Food Capital Tasting Session 2019 - Chinese New Year
392 Havelock Road
Level 1 Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat: 12pm - 2:30pm (Lunch), 6:30pm - 11pm (Dinner)
Sunday: 12:30pm - 3:30pm (Brunch), 6:30pm - 11pm (Dinner)
https://www.millenniumhotels.com/en/singapore/grand-copthorne-waterfront/food-capital/
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session.
Attended with representatives from Purple Taste, Her Pen And Fork, msginginly, Geeky Elephant, Hazel Diary, Darren Bloggie, and Ms Hannah Chia.
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| Char Siew Marinated Whole Baby Lamb |
A Luxurious Feast To Usher In The Year Of The Boar
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 8
Value for Money: 9
Budget about SGD $68++ (Lunch) / $88++ (Dinner) per person.
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Returned to Food Capital in the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel to sample the Chinese New Year 2019 buffet menu. Having previously visited 5 times (in Sep 2016, in Sep 2018, in Oct 2018, and twice in Dec 2018), we've come to expect a consistently above average standard of quality in their ambience, service, and food. This time, Food Capital is showcasing their Joyous Spring Creations buffet, available from 28th January till 20th February 2019. Chef David Toh has created an extensive array of dishes fit for an Emperor.
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| Ballroom |
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| Banquet Table |
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| Pussy Willow |
Ambience at Food Capital is open-concept, yet cozy and inviting, with modern contemporary decor around the place. It boasts the largest floor area, with clever use of decor, partitions, and the curvature of the building to section off areas, making it seem more intimate. Ample natural lighting and a high ceiling lend a sense of space, while light wooden furnishings with comfortable cushions are contrasted by vibrant blue backed booths. There is also al-fresco outdoor seating, though it's not suitable on warm or wet days. The many ballrooms here are large and spacious, beautifully decorated for events by their in-house artist / designer.
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| Festive Display |
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| Table Setting |
Service at Food Capital is good, befitting of a restaurant. Staff are professional, engaging, and efficient. They offer greetings upon entry, and are quick to seat guests. Staff will brief you on the various sections, and helpfully make recommendations if asked. While they're able to broadly describe what is available, their product knowledge does not have depth. I like that staff come around to check on your dining experience, as well as clear away empty / dirty plates quickly, which is important in a buffet. If dining in a ballroom, staff are efficient at serving and cleaning up after each course, and present dishes at the table with a touch of flair.
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| God Of Fortune Blessing |
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| Traditional Calligraphy |
Food at Food Capital is International cuisine, and spans American, British, Italian, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese cuisine, with a range of rotisserie / grilled meats, fresh seafood, salads, main courses, stir-frys, desserts, cold cuts, and more. The highlight here would be the josper grilled meats and seafood. Generally, I would say the dishes here are executed to an above average standard, made with fresh ingredients, and are tasty. Chef David Toh leads a skilled team, each with their own speciality. As a buffet, portions are naturally unlimited. Prices are comparable to other hotel buffets, and is good value for money because of the quality, budget about SGD $68++ per person for lunch, or SGD $88++ per person for dinner here.
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| Gold Coin Chocolates |
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| Chocolate Boar |
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| Butter |
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| Us |
For the Prosperity Yu Sheng, Chef David Toh has plated it in the Chinese zodiac animal for 2019 - the boar. It's so cute! And he's even done 2 versions, in alternate orange and white colours. Each of us had our own set of condiments, and we communally dressed the festive salad as guided by the host. Overall, the presentation and communal experience were better than the taste of the yu sheng salad, which was decent at best.
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| Prosperity Yu Sheng |
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| Prosperity Yu Sheng - Orange Boar |
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| Prosperity Yu Sheng - White Boar |
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| Condiments |
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| Tossing Yu Sheng |
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| Sampler Plate |
A novel concept, the Char Siew Marinated Whole Baby Lamb features a whole baby lamb, slow roasted and marinated in char siew seasoning. Carved straight off at the live serving station, the lamb meat has no gamey flavour, having taken on the sweet savoury notes of the seasoning. However, the texture alternates between firm, chewy, and tender, depending on which part of the lamb you get. Served with savoury salty brown gravy on the side. Bold and tasty.
