Lavish Buffet

Lavish Buffet

Thursday 11 September 2014

Oriental Weekend Brunch Buffet at Jiang-Nan Chun (Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, Level 2 - 190 Orchard Boulevard) Reservation: 6831 7220

Revisited on 6 Sep 2014 (Sat). Previously visited on 19th April 2014 (Sat).

Ala Carte Oriental Weekend Brunch Buffet (Featuring extensive selection of dim sum items and chef's signature dishes)

Price: New Menu at $78++ per person = Total bill of $183.60 for 2 pax. 

(Only Saturdays and Sundays  - Inclusive of Free Flow Chinese Tea + Orange/Mango/Guava Juice)

Saturday - 11.30am - 2.30pm (3 hours)

Sunday - First Seating: 11.00am - 1.00pm (2 hours)
Sunday - 2nd Seating: 1.30pm - 3.00pm (1.5 hours)

As you can see from the above seating time slots, only Sat can enjoy the ala carte buffet with no rush. This is due to there're more crowd on Sundays than Saturdays which is why they need to split into two seatings on Sundays.

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Jiang Nan Chun is an authentic chinese restaurant that serves classic Cantonese fare in a luxurious setting.

The restaurant has three private dining rooms - Hangzhou, Suzhou and Yangzhou, named after famous cities in China that can seat 14, 10 and 6 guests respectively.


You can take a lift or the staircase up to level 2 to Jiang-Nan Chun. Here is what u will see...



There's a piano here!







Jiang-Nan Chun will not open until the time is up.


This is their entrance...



You will see this main hall when you step into the restaurant. The lighting here was quite dim so i prefer to sit near the window that has more natural lighting.



The restaurant was separated into 2 partitions. And i have chosen the inner table by the window


 (The One & Only Direct Window Seat) I like the cosy and relaxing ambience here!



Their tables were at least with 4 seats so it's good for 2 pax like us, we can put our bags on the extra seats and eat comfortably! The chairs were very comfy with cushions too, good for a long 3 hours lunch:-)


Hand towels were provided before we start our lunch..


The juices and chinese tea are free flow! The Orange Juice was freshly squeezed, not too sour not too sweet - Enjoyed the brunch with free flow of juices!















You can add on the specialties at an additional cost as indicated above on top of the buffet..



Doubled-boiled Abalone Soup with Chicken & Ginseng Flower
Omg all the goodness can be found in this soup! Full-flavoured and the abalone was very tender too! The chicken was a tad tough so just focus on the abalone & the soup, 1 word to describe - Excellent Soup!



Braised Hashima with Shredded Fish Maw, Dried Scallops & Golden Mushroom
This soup was a tad pale in comparison with the above abalone soup (Perhaps the abalone soup was too good) The broth was quite thick, tasty and full of ingredients. I think you will find this soup nice if you have not try their abalone soup.


Crispy Fish Skin with Salt & Pepper
Very crispy, great for appetiser!


Stir-Fried Shredded Duck with Capsicum
The shredded duck portion was super tiny and little whereby the beansprouts, onions and capisum was so much. Surprisingly this dish tasted very aromatic!



Stir-Fried Scallops with Savoury Sauce
 The scallops were succulent and complemented well with the savoury sauce!



Deep-Fried Grouper Fillet with Cereal
 We usually had cereal with prawn or beancurd. So this is our first time having fish fillet with cereal. The combination was not bad, fillet was quite tender as well!



Wok-Fried Chicken with Dried Chili and Cashew Nuts
The chicken was tender and nice but i don't really like the sauce, quite sour and it's too spicy!


Steamed Bun with Salted Egg Yolk

The salted egg yolk custard was very fragrant and good but the bun was quite a let down, not fluffy and quite rough. Chef needs to improve on the bun!


Baked Flaky Pastry with Barbecued Chicken Coated with Sesame Seeds
Jiang Nan Chun does not have Char Siew Shu so this is the next similar alternative choice. I like the exterior pastry more than the bbq chicken filling inside, it would taste much better if the filling is char siew.


Steamed Barbecued Pork Bun
The bun was quite tender but it's not fluffy enough. The char siew not too sweet just nice!



Oven-baked Mini Egg Tart
The egg tart tasted much better now than my previous visit. There was some fragrance in the custard but the pastry still not that perfect. The pastry was a tad rough, pastry must be loose then will taste nice.



Steamed Pork Dumpling with Shrimp and Mushrooms
The siew mai was tender and the shrimp inside was succulent. Overall it's quite good!



Steamed Spinach Dumpling with Seafood
The skin was smooth and the shrimp inside was succulent as well..



Deep-Fried Dumpling with Foie Gras, Chicken & Shitake Mushrooms


Crispy dumpling with very aromatic ingredients!



Deep-Fried Dumpling with Pork, Mushroom, Dried Shrimp & Truffle Oil
When you bite on the dumpling, it's a tad starchy interior but not sticky, with the aromatic ingredients and truffle oil.



