[Invited Tasting] Seasonal Tastes, Westin
I remember when the Westin hotel chain sold the iconic Stamford Road hotel to the Swissotel group back in the early 2000's and exited entirely from Singapore. I spent a large part of that decade referring to the hotel as the Westin, confounding taxi drivers and bungling up many a meetup with friends. Even now, I sometimes catch myself thinking of the Swissotel as Westin.
The Westin has now returned to our sunny shores, occupying the top floors of Asia Square Tower 2 in the Marina Bay downtown financial sector of the CBD. In spite of its prime grade A locale, the hotel doesn't quite afford the expansive view of the bay or the sea beyond because it's flanked all round by equally towering office blocks. Very unfortunate, methinks, because the lack of a seaview in most rooms would likely work against the hotel because staycationers would naturally look for a seaview to wake up to.
Seasonal Tastes, Westin's in-house all-day buffet restaurant, recently launched their themed dinners, and invited a few of us food bloggers for a taste of their Italian-centric Mamma Mia Pasta Nights on a Monday. Despite the complimentary tasting, I found Seasonal Tastes to be a largely middling buffet, as most buffets tend to be. It wasn't the worst, but it was far from the best. And, if you ask me, I wouldn't pay the $62 pricetag for dinner.
Because we partook of the same buffet as the rest of the public, there wasn't an incognito revisit done as per the usual invited tasting S.O.P.. The food is listed below in descending order of preference.
The Good
The Cheeses were decidedly limited, but they were excellent.
The standout Wenleysdale Cranberry was my favourite. Studded with dried cranberries for a muted tartness, the cheese was creamy and mild.
The always reliable Gouda
And the pungent polarising Viking Blue
Sweets to satisfy every sweet tooth out there
Green Tea Opera
Clockwise from top left: Assorted Nonya Kuehs, Grand Cru Chocolate Hazelnut Royal, Strawberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Cheesecake
Earl Grey Tea with Strawberry Mousse
Sea Coconut Jelly Shots
Live-Cooking Pasta Station - pasta as you like it
Juice Station
The Average
Summer Berries Tart
Smoked Turkey
Vegetable Lasagne
Chicken Tikka
Cannelloni stuffed with Mushroom, Ricotta and Chicken
Oven Baked Penne with minced beef stew and cheese
Basmati Rice with Eggs - looked innocuous but turned out fluffy and flavourful
Chocolate Fountain with biscuit sticks, marshmallows, berries
Assorted Chocolate
Roasted Beef
Salami
Bierschinken
Smoked Salmon
Assorted Fresh Cut Fruits
Make-Your-Own Salad Bar
Fusilli Salad with Sundried Tomatoes and Shaved Prosciutto
Chilled Prawns
Crabs
Crayfish
Butterfish with Soba and Miso Paste
Wardorf Salad with smoked chicken
Italian Macaroni Cheese Salad with smoked chicken
Caprese Salad with tomato, mozzarella and kalamata olives
Bavarian Potato Salad
Greek Salad with feta
The Bad
Kimchi Fried Rice - insipid
Salmon Sushi - amateurish
Sashimi - slicing was jagged
Assorted Maki
Assorted Sushi Rolls - clumsy
Chilled Scallops and Mussels - rubbery
Vegetable Pakora - batter was soggy and vegetables dried out
Marmite Chicken - dry and tough
Braised Ee-Fu Noodles with roasted duck and wild mushrooms - noodles were tasteless, duck was dry and gamey, but at least the mushrooms were lovely
Gosht Saag (mutton with spinach sauce) - gamey
Wok Fried Black Pepper Beef- gamey, tough and chewy, but the peppers, mushrooms and sauce were decent
Stir-Fried Ginger Pork Belly - dry and tough
Stir-Fried Long Beans in sweet chilli paste - overcooked, too limp
Bhidi Masala - lady's fingers were so overcooked they'd turned into mush
Braised Eggplant with salted fish - ditto, they'd spent too long a time in the cooker
Lobster Russian Salad with Vodka Mayonnaise - too much sour cream
Thai Seafood Salad with glass noodles
The Ugly
Gratinated Crayfish - less than fresh and mushy, and waaaay too much cream
Thanks to the HGW people for the invite and Melissa and Myra of the Westin for hosting!
