin’ bolognaise sauce. The meat skewers are too salty for my liking. The spring rolls and fried chicken, on the other hand, are delicious.

When it comes to pastries and desserts, the variety is much larger. These go extremely well with the coffee and tea provided, and fruit juices, too.

The mini sandwiches come with colorful picks!

Waffles are omnipresent at breakfasts and brunches! After all, it’s hard to say no to waffles.

These jello shots remind me of those colorful jellies from my childhood that come in conical plastic containers. Sweet stuff! Does any of you remember those?

More goodies abound in the form of swiss rolls, layered cakes and puddings.

The buffet brunch takes place at the new Re!Joice Ballroom, which is housed in a permanent outdoor marquee (fully air conditioned, of course!).

$2 Promotion

As the hotel is celebrating its second anniversary, it is also introducing an unbeatable promotion. The first 100 walk-in customers on 15 May, Saturday, get to enjoy this buffet brunch at just SGD2! Take full advantage of this promotion!

Have Your Say!

Are you a brunch person? What is your favorite spot for brunch? Let us know below!

Posted by Veron in Food category | brunch, buffet, International, Outram, seafood

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/food/hotel-re-buffet-brunch/ | 15 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

Take for example the set meals at Re!Fill, the hotel’s flagship restaurant. Everyday a different cuisine is served, such as exotic Thai Mondays and romantic Italian Thursdays (view menu). Not only are the meals reasonably priced at SGD12.80++ SGD18.80++, each set includes:

• Salad
• Soup
• Main course (choose from two)
• Dessert
• Free flow of bread
• Free flow of tea/coffee
• Bonus: Free parking

Our verdict after checking out this restaurant on a quiet Friday evening? We love the food and can’t wait to go back for more!

Free flow of coffee/tea

Let’s start with the coffee. Most restaurants charge at least 4 or 5 bucks for a cup of machine-made coffee. Over at this hotel, you get free-flowing coffee or tea when you order the set meal! The waitresses even ask if you’d like it with or without milk.

Even for someone who generally steers clear of machine-made coffee, I’m surprised to find that I like the black coffee here! The flavor is aromatic and strong enough for me.

Free flow of bread

Also provided freely is the bread, for which they have a toaster available at the bread counter. The untoasted bread, by itself, is soft and fluffy, and has bits of chewy nuts in it, too.

Beef Shabu Shabu

The theme for the day is Japanese. So the soup is beef Shabu Shabu, a Japanese hot pot dish minus the hot pot.

With ample ingredients of thinly sliced beef, mushrooms and vegetables, this is the kind of soup that mommies would cook for their children. It certainly has that home-cooked flavor and really warms the stomach and soul!

For the main course, you may choose between:
- Grilled chicken teriyaki or
- Saba Shioyaki

For a 3-course set meal that costs just SGD12.80++ SGD18.80++, you probably would not expect pretty plating. And that’s exactly what they do here. Both main courses are laid out beautifully in an array of colors.

Grilled chicken Teriyaki

The grilled chicken is really delicious, drenched in a rich teriyaki sauce. Every home should have a bottle of that sauce; it works magic with any meat or fish. Even pizza.

Speaking of my love for teriyaki sauce, this reminds me of a dining experience at another hotel some years back. I was with my Mom at Traders Hotel’s Cafebiz. After I requested for teriyaki sauce, the waiter checked and said that they didn’t have any in the kitchen. But a short while later he came back with the teriyaki sauce which the chef had specially made for me from scratch! That’s an unforgettable experience, an example of how some restaurants would go the extra mile to make their customers happy :) today I still remember that incident vividly.

Saba Shioyaki (grilled mackerel)

The grilled mackerel is done Shioyaki style, which means it has been rubbed with salt and slow-grilled. The taste is excellent, with the flesh thoroughly cooked and the skin unburnt and still remaining intact.

Of course, for a fish like this, the downside is that it has a lot of bones. So if you don’t want to eat in fear like I did, go for the grilled chicken instead. For both dishes you get the same teriyaki sauce, complete with chawanmushi and teppanyaki vegetables.

Chawanmushi (steamed egg custard)

The chawanmushi comes with a spicy kick. The surface is dusted with red chili pepper, which I find interesting because this is the first time I am eating this egg custard cup with a note of spiciness.

Fruit cocktail

The waitresses are always prompt in clearing the dishes and finally, we are served the dessert. True to the health-conscious mindset of the Japanese, instead of ice cream and cake, we get a healthy healthy fresh fruit cocktail.

