Gourmet High Tea at Pan Pacific Orchard

I don’t like buffets for two good solid reasons.

1. Eat-all-you-can generally = subpar quality imo.

2. I have absolutely no portion control.

But… Sometimes, I kind of miss buffets. Usually only for like, five seconds? Haha.

I miss the visual feast for the eyes, miss the joy of stuffing myself silly, miss the thrill of going back for seconds (and thirds and fourths) without worrying about the impact on the wallet.

So the Gourmet High Tea Buffet in the Lobby Lounge of Pan Pacific Orchard turns out to be a nice surprise. It’s clearly quality over quantity, the spread is limited to one long table, and I counted less than twenty items in total. Well done!

Before I forget, I must mention the fantastic music playlist which comprises of mostly classic oldies, some 90s, basically my type of songs! “Wonderful Tonight”, “Superwoman”, “(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time On You”, lalala…

P.S. What are kids listening to these days?!

Priced at $28++ on weekdays and $38++ on weekends (inclusive of a selection of TWG teas), the high tea buffet is available daily from 2-5pm.

It’s a way of life (at least, in Singapore) that everything is more expensive on weekends. So to justify the $10++ price hike, the weekend spread is boosted with more substantial eats like Chef Andy Oh’s famous char kway teow, Swiss cottage melting raclette and Spanish-bred Iberian-cured ham.

The menu changes daily so I won’t bother listing all the what’s what here. Remember, what you see may not be what you get!

That said, I hope the smoked salmon mousse and crab rillettes in orange blossom basket become permanent guests on the menu cuz I love them!

And there’s also sea urchin with mango salsa, Thai-style wagyu beef papaya salad and cute mini bite-sized egg mayo on charcoal buns!

I don’t think the chestnut tarts, cappuccino layer cakes and vanilla supreme are worth the precious calories. Skip. The dark chocolate fudge cakes are another story altogether, heh.

The Global Hotel Alliance-Awarded Famous Peddlers char kway teow, prepared à la minute, is one of the popular three Plates of Pleasures on weekends. The other two are spicy prawn noodle broth and Penang assam laksa, which is listed on “CNN World Yummiest Food”!

Since I’m not a fan of local food, I’m not a reliable judge of whether it’s really that yummy or award-worthy. Shall leave that up to you!

My thanks to Abigail from Pan Pacific for the invite!

Pan Pacific Orchard
10 Claymore Road
6831 6685

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Azur @ Crowne Plaza Hotel

Happy Chinese New Year’s Eve to everyone!!!

I had my first lo hei of 2013 at Azur, a buffet restaurant in Changi Airport Crowne Plaza Hotel. There’s about 20 of us at the media tasting session so chef prepared this huge snakey yu sheng with all the trimmings symbolizing auspiciousness, wealth and abundance.

Have fun tossing and making a mess tonight, and the next 15 days to come!

Top left, clockwise:

Braised Sea Cucumber with Baby Abalone;

Trio of CNY Pastries: Orange Mousse, Lychee Osmanthus Jello, Tempura Nian Gao;

Treasures of the Ocean Seafood Soup with Fish Maw, Crabmeat, Dried Scallops; and

Three Treasures Yu Sheng ($68+)
hokkigai surf clams, wakame seaweed, tamago, pickled mango and papaya, black fungus, ginseng yuzu dressing, sliced abalone (additional $48+), swordfish belly (additional $28+), and fresh norwegian salmon (additional $18+).

Confit Salmon, Darjeeling Beurre Blanc (butter-based emulsified sauce)

Wok Fried Sea Prawns infused with Milk and Margarine, Mixed Berries

Prices:

Chinese New Year Eve Dinner (9 February 2013)
$88.00++

Chinese New Year Day 1 & 2 Brunch/Dinner (10 – 11 February 2013)
$58.00++/$78.00++

Chinese New Year Weekday Lunch/Dinner (12 – 15, 18 – 22 February 2013)
$48.00++/$58.00++

For more information and the CNY menus at Azur, click here.

