Old Hong Kong Essence
8 Sinaran Drive
#02-05 Oasia Hotel @ Novena
Tel: 66596738
47%
13 Votes

More Information
Suitable for
- Dinner2 votes
- Lunch2 votes
- Alfresco/Outdoor Dining1 votes
- Private Dining1 votes
- Boys Night Out1 votes
- Romance/First Dates1 votes
- Take Away1 votes
- Children/Family1 votes
- People Watching1 votes
- Healthy Eating1 votes
- High Tea1 votes
- Large Groups/Gathering1 votes
- Quiet1 votes
Top Must Try Dishes
- Fragrant Mixed Grain Rice1 votes
- Seacucumber Carrot Pastry1 votes
- Fish Noodles in Shark Bone Soup1 votes
Reviews

Super Duper
does not recommend this place.
Bad Attitude!
16 Nov 2012Recently bought deal voucher for the buffet. No comment on the food, price or value for money which other reviewers already have ample comments on.
Upon arrival, was told that there was no record of booking and sorry no table left. This was also untrue as the whole restaurant was only half full throughout the evening. Instead of trying to remedy the situation, manager refused to accept responsibility that they could have failed to record the booking. Therefore conclusion must be we did not book. We asked to elevate the matter and he scoffed and said boss won't entertain you and the days where customer is king are over! Even called security to escort us from the building when we kicked up a fuss. What a joke. To think that patrons make the owners rich but can only expect to be treated like dirt in return. Have frequented much more high class places and have never been treated like that before.
To be fair after a lengthy chat which in my view was a total waste of time, table was arranged and service was good. Can't say the same about the food though.
Will never go there again since they don't need our business.
Upon arrival, was told that there was no record of booking and sorry no table left. This was also untrue as the whole restaurant was only half full throughout the evening. Instead of trying to remedy the situation, manager refused to accept responsibility that they could have failed to record the booking. Therefore conclusion must be we did not book. We asked to elevate the matter and he scoffed and said boss won't entertain you and the days where customer is king are over! Even called security to escort us from the building when we kicked up a fuss. What a joke. To think that patrons make the owners rich but can only expect to be treated like dirt in return. Have frequented much more high class places and have never been treated like that before.
To be fair after a lengthy chat which in my view was a total waste of time, table was arranged and service was good. Can't say the same about the food though.
Will never go there again since they don't need our business.

