Princess Terrace Cafe Tasting Session
403 Havelock Road
#01-00 Copthorne Kings Hotel Singapore
Opening Hours:
Daily: 12pm - 3pm (Lunch), 6pm - 10pm (Dinner)
Weekends: 3pm - 5pm (High Tea)
https://www.millenniumhotels.com/en/singapore/copthorne-kings-hotel/princess-terrace-cafe/
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session.
Attended with representatives from HungryGoWhere, and NAHMJ Food, Travel & Lifestyle Blog.
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| Scrumptious Penang Buffet Spread |
Legacy Penang Buffet Going Strong
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 5
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 7
Value for Money: 7
Budget about SGD $60++ per person.
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The longevity of Princess Terrace Cafe can be attributed to; consistency in serving good quality Penang and Peranakan cuisine, as well as a healthy dose of nostalgia. Established since the 1970s as the all-day buffet dining restaurant of the Copthorne Kings Hotel Singapore, the Princess Terrace Cafe is a stalwart and reliable option for good Penang and Peranakan food in Singapore.
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| Copthorne Kings Hotel Singapore Facade |
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| Princess Terrace Cafe Entrance |
Ambience at Princess Terrace Cafe harkens back to the 1970s. It's like you've stepped into a time-capsule, warm lighting and sturdy yet elegant wooden furniture, hard wood floors covered by oriental carpet with old-school patterns, faux greenery, and touches of oriental decor. Surely, not a place to visit for the ambience, but it's functional enough. I do wish the lighting were brighter, and the furniture less tightly packed.
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| Buffet Line |
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| Seating |
Service at Princess Terrace Cafe tries to be restaurant quality. Generally, staff render transactional service, fulfilling requests to a bare minimum. While the chefs have excellent product knowledge, the other staff may be lacking in this area. I like that they quickly and regularly clear away finished plates throughout your meal. The buffet trays are also kept topped up. Kudos to the restaurant manager, who makes effort to engage with each table, and displays a keen understanding of the hotel and its history.
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| Fresh Seafood Display |
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| Dessert Display |
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| Dessert Display |
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| Dessert Display |
Food at Princess Terrace Cafe is mainly Peranakan cuisine, with a focus on Malaysian Penang cuisine. This means classic Penang street food, desserts, and snacks. Their consistency in serving good quality food is a testament; I observed crowds even on weekdays, making advance reservations a must. As a buffet, the price gets you unlimited portions. While comparable in price to other hotel buffets, the type of dishes here makes it less value for money, budget about SGD $60++ per person for a meal. The weekend high tea buffet is much more value for money, at only SGD $20++ per person.
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| Meal Flat Lay |
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| Bowl Of Pork Lard |
A traditional snack, the version of Kueh Pie Tee here is just decent. The soft stewed turnip has been infused with pork lard, giving it a lovely fragrance. Best eaten warm, but missing ingredients such as egg or fresh prawns / shrimp to round it out.
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| Kueh Pie Tee |
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| Kueh Pie Tee |
A good version of Assam Laksa, very punchy and bold in flavour. You can taste the savoury flavour of the mackerel fish within the soup / broth, but they've toned down on the sour tamarind paste, making it more accessible. Thick vermicelli rice noodles, red onions, pineapples, cucumbers, shallots, and chili, complete the medley of crunchy juicy chewy textures, and bold savoury sweet sour salty flavours. Though not as intense as those in Penang, Malaysia, this should satisfy most cravings.
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| Assam Laksa |
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| Assam Laksa |
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| Assam Laksa |
The highlight of the Penang style Prawn Noodles is the bold and robust soup / broth. Strong savoury sweet flavours of pork and prawns / shrimp within, making it so addictive. I could just drink the soup / broth alone!
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| Prawn Noodles |
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| Prawn Noodles |
Love the peppery flavours of the Pig's Stomach Soup, and the pig's stomach parts are nicely tender. Some ginko nuts lend a light nutty sweet flavour, balancing out the warm soup / broth.
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| Pig's Stomach Soup |
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| Pig's Stomach Soup |
Classic Kiam Chye Ark / Pickled Mustard Greens & Duck Soup here, with the salty sour flavours of the pickled mustard greens, infused into the warm soup / broth. The duck meat is tender with a light chew, and savoury meaty in taste. Juicy and soft tomatoes round it out, with a floral sweet flavour.
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| Kiam Chye Ark / Pickled Mustard Greens & Duck Soup |
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| Kiam Chye Ark / Pickled Mustard Greens & Duck Soup |
The nostalgic Tau Kwa Pau / Stuffed Bean Curd Pocket is done to traditional standards, and I loved it enough to go for 3 helpings! The soft spongy tofu bean curd is stuffed with minced pork, cucumber, shallots, shiitake mushrooms, and parsley, over which is spooned a sweet savoury pork braising sauce, and a spicy chili. Loved every bite of this.
