Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore’s gorgeous all-day dining restaurant J65 is an ultimate gourmet paradise if you are keen on mainly local fare. Its wholesome Sunday Champagne brunch has left an impeccable impression and we are now equally enthralled by their latest launch of regional hawker-themed dinner buffets.

J65 is fronted by Executive Chef Frederick Kho, a Malaysian native cook who specialises in homestyle Nonya, Peranakan and Straits dishes. Along with his talented kitchen crew, patrons can watch the A-team in action at the spacious open kitchen. Think tantalising local delights such as satays, kong bak pau, homemade popiahs, Penang hokkien mee and the list goes on.

From now till Tuesday, 31 May 2016, quote “ladyironchef” to enjoy a scrumptious dinner buffet at only S$35++* per person (usual price from S$45++ to S$55++). Additionally, for those of you who celebrate your birthday at J65, you will receive a complimentary buffet plus a free three-tier stand of cupcakes and an over-the-top chocolate milkshake. Stop pinching yourself, the deal is real and it is valid from now till the end of 2016.

Been meaning to travel around Asia but can’t find the time? No worries. There is no need to fly when you have direct access to Asia’s best street food right at Hotel Jen Singapore’s J65.

There is a star item every day of the week, and while buffet restaurants usually do “items on rotation” where you’d be left to play with luck and possibly be disappointed when your favourite item isn’t “on rotation” that day, J65 does it differently.

No disappointment here. Just go on the days that has the dish you want to try/ like.

Here goes – Kong Bak Pau and Duck Mee Sua on Mondays; Ayam Penyet and Penang Hokkien Mee on Tuesdays; Sup Ekor and Hakka Beef Noodles on Wednesdays; Claypot Pork Rice and Bak Chor Mee on Thursdays; Woodlands Bazarr Special Lamb Shank with Nasi Briyani and Penang Lor Mee on Fridays.

The weekend features several Southeast Asian specialty choices too – Ayam Percik and Crispy Fish Noodles on Saturdays, and Nyonya Classic Ayam Pongteh and Curry Chicken Noodle on Sundays.

We know what you are thinking. You are probably condemning the idea of eating hawker fare at a hotel buffet.

But let us reiterate that on top of the (much more) comfortable and clean environment, the authenticity of these local food are unrivalled; J65′s team of experienced chefs have an impressive track record of preparing Southeast Asian delights. No efforts have been spared, and no corners have been cut in bringing you the most quality selection.

More importantly, free flow of everything we like is always a wonderful idea.

Then, there is the Asian Noodle Station, where you get to watch the chefs prepare a feast. The Singapore Chicken Rice and assorted roast meats are to die for, seriously! The head chef has a wealth of experience in roasting, and you bet those fragrant slabs of meat are worthy of all the calories you are about to gain. Sorry, what diet?

If you think that is all with J65′s offer of Asian food, you are wrong. We are merely at the beginning of introducing the comprehensive variety.

There’s Kueh Pie Tee at the DIY stand, or you can request for a freshly handcrafted crabmeat popiah and watch in awe as the chefs fold and roll your tasty snack.

A DIY Rojak section will also be part of the line-up, and you know what this means? We get to toss as much pineapple and you tiao (dough fritters) as you want! We don’t know about you but we gave up hoping that our hawker-bought Rojak would have more pineapple chunks than bean sprouts.

And we have more.

From Singapore-style crabs, everyone’s favourite salted egg yolk prawns to Tandoori chicken with naan; fresh sashimi to a whole bed of cold seafood on ice. We honestly doubt you can even try a bit of everything because the spread’s really huge.

Ready for desserts? We promise you will feel like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory.

Stuff yourselves silly with their chocolate cakes, cherry pistachio tarts, pina colada, Japanese mochis, brownies and whatnot. Fans of nyonya kuehs like we are? Yes, there is a whole platter and you should totally take one each. Of course, take more for your favourite one. Limitless kueh lapis for you?

Of course, don’t forget to unleash your inner child at the ice cream station. Grab the ice cream in your favourite flavours, and pile on all the toppings you want. This sort of unadulterated fun is priceless, and was exactly what we yearned for the most when we were kids – just eat as much ice cream as you want, with as much chocolate rice/ gummy bears/ marshmallow etc.

COMPLIMENTARY BUFFET FOR CELEBRATING YOUR BIRTHDAY AT J65

Celebrate your birthday during dinnertime at J65 with at least three other friends and you get to dine for free. On top of that, you will also receive a crazy chocolate brownie milkshake alongside a tier of frosted cupcakes. Seriously, how can your birthday not be awesome?!