Like the other dishes, it is prettily arranged: diced papaya, watermelon and honeydew in a glass, topped by a dainty cherry. If anyone wanna impress his or her date by tying a knot in that cherry stem with the tongue, that’s the time. The restaurant is very quiet for a Friday evening.

Here’s the colorful menu of this colorful restaurant. Pick your cuisine and head down on that day!

I like this rotating menu concept, because it sure gets people curious and coming back on other days! And, with the few specific dishes to cook on each day, I’m pretty sure the chefs have an easier time in the kitchen, too.

Another hidden gem in the vicinity is Seventh Heaven. That’s a great place for more desserts after a hearty meal!

Re!Fill
Hotel Re! @ Pearl’s Hill
175A Chin Swee Road
Singapore 169879
(65) 6827 8226 | Website | Menu
Service:

Bus services: 174, 174E, Shuttle bus schedule and pick-up points
Nearest MRT: Outram

Opening hours: 7am – 11pm daily

Posted by Veron in Food category | International, Japanese, Outram

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/food/hotel-re/ | 11 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

Like these agar-agar (jelly) in assorted colors. I love the blue ones!

This plate of colorful agar-agar is part of the Asian buffet in plaza brasserie at parkroyal hotel. Boy, it’s already my fourth buffet in the past one month! Looking at the frightening quantity and rate that I eat at, some people ask me how I watch my weight. It’s simple enough: I don’t! But you guys wouldn’t actually know that I’m practically ballooning behind this blog persona, would you?

Just as colorful as the agar-agar was the stained glass ceiling at plaza brasserie! It was a half-filled restaurant on a weekday evening. The buffet spread wasn’t as large as I had anticipated. But well, at just $33 per person for a hotel dinner buffet, I shan’t complain much now. Besides, I had written it all down in the little white feedback card.

Kung pao chicken is a staple in any Asian buffet. It is always cooked in a nice dark sauce with dried chili. A good kung pao chicken dish should also have cashew nuts. The kung pao dish at plaza brasserie had both chili and cashews. But guess what? It didn’t have chicken! It had Turkey instead! Wow, I had never seen kung pao Turkey before. It was good, although chicken would work better.

My favorite dish of the night was the soft shell crab tempura. It was light, nicely fried, and tasted of yumminess when dipped into mayonnaise.

At the Indian food station, roti prata (indian flatbread) was made in assorted flavors. There was the usual egg and plain prata, as well as sardine and banana prata. But the best one had to be this:

Chocolate prata! I’ve never had roti prata in chocolate flavor before!

I thought it might taste a little odd because chocolate and roti prata didn’t seem to mesh. But the combination was surprisingly yummilicious! And utterly sinful too!

Desserts in cute little shot-glasses. There was tiramisu, blueberry and a range of other fruity flavors available.

Still, I would have liked to see more desserts available, such as some of those bite-sized cakes in different flavors. But I’m glad they had a chocolate fountain. It kind of saved the day!

It was a five-tier fountain similar to the one at Cafébiz in Traders Hotel. I tend to judge the quality of a buffet by whether it has a chocolate fountain. And I’m glad plaza brasserie had one, along with marshmallow dippers and hard biscuits. Yay!

Sadly, I wouldn’t return for another buffet. The price is decent but the buffet spread is simply too small! Not too satisfying for a big eater like me!

Plaza Brasserie
Parkroyal on Beach Road
7500 Beach Road Singapore 199591
(65) 6298 0011
$33+++
Buffet rating:
Service:
www.parkroyalhotels.com

Posted by Veron in Food category | buffet, International

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/food/plaza-brasserie-parkroyal/ | 10 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

The Vila’ge is pronounced “vee-lah-jey”. Until very recently, I had thought it was simply pronounced and spelled “the village”!

But firstly, here’s a bit of history behind these two restaurants. Marché opened its first restaurant at the Heeren in 1997, boasting a European village dining concept, and a second one at Suntec City Mall some time after.

7 years later, The Vila’ge opened its first restaurant at China square with an identical concept. It became Marché’s direct competitor.

In 2006, Marché closed its flagship restaurant at the Heeren, and The Vila’ge took over the same floorspace.

So, how different from Marché would The Vila’ge be?

