Yet another buffet for the year! The last count I did, maybe once every month...anyhow, I dragged the newfound foodies to another Christmas buffet, high tea this time, following Carlton's Christmas Prelude.
I've not been to Hotel Rendezvous for food of late, the last visit was a couple of years back to this Indian restaurant on level 2.
I made reservations at 3pm, they weren't ready yet...so we made a beeline in true Singaporean style.
We were there for the Christmas Menu!
Table setting...our goblets were filled rather quickly throughout.
We started our rounds of pigging out almost as soon as we sat down...here goes in order!
Appetizers
On the plate (L-R); smoked salmon open face sandwich, cheese, spicy seafood salad, grilled zucchini, prawn, mussel, turkey!
Spicy seafood salad
I was drawn to it by the rich orange hue it had..too artificial crunch its got.
Grilled Zucchini Salad
Normal...
Seafood corner: Prawns/Mussels/Octopus with thai sauce
Prawns are fresh! Mussels were alright...pity I didn't have stomach space for more than 1 of each. :( The company was smart enough to load up on the seafood before anything else!
The octopus was supposedly too bland.
Cheese Platter
Somehow too hard...
Turkey with cranberry sauce
Sliced turkey...that tasted more like chicken.
Rojak!
Make your own salad: Rojak/Caesar Salad
I tried making my own rojak with cucumber, turnip, pineapple and loads of fried doughsticks...pity there's no prawn paste to go with this delicacy. I wonder why hotels don't add in the usual kangkong and beansprouts to complete the dish? Tastes average, the pineapple cubes were apparently too hard.
Mains
Minced meat Bak Chor Mee
It was a daily special that fell flat with an overload of sauce. Something new though on the buffet table!
Sashimi selection (Tuna/Salmon)
Badly cut sashimi...but slurpworthy!
On the plate (L-R); Softshell crab sushi, cold tofu, cha soba, eel with soba and smoked salmon with rockets.
Sushi selection
Another place that offers soft shell crab sushi and california rolls...different from the usual tamago/tuna sushi.
Cold Tofu
Enjoyed the cold slab with miso sauce. The sauce was slightly on the sweet side.
Eel with soba / Cha Soba
The noodles for both are too soft, but a refreshing addition to the buffet table!
Smoked Salmon
My usual fave..:) I added that to the open faced sandwich I made with the toast, with egg salad and tuna.
Laksa
Award-winning it is! And yes, it is really good, sinful and solid. Comparable to Katong Laksa according to the laksa fans. I slurped it up greedily. The gravy's got enough spice in it...divine.
On the plate (L-R); crispy octopus balls, pad thai, siew mai
Fried octopus ball/Tempura Selection
The tempura was not fried on the spot, resulting in them being cold and lacking in crisp
Dimsum (Siew mai, crystal dumpling, lotus paste pau)
Tastes like your typical "thaw and microwave" category of food...I didn't mind the lotus paste pau!
Pad Thai
Awfully flat in taste.
On the plate (L-R); chwee kuay, lotus paste pau, crystal dumpling, oyster egg, tempura selection
Chwee Kuay
The ricecake and cai bo somehow tasted very instant..
Lotus Paste Pau
Yummy and soft!
Crystal dumpling
Ordinary
Oyster omelette
Nowhere near the taiwanese delicacy, the oysters are fine...the gooey mixture that sends waves of satisfaction was reduced to a soft, tasteless grey mass. The chilli's good!
On the plate (L-R); Khong bak pau, sasauge pastry, chicken drumlet, chicken satay
Chicken Satay
Pity it wasn't hot when I ate it.
Khong Bak Pau with pork
This surprised me. The white fluffy pau was accompanied by slices of roast pork and gravy that reminded me of roast duck/pork ones...totally funny combination but on its own, it's passable.
Grilled chicken drumlets
Boring and not tasty.
Sausage pastry
No major comments about this.
On the plate (L-R); Fish masala, mushroom cups
Fish
Done masala style...I didn't like this.
Mushroom pastry
Fill your own mushroom cups! Interesting idea. The diced mushrooms were a tad creamy, tasted like mushroom soup with chunks of mushrooms.
On the plate (L-R), Apple pastry, Jam pastry, Croissant, Open faced sandwich
Open face smoked salmon sandwich
Yum!
Bread corner (Croissants/Bread/Muffins/Apple turnover/Jam turnover/Make your own sandwich with cheese/tuna/egg)
Their baked goods are pretty decent!
Abalone and chicken porridge
Shellfish it is. Overall tasted like your Grandma's porridge, traditional and chockful of ingredients.
Popiah
Skin too thick...