Special thanks to Carrie and Belina for inviting and hosting such a big group of us for dinner!

Azur
2F Crowne Plaza Hotel
75 Airport Boulevard
6823 5354

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Celebrate @ Plaza Brasserie (Parkroyal on Beach Road)

There’s no excuse to stop your festive feasting since there’s still ten and a quarter days of Christmas left!

Till 1 January 2013, Plaza Brasserie at Parkroyal on Beach Road is offering a spread of festive treats like pork knuckles, roasted turkey and honey glazed ham, in addition to the usual cold salads, hot dishes, sushi and sashimi. For desserts, there’s stollen, log cakes, ginger bread, pecan pies and more!

Hint hint: go for the chocolate and lemongrass ice cream in the black tubs! They are of a pretty good brand; skip the generic white tub of strawberry ice cream~

For details and prices, click here : )

Special thanks to Karen, marketing communications manager of Parkroyal, for the kind invitation!

Plaza Brasserie (PARKROYAL Hotel)
7500A Beach Road
6505 5710

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Tiong Bahru Bakery

Much Ado About Eating feels “shallow to chase after new openings”.. As do I, haha. How can any self-respecting foodie not be?! I’m proud to be a shallow foodie, there I’ve said it.

Tiong Bahru Bakery has been blogged to death by floggers online so I shan’t add on. Just go, just go!

Oh ya, I need to mention that while I love the carbs there, I hate how noisy and chaotic the place is~

Top left, clockwise: croissant ($2.50), chocolate croissant ($3.20), olive roll ($3.50), tuna sandwich ($8.50), brioche ($2.50), chocolate brioche ($3), bacon and cheese bread ($3.50).

Tiong Bahru Bakery
#01-70, 56 Eng Hoon Street
6220 3430

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The Line Buffet @ Shangri-La Hotel

I was away from Singapore for the past week so I didn’t even know that Singapore Food Festival has already started! WOLS me, I know, haha.

Anyway, in conjunction with the annual foodie festival, The Line Buffet at Shangri-La Hotel is launching The Spicy Line Up from 15 to 24 July 2011. Using spices as the focus, 9 dishes have been specially created by the chefs for this event. There’s lamb, beef, ribs, chicken, salmon, ox tongue and even a unique five spices cake! Add these to the usual raw seafood, salads, cooked food, sushi and sashimi, desserts etc from the 16 live cooking stations and there’s definitely something for everyone!

That’s the beauty of buffets, ya?

Though I didn’t personally try 7 out of those 9 new creations, I brought my trusty makan companion along to the tasting session and according to her, the 4 dishes below stood out from the rest.

Above: Braised chicken thigh with citrus mayonnaise mustard sauce.

Below: Lamb tagine with prunes.

Spare ribs with spices and curry sauce.

 Five spices sponge cake.

This I did try and I love it! So moist and soft, and the combination of hazelnut and star anise works surprisingly well together. Brilliant~ I really hope this stays permanently!

Since I’ve got the recipe (available for all guests at the restaurant), I think I’ll try baking this at home! Anyone wanna be my guinea pig? Lol.

The rest of The Spicy Line Up: (clockwise from centre) bhattida chop; charred beef with spiced salt; braised ox tongue; Asian style cured salmon gravlax; and braised beef cheek with five spices.

From the normal buffet selections, I absolutely adore the crabmeat with avocado and mango salad. Wonderfully creamy and fresh, I thought that’s a very classy thing to serve at a buffet! And I made two rounds for the sushi and sashimi section, which has my all-time favourite unagi sushi~

Desserts-wise, the quality is quite good! There’s mango pudding, chocolate fondue, ice cream, an interesting apple wasabi cheesecake, carrot cake, strawberry shortcake, and for this month’s special, indulge in a nutty slice of piemont that’s very ferrero rocher-like, haha.

