Worth a try (if you love oysters).

I fondly remember my experience at Cafe Mosaic’s dinner buffet over Christmas a few years ago, but having tried the buffet again twice this year (2018), I think I can safely say it’s only worth a try if you are a big eater of oysters.

Even with Chope’s 1 for 1 deal (or selected credit card), the price of $88++ for 2 adults is rather high in my opinion.

*All pictures were from the first visit unless otherwise stated.

Oyster station.

Pick out your oysters and the chef will shuck them for you on the spot. I liked that the oysters were pretty big and fresh. The blue light from the station was quite blinding though. Probably their way of making you slow down on the oysters.

Crustaceon station.

I can’t help but think that buffets that put out the mini lobsters look alike are in fact just trying to increase the value of the buffet.

(Second visit) Snow Crab Legs.

Heh when I went back to Mosaic again recently (about half a year since my post) they had replaced the mini lobsters look alike to snow crab legs. What an upgrade!

Sashimi and sushi station. The sashimi was limited to salmon and octopus.

Rojak station.

I love a good rojak station where I can control the amount of spice and sugar I add into my rojak. This station wasn’t exactly fantastic, but it had the bare essentials.

(Second visit) Gado-gado station.

On my second visit I was happy to find that they had rotated the DIY station. Unfortunately, the peanut sauce for this gado-gado was not crunchy enough. It was more paste than crunch.

Noodle station.

Uniquely, they serve Mee Sua which I enjoyed! Remember to add the vinegar.

Fried Carrot Cake.

This is one of the highlights of the buffet. When eaten hot, the carrot cake was super flavourful and satisfying. It certainly deserves seconds but unfortunately when I took my second serving they had already pre-cooked a lot and hence I didn’t get a piping hot one.

(Second visit) Seafood Hor Fun.

(Second visit) Fried Vegetables.

Do not try this. It was really bland. Plus, it didn’t have a wok hei taste. Super disappointed. To add on, the live station during my second visit featured this and fried vegetables. Urgh I want the carrot cake!

Cooked food station.

The cooked food station had the usual fare — sweet and sour pork, seafood in Thai style sauce, but what I liked from here (and was hot in demand throughout the night) was the crayfish!

Most crayfish at buffets tend to be really tough and tasteless, but this dish was really tender and juicy. I’m not sure if it’s because of the chef’s skill, or because they had to churn this dish so quickly that the meat wasn’t overcooked.

Dessert section.

Looking at my pictures now, I think I was so unimpressed with Cafe Mosaic’s desserts that I was uninspired to take good pictures. The desserts tasted as good as they looked — meh. On my second visit, the desserts pretty much were the same few and I skipped it totally.

Cafe Mosaic had an entire area dedicated to fruits. It really gave the whole buffet a cheapened feeling (like you don’t wanna spend more so you conveniently fill the area with large trays of fruits), and I was put off by this sight.

The ice creams were so much better! Apart from the usual strawberry and chocolate, they also serve Thai milk tea flavour. The ice cream counter definitely helped to raise the bar of the dessert space a little higher. My favourite was the lemon ice cream.

Overall, I thought that the buffet spread was too limited for the price I paid. Yes they had oysters and crayfish but that was pretty much it. Doubt I’ll visit Cafe Mosaic in the near future unless they do a revamp of their menu.

76 Bras Basah Road, Carlton Hotel Level 1, S(189558)

Daily dinner: 6pm to 10pm

+65 6311 8195

Website here

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