TJY
does not recommend this place.
Don't buy the deal voucher!
20 Sep 2012Wasn't planning to write a review earlier, but when I saw that the buffet deal is back on, I decided that I should warn others from grabbing the deal.
Firstly, the place was reasonably hard to find. It's actually within Novena Medical Centre and not in Oasia Hotel like its address states. Thus, it's a bit of an uncomfortable walk when I brought my family there, as they had to walk past the medical/hospital smells. Doesn't exactly help to whet one's appetite.
Secondly, the place's decor is quite simple. So don't go expecting a higher-class restaurant, like the Old HK in Raffles City for example, or some hotel restaurants. It comes across more like a simple cafe.
Lastly, on the food. The buffet is definitely not worthwhile for the price. Although the deal states that over 65 varieties of food can be chosen from, in actual fact, there are only 55 items that one can choose from. The menu is made up of:
-> 5 herbal drinks (comes in a kettle, can choose any of the 5, but on the day we went, only 4 out of the 5 were available). The healthy heart regeneration herbal drink is quite nice and sweet, but as it comes in a kettle, you probably can't finish more than 2 different teas for a table of 4. So it's not like you can try all the diferent drinks.
-> 4 soups to choose from (but only limited to one piece per person). The soups are not bad, but as one can only choose one soup each, it is quite restrictive. There are 10 other more "premium" soups that one can choose if one tops up from S$6-S$22. Not sure if it's by per pax or by per table for the top-up. The top up quantum is quite high and expensive.
-> 19 dimsum items. The dimsum items came nearer the end of the meal, and weren't that great. They have a very weird rice flour selection (rice flour with black bean steamed chicken feet; with Pork ribs and preserved soya bean, with preserved vegetables and shredded meat). The dumpling with truffles was not nice, even though it's supposed to be a specialty.
-> 22 dishes. A lot of the main dishes are braised items, which we couldn't tell from the names. We ordered quite a few items, and to our surprise, all of them came braised with gravy. They were reasonably tasty (although I think my tze char neighbourhood store can produce better food), but there is a limit to how many braised items one can take at a meal.
-> 4 rice and noodle items. These carbs came in relatively large servings. Once again, it was okayish nice but not spectacular.
-> 5 desserts. The hot ginger milk curd was served at room temperature. None of us could bear to take more than a bite of it. We also tried the mashed taro which was not bad, but we couldn't eat too much as we were very full from the braised dishes.
The towels cost money, as do the peanuts. There's also GST that one must pay. Thus, overall, the cost per pax is around S$35 or so, even with the voucher. For that pricing, I would rather go to Shin Minori for a nice satisfying ala carte Jap buffet at UE Square, or for Chinese alacarte buffet, go to Peony Jade @ Clarke Quay or Tung Lok @ Orchard Central. Peony Jade has very nice buffet alacarte on weekends, and they were having a credit card promo (buy 3 get 1 free) when I was there, so the pricing is around S$40 per pax I think. Much more worthwhile.
Hope the management works on the selection and the food pricing and quality before giving out such deals in future.
Firstly, the place was reasonably hard to find. It's actually within Novena Medical Centre and not in Oasia Hotel like its address states. Thus, it's a bit of an uncomfortable walk when I brought my family there, as they had to walk past the medical/hospital smells. Doesn't exactly help to whet one's appetite.
Secondly, the place's decor is quite simple. So don't go expecting a higher-class restaurant, like the Old HK in Raffles City for example, or some hotel restaurants. It comes across more like a simple cafe.
Lastly, on the food. The buffet is definitely not worthwhile for the price. Although the deal states that over 65 varieties of food can be chosen from, in actual fact, there are only 55 items that one can choose from. The menu is made up of:
-> 5 herbal drinks (comes in a kettle, can choose any of the 5, but on the day we went, only 4 out of the 5 were available). The healthy heart regeneration herbal drink is quite nice and sweet, but as it comes in a kettle, you probably can't finish more than 2 different teas for a table of 4. So it's not like you can try all the diferent drinks.
-> 4 soups to choose from (but only limited to one piece per person). The soups are not bad, but as one can only choose one soup each, it is quite restrictive. There are 10 other more "premium" soups that one can choose if one tops up from S$6-S$22. Not sure if it's by per pax or by per table for the top-up. The top up quantum is quite high and expensive.
-> 19 dimsum items. The dimsum items came nearer the end of the meal, and weren't that great. They have a very weird rice flour selection (rice flour with black bean steamed chicken feet; with Pork ribs and preserved soya bean, with preserved vegetables and shredded meat). The dumpling with truffles was not nice, even though it's supposed to be a specialty.
-> 22 dishes. A lot of the main dishes are braised items, which we couldn't tell from the names. We ordered quite a few items, and to our surprise, all of them came braised with gravy. They were reasonably tasty (although I think my tze char neighbourhood store can produce better food), but there is a limit to how many braised items one can take at a meal.
-> 4 rice and noodle items. These carbs came in relatively large servings. Once again, it was okayish nice but not spectacular.
-> 5 desserts. The hot ginger milk curd was served at room temperature. None of us could bear to take more than a bite of it. We also tried the mashed taro which was not bad, but we couldn't eat too much as we were very full from the braised dishes.
The towels cost money, as do the peanuts. There's also GST that one must pay. Thus, overall, the cost per pax is around S$35 or so, even with the voucher. For that pricing, I would rather go to Shin Minori for a nice satisfying ala carte Jap buffet at UE Square, or for Chinese alacarte buffet, go to Peony Jade @ Clarke Quay or Tung Lok @ Orchard Central. Peony Jade has very nice buffet alacarte on weekends, and they were having a credit card promo (buy 3 get 1 free) when I was there, so the pricing is around S$40 per pax I think. Much more worthwhile.
Hope the management works on the selection and the food pricing and quality before giving out such deals in future.

sorite
does not recommend this place.
ordinary home-cooked food
18 Sep 2012Bought the 10-course coupon from deal.com.sg @ S$15.80 p.p.
The food is pretty ordinary - the dimsum is not bad but the remaining dishes such as the double-boiled soup (hawker centre stalls like Lao Shen serve much better soups at 20% of the price), spinach, braised chicken, dessert etc. are seriously no better than what most hawker centre stalls / housewives can whip up. You are basically paying for the service (which is quite attentive and polite) and ambience at this place.
The food is pretty ordinary - the dimsum is not bad but the remaining dishes such as the double-boiled soup (hawker centre stalls like Lao Shen serve much better soups at 20% of the price), spinach, braised chicken, dessert etc. are seriously no better than what most hawker centre stalls / housewives can whip up. You are basically paying for the service (which is quite attentive and polite) and ambience at this place.
I also recommend this place for:
Lunch, Dinner, Healthy Eating, Children/Family, Romance/First Dates, Private Dining, Quiet, High Tea, People Watching

