Plaza Brasserie - Ultimate Crab Feast Tasting Session
7500A Beach Road
#01-00 PARKROYAL On Beach Road
Opening Hours:
Daily: 6am - 10:30am (Breakfast), 12pm - 2:30pm (Lunch), 6pm - 10pm (Dinner)
https://www.parkroyalhotels.com/en/hotels-resorts/singapore/beach-road/stay/dining/plaza-brasserie.html
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session.
Attended with representatives from 8 Days.
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| "Crab" Mee Goreng |
The Best Crab Feast You'll Have This Year
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 7
Value for Money: 9
Spent about SGD $79 per person.
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The Ultimate Crab Feast returns to Plaza Brasserie restaurant, in PARKROYAL On Beach Road hotel, for its 6th edition. This annual extravaganza is among the most indulgent, value for money buffets you'll ever eat. Think fresh, generous portions of Sri Lankan crabs, prepared in 8 different styles, and a whole host of other crab-centric dishes. And this is on top of the regular buffet items, all of which are still available! The Ultimate Crab Feast is held from 09 April 2017 to 28 June 2017 (Sundays to Wednesdays Dinner Only).
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| Ultimate Crab Feast 2017 Poster |
Ambience at Plaza Brasserie is cozy, but feels slightly dated. The wood, off-white, beige, and light pastel colours are pretty, and the decor of stained glass ceiling tiles is eye-catching. I particularly like the geometric patterned tiles on the walls, which are colourful and grabs the attention. Furnishings are decently comfortable, with ample seating for several large groups. The buffet line is thoughtfully laid-out and attractive, while the open kitchens allow you to observe the chefs at work.
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| Plaza Brasserie Exterior |
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| Plaza Brasserie Interior |
Service at Plaza Brasserie is decent, but has potential to be so much better. The mostly young staff are friendly, but seem to move without purpose. However, I like that they're efficient at clearing away empty / dirty plates, always important during a buffet. I note they walk around regularly to check on tables, and when asked, they're efficient at fulfilling requests. The chefs at the open kitchen are able to engage you as well, and can share brief descriptions about the food at their stations.
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| Buffet Line |
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| Seating |
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| Seating |
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| Stained Glass Ceiling |
Food at Plaza Brasserie is buffet style, with their focus being on local Singaporean dishes and fresh seafood. There is a good variety of dishes, from fresh salads to breads, stir-fried Chinese dishes, Indian curries, roast meats and noodles. Quality is decent, most dishes are tasty to general hawker standards. With the Ultimate Crab Feast, fresh Sri Lankan crabs, delivered daily, feature heavily in dishes here. They've showcased 8 mouth-watering styles of crab, including Singapore’s iconic Chilli Crab, White Pepper Crab, Cereal Crab, and Salted Egg Crab. Diners can also look forward to classics like Ginger & Hua Tiao Wine Crab, and exciting modern interpretations such as Curry Crab Meat Kueh Pie Tie, Crab Meat Chawanmushi, and Sambal Petai Crab.
Portions are free-flow buffet, with unlimited servings. Incredibly good value for money, at SGD $68++ / $79 per person for dining here. Do note the Ultimate Crab Feast at Plaza Brasserie is only available for Dinner, on Sundays through to Wednesday, for the period of 09 April to 28 June 2017. The regular buffet is offered at all other times.
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| Tea & Coffee Station |
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| Flavours Of Tea |
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| Honeycomb Carver |
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| Variety Of Sushi |
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| Roast Duck & Roast Pork |
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| Lavash & Breadsticks |
While a Glass Of Water is complimentary with unlimited refills, alcohol such as Red Wine or White Wine is an additional charge. I personally prefer the house red, as it's smoother and easier to drink, though the house white pairs better with seafood and crab.
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| Glass Of Water |
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| Red Wine |
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| White Wine |
Lovely Fresh Prawns and Fresh Oysters are among the highlights of the regular buffet. Very popular with most guests, who make a beeline for this!
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| Bucket Of Fresh Prawns |
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| Bowl Of Fresh Oysters |
I find the Sio Bak / Roast Pork Belly to be decently tasty enough, tender and moist with a crisp crackling skin. Meat is savoury, with a touch of gamey.
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| Sio Bak / Roast Pork Belly |
Pleased with the fresh slices of Sashimi - Sake / Salmon, Maguro / Tuna, Tako / Octopus, all of which are decent cuts. The knife work on these is pretty good, smooth and clean.
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| Sashimi - Sake / Salmon, Maguro / Tuna, Tako / Octopus |
Loved the perfectly grilled Ayam Kunyit / Turmeric Chicken, with its boneless chunks of chicken having a light, tender, moist texture, with a bold savoury spice flavour. Really good.
