Carousel

A long overdue post, this was during the period of time before Christmas and our wonderful boss brought us to Carousel for lunch and gift exchange cum grilling session for some weird questions which will not be repeated here. I've never noticed much on Halal buffets because i've never had to search for one so this time was an eye opening experience for me. First and foremost, thanks boss!

Location: 25 Scotts Road, Royal Plaza Hotel, Lobby Level

Contact: 6589-7799

Website: http://www.royalplaza.com.sg/carousel.php

The tempting gallery of desserts

Psuedo Artistic Shot

Appetiser and cold seafood counter

Crackers

Assorted meats and grills

Salad Counter

Chinese Dim Sum Counter

Private Function Room

Chocolate Fondue Counter

Japanese Food Counter

Hard @ Work

The pictures above should give you a good indication of the place. Bright and colorful amidst a myriad of food selections. The lunch buffet ranged between $30 to $40 per person. Buffet lunch is from 12pm to 2.30pm, after which you will be informed politely that you should leave.

My First 2 Helpings

Cha soba, sashimi, prawns, mussels, scallops and cold cut duck meat are just the few appetiser dishes you can find at the buffet. I found the ingredients reasonably fresh and sweet. In particular, i found the prawns crunchy and sweet especially when you add some of the sauces on selection. Not too bad overall.

Third and Fourth Helpings

Next up, more food! You can see the prawns i mentioned again along with some beancurd, sushi, more duck meat, chicken, a big piece of mutton, a big piece of sea bass, some eggs and some roast beef. Despite the large selection, it tasted average at best. Maybe it was just a case of too much meat. The only thing that felt distinguished was the chicken which was roasted with ground pepper and honey. The meat was a little too tough though.

Dessert and final helpings

Even more food! The selection is quite astonishing. Even to this point, i've not had everything they had to offer. Chicken, crackers and roast beef round out the mains, while the dessert corner housed a few excellent selections. The log cakes in the dessert corner is excellent. Soft, sweet and mildly fluffy, this is one of the better log cakes i've had so far. It certainly helped that there were different selections of log cakes to try and the same excellence go for the other dessert helpings. With the exception of the chocolate fondue which was a little too thick and too bitter for my tastes. Otherwise, great dessert.

Overall Score: 6/10(For lunch) 7.5/10 (For dessert alone)

Last Word:
Nice environment, huge selection and loads of great dessert. Although the huge selection of food are generally hit and misses, the dessert section is a league on its on. Good enough to recommend purchasing desserts from the restaurant. I'm frankly quite surprised that the food here is above average. Once again, thanks boss!

Cafe Cartel Part 2

I believe this place needs no introduction. So lets get straight to the point.

Location: Marina Square (Next to Swenson's and Changing Appetites)

Price Range: $15 per head

Soup

The soup is reminiscent of Campbell's and we got it by adding about $4 for a soup, some bread and a drink.

Seafood Combo ($49.30 after adding 3 meals)

Another Look

The seafood combo came is portions of 3 generally, garlic butter and cheese baked mussels, cross cut fries, 5 to 6 fried shrimps, calamari rings and one big piece of dory fillet. And believe or not, the serving managed to feed 4 full grown adults pretty well. The mussels were quite a let down actually, nothing too special about them. The fillet was thick and sweet. The fish meat was piping hot and fine as well. I didn't like the shrimp too much as its overly fried, as is the calamari rings. However, all these were made up for with its wasabi mayonnaise sauce which made everything more palatable even though its not.

Tiramisu ($2.30 after discount)

We actually sat and waited till 9.30 pm to get the cake at half price but honestly, it wasn't worth the wait at all. Dry and lacking any rum taste whatsoever, this is hardly noticeable as tiramisu apart from its looks. Not recommended.

Eastside Brownie ($6.50)

Yet again, the dessert of choice. This time however, the brownie tasted a little too bitter and was not heated properly before it was brought out which dampened spirits a little. Still, decent when paired together with its vanilla ice cream.

Bill

Total bill for 4 people reached $56.20 after a further 10% student discount from my friend.

Overall Score: 6.25/10

Last Word:

Definitely not somewhere for fine dining but it gets the job done. Atmosphere is as relaxed as ever and nobody chases you off at this outlet. Service is tolerable but furniture placement is still a pain as everything is still cramped. Calls for more sauce were met with slow service as well. Improvement in order but the place is still function able as a place for junk food and small gatherings.