The Spicy Line Up is coming to an end this coming Sunday so if you are feeling in the mood for buffets, give The Line a go!

Special thanks to Grace, Communications Manager of Shangri La Hotel, for the invitation and hosting us for lunch~

Lunch:
Mon – Fri : Adult $47 / Child $24
Sat : Adult $50 / Child $25
Sun : Adult $78 (free flow selected cocktails & juices) / Child $42

Dinner:
Fri – Mon : Adult $68 / Child $34
Crabby Tuesdays : Adult $68 ($88, free flow red and white wine) / Child $34
Get Grilled Wednesdays :  $78 (free flow red & white wine, draft beer, soft drinks & juices) / Child $34
Marine Harvest Thursdays : Adult $88 (free flow red & white wine, draft beer, soft drinks & juices) / Child $44

The Line 
Shangri-La Hotel
22 Orange Grove Road
6213 4275

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Plaza Brasserie (Parkroyal Hotel)

From 5th July to 31st August, Plaza Brasserie at Parkroyal has a really value-for-money promotion going on! “Best of Asia with the Freshest Catch” is happening at the hotel’s buffet line for dinner on weekdays.

Simply pay $45++ per adult ($27++ per child), choose your favourite freshest catch of the day (promfret, sea bass, baby snapper, sea bream, kee fish, milk fish, red and black tilapia), pick out your preferred preparation style (Hong Kong, Teo Chew, Nonya, Thai lime and chili, Indian or Malay fish head curry), sit back and relax. A whole fish will be served, no kidding. And you can try as many as you like. My advice is to bring more people with you (the more the merrier!) so that you can taste more and waste less.

My favourite has to be the cantonese style (fresh sea bass, delish sauce, nothing more I’d ask for), followed closely by the Malay snapper fish head curry. Surprising, since I’m usually not a fan of curries. The version here suits me since it’s not too spicy or heavy and the meat was cooked till tender. I didn’t quite like the Indian style cuz of the strong turmeric flavour. Teo Chew and Thai lime styles were pretty good too but the fried kee fish was terribly salty.

At the buffet line, the spread is decent, though not spectacular. Watch your laksa, roti prata (must try the chocolate prata!!), pasta, oyster omelette being prepared right in front of you at the chefs’ “live” cooking station. Then there’s your usual salads (sweet mayo crabmeat, corn with bacon, baked sweet potato or DIY caesar), cold (sushi, sashimi, oysters, mussels) and hot food (fried clams, stir-fried beef, braised oxtail, deep-fried almond prawns) and of course, desserts (chocolate truffles, bread pudding, longan beancurd, sea coconut ice jelly)! 

 I just took whatever I felt like having that day so I can’t honestly say what’s good and what’s not since I didn’t try everything at the buffet. Not too helpful, I know, haha. How about you give it a go and let me know the must-have and the better-avoid? Anyway, dishes which I tried and I think worth a mention are the mango salad (really cannot go wrong with this), eggplant salad (tossed and dressed nicely), soft shell crabs (very crispy and meaty!), and braised sea cucumber (not rubbery and tough at all)~

Special thanks to Karen, marketing communications manager of Parkroyal, for the kind invitation! Lunch was made enjoyable cuz of you

Plaza Brasserie (PARKROYAL Hotel) 
7500A Beach Road
6505 5710

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Todai International Seafood and Sushi Buffet Restaurant

Do you fancy all-you-can-eat sweet and juicy snow crab legs for dinner tonight?

Then head on down to Todai! Located at Marina Bay Sands, this is an upscale buffet restaurant that aims to serve quality food at affordable prices. Let me bring you on a virtual tour so you can get an idea of how good the spread is!

See chefs at work at the Japanese and Korean stations. Be prepared to queue up for the sashimi!

Freshly shucked oysters, assorted seafood and more sushi.