Desserts
On the plate (L-R); Durian pengat in a shooter, durian fudge cake, durian eclair, durian logcake
Durian Fudge Cake
I'm no durian fan..but for their Durian Fudge cake, I am sold. I tucked into one and a half slices of this decadent treat! The puree's so smooth, the cake's not sweet...I can just sit and polish off the cake, if not for the rest of the food! It's on sale for $42++ per cake.
Durian Logcake
Comparatively, this logcake paled in comparison in taste. Blander than the fudge cake without any hint of durian.
Durian Pengat
Oohlala! I slurped down two glasses happily. Thick durian pengat with a slight bittersweet aftertaste. I've found another source of durian delights apart from Goodwood!
Durian eclair
As bland as the logcake.
On the plate (L-R); Sour Berry Compote, pineapple turnover, christmas cake, butter cake, christmas cookie, bread pudding
Christmas cookies
The marzipan in the cookies are a little overpowering, the cookie dough itself isn't fragrant.
Butter cake/Christmas cake/Pineapple turnover
All three are moist and delicious. The first Christmas cake that isn't hard, too soft perhaps. I didn't fancy the pineapple turnover however.
Bread and Butter Pudding
Ack. Not my kinda bread pudding.
Sour berry compote
Too sour!
Brownie
Bh polished two of them at a go! She claimed they're really good.
Gelato with choice of sprinkles
Flavours up for grabs are...vanilla, strawberry and raspberry. I favoured raspberry sorbet best. The rest had ice shavings in them. :(
Beancurd soup with peanuts
Warms the stomach nicely..the bean curd's way smooth! The pals were commenting Selegie beancurd's just round the corner.
Here's a peak at the buffet area!
Noodle live stations!
Slurpworthy!
Desserts galore!
My favourite durian fudge!
Durian Pengat
Service is prompt and friendly. Plates were cleared quite quickly at the beginning..but somehow with the crowd, it slowed down. We ended up with the table full of plates at some point.
Range of food is wide, pretty impressed with the number of "DIY counters" and live stations they've got! Makes eating all the more interactive and interesting. Taste-wise, hits and misses there are, at least from the appetizers till desserts, there are a couple of notable mentions!
I am pleasantly surprised with the quality of food that Hotel Rendezvous has to offer, especially in the department of durian...all along I was under the impression that only Goodwood and Ellenbourough are the two that offers the King of Fruit!
It's one of those buffets that's worth the while, and probably a hidden gem. :)
3-for-2 promotion with DBS
Straits Cafe
Hotel Rendezvous
I've not been to Hotel Rendezvous for food of late, the last visit was a couple of years back to this Indian restaurant on level 2.
I made reservations at 3pm, they weren't ready yet...so we made a beeline in true Singaporean style.
We were there for the Christmas Menu!
Table setting...our goblets were filled rather quickly throughout.
We started our rounds of pigging out almost as soon as we sat down...here goes in order!
Appetizers
On the plate (L-R); smoked salmon open face sandwich, cheese, spicy seafood salad, grilled zucchini, prawn, mussel, turkey!
Spicy seafood salad
I was drawn to it by the rich orange hue it had..too artificial crunch its got.
Grilled Zucchini Salad
Normal...
Seafood corner: Prawns/Mussels/Octopus with thai sauce
Prawns are fresh! Mussels were alright...pity I didn't have stomach space for more than 1 of each. :( The company was smart enough to load up on the seafood before anything else!
The octopus was supposedly too bland.
Cheese Platter
Somehow too hard...
Turkey with cranberry sauce
Sliced turkey...that tasted more like chicken.
Rojak!
Make your own salad: Rojak/Caesar Salad
I tried making my own rojak with cucumber, turnip, pineapple and loads of fried doughsticks...pity there's no prawn paste to go with this delicacy. I wonder why hotels don't add in the usual kangkong and beansprouts to complete the dish? Tastes average, the pineapple cubes were apparently too hard.
Mains
Minced meat Bak Chor Mee
It was a daily special that fell flat with an overload of sauce. Something new though on the buffet table!
Sashimi selection (Tuna/Salmon)
Badly cut sashimi...but slurpworthy!
On the plate (L-R); Softshell crab sushi, cold tofu, cha soba, eel with soba and smoked salmon with rockets.
Sushi selection
Another place that offers soft shell crab sushi and california rolls...different from the usual tamago/tuna sushi.
Cold Tofu
Enjoyed the cold slab with miso sauce. The sauce was slightly on the sweet side.
Eel with soba / Cha Soba
The noodles for both are too soft, but a refreshing addition to the buffet table!
Smoked Salmon
My usual fave..:) I added that to the open faced sandwich I made with the toast, with egg salad and tuna.
