Lavish Buffet

Lavish Buffet

Wednesday 12 August 2015

Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant (201 Keppel Road Singapore 099419) Reservation: 6272 8822

Visited on 1st Aug 2015 (Sat) and Revisited on 15 Oct 2016 (Sat).  This is my updated review after revisited on 15 Oct 2016.

There are 2 Revolving Restaurants in Singapore. Prima Tower (Established in 1977) and Tong Le Private Dining (Established in 2012). Prima Tower is one of Singapore's longest established restaurant. You would hardly expect to find a restaurant nestled on top of a grain silo, yet the Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant is one such outlet that has become an endearing Singapore landmark. Diners can enjoy the panoramic view of the sea. 
  
Besides the great ambience, Prima Tower also offers delectable Beijing cuisine. House specialties include the much-loved Peking Duck with the crispy skin of the roast duck wrapped in a thin Chinese pancake, and the Shredded Scallops with Fish and Egg White. 




You will see this fish tank when you enter the lobby.



Take the lift up to level 9 on your right


 
At level 9, take the escalator up



While taking the escalator up, this is what you will see!


After the escalator, walk a long flight of stairs up to Prima Tower!



Tada - And here is Prima Tower!





This is our table by the window!













Only 3 Choices of Tea Selection: 
Pu'er/Jasmine/Iron Buddha
($1.50++ per person)


Shredded Scallops with Fish & Egg White
$30++ (Small)
$45++ (Large)
My Order: Small 

The staff will add the vinegar and pepper to mix together to enhance the taste. But to my disappointment, their signature dish was way below my expectations as it was dry and tasted quite bland. This dish cost $30++ while other chinese restaurants having the same type of dish cost only $13.80++, slightly lesser portion than Prima Tower but definitely much much more tasty than the one at Prima Tower. My recommendation for this dish - Crystal Jade Jiangnan at Vivo City.



Pan-Fried Pork Bun ($4.80++)
The bottom part of the bun used to be very crispy and the overall taste was very good, but now it was not crisp and the overall taste was dull... 



Steamed Dumpling with Prawn ($5.80++)
The siew mai looks pretty with the prawn tail attached to it but the taste was average..


Steamed Salted Egg Yolk & Yam Paste Bun ($4.80++)

This was my first time having liu sha bao with yam paste and I must say this is a perfect combination - Super aromatic! But the bun was not fluffy..

Deep-Fried Crispy Scallop & Mango Roll ($6.80++)
The mango filling was extremely little and the whole taste was ok only..


Crab Meat Goldfish Dumpling ($5.00++)
This dim sum was in 2015, not available anymore

Love these cutie dumplings! The taste was robust with real crab meat!



Steamed Sponge Cake with Custard Cream ($4.80++)
This dim sum was in 2015, not available anymore

The sponge cake was not fluffy and quite dry...


Baked Barbecued Pork Bun ($4.80++)
This dim sum was in 2015, not available anymore

I don't really fancy this type of bun usually but the bun here has impressed me! The exterior was very fragrant and soft! Thumbs up for this!




Mango Pudding ($6.00++)
The mango pudding was filled with so many mango cubes atop! I like the robust mango taste but the pudding was quite dry otherwise it will be perfect...



Overall Impression: I find this place very interesting as you need to go through many steps before you can reach the destination. (Like going for an adventure) But the food quality has dropped a lot in 2016, yet the prices here are quite steep. I can say just visit once for the sake of the panoramic view. 

As usual, the service did not change at all. Don't expect any good service or smile from the staff unless you're regular customer there. They will only pour the tea for you once when they served the teapot, thereafter please pour yourself. They have changed their dim sum menu so some of the nice dim sum was not there anymore. The tea served here was quite low quality as well. Do note that this is a very old building so the revolving will be jerky at certain point sometimes.

And one thing I hate about this place is the parking. The parking area was very very messy with all the PSA trucks around and there is only valet parking with open carpark, so be prepared that your car will be super hot under the hot weather.   

Note: Only Valet Parking (Charges-Up To You)

Nearest MRT: Vivo City

Business Hours - 
Lunch: 
11.00am – 2.30pm (Mon – Sat)
10.30am – 2.30pm (Sun & PH)
  
Dinner: 
6.30pm – 10.30pm (Mon – Sun & PH)

Friday 7 August 2015

Italian Tea Buffet at Alkaff Mansion (10 Telok Blangah Green, Singapore 109178) Reservation: 6510 3068

Visited on 25 July 2015 (Sat). 

Italian Tea Buffet: Every Saturday from 11.30am – 3.00pm

Last seating: 2.15pm (Restaurant closes at 3.00pm, last order & last pour at 2.30pm)

$40++ per person 

$18++ per child (Ages 5 – 12)

Note: If there is a wedding event on that Saturday, there won't be any live violin music session for the high tea buffet as the violinist need to perform for the wedding event.  This happened to us on that day and we were very disappointed! (We were not informed by the staff) You can even hear the Yum Seng from the wedding event upstairs which were quite disturbing sometimes...






7 Selections at Dessert Bar














Mushroom Soup


2 Pizza Selection


The pizza were decent and dry...


Cheese Section


Cold Cut Section


Appetizers





Sea Bass with Clams, Squids and Prawns
The sea bass was tender, complemented well with the assorted seafood!



Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary and Beef Tenderloin with Veal Jus



Assorted Italian Pasta



Crepes Suzette Station


I'm always very delighted to see crepes station and it was a lovely dessert!


Eggs Station

Note: Only 1 choice of Sunny Side Up with a slice of bacon at the eggs station, I must say the chef was very good in cooking sunny side up. We ordered 4 times and the yolk never failed to be runny! His skills of cooking egg was so good till I really feel like having 10 pieces! Hahaha...



Help Yourself with the Free Flow of 3 Tea Selection and 1 Regular Coffee Provided


The coffee served here was very normal type of coffee which was disappointing at a Italian restaurant.


Overall Impression: This is a very casual Italian Tea Buffet. Service was ok. I'm a super dessert lover and I find that the dessert bar items here were lacklustre, nothing impressed me. Only the egg and crepe station, seabass, pasta were good. The rest were very decent. After 2 rounds, we felt like nothing else to eat - Very limited variety. So we kept going back for the same few items that we like which was very boring. I felt the price of $40++ per person is not on par with the quality and variety.