Foodie Paradise

Hotel Phoenix Basement 1
277 Orchard Rd
Singapore 238 858
Tel: 6233 6129

 Ratings: 5.5/10

Price: $24.80+++ (Adult) and $16.80 (Child)

My aunt decided to treat us to a lunch buffet at Hotel Phoenix. How can I say no to a treat?

Before having my buffet there, I did hear praises about the delicious roti prata that they served during their buffets.  Upon eating, I felt that the roti prata was decent but definitely not delicious.  It was crispy, but the accompanying curry to the prata was salty.  What’s roti prata without a delicious curry to accompany it?

Roti Prata 

Some salad from the buffet 

During the buffet, there was also a rojak fondue.  Yes, it’s rojak and not the usual chocolate fondue.  Rojak is a fruit and vegetable salad dish commonly found in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.  Rojak, in Malay, means mixture.  The usual rojak ingredients such as the cucumber, pineapple, turnip, bean sprouts, taupok, and fried dough fritters were offered separately on the buffet table.  The rojak sauce, a dark sauce which is usually made up of water, belacan, sugar, chili, and lime juice (the ingredients vary among the vendors selling rojak), was used on the fondue.  So instead of the usual rojak we get that has been tossed nicely before serving, we got to skew the ingredients and dipped them into the rojak fondue instead.  To be really frank, it tasted bad.  It was also the most "deserted" buffet table that day when I was there, unlike the queues forming elsewhere on other buffet table.  Visually wise, as the rojak sauce is of thinner consistency, it did not have the grand and delicious look of the chocolate fondue that’s so pleasing on the eye.  To me, it spoils the image of this really nice local dish in Singapore, but I do have to say it’s a very brave attempt by the cafe to introduce something new in a buffet that also showcased plenty of our local delights.

On the whole, I’ll describe the buffet as good in the variety of food served, but poor in terms of quality.  There are more misses than hits among the food that are served on the whole.  The desserts are too sweet, and the main courses are decent but nothing memorable.  There were some seafood such as fresh oysters served at the buffet table but they were not fresh.  Though the food was served in a nice surrounding and the service was prompt, I guess there’re definitely better deals at some other restaurants.