I am a big fan of crabs so when my elder sister asked if I was keen to go for this buffet for her birthday treat, I jumped at it.
There was a credit card promotion at two-to-dine-in at $118++ and we were joined by my mother, my third sister and her friend, my fifth sister and her youngest daughter and my youngest sister and her family. Children below the age of 7 ate free.
It was on the day we made our way to Parkroyal Hotel at Kitchener Road in Little India that I realised there are three Parkroyal Hotels in Singapore. The one that I always knew is at Beach Road, and for some reason, I kept thinking that the one at Pickering Street was another hotel. That buffet day, I learnt about the third one at Kitchener Road. I was very surprised that a Parkroyal Hotel would park itself in an area like Little India. Little India could be a tourist attraction to some but it is not the most affluent area where tourists would base themselves at or at least I thought.
The buffet started at 6pm but we only got there at about 7.15pm. Not my style. I believe in maximising the time I have at a buffet so I usually get to a buffet or afternoon a little early to settle down and 'get ready' to zoom in on the food or area I want. Very 'yeow kwee' I know, but if I am paying, I'd better make sure at least the time spent is worth the dollar.
The first thing that greeted us was the crowded long queues everywhere. I should have taken a picture of the massive crowd and queues but I was late for the buffet and the yeow kwee in me was worried that I would be shortchanged if I didn't join the queues as soon as possible so I missed out on the picture of the crowd.
My mother and I didn't even know what we were queuing for, but since there was a queue, it must be for something good, so we joined it.
It turned out that we were queuing for Mentaiko lobsters, baked lobsters with mayonnaise. Food was slightly above average but I didn't like the way it was given to us.
I didn't read the sign that stated 'One serving per time' and asked my mother if we should get another serving for my sisters who were parking the car. The lady who was giving out the plates of lobster immediately shrunk her outstretched arm and said curtly,"If you want more, you have to queue again."
It made me feel like a yeow kwee.
Yes, I know I am a yeow kwee, but is there a need to make me feel like one in front of other guests? This is a hotel, you know? Parkroyal doesn't have the budget to send its staff for customer-service training, is it? I believe there are more tactful ways to word it, like "I am sorry, Miss. One serving at a time. You can queue up again if you would like to get it for someone else."
Then my youngest sister raved over the steamed live lobster, saying that it tasted superior to the Mentaiko lobster, so we queued up for it.
Nope. The rest of us respectfully disagreed that it was better. Could not tell that it was 'live' by the degree of freshness either.
To optimise the money's worth, we ate another two or three Mentaiko lobsters since it was better than the steamed live lobster.
One chef per station too!
We queued for the Pumpkin Crab, meaning crab in pumpkin sauce.
It sounded weird but the pumpkin sauce sweetened the crab meat so I had at least another helping. Queued again, of course.
My sisters and brother-in-law took their little children to the stations to show the chefs that there were two of them so that they could get two servings. *roll eyes (at the hotel's policy)* (in Singlish fashion) Have to do it until like that to get another plate ah?
There was a dessert station placed away from the crowd. I would have missed it if I hadn't come with my sisters.
Chin Chow with longan drink
Scallops should be fresh.
Other seafood as side-dishes
There was another station with other less popular crab and lobster options unmanned by chefs. Guests could form their own queue in the usual buffet style to pick and choose the food they wanted. They didn't look palatable enough to entice me to try them though:
Chilli crab
Kam Heong crab
Japanese Lobster Fried Rice
Not sure what this was but it looked spicy
Lobster Spaghetti
Pork Confit
Crustacean Paella
As we drove home, all of us unanimously agreed that the place was too crowded and packed for a comfortable seating. The (lack of) hotel ambience felt more like a market place. We had the feeling that the hotel was trying to maximise its space to contain as many guests as possible for the price it offered for the buffet. It made the buffet feel cheapskate and low-class. A stark contrast to every single afternoon tea we have been to.
We also felt that the constant need to queue, each time we wanted food, made us feel low-class. I said I felt like an orphan queuing in a food house, waiting to collect my food. My fifth sister said she felt like a prisoner waiting in the queue for her food.
When I related my 'One serving per time' experience, all of them agreed that it made one feel cheapo or yeow kwee. My elder sister summed my experience up,"It's an aunty preparing the food. What can you expect?"
Verdict: Parkroyal Hotel at Kitchener Road has a lot of room for improvement.
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