Thanks Shar! I love Chinese Rojak, although I only eat it with the you tiao (fried dough sticks). I gotta pay more attention next time on the red ginger bud part.

Hi Zak,

That’s a tough question! Taste is subjective so I can’t have a definite yes or no answer to your question, but here are my thoughts.

I went for the buffet with high expectations, mainly because the hotel’s Harvest of the Sea buffet did such a great job in satisfying the seafood fan in me previously. I was somewhat disappointed by the main dishes. The steamed fish wrapped in banana leaf was unpalatable because it was burnt. I prefer my food to have stronger flavours and found the chicken salad lacking in taste, although it would no doubt appeal to someone with a milder palate. There are a few other dishes on the buffet line that I tried and didn’t love. Those are my main gripes. I did go there on the opening night though, so there may have been improvements since then.

The good: The large selection of desserts including the yummy strawberry mousse and the creme brulee (possibly Indonesian version). Satay and oxtail soup are fabulous too! Overall, the variety of food is pretty large, so I’m sure you would find something you like.

I’ll let you decide for yourself whether it’s worth it!

I was planning to take my family for the Ramadan buffet this coming Saturday (4 Sept). But after reading your review, I’m not too certain now.

You don’t seem to favour the main dishes, which is important in a buffet, although the desserts get high marks from you.

So my question is, is the buffet worth the 40 odd dollars per person, if some of the food is as you described it “unpalatable”?

Hope you see this in the following days as I have to make a decision.

Actually I do sometimes wonder about such fast breaking buffets at restaurants and the kind of messages that they are sending. From what I understand from my Muslim friends and colleagues, Hari Raya Puasa is a time for reflection, forgiveness, penance and reformation. The act of fasting from dawn to dusk seeks to cleanse and purge one’s minds of its moral ills.

Would these buffets then promote over-indulgence during a time of prayerful worship? Or do they have a rightful place – after all, the fasting is already done during the day and it is fine to nourish the body to prevent harm to oneself.

I don’t have the answer myself, but I am curious to hear what our Muslim friends can share about these practices. :)