Monday, May 22, 2006
Venue : The Coffee Lounge, Goodwood Park Hotel
Date : May 19, 2006
Walking through the doors of the Goodwood Park Hotel, I could not help but feel as if I had travelled back in time. An architecture reflecting an era of colonial splendour, the hotels holds many memories dear to me. I remember having English high tea with my Godmother and getting all excited whenever my parents said they were taking us to Shima .
In case you were wondering, Shima's yakiniku buffet is no longer at the hotel. The yakiniku is now located at the Esplanade and is now such a disgrace to Shima when it was in its prime back in the eighties and early nineties. For $28+++, there's no more garlic fried rice, no more free flow of crispy tempura, and the quality of the beef ... ewww! Don't let me got there.
But I digress. So on Friday evening, my aunt and uncle invited my parents and I to dinner at the Coffee Lounge, which is rather famous (I am bewildered as to why) for their local themed high tea buffet. I was seriously freaked out because I've tried their high tea and I was not impressed. So how was dinner?
*Drum roll please*
And the verdict is...
Not that bad actually. While the buffet had a fair share of Asian, local and Western cuisine, there still isn't much to get excited about. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed their shellfish, especially the crayfish, on ice. The crayfish was sweet, fleshy and absolutely fresh. It tasted best with lemon and tobasco sauce. Another shellfish dish I enjoyed was the cold scallops tossed in a spicy sweet and sour chilli sauce. Like the crayfish, the scallops were fresh and tasted absolutely divine. No fishy taste I swear!
However the same cannot be said for their oysters. The first one I took went powdery in my mouth and my parents had a mild case of food poisoning from eating at least more than two of the devious shellfish.
That aside, another dish I absolutely loved was the Grilled Seabass and vegetables ( sundried tomato, zuchhini and squash) served in a cream based sauce. The sundried tomatoes was slightly charred and wonderfully sweet while the fish was fresh, juicy and went very well with the nicely salted sauce. Other must tries include the Asparagus salad and the fresh and sundried tomatoes served with slices of white, creamy mozzarella.
Lastly, the desserts were simply OK for me. The Apple Crumble was not too sweet and the Vanilla sauce could use more hints of vanilla. I did love the Chocolate Truffle cake though. Although it was a tad bit too sweet, it was crazily rich and I loved how the bitter sweet mousse like cake simply melts in my mouth.
Overall the dinner was pleasant. However, what almost spoiled dinner were the rude staff ( I had waiters constantly bumping into my chair and moving off without even an excuse me or apology) and the potted plant next to our table which slowly released an odour of cat droppings. My aunt insists that the owners of the hotels allowed their pet cats to roam the hotel ( she has seen them) and when she brought it up to the restaurants manager, he denied it and simply said . "OK."
Sheesh.
Price : $29.50 nett per person
Despite the rude and nonchalent staff, I might have dinner at the Coffee Lounge again simply because I love the Grilled Seabass, Scallops and Chilled Crayfish so much. Nonetheless, the thought of visiting the establishment once again wouldn't excite me too much. I'd rather save all my excitment for lunch at One-Ninety anytime.
