The Line

After hearing so many positive reviews about The Line and their number of awards of being one of the best buffet restaurant in Singapore, my friends and I decided to drop by for Sunday Brunch.

It cost around $98++ for Soft drinks/juices or $125++(can't recall) per pax.

When you command such a price for your product, customers would at least expect some decent service. The service was so terrible that my party lost their appetite before we even get seated.

1) The receptionist made a mistake with the number of guests for our reservations.

2) Gave us a table of 4 for a table of 7. We were left standing, confused, lost on what was going on at the table.

3) 4 or 5 staff came over to ask what was going on. No one could offer a solution. No manager came by, not a single apology.

5) They decided to ask us to shift outside when we indicated we wanted an indoor table when we first made reservations.

6) Got us a table. But table was not joined together and we as guests have to shift the table ourselves??

7) Champagne was served after a long while. Even basic juices/soft drinks took a long time to come. Lack of service staff?

8) Was told that they were serving Veuve Cliquot when we made the reservation but it became Moet Chandon.

9) Food variety was limited compared to other brunch buffets at other 5 star hotels in Singapore. They had the standard cold seafood stations, salad, cooked food and Asian food. However, food quality was disappointing. e.g. Tenderloin was so bad that we couldn't even cut through.

End of the day, presented with the bill, no service recovery was done. Utter disappointment. This is the last time I will ever go back to The Line. To the management of The Line, time to shape up and do some serious reflection.

We celebrated my dad's birthday at The Line yesterday during lunch time.

Felt very keenly the hospitality of the staff, which was very warm & personable.

I was early for 12pm sitting and went to check out the layout with my son.

The restaurant reception staff, a guy showed me to where I will be sitting

When I made a request to have booth seats, he swiftly made changes with a smile.

We then spent some time exploring the hotel and shared a lift together with another staff. He politely asked where I was from, and when I replied we were just here to celebrate my dad's birthday, he extended birthday wishes. I was impressed, most hotel staff will just smile and acknowledge you.

The impeccable service continued at the restaurant. One of the restaurant managers, Joe helped us to take some pictures. As we exchanged pleasantries, he found out it was my dad's birthday. He surprised us with a small cake and sang birthday song with the staff. My parents were very pleased with the surprise, thank you so much!

The final touch was presented by the hospitality ladies at the foyer. As we waited for the transport, one of them engaged my young son and even gave him a soft toy!

I have stayed and patronized many five and even six stars hotels in Singapore and overseas but none has given more genuine and sincere service than Shang!

Oh yes, the food! Sashimi & oysters very good as usual, very fresh, I go for seconds usually. Must try: Indian counter, lots of yummy naan, satays, tandoori. Pizza so-so only, I stole a bite from my son. Teh-tarik & kopi-tarik is something new from my previous visit.

Chinese: Dim-sum passable, the prawns in har-gow do not seemed very fresh. Char siew pao very good. Roasted meat, I only like the roasted pork belly, duck was too dry.

Desserts: Good variety but I was too stuffed to eat much. My son loves the chocolate fondue & ice-cream bar. Memorable ones are champagne jelly and cheese cake.

Do check their website for discounts for online booking, we have 35% discount from $49++. Kids under 6, eat for free.

For the full review and pictures, please visit : http://storyofoursummers.blogspot.com/2012/03/line-buffet.html

Summary :

The Line is a good place to visit if you're a fan of sashimi, oysters and duck. But not so good if you're targeting the desserts.

Further food review and pictures of The Line, please visit my food blog at:

www.houseofstef.com

Made reservations weeks before at The Line through online and wrote on the remarks "celebrating boyfriend's birthday".  Both of us are die hard fans of buffets with oysters that's why I was pleased that I made the right choice.

The buffet boasts a lot of different sections.  The variety was very good.  I appreciated that they shuck the oysters upon request, has a live pasta station and sashimi was prepared infront of you.  I was surprised too that they will go all the way to put a drink station that serves Teh Tarik (pulled tea), Kopi Tarik (pulled coffee) and flavored coffees.  Now that's a mean buffet!

