No stayover at the Mandarin Oriental would be complete without having breakfast at their award-winning buffet restaurant,
Melt The World Cafe ($48+). To be perfectly honest, all I really wanted was my scrambled eggs and bacon. But at Melt, we got more than just eggs and bacon. We liked most items, though, admittedly, it really wasn't that difficult to like classic breakfast fare like breads, cereal, sausages, eggs and bacon. So, unless I've commented that the food wasn't up to par, you can assume that it was good. Or at the very least, ordinary. The fare was extensive, but not the most comprehensive I've seen. Still, the breakfast was one of the better ones around, in terms of quality and variety.
We started off with the
Cold Cuts and Cheeses section.
My fave cold cut was of course the
Parma Ham, with its silky smooth ribbon-ish texture and mild salty flavour.
The Fiance's fave was the
Honey Baked Ham
Beef Salami
Chicken and Mushroom Ham
Smoked Ham
Turkey Ham
Salami
Cheese Table with Grapes
Breadsticks and Table Wafers to complement the cheeses
Soba Noodles and various accompaniments
Various salads, Pasta Salad, Beetroot Salad and Kimchi (non-spicy and spicy)
A Mix-Your-Own-Salad Station
Tomato Salad and Carrot & Raisin Salad
'The Healthy Breakfast Corner, consisting a couple of salads, grapefruit, a few cheeses
The Homemade Healthy Bakeries Section, with low sugar breakfast muffins and banana bread, gluten free herb, tomato and white breads, and trans-fat free breads.
Homemade Muesli, with organic rolled oats, dried blue berries, almonds, pumpkin seeds, golden raisins, dried apricots, pistachios, dried figs and walnuts.
Assorted Pre-Made Bircher Muesli and Strawberry and Apricot Yoghurt. I liked that they were in tiny portions and covered with a plastic lid for hygiene purposes.
Vegetarian Lassi using green capsicum, bitter gourd, green apple, celery and cucumber, Skim Milk and Blueberry Oatmeal
Mix-Your-Own-Yoghurt, with freshly diced dragonfruit, papayas, watermelon, jackfruit and pears.
Assorted Cereal, Honey Stars, Cornflakes, Oats, Koko Krunch
Smoked Seafood Station with Smoked Mackerel, Smoked Salmon, and cream cheese and pickles for accompaniment.
Chilled Seafood, Poached Prawns with Lemons
Indian Food Station
Chick Pea Curry
Curried Potatoes
Lentil Curry
Crispy Prata
Deep Fried Flatbread (
puri)
Pancakes (thosai)
Upama, a South Indian snack of curried cream of rice
Condiments
Indian dessert of
Gulab Jamun, a deep fried flour ball dipped in syrup. This is strictly for the sweet-toothed.
The Chinese Food Section with Plain and Chicken Porridge
Fried Noodles and Fried Rice
Fried Dim Sum, Spring Rolls and Wantons
Noodle Station, where the noodle-of-the-day was Seafood Noodle Soup, and you get to pick your preferred noodles
The Japanese Area with Miso Soup and its various condiments
Grilled Chicken Teriyaki
The Omelette Station, where you get to pick what you want to stuff into your omelette. This is where you get your eggs sunny side up and scrambled eggs as well.
My omelette had peppers, mushrooms, ham and cheese. YUMS.
Eggs Benedict
The egg was perfectly poached and runny.
Veal Sausage
Chicken Sausage
My favourite was the Pork Sausage, with its chunky meaty texture and richer flavour.
Back Bacon
Streaky Bacon
The Honey-Maple Glazed Ham was very good, moist, salty, with a slightly smoky sweetish accent.
Potato Pancake Patties, this was like a gourmet version of hashbrowns.
Roasted Potatoes
Grilled Tomatoes
Muffins and Honeycomb
Waffle and Pancake Station with its mind-boggling array of jams, peanut butter, fudge, and toppings
Sweet Pastries
My fave fruit danishes, with raspberry
Peach and Blueberry Danish
Breads
Sliced Breads and Bagels for toasting
Fruit Compotes
Mixed Fruit Compote
Freshly Cut Fruits
Dessert mousses served in tiny cups so you get to try everything.
Dessert of Aloe Vera topped with a sweetened fruit of strawberry, peach or lychee.
Melt The World Cafe
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Level 4
5 Raffles Avenue
Marina Square
Tel: 6338 0066
Website: www.mandarinoriental.com/singapore/
