Clove Restaurant Review: Great Buffet Selection at Swissotel The Stamford!

Clove Restaurant is the in-house restaurant of Swissotel The Stamford which offers daily international buffet selection daily. Here, you’ll be able to enjoy all-you-can-eat seafood on ice, live stations featuring roasts and noodles as well as a wide range of local cuisines. Over the Christmas and holiday season this December, you’ll also be able to enjoy luscious chocolate dishes over the weekends. Also, one of the reasons we decided to check out the buffet at Clove is because of the discounts via Accor Plus Membership

– Dine alone for 25% off your food bill
– Dine with one guest for 50% off your food bill
– One member and two guests get 33% off your food bill
– One member and three guests get 25% off your food bill

Moreover, if you pay via Kris+, you’ll also be able to receive 9x miles on top of your credit card miles on local spending. All in all, we spent $49++ per person or ~$117 for 2 pax – which is not too bad a deal. But the big question remains, is it worth it to try out the buffet at Clove Restaurant Swissotel The Stamford? Let’s find out!

First, let’s talk about the “lay of the land”…

From the bird’s eye view of Clove Restaurant, you’ll notice that there are 2 main buffet areas closest to the camera above. The squarish table – this is where the cooked dishes such as lobsters, pork ribs and barramundi are served. The long rectangular table is where the seafood on ice, live station (such as noodles and carvings) as well as innovative creations (such as yuzu chocolate, chocolate kueh pie tie) are served. You’ll also notice that the patrons are located away from food lines. This means that you’ll have to walk a distance if you’re seated far away like so…

There are pros and cons to it. Pros because you will have a pretty pleasant dining experience, enjoying the high ceilings as well as the sunshine (early part of the evening) through the glass roofs. But it also means that you’ll have to take a short walk each time you head back to the buffet lines.

There are actually 2 other smaller sections of the international buffet at Clove Swissotel The Stamford. You’ll find the dessert section where you’ll find ice cream, fruit, slushies, coffee/tea as well as a decadent selection of both western and local desserts. Over at the far end of the rectangular table, you’ll find the cheese selection as well as the cold dishes. In the distance, we were able to see views of Suntec City as well. Overall, a great selection of food variety and dining experience in the heart of the city.

So what is the menu of Clove’s International Buffet?

We must say that the selection at Clove Restaurant is actually rather extensive. You’ll find sections such as the

– Vitality & Aquaponics Salad Bar
– Smoked Fish & Charcuterie
– Clove’s Salad
– Delicate Delights
– Seafood on Ice
– Bakery Selection
– Cheese Selection
– Soup
– DIY Station
– LIVE Station
– Carving Station
– Local Selection
– International Selection
– Desserts

Here’s what is served at the various sections of the international buffet at Clove Swissotel The Stamford…

VITALITY & AQUAPONICS SALAD BAR
Aquaponics Greens, Baby Spinach, Hummus, Baba Ghanoush, Quinoa, Beetroot, Wakame, Greenland Shrimp, Sakura Ebi, Furikake, Cherry Tomato, Bean, Cucumber, Dried Cranberries, Corn, Garbanzo, Crouton, Bacon Bits, Olive, Sunflower Seeds, Almond Flakes, Pumpkin Seeds, Cacao Nib

DRESSING & EMULSION
Balsamic, Thousand Island, Honey Mustard, Goma, Italian, Ranch, Lemon Clove Vinaigrette

SMOKED FISH & CHARCUTERIE

Smoked Salmon, Salmon Gravlax, Assorted Smoked Fish, Beef Pastrami, Coppa Ham, Parma Ham, Salami
Dijon Mustard, Grain Mustard, Capers, Lemon Wedge, Onion, Pickled Pearl Onion, Cornichon

CLOVE’S SALAD

Heirloom Tomato, Mozzarella, Yuzu Chocolate Vinaigrette, Roasted Pumpkin Salad Walnuts, Pecorino Cheese, Balsamic Reduction, Ruby Chocolate, Turkey Waldorf, Celery, Apple, Walnut, Desiree Potato Salad, Bacon Chocolate, Chive, Prawn Legume Salad, Lemon Vinaigrette

DELICATE DELIGHTS

Poached Prawn, Festive Hummus, Poached Seafood, Green Mango, Thai Dressing, Assorted Sashimi, Assorted Sushi, Wasabi, Pickled Ginger, Soy Sauce

SEAFOOD ON ICE

Fresh Oyster, Mud Crab, Cooked Prawn, Clam, Black Mussel, Half Shell Scallop, Lemon, Cocktail Sauce, Tabasco, Mignonette Sauce

BAKERY SELECTION

Home Baked Sourdough, Focaccia, Baguette, Mini Bread Roll, Sun Dried Tomato, Soft Roll, Lavosh, Grissini, Butter, Onion Chutney, Sea Salt

CHEESE SELECTION

Brie, Cheddar, Emmental, Gruyère, Reblochon, Blue Cheese, CLOVE’S Chocolate & Truffle Gateaux, Pecan Baked Camembert & Chocolate Sauce
Chutney, Cheese Cracker, Pecan, Hazelnut, Almond, Nutella, Lavosh, Grissini

SOUP
Lobster Butternut Bisque, Chocolate Crouton, Minestrone

DIY STATION

Kopitiam Seafood Laksa & Tom Yum, King Prawn, Fish Roe Ball, Mussels, Clams, Bean Sprout, Quail Egg, Straw Mushroom, Tau Pok, Rice Noodle, Laksa Leaf, Sambal Chilli

