Crossroads Bar Tasting Session
20 Merchant Road
Level 1, Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel
Opening Hours:
Daily: 9am - 11:30pm
https://www.swissotel.com/hotels/singapore-merchant-court/bars/crossroads-bar/
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session.
Attended with representatives from Chubby Botak Koala, Ms Hannah Chia, Food Gem, Hazel Diary, and The Arctic Star.
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| Merry Christmas |
Festive Feasting At Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 7
Value for Money: 8
Budget about SGD $58++ (Lunch) / $78++ (Dinner) per person.
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The Yuletide season is a celebration of love, joy, peace, and happiness. This Christmas 2018, embrace the spirit of good tidings at Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel, where a dazzling 15-feet Christmas tree and a smorgasbord of enticing culinary delights and celebratory treats await. We were hosted at Crossroads Bar to sample some of their specially-curated dishes for the 'Festive Feast' buffet. The festive buffet is available during lunch and dinner at Ellenborough Market Café from now till 31st December 2018.
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| Crossroads Bar Signage |
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| Crossroads Bar Atmosphere |
Ambience at Crossroads Bar has a sophisticated elegance to it. With a minimum smart casual dress code, the low and intimately lit area allows for quiet mingling. Comfortable lounge furniture, arranged to allow privacy, makes the area great for relaxing, but less so for sit-down meals. The bar is designed to look resplendent, with lit marble walls against dark wooden frames, and bottles lined upon the shelves.
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| Seating |
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| Bar |
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| Reindeer Decor |
Service at Crossroads Bar, by virtue of the private spaces, is forced to be proactive and attentive. This allows staff to accord personalised attention, they come around frequently to check on tables, clear away empty / finished plates and cutlery, and offer more drinks. Staff can engage guests in conversation, but there isn't much opportunity for them to display product knowledge, unless you enquire about drinks.
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| Festive Chocolate House |
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| Cake Carrier |
Food at Crossroads Bar is focused on drinks, especially cocktails, wine, and hard liqueur. Any dishes we had were from the other restaurants in Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel. Mostly self-service buffet style, as such, portions are unlimited. I like that empty trays are quickly refilled. Prices are comparable to most other hotel buffets, and more worthwhile if you're able to consume a variety of dishes. Budget about SGD $58++ (Lunch) / $78++ (Dinner) per person.
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| Sampler Plate Mains |
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| Sampler Plate Desserts |
The Cocktail Blushing Santarina (SGD $22) is a joyous concoction, a home made blend of pomegranate juice and prosecco, with gold dust coated sugar crystals around the rim, and a garnish of rosemary. It's fruity sweet and bubbly, sure to appeal to most.
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| Cocktail Blushing Santarina (SGD $22) |
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| Cocktail Blushing Santarina |
The Cocktail Santa's Devotion (SGD $22) is a hearty concoction, a home made blend of Frangelico hazelnut liqueur, Mozart dark chocolate liqueur, Kahlua coffee liqueur, and double espresso shots, garnished with whipped cream, grated cinnamon, and rainbow sprinkles. Served with a cinnamon and brown sugar stirrer on the side. It's deeply warming, with roasted chocolatey sweet boozy flavour. Like a hug from your mug.
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| Cocktail Santa's Devotion (SGD $22) |
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| Cocktail Santa's Devotion |
The Charcuterie Platter features luxurious cuts of cured meat (pork and beef), with traditional condiments. Sure to please meat lovers!
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| Charcuterie Platter |
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| Charcuterie Platter |
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| Charcuterie Platter |
Fanciful Smoked & Herbed Salmon, of the 2, I preferred the herbed salmon fish for its unique, bright herbal savoury salty flavour.
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| Smoked & Herbed Salmon |
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| Smoked & Herbed Salmon |
The Braised Mushrooms With Lettuce offer an Asian twist amongst the traditional Western line-up of dishes. Served chilled, the tender earthy savoury flavours of the braised shiitake mushrooms work well as an appetizer.
