Hi everyone! Sorry the lull, and there will likely be another lull till after 10 Dec cos I have exams on that day!
I went for this Sunday Brunch with the boy and his family at the start of this month. Am really apologetic because at the ready-made salad counter, the chef told me that no photos allowed (but chefs at all the oth stations didnt say anything... Wonder what's up w this?) so I only have pics of most of the spread and not all! Had to keep a lookout for that chef.
The layout of the buffet is different from the rest of the buffets I've been to in the sense that its spread out over a HUGE area, like literally throughout the restaurant! Each "cuisine" (Western/Chinese/Japanese), appetiser + cold seafood and dessert stations are separated which can be good or bad.
1) You may think "aiya omg so full, dont wanna walk alr, lazy to go and get the _____ that I may still wanna eat"
2) You walk more and hopefully digest better/burn more or sth and then you get to eat more and make better value outta it! #singaporeanmentality
Another difference is that there are SIGNIFICANTLY more expats here for brunch than I've ever seen at any other brunch restaurants!! And I've been to quite a lot alr. Feels kinda like you're overseas.
I shall start with the appetiser/cold seafood counter! This is right in front of the entrance of the restaurant, centrally located.
Juices are included in the price
These are freshly shucked and placed on the ice
And then I had to stop taking pics of the salad spreads cos the chef told me no photos. Anyway they have quite a few ready-made salads! Besides these Thai ones, they have Western ones as well
Cold Seafood
They have one of the FRESHEST cold seafood spread I've had so far!!! The lobsters are the BEST I've eaten so far at buffets! Super super fresh and SWEET (most oth buffets, probably fresh but not sweet, these were so good). Everything else got overshadowed by the lobster. Mussels and clams, nth much imo. Prawns were fleshy and juicy.
As you can see, I went for more of the lobsters!
Parma ham wasnt v good, rock melon was sweet. That's asparagus salad there and there was a mozarella x tomato salad as well
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Round the corner from the salads side is a small display of some cheese and pre-made waffles, I'll talk about this later. No pics of this part of the spread cos of the chef.
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Japanese counter
This is situated to the most right of the restaurant when you enter (ie the innermost section)
Grilled on the spot!
Tempura
The boy and his mom took this and said that it was cold already and I dont really think ppl like eating cold tempura? So I suggest the restaurant to think of a better way to keep this heated up! Otherwise ppl will just wait for the new batch to come.
Unagi
SO SO PSYCED that this buffet has unagi!!!!! The only other time I had it was at Greenhouse but after 1 round, they replaced it w sth else and the eel was SO rubbery and tasteless. This one was extremely good I kept going back for seconds, thirds, fourths, etc. I really liked it! Nice flavour and tastes and most imptly, it was hot or at least warm most of the time!
Bacon-enoki mushroom roll
Think those to the right is chicken
Sushi!
I went at the wrong time and got it before it was refilled! But after going back again, it was fully refilled! Didnt try this so no comments!
Japanese Salads
They have quite a big selection relative to oth buffets! Seaweed salads and I dont rmb what else there was!
Sashimi galore!
Nice that they have ikura besides the usual tuna, salmon, swordfish, octopus. Sashimi is quite fresh and nice!
Oh yes there's miso soup as well at this counter!
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Chinese Counter
This is before the Japanese counter.
Selection of dimsum
Hargow, Siewmai, Pau (not sure what), stuffed mushrooms
Siewmai & hargow were not bad
Roast meats!
Charsiew, roasted pork, roasted duck
This counter also has a station where they'll make you some chinese noodles on the spot! Also a selection of chinese dishes - veg, steamed fish, etc.
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Western Counter
This is after the cold seafood/appetiser counter and features quite a wide variety of food!
Roast lamb, roast chicken, roast beef
Yorkshire pudding
This was q nice!
Chicken sausages
Chicken nuggets (relive your childhood memories or well, all of us love eating nuggets still right?)
Mini burger sliders (these are q good!)
