Last weekend, we had a fabulous festive feast at Lime Restaurant at PARKROYAL on Pickering and we were pleasantly surprised and impressed that we must share about it.  It certainly looks like the dining team at the Lime Restaurant is really pulling all the stops to make this the best Christmas for all of us with a surfeit of dining options, making for an immensely satisfying and memorable experience.

This was our first time we had a meal at Lime and we really liked the ambience a lot. The restaurant itself had a touch of elegance and was rather spacious with dining tables spread out, unlike certain restaurants whereby the tables are right next to each other. We also liked the fact that there was a lot of surrounding glass and greenery. The high ceiling reminded us of Brasserie Les Saveurs at St Regis, just without the stained glass ceiling.

I am not too sure how new this hotel is, but being a new hotel sure has its advantages as designers can draw inspiration on existing designs and iterate on them. The restaurant design, and the hotel itself is at the height of a designer chic. It was comfortable and classy, without being too opulent and we really liked it. We certainly wouldn't mind a staycation at this hotel as this place has left an indelible impression the moment we arrived.

Wide Range of Offerings

Thankfully, Lime restaurant’s brigade of talented chefs managed to impress us with a stunning selection of festive favourites and contemporary dishes that are sure to make this year-end holiday season an occasion to remember.

Like most buffets, it offered salad, sushi, seafood on ice and a cheese section. The cheeses, while less limited in variety, were of artisan quality and comparable to the ones in Basilico at Regent Hotel.

Irresistable Desserts

The dessert corner features a luxury of choices such that I found it hard to make a choice. In life, there's always an opportunity cost. If you try something, your stomach may not be able to accomodate another item. If I had to choose again, I'd not regret picking the Araguani Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Jam (because I have a soft spot for high quality chocolate).

But perhaps others may prefer to have the Christmas Stollen to be in line with the festive mood, or the Matcha Chocolate Fondue with marshmellows/ childhood gummies, Durian Pengat, Creme Brulee, Pineapple Gazpacho with Mixed Berries, Coconut Panna Cotta with Red Ruby or Soya Avocado Puree with Sago. Everyone is sure to be spoilt for choice. They even offer various flavours of Ice Cream and Sorbets, and even Cheng Tng!

Traditional Christmas Treats

With no less than four variations of the Christmas logcake, those with a sweet tooth might have a problem deciding on a flavour.  The buffet offers Pandan & Coconut Logcake, Durian Gula Melaka Yule Log, Black Forest Yuletide Log and - of course the Belgium Dark Chocolate with Yuzu Yule Log for those who prefer the classics. 

Festive Buffet Details

• Daily Lunch – SGD68++ (12noon – 2:30pm), except Sunday and the special dates below. 
• Daily Dinner – SGD98++ (6:30pm – 10:30pm), except the special dates below.
• Super Sunday Brunch – SGD98++ (12:30pm – 3:30pm),
• Christmas Eve Brunch Buffet – SGD118++ (12:30pm – 3.30pm)
• Christmas Eve Dinner Buffet 1st Seating – SGD108+ (6pm – 8pm)
• Christmas Eve Dinner Buffet 2nd Seating – SGD118++ (8:30pm – 10:30pm)
• Christmas Day Brunch Buffet – SGD128++ (12:30pm – 3:30pm)
• Christmas Day Dinner Buffet – SGD128++ (6:30pm – 10:30pm)
• New Year’s Day Brunch Buffet – SGD68++ (12:30pm – 3:30pm)
• New Year’s Day Dinner Buffet – SGD138++ (6:30pm – 10:30pm)

• 15% savings except on 24, 25 and 31 December 2018.
• Early bird discount of additional 5% for bookings fully pre-paid before 16 December 2018.

PARKROYAL on Pickering

3 Upper Pickering St,
Singapore 058289

(Clarke Quay or Chinatown MRT Station)

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Christmas 2018/ New Year 2019 Buffet

Meat Lover's Heaven

Seafood & Local Delights

Sweet Treats

Dessert lovers will get to savour a fine selection of Black Sesame Yuzu and Thyme Yule Log Cake and Pandan, Red Bean and Matcha Yule Log Cake. It is certainly a more ambitious, unique take on the the traditional Christmas logcake and perhaps transcends over the chocolate variation of the aforementioned offering. Top marks for creativity. At the end of your meal, order a sweet warm Mulled Wine and your stomach will thank you for all the indulgent feasting.

Festive Buffet Details

• Daily Lunch – SGD48++ (12noon – 2:30pm), except the special dates below. 
• Daily Dinner – SGD68++ (6:30pm – 10pm), except the special dates below.
• Christmas Eve Brunch Buffet – SGD48++ (12:30pm – 3pm)
• Christmas Eve Dinner Buffet – SGD108++ (6:30pm – 10pm)
• Christmas Day Brunch Buffet – SGD88++ (12:30pm – 3pm)
• Christmas Day Dinner Buffet – SGD118++ (6:30pm – 10pm)
• New Year’s Day Brunch Buffet – SGD48++ (12:30pm – 3pm)
• New Year’s Day Dinner Buffet – SGD88++ (6:30pm – 10pm)

Hotel Jen Orchardgateway Singapore

277 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238858

(Somerset MRT Station)

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28 Stevens Road, Singapore 257878

Reservations: www.foodexchange.sg

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Last Tuesday, we were so fortunate to be invited to a pre-launch exclusive tasting of The Gateau Chocolat Specialties from the acclaimed chocolatier Ken's Cafe Tokyo.