Dinner was pleasant although tad noisy because of the children... we really didn't mind.  As we dinner came to a close for us, nobody approached me to ask if I want a cake to brought out.  I am griping because I wrote on the remarks that it was a birthday dinner for my boyfriend.  The Line dipped its points on me there.  They have a big fat ZERO from me on creating extraordinary customer experience to think they are SHANGRI-LA... a very reputable hotel brand.  That night for us became just any other night.

My verdict: Visit THE LINE if you want to enjoy a great buffet spread... skip it for celebrations.  There are tons restaurants and hotel buffets out there who would go the extra mile for their guests.  Ku De Ta Restaurant actually asks the guests if there's an occasion (either walk ins or guests with reservations)  and would surprise a bounty cake or glass of premium champagne to an extent.  MELT is unbelievable.  The buffet has wonderful variety too and the customer service is excellent!  Celebrated my bf's birthday there last year and they surprised us with a really lovely birthday cake with candle and took a photo of us.  The photo was then placed in a card signed with nice wishes from the staff.  Now that's what I call extraordinary experience!

I was filtering hotel buffet that has Yorkshire pudding and good oysters for The Man's birthday treat. The choice was either The Line, Melt or Greenhouse. Melt said that they can't confirm if Yorkshire pudding would be served on my booking day, Greenhouse's brunch was way too costly if we're going just a pastry. So we were left with The Line, reviews were pretty much positive anyways. 

I made a wrong choice totally. The dinner was screwed. 

They had quite a number of stations - Crustacean, Salad, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Noodles, Dessert, Pasta, Meat etc. However, there are very few selections from every station, like around 4 - 5 dishes each station. 

Oysters were opened on the spot and you can take as many as you like, but they were not as succulent as what I had in Todai. You can see that its not a hit, the guests swarm over when they start on their buffet but they don't come back for more servings. We were seated very near to the seafood station so it was pretty obvious. 

Yorkshire pudding was a disaster. Super dry, burnt, can't soft it  even with their gravy. Roast beef was rubbery, we gave up after 2nd bite. 

Japanese corner was the most "okay" station. They keep their sashimi inside the counter and only slice when you request. Swordtail, salmon, tuna etc. Generally fresh. Serves Cha Soba, miso soup, japanese style salads too. 

5 dishes at International station. Dory Fish, beef balls with cheese, Ratatouille, mango risotto with salmon, warmed. Okay one more oxtail soup. But thats all. 

Dessert station was impressive though. I like the way they place their desserts on shelves, might be tough for the kids to reach though. There were over 20 types of cakes. Champagne jelly, Creme brulee, Kueh Lapis were good. Ice cream/Sorbert (toppings like choc chips and Oreo were a plus) and crepe were also available. 

The service was okay, plates were cleared really fast, the waitresses were so prompt to an extent they were actually hovering around us to snap the plates away. But the spread was really disappointing. We felt we had "nothing else to eat" after 2 rounds, and there was nothing worth to go for the 2nd serving for. 

I went there with my friend to celebrate her birthday and it SUCKED big time. 

Firstly, they brought out to a table outside and my friend and I was like why outside? We want a table inside and the waitress said oh sorry it is fully booked tonight. But hello, we also booked it last week and in advance. They said they would try to shift us if there is a spare table but didn't see her coming to us at all. Probably forgotten about us. We let it go and had our meal.

Next, the table beside us were smoking and we got irritated by it. WTH. So we opted to shift to inside since it is finally almost empty at 10.30pm. (Note, we had to ask again to shift inside because the waitress probably forgotten about us.) Why did you even put us outside anyway? Did we request for it? 

Last straw, we called for our bill and I pass the waiter my card which was a debit and credit card and the waiter then came to me and say sorry we can't use your card. We don't use debit. But it's a mastercard and he then say oh we don't use mastercard too. So what the hell do you use man. So frustrated. And i was like how come it can't go through, I just used it earlier on. He was like oh you have to check with the bank. Guess what, my card worked because when I went home, I used it and it worked so whose fault is it? But seriously, can Shangri-la explain to me how come you are so ancient you don't use MASTERCARD? 