Fries
They also have a selection of Western mains like sauteed mushrooms, grilled veg (sorry cant really rmb what else they had) and a mushroom risotto in a huge parmesan cheese wheel and pan-fried foie gras made a la minute.
Pan-fried foie gras
This is diff from what I've experienced at other buffets (besides Triple Three) cos theirs, they pan-fry it even before you order and put it at the counter then you come and take it.
Good points: LARGE serving! Look at that size! Biggest sized foie gras served at a buffet, I daresay. And its not just this one piece, all of them are abt this size
Bad points: barely lukewarm, which takes away some of the deliciousness of foie gras AND barely any taste, I'm sorry. This was really bland and doesnt really have the texture of crispy on the outside and soft/melty on the inside.
Quality really trumps quantity in this case!
The mushroom risotto was cold too and bland
Sauteed mushrooms (top left) was quite good, sauteed veg next to it was bland
Roast lamb (middle) was okay, could be more flavourful
Desserts Counter
This was well disappointing for me cos I'm a DESSERT FAN. And the spread was really too small for me. Another bad thing was that there were NO SIGNS so everyone started asking the chef there what each thing was.
Shown here is most of the dessert buffet spread alr (besides ice cream, choc fountain, alcohol meringue station)
Carrot cake - was ok
Sticky Date Pudding - needed to go w the vanilla sauce, else was q bad
Apple Crumble - doesnt really have apple taste
Lemon Meringue Tart - lemon curd wasnt thick enough for me
Macarons - passionfruit & some berry flavour, both were really good w chewy shells and not overly sweet
Choux Puff - too hard!!!
There was also bread & butter pudding, cheesecake, pannacotta shooter and strawberry shortcake (which was not bad)
Waffle from the cold seafood counter
This barely had any waffle taste that we usually associate waffles with, it has another taste which I cant quite describe but was not bad! Crispy definitely. I wonder how it remains crispy despite being left in the open
Cheese platter - The selection of cheeses were okay, nth spectacular abt the tastes I feel. That "Cracker" or wtv its called at the top, tasted so mouldy and icky. Thought it'd be crispy but it was soft.
As you can see, I took more macarons :)
Ice cream!
I love their variety of ice cream cos they have some unique flavours!
Left - CINNAMON ice cream!!!! And this really really tastes like cinnamon, super super good!
Middle - raspberry sorbet. Sorry was too preoccupied by cinnamon, I forgot how this tastes! Not sour enough for me though I rmb.
Right - Coconut. This didnt have a strong coconut taste :/ but still, unique flavour!
They also had this alcoholic meringue station (turn a corner aft the choc fondue) where they make the meringue on the spot in dry ice and you've to eat it on the spot in one mouthful!! Its FULL of gin or was it vodka? Some liquor and it explodes in your mouth and is really quite cool! Give it a shot! :)
Overall comments about the buffet:
- Service: plate clearing was quite fast, servers had a smile on their faces most of the time, rather polite, didnt get the "friendly, amiable" feel. Water was constantly refilled though
- Spread: Not bad a spread, I wouldnt exactly call it huge, but not bad. Quality wise, not that many hits? Although cold seafood's really good & the unagi haha.
- Value for money: I'm bordering btwn value for money and not value for money. Because cold seafood quality was good, as was some dishes in the mains. However, small dessert selection + food in spread generally not that up to par! But its a buffet! So cant be everything's well done :)
- Ambience: the chair we sat on was kinda hard, not really conducive for long periods of sitting. The decor of the restaurant is just black schemed and simplistic so nth much in terms of decor there. Privacy space between tables - okay.
Would I go back again? Probably not since there are other places at cheaper prices w better quality of food :)
mezza9
Grand Hyatt Hotel Singapore Mezzanine Lvl
Sunday Brunch 11.30am-2.30pm (available on PH as well)
$138++/$128++ for free flowing champagne (Depending on type of champagne! Refer to website)
$108++ with free flowing juices, soft drinks
$69++ per child (7-12 years old) with free flowing juices, soft drinks
Complimentary parking is provided
On other days & Sunday dinner, mezza9 serves ala carte/set options