As it turns out, not too different! Both restaurants employ a similar “cashless” system where every diner is given a bar coded card. When we order our food and drinks from any of the twenty-ish stations, our purchase is recorded onto the card. Payment is made only upon leaving.

The similarities do not end there. I had dined at Marché (the Heeren branch) a number of times when it was still in business. The Vila’ge sports almost the exact same layout! The drinks section is laid out in the exact same fashion, with bottles and cans sticking out of barrels. The dining area does not look any different from before. Heck, even the make-your-own-pizza station is still located at the exact same spot!

So basically, everything looks the same as Marché. My only clue that this place is actually a different restaurant is that it now has a new name! Very different, indeed.

This is why I’m a little perturbed that photography is banned here. Why do restaurants ban photography anyway? The only reason I can think of is that they do not want competitors mimicking their design, food, whatever. But hello, this isn’t even a unique concept that The Vila’ge came up with on its own. Even its bull (or cow) mascot is the same as Marché’s! And so, “click”, “click”, “click”, my camera went.

Even though The Vila’ge gets zero points for creativity and originality, the food may fare better. Marché, as I recall, did not have any food that was particularly memorable. I had the pizza each time I went. This time round, we went for the catch of the day, which was stingray.

Sambal Stingray with Rice
SGD6.80+ + 1% CESS

Served with rice, the stingray was surprisingly good! I thought that the best sambal stingray would usually be found in hawker centres. I was wrong. The sambal chili, in particular, was awesome. It made the dish what it is. And at just $6.80, this dish was no doubt very satisfying.

Black & White Chocolate Cake
SGD4.80+ + 1% CESS

The desserts selection was scarcely limited. I had the black and white chocolate cake, which was filled with both dark and white chocolate mousse. I love mousse, and this certainly looked very pretty. But in the end it didn’t really do much for me.

For such a huge restaurant I would have liked to see more dessert choices other than just the few cakes and breads. But they do get some brownie points for having a $14 chocolate fondue set available. Whether it’s any good remains to be seen.

Erdinger Beer
SGD10.20 (a pint)+ + 1% CESS

Free beer tomorrow? Boy, wouldn’t that be sweet? The beer of choice here is the German Erdinger. Very smooth and rich!

At the end of the day, I did like what I had, but there could have been more choices available. I also liked the overall look and dining concept of this place, although I am well aware of the fact that Marché takes most, if not all, of the credit for that.

Posted by Veron in Food category | Heeren, International, Marketplace, Orchard Road

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/food/the-vilage/ | 22 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

We were a party of six and got a table by the window, which was nice and near to the buffet spread. One thing I noted was that there were many pyramidal stacks of chocolate balls on displayed, with each chocolate wrapped in red cellophane. Specially arranged for Christmas, I presume.

For a seafood buffet, I thought the seafood spread was rather limited. I didn’t spot any lobster or crayfish at all whereas there were quite a number of meat dishes. For now I would simply let the pictures do the talking.

The fish was my favorite. Very flavorful!

I confess, I really do not know how to get crab meat out of their shells and pincers.

Huge ass prawns. Too bad they weren’t peeled though. I’m so lazy!

My favorite part of the buffet turned out to be the desserts. There was a delectable selection of cakes. The tiramisu was my favorite, as well as this white chocolate and coffee cake. Isn’t that an awesome combination?

The ice cream was a disappointment though. All the flavors ran out quickly and a long period of time lapsed before the ice cream was finally replenished. There was also no chocolate fondue or fountain available.

But the biggest disappointment of all was the service. Our glasses were rarely filled even though there were so many waitstaff walking about. The young waiter in charge of our table hardly ever appeared. The floor manager (since he’s the only one in a suit) was constantly tending to another party of six next to us while conveniently bypassing our table the entire time. Probably if we were a bunch of caucasians or middle-aged people in suits we wouldn’t have received such silent treatment.

For a world-class hotel such service standards is certainly unacceptable. But having said that, the last time I went to the chihuly lounge at the same hotel, the service was excellent.

Anyhoo, those of you who are looking for an excellent seafood buffet with a wider variety and more efficient service, you would be better off at Cafébiz in Traders Hotel or the town restaurant at Fullerton Hotel. Give greenhouse a miss!

I do retain some nice words for the hotel though. Loved the Christmas tree, the giant red Christmas balls and candy canes. Sweet!