This offer is not in conjunction with other promotions, discounts and is subjected to restaurant’s availability.

LIMITED TIME PROMOTION OF S$35++ (USUAL PRICE S$45 TO S$55++) FOR LADYIRONCHEF’S READERS

Quote ladyironchef to redeem this special offer of S$35++/pax for dinner buffet at J65. This promotion is valid from now until 31 May 2016. not valid for Mother’s Day weekend, eve of and on public holidays.

J65
Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore
Lobby Level, 1A Cuscaden Road
Singapore 249176
Reservations: +65 6831 4374 / J65@hoteljen.com
Daily: 6.30am to 10pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

Dinner Buffet
Sun to Thu: 6pm – 9.30pm / S$45++ per pax
Fri and Sat: 6pm – 10pm / S$55++ per pax

Lunch Buffet
Mon to Sat: 12pm – 2.30pm / S$29++ per pax
Sun: 12pm – 3pm / S$55++ per pax

This post was brought to you by Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore.

From baby to toddler, our baby turning one is a bittersweet moment for us. And like most parents, we want to celebrate his birthday as best way we know how, by throwing a birthday party.

When Brad asked me to share about my experience on ladyironchef, I agreed immediately because I hope this post on How to Plan a Baby’s First Birthday Party will give you some ideas when you are celebrating your child’s first birthday.

I do not consider myself experienced when it comes to party planning, much less a first year birthday party. Russell is my first born by the way. As a host, I did a few things right and a couple of things wrong. Here are some lessons learnt, and things I wished somebody told me before.

THINGS I DID RIGHT

There were many suggestions, like BBQ in a chalet, Lunch in a Club, House Party…  but I was very sure I wanted a distinctively kids party because he has the rest of his life to throw stripper parties. He is one, he will party like he is one.

THE VENUE

I want the kids to have fun but not have their fun jumping on my bed. I decided to hold it in a children indoor playground where they can go crazy in. My little guests are mostly toddlers. I read up and visited a few places before deciding on Kiddyfun because they specifically target the younger kids.

• The play area is well padded so the toddlers can run around with little supervision.
• The play is not too huge that you’d lose all your guests.
• The party area is comfortable and cozy, with actual sofas instead of stools, so the adults can lounge around and chit chat.

Party packages prices and offerings are comparable to other indoor gyms like Petite Park, Fidgets and Hokey Pokey. I recommend that you shortlist a few places, then make a trip down to look at their party areas before deciding. We brought Russell to test the play systems in KiddyFun first and he had so much fun that we were confident on our pick.

SPLURGE ON THE CAKE

When people look back on birthdays, they will refer to the cake to check when it was. “Oh, he was one, so that was 2013.” I did a lot of research on the cake and I’m really satisfied with it. I requested for 3 figurines; a baby boy that matches what he wore on the day, a dragon because he was born in the year of a dragon and a lion because he’s a Leo. It is very hard to make a cute fondant dessert masculine ok? But this cake is age appropriate yet manly. And it was beautifully crafted. Perfect.

TIME

The party lasted for 2.5 hours. Initially I thought it was too short, but anything longer and the kids will grow cranky while the adults grow restless. Some friends throw parties that last the whole day and people are free to turn up at different times. I prefer to put everyone together.

THINGS THAT COULD BE IMPROVED

There are a few things I wish I could have done better and it really boils down to proper delegation.

GUESTBOOK

I wanted guests to leave messages for Russell, I even wanted people to leave video messages. However, I was too busy to do this. Delegate this to someone sociable and persuasive.

PHOTOS

To my horror, nobody took pictures of the guests and I was running around all the time that any pictures I took were shoddy. This is one of those things I took for granted. Now it looks like I have thrown a #foreveralone birthday party. Have someone be in charge of taking photos of every guest, preferably someone who knows the guests well and can take a decent picture. I think this is basic party etiquette too.

INTRODUCTIONS

Do proper introductions and trust your guests to mingle by themselves. I was trying to make conversations with everyone that I cannot make conversations with everyone.

VIDEOS

Remember to record a video of the birthday song! The facial expressions on my boy’s face were priceless. Appoint two people to record the birthday song and put their lives on it. Remember to have one more person to take a video of the singing guests too, cover all angles!

Bottom line is, you cannot do everything by yourself and you’d find that people are happy to help. Delegate the right tasks to the correct people so you can relax, sit back and enjoy the party.

Despite the mistakes, we had a wonderful time. Really happy to see my friends and family, happy to see the kids playing and having fun, happy to see Russell’s huge smile and the twinkle in his eyes when everyone started singing his birthday song… and the embarrassment when he realised they were singing to him.

Words by Priscilla Nu