“Christmas is All Around”
11 months of 2014 have already gone by and it’s now December. The month of giving, sharing, presents, holidays, and family time. It’s also the time of feasting and indulgences. This holiday season, Mandarin Oriental, Singapore, has lots of delicious goodies to celebrate the festive period of Christmas. Melt The World Cafe has a special buffet menu lined up for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
One of the more popular buffet restaurants in Singapore renown for its extensive spreads. It’s casual atmosphere somehow arouses your appetite.
Marinated Apple Salad with Walnut, Cranberry and Cider Dressing. The most overlooked item on festive menus, the salad plays an important crisp, palate cleansing role and it balances the “jelakness” from all the indulgence. The walnuts add the added crunch to the overall dish.
Clam Chowder. Most chowders tend to be heavy and fattening – that’s how it’s like in New England. This rendition was surprisingly light and refreshing thus allowing more belly space for all the hearty stuff that follows.
Maple Glazed Ham. The simple maple glaze accentuates the juiciness of the meat; the pineapple sauce adds a slight pleasing tang with every mouthful.
Traditional Roasted Christmas Turkey. A perfectly roasted ‘gobble gobble’ is the holy grail of every cook for the festive season. The meat was moist and tender appealing to the Asian palate; Westerners prefer their turkeys more on the dry and firm side – similar to how they prefer chicken breast to thigh meat.
Clockwise from top left: Traditional Chestnut, Mushroom and Pork Stuffing, Truffle Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Butternut Squash, and Sautéed Haricot Beans with Wild Mushrooms. The turkey gets top billing for every holiday meal but the sides are just as important.
From left: Truffle Mashed Potatoes, Buttered Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Bacon, and Pumpkin Seed Cornbread Muffins. The classic lumpy mashed potatoes was replaced with smooth blend of rich buttery akin to Joel Robuchon Mashed Potatoes, featuring a dash of truffle oil for the extra decadence. If only it was shaved truffles…
The Pumpkin Seed Cornbread Muffin was a holiday twist on the regular Southern cornbread recipes. Light and fluffy, it added a homely cozy feel to this Christmas meal.
Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie. A staple for every holiday meal, this pie didn’t disappoint. The pumpkin was light and not overwhelming sweet.
Minced Meat Pie. There’s no meat in this modern iteration if you were wondering, just fruits and spices unlike the medieval pie. You either love your mince pies or hate them. The crusty pastry was delicious and so was the mince (though severely lacking with the rum).
Festive Macaroons. The macaroon craze in Singapore has pretty much faded into obscurity but these ones are still one of the better ones in town (probably better than the over-hyped ones, you know who they are).
This was just the preview of the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menu, be expected to be impressed by the actual selection. Menus are are viewable on the website.
Expected Damage: S$148-198++ (Christmas Eve Dinner) S$228++ (Christmas Brunch) S$128-178++ (Christmas BBQ Dinner)
