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Carousel @ Royal Plaza on Scotts

27 January 2009


My extended family brought the customary reunion dinner forward for the Chinese New Year festival because we wanted to do something different and have a reunion high tea at the Carousel of Royal Plaza on Scotts. My parents love this place and actually come here quite often, but it's my first time here and I must say that this is definitely one of the leading buffet restaurants in Singapore. The service is excellent and the food, for most parts of it, is great stuff too.


The Royal Plaza on Scotts is just one of three hotels in Singapore that has Halal buffets, the other two being Straits Kitchen at the Hyatt and Tiffany Cafe at Furama City Centre. I've not been to Straits Kitchen yet, but I do know that both Tiffany Cafe and Carousel at least have been awarded the Simply Dining's "Singapore Top Restaurants 2008" awards for their remarkable buffets.


The impressive thing about Carousel is the service. Not only do they have staff in-charge of your table (and dining area), but they are also extremely quick in clearing your plates, refilling your drinks (be it coffee, tea or iced water) and even helping you take a picture or two. They take every request with a smile, and I've never seen anyone so excited to sing a birthday song. We were joking that they were a bit too efficient actually, because they were clearing the plates so quickly eventhough my younger cousins were just planning to walk around before coming back to their little morsels of food. Still, thumbs up to all of them.

The Counters

Here are pictures of some of the food counters at Carousel. I did not include the two rows of cooked food, nor did I take any pictures of the soup pots! I think a couple of the chefs were keeping an eye on me, thinking I'm some food paparazzi (indeed, I am) on an under-cover mission, so I tried my best to look like a wide-eyed tourist instead haha.


Bread, Sandwiches and Croissants

For those making up for breakfast



Cold Dishes like Sashimi and Soba

For those wanting to make their money's worth



Cold Salads

For those pretending to be on a diet



Asian Rojak

For those usually amused at how hawkers do it



Cheese and Durian Roti Prata

For those who like unique pratas



Asian Popiah (Springroll)

For those who like to queue



Muah Chee

For those who would pay $40 and then eat something that costs $1.50



Chicken Kebab

For those who want something warm and tender



Ice Kachang and Chendol

For those who want to play with the ice-shaving machine



Cakes and Pastries

For those with a sweet tooth



Chocolate Fondue

For those who believe heaven is made of chocolates



Fruits

For those deluding themselves that they're having a healthy meal


My Plates

I tried to eat as many different items as I possibly could, but there's really far too many things to eat in one sitting. I didn't take any of the soups, nor did I touch the cold dishes. I heard that in the past there were seafood items like crabs, mussels and prawns, pity that they have scaled down and only offer these at lunches and dinners now. Here's some pictures of the food I tasted.


(From bottom left, clockwise direction) Deep fried chicken wings, fish otah, nasi lemak, ikan bilis, sambal chilli, eggs, deep fried tofu with chicken and prawns.



(From bottom left, clockwise direction) Fried kway teow, fried sotong balls, deep fried tofu with chicken and prawns, prawn fritters, Thai fish cake, white carrot cake, fried chicken dumpling.



(From bottom left, clockwise direction) Fried meat pastry, har gow, Italian pizza, chicken kebab slices, pita bread.



Kueh Pai Tee and Popiah



Chicken Porridge



Laksa



Muah Chee



(From bottom left, clockwise direction) Macaroon, chocolate tartlet, kueh salat, chocolate cake, pandan cake.



My Nicely Decorated Ice-Cream Sundae



Ice Kachang



Marshmallows in Chocolate Fondue



Macaroons


The Shop (Certainly Not Included in the Buffet!)

I thought some of the cakes looked pretty and I couldn't resist taking pictures of them. Great for special occasions I'm sure.







Overall Comments: 9.5/10


It was truly an enjoyable experience at the Carousel. Although it would have been better if they brought back the seafood, this is high-tea after all and I'm not expecting too extensive an array of food. The desserts are brilliant, don't underestimate the wide spread of colourful and tiny pastries. And if you find the macaroons, grab them, they are a Carousel specialty. To be honest, a staff told me that it's just a "garnishing" for the cakes, but because I had asked her initially if they would be bringing more in, the manager personally took a plate and filled it up with macaroons straight from their little stall at the entrance! Talk about good service, these people really take it up a notch, well done. Little things like this goes a long way to leaving a lasting impression really. The food is good, but if you're looking for even more variety I'd suggest you come for lunch or dinner instead, where you'd get your sushi, crabs, mussels, prawns, sirloin steak etc. Otherwise, the high-tea here is just great and worth the money you're paying for.

Price



Place
Carousel, Royal Plaza on Scotts
25 Scotts Road, Orchard.

9 Foodie Comments:

Pearl said...

what a pretty restaurant! and those macaroons are so bright and colorful!

January 27, 2009 at 3:49 AM
Fen said...

I thought it was quite generous to serve macarons at the buffet bar but it turn out to be complementary on your part. If you like their macarons, don't miss out the rose and raspberry flavour... A very unique filling...

Looks like the spread is very different from the buffet lunch I had in Oct. I do miss their chicken rice balls. Full of fragrance and punch...

Happy New Year to you and glad that your family have a wonderful reunion dinner...

January 27, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Unknown said...

Hi there! Ya...Carousel is a so much raved place to have buffet. I hope I can make my way there pretty soon. lol

January 27, 2009 at 6:13 PM
Anonymous said...

Hey Harris!

I've eaten there before with my girlfriends for breakfast, high tea and dinner. I must say you got it spot on :) You should try Straits Kitchen too. Its really good though its achilles heel is that it only serves Asian Cuisine. You just gave me an idea for a HKMUNC meet up! Haha

- Lia

January 27, 2009 at 7:53 PM
*Harris said...

Sweet, so many comments! =)

Pearl: Yes, pretty macaroons aren't they? They taste good too!

Fen: Yeaps, the few macaroons at the buffet bar were just for decorations. I did try the rose one and liked it a lot. I'm contemplating trying out the "Ispahan" macaroon in the future heh ;) Happy Lunar New Year to you too Fen!

Foodies Queen: Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did! =)

Lia: Heya thanks for dropping by! I get what you mean about Asian cuisines, but Carousel's high tea is pretty much Asian too. But for a HKMUNC meetup?! I think we should bring everyone to a Hong Kong cafe, seeing how little Hong Kong food we ate in Hong Kong! Haha =)

Cheers to Everyone! =)

January 27, 2009 at 11:16 PM
Pearl said...

hahaha yes haris isn't that funny? i was all complaining about my insomnia then i conched out.

January 28, 2009 at 12:57 AM
*Harris said...

Pearl: Yeaps haha, I was chuckling to myself when I read that. So much for "insomnia" haha.

I was looking at the pastries at Carousel, and I know that (with your baking skills) you could easily bake any one of them and they'd taste good!

January 28, 2009 at 12:23 PM
jesse said...

Wahlau, you make me sooooo jealous loh!! Happy CNY to you too, glad I stumbled upon your blog, even though it made me all homesick!

January 28, 2009 at 9:04 PM
*Harris said...

Jesse: Hey Jesse, Happy CNY to you! =) I'm sure all the other posts would make you homesick as well, since they're mostly of food from Singapore.

Don't be jealous, come back home soon then! =)

January 28, 2009 at 11:32 PM

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