Greenhouse
The Ritz-Carlton Millenia
7 Raffles Avenue, Level 3
Singapore 039799
(65) 6337 8888
$43+++
Buffet rating:
Service:
www.ritzcarlton.com

Posted by Veron in Food category | buffet, International, Ritz-Carlton Hotel

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/food/ritz-carlton-greenhouse/ | 14 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

We were having a Christmas buffet and every dining table had its own little Christmas tree. I thought that was a very nice touch! Restaurants hardly ever do this, do they?

In addition, there was also a cosy gingerbread house by the restaurant entrance. After all, what’s Christmas without the good ol’ gingerbread house? Icing became the snow on the roof. Colorful candy lined the frame of the door. Pebbles on the pavement? They were chocolate beans! What a deliciously sweet little house!

But that’s not all. There’s even a jolly old man in pink living inside the house, with a candy walking cane! And, and, his furniture is made of chocolate! Ahh! How very Christmasy!

For a Christmas dinner, there has to be a turkey and a delicious chocolate log cake of course.

Okay that’s turkey breast and a half-eaten log cake.

Here’s another gingerbread house for good measure. Merry Christmas!

February 3, 2007: My list of Best (& Worst) Restaurants in Singapore for 2006
- Nominated for “Best Buffet”

Posted by Veron in Food, Holidays category | buffet, Christmas tree, holiday food, International, Rendezvous Hotel

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/food/christmas-tree-of-the-day-8/ | 9 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

Alaskan crab

One of the first things I sampled was the Alaskan crab. The crab meat had the sweetest, richest and most succulent flavor! I am no crab expert, and found it hard to believe that this was the natural flavor of the crab. Whoa!

Lobster (with Alaskan crab legs)

The lobster paled in comparison. Its flesh was totally bland! On a scale of 1 to 10 its flavor was a 0; there was no taste to it at all! Again, I am no lobster expert. But isn’t the lobster supposedly king of shellfish?

Salmon sashimi & crab claw

Of course there were the usual fares like sushi and sashimi. I stuffed myself with heaps of salmon sashimi, my absolute favorite! One of the unique offerings at Cafébiz is their lok-lok (dip-dip) station with sticks of raw food such as crab claws, prawns and chicken meat. To accompany the lok-lok, there is a huge array of sauces such satay gravy and sambal belachan (fermented ground shrimp). Yum! No worries if you aren’t too adept at cooking. A chef stationed at the lok-lok booth would offer to cook it for you in soup and serve it at your table. Great service!

Another example of great service was when I asked for teriyaki sauce. Being a picky eater, I always, always ask for teriyaki sauce when eating Japanese food. But they did not have it, which was rather unusual for an Asian buffet restaurant. So, the waiter got the chef to MAKE the teriyaki sauce from scratch. Wow! I could not be more impressed!

Dim Sum

There were very few offerings of dim sum however. I tried the crystal dumpling and prawn dumpling which were not so good in comparison to those at dim sum eateries. But the chicken bun that had been slightly baked was a real treat! If I wasn’t so stuffed already I would have downed a couple of those yummies.

What sets Cafébiz apart from other buffet restaurants is that it has several unusual offerings. Apart from the lok-lok as mentioned earlier, there is also Churrasco, a South American specialty. A couple of waiters make their rounds with huge skewers of grilled food, stopping at each table to slice off chunks of meat onto the diners’ plates. We were offered sausages, chicken wings, and roast pineapple!

As if that’s not enough, Cafébiz also offers authentic la mian (hand-pulled noodles)! An in-house chef hailing from China is available to hand-make la mian upon request. He was rather enthused to “pull” some noodles for me but I had to decline as I was stuffed! He then offered to chop up a roast duck for me! But once again I declined and asked for a chicken drumstick instead.

Chinese chicken drumstick & Indian food

Mom and I both agreed that the chicken drumstick was awesome! The meat was smooth, succulent and juicy. On the same platter is some tandoori chicken and other North Indian food. Those were prepared by an Indian chef and were delicious!

Clockwise from top left: Kung Pao chicken with cashew Nuts, fish fillet in pistachio Sauce, Moroccan chicken

More unusual fares followed at the hot food station. There were dozens and dozens of delectables with names I have never heard of. Not being very adventurous, I tried out the safer options such as Kung Pao chicken with cashew nuts (very yummy), fish fillet cooked in pistachio sauce (an instant favorite) and Moroccan chicken that came together with some fruit in yellow stew. I can’t exactly remember for sure.

