Ellenborough Market Cafe

At this price, we get to choice from a wide variety of food spread, much to our delight.  The durian pengat, which is the highlight, is not available for Hi-Tea though otherwise we prefer the snack items rather than the lunch.  The crab claw, mee goreng, sashimi are among our favourites.

The service really needs attention.  The plates & cutlery are always insufficient and the staff are probably used to this and appeared indifferent.

 

 

 

 

I'm actually quite a regular buffet diner - Coca being my favourite and now after a rather nasty dining experience, E M Cafe. Can't quite understand why they even attempt to present a Peranakan themed buffet when they don't have any idea what they're cooking or what they should taste like. It's shocking! The Pongteh was really overly sweet and the buah keluak was a huge mistake - who in the world puts kaffir lime leaves in that dish anyway? It should be lemongrass, dear! The durian pengat which alot of people were queueing for was watery beyond recognition - the sago pearls probably being an attempt to save costs or something. I really don't think I'll be back anytime soon - too bad really, the restaurant's really very charming to look at.

Ok I'll go straight to the point. Service? What service... the waitress and waiters don't come around often to check on your needs. My drinking glass was empty half of the time. And my plates were not cleared, even when I didn't really eat enough to have too many plates to clear. Ambience, errr............... too crowded, too warm, too noisy.

Food. Bleahhh. The kway pie tee was oily and the filling bland. That was the case even when I loaded mine with chilli and shrimps. Sushi and sashimi were left standing in the air... Didn't look appetizing, and they weren't appetizing either.

There's this steamed fish that was rather popular... well okie, it was steamed nicely and the meat was tender and blah. But then one good dish cannot make up for 10 other bad ones.

The salads were not half as good as that offered at Carousel. They didn't even bother to give decent dressings to go with the veg. Asian salads were not impressive either, but the spicy notes in several of them managed to keep me vaguely happy for a while, because I will usually love anything that has chilli in it anyway.

There was some sort of stir fried beef that I tried, but I cannot remember much about it. Means... I wasn't too happy or disgusted by it. But beyond that and the aforementioned, I cannot remember any other hot food that I tried. And I guess I didn't eat a lot more than I can remember because I wasn't intrigued by the food at all. I don't load on calories that I think aren't worth my workout effort.

The fried oyster egg I heard from my dining companions are good, but seeing the oil oozing from above, below and the sides, I decided to give it a miss. I admit that I am terrified of visible oil.

Desserts.. gosh, I don't like durain, I have absolutely no interest in glutinous rice balls, and I have no wish to eat Asian-y desserts at a buffet. I am the hard-core ang moh dessert fan. So given that most of the desserts don't have ang moh heritage, the only thing I enjoyed was the bread and butter pudding... BUT! Carousel has better ones!!!!!

All in all... I would rather starve or have cornflakes and bread for lunch, than to have lunch at Ellenborough, even if it is a lunch treat.

I am brutel, yes, but I am fair. I am just saying that I personally don't like it here, but I know many others who thinks the food here is marvelous.

x

This is one of those "value for money" buffet. For $29++ at lunch one gets free flow of food of reasonably large variety. Service was reasonable for a hotel outlet where one is attended by efficient waiters who are generally courteous. There are credit card discounts. If one is a member of the "Feed@Raffles" (we are), one can get to dine here 1-for-1. Thus we owed it to ourselves to try out the place at least once before our membership expires.
The place was definitely quite well filled by diners and there were long queues at the popular items. The chefs and waiters were busy, walking around non stop catering to the needs & demands of diners. There was much varieties
1. Salmon sashimi, cold sea food - definitely not premium materials. One of the maki was not bad though. It actually had soft shell crab, I think.
2. Bread, some were better than others
3. Different types of salads - there was a Thai chicken salad that was quite tasty.
4. Nonya dishes which were so so.
5. Other hot dishes include steamed fish (always eaten up very quickly), stir fried prawns (of variable quality and freshness), chilli kang kong, brocolli, roast duck (very tough), pork belly with preserved vegetables, creamy pea soup, chicken feet soup. There was a spicy Ayam Masak merah (red cooked chicken) which was quite good. While attempting to replenish an eaten steamed fish, the chef brought one that was not quite done yet. It was promptly returned to the kitchen.
6. There was a noodle station and a live station doing deep fried Japanese pancakes which I did not try.
7. The fruits were the usual water melons, papaya and honey dew melons. Other than the justly popular Durian dessert which most diners piled up onto their bowls, the desserts were equally forgettable.
8. The coffee tasted sour.
Well, 2 of us had a full meal for $34 thanks to our Feed@Raffles membership. But we would probably not return in the forseeable future despite the very affordable price tag.

Came back here to try the Buffet Lunch today with my friend after my visit to the weekend High Tea Buffet last week.

It was again a great and in fact much better experience than we have expected. There were a wide variety and spread of dishes which we honestly did not know where to start from.

Ambience wise I will not elaborate as you can read from my last week review on it (in fact we were seated at the same table as last week, what a coincidence). Service wise, perhaps due to the big crowd turn out, was a bit slow and it was still within "acceptable" range. Staff were generally polite and helpful.