I regret bringing my friend over to The Line and seriously advise you not to go on the Thursday night. It's not worth the hype at all. Bad bad experience for my friend and I. 

Decide to celebrate my son's b'day and my b'day together by going for THE LINE (since there was a 50% discount for online booking). So let's start from the begining...

I arrived earlier than my other troup (due to sch pickup timing, etc) and requested to enter. At the counter, I made a mistake by saying that I had 11 pax, when in actual fact I made a mistake when there was only 9 pax. The counter ladies weren't rude but boy you should had seen their faces. They were giving me that rude look and wasn't smily at all. They basically were unhappy that I made an error on my part of declaring wrongly that I had 11 pax when I actually had 9 pax. I was too tired to make a fuss and that's where the next part made me fedup. They actually gave me a split table! One with 4 pax, another 7 pax! I asked them why? They said that was the only table they had? I was actually very furious but again I didn't want to get upset as i was there to celebrate MY birthday and my son's. Getting upset wasn't going to help me eat. So I just accepted it.

That was the crappy service I got from the reception. But the service staffs that helped cleared the plates and take water were 100% great. So my rating of service is for those COUNTER ladies (whose fake smiles to ang mo and well-dressed people) and overall rating was because of those ladies which started my dinner in an upset mood.

Food wise

Oysters & Sashimi - rated very fresh from husband

Prawns and crabs - fresh

Cooked food - pasta so-so. Other cooked food was much better than the last time I ate (which was 2 yrs ago)

Ice-cream and desserts is a MUST eat.

Overall, it was pretty good.

However, if I was to pay the full price...Melt, World Cafe would had beat The Line hands down. (with exception of oyster...husband felt The Line's oysters was better than Melt).

 

Since there is a discount of 25% on the crabby night , and it was highly recommended so i decided to treat my son on his birthday.

We were disppointed with the foods as we thought that since its "crabby night" so we expect few dishes like our local crab style, infact.. no.. there are only 3 kinds of cooking and its not hot and the serving are small. Its not worth for the money at all. It'a all  very normal cuisine, india, chinese, japanese etc.

The service staff are not very friendly perhaps  there are not enough service crew to clear the plates on time.

I spent $155.35 for 2 just for those normal buffet which i can get it else where which is much cheaper even there is no discount.

I dont think I will be going back again.

For photos and more reviews, visit us at http://foodphd.wordpress.com!

Rather than going for The Line buffet, we dropped by The Line shop and got ourselves 2 cakes!

The Peak ($7.50) was, according to the waitress, a chestnut cake. The base of The Peak was a buttery sponge layer, following that was a layer of chestnut and vanilla mousse, topped with a layer of chestnut paste. The Peak was a very light cake. The top layer of chestnut paste was richer in flavours, with a sweet chestnut covered in sourish gelatin sitting at one end. But overall, the taste of the chestnuts didn’t stand out and it was a rather bland ordinary sponge cake.

64% Toffee ($6.75) – A chocolate tart in the shape of a cube. The chocolate-flavoured crust was rather tasteless and lacking in a buttery fragrance. The interior fillings consisted of 2 layers. The top was a dark chocolate ganache sitting on a thick layer of toffee. Surpringsly, this tart wasn’t cloyingly sweet, perhaps due to the bitterness from the chocolate which balanced out the sweetness from the toffee. The tart was also topped with chocolate mousse cubes, which was similar to the chocolate ganache but slightly more creamy.

for pictures http://hungryinsingapore.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/the-line-–-buffet-lunch/

if you like sashimi, attack the sashimi counter.

their sashimi's very fresh! it's sliced on the spot for you.

there'll be salmon, salmon belly, maguro, swordfish (but once, i didn't see it), squid and maybe something else.

the oysters are freshly opened in front of you too.

on normal days there's also crab, prawns and mussels.

just these, are enough to make the price worth, especially when you've got 40% off by booking online.