A giant 15 feet Christmas Tree greeted me when I stepped into the lobby. Making a detour around it, I spotted a familiar figure--Mr Santa--resting happily in the goodie house and surrounded by his old friends, Mr and Mrs Gingerbread Men. The cheery festive spirits at Grand Waterfront Copthorne Waterfront were highly infectious and they definitely pumped up my appetite to indulge in the Yuletide treats at Cafe Brio's. Here are FIVE REASONS why this is a great location to wine, dine and be merry!
I know most people would naturally dive straight into the oysters and sashimi but it would be a grave strategic error NOT giving their salads a chance. One never look at buffet salads the same way again after trying the tasty offerings such as juicy mushroom salad, fresh corns with lentil beans and even a "heart-shaped" Seafood salad constructed with lots of cured salmon cubes and cherry tomatoes for that bit of tart balance. And the deeply savoury Norwegion Smoked Salmon with horseradish cream? Yes, they are my salads too.
Reason No. 2: LIVE STATION
With hotels upping their ante to dish up fresh hot food ala minute, live stations are no longer a novel concept. But where in Singapore can one possibly have Australian meatballs at the Live Station?
And there's the famed superb Super Laksa here too. The fragrance of the coconut milk permeates the potent broth which is the key that makes it an arduous task to leave any drip behind. It must be a lot of hard work for the one-man chef who is tending the station; one hand busy boiling the noodles and the other hand cooking the tomato sauce. But fret not as the quality is highly assured.
With hotels upping their ante to dish up fresh hot food ala minute, live stations are no longer a novel concept. But where in Singapore can one possibly have Australian meatballs at the Live Station?
And there's the famed superb Super Laksa here too. The fragrance of the coconut milk permeates the potent broth which is the key that makes it an arduous task to leave any drip behind. It must be a lot of hard work for the one-man chef who is tending the station; one hand busy boiling the noodles and the other hand cooking the tomato sauce. But fret not as the quality is highly assured.
Buffet is always a game of chance where there are plenty of choices but the only way to sieve out the better ones is to try a little from each dish. One great thing is that Cafe Brio stocks up quite a few dishes for each meat category, which increases the probability of success.
Take of example in my favorite fish category, there is Deep Fried Sichuan Fish, Atlantic Butter Cod, Fish Otah, Stewed Fish Maw, etc. What took my fancy was the Pan Fried Sea Bass that sat in a pool of creamy mushroom, scattered with pomegranate seeds that complemented the savoury dish splendidly.
Take of example in my favorite fish category, there is Deep Fried Sichuan Fish, Atlantic Butter Cod, Fish Otah, Stewed Fish Maw, etc. What took my fancy was the Pan Fried Sea Bass that sat in a pool of creamy mushroom, scattered with pomegranate seeds that complemented the savoury dish splendidly.
Reason No. 4: OUTDOOR GRILL Adjourn to the outdoor grill section where one gets different kinds of marinated meats hot of the grill. We tried the thinly-sliced beef whose juices are duly retained. Some options like the pre-grilled items like pork fillets or lamp chops resided in the buffet warmer but I think it's still best to go for those freshly grilled items.
Reason No. 5: FRENCH DESSERTS
Attention gravitates towards the dessert counter, where a spread of tantalizing treats created by award-winning Executive Pastry Chef Nicolas Maugard who has honed his skills at several Michelin-star establishments over his 17 years of pastry career. This year's highlight is the Vanilla Pineapple Roasted Confit, Coconut Biscuit, Mango and Yuzu log cake.
Don't wrong the cake if you couldn't detect any crunch as the "Biscuit" is not literally the biscuit, but a dacquoise layer that is saturated with fragrant coconut shreds. Each segment had its own sea of significance but they seemed to bumped corners with another in what seemed to be an arbitrary assemblage.
The Raspberry flavoured Grand Marnier and "Guanaja" Chocolate Christmas Yule Log Cake is a comfortable partnership of flavours but I wished the Grand Marnier flavour could be more pronounced. Nonetheless, the texture of the chocolate mousse is astoundingly velvety, just like the excellent Panna Cotta which I had previously at Pontini.
Attention gravitates towards the dessert counter, where a spread of tantalizing treats created by award-winning Executive Pastry Chef Nicolas Maugard who has honed his skills at several Michelin-star establishments over his 17 years of pastry career. This year's highlight is the Vanilla Pineapple Roasted Confit, Coconut Biscuit, Mango and Yuzu log cake.
Don't wrong the cake if you couldn't detect any crunch as the "Biscuit" is not literally the biscuit, but a dacquoise layer that is saturated with fragrant coconut shreds. Each segment had its own sea of significance but they seemed to bumped corners with another in what seemed to be an arbitrary assemblage.
The Raspberry flavoured Grand Marnier and "Guanaja" Chocolate Christmas Yule Log Cake is a comfortable partnership of flavours but I wished the Grand Marnier flavour could be more pronounced. Nonetheless, the texture of the chocolate mousse is astoundingly velvety, just like the excellent Panna Cotta which I had previously at Pontini.
Freshly made on the spot, the golden waffles with crisp browned edges and a tender, not-too-sweet interior is also worth a spot in the limited stomach space. Highly flexible to go along with any savoury ingredients like smoked salmon or sweet creamy ice cream.
For a traditional Italian Christmas, hop to Pontini at the second floor where you can indulge in a 7-course dinner set menu ($128++) featuring slow poached red gurnard fillet, stuffed premium suckling pig and limoncello truffle ice cream with chilled wild berries soup and mint-almond biscuit.
Festive Buffet @ Cafe Brio's (Now till 30 Dec except 24th/25th)
Lunch Adult $52//Child $26 (weekdays)
Dinner Adult $62//Child $31 (Mon-Thurs) Adult $72//Child $36 (Fri-Sun)
An exclusive buffet spread will be served on 24th (lunch/dinner) and 25th (brunch, dinner)
Place your booking before 13 Dec 2014 to enjoy 20% off on 24th and 25th!
Full information here
Festive Takeaway at Goodie House
Yule Log Cakes, X'mas cookies, stollen, orange cinnamon loaf, etc.
From $9.00 onwards
Place your order before 13 Dec 2014 and enjoy up to 20% early bird discount
Full info here
Festive Takeaway at Goodie House
Yule Log Cakes, X'mas cookies, stollen, orange cinnamon loaf, etc.
From $9.00 onwards
Place your order before 13 Dec 2014 and enjoy up to 20% early bird discount
Full info here
Cafe Brio's
Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel
Lunch 12noon-2.30pm
Dinner 6pm-10pm
Click here for the list of ongoing dining specials
https://www.facebook.com/GrandCopthorneWaterfrontHotel
Lunch 12noon-2.30pm
Dinner 6pm-10pm
Click here for the list of ongoing dining specials
https://www.facebook.com/GrandCopthorneWaterfrontHotel
Special thanks to Jennifer for hosting the dinner!
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