Aquamarine was fully booked for weeks and in situations like these, I made reservations an alarming one month in advance. With such a hyped up start, I was expecting it to be bells and whistles kind of good. This meal was concluded end June so I am really not sure if the booking situation is still as horrific.
Wild Mushroom Soup with Croutons
Watered down but still well flavoured.
Sour and Spicy Soup
This packed a mighty punch, whetted the appetite so much more.
Spicy Jellyfish
Wedding dinner material.
Potato Salad
Hard potatoes, possibly the most tragic salad made out of potatoes.
Duck Salad
Ahh, nice! Thinly sliced duck breast meat tossed in tangy sauce, finally a decent one.
Fruit Salad
Methinks over riped fruits were used.
Pasta Salad
Ordinary.
Rojak
No major danger to rojak hawkers, chilli paste or even prawn paste would have done the job.
Cheese selection (Boursin, Camembert, Brie)
Cheese never fails to brighten the day, boursin was a personal favourite for its dense milk taste.
Bread Selection (Onion Loaf, Olive Roll, Baguette, Sour Dough bread, Bread sticks, Crackers)
It was a random by the way pickup but the breads proved worthy of seconds despite the carb levels. Well done job by the bread chefs, the onion loaf shaped like a croissant was oh-so-good fragrant and soft, would have been divine had it been warm. Olive roll won much praise from me though it is acquired. Crackers were gone too fast...with such an exciting bread basket, I did not need churned butter for enjoyment.
Sushi selection
Rice was too soft, though credit has to be given to the kitchen for trying to dish up a wide variety.
Chawanmushi
Not too bad!
This got the diners and chefs moving, possibly the only counter that had constant refills.
Seafood Selection (Prawns, Mussels, Clams, Crabs, Oysters)
Tuck in on the oysters to make the money's worth. Fresh, slurpworthy and so very yummylicious. Do not bother with the rest.
Roast Lamb
Tough and gamey.
Braised Tofu
Tasted the way it should right off a tingkat dinner.
Teriyaki Chicken
Ok, this is yummy.
Fish Curry
Forget about it.
Fried Rice
Bland.
Keropok
Crunch, crunch, crunch...majorly addictive! Pity they did not have chilli jam to go with this.
Wok Fried crunchy Cabbage with Dried Chilli
The greatest irony on the dining table. For one, it was not crunchy, almost soggy. Two, it was fried to a certain black that it appeared grey. Three, spicy it was barely despite dried chilli being tossed in.
Dory Fillet with Cream Sauce
Nothing to yell about.
Barbequed Selections (Roast Chicken, Roast Pork)
Decent take on the grill.
Yong Tau Foo
For the health conscious but was on the plain side.
Crabcake Fritters with Chilli Jam
Another worth doing a double take on!
Fishball Curry
Lacked the spicyness.
Hongkong fried noodle
O-r-d-i-n-a-r-y.
Briyani with curries (Lamb, Fish, Chicken)
Ok, this proved to be a hit in all ways deserving. Fluffy spiced rice and equally delish curries, you seriously question what went wrong with all the other dishes.
Apple Crumble with Vanilla Sauce
Baked a weebit too long, this was dry though apples were still juicy!
Shooters (Beeramisu, Raspberry Mousse, Chocolate Mousse, Durian Pengat)
Beeramisu instead of the usual tiramisu. This had a rich chocolate biscotti balanced on top. Beeramisu...had a tinge of sourness. Not quite the cream-alcohol-cake combination though.
Aquamarine's durian pengat was paired with corn, somehow I prefer durian pengat neat. Any other toppings tend to mar and confuse the flavours.
Selection of Nonya Kuehs
A great pity that the tier of Nonya Kuehs was not refilled, they were soooooo scrumptious! Every item on the tier tasted sooo good, putting to shame the rest of the sub-par food of the day.
Ondeh Ondeh, Kueh Dadar, Harum Manis, Kueh Salat, Lapis Sagu..sedap sedap, sedaaaaaap! Popping these morsels were so addictive, I wish they refilled it!
Strawberry Mochi, Chocolate mochi hinted of the upcoming Mid-Autumn snowskin selection!
Peanut Mochi is the bested mochi found in Sg, the closest I ever got to Taiwan's!
Coffee Kueh with Red Bean , this was a lil stiff from all the exposure.
3 Berries Fruit Slice
Not too bad with the sourish finish.
Yogurt Mousse Cake
One of the best hotel mousse cakes ever, after Ritz Carlton's Mango Mousse. The mousse is so light, almost like K Ki's Antoinette with the full creaminess.
A different kind of Opera with green tea cream, I adore how the layers were so well fused and none of which were soggy.
Blueberry pralines...a first! They were not too badly made just that fruity chocolates are not quite a personal favourite.
Ricotta Cheese
Wish the cheese was stronger.
Mixed Berry Passion Cake
Moist fruit cake.
Tau Suan with Fried dough sticks
The dough sticks were oddly so hard..but I did not mind this local dessert.
Portugese Egg Tarts
Uber duper mega yums, these warm crusty egg delights were fast and furiously refilled. No wonder for the haste, these could give any portugese tart sold locally a run for their money.
Profiteroles with Custard
These chocolate drizzled puffs were initially pretty to look at but things got too messy and soggy when left out too long.
Kueh Lapis (Pandan, Chocolate)
Moist and soft, already sold on Aquamarine's dessert bar.
Pandan Chiffon Cake
Y-U-M.
Icecream Selection (Yam, Sweet Corn, Chocolate, Lemon Sorbet)
Read it too fast and the eyes would trick you into believing they were all from Haagen Dasz. With the exception of chocolate and lemon sherbet, the rest (I believe) are homemade.
As much as I have warned against eating sorbets with cones, I could not resist one. Lemon sorbets are ALWAYS godsent, the lovely sour tangy flavour that eases any indigestion.
Fruit Selection
Going all tropical with the fruits.
Dessert fared leaps and bounds better than the mains. Perhaps they should really put some focus into having a proper dessert buffet with all the more than decent desserts. Slightly disappointed with the main dishes, perhaps good buffets like Triple 3 have spoilt the palette and tastebuds so...any other buffet that pales seem to be miles off.
Some other reads on the other eateries within Marina Mandarin;
Ristorante Bologna..Italian, so fine.
Peach Blossoms...Dim Sum Unlimited!
Peach Blossoms...Ala Carte fares worse than the buffet..
$40++ (Lunch)
Aquamarine
Marina Mandarin
Wild Mushroom Soup with Croutons
Watered down but still well flavoured.
Sour and Spicy Soup
This packed a mighty punch, whetted the appetite so much more.
Spicy Jellyfish
Wedding dinner material.
Potato Salad
Hard potatoes, possibly the most tragic salad made out of potatoes.
Duck Salad
Ahh, nice! Thinly sliced duck breast meat tossed in tangy sauce, finally a decent one.
Fruit Salad
Methinks over riped fruits were used.
Pasta Salad
Ordinary.
Rojak
No major danger to rojak hawkers, chilli paste or even prawn paste would have done the job.
Cheese selection (Boursin, Camembert, Brie)
Cheese never fails to brighten the day, boursin was a personal favourite for its dense milk taste.
Bread Selection (Onion Loaf, Olive Roll, Baguette, Sour Dough bread, Bread sticks, Crackers)
It was a random by the way pickup but the breads proved worthy of seconds despite the carb levels. Well done job by the bread chefs, the onion loaf shaped like a croissant was oh-so-good fragrant and soft, would have been divine had it been warm. Olive roll won much praise from me though it is acquired. Crackers were gone too fast...with such an exciting bread basket, I did not need churned butter for enjoyment.
Sushi selection
Rice was too soft, though credit has to be given to the kitchen for trying to dish up a wide variety.
Chawanmushi
Not too bad!
This got the diners and chefs moving, possibly the only counter that had constant refills.
Seafood Selection (Prawns, Mussels, Clams, Crabs, Oysters)
Tuck in on the oysters to make the money's worth. Fresh, slurpworthy and so very yummylicious. Do not bother with the rest.
Roast Lamb
Tough and gamey.
Braised Tofu
Tasted the way it should right off a tingkat dinner.
Teriyaki Chicken
Ok, this is yummy.
Fish Curry
Forget about it.
Fried Rice
Bland.
Keropok
Crunch, crunch, crunch...majorly addictive! Pity they did not have chilli jam to go with this.
Wok Fried crunchy Cabbage with Dried Chilli
The greatest irony on the dining table. For one, it was not crunchy, almost soggy. Two, it was fried to a certain black that it appeared grey. Three, spicy it was barely despite dried chilli being tossed in.
Dory Fillet with Cream Sauce
Nothing to yell about.
Barbequed Selections (Roast Chicken, Roast Pork)
Decent take on the grill.
Yong Tau Foo
For the health conscious but was on the plain side.
Crabcake Fritters with Chilli Jam
Another worth doing a double take on!
Fishball Curry
Lacked the spicyness.
Hongkong fried noodle
O-r-d-i-n-a-r-y.
Briyani with curries (Lamb, Fish, Chicken)
Ok, this proved to be a hit in all ways deserving. Fluffy spiced rice and equally delish curries, you seriously question what went wrong with all the other dishes.
Apple Crumble with Vanilla Sauce
Baked a weebit too long, this was dry though apples were still juicy!
Shooters (Beeramisu, Raspberry Mousse, Chocolate Mousse, Durian Pengat)
Beeramisu instead of the usual tiramisu. This had a rich chocolate biscotti balanced on top. Beeramisu...had a tinge of sourness. Not quite the cream-alcohol-cake combination though.
Aquamarine's durian pengat was paired with corn, somehow I prefer durian pengat neat. Any other toppings tend to mar and confuse the flavours.
Raspberry Mousse that was surprisingly more than decent (for the standard of buffet shooters), adored the smooth vanilla mousse.
Selection of Nonya Kuehs
A great pity that the tier of Nonya Kuehs was not refilled, they were soooooo scrumptious! Every item on the tier tasted sooo good, putting to shame the rest of the sub-par food of the day.
Ondeh Ondeh, Kueh Dadar, Harum Manis, Kueh Salat, Lapis Sagu..sedap sedap, sedaaaaaap! Popping these morsels were so addictive, I wish they refilled it!
Strawberry Mochi, Chocolate mochi hinted of the upcoming Mid-Autumn snowskin selection!
Peanut Mochi is the bested mochi found in Sg, the closest I ever got to Taiwan's!
Coffee Kueh with Red Bean , this was a lil stiff from all the exposure.
3 Berries Fruit Slice
Not too bad with the sourish finish.
Yogurt Mousse Cake
One of the best hotel mousse cakes ever, after Ritz Carlton's Mango Mousse. The mousse is so light, almost like K Ki's Antoinette with the full creaminess.
A different kind of Opera with green tea cream, I adore how the layers were so well fused and none of which were soggy.
Blueberry pralines...a first! They were not too badly made just that fruity chocolates are not quite a personal favourite.
Ricotta Cheese
Wish the cheese was stronger.
Mixed Berry Passion Cake
Moist fruit cake.
Tau Suan with Fried dough sticks
The dough sticks were oddly so hard..but I did not mind this local dessert.
Portugese Egg Tarts
Uber duper mega yums, these warm crusty egg delights were fast and furiously refilled. No wonder for the haste, these could give any portugese tart sold locally a run for their money.
Profiteroles with Custard
These chocolate drizzled puffs were initially pretty to look at but things got too messy and soggy when left out too long.
Kueh Lapis (Pandan, Chocolate)
Moist and soft, already sold on Aquamarine's dessert bar.
Pandan Chiffon Cake
Y-U-M.
Icecream Selection (Yam, Sweet Corn, Chocolate, Lemon Sorbet)
Read it too fast and the eyes would trick you into believing they were all from Haagen Dasz. With the exception of chocolate and lemon sherbet, the rest (I believe) are homemade.
As much as I have warned against eating sorbets with cones, I could not resist one. Lemon sorbets are ALWAYS godsent, the lovely sour tangy flavour that eases any indigestion.
Fruit Selection
Going all tropical with the fruits.
Dessert fared leaps and bounds better than the mains. Perhaps they should really put some focus into having a proper dessert buffet with all the more than decent desserts. Slightly disappointed with the main dishes, perhaps good buffets like Triple 3 have spoilt the palette and tastebuds so...any other buffet that pales seem to be miles off.
Some other reads on the other eateries within Marina Mandarin;
Ristorante Bologna..Italian, so fine.
Peach Blossoms...Dim Sum Unlimited!
Peach Blossoms...Ala Carte fares worse than the buffet..
$40++ (Lunch)
Aquamarine
Marina Mandarin
I was quite surprised Aquamarine is so popular.
ReplyDeleteI recalled reading the article displayed at Carousel that the 4 most talk about buffets in 2008 (if my memory didn't fail me) were Aquamarine, Melts, The Line and Carousel.
Having visited 3 of them, we have decided to bring Yuan's parents to Aquamarine and frankly speaking it was alittle disappointed considering how high our expectations were at that point of time. To think that it was a German special but there isn't much sausages, beer and pork knuckle... My vague impression told me that the roasted pork and some of the desserts were not bad.
In the same year, visited Aquamarine the second time for a company event and that was when I first showed signs that I cannot stomach fresh oysters. Imagine having a bad intestine during the Christmas week and the first day of your 2 weeks leave...
I recalled my colleagues complaining how thinly the sashimi were shredded, not sure have they improved on this aspect.
Anyway, I see that the yogurt mousse cake is screaming for my attention... Wonder is it available at Senses Patisserie but then again, my experience with their patisserie was quite traumatizing...
Hehe, Triple 3 has indeed increase my expectation for hotel buffets but it is just to painful for my pocket... Ever since Chef William has tempted me for brunches, Yuan has also started to nag at me for my shortlisted buffet candidates >.<
Absolutely agree that aquamarine's popularity IS baffling! Esp so after attempting it! Oh dear..I love oysters! Pity you can't take them!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I went, there wasn't any sashimi but just sushi...infact, I don't think very highly of the Japanese items available. Anytime, Triple 3's japanese section would win this handsdown!
Oh? Senses Patisserie was bad? I headed back just a week ago and attempted some items...it's not too bad in all honesty. I've tasted far worse hotel desserts *think aroma at intercon* Um..didn't see the yogurt mousse over the counter but they had items like apple pie, mango mousse, raspberry macaron and chocolate cake.
YESSSSS...ever since Triple3 I've been SO spoilt! I'm heading back soon for lunch! *hooray!* can't wait!! Brunch would be awesome...any idea what's the spread like?