If I had a dollar every time someone asked me to recommend a cheap and good buffet, I’d be a millionaire by now. There are many buffet restaurants in Singapore, but most of them are only average, while the really good buffets usually come with a relatively hefty price tag.

So listen up guys, I’m just going to say it once. The buffet lunch at Basilico restaurant is one of the best, if not the best, in the $40-50 category.

Bascilico at level 2 of The Regent Singapore is a huge restaurant. It can easily accommodate up to 200 guests indoor and 30 by the poolside. I lurve (read: not love, but lurveee) the centrepiece of the Italian restaurant, a gorgeous space which houses the antipasti counter. To the left and right of the antipasti counter, you have the hot and dessert kitchens.

I eat desserts first.

People always stare at me whenever I start the buffet with desserts. I don’t know about you, but I think it makes sense to start a meal with something that you like.

Basilico restaurant has a decent array of authentic Italian desserts and a very good selection of homemade gelato.

The Antipasti counter, at the middle of the restaurant, serves an assortment of antipasti.

The appetisers like prosciutto, cold cuts, salads, cheeses and seafood were fantastic. If you ask me the formula for love while I’m eating at the restaurant, I’d reply: parma ham and rock melon.

Cheese. Lots of cheeses. Cheeeeseeee!

From freshly made pizzas to pastas, grilled meat and fish items, the Hot station offers not just Italian food, but also a small local spread.

Obviously, you will not expect good Italian pasta and pizza like the ones you get from the best Italian restaurants in Singapore, but hey, you are paying just $42++ for free flow of everything your heart desires. It is a good deal.

It’s somewhat strange to see that the Italian buffet actually has a corner dedicated to local food like chilli crabs and roasted duck, but I guess it caters to those who want something familiar. I wouldn’t waste any space on that, though.

I like the buffet lunch at Basilico Italian restaurant. Though the buffet spread is slightly limited, the restaurant more than makes up for it with the quality of the food. The antipasto counter, in particular, has fantastic choices.

On Saturday, Basilico has a full Italian buffet (without local spread) for $46++/pax, $56 (free flow juices & soft drinks) and $98++ (free flow prosecco & wine). And on Sunday, they have a Champagne Brunch at $139++ for free flow of champagne and wine. During dinner, it is a semi buffet where you can enjoy the same antipasti & desserts buffet with the choice of 1 main course at $69++. And one more thing, reservations are absolutely necessary.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Basilico Restaurant
1 Cuscaden Road
Level 2 The Regent Singapore
Tel: +65 6725 3232
Weekday Lunch Buffet $42++
Saturday Lunch Buffet $46++
Sunday Brunch Buffet $69++
Daily Semi Buffet Dinner $69++

Note: This was an invited media tasting.

For more recommendations, read my list of the best buffets in Singapore

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UPDATED: The Regent Singapore Weekend High tea Buffet Giveaway is now closed. I will be announcing the results on twitter later in the evening. Thank you for participating.

The winners of Weekend High Tea giveaway are: #90, #454, #1061, #174, & #730.

The Regent Singapore’s Tea Lounge is well known for their afternoon tea in Singapore. On weekdays, they serve the traditional English Afternoon tea on a 3 tier stand. They also have a very popular Weekend High Tea Buffet which is always fully reserved.

The Tea Lounge has recently revamped their weekend High Tea Buffet selections with more tantalising choices. I am partnering The Regent Singapore to giveaway five pairs of the Weekend Afternoon Buffet High Tea ($44++/pax) at The Tea Lounge.

It makes sense to go for the Weekend High Tea Buffet if you are a big eater. Besides the assortment of finger sandwiches, home-baked scones, freshly baked pastries and cakes, the afternoon tea buffet also comes with a scrumptious spread of food.

