invisible

Hey folks,

Question from a friend - what would be the best seafood buffet for lunch with condition that it must not cost more than $60 per person?

jeffreyty002

There are so many places to eat in Singapore. Try going to MTR Restaurant, Fratini La Trattoria, Fabrika in Klapsons Hotel, and Rhubarb.

invisible

Interesting article about cheap eats got into Michelin Guide.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/7-sin...160000917.html

iluvcruising2

The chinese restaurant called Peony Jade @ Keppel Club is a Bib Gourmand 2016 restaurant. I had two meals there recently. While Keppel is a members only club, the restaurant is opened to the public. Not easy to get to though, unless you take a taxi, or drive.

First was an a la carte Dim Sum buffet.

Second meal was a birthday function, where we had a chinese meal.

iluvcruising2

Had the privilege of trying out two One Michelin Star establishments in Singapore recently.

The first was the Summer Palace Chinese Restaurant at the Ritz Carlton. We dined on a weekday evening and I must say that the place was rather crowded. All the private rooms were taken. The service was excellent and this was a great place to host a private function. However, I found the food somewhat mediocre. It wasn't bad, but I think being a One Michelin Star establishment kinda raised expectations a tad too much.


The second restaurant was called Corner House. This was a unique experience. The restaurant is set in a unique colonial bungalow, near the main entrance of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. This colonial bungalow used to house the Assistant Director of the Botanic Gardens, when Singapore was still a British Colony. The food was very interesting and unique. Being lunch, the meal wasn't cheap, but I think worth the experience at least once.

iluvcruising2

For more humble but equally delicious eats, try our food centres. One of my favourite haunts would be the Ghim Moh Cooked Food center, which was located near Buona Vista MRT station. This is what the place looks like on a weekday morning. Check out the lines for good food!

Annalisa12

I like the area on and around the streets parallel to Mosque Street for local food. Husband had a beautiful chilli crab for a really reasonable price.

SQ319

This is my favourite hawker centre. It's not that near Buona Vista MRT though, at least a 10-15minute walk.

SQTraveller

If you enjoy reading this, please subscribe to my globetrekka blog linked here.

It’s kinda funny that I haven’t got round to reviewing The Line at the Shangri La Hotel before now, given how often I used to go.

You will have seen that I have been writing a lot of about really expensive buffets (Yan Ting and Brasserie Les Saveurs) which gives the impression that is all I eat at. Actually, my first hotel buffet experiences were at the Shangri La.


Part of the reason for choosing the Shangri La, is because they some times have a discount for those who book online — which I believe is 15%, but you should check online before you jump in🙂 Basically what that means is that you it covers your tax and service charges.

I don’t ever go during the weekday, that would be just too much even for a fatty (I mean foodie) like me. Which is S$72 for adults.

If you go on Sunday it’s quite a bit more S$108 Adult (which incidentally is the same cost the Yan Ting at the St Regis) and includes unlimited soft drinks and juices. However, Sunday is the champagne brunch day, which costs S$158 Adult (unlimited champagne, selected wines, beers, soft drinks and juices).

However, if you go on a Saturday it is substantially cheaper at only $72 per person.

But before you make your way to the dining area for lunch, you have an opportunity to have a look around. The grounds are very nicely maintained, though the whole hotel to be honest is beginning to look a bit worse for wear – it has been going since the early 1970s so the age is beginning to show. If you look around the pool area, the rooms look like they are from the 70s era to be honest.

Having said, that I’m always impressed by the lobby area. It’s pretty beautifully maintained and always pristine (a bit like the city it inhabits). I don’t know about you, but the lighting doesn’t do it any favours — I get the impression of a yellow hue, maybe from the decorations? What do you guys think of the lighting?



The restaurant is apparently designed by Adam Tihany — now for those who don’t know who this, he’s a very big deal in the interior design business in the United States. Unfortunately, I think that this design is a bit too stylish for the Shangri La. The colours are so bright, I would almost call it garish. Orange is never a good colour in a room, and it is certainly splashed very very liberally here.



I get it. You guys aren’t interested in comments and pictures of the hotel. You want to cut to the chase, get to the meat of the subject (so to speak).

