The Place Located at Goodwood Park Hotel, Coffee Lounge (not to be confused with its sister afternoon tea restaurant L’Espresso) is the restaurant famous for its Taiwan Porridge Buffet but never did I know that the casual restaurant does local delights and dessert buffet too. The restaurant is located within the Grand Tower Wing of the hotel, with its latest revamp back in 2007. The dining ambience is casual and cosy, with a nice dining section at the side of the restaurant where you get some natural lighting in the day.

The Food I visited Coffee Lounge recently for its local degustation menu and dessert buffet. The former was revamped recently, while there is an ongoing Dessert Buffet with Mao Shan Wang Specialities from 14 October to 17 November 2017, where there are a series of Mao Shan Wang dessert specials in addition to the usual dessert spread.

We went for the Three-Course Design Your Own Local Degustation Set Menu (S$50++ per person, inclusive of coffee or tea) where we tried some of the newly launched dishes. This is also the most value for money option to go for in my opinion. You get to choose a starter, main course and get to enjoy the Dessert Buffet with Mao Shan Wang Pastries at this price, while the Dessert Buffet with Mao Shan Wang Pastries Only is priced at S$46.80++ per person.

Starting with some appetisers, we had the Tahu Telur, one of my favourite Indonesian dish. The crispy beancurd here is coated with fried egg, served with julienned cucumber and carrots, and accompanied by a spice kicap manis (sweet sauce)-based sauce. It’s very oily, but the taste was so delicious.

I also tried the local Pork Satay, which was surprisingly good. The satay had an aromatic char to it and did not pale in comparison to hawker standards, served along with peanut-pineapple sauce as well as red onions, cucumber and ketupat (rice cakes).

For mains, we had the option of choosing from the Rice & Prata or Noodles sections, which showcases a diverse spread of local delights. I highly recommend the ‘Xing Zhou’ Bee Hoon, a plate of dry fried vermicelli dish served with bits of char siew (barbecue pork) and prawns. I enjoyed the beautiful flavours here, as well as the wok-hei in its taste.

Another local dish we tried was the Nasi Lemak, beautifully plated with egg, fish, chicken drumlet and topped with deep-fried ikan bilis (anchovies) and peanuts. I feel that the rice was too little, and could have done better with a more fragrant coconut element to it. The chicken drumlet wasn’t as crispy as I thought too, which was a pity.

On to desserts, there are eight new durian creations as part of the Mao Shan Wang special – Mao Shan Wang Mochi; Mao Shan Wang Waffles and Ice Cream (live station); Mao Shan Wang Sticky Rice; Mao Shan Wang Crumble Tart; Mao Shan Wang Crème Brûlée; Mao Shan Wang Éclair; Mao Shan Wang Toast and Mao Shan Wang Pandan Cake. This is on top of the usual dessert spread of cakes, hot and chilled local desserts, ice cream and more.

The Dessert Buffet with Mao Shan Wang Specialities promotion will be available during lunch and dinner.

Rants It would have been better if the portions for the Local Degustation Set Menu is more generous.

Will I Return Again? If you are looking for a conducive space in Orchard Road area to enjoy some local delights, Coffee Lounge is a good option to while the afternoon away. A Mao Shan Wang fan? This limited time Mao Shan Wang Dessert Buffet promotion is something to take note of.

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

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

Coffee Lounge
Goodwood Park Hotel
22 Scotts Road
Singapore 228221
Tel: +65 6730 1746

Opening Hours
Breakfast: 6am to 10.30am
Taiwan Porridge & Design Your Own Local Degustation Menu Lunch: 12pm to 2.30pm
Afternoon Tea: 2.30pm to 6pm (Monday to Friday) | 3pm to 5.30pm (Saturday & Sunday)
Taiwan Porridge & Design Your Own Local Degustation Menu Dinner: 6pm to 10.30pm

Ranted by The Ranter