Check out the Asian corner which has sushi, satay, spicy chicken wings, and dim sum. Okay, this is a secret between us: you MUST TRY the confit of salmon at the Carving station when you are there. It is out-of-this-world, trust me. Besides the salmon, there is also the slow roasted leg of lamb on Saturday and English roast beef on Sunday. Not to forget that there is also a gelato station with a selection of ice cream and sorbet. Here’s the best part, they have a waffles and crepes station too! You can have as many waffles and crepes as you want, and you should also know that the Tea Lounge is famous for their Passionfruit Souffle with caramel sauce. Amazing isn’t it?

The Regent Singapore Weekend Afternoon Buffet High Tea giveaway is exclusive to the readers of my food blog. All you need to do is answer a simple question:

HOW TO ENTER SINGAPORE FOOD BLOG WEEKEND HIGH TEA BUFFET GIVEAWAY

1. Five winners will each get to bring a guest along (worth $88++ per pair) to try the new weekend afternoon buffet high tea.

2. Answer this question by leaving a comment: Which Hotel’s Tea Lounge is giving away the weekend high tea buffet?

3. Weekend afternoon buffet high tea giveaway is open to Singapore residents only.

4. A random generator will be used, everyone has an equal chance to win.

5. Giveaway ends on Friday 12 noon 1st April 2011. All winners will be notified by email.

// Note that comments are moderated, they will appear after I approve it, so please do not submit more than once.

All my friends who have been to the Tea Lounge @ The Regent Singapore’s for their afternoon tea, have been raving about it. Many of them even go to the extent of calling it one of the best afternoon tea in Singapore. Naturally, I’m curious if The Regent Tea Lounge is worth all the hype.

In my previous post on Jewel Artisan Chocolate’s Afternoon Tea, I’ve mentioned that there’s a difference between Afternoon Tea and High Tea.

At The Regent Singapore’s Tea Lounge, they have both the traditional English Afternoon Tea ($38++) with the desserts/pastries/sandwiches on a 3 tier dessert stand during weekdays, and a local high tea buffet ($52++) on weekends.

It may seem very expensive to pay $38++ for the 3 tier dessert afternoon tea. After all, there’s only a couple of petite sandwiches, scones, mini cakes, and a pot of tea, right? No, the afternoon tea set is much more than that, and there’s definitely more than enough food. Having an afternoon tea is an indulgence in life, it is about the feeling of sipping a cup of tea, nibbling finger sandwiches and tasting the petite desserts, while enjoying a leisure afternoon in the tea lounge with your friends or loved ones.

If you get the Afternoon Tea Set for yourself (no sharing), all the items are replenish-able and you can eat as much as you want. BUT, if two of you choose to share ONE afternoon tea set, it is an one-off thing, and the items will not be replenish-able.

There’s a good selection of English tea to choose from, otherwise you can always have coffee or homemade hot chocolate. Among the petite sandwiches (they change from time to time) that we tried, I love the Egg Salad & Cucumber on white toast which was light and delicate. The organic smoked salmon on Sunflower seed bread was equally tasty. The good thing about mini sandwiches? I can have as many I want without feeling guilty.

The gorgeous scones at The Regent Singapore Tea Lounge were wonderful. They could barely sit still around the soft strawberry jam and clotted cream, so I had to finish two of them on my own.

From the petite four desserts, the Chocolate-Yuzu Tart with pecan nut had a flavour that combines citrus with chocolate — it tasted like love. We also had a pear-flavoured financer, and chocolate madelaine.

Personally, I like the comfort of sitting down to enjoy the afternoon tea without having the need to jostle and fight with other people at the buffet counters. For the weekday afternoon tea set, everything is served to your table, and it will be replenished with a wave of the hand.

But if you prefer to have more variety of food, go for The Tea Lounge’s Weekend High Tea Buffet which has a local theme. They have the usual sandwiches, pastries and cakes, with the additional buffet counter of sushi, Asian corner, savoury items, dim sum, and gelato & crepes. Mind you, it’s a lot of food for an afternoon tea buffet!