Laksa
Award-winning it is! And yes, it is really good, sinful and solid. Comparable to Katong Laksa according to the laksa fans. I slurped it up greedily. The gravy's got enough spice in it...divine.
On the plate (L-R); crispy octopus balls, pad thai, siew mai
Fried octopus ball/Tempura Selection
The tempura was not fried on the spot, resulting in them being cold and lacking in crisp
Dimsum (Siew mai, crystal dumpling, lotus paste pau)
Tastes like your typical "thaw and microwave" category of food...I didn't mind the lotus paste pau!
Pad Thai
Awfully flat in taste.
On the plate (L-R); chwee kuay, lotus paste pau, crystal dumpling, oyster egg, tempura selection
Chwee Kuay
The ricecake and cai bo somehow tasted very instant..
Lotus Paste Pau
Yummy and soft!
Crystal dumpling
Ordinary
Oyster omelette
Nowhere near the taiwanese delicacy, the oysters are fine...the gooey mixture that sends waves of satisfaction was reduced to a soft, tasteless grey mass. The chilli's good!
On the plate (L-R); Khong bak pau, sasauge pastry, chicken drumlet, chicken satay
Chicken Satay
Pity it wasn't hot when I ate it.
Khong Bak Pau with pork
This surprised me. The white fluffy pau was accompanied by slices of roast pork and gravy that reminded me of roast duck/pork ones...totally funny combination but on its own, it's passable.
Grilled chicken drumlets
Boring and not tasty.
Sausage pastry
No major comments about this.
On the plate (L-R); Fish masala, mushroom cups
Fish
Done masala style...I didn't like this.
Mushroom pastry
Fill your own mushroom cups! Interesting idea. The diced mushrooms were a tad creamy, tasted like mushroom soup with chunks of mushrooms.
On the plate (L-R), Apple pastry, Jam pastry, Croissant, Open faced sandwich
Open face smoked salmon sandwich
Yum!
Bread corner (Croissants/Bread/Muffins/Apple turnover/Jam turnover/Make your own sandwich with cheese/tuna/egg)
Their baked goods are pretty decent!
Abalone and chicken porridge
Shellfish it is. Overall tasted like your Grandma's porridge, traditional and chockful of ingredients.
Popiah
Skin too thick...
Desserts
On the plate (L-R); Durian pengat in a shooter, durian fudge cake, durian eclair, durian logcake
Durian Fudge Cake
I'm no durian fan..but for their Durian Fudge cake, I am sold. I tucked into one and a half slices of this decadent treat! The puree's so smooth, the cake's not sweet...I can just sit and polish off the cake, if not for the rest of the food! It's on sale for $42++ per cake.
Durian Logcake
Comparatively, this logcake paled in comparison in taste. Blander than the fudge cake without any hint of durian.
Durian Pengat
Oohlala! I slurped down two glasses happily. Thick durian pengat with a slight bittersweet aftertaste. I've found another source of durian delights apart from Goodwood!
Durian eclair
As bland as the logcake.
On the plate (L-R); Sour Berry Compote, pineapple turnover, christmas cake, butter cake, christmas cookie, bread pudding
Christmas cookies
The marzipan in the cookies are a little overpowering, the cookie dough itself isn't fragrant.
Butter cake/Christmas cake/Pineapple turnover
All three are moist and delicious. The first Christmas cake that isn't hard, too soft perhaps. I didn't fancy the pineapple turnover however.
Bread and Butter Pudding
Ack. Not my kinda bread pudding.
Sour berry compote
Too sour!
Brownie
Bh polished two of them at a go! She claimed they're really good.
Gelato with choice of sprinkles
Flavours up for grabs are...vanilla, strawberry and raspberry. I favoured raspberry sorbet best. The rest had ice shavings in them. :(
Beancurd soup with peanuts
Warms the stomach nicely..the bean curd's way smooth! The pals were commenting Selegie beancurd's just round the corner.
Here's a peak at the buffet area!
Noodle live stations!
Slurpworthy!
Desserts galore!
My favourite durian fudge!
Durian Pengat
Service is prompt and friendly. Plates were cleared quite quickly at the beginning..but somehow with the crowd, it slowed down. We ended up with the table full of plates at some point.
Range of food is wide, pretty impressed with the number of "DIY counters" and live stations they've got! Makes eating all the more interactive and interesting. Taste-wise, hits and misses there are, at least from the appetizers till desserts, there are a couple of notable mentions!
I am pleasantly surprised with the quality of food that Hotel Rendezvous has to offer, especially in the department of durian...all along I was under the impression that only Goodwood and Ellenbourough are the two that offers the King of Fruit!
It's one of those buffets that's worth the while, and probably a hidden gem. :)
3-for-2 promotion with DBS
Straits Cafe
Hotel Rendezvous
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