Seasonal Tastes
Westin Hotel Level 32
12 Marina View
Asia Square Tower 2
Tel: 6922 6968
Open daily from 6.30am to 11pm;
Buffet Lunch from 12noon to 2.30pm ($42 per pax);
Buffet Dinner from 6pm to 10pm ($62 per pax)
The Westin has now returned to our sunny shores, occupying the top floors of Asia Square Tower 2 in the Marina Bay downtown financial sector of the CBD. In spite of its prime grade A locale, the hotel doesn't quite afford the expansive view of the bay or the sea beyond because it's flanked all round by equally towering office blocks. Very unfortunate, methinks, because the lack of a seaview in most rooms would likely work against the hotel because staycationers would naturally look for a seaview to wake up to.
Seasonal Tastes, Westin's in-house all-day buffet restaurant, recently launched their themed dinners, and invited a few of us food bloggers for a taste of their Italian-centric Mamma Mia Pasta Nights on a Monday. Despite the complimentary tasting, I found Seasonal Tastes to be a largely middling buffet, as most buffets tend to be. It wasn't the worst, but it was far from the best. And, if you ask me, I wouldn't pay the $62 pricetag for dinner.
Because we partook of the same buffet as the rest of the public, there wasn't an incognito revisit done as per the usual invited tasting S.O.P.. The food is listed below in descending order of preference.
The Good
The Cheeses were decidedly limited, but they were excellent.
The standout Wenleysdale Cranberry was my favourite. Studded with dried cranberries for a muted tartness, the cheese was creamy and mild.
The always reliable Gouda
And the pungent polarising Viking Blue
Sweets to satisfy every sweet tooth out there
Green Tea Opera
Clockwise from top left: Assorted Nonya Kuehs, Grand Cru Chocolate Hazelnut Royal, Strawberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Cheesecake
Earl Grey Tea with Strawberry Mousse
Sea Coconut Jelly Shots
Live-Cooking Pasta Station - pasta as you like it
Juice Station
The Average
Summer Berries Tart
Smoked Turkey
Vegetable Lasagne
Chicken Tikka
Cannelloni stuffed with Mushroom, Ricotta and Chicken
Oven Baked Penne with minced beef stew and cheese
Basmati Rice with Eggs - looked innocuous but turned out fluffy and flavourful
Chocolate Fountain with biscuit sticks, marshmallows, berries
Assorted Chocolate
Roasted Beef
Salami
Bierschinken
Smoked Salmon
Assorted Fresh Cut Fruits
Make-Your-Own Salad Bar
Fusilli Salad with Sundried Tomatoes and Shaved Prosciutto
Chilled Prawns
Crabs
Crayfish
Butterfish with Soba and Miso Paste
Wardorf Salad with smoked chicken
Italian Macaroni Cheese Salad with smoked chicken
Caprese Salad with tomato, mozzarella and kalamata olives
Bavarian Potato Salad
Greek Salad with feta
The Bad
Kimchi Fried Rice - insipid
Salmon Sushi - amateurish
Sashimi - slicing was jagged
Assorted Maki
Assorted Sushi Rolls - clumsy
Chilled Scallops and Mussels - rubbery
Vegetable Pakora - batter was soggy and vegetables dried out
Marmite Chicken - dry and tough
Braised Ee-Fu Noodles with roasted duck and wild mushrooms - noodles were tasteless, duck was dry and gamey, but at least the mushrooms were lovely
Gosht Saag (mutton with spinach sauce) - gamey
Wok Fried Black Pepper Beef- gamey, tough and chewy, but the peppers, mushrooms and sauce were decent
Stir-Fried Ginger Pork Belly - dry and tough
Stir-Fried Long Beans in sweet chilli paste - overcooked, too limp
Bhidi Masala - lady's fingers were so overcooked they'd turned into mush
Braised Eggplant with salted fish - ditto, they'd spent too long a time in the cooker
Lobster Russian Salad with Vodka Mayonnaise - too much sour cream
Thai Seafood Salad with glass noodles
The Ugly
Gratinated Crayfish - less than fresh and mushy, and waaaay too much cream
Thanks to the HGW people for the invite and Melissa and Myra of the Westin for hosting!
Seasonal Tastes
Westin Hotel Level 32
12 Marina View
Asia Square Tower 2
Tel: 6922 6968
Open daily from 6.30am to 11pm;
Buffet Lunch from 12noon to 2.30pm ($42 per pax);
Buffet Dinner from 6pm to 10pm ($62 per pax)
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