If you think hotel buffets are stuffy and outdated, think again. We’ve got a good selection of classy restaurants scattered across the island’s hotels, but two in particular stand out for their recent revamps, after overhauling both their interior design and their food.
At Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, modern Asian brasserie One-Ninety has tossed aside its dim lights and standard hotel decor for a light-filled, elegant space dotted with Peranakan tiles, greenery, and pops of colorful blooms. The botanical inspiration also seeps into the menu, which focuses on seasonal produce sourced daily for its Asian spin on Provençal cuisine.
Its new Chef de Cuisine Kamarl John, fresh from Adrift by David Myers in Marina Bay Sands, plates signatures like the seafood tower, a triple-tiered stand with enough sashimi and crustaceans on ice to feed two, and the 40-day aged chargrilled rib chop. Other dishes to try include the Iberico pork presa and collar with star anise, pineapple chutney, and celeriac purée, snapper bouillabaisse, steamed Atlantic cod, and grilled blue lobster.
You can get these entrées with the “semi-buffet” for lunch at $48, or just nibble on the free flow spread of appetizers, cheeses, and desserts for $38. The table of unlimited goodies includes seafood salads, greens from the hotel’s organic garden, cold cuts, dips, cakes, and pastries, and each meal here starts with a chunk of sourdough and seaweed butter.
Over at Royal Plaza on Scotts Singapore, popular buffet restaurant Carousel has also been renovated to showcase a new contemporary design with a Peranakan-style shop house window feature wall and a bright mix of colors in the space.
About 17 stations are housed in the eatery, including a seafood selection of up to 13 marine varieties, plus Mediterranean and Japanese main courses. There’s also the new Brazilian churrasco corner that churns out smoky, grilled meats that’ve been marinated for 24 hours.
For dessert, the ice cream flavors come with a local twist — think kaya toast, chendol, and salted egg yolk — while the pastry counter includes the restaurant’s signature bread and butter pudding, alongside desserts made with “garden ingredients” like beetroot, coriander, and rhubarb.
