Eve of the eve of New Year's Day 2023 saw us having dinner at one of the new favorite discoveries that we had made during the course of the year.
It was lovely- it really was.
Because I had (quietly) hoped to end the year with a meal at Hilton Orchard's ESTATE.
Why, or what, it is that has made me appreciate the buffet here at this restaurant, I don't exactly know.
But we've been here a couple of times, and I'm still happy to come.
Their ambience, perhaps, plays a part.
As well as the light, clear duck consomme soup served at one of their stations.
It's amazing what a bowl of warm, clear soup can do for you.
Especially when you're hungry but you don't know yet what on the buffet line you want to eat.
There was a time in my life when I'd begin my dinner with a bowl of creamed soup and a bread bun thickly spread with butter.
But I don't do that anymore.
Buffet dining has instead become something more strategic, and I like heading straight for the chilled seafood station before the rest of the crowd comes.
ESTATE is no stinge when it comes to their seafood.
In the couple of times I've been there, there've always been a mountain of freshly-shucked oysters, another mountain of fresh, chilled prawns, and large serving trays filled with ice upon which balance scallops, mussels, and sometimes those little crayfish we call xiao long sia.
My friend likes his plate full of nothing but oysters, oysters and oysters.
I however like to fill my plate with a combination of oysters, scallops and prawns.
When it was I started enjoying prawns chilled this way, I don't know, but since then I've always found myself taking a prawn or two and eating it with mayonnaise, or Thousand Island, with a little squeeze of lemon.
I've also started eating scallops the same way.
Maybe one day I should try it with vinegar- something less creamy, more Asian-like.
Then again, maybe I won't.
I'm not very particular to the kind of cuisine that I take when I'm at a buffet like this one.
Depending on what's on the menu, I can swing towards the Continental, or I can be more Asian.
There have been times when I've gone for sweet potatoes, baked salmon, baked broccoli, zucchini, and stewed meat.
There also have been times when I've gone for the dim sum selections (hello crystal paus) and a chunk off their block of fried chye tow kuay aka radish cake.
Today's menu saw me taking a blend of foods.
On one hand I took a couple plates of their signature truffle roast duck.
On the other hand I took several slices of roast beef, sweet potatoes, a skewer or two, and pork belly cooked Continental/European style.
I don't know why I took the pork belly (curiosity maybe) but I certainly know why four plates of truffle roast duck were there in front of me.
And it didn't include my companion's share.
Another five belonged to him.
Besides the roast duck (which you must have- the meat's so tender and the skin's so full of flavor) today I found myself taking a couple slices of their French bread and some of their brioche.
It's not often that I take this much bread.
But appetites fluctuate, and between us we had six slices all generously spread with their regal-looking unsalted French butter.
There was salmon belly sashimi, of course, from the sushi station, and is a dish that you're recommended to go for.
Not because there aren't any salmon belly sashimi sold elsewhere, but because they serve it up all nice and chilled and cold and it's so popular that it runs out super fast and you have to make a special request to the aunty wielding the knife to help you cut some.
Most of the time she asks us to wait.
And we do. :)
There are times when I take unusual foods simply for the reason that they look so pretty in their serving bowls.
Like these yellow cherry tomatoes, which although I have boxes of them at home, I decided to grab a handful.
(They reminded me of the yellow cherry tomatoes The Parents always buy)
Together with these sweet tomatoes I decided- on impulse- to get a tongful of fried noodles to eat with the fried soy cubes that came with the truffle roast duck.
I think the combination worked rather well.
After all the mains came, of course, dessert.
Which, by the way, requires a bit of strategic planning over here at ESTATE.
First thing you must (and live live die die will want) to go for are these little glass jars of specially packed dessert.
I don't know what this dessert is called.
I can never remember the name.
Heck, I cannot even recall precisely what flavors they are.
All I know is that there's one with citrus and meringue, there's one with hazelnut-something, there's one with some sort of marsala wine, and then there's a tiramisu.
If I'm not wrong there's one with a blueberry compote in there somewhere.
Diners who can finish five jars of dessert impress me.
But leave room, however, for the signature Hilton cheesecake.
Yes, it's a little bit of a small cute slice, but it's rich enough, and it is pretty good.
Today I took two jars of those desserts, and then after that, went for a little bit of hazelnut-chocolate cake, a little bit of red velvet cake, some frosted cake which I cannot remember what it actually was but I know it was a piece so small I finished it in one bite.
You know, it's been a few months since I've had this meal here at ESTATE, and much in my life has changed, but the thought of coming back here is always pleasant, always charming, and also, something I look forward to.
Perhaps I don't get to go there as often as I'd love to (diet, mood and all) but just like Christmas which comes year after year, may there be more oysters, more scallops, and more of those little jar desserts in 2023 too. :)
