“Christmas Around The World”
Bay Hotel’s Street 50 Restaurant is featuring a curated global spread of Christmas delights this December in an all-you-can-eat buffet known as Glitter. If you thought you understood fusion, take a look below at what the hotel restaurant concocts before checking again.
The same modern swank that embodies Bay Hotel is manifested in hotpot-renowned Street 50’s elegant spotlights and precise fittings, with teases of a beach resort emanating from a flora backdrop beyond the interior glass panel of the restaurant. Though (sadly) the landlocked Bay Hotel will not proffer a beautiful dock for reckless holiday-incensed skinny dipping, its in-house restaurant that opens past midnight on weekends will gladly host hungry St James Power House clubbers.
Last week, I was invited for a taste of Glitter’s finest spread where Japanese, Chinese, Western etc. cuisines are all up for grabs. Seeing a chafer of soba beside Teochew duck and across a cheese spread on the same table was baffling but also in some way refreshing. I’d like to give special mention to some of Glitter’s intriguing global fusion dishes:
Turkey & Mutton. Instead of ham, the more amicable mutton is served, and I honestly preferred it to the turkey. Nevertheless, both sets of perfectly cooked meat are tender and delicious with the miscellany of sauces that front the slab.
Cream of Spinach. This soup is evidently not for everyone. The sea of milky green is brimming with a rich spinach flavour especially for vegetable lovers. Liking watercress soup very much myself, I will have to recommend the cream of spinach at Street 50.
Poached Scallop In Lemon Butter. In this toothsome chafer, pickled mustard greens (mui choy) are served with minuscule chewy scallops in a creamy broth that I found to be a tad spicy from copious use of pepper.
Yard Beans & Clams. A sweet and spicy Thai chili coats the garlic-rich amalgam of yard beans and fresh clams for an addictive piquancy. Separating the flesh from the shell also proved to be easy.
Cold Seafood Platter. Lemon and a lovely Thai Nam Jim sauce are perhaps adequately provided on the side to this seafood platter, as to me, the bamboo clams and mussels were slightly bland on their own. Conversely, the crab and prawns in this icy quartet appeared freshly picked, and they packed the aquatic sweetness that we all desire.
Tom Yum Flair. Pasta is not part of the buffet, but is still available for order throughout December (and probably for eternity). Being one of the standouts here, the seafood-heavy Tom Yum Flair made using recommended fettuccini was offered to me. Portions of squid, scallops, mussels, and crayfish are served with the al dente fettuccini for a decadent tom-yum-flavoured dish that is a little spicy. For sure, the Tom Yum Flair is a testimony to fusion done right.
Hazelnut Escargot. This dish is also an a la carte item, but short of the gaudy and tantalizing flambe presentation, the escargot was pedestrian with a less than desirable chewiness. I did, however, enjoy the fragrant oil coating laced with generous amounts of garlic.
It appears that perfecting global fusion is a tall task, and with what Street 50 has consistently produced, the restaurant is still deserving of some credit, although I wasn’t that impressed. The rate of $38++ per pax for the extensive Glitter Christmas buffet is also reasonable. If you’re interested, this offer lasts the entire December, while after that and Asian Lunch buffet becomes available at $25++.
Expected damage: $30 – $40 / pax