Value for money for great, following the types of dishes offered.

Let me move on to describe on the food, those that were available for lunch (as some dishes were repeated from the High Tea Buffet).

They served Chilli Crabs (which was good though the gravy was a bit sweet), Black Pepper Crayfish (which was very well cooked), Shark Fins Soup (a bit watery but not too tasty), Fried Big Sweet Fish (good), HK Style Roast Duck (tender and nice but there was no chilli sauce expect the roast duck sauce), Fried Char Kueh Tian (which was very good), Fried Oyster Cake (good), Fried Goh Hiong with Bee Hoon(generally ok but no sweet sauce), Fresh Oyster (a bit soggy and felt not too fresh), Salmon and Sushi (ok), Self-made Rojak (normal), Roti Prata (crispy and curry was good), Deep fried Popiah and Bak Kua (good), Fried Prawn with Cauliflower, Durian Pangat (finally managed to try on it, guaranteed that it is a must try...superb rich taste and bitter), on-the-spot made Muah Chee (Good), Kueh Too-Too (normal as the chef did not steam it long enough and not hard but soft and easily broken).

The other dishes were the same from the high tea buffet like Nonya Laksa, Local Desserts like Cheng Tyng, Bobo-Chacha, Yam Paste with Gingo Nuts(new one in lunch), Black Gluntinous Rice, Fruits, Pastries, Ice Kachang.

It was an enjoyable dinning experience for both of us here as we were surprised on the many and nice dishes offered which were beyond our expectations!

Well done!~

Oh man, She’s grabbing all the good stuff; the big pincers, the meatier crab legs, all gone! Everybody behind the woman, stared at her as she made away with the “goods”.

With the crab tong in hand, it was used to hammer the shell. The fellow diners on the same table immediately dispersed, “watch it! The crab gravy is flying everywhere!“

The lady eyed the seafood section, carefully choosing the biggest white fresh oysters on the bed of ice. She proceeded on to squeeze lemon wedges onto each of them, not wasting a single drop. Taking a fork, she slurped down five oysters, in one shot.

Wash your hands clean and crab-free in the lemon water, we are going for the second round!

The team of eight sat down at the table to discuss their plans, like true elite commando fashion; they attacked the crabs in the precise and deadly manner that they were known for.

“Mommy, I want that slice of very delicious-looking, oreo cheesecake!” The small girl told her mother, even though their stomachs are bursting from all the crabs.

* * *

(1) The commentaries were some of the conversation that I’ve overheard, and observed during the buffet, and I thought it would be interesting to write about this.

(2) I don’t like to eat crabs; I’m too lazy to dirty my hands shelling the crustaceans. And if I do, the chili crab will be my favourite; I love the thick, spicy chili gravy. And there’s the best company in the form of the deep fried mantou; I always poked a hole in the middle of the fried bun and poured lots of gravy inside. Then the soaking of the whole bun within the goodness of the gravy, they are oh, so-good! And I kept a bowl of chili gravy filled throughout the buffet, dipping everything in it.

(3) The crab buffet at Ellenborough market cafe is only available for dinner at $46++ per head, and will last for two weeks, starting from the 25th June. Singaporeans, love (read: love), their crabs, I went during the first day of the promotion and it was full house, on a weekday dinner! So if you are heading down, please remember to make reservations in advance. And my appreciation to Sok Hoon, the marketing communication manger for the invitation to the food tasting session.

(4) Just some more information about the buffet: There’s chefs-on-the-spot cooking crab risotto, frying mee goreng, and wrapping crab popiahs, the seafood area which has sashimi, prawns and seafood, the usual western/Asian cuisine selections, the omnipresent chocolate fondue, with a pretty decent choices of desserts ranging from cheesecake, to shooters, and their famous Durian Pengat. And I love having some Chinese desserts like tou suan with you tiao too!

You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!

I went to the weekend High Tea Buffet today (15 Aug 2009) with my friend at Ellenborough.

We were pleasantly glad and surprised on our dinning experience here as we were "prepared for the worst" based on the last few reviews which were not so "positive". This cafe was supposedly to serve good peranakan or nonya food.

The high tea buffet started at 3.30pm but by 3.15pm, we were being ushered in to our seat and within the next hour, the cafe was fully filled and packed, to the extent that dinners had to sit outside the cafe facing Singapore River.

The ambience was good, consisted of the Peranakan and Western Decorations (which various Flower Vases, Peranakan Stuff, Bottles of Wines and Pictures). It was well lighted and if you are sitting at the corner, you could see the Singapore River and people walking past the cafe.

The spread of buffet was quite good and extensive. The 1st thing that caught our surprises was that they serve fruit juices (lime, guava, barley and lemon) which most cafes don't do so. They were fresh and tasty.

