Saltwater Cafe @ Changi Village Hotel

Changi Village Hotel used to be known as Le Meridien and secluded it is, so very far away from civilization. Perfect for holiday makers who love seasports. The layout of the place is queer for people who drive especially, you enter via the basement and into the ballroom reception (so happened there was a wedding lunch held) and to the first floor. Salt Water Cafe's located in one end of the first floor.

This Buffet Tunch took me 2 weeks waiting time partly because there was a bulk booking for a family gathering and being put on a waiting list meant they will only inform on the day itself. Anyhow, the place is rather small..at most 30 people for its optimal capacity

The lovely view of the golfcourse outside..if it were not for the scorching sun...I would not have minded dining outside!



The corner perfect for digestion. :P



The lids were left open all the time...



Ready to take on Saltwater's spread!



On the plate (L-R): Onion loaf, Mushroom Salad, Egg Mayo, Chicken Salad, Sambal Prawns.

Starters

Caesar Salad Bar

The selection was quite small with just romaine lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers with salad dressings. Gave this a miss.

Chicken Salad

Nicely mixed roast chicken with pineapple salad and drenched in mayo.

Mushroom Salad

This came with roasted potatoes which I initially mistook to be pumpkin.

Papaya Salad

Thai salad which I passed too.

Tuna Salad
Egg Mayo Salad

These although ordinary appealed to me, the only missing thing was a bread selection to go with these common sandwich ingredients.

Sambal Prawn

I found this a tad sweet.

Octopus

Gave it a pass.

Century Egg Porridge with Condiments

Thick flavourful porridge.



Olive oil and balsamic vinegar...a must for me!



Pumpkin Soup

Very impressed with this! Was certainly expecting a thin gruel or even straight off a can but this was handmade from scratch, the thick consistency and sweetness of the ground pumpkin...warmed the tum greatly. When dipped with the onion loaf, I was already pleased and sold. I had two bowls of this! The onion loaves were slightly dry, perhaps from all the exposure.



On the plate (L-R) : Fried Fish, Chicken Curry, Curry Veg, Briyani Rice, Mutton Kurma.

Indian Mains

Briyani Rice

Tasteless herbed rice with soft cashews.

Mutton Kurma
Curry Vegetable
Fried Fish
Curry Chicken

The curries were not outstanding with the exception of the meaty curry chicken. Mostly thin curry and not spicy at all. I was expecting Tandoori chicken instead of Fried Fish which had the same spices used, somehow the meat used did not bring out the full flavours of this dish.



On the plate (L-R): Fried Rice, Fried Kuay Teow, Marmite Chicken, Chicken Ngo Hiang, Sweet and Sour Fish, Carrot Cake

Local Mains

Fried Kuay Teow

I did not mind this too much though it was just fried kuay teow with spring onion.

Marmite Chicken with Sesame Seeds

Another of my favourites! The sticky marmite coating the chicken was sweet yet addictive, the sesame seeds were fragrant and best of all, the drumlets (frozen chicken parts) were firm and tasty. I guiltily stuffed myself silly with these.

Chicken Ngo Hiang

Surprised that this was not the regular thaw-and-fry, instead it was home-made.

Carrot Cake

Not our usual hawker black char dao kuay but tasted much like chye poh ommelette.

Sweet Sour Fish

Ordinary tangy dish, the dory fish was too soft.



Fried Rice Salted Fish

The salted fish rocked this dish, the fried rice grains were neatly coated with fried egg. Though the ingredients were simple, it had enough "wok hei" and most certainly brought out the best flavours of the ingredients used.



Char Siew Bao

Fluffy bun with char siew filling on the sweet side.
Siew Mai
Dumpling
Ordinary dimsum.



Baked Pasta

Penne and minced beef baked with cheese. It would have been better if they used mozzarella cheese, the cheese was too light-tasting for a baked pasta.




Stir Fried Vegetables

Piping hot vegetables..so very home cooked but the delicious shade of green these were made it hard to resist. Now, where's the bowl of steamed rice to go with it?



Live Station: Tomato/Cream based with Penne/Spaghetti

Tomato spaghetti was too sour. The carbonara won hands down, the milky gravy was slurp worthy with simple ingredients (green/red peppers and bacon).



Laksa

Outstanding. No wonder the queues were long. I loved the idea of picking your ingredients and making your own bowl of laksa, though nothing can go wrong since it is plain placing everything in the bowl and scooping the gravy. The lemak gravy was spicy and milky enough, packed enough oomph to challenge the famous.





Prawn Noodle

In comparison with the laksa, this bland noodle dish was outright boring.




Toast Roti with Pandan Kaya/Kaya/Peanut Butter/Butter

The last time I saw a toaster for local roti was in Batam, so chancing upon it at Saltwater got me all excited. The allure of kaya toast somehow. The bread was over-charred probably due to the settings of the machine but I loved the crunchy crust and fluffy bread beneath. Slap on your favourite spread and you're ready to go. The peanut butter although very watery retained the nutty buttery taste.



Bread and Butter Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

Not spectacular, the pudding was overcooked.

Apple Pie

I did not agree with the soft pie base but the apple slices, raisins and chopped walnuts were good on its own.




Kueh Selection

Pretty decent range they have got. A mind dazzling colourful array of kuehs up for selection but some were repeats in different colours.



Mango Cake

Light sponge cake with mango mousse topped off with mango slices and kueh lapis lining the side. This mousse cake worked for me, at least it was not soggy. Liked the idea of the kueh lapis at the side, it was moist enough.

Coffee Cake
Same moistness in the coffee. I have to admit I underestimated the cakes.




Blueberry Cheesecake

These were taken straight out of the kitchen and probably out of the deep freezer as well, the blueberry jelly layer was iced and the cake was too stiff.

Pandan Kaya Cake

Soft kaya in between fluffy layers of sponge cake.




Bubur Cha Cha

The tapioca was cut too near the skin, making it slightly bitter but otherwise, a local dessert I enjoy.

Chin Chow

These were accompanied with longans which I found too sweet.



Dessert Shooters

My major grouse is, these were not replaced at all! They ran out as early as an hour over into the 5 hour long buffet. Did not have a chance to taste any.

Ice-cream Selection (Yam, Blueberry, Coconut)

Ordinary ice-cream but the kiosk created quite a buzz with the cones and toppings.

Assorted Fruit

Tropical fruit's all the rage at the spread with watermelon, pineapple and honeydew.



I could not resist a cone for myself to end off all this gluttony.

This Tunch got me sitting up and savouring every bite. Decent quality food is what Saltwater has to offer albeit the distance from the city. Arguably one of the better local buffets around with pocket pleasing prices too. Service was expectedly slow with a few waiters serving the whole place, it took plates to pile up to averagely three and above for the waiters to come over and remove them. Another pointer, the hotel could have been more mindful of the warmth of the food, most if not all the time, the lids of the trays were left wide open causing the food to turn cold even faster than not.

I hear Changi Village's Italian food's good..

12-5pm
$22++ for Tunch

1-for-1 with HSBC

Saltwater Cafe
Changi Village Hotel