Together for Christmas @ Oscar's (Conrad Centennial Singapore)

The group has decided on buffet for this year's Christmas gathering, so we descended on to Oscar's at Conrad Hotel.

Now that buffet is back in full swing, let's see how's the experience compared to before. Was there for Festive Brunch and most of us got the $108++ per adult and $54++ per child, with free flow Soft Drinks, Chilled Juices, Coffee and Tea. A few in the group went for the $148++ per person with free flow Rosé Sparkling Wine, House Wines, Gin & Tonic, Draft Beer and Soft Drinks.

Buffet timing is 12:30–3:30pm (Last order at 3:15pm). However, there was no staff at the front even at 12.20pm. Is this the norm? Not sure.

entrance to Oscar's

let's talk a tour

Classic Western Mains

roast turkey

Local Seafood Station

Local Flavours

Compound Salad

Sashimi Counter

Assortment of sushi

The Ice Bar

Drinkers of Change (partnership with Little Ripples)

Dessert

Dessert

eat, drink and make merry

dessert

The oysters looked good and what's more, there's Japan oysters and there's USA oysters. Let's do a taste test!

starter plate

Japan oyster

The visuals for the oyster from Japan looked better. Smooth, plump and mild flavours. Very little muscle (that scallop like thingy) hence, it glided off smoothly from its shell.

USA oyster

The visuals for the USA oyster seemed a tad fierce, no? But it packed bold flavours. Loved this in terms of flavours but texture wise, preferred the ones from Japan. It has strong and big muscle, so it was a bit of a hassle to dig out the flesh in comparison.

The Foie Gras Live Station have two Chefs at least, one to setup the base plating and another to place components onto the plate. They made it pretty.

Pan-Seared Foie Gras and Raukal Smoked Duck

The gingerbread crisp added a touch of Christmas magic to the plate. Preferred a thicker slice of foie gras, but otherwise, it was lovely.

plate of classic western mains

Hmm, what type of buffet eater are you? I noticed my style is to gather everything onto one plate because am lazy to go round and round so many times. Of course, I wouldn't mix hot and cold food together. I have friends who did individual plates separately for most of the items...

Gammon Ham

Turkey with Roasted Pumpkin – Cranberries Sauce and Gravy

One could not go wrong with Gammon ham. Texture was lovely, flavours was as expected. The turkey (Chef gave me center breast meat) was not and flavours mainly from the sauce.

skinny asparagus for the vegetables

chicken satay from the Grill Station

Chicken satay was nice as well as the Sambal Tumis Sotong Bakar. But the sambal not spicy, so that was a surprise. 

The biggest letdown was the Grilled BBQ Lobster. The meat was mushy. For the beef yakiniku, it depends. One piece was very well done hence it was tough, but another was nice as it was grilled just nice.

Grilled BBQ Lobster

Ended up eating dessert earlier, as the foods didn't seem to excite.

Yule Logs Galore (front to back); Matcha, Chocolate, Cassis

small bites

best of 3; Chocolate/Hazelnut Yule Log

Seemed like there were multiple tables who were celebrating their loved ones/friend's birthday, and we did one for Tiara too. Sorry, but it was too funny! Hahahaa!

All in all, it was a joyous get-together with foodie friends. We have stuck around each other for like, 7 years now. Cheers and here's to good health, good food and good company!

Was I a good buffet eater? Definitely, no. Hahaa, it's called ageism.

Oscar's

Address: 2 Temasek Blvd, Singapore 038982

Website: https://eatdrinkhilton.com/oscars/

[Tasting] CNY Feast at Goldleaf Restaurant 金葉餐廳 @ 83/85 Geylang Rd

Goldleaf Restaurant is now located at 83/85 Geylang Road. Grab driver was asking me which lorong would that be. So closest would be Lorong 3. Go past Sinma G7 Frog Porridge shop (uncle said Geylang has 3 of this frog porridge places...), then go past the traffic light and the restaurant is about 100m after the traffic light. Thereabouts. Can park at nearby HDB block behind the restaurant.

Goldleaf Restaurant

table by the window

spacious interior

iconic

套餐三 （Set Menu Three)

鸿兔大展 $888 (8-10pax)

Yu Sheng

Goldleaf Reunion Yu Sheng 金宝仔捞起

abalone close-up

甜甜蜜蜜 (sweet loving relationship)

招财进宝 (attract great wealth and treasure)

let's toss for good health, abundance of wisdom and wealth (and world peace)

let's eat!

The yusheng is basically a salad of sorts, and it is sweet and refreshing. A good start to the year.

Soup

Sea Cucumber, Fish Maw with Ginseng and Cordyceps in Superior Broth

炖洋参虫草花羹

Loved the umami-sweetness of the superior broth, and one could taste the hint of ginseng in the soup. It is a thick soup (羹) with smooth texture. Satisfying and comforting. Didn't need any vinegar or pepper for this.

