Raw oysters are a mainstay in all-you-can-eat buffets in Singapore, but it’s not so common to find their cooked counterparts.
Ever since I paid for an Accor Plus membership earlier this year, I’ve been regularly checking out their website for interesting dining offers.
One that caught my attention was the “Oh Shucks! It’s Wednesday!” buffet at Food Exchange in Novotel Singapore on Stevens.
In addition to two kinds of raw oysters (Irish and Japanese) in their cold seafood station, there was also an unusually wide selection of oysters cooked in different ways.
Such as the internationally well-known Oysters Kilpatrick and Mornay, as well as the more Asian Chilli Crab, Okonomiyaki, Breaded Oysters.
There was even what I assumed was Teochew orh neng (a.k.a. oyster omelette).
Priced at (then) S$68++ per person, the 50% discount for two diners meant that it would cost S$81.50 nett for the both of us. In addition, we’d get a free glass of champagne each.
We’re generally quite wary of buffets, but at this friendly price point, it was worth checking out. So, on a late Wednesday evening in October, we took a bus down to Stevens Road.
While we’ve never dined at the Food Exchange before, I recall peeking inside many years ago and remembered that it looked somewhat dark and dreary.
This time though, the space was bright and airy, with floor-to-ceiling glass panels letting in tonnes of natural light. They also seemed to have refurbished the furniture, imparting a clean and modern look.
The overhead decorations and lighting were also quite artistic and whimsical, especially the hanging metallic seagull-looking mobiles.
We reached just before 6pm, the opening time of dinner service, but there were already a couple of diners ahead of us. Our reservation was confirmed, and we were promptly ushered to our seats.
The first thing we checked out was, of course, the raw oysters. Row-upon-row of half shells were arranged on a pretty bed of ice bordered by bunches of greens. They looked, and smelled, fresh.
Next was the array of cooked oysters, presented in large bamboo steamers and warming trays.
The amount that was displayed in the first wave was quite impressive. Though we would have preferred them to come out in smaller portions so that they could be served piping hot.
But this was a all-you-can-eat buffet after all, and that’s how it’s usually done.
Besides the oysters done seven ways, there was the usual supporting cast of buffet staples.
Including a cold seafood selection of prawns, snow crab legs and mussels, a small Indian food selection, some Chinese roast meats and random other cooked foods.
The salad bar had a decent selection, but c’mon, who goes to a buffet to eat grass vegetables. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy eating greens and have regular vegetarian meals.
But there’s a time and place for everything, and this was neither the time nor the place for a healthy fibre intake.
The same logic applies to carbs, but with one notable exception — laksa. Who can resist a hot and spicy bowl, topped with a fine dusting of laksa leaves and a generous blob of sambal.
Desserts were tucked away at the back of the dining hall, and comprised a decent selection of cakes, tarts and fresh fruits.
Nothing particularly fancy, though the lemon meringue tart did catch our eye. Next to the desserts was the free-flow self-service drinks station with coffee, tea and various sugary drinks.
By the time we finished our initial recce, our complimentary flutes of champagne had arrived. It was a surprisingly generous pour, almost up to the brim.
An additional top up of S$58++ per person would unlock free-flow champagne for the rest of the night, but we’re not heavy drinkers and one glass was more than enough for us.
Oysters and champagne are a classic pairing, and we fished out four Irish and and four Japanese raw oysters from the seafood bar.
Mignonette and tabasco sauce were provided, but we went with just a simple squeeze of fresh lemon so as not to mask their inherent freshness.
Between the two, we very much preferred the Japanese oysters. They were meatier and and more flavourful than the smaller and comparatively blander Irish ones.
Cooked oysters were next, and The Wife assembled a plate with all six versions (plus one crab cake). After trying all of them in quick succession, our verdict was that they were a mixed bag.
The Oysters Mornay, with its thick blanket of baked cheese, was easily the standout. It was fresh, juicy, creamy and very satisfying. We went back for seconds.
Good, but not great, was the Oysters Kilpatrick, which could have benefitted with more bacon. Because, as we all know, everything tastes better with more bacon.
The oyster omelette and breaded oysters were also not bad. Though it was a pity that they didn’t provide vinegared chilli sauce for the orh neng, and tonkatsu sauce for the kaki furai.
Don’t bother with the chilli crab and okonomiyaki oysters. They were bad renditions of what inspired them, and nowhere close to how they should have, and could have, tasted.
We took small bites from the rest of the items on offer, and most of them were, frankly, just meh.
I was particularly looking forward to the prawn masala and butter chicken, but they were quite disappointing. The pakora and papadums tasted nice though.
Similarly, the rest of the cold seafood bar was a bit of a let down. Given the quality of the raw oysters, we assumed that the prawns and crab legs would be equally fresh.
However, they weren’t up to par and gave off a slight fishiness. Not so bad as to be inedible, but off-putting enough to be unenjoyable.
The Wife didn’t want to waste what we had already taken, and came up with a great idea. While they weren’t good when eaten cold, perhaps they would fare better after dunking them in a hot laksa?
Turns out she was spot on. The “upgraded” bowl of laksa that she assembled was fantastic. The prawns somehow became sweet and crunchy, elevating the humble bowl of noodles.
The combination was so good that it was easily the best thing we had that night. Ranking even higher than the #2 Japanese raw oysters, and the #3 Oysters Mornay.
Coming in fourth was the lemon meringue tart, the one that we were eyeing earlier. It was bright, tangy and not too sweet. We ended up having three slices that night.
The rest of the desserts? Well, like the rest of the cooked food, honestly quite meh.
For what we paid, I would say that the “Oh Shucks! It’s Wednesday!” at Food Exchange Novotel Stevens was decent value-for-money.
There were more misses than hits, but the items that were good made up for those that were mediocre or worse.
I noticed that they’ve jacked the price up to S$88++ per pax though, most likely to take advantage of the year-end festivities and, presumably, looser wallets.
So, if you find the oyster buffet interesting and are keen to visit, it might make sense to wait until the price drops back to “normal” after the Christmas and New Year holidays.
