2bearbear Singapore Travel Blog: Travel | Stay | Food
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食客 also known as ” The Restaurant Guest” is a Korean BBQ and Grill franchise. Ssikkek Restaurant has several outlets across Singapore in venues such as United Square, Bras Basah as well as this outlet at North Bridge Road!
Ssikkek Restaurant aka The Restaurant Guest @ North Bridge Road
We arrived at this Ssikkek outlet near Chinatown at about 6:30pm and as you can see from the picture, there was already a crowd outside the restaurant! As recommended by many blogs (including this Singapore Travel Blog), you should always make a reservation prior to visit. We could see from the waiting list that the queue number had already reach about 40 people. Thankfully, we made the reservations and we were seated promptly in less than 5 minutes!
Actually, we did not know what to eat at Ssikkek. We just saw the queue and made it a point to visit. But as they say, if you see a queue, join it! (eventhough sometimes as Singaporeans, you may not know exactly what you’re queuing for, case in point…)
And we were pleasantly surprised…
Variety of Meats including pork collar, pork belly, bacon and beef steaks
The first thing we noticed at the Restaurant Guest is that there is a good variety of meats. Pork collar, pork belly, bacon, beef steaks, marinated chicken and beef were all available. Other than the meats, there is also a small selection of vegetables, squid, prawns and korean dishes such as kim chi, glass noodles and pancakes…
A few choices of Korean cooked food available
Soft drinks, korean tea as well as orange juice are available as well. Kate made a concoction of sprite with orange which tasted like fizzy orange – not bad at all! The star of the show is of course the meats…
Close up of the meats available at Ssikkek Korean BBQ
We’ve tried almost all the meats at Ssikkek Korean Restaurant and we must say that although the variety is not that many, the quality more than made up for it. If you prefer to have some fatty bits in your lettuce wrap (which we ate 3 platefuls of to “act healthy” – who are we kidding right?), go for the pork belly. Otherwise, we recommend the pork collar.
It is quite unusual for pork meats to have white bits in the grains of the meat much akin to Kobe beef. But the pork collar at Ssikkek is one of the best korean grills we’ve had. The meat was tender, juicy (even after the BBQ which usually removes moisture) and had a fresh bite to it. Dipped in some reddish korean BBQ sauce, some kim chi, wrapped in green lettuce and stuffed meticulously into your mouth in 1 big mouthful? Just awesome!
Let’s start of the pros shall we? The taste was great. Fresh ingredients, no holds barred on the generosity and quality of the meats. Our BBQ plate was also great. The technology allowed smoke to be directed away from you while the oil seeps away through the seams of the plate, leaving you with awesome, well-cooked meat!
Well, there are 2 main cons. Kate pointed out that there weren’t small dishes as a Korean restaurant should have. You know the small dishes like that of Big Mama Korean Restaurant? Yup, those…
Secondly, we realised that although the restaurant has the technology of the BBQ plate which absorbs the smoke from the BBQ, it is not used throughout the restaurant. As a result of these few plates without the suction, the entire restaurant has a “smoke-filled” environment!
Map of Ssikkek Korean Restaurant at North Bridge Road (Oriental Plaza)
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The price of eating at Ssikkek is $24++ every night and only $14++ from Mondays to Fridays for lunch. Sundays and PH costs the same at $24++ throughout the day. Ssikkek opens from 12pm to 2:30pm for lunch and 5:30pm to 10pm for dinner.
We say that given the quality and generous servings of meats at Ssikkek, it was really well-worth it. If you do not mind leaving the restaurant smelling of BBQ, great quality korean BBQ awaits you at the Restaurant Guest – Ssikkek Korean and BBQ Grill!
Japanese Buffet in Amsterdam ?! You must be kidding me! Why did we come all the way from Asia to Europe just to try an Asian buffet? Well, since the price was ok (about 22.50 euros per person) plus the fact that it said “Japanese Buffet” outside the restaurant, we thought that we should “splurge” a little on the special occasion of Chinese New Year – CNY!
Turns out that our idea of All You Can Eat Buffet is different from that of the Japanese Buffet Restaurants in Amsterdam!
Rules of Japanese Buffet in Amsterdam
We’re not entirely sure if this set of rules apply for all Japanese buffet restaurants in the Netherlands but they are not “free flow” as we know it in Asia! The rules are
Rule Number 1 : You can only order 5 rounds of food
(Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?! You call this a buffet?)