THE FOOD!!!!!!!

There are a many stations to choose from. [disclaimer: photos came from different meals so some of the choices may no longer be available]
















Dessert time













And after you’ve absolutely stuffed your faces, you can get complimentary hot drinks at this bar.

I’ve been known to stand in line here for more than 15/20mins. Often they only have one person serving, which frankly is not an excuse. Anyone who has been to a pub in the UK knows that bar staff can take several orders, pour several drinks, take money and recite pi all at the same time (ok one of those is probably not true).

#TopTip: Get in line well before you need your coffee or tea, as the queue gets very very long. I usually get a drink about an hour into my meal; then if there are times where there is no queue, I jump straight in an order another one.



Usually there are some fast cars parked outside. It impresses me less that there are fast cars, I’m always impressed how stupid people paying so much just essentially loan a car for 10 years!








You can read The Line review on it's own page here


I appreciate everyone who reads my reports. Please continue to follow my blog.

DPoulnot

Hi All -

My fiance and I will be in Singapore over New Years and we're also big eaters! One caveat is that my fiance has Celiac's (i.e. gluten-free) so she's got to be somewhat cautious given American-style soy sauce actually has wheat flour in it. Do any of you know if the hawker centers use gluten-free soy sauce (occasionally called Tamari Sauce)? We've been told it's a Western phenomenon to use wheat flour in soy sauce. Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

SQTraveller

Not safe for me to guarantee anything but you could try printing these cards in Chinese (Mandarin) and Malay.
http://www.celiactravel.com/cards/

However do note that they might just say "no problem" to make the sale or hurry on the line. The hawker stalls are fastfood and make money through turnover so try to catch them at a quieter time.

SQTraveller

IMG_5839 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

VIEW THE FOOD REPORT HERE AS WELL

La Brezza is the Italian restaurant the St Regis hotel. For those regular followers, you will notice that I have not been there yet. My personal preference would be to go to Yan Ting, because frankly the food is incredible there. I guess it’s because I just pre-suppose Italian food is just pizza. Because I don’t eat Italian food enough, I keep forgetting that quality really counts. This shouldn’t be a surprise really, because in most cases, if the quality of the raw materials, the quality of the chef is not good, then the output is likely to be rubbish. Also, it could just be that the instant image of pizza is something like Pizza Hut, which is a really bad example of Italian food. It really is faux Italian.

In a recent trip to Nice, I also experienced some really wonderful food, both French and Italian (see here for Restaurants in Nice).

This trip to La Brezza came about because I had referred someone to join the Supper Club the St Regis. You can find brief details at the bottom of this review. As a result of that referral I got a $50 voucher that was valid only at La Brezza.

IMG_9769 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

When my party arrived, there was already a table occupied, but they were eating a la carte by the looks of things. Because of this, I didn’t take a picture of the whole restaurant. It is quite a cosy little venue, and if it weren’t for the outside pool side terrace, you really wouldn’t be able to seat that many people.

There was also a nice tank to the side that housed some live lobsters. I thought it was pretty cute that they had a tank of seafood… more on

You can choose between sitting indoors or sitting on the pool side terrace. Because I’m not a huge fan of eating outside, especially when it comes to buffets, we went for a table indoors.

This event was the Barbecue Night which is every Friday from 7 – 10 pm.

We decided to opt out of the alcohol and just went for the basic bbq buffet menu for S$88.

SGD88++ per person (with complimentary coffee and tea)

SGD123++ per person (with complimentary flow of Prosecco D.O.C. Treviso, red and white wines, beers and soft drinks)

SGD143++ per person (with complimentary flow of Franciacorta D.O.C.G., red and white wines, beers and soft drinks)

SGD59++ per child (4 to 12 years old)

Lunch: 12noon to 3pm (Monday to Friday)
Dinner: 7pm to 10pm (Monday to Sunday)
Prosecco Brunch: 12noon to 3pm (Saturday and Sunday)
A la carte menu is available from 12noon to 10pm, daily.