The buffet consisted of nonya and local delight dishes ranging for the famous Nonya Laksa (which was good, tasty but the gravy was not over milky or heavy), Satay (quite well done), Fried Mee Goreng (Good), Stir-Fried Clams (Fresh), Fried Chicken Wing (normal), Fried Carrot Cake (which was orange in colour instead of white which I feel they add in sweet potato, that was very nice). The Century Egg porridge was a disappointment thought, not nice and a bit watery and Dim Sum could give it a miss. The Siew Mai, Haw Kow and Soon Kueh we tried were tasteless, with very little ingredients but thick skins. Thereafter, we didn't try the Pows and other dim sum.

They also served Sandwiches, Salad, Tahu Goreng, Fried Char Siew Su (which was quite good), Fresh Prawns and Scallop Clams, Tempura Prawns and Vegetables, Ham with Cheese, Otak and Durian Puff (not bad but with very little durian paste) etc.

But for those who like Japanese food such as sushi and sashimi, you will be disappointed as they did not serve these at the high tea.

Pastries wise, did not have a wide spread though, only a small portion of Nonya Kueh, Muah Chee and Cakes, which were generally quite ok. Among which, the Durian Puffs stood out, very nice and we could taste the durian flesh. We were disappointed as they did not serve Durian Pangat (as we understood from previous reviews that this was good), instead they served Jackfruit Pangat, though not bad and fresh, it didn't satisfy our craving for the former.

What surprised us was the local desserts counter which consisted of Bobo Chacha, Pula Hitam (Black Glutinuous Rice with Coconut Cream), Ah Bo Ling, Soya Bean and some others. There were quite rare to be found in buffets. They also have a self-made ice kachang counter, where you could customise your own ice kachang based on the different ingredients provided which include Longon, Sea Coconut, Aga Aga, Ah Tat Chee, Corns, Red Beans etc. This was quite interesting for us.

Fruits wise, they only had Water Melon, Papaya and Honey Dew. They also had only 2 ice cream flavours which was Chocolate and Corn.

Service wise, not bad. Staff were polite and prompt in clearing the used plates. They also responded to our requests promptly such as requesting for ice cubes, coffee. In addition, the food were quickly replenished.

Value wise. Great value for money!!! It was very much worth it based on the quantity and quality food served.

Although the buffet should end at 5.30pm, we could still sit beyond that where staff continued to serve us coffee and tea. We left at around 6.00pm as it was still early for us to go on to our next appointment when they were starting to prepare for the dinner.

We are planning to come back here to try its buffet lunch or dinner soon to have a complete evaluation of its full performances.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable experience for us! (Hope they will keep up with the good work)

Totally disappointed with this place the more i go. Been here a couple of times but each time its getting worst.

Food quality was just ok for today. nothing much to recommend other then the usual durian puree. the most disappointing thing is the cold seafood section which only has prawns, scallops and muscles. NTH ELSE!

But u can count on the hot food and salads to make it up. The dishes are still tasty as usual (probably its because i love heavy flavoured food). anyway had this really good green apple, jambu, star fruit and prawn salad which is a little sweet sour and tangy, refreshing to the taste buds.

Service wise this time round its getting bad. We sat in between the hot food and the cold food section and i was suprise when it was about 1:30pm the service was getting slow in refilling the water and clearing the plates. and at about 2pm they totally stopped. they only close at about 2:30pm but it seems that the service crew decided to pang kang earlier.

after patronizing for so many times in the past half a year, i believe the next time will be probably many full moon later...

will miss the nice flavours of the peranakan buffet but i'm sure i can find it at other places too.

This is likely to be the first and last visit to Ellenborough. My colleagues have been there before and the general comments were above average. However, today's buffet was a disappointment.
The scallops and prawns were obviously not too fresh. The penang laksa was not too fantastic either. Dishes like broccoli, egg tofu seems taste like dishes u order from a coffeeshop. The penang char kway teow was tasteless.

The only dish which is worth recommending is their durian pengat. It's very creamy and u can taste the real durian.

We were seated very far from the food area and their service was also not tip-top. Whenever we need the plates to be cleared, or drinks to be refilled, we have to hunt for the waitresses! Sometimes they even walk past us without stopping to check whether there is any plate to be cleared.

I went to Ellenborough on my birthday (Oct 08, yes, I'm guilty of not reviewing early), and it was certainly a positive maiden experience for me.

It was a birthday treat, so being me, I certainly starved a few days to get my worth on the food. Joking, though I did skip breakfast to have my fill for this lunch buffet, which apparently is quite hot.

I personally enjoyed the experience. The staff, though were friendly, were a bit on the slow side when it comes to getting our drinks. I like my water to be promptly filled, because I have 2 drinks with me, a coke and water, ample time to spot which one is lacking.

I love the laksa, the salad bar is not bad, the lettuce is FRESH, a fight with Sizzler (but they still win cos it's their forte) and the peranakan seafood is ooh-lala~

Yes, there are times where we realised that the sashimi isn't fresh and there's an odd number in the crowd waiting for such lacklustrous quality, but we realised that the magic is when they just take it out from the kitchen and cut it fresh.

Seating is tight though, but I enjoyed it in general.

I'll return, when I have enough spare cash... :D