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| Ayam Kunyit / Turmeric Chicken |
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| Ayam Kunyit / Turmeric Chicken |
Crabs naturally feature in several dishes here, such as with this Tofu Beancurd With Crab Meat & Egg. This stir-fried dish has a thick, rich, sweet savoury eggy gravy, filled with a generous portion of fresh deshelled crab. The tofu beancurd is soft and wobbly, very nice. Notes of savoury sweet eggy, so good. Pure comfort dish.
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| Tofu Beancurd With Crab Meat & Egg |
The Curry Crab Meat Kueh Pie Tie is a novel idea that is well executed. The crisp kueh pie tie shells have a light crunch, and a generous filling of soft stewed turnip. But the bold flavour comes from the curry spiced deshelled crab meat, sweet savoury spicy, with an intense fragrant aroma. Wonderfully delicious.
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| Curry Crab Meat Kueh Pie Tie |
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| Curry Crab Meat Kueh Pie Tie |
With the Crab Meat Chawanmushi, they've used the soft, wobbly egg custard as a base to highlight the natural sweetness of the deshelled crab meat. Bright, clean, and delicate flavours here.
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| Crab Meat Chawanmushi |
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| Crab Meat Chawanmushi |
What I like about the Chili Crab With Mantou, besides the fresh, meaty, sweet savoury crab meat, and piping hot, crisp mantou buns, is the excellent gravy. Thick and eggy, it has a light sweetness in the beginning, building to a fiery savoury spiciness, which lingers on slightly. Seems tame, but kicks at the back. Very nice.
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| Chili Crab With Mantou |
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| Chili Crab With Mantou |
In comparision, I felt the White Pepper Crab, while nicely sweet savoury with a light peppery flavour, is rather delicate on taste. Personally, I would have preferred a more fiery spice flavour, but as is, I can see that this would probably go down well with most. Mildly spicy overall, which still allows you to taste the natural flavours of the crab.
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| White Pepper Crab |
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| White Pepper Crab |
The Cereal Crab features meaty sweet savoury crab, coated in oat cereals fried with curry leaves and chili. This imparts a fragrant grain flavour to the meat. However, all the other crab dishes have gravy of some kind, making this stand apart with its relatively dry texture. Still edible enough on its own, though having some dipping sauce for this helps.
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| Cereal Crab |
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| Cereal Crab |
Loved the Salted Egg Crab, with the meaty, sweet savoury crab coated in a rich, absolutely yummy salted egg yolk sauce. The fragrant notes of salty savoury spicy are well balanced, super tasty, totally addictive. Highly recommended!
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| Salted Egg Crab |
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| Salted Egg Crab |
The Ginger & Hua Tiao Wine Crab is so delicious. The fresh, meaty crab is immersed in a fragrant soup / broth of ginger, Chinese rice wine, and parsley, causing the delicate sweet meat to absorb the sweet savoury spicy flavours present in the soup / broth. This came recommended by the hotel staff, and we were completely satisfied by this tasty dish. I completely finished all the soup / broth. Highly recommended!
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| Ginger & Hua Tiao Wine Crab |
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| Ginger & Hua Tiao Wine Crab |
The unique Sambal Petai Crab has a bold flavour, courtesy of the robust sambal belachan gravy that generously coats the fresh, meaty crab. Taste is savoury sweet spicy, not as fiery as some of the other dishes, but hot enough. There is no lingering burn with this, instead, it rounds out with a semi sweet finish. The petai / stink beans lend a contrasting crunch to texture. Lovely.
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| Sambal Petai Crab |
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| Sambal Petai Crab |
Felt the Tiramisu Cake and Mango Pudding With Lychee & Blackcurrant were pretty straightforward and decent. Loved the fragrant fruity Kueh Apam Balik Manis, with its soft texture and rich sweet banana flavour. The Crème Brûlée was just as rich, with a fragrant sweet floral vanilla flavour.
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| Tiramisu Cake |
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| Kueh Apam Balik Manis |
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| Mango Pudding With Lychee & Blackcurrant |
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| Crème Brûlée |
Love the Plaza Brasserie - Ultimate Crab Feast, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The 8 speciality crab dishes all feature fresh Sri Lankan crabs, executed to good standards. Food quality is decent, and the price, for a buffet, is incredible value for money. The ambience and service aren't as extravagant as other hotels, coming across as simple, but I can't really complain as it's still rather decent and clean. The Ultimate Crab Feast is held on 09 April 2017 to 28 June 2017 (Sundays to Wednesdays Dinner Only). Would return for more.
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CONVERSATION