Checkers Brasserie Tasting Session
581 Orchard Road
#01 Hilton Hotel Singapore
Opening Hours:
Daily: 6am - 11pm
Sunday Brunch: 11.45am - 3pm
http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/singapore/hilton-singapore-hotel-SINHITW/dining/index.html
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session, but I did pay the standard price during subsequent visits.
Attended with representatives from HungryGoWhere, The Hungry Bunny, The Food Nomads, and Miss Tam Chiak.
Exquisite Sunday Brunch
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 9
Ambience & Setting: 9
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 9
Value for Money: 8
Budget about SGD $100 ++ per person.
.....
Located at the lobby of Hilton Hotel Singapore, Checkers Brasserie hosts a weekly Sunday Brunch Buffet designed around freshly prepared-to-order dishes at live cooking stations. With a revamped menu revolving around a selection of Eggs Specialties and Gourmet Bites, which can be ordered an unlimited number of times, Checkers Brasserie hopes to allow diners more time to mingle and socialise instead of waiting for food from the buffet line.
Ambience at Checkers Brasserie evokes the rustic, countryside feel, with wooden panelling and summer colours. Layout is spacious, with the glass panels at the side letting in natural light and framing the greenery of the garden outside. While ambient light is sufficient, I noticed the corners of Checkers Brasserie tends to be darker. The main showpiece is the well thought out display of the buffet spread, laid out in logical sequence.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Checkers Brasserie Sunday Brunch Menu, Only Available On Sundays |
Service at Checkers Brasserie is efficient, friendly, and professional. Staff seem more than happy to assist, and orders don't take too long to fulfill. Finished plates are cleared quickly. I noticed that most of the senior staff are very familiar with the food and drinks available, though not everyone in the rank and file is able to answer queries.
For the Sunday Brunch Buffet at Checkers Brasserie, staff recommend placing orders for the Eggs Specialities first, before heading to start on the appetizers. There is a good selection of Breads to begin, as well as a nice variety of Antipasto. The Antipasto is extremely good, using very fresh ingredients, and the natural taste shines through. Don't fill up too much on the Bread and Antipasto though.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Plate Of Antipasto |
Continue with the theme of 'fresh food' by going for the Cold Cuts, Sushi, Sashimi and Fresh Seafood On Ice next. While good, the selection isn't the widest, and the quality is just decent. Of all the seafood available, the oysters stood out for me because of its freshness.
 |
| Cold Cuts |
 |
| Sushi |
 |
| Fresh Seafood |
The Eggs Specialties are the highlight on the Sunday Brunch Buffet menu at Checkers Brasserie, with a choice of 6 different styles of eggs, prepared in international styles. You don't have to wait at the counter, just place your order and staff will serve it to your table when ready. You can order as many rounds of the Eggs Specialities as you wish.
 |
| Eggs |
The American style Eggs arrive sunny side up, and sizzling on a hot plate. Streaks of lean bacon, twice smoked over apple-wood, and perfectly grilled bell peppers / capsicum complement this dish. I like the savoury sweet bacon, and the vegetables were nicely al-dente, instead of being limp.
 |
| Eggs American |
 |
| Eggs American |
The English style Eggs arrives with a softly poached egg wobbling gently in the middle of a wagyu corned beef hash. Taste and texture of this dish is decent, however, the tomato overwhelmed the taste of the wagyu beef. I felt this was the weakest of the Eggs Specialities, as the wagyu beef flavour is totally lost.
 |
| Eggs English |
 |
| Eggs English |
The French style Eggs consist of a softly poached egg sitting on a lovely piece of foie gras, laced with a hollandaise sauce and truffle oil. The earthyness of the truffle oil lends a fragrant aroma to the dish, and complements the smoothness of the egg and foie gras. Good!
 |
| Eggs French |
 |
| Eggs French |
The Italian style Eggs consist of a semi poached, semi scrambled egg in a bed of spicy tomato salsa. The spiciness is very evident from the first spoonful, and continues the delightful burn as you attack the dish. Definitely not for the faint of heart, or those spicy-adverse!
 |
| Eggs Italian |
 |
| Eggs Italian |
The Japanese style eggs are served in a cute little bento box, with a slow cooked soft boiled egg, sticky rice and a fresh piece of grilled unagi eel. A rather unique combination to pair the unagi eel and egg, but it works quite well due to the similarity in texture. Overall, a slightly sweeter savoury dish as compared to the other Eggs Specialities.
 |
| Eggs Japanese |
 |
| Eggs Japanese |
The Modern style eggs are served in a mini cauldron, with a free range egg precisely cooked at 45 degrees celsius, on a bed of savoury chanterelle mushrooms and mushroom gravy. This was quite a stand out dish for me, really excellent combinaion of flavours. Pair this with crisp bread for maximum satisfaction.
 |
| Eggs Modern |
 |
| Eggs Modern |
Staff at Checkers Brasserie recommend ordering the Gourmet Bites from the Sunday Brunch Buffet menu while you're in the middle of consuming the Eggs Specialities. Named for the small serving size, there are 8 different Gourmet Bites to savour, and like the Eggs Specialities, you can order as many rounds of the Gourmet Bites as you wish.
