probably the best buffet I’ve had in singapore – in spread and overall food quality . buffets are a tricky beast to photograph – so many things on offer, and the whole public exposure factor involved in toting a camera to every dish. too daunting – but I tried my best.
this is a photo post – largely because of the sheer volume, but in short: high quality food – not the best in themselves, especially if considered separately – but very good for the fantastically large range on offer. even better than the line at the shangri-la, which has seen standards dwindling in the past years. heavy sticker on this one too, but we walked waddled away overstuffed and happy – so perhaps an occasional treat?
oh, and I haven’t mentioned their fantastic post-dinner sweet section eh? very impressive, this one – more on that in a later post today here!
oh, and they have a lovely garden outside near the barbecue area – very lovely.
there’s a lovely spread of bread and salads on offer – but I know most of you head straight to the cold seafood section:
which had a variety of four or five types of shellfish. rather fresh, and very good with tabasco. those lobsters were small but sweet enough.
I rather like the barbecued section better though – you see crayfish and prawns up there done to a neat char. seafood tastes so much better hot after a turn on the pit, and while the barbecue section was a little occupied (pitiful singular waiter grilling up everything), everything from the roast pork to the seafood made us happy.
they had a european section full of staub casseroles with stews and roast vegetables, all pretty good. especially that creamy seafood stew that went well with toast.
I did like how there were loads of vegetables though – something very often missing in buffets. these cauliflower florets were done up all tender and garlicky. I think I must have had thirds of these.
some beautifully lighted up go-betweens – a mixture of crackers, yorkshire pudding, crisps and toast.
they had a decent indian section too – the tandoori chicken wasn’t too dry, and went well with the raita and coriander on hand – but I think straits kitchen wins out here.
and a nominal section of east asian offerings – chinese cooked food and a japanese section with udon noodles and sushi. the sushi was rather paltry though – I’d say to keep the space for something else.
like the dessert table – that’s all coming up soon see it here!
we ate from when it was bright out, to when it was dark. the restaurant isn’t super modern, but rather homey old-school, good for large family dinners; it was noisy and vibrant, and everybody was kept happy with the spread of food.
it is probably one of the more expensive buffets, and so wasted on me – but if you have a decent appetite to satisfy, this will do you alright.
Melt – The World Café at Mandarin Oriental
Level 4, Mandarin Oriental Singapore
5 Raffles Avenue
Singapore 039797
tel +65 6885 3500
$$$$: (I think) eighty-plus-plus per person
p.s. part two on the dessert tables here.
andmorefood 
That was an amazing post! like a food museum– We live far, far from Singapore, but I would love to sample all that some day… thanks!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I hope you get to come soon – we’ve got loads of food here. stay tuned for the dessert bit!
I know the embarrassing feeling of having to document every single pictorial shot of each dish…my take is to develop a really thick skin! :)
I know! but shy, you know :P helps though that food photography is such a local thing.
I didn’t have enough skin to take photos at my birthday lunch at jaan though :/ it felt too gauche!
hahaa, as nike says, Just Do It! the only time when I don’t take photos is when I’m dining with the big big boss. that would require a thick skin and an application for a new job! :p
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I stayed at Mandarin Oriental for a good 22 days… and trust me, despite the fact that I ate the breakfast at Melt Cafe everyday… I never tired of it…. its an awesome place!!!
wow.. is it a full buffet spread everyday? I tend to be a very boring breakfaster – the first few days I start adventurous, and then I end up with just fruit and cereal for every day after that!
Not just a beast to photograph, but quite hard on the chefs as well. Consequently, food quality usually drops dramatically with buffets. I’ve been to a fair share of luxury hotel buffets & for lunch/dinner the equivalent of this, buffet at Ventaglio @ Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, remains my favorite.
that’s true, and the constant heating under the foodwarmers doesn’t help neither. I used to love them as a kid for the variety, but these days I find myself gravitating to just a bit of the roast on offer (which is still relatively fresh) – though I never seem to ‘make back’ how much you would pay for an at-least decent buffet.
Word. That’s one of the chefs’ cruxes, that they have to make food that stays halfway decent on the warmers.
As to our great demise eating breakfast out is a thing unheard of in Japan, the hubby & I used to resort to the very good Conrad’s & Park Hyatt breakfast buffets. Other than that, I regularly frequent sweets buffets at lux hotels but there’s only about 2 in Japan that’re REALLY good [reviews upcoming, although who knows when…]. & on those occasions, I mos def make back what I paid ;)
Great review – we are going tmr.
Natalie & Sarah
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