Ms Skinnyfat

A Food & Travel Blog from Singapore

Weekender Food Mania Awards- International Buffet

By Wednesday, July 13, 2016 , , , , ,

Buffets be the death of waistline and 6 packs! Honestly I'm still recovering from the massive eating from the Weekender Food Mania Awards and we tried as much as we could from the buffet stations at Mezza9 (Grand Hyatt), Marriott Cafe (Marriott Singapore Tang Plaza), and AquaMarine (Mandarin Oriental). BTW results are out and congrats to Mezza9 for clinching the top spot in this judging! 

Mezza9 Sunday Champagne Brunch Grand Hyatt- 10 Scotts Road Singapore 228211
If you're looking for an indulgent and quality buffet, then you certainly ought to have Mezza9 on your list. Their Sunday Champagne brunch is one to behold with fresh and delicious treats from a variety of cuisines. Seafood is obviously fresh and they are also from a sustainable source. Talk about yummy responsible eating. 
I was superbly impressed with the Japanese section. The sushi and sashimi beats most mid range Japanese restaurants! Plus there's also a live yakitori station that serves up smoky morsels of goodness.
From The Grill, make sure you grab that delicious buttery short rib that falls off the bone! Loved that nice caramel flavor and char that is Cantonese charsiew-like! The lamb chops are one of the best I've tasted here and the pairing with the mint chutney was a match made in heaven. Chinese food was decent too but the chili crab was too starchy for our liking.
Save space for desserts because we loved everything. Those crunchy tartlets, lychee cake, chocolate mousse, tiramisu terrines and more! While it may be pricey ($148 for basic Perrier- Jouet Grand Brut Champagne with wines, beers, and some cocktails), i guarantee that it's worth every penny. The basic champagne option is only $20 more than the non-alcohol option, so yes, get the bubbly! 

Marriott Cafe Marriott Singapore Tang Plaza- 320 Orchard Road, Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel Singapore 238865
In second spot, we have Marriott Cafe at Marriott Singapore Tang Plaza. It's the smallest set up among the 3 buffets we judged, but we were satisfied with most of the food items. Plus it's priced from only $70 for their dinner buffet! You can taste a variety of wines from their enomatic dispenser should you require a drink or 2.
The seafood and sashimi selection was disappointing though. There's the usual oyster, snow crabs, cray fish and prawns. Thick slices of salmon were welcomed but that tuna was of low quality. Skip these and head for the hot food.
Meat lovers would dig the selection of meats here. The Pork cheek with fruits were crispy bites coated with plumy Christmas flavors and we approve of the well braised tender Beef Cheeks, and Lamb cooked in a tangy Tuscany style
Of course, if you don't already know, the Crispy Pork Saddle with Pancetta Prune and Mixed Herbs is a highlight here! Just look at that glorious beast. Make sure you pair it with the apple puree! The Chinese roasts are also from the resident Chinese Restaurant Wan Hao

For carbs, if you're lucky, you'll get to dig into the super umami Paella in prawn stock, which is full of succulent prawns, squid, and mussels. I also enjoyed the comforting lasagne with tons of meat sauce (Chef is Italian you know).  

There's also local Asian dishes like the Singapore Chilli Crab (it was too diluted and sour for my liking), Chicken Rice, or noodle soup. The desserts fell so flat for us- imagine dry kueh-ish Sticky Date Pudding; generic cakes that only tastes of sugar; and Walls type of ice cream. The a la minute Crepe Suzette were way thick and dry and the bread butter pudding was so dense. 

Marriott Cafe is good for savory dishes, especially if you love meats, but take your dessert tummy elsewhere.


AquaMarine Marina Mandarin Hotel- 6 Raffles BoulevardMarina Square Singapore 039594
What's special about AquaMarine is that it is one of the few Halal certified buffets in Singapore. While there is a mix of local, Asian, and international cuisines available, the local and Malay dishes fared the best. I could stop eating the tender and juicy satay and the beef rendang also satisfying (but could have more lemak). I'll also add on the White Rojak, otah, and keropok to the mix!
There's a good selection of seafood (more varied than Mariott Cafe) and i went straight for the Alaskan King Crab. Yes i know it's frozen but it's still sufficiently tasty. The prawns were very sweet and fresh too. The same can't be said of their sashimi but well they serve scallops! 

Other dishes include Chili (meh) or Black Pepper Crabs, as well as live stations with Roast Beef or Lamb are also served. 
For desserts, the malay kuehs performed the best again, but the cakes and others were decent (much better than Marriott in fact). If you love durian, don't miss the Durian Pengat! Kids can have fun with the froyo self service machine! Heh.. 

The dinner buffet at AquaMarine is priced at $70/80 per pax (half price for kids).


So yes.. done with all that eating. No more buffets.. till next week. SOBS. Which is your favorite buffet? Do tell us!


You Might Also Like

0 comments

Comments