The Beef Bourguignon consists of tender, slow braised beef cheeks on a bed of bacon, mushrooms, onions, and truffle oil infused polenta, with a red wine sauce. I felt this was probably the best of the Gourmet Bites, just loved the tender meat and aromatic flavour profile of the dish.
 |
| Gourmet Bite Beef Bourguignon |
 |
| Gourmet Bite Beef Bourguignon |
The chef had a crazy idea, what if we combined foie gras with marinated pork loin char siew? Thus, the rather oddly named Dim Sum East West was born. Interesting and unique taste, but the actual execution is lacking, as this siew mai was slightly dry and not as plump as it could have been.
 |
| Gourmet Bite Dim Sum East West |
 |
| Gourmet Bite Dim Sum East West |
The Foie Gras Dumplings consists of foie gras wrapped in a wonton wrapper, along with sliced asparagus, bread croutons and shimeji mushrooms in a savoury sauce. While the overall dish was just lovely and well-balanced in taste, the actual dumplings could have been slightly meatier and thicker to be more satisfying.
 |
| Gourmet Bite Foie Gras Dumplings |
 |
| Gourmet Bite Foie Gras Dumplings |
The Lobster Singapore arrives in a cute glass jar, with a slice of fresh lobster covered in Singapore style chili crab sauce, on a bed of flavoured rice and chinese broccoli kai lan. This was among the best Gourmet Bites, really excellent flavour in the rice, and the lobster and vegetables were fresh. The chili added that extra pleasure in tasting. I really felt I could order several rounds of this, if not for the rice being quite filling.
 |
| Gourmet Bite Lobster Singapore |
 |
| Gourmet Bite Lobster Singapore |
The Salmon Miso arrives neatly arranged on a rectangular serving plate, with the perfectly grilled salmon basted in miso at one end, and the teppanyaki style soy marinated bean sprouts at the other. Separating both items is a spinach and wasabi mayonnaise. Pair all 3 components together in 1 mouthful for maximum impact, as eating each component separately just makes it average. Good!
 |
| Gourmet Bite Salmon Miso |
 |
| Gourmet Bite Salmon Miso |
The lovely Beef Burger has a wagyu beef tongue patty covered in a blanket of sliced ham, with a slice of coulommiers cheese to complete the flavour. I thought it looks cute, with the blanket of ham keeping the beef patty cozy. It's a little too big to fit into 1 mouthful, but the flavour of each ingredient does complement each other, though I felt the burger buns could have been slightly smaller.
 |
| Gourmet Bite Beef Burger |
 |
| Gourmet Bite Beef Burger |
Covered under a bed of greenery, the Quiche reveals it's filling of lamb when cut into. Decent at best.
 |
| Gourmet Bite Quiche |
 |
| Gourmet Bite Quiche |
The charcuterie of Roast Beef, Roast Chicken, and Honey Baked Ham is good, all nicely grilled / roasted to perfection, and there is a offering of sauces, gravies and vegetables to pair the meat with. The terrines are specially made in house as well.
 |
| Roast Beef |
 |
| Roast Chicken |
 |
| Honey Baked Ham |
 |
| Plate Of Roast Meats |
The range of desserts is quite varied, and well displayed. Selections include Log Cakes (festive season), Cheesecakes, Fruits, Tartlets, and a few different styles of Tiramisu and Mousse.
 |
| Cheesecake |
 |
| Tartlets |
 |
| Tiramisu |
 |
| Tiramisu |
Ala-carte desserts include the Crepe Nutella, Pancakes Blueberries And Maple Syrup and Belgian Waffles With Strawberries And Blueberries. Of the 3 desserts, I felt the better one was the Crepe Nutella, the texture was well executed and the fillings was generous. The Pancakes was decent, but not outstanding.
 |
| Crepe Nutella |
 |
| Pancakes Blueberries And Maple Syrup |
 |
| Belgian Waffles With Strawberries And Blueberries |
 |
| Belgian Waffles With Strawberries And Blueberries |
Checkers Brasserie Sunday Brunch Buffet is only available on Sunday from 11.45am - 3pm. Items on this menu can be specially ordered ala-carte on other days. Prices start at SGD $80 per person, for a free flow of the regular buffet, Eggs Specialities, Gourmet Bites and smoothies / water / juices / coffee / tea. For free flow of wines or cocktails, add additional SGD $18. The luxurious Champagne Brunch starts at SGD $128.
 |
| Spread Of Macarons |
.....
CONVERSATION