Deep-Fried Dumpling with Mushrooms, Carrots, Celery, Asparagus and Minced Pumpkin
Recommended by the waitress as we were told that this little pumpkin very cute! As we're not really a pumpkin lover so we find this ok only..



Crispy Roasted Pork Belly + Barbecued Honey-glazed Pork + Roasted Duck
All their roasted meat were average..



Chilled Aloe Vera with Lemongrass Jelly
This is the one & only nicest dessert at Jiang Nan Chun - Aromatic and Refreshing!



Chilled Herbal Jelly with Sago Pearls & Osmanthus
The herbal jelly was already a tad bitter, so i feel osmanthus and herbal jelly cannot complement well..


Chilled Cream of Mango & Sago with Pomelo
The taste was a tad sour and was too creamy.. 



Fresh Mango Pudding
I prefer those sweet pudding type but this is more to watery type on top and was quite sour, not to my liking...



The food quality has improved a little compared to my previous visit during April 2014 but still not great, have to improve on the areas that I've mentioned above. But you can taste the ingredients were those high quality type. Desserts were still a let-down at Jiang Nan Chun as usual. 

Service level has dropped a little as most of the staff and manager has changed but overall still quite good and polite. That day was quite crowded and they seemed short of manpower to handle all the tables so need to wait a while to get them. Food waiting was not long, the food were mostly served in standard waiting time. 

Overall this place is definitely worth a visit as the ambience was very relaxing and the food quality was quite high except some areas need to improve on. And it's very rare to see chinese restaurant serves free flow of selected fruit juices for weekend brunch buffet.. A plus point to attract people as it's really nice to have buffet with fruit juices! This is the Best place to give your mum or dad a treat on their birthday or anniversary as well! :D


*Recommended*

Note: Complimentary 3 hours carpark coupon available here!


Website:
http://www.fourseasons.com/singapore/dining/restaurants/jiang_nan_chun/




Tuesday 2 September 2014

Afternoon Tea at Antidote (80 Bras Basah Road - Fairmont Singapore, Level 1) Reservation: 6431 5315

Visited on 31 Aug 2014 (Sun). Anti:dote at the newly refurbished Fairmont hotel, is a stylish and modern cocktail bar that has launched the new afternoon tea daily. I'm glad that there is one more new place to go for high tea and I already fell in love with this place upon arrival! 

Afternoon Tea hours: Monday to Friday - 3pm to 5pm


Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays - 12pm to 2pm (first seating), 3pm to 5pm (second seating)

Love this simple yet stylish light up glass counter!




Very chic interior and cosy ambience!


Love these row of seats for drinking from 5pm to 2am daily!














These were our seats by the window but only taxi stand view. Haha!




There're 3 types of afternoon tea set to select from. Antidote Tea ($38++ per person), Oriental Tea ($38++ per person) and Royal Tea ($75++ per person). All the afternoon tea items are the same for these 3 sets except the starter is different. And the Royal Tea set comes with a glass of Champagne which is why it costs so much more...

Note: The price has increased to $45++ per person for the AntidoteTea and Oriental Tea with a slightly different menu from Feb 2015.




The afternoon tea set comes with a selection of TWG tea and you can only choose those tea priced at $11. Or you can choose any of the 3 choices of roasted coffee (Cappucino, Macchiato, Latte)  Coffee/Tea are refillable! Note: You have to stick with the same choice of tea or coffee for refill. Take a peek at some of the $11 tea choices.




I  thought since my name is Summer,  why not i try the tea with my name in it? Eternal Summer Tea - South Africa.. Haha... This tea has a pleasant smell with a tad sour and a tad sweet taste, great for afternoon tea!



Starter for the Oriental Tea Set


Shrimp Har Gau, Chive Dumpling, Scallop Siew Mai
Initially i did not place much hope on their dim sum but I can tell you these 3 dim sum surprisingly beat most of the popular chinese restaurants! I love the scallop siew mai so much! It was so fresh, hot and succulent - Drool..... How i wish their dim sum is those ala carte dim sum buffet... LoL...


Starter for the Antidote Tea Set


The Anti:dote Black Truffle Scrambled Egg

Omg this was another premium stuff! The scrambled egg presented in an egg shell with a layer of black truffle on top. The egg was creamy and super yummy that i could not use anything to describe!!! Dip the scrambled egg with the crispy buttery toast sticks to enjoy the fullest!


And Here Comes The Mini Dresser with All The Colourful High Tea Items!
Anti:dote was the one & only place that served afternoon tea in such an unique way. I'm really very impressed by their creativity. We always see 3 tier high tea served in a very boring way. Finally Anti:dote surprised all of us! I think most ladies will fall in love with this mini dresser.. Hehe.. Open each drawer to see the surprise! :)



Petit desserts atop the dresser features:
Lemon macarons
Anti:dote rum baba, Chocolate dipped strawberries
Karukera chocolate mirror tart, Strawberry gateau
Handmade truffles, Earl grey eclair, Apple delight with almond crumble

For the Anti:dote rum baba - You can squeeze the plastic thingy to dispense how much rum you want!