LIVE STATION

Ivory Chocolate Seafood Gratin, Scallop, Mussel, Oyster, Chocolate Béchamel, Basil Foam, 70% Dark Chocolate Kueh Pie Tee, Beef Con Carne, Tomato Corn Salsa, Guacamole, Shaved Dark Chocolate, Yuzu Chocolate, Sautéed Sea Shrimp, Chilli Almond, Parmesan, Yuzu Chocolate Vinaigrette

CARVING STATION

Roasted Turkey, Chestnut Stuffing, Giblet Sauce, Slow Roasted Ribeye, Port Wine Jus, Whole Baked Salmon, Champagne Chocolate Sauce
Roasted Lamb Leg, Mint Chocolate Jus, Condiments, Grain Mustard, Dijon Mustard, Horseradish Cream, Apple Sauce, Cranberry Sauce, Accompaniments, Chestnuts and Confit Shallot with Maple Syrup, Truffle Mashed Potato, Sautéed Brussels Sprouts, Crispy Bacon, Roasted Root Vegetables with Brown Butter Gastrique

LOCAL SELECTION

Wok Fried Slipper Lobster, Ivory Chocolate Pepper Sauce, Wok Fried Turkey, Scallion, Dried Chilli, Gong Bao Sauce, Chilli Mocha Pork Ribs, Nai Bai, Crab Meat Egg White, Seafood Glass Noodle

INTERNATIONAL SELECTION

Steamed Pilaf Rice, Dried Fruits, Almond, Impossible™ Plant-based Shepherd’s Pot Pie, Maple Glazed Gammon Ham, Mustard Ivory Chocolate Sauce, Beef Bourguignon, Mushroom, Lardons, Pan Seared Duck Breast, Truffle 70% Dark Chocolate Sauce, Baked Barramundi, Ruby Chocolate Citrus Beurre Blanc, Gratinated Cauliflower, 35% Ivory Chocolate & Hazelnut

DESSERTS

70% Dark Chocolate: Cocoa Fruit Bean, Housemade Fruit Cake, 64% Dark Chocolate: Chocolate Cone, Raspberry Confit, Chocolate Crémeux
46% Vegan Dark Chocolate: Oat Milk, Cocoa Shell, Blackberry, Aquaponics Cress, Christmas Stollen, “Clove Orange” 55% Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Praline Sable, 72% Grand Cru Chocolate Yule Log, Chocolate Bon Bon, Fruit Mince Pie, Cherry Coffee Opera, Raspberry Chocolate, Choux Puff, Housemade Festive Cookies, Tropical Fruits

LIVE STATION
“Chocolate Lava Pudding” Gingerbread Nitrogen Foam

ICE CREAM & SORBET

Assorted Condiments

WARM DESSERTS

68% Dark Chocolate: Swiss Chocolate Cake, Cinnamon Chocolate Gelée

DRINK STATION

Celaya Chocolate
Red Fruit Ruby Chocolate

As you can see, the selection at Clove’s buffet is very extensive. You’ll be able to satisfy most palates with the international, local as well as seafood selection. One of our favourite section is of course the desserts at Clove! But how do they really taste? Let’s find out…

We started off with, you’ve guessed it, seafood on ice! As you can see from the huge smile from Tom, we really enjoyed the seafood and sashimi selection from Clove. The seafood was fresh and the prawns were so succulent. As for the sashimi, we were glad that there were tuna and swordtail on top of the customary salmon. The highlight for us were definitely the oysters. They were fresh and plump – coupled with a dash of fresh lemon juice? Delish!

As for the local and international selection of cooked food, we were not really impressed. The slipper lobster weren’t all really fresh – not mushy, but we were not able to fork the entire lobster out. The duck, salmon and barramundi were all a little dry. We did enjoy the beefs though. The beef bourguignon as well as the slow roasted ribeye were actually quite tasty. As for the local flavours, the XO fried rice was excellent – just that you shouldn’t be gorging on fried rice on a buffet. The flavours of the mocha pork coffee was excellent – just that we would have preferred some fattier ribs.

As for the innovative dishes, we didn’t quite get the yuzu foam and the seafood were grilled to a rather dry texture. Nonetheless, we thought that the chocolate kueh pie tie were pretty good! Love it that the western beef con carne harmonised with the crispy kueh pie tie rather well. Yum!

As for the live station, we were rather pleased with the king prawn laksa. The king prawn was HUGE! We almost mistaken it as a lobster. We enjoyed the experience of picking all our ingredients. Dou miao with bean sprouts added to the texture of the laksa. Excellent stuff. If we were to visit again, we’d probably pick up some of the prawns from the iced seafood section and add them to the laksa as well! 😋

After going at the food for several rounds, we left more room for the desserts. The chocolate lava pudding was decadent. The rich chocolate taste of both the pudding and the lava was balanced with the tart raspberry puree. Excellent stuff.

Chocolate cake, hazelnut tart and brioche with both white/dark chocolate were all excellent. As they were also slightly on the sweet end, we had the black coffee to balance the flavours. As for the gelato, strawberry was our favourite. You could taste the berries blended fresh into the gelato. Yum!

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After the Accor Plus discount, we felt that the buffet at Clove Swissotel The Stamford was definitely worth it. At full price? We’re not so sure. There were several hits and a couple of misses. We definitely loved the seafood on ice selection. Fresh and succulent seafood. We enjoyed the experience of picking out the ingredients for our laksa as well as a couple of the warm dishes from the local selection. Lastly, desserts. Remember to keep some space for it!

If you’ve been to the buffet at Clove Restaurant, Swissotel the Stamford, let us know more in the comments section below!