Cafebiz @ Trader's Hotel

Chinese New Year has to be the bane of the health conscious and boon to the food-crazed. I'm torn between the two, which camp I belong to. Amongst the string of 8/9/10 course chinese meals, having a buffet is different and either clogs the system more or pleases the palette continuously with the wide variety.

Trader's by Shangri-La this year!

Smoked Salmon

Smoked and savoury, good enough for me to put together a sandwich to munch.



Potato Salad

Ordinary.



Smoked Duck with Jellyfish

Appetising combination.



Cheese Selection

Who moved my cheese? I can never help but put in the famous phrase.

To put it simply, I am a fan of cheese in any form...packaged like kraft, blocks or molten racclette or...cheese fondue...or....cheesecake!


Ham with Chickpeas

A daring marriage of indian and western elements.



Oysters

Slurpworthy with thai chilli sauce, tabasco and lemon to go.



Mussels

Ahhh, my favourite shelled friends.



Scallops

Frozen and bland.



Cold Prawns

Why did I ever stop at one serving?



Boston Lobster

It could be the "lobster" or "Boston" that made this a snatch-worthy item. Each time it reappeared, the happiness was shortlived.

Think firm, succulent, fresh...crayfish. Won't say it tasted like lobster but good enough an alternative. Just looking at the roe kills me.



Snow Crab

Oversoaked in brine.



Hawaii Pizza Tomato Pizza

A pity these were lukewarm, bread was bland with the equally lacklustre ingredients.



Carbs in buffets are major major major no-nos. BUT, the loaves of bread looked fresh off the oven..the toaster was just near by...the tub of herbed butter...

So, I committed the cardinal sin.

Rare to find kopitiam bread at buffets, cottony soft with crusty edges.



Har Gao

I don't expect much from buffets whose main focus isn't dimsum and sure enough, the har gao was just edible.



Char Siew Sou

Surprisingly, a different story put together for the char siew sous! Buttery, flaky and meaty...a thinner pastry would have been ideal.



Char Siew Pau

Another that did not disappoint, which I stuffed another down!



Kueh Pie Tee

The shells were more palatable than the fillings.



Cha Soba

Soggy beyond comprehension.



Green Apple Salad

Refreshing salad.



Hoso Maki

Decent sushi!



Vegetable Platter

I don't remember any being particularly outstanding from the platter of raw/pickled/blanched vegetables.


Clear Fish Soup with Garlic Bread

Dory fish was used in this tasty clear soup.



Complimentary Yusheng

We brought it upon ourselves for being too greedy despite the warning by the waitress. Too much oil and honey on the decent yusheng. A nice move by Trader's to include Yusheng as part of their festive menu.



Pan-fried Fish Fillets on Kumquat and Ginger Cream

Not too bad.



Marinated Chicken with Glazed Pineapple Ratatouille

Seasoning was too sweet.



Braised Rice Stick with Sliced Mushroom and Chicken

An unlikely favourite! An oriental take on the korean hotseller, tteok. Delicious!



Boiled Potato in Butter Sauce

Red-capped potatoes have more bite, a must eat at every salad bar for me.



Roasted Lamb Leg with Rosemary Sauce

Dislike how the mint sauce is too acidic and the lamb on the tough side.



Braised Xi'An Traditional Duck Stewed with Tau Kwa and Egg

A traditional dish well done by Cafebiz. The braised flavours fully permeated into the meat and tau kwa...I usually head for the wings that absorb all the flavours and still retaining the bite.



Black Pepper Crab

Better than the frozen crab, adore how the meat is succulent and firm.



Sweet and Sour Prawn

Forgettable.



Vegetable Au Gratin

A huge sin here but cream vegetables are yum.


BBQ-to-order: Chicken Wings

The kitchen folks kindly helped us barbeque the wings and came over the skewers of them. Did not get to try but judging from the table's response, was quite finger licking good.



Indian Curries (Cottage Cheese, Chick peas, Egg plants)

Cafebiz is one such place that does more than decent Indian food, without all of them tasting the same which is a mistake that most buffet places commit.

Must try, must try...please try!



Papadum with a variety of sauces
Garlic Cheese Naan

Not a papadum lover but I liked it enough. The Naan was delicious, the fluff, the chew...I ended up using it to mop up the remaining curry on the plate.



Off the grill: Vegetables, Prawns

I love all things smoked, for the fragrance in particular and food tastes more natural that way with minimal seasoning.



Noodle Soup

Another stunner. Simple blanching of noodles and pouring of soup over...but tastes really good! Springy noodles with a homecooked broth, simple pleasures.



Laksa

Probably won't rival the famous Katong Laksa but this lemak favourite got me drinking the gravy.



Hor Fun

A hawker favourite done right once again! Enough wok hei in the well charred kuay teow though it's still just pouring of gravy over. By now, I was already sold on Cafebiz's local favourites.



Roastmeat platter (Roast Pork, Roast Duck)

By now, I am sold on their quality of hawker food served up. Heck the carcinogens for this delish platter. Where's my bowl of steaming white rice to go with it?




We probably troubled the chef too much that night. A skewer of beef next!



All for the lady, loving the pink! All I can say is...pass me my Djon Mustard.



Courtesy of the kitchen once again.



Garlic and Egg Fried Rice

Oxymoron-ly plain tasting colourful rice.



Sliced Beef with Duo Fungus in XO Sauce

Ok, was all I remembered.



Tarts (Cherry, Pear)

Tasted quite the same save for the fruits, sweet curd on a limp tart base.



CNY Cookies

I saw them macarons and they were gone in a poof before I laid my tongs on them. Crumbly biscuits though obviously leftover I indulged in them all the same.



Kueh Bakar, Butter Cake

The kueh bakar was dense and almost impenetrable, butter cake was normal.



Tiramisu

One of the better tiramisus without the soaking wet mascapone fingers! They replaced it with a layer of crunchy praline...



Creme Brulee Pudding

Like almond pudding with a slight more wobble and without the flavouring.



Gui Lin Gao at a buffet is a first! Liked the bitter aftertaste, without tasting too much like grass jelly.

Guava Panna Cotta was like dense tofu coloured pink.

Tiramisu shooter, I prefer the cake.



Durian Pengat

Pleased the table's worth of durian lovers, thick, rich and bitter.



Desserts in glasses always appeal because of their petite portions but many a time, they barely leave a mark on the tastebuds, like those above.



Muah Chee

Soft chewy delights...I lost count how many rounds of this I had.



Fried Nian Gao

Surprise find! Done the way the Mom would have without the tempura batter though. Glad that it was not overly sweet, with a slice of sweet potato too!



Icecream Selection (Coconut, Vanilla, Coffee, Strawberry, Yam)

Magnolia icecream for the local flavours.



Nothing spectacular, despite it being more than passe...chocolate fondue still creates a slight stir at all buffets.



Great for digestion!



Tau Suan

All starch but...the local girl says "Aye!".



Waffles

Certified the best way to end a meal inspite of the inconsistent standard of waffles.

Those that I failed to attempt;

Four Treasure Hot & Sour Soup
Squid Assam Bedas
Stir Fried Kailan with Straw Mushrooms

In all burpworthyness, the buffet was indeed a job well done by the kitchen on the local favourites. A gf commented it's better than The Line's and I concur. The last visit was substandard for various reasons but for now, Cafebiz is ranked higher than The Line.

$55.80++ (Festive menu, otherwise $50++)

CafeBiz
Trader's Hotel