Fruit jelly in assorted flavors

Desserts! Arranged in neat rows were these fruit jelly cocktails. They came in cute delicate glasses and had flavors such as lime, apple and mango. For me they sort of served as appetisers for the desserts that were about to follow. Appetisers before the real desserts, get it?

Strawberry, Chocolate & Coconut Ice Cream

The ice cream counter was a very modern one. It had just eight flavors, but I really liked the fact that the ice cream was not too hard. I was able to scoop comfortably. You know how some places serve ice cream that is so frozen you have to break a nail and a knuckle just to get a scoopful? Over here the temperature is set just about right. Also, when you place the metal scoop back in its holder, there is some sort of suction mechanism that automatically cleans it instantly. Wow!

Egg tarts, pandan cake, green tea cake & tiramisu

And what’s a buffet without cake and tarts? I enjoyed the pandan cake and tiramisu. Thankfully they had been cut into very thin slices. Cafébiz must have anticipated that its diners would be too stuffed to polish off regular slices. I loved the prune pie most. It’s one of those pies that come in a big metallic platter and you scoop off the portion you want with a huge ladle. Then you have fun drenching it in vanilla syrup. And I absolutely love vanilla syrup!

And now, the grand finale. Are you ready for this?

Chocolate fountain

Ta-da! A five-tier chocolate fountain! How glorious it looked! The chocolate was absolutely heavenly!

Dipping foods to go along with chocolate fountain

There were the usual dipping foods like fruits, marshmallows and hard biscuits. I didn’t exactly care for those fruits. As with chocolate fondues, I like my chocolate with marshmallows! And boy did I love it! I stood there by the fountain, skewer in hand, and helped myself to all the chocolatey goodness. For that moment in time I was in chocolate heaven. Warm chocolate in my mouth. Warm chocolate everywhere. I didn’t even notice I was dripping chocolate all over the place until a waiter helpfully pushed a plate beneath my chin.

Orange juice
SGD9+++

Finally it was all over. A tall glass of orange juice to cleanse my palate and aid in the digestion, and we’re all set! That was the most wonderful meal I’ve had in a long, long time. And with such wonderful, five-star service, it certainly wouldn’t be my last visit to Cafébiz.

Cafébiz
Traders Hotel
1A Cuscaden Road
Singapore 249716
(65) 6831 4374 | Website
Dinner (Weekday/Weekend): SGD45+++ / SGD50+++
Buffet rating:
Service:

February 3, 2007: My list of Best (& Worst) Restaurants in Singapore for 2006
- Winner of “Best Buffet”
- Nominated for “Best Service”

Posted by Veron in Food category | buffet, International, Tanglin Mall

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/food/cafebiz-traders-hotel/ | 29 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

Dory Fish Teppanyaki

The first thing I had was the dory fish teppanyaki. Along with other teppanyaki and barbecued dishes, the chef prepared it on the spot. Every table in the restaurant is assigned colorful tags labeled with the table number. These tags can then be used to queue for food which would be served at your table once it’s ready.

Anyway, the dory fish teppanyaki was a good choice. It had a lot of flavor and fared much better than the salmon teppanyaki, which turned out bland and stiff and was quite hard to swallow.

Salmon Teppanyaki

Salmon Sashimi, Scallop & Mussel

Fresh salmon sashimi was a much better option. A pity the salmon wasn’t too fresh. It flew off the shelf pretty quickly though and the staff had to keep replenishing it. The scallops and mussels were very fresh in comparison. I love those!

Shark Fin Soup

There did not appear to be any miso soup. What I could find was shark fin and cream of mushroom soup. Had me a bowl of shark fin soup which was a little on the thin side but otherwise quite okay.

Chicken Satay

Chicken satay was also barbecued on the spot, and served with peanut gravy already ladled over it. The chicken flesh was tender enough and the gravy was decent too.

Unagi Satay

If you love unagi you would love it in the satay form. It had been nicely marinated and was juicy and savory. The cook didn’t do a good job of barbequeing. It ended up being slightly burnt, which was a real shame.

Fried Stuff

Stay away from the fried food section. There were chicken nuggets, chicken popcorn, breaded crab claws, breaded prawns, etc. On paper these sound yummy but the real deal was all oily. The moment I sank my teeth into a breaded prawn, oil came oozing out. Ugh!

Dim Sum

I made a bad decision in eating the dim sum. They were rather bland and did a lot to fill me up. I felt quite stuffed after eating those.