The Regent Singapore Tea Lounge’s Afternoon Tea Set selection varies from time to time, they may not be serving exactly the same cakes and sandwiches, but each set will definitely comes with fresh finger sandwiches, Petite Four cakes/pastries, freshly baked scones and a pot of tea.

Note: This is an invited tasting session.

Singapore Food Restaurant Review
Tea Lounge Regent Singapore
1 Cuscaden Road GF
The Regent Singapore
Tel: +65 6725 3246

Afternoon Tea Set ($38++):
Mon to Fri 12.30pm – 5pm
Weekend High Tea Buffet ($52++):
Sat & Sun 1.30pm – 5.30pm

For most people, it seems almost like an annual ritual during the Singapore Mooncake Festival to visit the Takashimaya Mooncake Fair as you can find all the mooncakes by the different restaurants and hotels there. Be it buying mooncakes, or just hanging around to try the various new mooncakes flavor for 2010, the response to the Takashimaya Mooncake fair is always overwhelming.

But if you hate to squeeze with the crowd just for a box of mooncake, go to Raffles City level 3 – there’s a smaller Mooncake fair with 22 participating retailers.

I know this post is kind of late since most newspapers, magazines and food blogs have written on some of the must-try new mooncakes flavors for 2010. Nonetheless, I decided to share a list of the interesting mooncakes flavors that I want to try during the Mooncake Festival 2010. So lets find out which are the best Mooncakes in Singapore 2010.

Goodwood Park Hotel Mooncakes

Goodwood Park Hotel has a strong reputation for its durian pastries and desserts, with the durian puff and cake among the most popular items on it’s menu. Naturally, one of the signature mooncake of Goodwood Park Hotel is the D24 Durian Paste Snowskin Mooncakes ($50 for 4 pcs). Their mooncakes are definitely a must-try if you like durian, but please stay 10 feet from me after you have them.

22 Scotts Road
Tel: +65 6730 1786

Marriott Hotel Mooncakes

I’m not sure about you, but I prefer the traditional baked mooncakes to the snowskin mooncakes. The white lotus seed paste with single yolk ($49 for 4 pcs) from Marriott Hotel may sounds boring, but I think it is exactly what I need for the Mooncake Festival 2010. How many yolks do you like in your baked mooncakes?

320 Orchard Rd
Tel: +65 6735 5800

Raffles Hotel Mooncakes

52 bucks for a box of 8 ridiculously tiny snowskin mooncakes? I must be mad to pay for this. Tell me again: why am I doing this? Oh, it’s champagne truffle! Right. Everybody knows about the famous Champagne truffle mooncakes from Raffles Hotel. Enough said.

(North Bridge Road Entrance)
1 Beach Road
Tel: +65 6412 1122

Paradise Group Mooncakes

Being a fan of the Chinese cuisine at Taste Paradise, I must say I’m quite curious how their mooncakes fare against the more experienced hotels and restaurants. Some of the creations from Paradise Group include: Golden Pomelo, Fragrant Black Sesame, Sweet Custard with Cashew Nuts, and at just $38 for a box of 8, their mooncakes are priced slightly lower than the ones from the hotels.

Any Paradise Restaurants in Singapore
Tel: +65 6288 8961

The Regent Singapore Mooncakes

Consumers are a very fickle-minded bunch, and we want novelty.

Every year, the chefs from the different hotels and restaurants will think of new creations to satisfy the consumers’ growing demand for different flavors. For the Mooncake festival 2010, The Regent Singapore came up with Baked Ham & Pork Floss with assorted nuts and the Ginger Paste with Pine Nuts snowskin mooncakes. Personally, I feel that it’s really an acquired taste, but by all means go ahead if you are game enough to try the exotic mooncakes.

1 Cuscaden Road
Tel: +65 6733 8888

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Which are the best mooncakes in Singapore 2010? Let us know which mooncakes have you tried, and which are the ones that you are tempted to get! Have a good Mooncake Festival 2010 indulging in all the different mooncakes!