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2014-03-05
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I just wonder sometimes why I would go crazy with buffets especially when I love variety but I’m never able to eat so much at one setting compared to the husband. And my appetite seems to shrink as I grow older (another sign of aging?) but my weight remains the same (unfair!). Buffets are just not worth it for me anymore but after going to Straits Cafe @ Rendezvous with the husband one Saturday, I decided to bring the parents there the following Saturday too. Just because of one thing that got m
The Straits Cafe is located on ground level of the Rendezvous Grand Hotel and it serves up a decent spread of Asian delights and Singaporean favourites.
A quick glimpse of the buffet spread:
At S$40++ per pax for the weekend high tea buffet, the available variety of food is rather impressive. Besides cold appetisers, salads (and DIY ones too), sashimi, sushi, chilled seafood (prawns, flower crabs & conch aka ‘gong gong’), cheeses, dim sum, popiah & kueh pai tee stations, kebab corner and desserts, there are also live stations for kopi & teh tarik (coffee & tea), roti prata and their award-winning laksa.
The prawns and flower crabs are fresh but they are just not sweet which is a common trait of chilled seafood at buffets anyway. Neither am I a big fan of the gong gong which tastes like overcooked, chewy escargot with no flavour. The salmon sashimi is not of the best cut as I could taste the sinews in some of the pieces. The octopus is pretty good though. Nicely poached, tender and sweet. And of course, the husband never forgets his sushi which is of pretty normal standard.
I didn’t manage to try every single thing of course so these are just pictures of what all of us had on our plates. I particularly like the bak kut teh (with a nice peppery flavour), made-it-myself kueh pai tees (still not as good as Carousel’s but not too bad) and grilled meat from the kebab station. The rest of the items are pretty much mediocre, nothing exceptional.I was a bit disappointed with the so-called ‘award-winning’ laksa as I felt it lacked punch and spices. Even after I’ve mixed in a tablespoonful of sambal chilli, the gravy just fails to excite my taste buds. The fragrance from the coconut milk is there but it just doesn’t taste complete. I wonder if the chef is now different, that’s probably why the standard has dipped.
What I like here which I haven’t seen in other high tea buffets is the live drinks stall (that looks like an olden days street food stall) that serves up freshly pulled milk tea aka teh tarik which is one of the best I’ve had. It is not overly sweet and has the right balance of tea flavour versus milk.The roti prata which is prepared upon order is sadly chewy and lacks the fluffiness and crisp of a good prata. The curry gravy is decent though, rich in flavour and not too oily.
For full review and pictures, please go to http://www.springtomorrow.com/2013/12/31/high-tea-buffet-straits-cafe-rendezvous-grand-hotel/
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