Thursday, January 24, 2013

Best Hi Tea buffet at local 5 * hotel? - Part 2

Continue from Part 1

Rank #4
L’Espresso

I've visited this place 3 times! I had a pleasant time when I first visited in Mar 2011, went back two months later with another group of friends. We loved the food & services there..

However, when we went back in Jul 2012, the menu has changed and all of us felt that the food standard has dropped. Their service level maintained though...very warm and friendly and professional! I hope they will review their menu soon.

The location, at Goodwood Park hotel lobby level beside the swimming pool. Al fresco dining is also available at the poolside.








The spread on my first visit...delish finger food, premium ingredient like foie gras, parma ham, unagi and caviar was used.






The spread on my last visit...no more foie gras and unagi...sigh..







Out of the 3 visits, 2 were birthday celebration events, the restaurant manager always serves us yummy durian cakes as complimentary birthday cake from the famous Deli shop beside the lobby. Thumbs up for the service!



Operating Hours: 10am – midnight

Lunch: 12 – 2pm
Dinner: 6pm – 10.30pm

English Afternoon Tea:
(Mon – Thurs) 2pm – 5.30pm
(Fri – Sun & PH) 12 – 2.30pm (1st seating), 3pm – 5.30pm (2nd seating)

Dim Sum & Sips: 6pm – 10.30pm

For reservations or enquiries, please call 6730 1743


Rank #5
Marriott Cafe

Several of us bought a deal voucher to dine here at a discounted price. The actual cafe was under refurbishment so they set up a temp cafe at level 2. Not much of an ambiance to talk about...




The spread was an international lunch buffet style, no English tea served by the pot here. Some of the local dishes were pretty tasty, I liked the laksa and the chicken rice. There was a limited range of desserts on offer...all of them looks uninspiring...my friends who ate some said it tasted blah..





Service was a tad slow at peak hour...but acceptable. The new cafe has since reopened in 2012. They have revamped their buffet menu so items posted here may not be available now.


Opening hours:

Breakfast - 6.00am to 11.00am

Lunch - 12.00noon to 2.30pm

High Tea - 3.00pm to 5.30pm

Dinner - 6.30pm to 10.00pm

Reservations: (65) 6831 4605


Rank #6
ChiHuly Lounge 

We were looking forward to this cos Ritz Carlton is a 6* hotel...the Hi Tea price isn't cheap so naturally our expectations were high. So why did it get a ranking of 6/7? Read on...

Ambiance...passed! Modern, chic and luxuriously decorated lounge with high glass ceiling letting in a lot of natural lighting. Crockery used here spells atas too...





But everything good ends here....the food served here was mostly blah tasting...a handful of the tastier dishes were snapped up fast and the replenishment speed is super slow! The huge selections of colorful desserts were only nice to look at...but tasted of pure sugar and coloring and nothing else! Most of the desserts tasted disgusting...no less.







Service was a little slow but warm and friendly, our drinks took quite a while to be served. Nothing much else to talk about here...


Open daily from 9:30 a.m. - 1 a.m.

Traditional Afternoon Tea  
Monday to Friday - from 2:30 - 5 p.m.

Weekend Afternoon Tea buffet from 2:30 - 5 p.m.

Cocktails and bar bites available daily from 11 a.m. - 12 midnight

For information and reservations, please call 6434 5288



Rank #7
10 Scotts

Coming in at last place, a recently revamped cafe at hotel Grand Hyatt. It was a huge let down....despite charging the same price as 6* Ritz Carlton, this place failed us big time! We were initially so looking forward to dine there due to good reviews on food and some of our friends who visited there once on a less busy weekday raved about their service. 

Ambiance of the dining area was a nice and cozy setting, it was designed like a family home with comfy sofa and coffee tables...feels like a lodge retreat actually. But on a busy Sunday afternoon, nobody makes you feel like home there. Everything good also ends here, the nice decor.





Food & drinks were served after long delays (say 45mins wait)...refills takes forever, items were not complete (our tray was missing the cheesy tartlet, scones were not served), they tasted blah...even their signatures dishes didn't wow us a tiny bit. For the extra dollars you pay for the weekend price, assorted maki and chinese duck rolls were served at the buffet station...maki was wipped out and wasn't replenished till an hour later, duck rolls...i would say the duck died in vain...nothing much else wow us from the buffet station either.







The only consolation was the dessert station...although not a big spread, they actually tasted good accept for the overly sweet pineapple crumble..everything else was fine.



My friends who recommended this place were so disappointed on the big gap in level of service compared to their weekday experiences. I hereby attached some of their blogs for whoever is interested to find out more on what happened.


My blog


One word of caution...go at your own risk.

Operation Hours:
High Tea: 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm, Monday to Sunday
A la carte/All-day cocktails: 12:00 pm to 11:00 pm, Monday to Sunday 

Reservations:
Please call +65 6732 1234, email 10Scotts.sg@hyatt.com 
or book online at singapore.grand.hyattrestaurants.com


There you are, that sums up my (not very humble) opinions on the local hi tea buffets from various 5* hotels.



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