The Place We have heard about the Durian Pengat at the Swissôtel Merchant Court’s Ellenborough Market Cafe, and definitely their Peranakan kuehs and buffet spread as well. This longstanding hotel buffet restaurant now wants to satiate your buffet experience with their delectable seafood spread, till 26th July 2015!

The Food Well, it’s a Seafood Galore. From seafood soup (Crab Bisque to Seafood Chowder), to the cold selections (Prawns to Snow Crabs) and to hot mains (local favourite Chilli Crabs to Black Pepper Slipper Lobster), this buffet promises you nothing short of a “swim” through the oceans!

At $68++ for adults and $34 for children (both with free flow Iced Tea), this gives many of the seafood restaurants a run for their money. While the price tag may seem on a higher end for a dinner buffet, the spread does justify for it.

During our visit, there were many crabs available, with the 2 key highlights being the Chilli Crab and the Salt Baked Crab. While I was attracted by the Salt Baked Crab, found this a tad too dry for my liking. Fortunately, their Chilli Crab fared well. For folks who cannot take spices well, the Chilli Crab at Ellenborough is the sweeter version, luckily for me! Of course, I couldn’t resist dipping my mantous into the chilli crab gravy and with it being a buffet, I shall not drop hints on how many mantous I had that evening!

Generously replenished by the kitchen, this Black Bean Lobster was fresh and succulent. The restaurant rotate this with its Black Pepper Slipper Lobster, which was equally awesome when I tried it.

How often do you walk up to an unpretentious buffet line which serves its steamed fish in whole? The Steamed Grouper with Superior Sauce was done the Hong Kong style, coincidentally my preferred style. In spite of this, I found the fish slightly overcooked or perhaps, not the freshest?

While at Ellenborough Market Cafe, make sure you leave some space for desserts. Had countless of this Kueh Pie Tee and Kueh Dadar, and if you are a durian lover, make sure you have the “original” Durian Pengat in Singapore here! And wait, have I not already mentioned they have traditional desserts like Bubur Cha Cha, Ah Bo Ling and Tau Suan as well?

Rants There’s only so much you can eat. Darn. Also, they rotate their selections, to make sure they give their regulars variety. But if you ain’t a regular, then you might miss out on some of the awesome choices. For one, their Crab Bisque was really good. If you manage to have this during your visit, congrats!

Will I Return Again? I shy away from buffets as I prefer paying for quality food, something I rarely see in buffets. Ellenborough is proving otherwise though. I say, visit Ellenborough and keep to their signatures and buffet highlights, and you will very likely be a happy diner.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 3.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 4/5
Ambience: 3/5
Overall Experience: 3.5/5

Ellenborough Market Cafe
Swissôtel Merchant Court
Lobby Level
20 Merchant Road Singapore 058281
Tel: 6239 1848/1847

Opening Hours
Daily Dinner Buffet 630pm – 10pm

Ranted by the Rantee