Oscar's @ Conrad Centennial

It's been over a year since we came to Oscars at Conrad Centennial Hotel in Marina Bay.

The last time we had a (buffet) meal here was in the February of last year, close to Chinese New Year. 

We haven't been back since. 

But the food's good, there was a reasonable deal, and most importantly, we were celebrating a birthday. 

So we came. 

On other days we might have done a lunch, but this being a Sunday, it became a brunch instead. 

There's not much difference between a lunch and a brunch, I think, other than the fact that the latter has more desserts and more morning-meal type of foods. 

Strangely I didn't take notice of those. 

Maybe I was too preoccupied with the serving dishes on the buffet table.

I'm a little different from my companion who knows exactly what the appeal of the menu is. 

Oysters. 

Freshly shucked oysters. 

Doesn't matter from where they come- they can be French or somewhere else- it's a go just so long as they're big, fresh and juicy. 

I like oysters (with lemon) but I'm more varied when it comes to food at buffets. 

Like how I always take a plate of salmon sashimi but I also have to have a plate of cooked stuff at the same time.

At Oscars today I took a little bit of noodles, a little bit of chicken, some spinach with cheese, some baked salmon and a bit of tofu. 

It begets understanding why I'd choose the noodles and the chicken but I think one had a bit of Sichuan something, and the other had a bit of a Taiwanese thing. 

Unfortunately I don't remember precisely which was which, and now I'm wondering why I took the mushrooms as well. 

Between the slices of sashimi that were on the table, and the baked salmon, my companion got us each a bowl of oyakodon with foie gras. 

It sounds simple- and it is- but the chicken was tender, the egg was soft, and the rice, when eaten with the foie gras, tasted like fatty meat and rice grains mushed up and melted together.

the dish was unusual- and so good. 

I should have taken another bowl.

But we decided to go for the meats. 

Somewhere from the grilled section outside the restaurant, we brought in a few pieces of wagyu, and several sticks of satay. 

You might find it unusual as to why we come to a buffet and ordered satay.

Because it seemed fun. :)

Satay has to be one of the most fun foods when you're at a buffet. 

No one's going to say anything if you wield the stick around in the midst of conversation or dip the meat into a bowl of peanut sauce and eat it dripping into your mouth.

That's just how it is.

I found the sauce particularly good. 

It wasn't oily, it was thick and tasty, and there were lots and lots of chopped peanuts inside. 

I don't know if we took any more of the grilled meats. 

Probably not. 

By then, we were getting rather full. 

Still, we didn't want to pass on this- a sort of breaded fillet either of pork or fish with a most generous heap of bonito flakes on top.

And we didn't want to pass on this- salted egg fish skin- either. 

Let's just say the fish skin was memorable. 

I don't think we've ever had that much salted egg powder seasoning on the fish skins we've eaten thus far, and neither have we ever had such huge fish skins either. 

It was so good that we actually regretted not being able to go for more. 

To be honest I was feeling really, really, really stuffed by then. 

The culprit, I think, were the prawns. 

I shouldn't have taken them. 

But it's a habit of mine and I always find it difficult to skip out on having a couple of fresh, cold prawns with Thousand Island salad dressing dip on the side. 

Perhaps it sounds pretentious but now that I think about it, it's a pity that I took the prawns. 

I might have been able to enjoy my dessert better otherwise. 

That's not to say that I didn't love what I had. 

There was just too much for me to choose from. 

So I studied the offerings and decided on a plateful of little chocolate cakes, little cheesecakes, two scoops of strawberry ice cream, a bit of apple crumble and dainty rich-tasting chocolate tarts, finishing it all with a cup of strong latte coffee.