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| Tau Kwa Pau / Stuffed Bean Curd Pocket |
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| Tau Kwa Pau / Stuffed Bean Curd Pocket |
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| Tau Kwa Pau / Stuffed Bean Curd Pocket |
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| Tau Kwa Pau / Stuffed Bean Curd Pocket |
The Char Koay Teow, also known as Char Kway Teow, is best eaten when it's freshly cooked, as it loses much of its fragrance and flavour when it cools and goes flat. When fresh from the wok, it's smoky savoury salty in flavour, and delicious. The ingredients are fresh, featuring thick flat rice noodles, bean sprouts, egg, fish cake, preserved Chinese pork sausage / lup cheong, sweet dark soy sauce, and fresh juicy deshelled prawns / shrimp. Nice combination of savoury salty sweet flavours, particularly if you choose to add more pork lard. Reminds me of the classic street dish in Penang, Malaysia, but only if it's freshly cooked.
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| Char Koay Teow |
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| Char Koay Teow |
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| Char Koay Teow |
Several other Peranakan dishes round out the buffet. Note that seafood, while decent, isn't a main attraction here. However, the Curry Chicken is good, with a robust curry gravy that is properly savoury salty spicy and fiery, while the potatoes and chicken meat is tender and juicy. I like the Soy Sauce Chicken as well, the chicken is steamed and basted with light soy sauce, giving it a juicy tender texture and light salty sweet savoury flavour.
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| Chicken Satay |
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| Bakwan Babi Direbus / Soy Braised Pork Meat Balls |
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| Curry Chicken |
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| Soy Sauce Chicken |
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| Soy Sauce Chicken & Curry Chicken |
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| Bakwan Babi Direbus / Soy Braised Pork Meat Balls & Chicken Satay |
The Bubur Cha Cha is only available on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and alternate Saturdays. Served warm, the colourful cubes of sago, sweet potato, yam / taro, and tapioca are chewy and soft, with a light earthy sweet flavour, complementing the floral earthy sweet flavour of the coconut milk soup / broth.
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| Bubur Cha Cha |
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| Bubur Cha Cha |
You know the Soya Bean Curd With Gula Melaka is professionally served, with smooth, clean serving cuts. They intentionally station a staff to serve this, which prevents customers from stirring and breaking it up messily, keeping the dessert visually appetizing. The addition of gula melaka / palm sugar gives the soya bean curd a nice earthy floral sweet flavour. I note the texture, while soft, is more dense than other versions elsewhere.
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| Soya Bean Curd With Gula Melaka |
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| Soya Bean Curd With Gula Melaka |
The warm Min Jiang Kueh / Turnover Peanut Pancakes is crisp and crunchy, with a light nutty sweet flavour. Best eaten last, as it takes up little stomach space.
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| Min Jiang Kueh / Turnover Peanut Pancakes |
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| Min Jiang Kueh / Turnover Peanut Pancakes |
Another highlight of dining here is their wide variety and range of Peranakan Kueh, all of which are made fresh twice daily (for lunch and dinner). If nothing else, you must eat these.
I particularly enjoyed the Kueh Dadar / Kuih Tayap, with its fragrant earthy sweet flavour and soft chewy texture, from the gula melaka / palm sugar infused dessicated coconut, wrapped in pandan / screwpine leaf rice flour crepe.
Loved the Kueh Tekan / Pulut Tai Tai, with its floral earthy sweet flavour and sticky smooth texture, from the combination of butterfly pea flower infused glutinous rice, topped with pandan kaya / screwpine leaf coconut egg jam.
The Kueh Beng Kah / Tapioca Cake, with its sticky chewy texture and earthy grainy sweet flavour, from the steamed tapioca, is a delightful dessert.
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| Peranakan Kueh |
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| Peranakan Kueh |
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| Kueh Dadar / Kuih Tayap, Kueh Tekan / Pulut Tai Tai, Kueh Beng Kah / Tapioca Cake |
Another classic Peranakan dessert, the Apom Bokwa With Pisang Pengat is well executed. The soft, spongy, pourous texture of the grainy sweet apom bokwa / rice flour pancakes, is a perfect foil to the sticky fruity sweet gula melaka / palm sugar gravy with caramelised bananas. Beautiful, very enjoyable.
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| Apom Bokwa With Pisang Pengat |
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| Apom Bokwa With Pisang Pengat |
Overall, I enjoyed the experience at Princess Terrace Cafe, with their tasty, unashamedly full-flavoured food, the retro ambience, and the classy service. Their Penang cuisine remains among the better options in Singapore, and the most value for money is their weekend high tea buffet, as well as their weekday lunch buffet. Will return to Princess Terrace Cafe for more.
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Reserve a table now @ Princess Terrace Cafe |
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CONVERSATION