Kwee Zeen @ Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa

Located in Sentosa Island of Singapore, with a great greeny surrounding and seaview is Kwee Zeen (pronounce as Cuisine), the Pan Asian Dining restaurant of the newly opened luxury hotel, Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa. The beautiful and elegant hotel has blended the historical architectural accents of the colonial buildings with its contemporary interiors and lush landscape, making in an endearing sanctuary for their guests.

Together with a group of foodies, we went down to Kwee Zeen on a Sunday for its Magnifique Sunday Champagne Brunch, offering a wide range of fine quality dishes paired with premium Taittinger Champagne. A total of 16 different ateliers is located around the restaurant, delighting diners in a sumptuous buffet feast.    

The selection of Oysters caught my attention when I walked passed the Seafood on Ice section. They have four different types of oysters from Irish, France, New Zealand and Canada.

A very nice touch by the restaurant is that they will bring a three tier seafood tray to the table. Guests can actually relax and soak into the casual atmosphere, enjoying the brunch while enjoying the beautiful sea view.

The seafood on ice section is really impressive with the 4 different types of crustaceans. There are Mud Crabs, Tourteax Crab, Boston Lobster, Brown Crab, Dungeness Crab and Flower Crab. My favourite is the Dungeness crab which has a lot of eggs and roes inside the shell.

Smoked salmon is rather common on buffet spread but Marinated Coffee Salmon definitely is something new and delicious for me.

Fresh sashimi and sushi are also available among the buffet spread.

At the Alfresco area, the noodle and live seafood station will delight guest that is looking for some Asian flavours. Noticed the wok in the background of the picture, love how the chef wok fried the Sambal Mussels a la minute.  You can also order your stir fried noodles here.

Just beside the noodle and live seafood section is the Indian food section. Do not miss this section. Their roti prata and curry is pretty good too.

From the cooked food section, I tried some of the dishes such as the Beef Rendang, Sambal Long Beans and Braised Pig Trotter. I wasn't having much expectation of these dishes but they surprise me in the execution. The kitchen must have a chef that knows his Asian dishes well.

Another appreciation I like about the Sunday Champagne Brunch at Sofitel Sentosa is that the chefs will actually periodically go around the tables with the different offerings from the buffet spread, bringing the food right to the guest's table. This is probably the very first hotel in Singapore to do this. The chef bringing the dim sum baskets around the tables has the deepest impression for me. I thought that is a good idea and it brings some local flavours, not the food but the whole experience into the Sunday brunch, just like how it is done in traditional dim sum house.

What got everyone excited at the end of the Sunday brunch is the handcrafted truffles. The sweet delights come with varies flavours in it and everyone was popping one after another truffles, to find out what mysterious flavours have the pastry chef comes up with.

Magnifique Sunday Champagne Brunch
Date: Every Sunday
Time: 1230pm - 330pm
Price:
$168++ per adult with free flow of Tattinger Champagne, wine and non-alcoholic drinks
$138++ per adult with free flow of soft drinks and juices
$58++ per child (5 to 11 years old) with free flow of soft drinks and juices


Kwee Zeen
Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa
Sentosa Island
2 Bukit Manis
Singapore 099891
Tel; +65 67088366
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Harbourfront (CC Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 630am - 930pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Harbourfront MRT station. Take Exit D. Walk to pick up point at Exit D. Wait for the complimentary shuttle bus service. The shuttle service is available every 30 minutes of the hour. Journey time about 30 minutes. [Map]

Future of us @ 2am:Dessert bar

After a year of events to commemorate our 50th birthday- reminiscing the past, celebrating the presence, it is now time to look at our future. ‘The Future of Us’, a sensory exhibition that offers Singaporeans an immersive experience of how we may live, work, learn and care in the future. It is the capstone event to round up Singapore’s SG50 year of celebrations.

How do we live? Food, water, air etc. Food, in many first world countries, has very much transcended its basic function as a necessity of life. It has taken on several new identities by the works of today’s civilisation. For example, how our common love for food strings us together. That love and passion are often manifested in the gastronomic innovations around us. So in what directions these creations are going to go? We have Chef Janice Wong, our very own pastry queen from 2am:Dessert Bar to share her take on that.

Desserts innovations is something on which 2am:Dessert Bar has made its name. I wasn’t surprised that Chef Janice Wong was being selected to hold this dialogue for Future of Us. When I walked in, I was taken to a table with a few mini scultupes. Not your usual clay, but they were all made of chocolates! And painted with chocolates too! 100% edible sculptures.

Later on I learnt that these chocolate blocks are about 3D Printing. So simply let the machine do the job. If not, there will never be enough manpower and cash to produce that Boxes of Chocolates bestowed to us, so beautifully shaped and painted into their respective 4 flavors (Rose orange blossom, Gula Melaka, Praline poprocks, Salted Caramel). I managed to get hold of 2 flavours, sadly… Because they were really yummy.

We were also given a very refreshing Citrus Mocktail with a Cassis blackcurrant paper lid, made entirely with 120g of berries. It's really all about innovation.

Throughout the talk, we were given some finger food and beverages to highlight the salient points. For example, with globalisation and high social mobility, we have migration of food. Scallion Pancake (Chinese Prata) and Tapioca pearl chips and cheese was served. Fusion food is common in Singapore, like your most recent Asian Tapas, and more are expected to come.

She also touched on GMO food, which is becoming more and more prevalent. After our hunger has been fulfilled, we have other greater desires. No longer just a technique to develop stronger and healthier food, we can now even use it to enjoy USA Seedless Grapes, which many ate it with the relief that they need not worry about disposing the seeds after that.

Our need for Speed leads to Meal in a cup.The Green juice served to us was yummy for sure, but I hope I won’t resort to that too often.

Chef Janice also showcased her Marshmallow Painting, which was recently exhibited in Affordable Art. Going around the table to Feed the masses was the point that Chef Janice wanted to make. I thought this was interesting. Something that is so intangible could be made edible, with smell and taste.

Then we talked about Confectionery and Health. Food trend changes, perhaps due to our changing preferences over the years or subconsciously we have been influenced by the foodscape around us. Evidently, health is the focus right now, and we always see sugar as the main culprit, even replacement sugars has its implications. Enzyme, may be one of the alternatives in future. The Enzyme Lego Chocolates tasted so delicious. No funny aftertaste like what sweeteners do to our tastebuds. The same goes for the Enzyme Brownie on chocolate soil, there was no compromise to the taste at all. Even Enzyme Cocktail is possible.

As a souvenir, we each got to bring back a 76% dark Chocolate Surprise balls. Food as toys? Not something that I would like to advocate, but it all depends on the users.

Some insights to learn, there will be 2 more sessions with Chef Janice Wong that is completely free and open to the public (tickets are not required). Chef Janice will prepare 3 items for tasting each session

Title: The Future of Food
Venue: The Market Place (near the Future of Us Exhibition)
Date: 19 Dec 7-8pm
Date: 20 Dec 8-9pm
Website

Photograph and written by Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food.