Fish

Steamed Red Snapper with Chye Poh and Garlic

Goldleaf has always done their steamed fish right, and this plate was no exception. Fish was fresh with firm flesh, and the sauce concoction tasted savoury sweet of good soy sauce, and loved fried crunchy bits of the chye poh garlic. Alvin said, he would love to eat this with rice.

Prawns

Wok-Fried Tiger Prawns with Black Pepper Sauce

Finger-licking dish, and for lovers of stronger flavours. The black pepper sauce was delicious and the prawns were of a good size. This is one dish that you don't mind getting your fingers dirty!

Poultry

Housemade Chicken with Specialty Dip 

The roast chicken brought back a bit of nostalgia as Chinese restaurants in the olden days, will definitely have one on the menu (and usually served with prawn crackers!). Chicken was well roasted and mildly seasoned and served with Goldleaf Specialty Dip. Wet or dry, choose your favourite but both were equally addictive! I prefer the dry one as it could be sprinkled to noodles as well! The sauce dip had a bit of peppercorn / mala taste in it, and I had it with the chicken breast parts.

Vegetables

Abalone Slices, Mushrooms and Sea Moss with Seasonal Vegetables

Plenty of vegetables for the table. Sauce was lovely and the vegetables plate could be pretty filling as well. The broccoli was lightly blanched and retained its crunchy-ness.

Noodles

Stewed Golden Taiwanese Noodles 金黄台湾面

closer view of the golden noodles

Noodles were well stewed and with an amiable texture. Not quite al-dente but just nice. Tasty on its own, or sprinkle some of those dry spice from the Housemade Chicken dish specialty dips.

Dessert

Orh Nee 芋泥

The set menu consists of dishes that the young and old could enjoy, and its dishes could also be paired up with a bottle of your favourite wine/sake. Corkage fee is $35 for BYO.

Thank you Kris for the invite, Goldleaf Restaurant and Karen for hosting the tasting. This menu is available for dine-in. So, make your reservations today as CNY is just round the corner.

Goldleaf Restaurant 金葉餐廳

Address: 83/85 Geylang Rd, Singapore 389200

Website: https://goldleaf.com.sg/

Contact: 6346 1088

Business Hours:

Daily: 12–10pm

MiMi Korean BBQ @ 2 Peck Seah Street

It was our annual Christmas gathering and Gina wanted to eat Korean BBQ. Searched for new places via Google and I found one that none of us had been before, plus it accepts reservation. There's options for buffet or ala-carte. For the buffet, everyone at the table need to take the same and limited to 90-minutes session. Pricing is reasonable for $34.50+ on Fri-Sun, PH and eve of PH. On other days, it is just $29.50+. Do check directly from the restaurant's website for updated pricing.

Anyhow, we shall decide once we are there!

Reservation was fuss free and was contacted by the restaurant staff on the day of the reserved date a few hours prior to our visit.

menu

restaurant interior

A tumbler of cold roasted barley tea was served as soon as you're seated. Observed that majority of diners on that Friday evening, would come by around 730pm onwards.

drink up

Decided to take up Premium Set A (@$129+) for more beefy options! Beef short rib (boneless), ribeye, marinated beef and short plate. 4 different cuts of beef to satisfy our cravings! Also ordered a Seafood Pancake to try.

Once done, staff will help to turn on the grill and pour the egg onto the sides of the grill. Banchans were also served immediately after we ordered the mains.

table full

seaweed

kimchi

japchae

pickled sesame leaves

beansprouts

The meat served here looked good! Wasn't expecting the beef short plate to be of such a big piece and this is the same thing served for buffet! Wow, I'm sold! The marbling for the ribeye and the boneless short rib were really nice.

Premium Set A (@$129+) - marinated short ribs, short plate, ribeye, boneless short rib, sausage, onions, mushrooms

let it sizzle

There was a small piece of fat provided amongst the sliced onions, and I guess we were supposed to use that to oil the grill. Didn't notice it hence, in all our eagerness (plus hungry tummies), we just placed the short plates directly onto the grill. It was fatty enough to not stick to the grill.

And of course, how could we miss out on some soju and beer combo? I like it at 1:2.5 ratio.

somaek 소맥 (beer + soju) 

Seafood Spring Onion Pancake @$27+

While the Seafood Pancake had a lovely batter that's crisp on its outer side and not doughy/mushy on its inside, it could do with more seafood.

beef short ribs (boneless)

made a wrap (쌈)

Personally, I felt that the best texture and flavour for the meat, goes to short ribs! 

It was a filling meal for the 3 of us ladies, and there's complimentary mini yakult for diners after their meal. Self-service from the cooler-box near entrance.

take one

We spent $67 per pax and had an enjoyable meal. Staff was polite and helpful. Will return to try other things next time!

Thank you Florence and Gina for the many years of friendship! See you next time.

MiMi Korean BBQ 

Address: 2 Peck Seah St, #01-01 Air View Building, Singapore 079305

Website: https://mimikoreanbbq.business.site

Contact: 9114 9510

Business Hours:

Daily: 1:30am–3pm, 5:30pm–12am