Straits Cafe @ Rendezvous Grand Hotel Singapore

For a limited period from 22 April to 12 May 2013, Straits Café at Rendezvous Grand Hotel Singapore has invited Korean guest Chef Kim Hyun Jung from Lotte World to present A Taste of Korea as part of its International buffet.

There are already quite a number of Korean restaurants in Singapore and most of us are rather familiar with Korean cuisine. Nevertheless, it is still worthwhile to visit Straits Cafe for their buffet as some of the Korean dishes prepared by Chef Kim Hyun Jung is not commonly served in local Korean restaurant.

Banchan 

Banchan (side dishes) is like a staple of Korean cuisine. At A Taste of Korea buffet, the spread also offers some side dishes such as Zucchini, Bean Sprouts, Kimchi and Vermicelli. My favourite among the side dishes is the kimchi.

Korean Ginseng Soup 4/5

This is quite interesting for my limited knowledge of Korean cuisine. The Korean Ginseng Soup exactly has rice in it and it felt like having a bowl of porridge instead of a bowl of soup. The hearty bowl of Korean Ginseng Soup was very comforting with ingredients such as chicken, water chestnut and ginseng. One can also add a pinch of sea salt to enhance the flavour further.

Seabass and Zucchini Pancakes 3.5/4

I quite enjoy the Seabass and Zucchini Pancakes which has a nice thin coat of flour and egg batter. It was rather bland if eaten without sauces. The star was the dipping soy sauce that made the pancakes shone, accentuating the flavour and dimension of the dish.

Hot Spicy Chicken 3/5

Resembling our local curry chicken, the Korean version of Hot Spicy Chicken was rather mild and fiery free to the local palate.

Beef Ribs 4.2/5

The thinly sliced prime Beef Ribs was beautiful marinated and grilled to perfection. It was succulent and tender with a nice thin layer of fats. Probably the favourite among the diners as I noticed a couple of us went for more helpings of the beef ribs.

Rice Cake Roll with Honey Citron Tea 3/5

The selection of Rice Cake Rolls was Mustard (yellow), Cinnamon (Brown) and Green Tea (green). The chewy texture was quite enjoyable and the Honey Citron Tea was perfect to wash it down and cleanse the palate.

Laksa 4.5/5

Mentioned earlier, A Taste of Korea is just part of the International Buffet spread at Straits Cafe. Not to be missed is the award winning Laksa. In fact it was so good that Daniel has 2 bowls of it. Definitely a must try at Straits Cafe.

If you love buffet and enjoy Korean cuisine, head down to Straits Cafe at Rendezvous Grand Hotel Singapore from 22 April to 12 May 2013 to have a taste of authentic Korean cuisine.

Buffet Lunch: $42++ per adult (Mon-Sat)
Buffet Dinner: $50++ per adult (Mon-Thu)
Buffet Dinner: $53++ per adult (Fri-Sun, eve of PH)
Brunch: $48++ per adult (Sun & PH)

Straits Café
Rendezvous Grand Hotel Singapore
9 Bras Basah Road
Singapore 189559
Tel: +65 63351771 / 1777
Website: http://www.rendezvoushotels.com
Nearest MRT: Bras Basah (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Buffet Lunch: 12pm - 230pm (Mon-Sat)
Buffet Dinner: 630pm - 10pm (Mon-Thu), 630pm - 10pm (Fri-Sun and eve of PH)
Brunch: 1130am - 230pm (Sun & PH)

Direction:
1) Alight at Bras Basah MRT station. Take Exit D or E. Walk towards Manulife Centre and continue along Bras Basah Road to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes.

Nam Hwa Chong (Ah Chew) Fish Head Steamboat Corner (亚秋南华昌鱼头炉) @ Jalan Sultan

Fish Head Steamboat 4.5/5

My all time favourite fish steamboat place is at Nam Hwa Chong (Ah Chew) Fish Head Steamboat Corner (亚秋南华昌鱼头炉) at the corner of Jalan Sultan and North Bridge Road. This is probably the oldest restaurant in Singapore since 1927. It is said by many that they are the creator of the Teochew Fish Head Steamboat. Now run by the 3rd generation, the restaurant still continues to use charcoal for their traditional Teochew Fish Head Steamboat that comes with slurp worthy rich and sweet tastes. For the fish, grouper and promfret are more popular with the patrons.

Oyster Omelette 3/5

Beside Fish Head Steamboat, the restaurant also serves some delectable Zi Char dishes. The Oyster Omelette was rather pedestrian. The oysters were also rather small.

Prawn Paste Chicken Wings 3/5

The Prawn Paste Chicken Wings were deep fried to a nice golden brown. However it was lacking the pungent prawn paste taste. This is the milder version of the prawn paste chicken wings which suit those who dislike the acquire prawn paste taste.

Stir Fried Sambal Tapiocal Leaves 4/5

The Stir Fried Sambal Tapiocal Leaves was pretty good. It was actually not too spicy but fragrant enough, not overcooked with a nice crunchiness to it.

Prawn Roll 4/5

I like the Prawn Roll too. They were huge and packed with flavourful filling with occasional crunchy bites of water chestnuts.

Thank you Karen, Maureen and Kai for the birthday dinner treat.


Nam Hwa Chong (Ah Chew) Fish Head Steamboat Corner (亚秋南华昌鱼头炉)
808/812/814/816 North Bridge Road
Singapore 198779
Tel: +65 8613 2732
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nanhwachong
Website: http://www.nanhwachong.com
Nearest MRT: Nicoll Highway (CC Line), Lavender (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 430pm - 1230am

Direction:
1) Alight at Nicoll Highway MRT station. Take Exit A. Take the overhead bridge and walk to the end. Continue onto Jalan Sultan until traffic junction of North Bridge Road and Jalan Sultan. Journey time about 8 minutes.

2) Alight at Lavender MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop at Lavendar MRT station (Stop ID 01319). Take bus number 107. Alight 2 stops later. Cross the road and walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes.

3) Alight at Lavender MRT station. Take Exit A. Turn left and cut across the carpark towards the canal. Walk along the canal and across over. Cut through the blocks of flats to the main road. Turn right onto North Bridge Road. Continue on North Bridge Road until traffic junction of North Bridge Road and Jalan Sultan. Journey time about 12 minutes.