Food Exchange at Novotel Singapore on Stevens

Novotel Singapore on Stevens is a new hotel on Stevens Road, not too far away from the famed Shangri-la Hotel.

Entrance to Food Exchange

Food Exchange is on the 2nd floor.  The entrance is quite arty with nice decorative lights.

Food Exchange Interior

The interior is brand new, still with a slight smell of new paint.  The atmosphere is cosy.  The best part is that it is right next to the swimming pool.  Through the ceiling to floor glass windows, you can have a nice view.  However, as the place is new, some of the installations may not have been done properly.  For example, for our table, it was right under some leaking pipe.  Water dripped down from time to time onto our table from the ceiling.  A big turn off.

Japanese Section

The dinner buffet was an international buffet, with different sections for various themes.  The Japanese section had sushi and salmon sashimi available.  I would like to suggest the chef to pay attention to the quality of their food.  The salmon sashimi had a slight fishy stink smell, which signified the sashimi was not fresh.  For the sushi, I had to spit out the octupus sushi after chewing for a while.  Again it had that stinky smell, and in early stage of decay.

Seafood Section

For the seafood section, I only tried the prawns.  Well, the prawns were ok, but you could tell they were not fresh.  Soggy, and hard to separate the meat from the shell.  Typical indicators for not fresh seafood.

The creamed salmon from the cooked food section was not fresh either.  I seriously think they should have better quality control. The satay and otah were plain to tasteless.  My dining companions unanimously agreed that the food was of inferior quality.

Middle East/Indian Section

Usually I don't try the Indian section, as there are too many choices from Japanese, western and the Chinese sections, but for this visit, I did try the Middle-East/Indian section.  Lucky I did, as the Middle-East/Indian section provided the best food among the whole buffet.  The biryani rice was the crown jewel of this buffet.

The price for a week day dinner is $58.00++/pax.  I think the quality of food needs big improvements.  At its present state, I think it is better to take your money elsewhere. 

The service staff were friendly, and promptly cleared the used plates from our table.  They deserve a thrumbs up.

Seasonal Tastes at The Westin Singapore

Seasonal Tastes is located on the 32nd floor of The Westin Singapore, amid the Marina Bay Financial Center area.  It offers quite a view of Singapore.  On the east, you can have a peek of the Singapore Flyer and the Art and Science Museum, through a narrow view point between other skyscrapers. 

On the south, you can see the mostly vacated Tanjong Pagar port, which is almost ready for new development.  Most amazingly, on both east and south side, you can easily see Malaysia and Indonesia.  It is a reminder just how small our little red dot is, and how amazing it is that we could enjoy great prosperity and safety in such a tiny island.

Their international buffet lunch offers a combination of western, Chinese, and Indian cuisines, plus seafood, fruits and desserts.

Fresh Prawns

Crabs

Their seafood section offers plenty of fresh prawns, which were very good.  The refill was fast too, I didn't encounter any shortage of prawns.  However, the same can't be said of the crabs.  At first, mud crabs were served, but most of the time, that container was empty.  Later on, when it was closer to the end of the lunch time, they replaced the mud crabs with the cheaper flower crabs.

For the Japanese section, the salmon sashimi was in constant supply, never a shortage.  I would say the salmon was not the best in class, but acceptable, especially considering the generous supply.  I didn't try the sushi, as I found that sushi consists mostly of rice, and it will fill up your stomach pretty fast, leaving no room for you to try any other more interesting, more pricey items.

Braised Lamb

Steamed Pork Belly

For the Chinese section, I would like to sing praise to their braised lamb.  I didn't know braised lamb could be so good.  The lamb was cooked with slow fire, together with beancurd skin and water chestnuts.  The lamb was really tender and you can effortlessly bite the meat of the bones.  The steamed pork belly was not bad, but then at my age, it was still a good idea to avoid excessive fat.

Rolley Turkey

Probably because Christmas is just around the corner, they also offered rolley turkey.  I am never a big fan of turkey.  To me, it is nothing more than a big chunk of very dry meat, bland in taste, and unpleasant to chew.  It was the very first time that I saw turkey cooked differently.  Here, the turkey was not just turkey, but with dry fruits fillings inside.  The juice from the fruits provided the much needed moisture to the otherwise dry turkey meat.  At the same time, the fruits also helped to bring some flavors to the bland turkey meat.

Hokkien Mee

Indian Crackers

For the Singapore section, they offered Hokkien Mee and Laksa.  Too bad, didn't have the stomach capacity to give them a try.  For the Indian section, plenty of crackers, and some vegetable and meat dishes which I didn't really try.  I only managed to try some crackers, but they were too salty to my liking.

Salads from Western Section

Other than those I showed above, they also had a very western section which offers plenty of greens, and many different types of cheeses and breads.  The salads were not bad, and I particularly liked their cheese.  I couldn't believe myself that I actually like blue cheese.  My friends warned me that such cheese was smelly and strong in taste.  Probably I had a natural inclination towards cheese, or my smell and taste functions no longer in working order, I found the blue cheese fragrant and taste was enjoyable.

Then there was the sinful dessert section.  I saw my friends swallowing up scoops and scoops of ice cream covered with thick chocolates, and other mouth-watering sweet items.  Somehow they all suddenly agreed that dessert was not counted as food, and it won't take up space in their stomach.

The dining environment was pleasant with a view, the staff were friendly and service was prompt.  And guess how much this lunch buffet cost?  It was just S$32++ for a weekday buffet lunch.

Overall I found the experience pleasant and not heavy on the pocket.  Good place to go if you are looking for a simple buffet with a view.

J65 at Hotel Jen

J65 is located at Hotel Jen, which was previously known as Trader Hotel.  Since the re-branding, the hotel had been completed renovated.  J65 has a very cosy and elegant ambiance.  The place is spacious, plenty of room between tables for you to feel comfortable.

Their weekday lunch buffet is $31.00++/pax.  At this kind of price, I think the expectation should not be too high. Lobsters, crabs, and oysters are for sure out of the question.

Seafood Counter

Let's first see what they have at the seafood counter, mussels and prawns.  I didn't try the mussels, as somehow it always gets me sick.  The prawns were good.  They were fresh, and large.  The refill was timely.  Always plenty to satisfy your cravings if you like prawns.  Good!

Sushi Counter

Next to seafood, it is the sushi counter.  No sashimi, but they have the normal prawn sushi, cuttlefish sushi and the cheap cheap ones.

Salad and Fruits

Desserts

Salad, fruits, and dessert counters are all decent.  I tried some of the desserts, they were good.

Indian Food Section

In addition, they also have Indian, western, and Chinese food sections.  My Indian colleague liked the Indian food there, for me, I only tried their crackers, which was good.

Laksa

When it comes to my favorite, for sure it is the local delights.  I ordered a bowl of laksa.  The soup was thick with the fragrance of coconut milk.  It was spicy yet still acceptable to me.  It is different from Katong Laksa for sure, but it is good in its own way.  Thumbs up!  My only problem was I ate too much laksa, didn't have any room to try other dishes.  What a pity.

Service was prompt and friendly.  They removed our plates promptly, and they always asked for your permission first.  When they did that, they even bowed slightly to you, showing respect.

Overall, I found it an enjoyable experience.  With $31.00++, you have a cosy place to sit down, chitchat with your friends, enjoy a sumptuous lunch, what else can you ask for?