Ice Cream

The best part of the buffet had to be the dessert. For ice cream they had twelve different flavors. My favorite was the strawberry ripple — yummy and not too sweet at the same time. Strangely I couldn’t find a chocolate tub anywhere. The toppings of chocolate sprinkles, rainbow sprinkles and chopped nuts were a real delight! We had fun making our own sundaes.

They also had some of those strawberries with ice cream fillings. Is there a name for those things? They are getting pretty popular these days. I don’t really like strawberries, but those things sure are fun to eat. First you unwrap the clear plastic wrapper. Then you spend some time admiring the pretty fruit. You bite into it, and finally taste the first hint of ice cream.

Miniature Cakes

Other than ice cream there was also a huge assortment of miniature cakes for dessert. That’s hands down my most favorite part! Just looking at those cute little cakes alone was enough eye candy! Each one looked so adorable, and there were so many of them! Marbled cheesecake, New York cheesecake, oreo cheesecake, peppermint, strawberry mousse, white chocolate lavender, chocolate eclair, etc. Yummy, yummy, yummy!

One major gripe I have with Sakura is that the plates were not properly cleaned. I had to search through stacks of supposedly clean plates to find one that didn’t have specks of food left behind! I didn’t really care to know what the previous user had eaten. So Sakura or Suki, if you’re reading this, please invest in better dishwashers!

Other than that, with the vast range of food available, this buffet really promises to cater to multiple tastes. With all the sushi, sashimi, teppanyaki, Chinese dishes, dim sum, good desserts, it probably wouldn’t be the last time I visit.

Sakura ( Halal certified)
Various outlets
$28 (weekend dinner buffet in Orchard)++
Website

February 3, 2007: My list of Best (& Worst) Restaurants in Singapore for 2006
- Winner of “Best Value Buffet”
- Nominated for “Best Buffet”

Posted by Veron in Food category | buffet, Halal, International

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/food/sakura-buffet/ | 11 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

People here in general have been really nice to me. The latter part of the week was mostly about saying goodbye. Lydia, a manager from another department who’s perpetually based in toronto offered to get me from there! Adrian, one of our suppliers took me out to a farewell lunch at Swensen’s. And on Friday night, my own boss allan gave me a farewell dinner at the Fullerton Hotel.

Dinner was at the town restaurant. It’s the one with the alfresco area overlooking the river. I have passed by that place many times but never once dined there. So I was thrilled when allan picked the place for dinner.

It was a seafood buffet, which was fantastic. It meant I could help myself to huge servings of salmon sashimi, crayfish, butter prawns, tempura, etc. Here are some small samples of what we had.

Despite being on diet, I threw caution to the wind and ate like a pig! I loved the crayfish and salmon sashimi especially. The salmon was very fresh! Desserts were totally yummilicious, especially those topped with vanilla.

I think we spent at least three hours there. It’s great to be able to enjoy a long conversation with your own boss as if you were friends! How many bosses can actually put their high ranking status aside and do that with their subordinates? Not many!

One of the main factors why I enjoy working at celestica is definitely the people. There are so many interesting and unique characters over here. Like what allan says, you can practically write a book about our department alone, with each chapter dedicated to each person. There’s the guy who smokes a lot, another who keeps speaking in Hokkien and spewing vulgarities to suppliers over the phone, etc. Hilarious!

And finally, there’s my boss of course, who is so great I think he deserves to win the “best boss award”! He’s a “people” boss who’s very understanding to his employees. From what I’ve seen in my three months over here, he has never raised his voice at any one of us no matter how much stress he is facing.

Whenever he needs me to do something for him, he says it as though he was asking a favor even though it is my job to do what he asks. And he also takes care to meticulously explain why he needs it to be done. Even at times when I need advice for things other than celestica-related stuff, he would be genuinely helpful and patient in listening to me and giving me advice, no matter how busy he is.

What cast the deepest impression on me was this one incident. At that time I haven’t found a new job yet. I asked allan, what if you found a new assistant before I found a new job? What would happen to me? He assured me that no matter what, he would wait until I found a new job before he hires someone. I was so touched!

There should be more bosses like him around. I sure hope there would be future opportunities to work for him!

February 3, 2007: My list of Best (& Worst) Restaurants in Singapore for 2006
- Runner-up for “Best Buffet”

Posted by Veron in Food category | alfresco/outdoor dining, buffet, Fullerton, International, waterfront

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/food/farewell-dinner-with-my-boss/ | 8 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette