L'Espresso Lounge @ Goodwood Park Hotel

Featured on Buffetlicious featuring Michelle Chia got me all excited. Especially with Dick Lee and his entourage of taitais' recommendation, L'Espresso Lounge was an immediate must try. Scones and foie gras crudites, so very old English were the maindraws of the afternoon. Reservations are a must. Reserved tags were placed at every table and true enough, it was packed.


Early bird catches a good seat!


Mini chairs for the arm candy, extra brownie points already!

Each diner has 2 complimentary beverages and you get to pick from a beverage list as long as a laundry list (though it does not rival the tea flavours of Rose Verandah).


In the mood for some flower pampering, rose hibiscus tea that had a sour twang to it.


Iced coffee


Latte!


I had to stupidly garangly go for warm milk. Not even HL milk, this was close to canned milk.


I have never embraced the sandwich counter with so much love before.

Salad Nicose in Tomato Tartlet, Parma Ham with Mein, Duck Riclette Foie Gras, Smoked Eel on Toast, Chicken Roll, Chicken Apple Apricot, Crispy Shell, Tomato Confit Garlic Toast formed the very distracting appetizer. Each had a distinct flavour of its own and best of all, they looked pretty too!




Foie Gras Duck Riclette

The yummeh-iest combo ever. Buttery creamy foie gras sitting-a-pretty on a wedge of meaty duck riclette (you can see the shreds of duckmeat carefully packed into each wedge!)..and to top it off, a lovely candied orange peel to balance the savoury. The dry bread can be forgone but together, the wonders of it all is beyond sublime!


Buttery flaky croissants jam packed with ingredients that spillover. I. am. so. spoiled. Think layers, when it comes to Goodwood's croissants. The mango shrimp had a layer of healthy leaves, shrimps and mango compote.

The other delish had the same healthy fix, cheese and milan salami. These are the kind of sandwiches I wished my mom packed for me to school instead of the usual boring tuna, egg mayo or just honeybaked ham.



Egg mayo, Tuna Mayo, Chicken Peanut, Tomato Cream Cheese, Bacon bits with Tomato, Ham Cheese, Turkey Cranberry, Roast Beef Gherkin,

Finger sandies, the array is mind dazzling-brain boggling wide. I had to have a go at everyone. And at this stage, I barely moved past the sandwich station after three plates of  irresistible carbs! I adored bacon bits with tomato best.


Arugula and Sundried Tomato, Ham and Cheese

Paninis that bowled me over. These were suntanning under the warm light, smart way to keep the cheese melted and paninis toasty. Loved the simple flavours of ham and cheese or the more exotic burst of sundried tomato and argula. Best of all, crunchy toasted bread.


The main star that I smelt and spied and glanced so fervently at, monitoring its progress as I inched closer. Thankfully the food was filled up so promptly, nary a situation of "out of stock" and gets replaced with something else. It was a tug of war between the sandwiches and these. Both were equally endearing and I wish the tum space had not filled up that horrendously fast. The trick to buffets is to leave the carbs for the last, but for Goodwood I figure I broke every single living buffet rule.



Scones; original, blueberry and raisin. I grabbed all three, plonked in as much clotted cream and jam. Once in my life have I ever wolfed down three and in such gusto, I must have scared my dining companion. The scones are not the buttery, rich sort but had a slightly dry texture. Somehow when paired with clotted cream and jam, it was brilliant.


Vegetable Lagsane that I had reservations about. Once again, another dish that brought smiles. Instead of pasta sheets, this had spinach tortellinis and a garden of other vegetables thrown in. I've always been a fan of beef lagsane, maybe I'll turn vegetarian just for this.


Garden salad with smoked salmon and the crunchiest-yummiest crotons! Odd but this self-put together salad and cream sauce worked.


I tried to downplay the sin with veggie crudits and chive sour cream that was pretty blah. Salsa fared better.

After the last attempt at their dessert buffet, expectations of their dessert range were low. Then again, the cakes behind the counter once tempted and teased so much, I was already mentally noting what to takeaway if the tum allowed.


A cheesecake that looked like one but tasted miles apart.




Strawberry shortcake that fared a weebit better. Sour strawberries and sponge that did not seem to sing the same happy tune.


I had my eye on caramelised banana tart for takeaway and was most happy to see it up on the buffet table. You have to love bananas to go bananas over it. A banana-infused custard tart with preserved figs, I liked how the flavours and textures came together.


Gugglehopf  reminded me of christmas, this was a sorry dry cake unfortunately.


At last, a glimmer of hope left on the sliced cake station. No ordinary chocolate cake, a gauge of how worthwhile it is? An outbreak.

Royal Chocolate Crunchy Hazelnut Cake was it.

Chocolate mousse with a really delightful praline base. I so adore such crunchy bases, gives cake a whole lot more bite!



Creme brulee that could do a whole lot better.


Coup of Chocolate and Coffee

Does not mean anything chocolate tastes good.

Mango Soup

The name cracked me up. Simply mango juice with pomelo pulp.


Fruit tartlet and the oh-my-fairy-god cute coffee eclair.


Forgettable bites of cassis slice, crunchy hazelnut and brownie.


Another English favourite that makes it appearance at most high teas but none have left an impression, not even Goodwood.


According to the chocoholics, this was unimaginably bad. As much as Michelle Chia was oozing sex appeal and food appeal with her oohs and aahs about the fondue.


Haagen Dazs' vanilla and chocolate icecream. No vanilla bean specks, no chocolate shavings. The simplest form that H.D. started off with. I am guilty of comparison, when one gets spoiled with "yardsticks of quality"..the evil monster compares. Maybe if I haven't had over-the-top vanilla bean icecream before, H.D. would have been THE icecream, probably not now.

Perhaps some place should just bring in Ben and Jerrys to the buffet table? That would surprise and impress alot of diners.


Completed the gluttony with a dash of healthy fix.

I'm totally re-loving high tea buffets all over again after a couple of sub-par ones. Three tier sets and such English offerings give new meaning to high tea. High Tea redefined by Goodwood. I have to rave about their high tea, the hits that kept me going back round after round. Having beverages included ups the value of the buffet. Service was faultless and prompt, from the refilling of items to clearing of plates.

Oh yes, the tinkling ivory keys of the piano form an awesome setting for a leisurely afternoon, away from the hustle and bustle of the shoppers just a street away. Unwind and indulge, I already love my life. 

Yet another place that deserves a return.

$34++

Goodwood Park
L'Espresso Lounge

Comments

  1. wow. nice post! It's a pity that they don't serve their legendary durian spread for this high tea.

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  2. Quality of Haagen Daz ice creams is so much better than that of B&J! Ingredients show. (: eeyer I've never liked B&J haha. HD is awesome.

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  3. Hmm... it is surprising to hear that GWP disappoints in terms of desserts, to think that GWP left deep impression with one of the Hong Kongers I have spoke to when I dropped by a visit at Patisserie Tony Wong.

    Although I have tried the Porridge buffet (that comes with the desserts buffet) and L'Espresso, I didn't remember the desserts being disappointing but I have to admit that I remember the porridge buffet and the sandwiches more if you ask me off hand. Oh, tried their dessert buffet during the wedding show in April and I do like their mini tartlets alot.

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  4. @ tootall: heh thanks! yeahh great pity that they don't.

    @ ice: heh, i like b&j for the chunky ingredients and fanciful names to be honest...would prefer a handchurned icecream over these anyday. ;p

    @ fen: i guess it's because the savoury was oh-so-good so in comparison, desserts were less outstanding. Then again, it was for high-tea, so the desserts could have been brought over from the lunch buffet or even breakfast. *just speculating*

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