Lime Sunday Brunch Part 1!

Hello! I was thinking of places to go on Sunday for lunch then all of a sudden I thought of Lime! I've been wanting to go for a buffet (since I've not been in q awhile, okay more like an excuse to eat alot and not feel that guilty) so the boy and I went for Sunday Brunch.

I called the night before about 9+pm 10 to make a reservation and the lady who picked up told me that the restaurant will call me back themselves to confirm my reservation. I assumed the restaurant would call me back that night as I thought 10ish would be when they're less busy and can call to confirm my reservation. Instead, I got no calls from them and only got a call next morning at 10+am close to 11am saying that I had to try and walk-in because their reservations are full!

Imagine waking up to that! What a bummer! But the boy & I still decided to go and try our luck. The restaurant was relatively empty when we arrived at 12.30pm and we managed to get a table for 2. I really like the "entrance" of this restaurant which showcases the cakes&tarts available that day. I will show a photo of this entrance in the Part 2 of my post about the buffet because it is too image heavy!

Part 1 - cold seafood/appetisers/mains

Part 2 - desserts/ambience/service etc (this will be posted later!)

So here's the spread!

Oysters

Freshly shucked on the spot!

Lobsters (these were refilled rather slowly!) -> I am glad that they have the half lobster available!
Mussels
Clams
Prawns

Salmon & tuna sashimi
Assortment of sushi - their maki rolls look quite creative!
I also like how they have a variety of pickles to choose from! Okay its just 3 but better than many many buffets I know that dont even have pickles to choose from!

Appetisers - Tomatoes x crab meat | seared tuna w apple & avocado | duck salad

Assortment of pre-mixed salads eg potato/waldorf/peking duck

US Prime Rib

Roasted Cajun Chicken & Lamb rack

There's also a baked snapper at the end of this row which I forgot to snap a photo of! There's a chef stationed here but sometimes he is too busy w one diner that the rest have to wait around and sometimes they help themselves to the cutting of the meat then he'll come scurrying over to help. Which I felt was a little awkward for the guests because well idk for me, I wasnt sure to take the food myself or wait for him to serve me.

Assorted Thai salads! Beef | pomelo | papaya | mango

Wide array of breads to choose from!

Buttery goodness!

Jams + Echire Butter!

Penang Laksa Station!

The boy and I didnt try this that day but from reviews, it's apparently v good!

The food offered at this row of the buffet (not pictured) consists of Asian mains eg beef rendang, sea bass + eggplant + okra curry, there was also this fried chicken but I forgot what sauce it was coated in! And 2 other dishes which I cant remember, sorry!

I dont think what this station is called but basically it's like yong tau foo. You pick up a bowl next to what's shown here, then you proceed to choose your own ingredients + the quantity then you pass it to the chef and tell him how you want it cooked!

Live Pan-seared Foie Gras Station 

Poached Eggs x Rosti Station

This row (not pictured) at the buffet houses the Western mains - herb-crusted Cod fillet, lamb shank, coq au vin, ratatouille, beef (its either stewed or braised), cant rmb if there's anything else sorry! And at the end of this "line" is the live mushroom risotto station! It features a gigantic parmesan wheel where the chef places your risotto into aft cooking, mixes it around a little and then scoops up your risotto!

So here's what I/the boy had that day:

Oysters - 2 out of 3 I ate had sand in them! They were okay, not terribly fresh and neither did they have much taste
Prawns, mussels - not much taste
Clams - smelly taste/smell
Sashimi - nearing average quality

In general - cold seafood that has the essentials for me but doesnt quite deliver in taste

Lobsters - okayish as well!

Pan-fried Foie Gras w Apple Passionfruit Compote

1) I really love that it is apple passionfruit! I love the tartness of the passionfruit and how there are real fruit slices/pieces in the compote!
2) The foie gras was quite nicely done, only a slight crispy exterior with the interior a tad overcooked but its still q good overall! Like it w the compote!

However I feel that they probably should have an air ventilator above the foie gras station or something because when the boy and I became progressively fuller, the oily rich smell of pan fried foie gras clogged our noses whenever we passed by and made us feel like puking! I had to hold my breath everytime I walk pass the station. Not sure if this just happens to us though haha.

Thai Mango/Papaya Salad - I really liked the fact that at this station you can choose your own salad "toppings" eg amt of crushed peanuts, amt of chilli sauce/oil you wanna put etc.! I felt that mango/papaya used doesnt really have the fragrance of those I've tried at oth establishments!

Smoked salmon -  not really salty

Tomato x crab - cant really taste that its crab you're eating, tomato not terribly sweet, semi so

Seared tuna x avocado x apple: i like the mix of avocados + apple! The seared tuna was not bad

Scallop carpaccio: quite fresh! Makes up for the loss of scallops in the cod seafood section

Grilled capsicum/eggplant nth much can go wrong w these

Poached egg | salmon gravlax | rosti

The boy said this tasted quite normal though it looks good!

His plate
Foreground
Lamb shank: the boy said this was really tender and good!
Grilled eggplant/asparagus: nth much to shout abt
Herb-crusted cod: cant really taste the natural flavours of the cod (its v subtle!) so this is more for texture of cod + knowledge that you are eating cod haha but its still good nonetheless! I had 3 slices (as shown below) and still wanted to go back for more!

Background
Beef: the boy really liked this too saying its super soft!
Roast snapper: a little tough the meat
Cajun chicken: the boy asked for breast meat but even so, it was super super tender and soft! We were pleasantly surprised by this!

My plate
Snapper 
Lamb Rack: was lacking a bit in terms of flavour, not enough marinade maybe? Meat was cooked rather nicely. Prefer grilled lamb of Basilico's though!
Ratatouille: I thought it could've been a bit more intense the tomato flavour! But overall, nice veg mix
Herb-crusted cod

Mushroom risotto

Well I know risotto takes quite awhile (Few hrs) to cook it nicely so these short live stations probably already prepped the risotto before hand and just need to warm it up or something? Note this is just MY guess, I have no idea srsly. Anyway this risotto was still too hard and tastes of starch. Not perfume-y this one.

A waiter will come around with pizza and ask if you want it, freshly baked pizza of course. The crust is unbelievably thin + crispy. Hope ingredients can be more plentiful in the future though!

Mushroom soup

The boy said this was a bit watery for him but it was still okay. The other soup on offer that day was the Lobster Bisque, my oh my, it was SO watery that it flowed like flowing water. I wanted to drink it but after scooping it up and seeing that texture, I closed the lid.

I also tried the sea bass curry w eggplant & okra -> I thought it wasnt spicy at all and the veg lost its taste. The sea bass was cooked q nicely though.

Please read my next post for the desserts + service + ambience etc!