Like many big buffets in Singapore, there is the obligatory cold seafood stand. This had many types of shellfish including prawns, lobster and oysters. At first I was pretty disappointed by the fact the lobsters ran out about an hour into the meal.

Now you remember that lobster tank I was referring to. Well as I was filling up my plate with various other food items, I saw a chef go to the tank and pick out a couple of lobsters. About 15 minutes later, there were more lobsters back on the ice!!

And there was me thinking that the tank was just there for decoration!

IMG_9773 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

The wide selection of antipasti. These were really delicious, just don’t get hung up on this part too early or else you won’t be able to enjoy the rest of the meal.

Actually, I completely avoided this section to begin with. I wanted to get the cold seafood and try out the grill before there was a queue! I do enjoy antipasti, but it can be quite filling.

IMG_9771 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

Cheese! Funnily enough, I have not been a huge cheese fan until very recently. And these really were delicious cheese. I particularly like soft cheese, but the hard cheeses they had here were pretty awesome too. The only one I didn’t try was the gorgonzola. It’s the obvious mould that puts me off, but one day I will get there!

IMG_9785 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

A really delicious selection of cold cuts. I just find they tend to fill me up way to easily because they have an intense flavour.

IMG_9776 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

I’ll be honest, I didn’t touch these. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with them, I just thought they were stomach fillers.

IMG_9781 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

A nice selection of bread, along with some torta.

IMG_9775 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

Other than the fact I had the S$50 voucher, the reason I chose Friday night was because it was BBQ night!

The BBQ pits are actually outside by the pool, so sitting indoors actually made more sense. I can imagine it getting a bit smokey if sat outside.

I got out here early because I thought there might be a queue. As those of you who have been to The Line at the Shangri La (see my review here) there can be queues to the most popular stations.

Not here. They are far more refined. You select what you want cooked. If it’s meat, how you want it cooked, and they will then deliver it to your table.

On offer from the bbq include

• seafood skewers
• seabass fillet
• Boston lobsters
• beef striploin
• rack of lamb
• chicken
• pork ribs
• snail sausage (this was not available for my visit)
• a variety of vegetables

IMG_9777 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

The bbq is charcoal, not one of these gas jobbies that you get when grilling indoors. Being outdoors means that they can get charcoal burning ��

Check out the chef’s tattoo!! I thought it might be a bit weird to ask for a close up!

IMG_9783 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

Inside the restaurant you get to watch the chefs prepare the food.

I guess some diners weren’t really ready to commit to the S$88 for the buffet, and so they went a la carte. I’m not sure how good it was, but still I always like watching my food being prepared.

IMG_9791 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

After stuffing your face with main course, you may forget that there is also desert available. Yes, that’s what happened to me. I totally forgot, but being the team player I am, the orders for desert went in.

On offer were:

• Tiramisu Veneziano
• Panna Cotta
• Zuppa Inglese (layered sponge)
• Salame di Cioccolata (dark chocolate)
• Cold Zabaglione
• Selection of homemade ice cream & sherbet

IMG_9798 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

IMG_9797 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

IMG_9799 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

IMG_9796 Globe Trekka, on Flickr

After this, would I come back? At the St Regis, this would lie in 3rd place, which Yang Ting being at the top, and La Brasserie occupying the middle.

However, I couldn’t eat at Yan Ting all the time (maybe I could). But I really enjoyed the BBQ so I might actually come back here before going to La Brasserie.


----
For those of you that are interested in joining the Supper Club the St Regis; here are some of the details You basically pay S$400 (+GST) and get S$400 in vouchers to be spent at Brasserie Les Saveurs, LaBrezza, Yan Ting, Drawing Room,and Astor Bar; plus 25% off the final bill.

Also, you get the following privileges:

• Wine Aficionado membership, which entitles you to savour wines of the world with leading vintages by the glass at Astor Bar.
• 10% off preferred room rates across all room categories
• 15% reduction from selected treatments at Reméde Spa

You can find me also on
YouTube
Instagram

And if you enjoyed this report I'd appreciate support if you'd follow my blog and me on youtube and instagram.
Thanks!!

