For pictures, pls visit:

http://madamechewy.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/basilico/

Lunch buffet at Basilico @ The Regent . The food is of very high quality but the variety is rather limited. If you are into Italian food, this is the buffet for you.

Service is friendly and attentive; price is inexpensive for such good quality ingredients.

The third ice gelato flavour is very interesting; vanilla chilli, which really had a chilli taste at the end

My favorite in this buffet was the mushroom soup which was full of flavor but not too rich, as well as the seafood winter melon soup with huge chunks of scallops and fish. My hubby loved the squid ink pasta and the antipasti. He had loads of Parma ham and rock melon.

I managed to take pictures for almost all of the food: http://madamechewy.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/melt-the-world-cafe-buffet-dinner/

Visited Melt at Mandarin Oriental Hotel for a dinner buffet with 2 girlfriends back in mid 2010. Wide variety, tasty, and the dessert section is to die for. Cost about $80 per pax after a credit card promotion discount.



The buffet is divided into different sections:

Western Desserts, Asian desserts, Fruits

Noodles, Pasta and craved meats

Indian

Western

Asian

Japanese, salads and cheeses

Cold seafood

Aglio olio pasta with fresh juicy scallops and mushroom, the must-try waffles with chocolate chip and chocolate ice cream, chocolate lava cake

Went to Melt on another occasion, this time on a weekend. On weekends, Melt has freshly prepared bbq foods by several chefs. The bbq pit is located outdoors

A waitress would take your order and table number. There is a display of raw foods which you can choose from.

The foods available are:

Eggplant

Sasauge

Fish

Prawns

Crayfish

Chicken

Lamb

Satay: beef, lamb, chicken

For pictures and full review, pls visit:

http://madamechewy.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/chinois/

My first time dining in a Chinese fine dining restaurant, super excited XD. Chinois, by celebrity chef Susur Lee, is part of the Tung Luk group. The décor is stylish, zen and elegant.

We had:

Chinois amuse bouche: Crispy fried mushroom dumpling with wasabi mayo sauce. Pan fried carrot cake with preserved meat. Steamed prawn siew mai with black truffle. Instead of the usual flour “skin”, it was replaced with the truffle. I dislike Siew Mai to the MAX. Dad loves dim sum and I had to eat Siew Mai every week when I was younger. But Chinois Siew Mai was yummy, thanks to the truffle and fresh prawn.

Braised shark’s fin with freshly peeled crab meat in hot and sour soup. I usually don’t like hot and sour soup but this was fantastic and the flavors balanced very well, I was craving for more.

Braised deep sea fish fillet with sauteed eggplants served with spicy bean paste. The fish was fresh and cooked to perfection, firm enough to grip with chopsticks and yet so soft in the mouth. Eggplant and vegetables were impressive too.

Pan fried egg noodles with king prawn and white egg

I felt this dish was average,it was nice but lacked that special touch that which the first 3 courses and dessert had.

Chilled home made soya pudding with sesame. The pudding was soooooo soft and silky and the sesame sauce complemented the soya pudding perfectly.

Left Chinois feeling pleased and satisfied, both with the food and service.

For lots of pictures and full review, pls visit:

http://madamechewy.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/twg/

TWG has everything I adore: Lovely teas, delicious food, delightful sweets, luxurious ambience and impeccable service. The music TWG plays is beautiful, I was so attracted to one of the Spanish songs that I asked for its name, and now it is my hand-phone ring tone.

TWG stands for the “The Wellness Group”. I can go in there feeling like c*** and walk out feeling…well, well again! This is a phenomenon caused by fine tea and sweets XD

The list of teas available is mind-boggling, there is a menu for the name and price of the tea, and an encyclopedia for the description of the teas. You can have the teas hot or cold.

Hot teas are served in an insulated pot and it is not refillable. Hot flower teas are served in a glass pot and it is refillable only once. Cold teas are served in a huge glass, with separate small container of syrup, and is not refillable. The amount of tea in a pot and in the glass is the same, although the pot looks bigger (I have checked with the staff about this).

For pictures and full review, pls visit:

http://madamechewy.wordpress.com/category/tien-court/

Experience the art of Chinese fine dining at Tien Court at Copthrone King’s Hotel. Master Chef Ho Tien Tsai has made appearances in several episodes of cooking programs aired in Channel 8. Tien court serves a mix of Cantonese and Si Chuan cuisine. I have been here several times since Tien Court is my FIL’s favorite restaurant; my pictures are a collation from different visits.

The food was ALWAYS good and the service was ALWAYS impeccable (may be due to the fact my FIL is a regular)