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| Braised Mushrooms With Lettuce |
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| Braised Mushrooms With Lettuce |
The Butternut Squash & Pumpkin Salad has tender cubes of butternut squash and pumpkin, with a mellow earthy vegetal sweet flavour. Nice contrast from the crunchy sunflower seeds. Pretty attractive in presentation, decently tasty on the palate, but better when accompanied with other meat dishes.
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| Butternut Squash & Pumpkin Salad |
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| Butternut Squash & Pumpkin Salad |
The Medley Of Festive Vegetables feature vibrant colourful tender crunchy vegetables, including asparagus, bell peppers / capsium, and carrots. Carrying smoky vegetal sweet savoury flavour, this was delightful.
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| Medley Of Festive Vegetables |
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| Medley Of Festive Vegetables |
The Honey Glazed Smoked Gammon Ham (SGD $248 ala-carte for 6kg - 7kg) has a meaty tender texture, with a robust savoury salty peppery spice flavour. The ham is equal parts lean and fatty. Choose to pair with earthy warming red wine gravy, or fruity sweet caramelised pineapple gravy.
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| Honey Glazed Smoked Gammon Ham (SGD $248 ala-carte for 6kg - 7kg) |
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| Honey Glazed Smoked Gammon Ham |
The Roasted Turkey With Cranberry & Kam Heong Sauce (SGD $182 ala-carte for 4.5kg - 5.5kg) features tender cuts of turkey, which are fortunately sufficiently moist and meaty, with a delicate savoury sweet flavour. I preferred the pairing of kam heong sauce, the rich gravy of dried shrimp, curry powder, shallots, and garlic, lend a deep, bold savoury flavour. By contrast, the typical cranberry sauce was just decent. Served with juicy grilled cherry tomatoes, which burst with vegetal sweet flavour, along with grilled potates that carry bold savoury salty flavour. Good!
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| Roasted Turkey With Cranberry & Kam Heong Sauce (SGD $182 ala-carte for 4.5kg - 5.5kg) |
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| Roasted Turkey With Cranberry & Kam Heong Sauce |
The Braised Short Rib Of Beef With Winter Mushrooms was excellent, the beef short rib pieces being incredibly soft and tender, with a slight meaty chew and a bold savoury salty flavour from the beef au jus. The colourful vibrant winter mushrooms lend a bouncy meaty texture too, complementing the beef with its earthy savoury flavour.
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| Braised Short Rib Of Beef With Winter Mushrooms |
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| Braised Short Rib Of Beef With Winter Mushrooms |
Loved the Ivory Valrhona Yule Log Cake With Pandan Roulade (SGD $65 ala-carte for 1kg). This features a rich chocolate and cream coating over moist, soft pandan / screwpine leaf cake, and creamy smooth white sesame mousse. With a ribbon of sticky earthy sweet adzuki red bean paste running through it, this floral chocolatey sweet cake is delicious.
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| Ivory Valrhona Yule Log Cake With Pandan Roulade (SGD $65 ala-carte for 1kg) |
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| Ivory Valrhona Yule Log Cake With Pandan Roulade |
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| Ivory Valrhona Yule Log Cake With Pandan Roulade |
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| Ivory Valrhona Yule Log Cake With Pandan Roulade |
The Traditional Chocolate Log Cake (SGD $65 ala-carte for 1kg) has a deep chocolatey sweet flavour, with a moist, soft texture. Bold and heavy on the palate, this is best shared as it's so rich and decadent.
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| Traditional Chocolate Log Cake (SGD $65 ala-carte for 1kg) |
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| Traditional Chocolate Log Cake |
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| Traditional Chocolate Log Cake |
Loved the Gingerbread Christmas Tree and Gingerbread Man & Walnut, with their robust ginger spice sweet flavour, and soft crunch to texture.
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| Gingerbread Christmas Tree |
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| Gingerbread Man & Walnut |
Loved the nibbles we sampled at Crossroads Bar. However, if you are planning your Christmas feast, it’s worth checking out Ellenborough Market Café (located at level 1 of the hotel). For reservations, please call 6239 1847/1848, or email dining.merchantcourt@swissotel.com.
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CONVERSATION