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| Char Siew Marinated Whole Baby Lamb |
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| Char Siew Marinated Whole Baby Lamb |
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| Carving |
There's also a selection of Roast Meats, which I had tried on several prior visits, including the Char Siew / Marinated Roast Pork Loin, Sio Bak / Roast Pork Belly, and Soy Sauce Chicken. These are all executed to decent, slightly above average standards, with a tender chew to texture, and good savoury sweet salty flavour.
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| Roast Meats |
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| Plate Of Roast Meats |
The Sashimi here has been consistently fresh, and is a reliable option. The medium thick slices of fresh fish - salmon, tuna, yellowtail, along with octopus, are clean-tasting and sweet savoury, with a nice bite to texture.
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| Plate Of Sashimi |
The Marinated White Baby Octopus With Melon was served as a chilled plated appetizer. The crunchy bouncy baby octopus is sweet savoury from the marinade, and pairs well with the juicy fruity sweet honeydew melon and rock melon spheres.
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| Marinated White Baby Octopus With Melon |
The Cuttlefish With Yuzu Sauce was served as a chilled plated appetizer. The tender silky Japanese cuttlefish is thinly sliced, and has a natural sweet savoury flavour. Dressed with a sharp sour sweet yuzu sauce, along with crunchy pickled cucumber and pickled daikon radish which lend a soft tangy sour taste. Quite refreshing on the palate.
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| Cuttlefish With Yuzu Sauce |
The Smoked Chicken Waffle Cone has a softly crisp waffle cone, filled with tender smoked chicken cubes that have bold smoky savoury salty flavour. Dressed with fresh crisp pea shoots and a juicy slice of mandarin orange, the fruity sweet notes complemented the meaty smoky notes of the chicken. Down it in 2 bites!
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| Smoked Chicken Waffle Cone |
The luxurious Fish Maw Soup With Crab Meat is warming, comforting, and soulful. The thick savoury soup / broth is filled with chewy dried scallops, bouncy fresh deshelled crab meat, and spongy fish maw. So good!
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| Fish Maw Soup With Crab Meat |
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| Fish Maw Soup With Crab Meat |
The Drunken Herbal Prawns have large, fresh shell-on prawns / shrimp, in a robust gravy made with Shaoxing rice wine, wolfberries / goji berries, ginger, codonopsis root, and spring onions. The gravy has infused into the bouncy meaty prawns / shrimp, giving it a lovely boozy herbal sweet flavour.
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| Drunken Herbal Prawns |
The unique Mala Crawfish features whole shell-on crawfish, with a bouncy meaty texture, in a spicy savoury numbing Sichuan / Szechuan mala peppercorn gravy. Glad the crawfish meat comes out easily from the shell, but it's still rather messy to eat.
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| Mala Crawfish |
Love the presentation of the Fresh Seafood Platter On Ice, arriving over a mound of ice. The range of seafood includes snow crab legs, clams, mussels, scallops, and shell-on prawns / shrimp. As with prior visits, these remain consistently fresh and tasty.
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| Fresh Seafood Platter On Ice |
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| Fresh Seafood Platter On Ice |
The Prosperity Whole Sea Bass Fish With Sweet And Sour Sauce features a whole, deep-fried sea bass fish, with tender, flaky, sweet savoury meat. Served with a sharp sour sweet gravy of sweet and sour sauce on the side. A decent rendition whose presentation scores higher than its taste.
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| Prosperity Whole Sea Bass Fish With Sweet And Sour Sauce |
On my previous visits, I enjoyed the Cheesy Baked Oysters, and it's as good as before. Plump and juicy oysters, their briny salty sweet flavour complemented by the salty savoury cheesy flavour of the gooey melted cheddar cheese. Yum.
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| Cheesy Baked Oysters |
A comfort dish made luxurious. The Stewed Whole Pork Trotters With Garlic, Yam / Taro, Mushrooms, Chestnuts is aptly named, with soft fatty chunks of pork collagen and fat over tender savoury salty pork trotters meat; earthy sweet chunks of yam / taro cubes; bouncy earthy savoury braised shiitake mushrooms, and chewy soft chestnuts that lend a nutty flavour. Delicious.