My favourites: Lemon macarons very refreshing taste! Chocolate mirror tart very rich chocolate but take note of the centre round thing very sour! Strawberry gateau has a very aromatic strawberry taste! See the photo below of the chocolate dipped strawberry. Hehe very special strawberry!




Top drawer features 5 types of savoury sandwiches:
Smoked Salmon, creme fraiche, caviar
Prosciutto, onion jam, aged cheddar
Coronation curried chicken
Boston lobster roll, herb mayonnaise
Cucumber and dill salad, creme cheese

I like every of them except the cucumber dill salad (Brown), it's tasteless and very dull. My favourite is the lobster roll and smoked salmon!


Middle drawer features:
Warm Candied Ginger and Raisin Scones 
(Comes with homemade strawberry jam, Devonshire clotted cream, lemon curd)
Lemon, basil pound cake

The scones here were crisp with buttery taste very nice but i don't like ginger that kind of a tad bitter and a tad spicy taste so this scone was out for me.  I guess ginger is not the popular choice to most people. The lemon curd provided was those in lemon meringue tart that we can find at most high tea places, very nice! The lemon basil pound cake was quite hard and i stopped after 2 bites. So this middle drawer was rather disappointing to me..


Last drawer is the complimentary cookie that we can bring home as they know most people will be too full to consume the cookie after the high tea so they wrapped the cookie with the Fairmont ribbon for us to take home. It was really thoughtful of them and we really appreciate this little gesture from them. It is butter cookie quite nice! :)



We chose 1 Oriental Tea Set and 1 Antidote tea Set at $38++ each, so our total bill is $89.45 for 2 pax. (Free flow of Coffee or Tea).  I find the price is pretty reasonable. The starter is the main attraction than the high tea items. I will give full marks for the unique presentation!


The service here was average as the staff were not very attentive, have to try a few times to catch their attention. But they were very polite and made an effort to explain to us what are the high tea items. The latte here was very premium quality,  the roasted coffee smells very good! My partner told me this was the BEST latte among so many hotels! So do try their latte when you're there! I would say this is probably 1 of the BEST high tea that you should try!



*Highly Recommended*


Website: http://www.fairmont.com/singapore/dining/antidote/


Monday 1 September 2014

Old Hong Kong Kitchen (10 Sinaran Drive #02-80 Square 2 @ Novena - Above Novena MRT, Singapore 307506) Reservation: 6397 7023

Visited on 24 Aug 2014 (Sun). Old Hong Kong Kitchen is usually crowded during the weekends though the prices are not cheap, so do call up to make a reservation first. Service was quite good for my few visits except the waiting time for the food was a bit long so have to be more patient especially during peak hours. The restaurant interior was more to oriental feel but i find the deco quite complex so i don't feel that relax to dine here.



5 rows of settee by the window.



Nothing to see by the window, only the small water fountain..







Rose Tea for 2 persons ($7.60++)
Enjoy the Rose Tea very much especially with a warmer to keep the tea warm at all times! The scent of the roses were very aromatic that made us feel very relaxing!






Diced Seafood in Beancurd Thick Soup ($8.80++)
I like this kind of starchy thick soup. There's beancurd, prawn and carrots inside the soup. It was a tad too salty but the taste was good!






Steamed Prawn on Egg White with Rice Liquor ($26++)
This is quite a common dish in chinese restaurants. I like the rice liquor sauce, it's savoury with some liquor taste. The prawns were ok, just that it's a tad not tender. The egg white was very little below. Overall it's satisfactory.


Baked Mini Egg Tarts (3 pieces at $6.20++)
So far this is the most expensive egg tarts that i had in my life. $6.20++ = $7.30 for 3 pieces. Omg.. Even those 4-5 star hotels only cost $4.80-$5.80++ for 3 pieces.. Though the egg tarts here were very good, melt-in-the-mouth with a fragrant taste on the egg custard and the pastry was crispy, but it's still over-priced. 








Chilled Mango Puree with Sago Served with Ice Cream ($6.00++)
This is a Must Order dessert each time i'm here! I think most people especially gals, love to see the dessert served in a dry ice bowl instead of those normal bowl. It adds a touch of indulgence. The mango puree tasted a tad sour a tad sweet with the hot favourite delightful coconut ice-cream! Thumbs up for this dessert!


Overall the food quality was quite good, between average to slightly above average. This place is more suitable for family dining, not suitable for couples as it's quite noisy when the crowd starts. Prices for their food and dim sum are quite steep, I prefer to pay such prices for hotel ambience. As the food was quite good here, i will still come back once a while. 


Website: http://www.oldhongkong.com.sg/restaurants/old-hong-kong-kitchen/