SQTraveller

IMG_1832, on Flickr

VIEW THE FOOD REPORT HERE AS WELL

Other than Singapore, Lawry’s can also be found in Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, Chicago, Dallas, Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka and Seoul

It is so quiet, as it is as the far end of the Mandarin Gallery. If this didn’t have windows, you would never have thought that you were on Orchard Road.

The actual restaurant is pretty sizeable. When you first walk in you are transported to a different time. It really does look like it’s from the Gatsby era. You can see a bar in the background and also a lot of wine in the wine fridge. None for me today.

IMG_1831, on Flickr

We were among the first to arrive. The photo above is actually on the way out as there were a lot of service staff moving around at the beginning getting everything in place.

Maybe I’m just to old fashioned. I find, in Singapore generally, that at these restaurants people turn up under dressed. I saw people in shorts and flip flops. I supposed, it is on Orchard and someone tourists probably just wander in off the street. That’s the way the world works I guess.

Anyway, back to our experience. Once they had sat us down, they handed us menus. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo of the main menu, and I am kicking myself for forgetting. I can’t remember the exact pricing but it wasn’t cheap!!!

Once they took our orders, they informed us that they would first serve us the salad. As described on their website “A blend of crisp Romaine, baby Spinach, shredded Beets, chopped Eggs and Croutons, tossed with our exclusive Vintage dressing in a salad bowl spun on a bed of ice“.

IMG_1820 (2), on Flickr

While the server is preparing the salad, she describes the ingredients in the order they are added. I guess the idea being that by keeping the salad on ice, the lettuce stays nice as crisp. And I must say, it was one of the nicest salads I’ve had. The dressing was basically thousand island, but for some reason tasted really really creamy.

IMG_1822, on Flickr

Shortly after we finished the salad, the staff cleaned our plates and finally, the main event turned up!!

Lawry’s calls this The Silver Cart. You get the drama of table side service with the cart, and allows for a rib to be cut to your liking while you are watching. Apparently these aren’t cheap, and cost about the price of a Cadillac.

IMG_1824, on Flickr

This is actually the reason I selected Lawry’s for the dinner. It’s great to bring a bit of showbiz to the proceedings. And wow. What a piece of beef this is. I believe this is called the Lawry’s. And the way all the beef is served here is right off the rib. That means you get none of the other cuts, just rib cuts. Which are really really tasty. In fact the words that were used were “this is some of the best beef I have ever eaten, including the rest ones we ate in Argentina last year”.

IMG_1825, on Flickr

Alongside the rib, they also served a very very big Yorkshire pudding. It was really tasty and very light as well. I would say though that it also greasy. Those of you who know a thing or two about Yorkshire puds, the greasiness is normal. I just felt it was a tiny bit more greasy than I have been used to when eating them in the UK.

IMG_1827, on Flickr

One of our party decided not to have beef and instead had a prawn and fish. It really was only one prawn. While the dish was tasty, it was a bit disappointing in terms of amount of prawns and fish. I thought they could have at least served two prawns. Really what they were doing was putting the bed of fries to make it look like more than it really was.

IMG_1829, on Flickr

After the meat, we were just too full to eat anything else. So desert went out of the window.

All that was left was to pay and head off. We headed downstairs to the Mandarin Orchard. The short walk did us some good, and took a taxi from the hotel taxi rank.

Now, would I come back here? Sure the food was good, but I’d like to try some other beef places if I am being pushed to go for more cow meat … So, no. I probably wouldn’t come back. Unless of course I wanted a bit of pizzazz in my meal.

Tel: +65 6836 3333
Lawry’s The Prime Rib, Singapore, #04-01/31 Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Rd, 238897
http://www.lawrys.com.sg/


You can find me also on
YouTube
Instagram

And if you enjoyed this report I'd appreciate support if you'd follow my blog and me on youtube and instagram.

NetNathan

The Seafood Buffet at the Crown Plaza near the airport is very good.
S$55 Lunch
S$65 Dinner

I got 20% off being IHG Platinum Elite and staying there.

Boraxo

Great thread and great photos!

So where would I find "Singapore Noodles" - this was my favorite dish at a hole-in-the-wall joint in Washington DC, but not sure what the equivalent might be here?