With such beautiful packaging and great taste, we highly recommend this as a Christmas gift. Below are our 5 reasons why!

1) Limited Quantity

Requiring a 3-month waiting time for pre-orders in Japan, this award-winning Gateau Chocolat Cake now available in Singapore! It is gluten-free and uses specially selected high quality grand cru chocolate. During the tasting session held at Watanabe Coffee at Shaw Centre, we discovered not only the deep flavours in the chocolate itself, but also the richness, sweetness and bitterness brought out by a unique processing that was devised to let us enjoy this trinity of tastes. 

We learnt that in Japan, The Gateau Chocolat Specialties are only produced exclusively in the kitchen of Ken's Cafe Tokyo. And for the first time in Singapore, this limited production delicacy will be handmade, one by one, in the kitchen of Watanabe Coffee by their very own chef who studied under Chef Kenji Ujiie, the founder of Ken's Cafe Tokyo, on site in Japan.

2) Award Winning

Starting from 1 Dec 2018, Watanabe Coffee will be selling The Gateau Chocolat Specialties in a limited quantity of 20 cakes per day for both dine-in and takeaway. We believe that this limit is to ensure that the quality of the product is maintained.

Indeed, the gateau chocolat was selected by Tablelog as Japan’s No. 1 chocolate store. This award winning chocolate was also the winner of The Japan Sweets Award 2016, category “Top 50” chosen store and winner of the Japan Gift Award 2015, “Tokyo Prize”.

We heard that many discerning chocolate afficionados have found Gateau Chocolat Specialties from acclaimed chocolatier Ken's Cafe Tokyo to be a luxury chocolate cake. No wonder it is worth the 3-month wait!

3) One Cake, Three Tastes

Three different variety of textures, sensations and melt-in-the-mouth goodness can be explored with The Gateau Chocolat Specialties – as Terrine Chocolat at room temperature, Chocolate Ganache when chilled in the refrigerator and Fondant Chocolat when heated slightly in the microwave.

We had the opportunity to try all three types and found it to be a bespoke experience. More on that later.

4) Premium Ingredients

On further enquiry, we also learnt that the chocolate is made from Valrhona Grands Crus de Terroir, Arguani 72% & Echire Unsalted butter from France.

For chocolate lovers, Valrhona chocolate needs no introduction as it belongs to the chocolate elite. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the world of luxury chocolate and not able to distinguish the differences between a Godiva chocolate and a Guylian Belgian chocolate, you may wish to know that Valrhona is a French premium chocolate manufacturer based in the small town of Tain-l'Hermitage in Hermitage, a wine-growing district near Lyon and is one of the leading producers of gastronomic chocolate in the world.

In Venezuela, the birthplace of cocoa, Valrhona had selected and combined several cocoas with rare aromatic power, born from the contrasting lands between the Caribbean coasts and the Andes mountain range. From its strikingly bitter essence, Araguani 72% offers a rich and complex aromatic profile featuring warm notes (raisins, chestnuts) and hints of licorice.

Our everyday chocolate is not in the same universe as Valrhona, which has subtle and complex flavors far beyond it. This is food for the Gods and ranks up there with the likes of Teuscher chocolates. If Valrhona were a luxury watch, then it certainly belongs to the top tier brands such as Patek Phillipe, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet and Grand Seiko. It's not even your everyday Rolex.

There is also no flour, no alcohol, no added flavourings. Just pure unadulterated bliss for chocolate conoisseurs.

5) Our Verdict: Moist, Rich and Simply Decadent

As mentioned, we had the opportunity to enjoy the chocolate cake in three different textures. The chilled texture was like a ganache Au Chocolat, while the classic option at room temperature had a moist and rich texture like a terrine Chocolat. When heated up, it becomes a chocolate fondant. We also had the chocolate cake served with vanilla ice cream, raspberries and blueberries, as well as a sprinkling of cacao nibs and cacao powder.

This chocolate cake was reminiscent of the highly acclaimed Teuscher or Laurent Bernard Chocolatier and best accompanied with Watanabe's signature brew coffee.

Watanabe's Signature Coffee

On a side note, Watanabe's signature coffee is also so good that you don’t need to add any sugar or milk. It is lightly aromatic and has a perfect balance between astringency, acidity, sweetness and bitterness. It makes you just want to savour the pure coffee on its own as to add milk or sugar would be to ruin its purity.

This divine offering of premium chocolate and artisan coffee is a potent combination and sure to delight anyone looking to relax after some Christmas shopping over this festive period. This is food for the Gods and one of the most decadent, indulgent, bespoke experiences you can find this festive season.

Product Description

WATANABE COFFEE

350 Orchard Road
#01-01 Isetan Scotts Shaw House 
Singapore 238868

Tel: 6235 0608