Pizzas are made on the spot and so popular that I’ve got to make 3 trips before getting my hands on one slice. The mushroom pizza is definitely worth the wait!

I love the cold food section cuz the ceviche and salads are really good, especially the trio potato balls!

Now the hot food area with a selection of tempura, Western and Chinese cuisines. Remember to make a beeline for the chilli crabs!

It’s there where I found these addictive potato-lookalike roasted garlic. Love these pungent little nuggets!

After all the savoury food, time for some sweet treats! Did I mention that there’s a free flow of Korean strawberries?

Don’t worry, if strawberries are not your thing (how can that be?!!), there’s also cakes and cookies for that perfect ending to a satisfying meal.

After stuffing yourself silly, take a leisurely walk along the promenade to burn off some calories! Trust me, the view is gorgeous at night.

My first time at the Helix Bridge! I felt like a tourist that night, haha.

It’s not an exaggeration when I say that Todai is a global brand. In fact, just a few days ago, I was in Seoul and spotted a Todai outlet in Myeong-dong while shopping! Besides Korea and Singapore, there’s also branches in America, Hong Kong and China~

 

For a restaurant to be so successful, it must be doing something right, right?

 

P.S. My thanks to Wan Xuan and Maeva from Red Dawn Communications for the kind invitation and great hospitality! 

 

 

Todai Singapore
#B2-001, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
6688 7771

Buffet Price & Daily Opening Hours:

 

Lunch: 11.30am – 4.30pm (last order at 4pm)

Mon – Fri: Adult S$42++ Child S$22++

Sat, Sun, Holiday & Holiday Eve: Adult S$58++ Child S$26++

 

Dinner: 5.30pm - 11pm (last order at 10.30pm)

Mon – Thur: Adult S$54++ Child S$26++

Fri, Sat, Sun, Holiday & Holiday Eve: Adult S$58++ Child S$26+

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Element Restaurant

Mention “buffets” and I’m positive that Element Restaurant at Amara Hotel is not one of the first few to pop into your mind. If not for a close friend’s invitation to her birthday party, I wouldn’t have known of this restaurant at all! High tea is priced at $29++ per adult, $16++ per child on the weekends from 12 to 4pm. The spread is pretty limited and focuses on local favourites such as Roti Prata and Peking Duck.

As with all buffets, quality is a “hits and misses” issue so I won’t say much about the food itself. This will mainly be a pictorial post to give you an idea of the high tea spread.

My personal favourite was the cooked salmon (no surprise!) from the hot food section.

None of the desserts were outstanding enough to garner any raves even though there was a good variety from Italian panna cotta to American carrot cake.

The birthday cake: Strawberry Shortcake, an extremely creamy concoction from Four Leaves.

Happy 21st Birthday, babe! Love you lots.

 

Element Restaurant
165 Tanjong Pagar Road
The Amara
6879 2555

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Carnivore Brazilian Churrascaria

The name says it all, this is the place for hard-core meat lovers. Ironically, I don’t fall into that category, not by a long shot.

What am I doing here?

“Churrascaria” = Portuguese for barbecue restaurant. For $40++, it’s an endless flow of rotisserie-roasted meats as the knife-welding waiters move around the tables, carving meats ranging from beef & lamb to butterfish & roasted pineapple from large skewers onto your plates.

The Italy merlot ($14++) was lovely. Full-bodied and smooth, it’s a perfect companion for dinner.

My personal favourite is the salad bar which has a comprehensive selection of hot and cold salads and appetisers such as fresh greens, roasted eggplants & potatoes, and sauteed mushrooms. Look at the impressive number of awards the restaurant has secured!

Surprisingly, it was a very fulfilling meal though I didn’t have any meat. Service was very friendly and prompt. I like that they didn’t give us the evil eye for being the 1st to arrive and the last to leave!

 

Carnivore Brazilian Churrascaria
#01-29A, Chijmes
6334 9332

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