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| Stewed Whole Pork Trotters With Garlic, Yam / Taro, Mushrooms, Chestnuts |
The Lotus Leaf Rice With Wax Meats was especially good. A mix of steamed white rice and glutinous rice, imparted with the fragrance of lotus leaf, garnished with dried Chinese pork sausage, smoked pork bacon, and braised shiitake mushrooms. Bold punchy earthy savoury salty grainy flavours here. Highly recommended!
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| Lotus Leaf Rice With Wax Meats |
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| Lotus Leaf Rice With Wax Meats |
The star of the evening was The 1-Metre Wok Of Prosperity, the house signature Pen Cai / Poon Choi. I can scarcely believe this is going to be available for their Chinese New Year 2019 buffet! The pen cai / poon choi is a luxurious Chinese Cantonese one-pot feast, the version here features a base layer of daikon radish, Chinese cabbage; with a middle layer of dried scallops, shell-on prawns / shrimp, roast pork belly, roast duck, soy sauce chicken, abalone; and a top layer of sea cucumber, fish maw, braised oysters, wolfberries / goji berries, and black moss / fat choy / black hair vegetable. Everything has been cooked till tender with a bouncy bite, and the ingredients have absorbed all the earthy savoury sweet salty flavours. Good!
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| The 1-Metre Wok Of Prosperity |
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| Pen Cai / Poon Choi |
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| Pen Cai / Poon Choi |
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| Pen Cai / Poon Choi |
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| Sampler Plate |
The Fortune Fruit Cake is a good gift for wishing someone prosperity and good fortune in the coming year!
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| Fortune Fruit Cake |
The Strawberry Panna Cotta has a creamy smooth thick texture, almost like pudding, and the strawberry flavour with its fruity sweet notes go well with the milky whipped cream. Garnished with green sugar crystals, an orange-flavoured cookie, and strawberry flakes.
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| Strawberry Panna Cotta |
The Mango Pineapple Mousse Cake has a soft slightly spongy texture to the mango and pineapple mousse cake, with a slight crunch from the garnish of green sugar crystals, and smooth juicy globules of orange compote. Has bold fruity sweet flavours.
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| Mango Pineapple Mousse Cake |
The Pandan Layer Cake has a soft slightly dense texture, but holds good earthy floral sweet flavour. The pandan / screwpine leaf aroma is so fragrant, and the garnish of dessicated coconut lends a slight chewy texture with a hint of earthy sweet flavour.
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| Pandan Layer Cake |
The Yam / Taro Paste / Orh Nee is a decent rendition, with a creamy thick smooth texture to the yam / taro paste. Has a light earthy sweet flavour, but it's not as tasty as other versions elsewhere.
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| Yam / Taro Paste / Orh Nee |
The Orange Jelly Koi is so pretty! Pretty straightforward gelatinous texture with fruity sweet flavour, the novelty lies in its fish-shaped presentation.
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| Orange Jelly Koi |
The novel Osmanthus Jelly Tang Yuan features translucent osmanthus jelly balls, in place of glutinous rice balls, each with a different filling - peanut paste, black sesame paste, red bean paste, or yam / taro paste. Slightly less chewy in texture, and much easier to eat, with good earthy sweet nutty floral flavours. Delicious, and it also wins on presentation. Good!
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| Osmanthus Jelly Tang Yuan |
Love the Osmanthus Jelly With Aloe Vera Ingot, with its bouncy gelatinous texture to both the osmanthus jelly and the aloe vera cubes. Lovely juicy floral sweet flavours here, that burst in the mouth delightfully. The presentation in an ingot-shaped bowl with flower petals make it look so pretty too. Good!
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| Osmanthus Jelly With Aloe Vera Ingot |
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| Osmanthus Jelly With Aloe Vera Ingot |
My Fortune Cookie didn't have much of a fortune message, but at least it came with 4D numbers haha!
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| Fortune Cookie |
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| Fortune Cookie |
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| Fortune Cookie |
Enjoyed the Chinese New Year 2019 feast at Food Capital, the range of dishes is extensive and near mind-boggling. Especially excited that they're offering Pen Cai as part of the buffet throughout the CNY 2019 period (Joyous Spring Creations buffet, available from 28th January till 20th February 2019), something we've never heard of before! Well worth dining at Food Capital, do make advance reservations!
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CONVERSATION