Singapore Food Blog - Element buffet dinner @ Amara Hotel

Location: Tanjong Pagar, Central Business District (CBD), Singapore.

I guess that any search online for Amara Hotel's buffet dinner will result in numerous reviews sharing individual experience of dining there after purchasing online discounted coupons which were available just recently. So here's another piece to add to that growing list.

Welcome to 165 Tanjong Pagar Road!

Malaysia Food Blog - International Buffet Dinner @ Café Laurel, Evergreen Laurel Hotel Part 2

Location: Gurney Drive, Georgetown, Penang Isle

Truth is, I was slightly disappointed with the food there. Not to say that the food was not nice, but the selection of food could do with some improvement. Since this was supposed to be an international buffet, with Italian as a the main choice of theme, the choices were the usual you would expect from any locally planned 'international buffet'.

A dish of yummies, all deep fried to golden crispiness! Maybe I should take back my word on nothing special here... deep fried vegetables were indeed different (it was labeled as 'tempura vegetable').

And what were these...?

Malaysia Food Blog - International Buffet Dinner @ Café Laurel, Evergreen Laurel Hotel Part 1

Location: Gurney Drive, Georgetown, Penang Isle

When I was in Evergreen Laurel Hotel a few months ago (read here for my previous article), I noticed the nicely decorated Café Laurel, but never paid it any thoughts. Now after a few months later, I got my paws on some discounted vouchers and here I am, visiting the hotel in Gurney Drive for a second time.

A dazzling central area of the café where a variety of seafood awaits.

Malaysia Food Blog - Tsurukame Shabu-shabu (鶴亀しゃぶしゃぶ)

Location: Bayan Lepas, Penang Isle

I noticed this shop located on the 3rd floor of Queensbay Mall but seldom pay any heed to it. I was slightly aware that this was a Japanese restaurant, but that was the extent of my knowledge of this place, until I paid it a visit during my girlfriend's birthday. We were thinking of trying something different for her birthday and Tsurukame came to my mind, since we never tried Japanese shabu-shabu before, and so there we went.

Tsurukame Shabu-shabu (鶴亀しゃぶしゃぶ) actually reminds me of Tsuruya Japanese Restaurant (鶴屋日本料理), another Japanese restaurant located in I-Avenue; I actually half expected the same thing when I entered. What Tsurukame offered was a buffet style shabu-shabu, not unlike the buffet style hot pot (火锅) in Chinese restaurants which bloomed recently.

Malaysia Food Blog - Eastin Hotel - The Lobby Lounge

Location: Bayan Lepas, Penang Isle


Setting up Eastin Hotel next to Queensbay Mall and so near to the Free Industrial Zone in Bayan Lepas could not be a more strategic choice. With multitudes of multinational companies located in the neighbourhood, scores of foreign representatives can be expected to drop by the neighbouhood every month. As it is these companies' culture to have dinners and teambuilding activities, and with it being in the vicinity, a budgetary lunch in this hotel would be an irresistable offer. As such, it has always intrigued me what such a hotel can offer to one's palate.

A seminar by one of my company's supplier lent me the oppurtunity to try out their buffet lunch in the Lobby Lounge. The lounge area greets visitors with a tall ceiling and a spacious layout, along with two parallel rows of dishes. Combine this with sparse decorations and a white motif, and you get a sense of freedom and peace of mind. I seldom attribute this sense to buffet areas, which I somehow expect to be tumultous and rowdy, with throngs of hungry diners grabbing for the last bit from the dish.