Rule Number 2 : You can only order 5 items per round
(Whaaaaaaaaaaat?! Have we been cheated? Is this really a buffet?!)
Rule Number 3 : You can only order the next round if you have finished the previous round.
(Whaaaaaaaaaaat?! So calculative?!)
Well, on the flip side, since Kate and I are dining together, we get to choose 50 items altogether. That’s not too bad, so we decided to go ahead after reading the rules. We soon realise that this “buffet” can be really full as well…take a look at what we had…
Round 1
To capitalise on the number of rounds we have, we ordered the maximum number of dish in round 1 (good strategy right?) The sushi turned out to be one of the best sushi we’ve tasted in Europe (of course the best we’ve tasted was in Japan)! The fish was fresh and the rice was fragrant. The Udon(s) was nothing to shout about but the teriyaki beef was “WOW!” – tender, savoury and cannotstopeatingable! Definitely one of the best teriyaki beef we’ve tasted. The tempura was also good. After the first round, we really wonder why the continent of Europe, eons away from Asia can have such excellent Japanese chefs…(have you also noticed the traditional japanese plates used in this restaurant?)
Round 2
The highlight of round 2 was definitely the succulent prawns. Huge ones at that. Subsequently, we realised that the portion was quite huge because it was brought to us by mistake! Ours should have been a 2 person portion not a 4 person. But still, we heartily devoured them. Teriyaki chicken and fish was good and surprisingly, the macha green tea ice cream was excellent as well (since drinks were not included, we ordered some ice cream to “clear our palettes” a little)
Round 3
The highlight of round 3 was the much anticipated pork tenderloin! It didnt disappoint! It was lightly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside! Could imagine that the meat was tenderised before coating and frying. Excellent! The octopus was also quite fresh. Sushi were just as good as in the first round. By now, we were VERY FULL! Hence, we decided to make round 4 our last round. This idea of buffet really works! We couldnt even make it to round 5!
Round 4
The 4th round was Tom’s downfall. He ordered the fried oyster which was not fresh. Although he knew that it was not fresh (texture was quite hard while chewing), he finished all of it so that he could order something in round 5. This was a bad move. Tom had the runs throughout the night that evening! Hahaha! Beef curry and beef pepper steak was great. Turns out that anything with beef at this restaurant was excellent!
Round 5
After all that (can you believe the 2 of us finished all that above?!) we decided to end our round 5 with something “healthy”…a platter of fruits! Yup, to quench the thirst as well. 🙂
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If you have not tried the Japanese “All-You-Can-Eat” Buffets in Amsterdam, why not give it a try?
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Crab Buffet at Ellenborough Market Cafe, Swissotel Merchant Court (almost mispelt Crab buffet as Carb buffet…) is now ongoing from 2 to 18 November 2012! Which means that tomorrow will be the last day! 😮
So is it worth a visit to have unlimited crabs at this buffet? Let’s find out!
Absolutely InCRABulous is Ellenborough Market Cafe’s annual crab buffet. This year, the crab buffet boasts of Spanner Crabs, Snow Crab Claw on ice, Chilli Crabs with Golden Mantou, Pepper Crabs as well as Nonya Curry Crabs.
In addition, Ellenborough Market Cafe’s signature Durian Pengat is also available during the buffet. It is also mentioned on the information flyer that Crab Cakes with Hot Mango Salsa and Bread and Butter Pudding would also be available. Unfortunately, these were not available when we asked the chefs…Sigh.
This buffet is only available daily for dinner and for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays. The prices are as follows
Lunch Buffet (Saturday and Sunday) – $52++ for Adults / $26++ for Children (Aged 4-12)
Dinner Buffet (Daily) – $58++ for Adults / $29++ for Children (Aged 4-12)
There’s also an exclusive discount for OCBC Card members where One dines free with every three paying buffet adult diners.
Setting & Ambience @ Ellenborough Market Cafe
The buffet starts from 6:30pm to 10pm for dinners and when we arrived, there was already a queue outside! Good thing was that we made reservations but we could only get seats in the alfresco area which meant that all the seats inside were fully taken up that evening!
However, the first thing we noticed as we entered the restaurant was that the seats were actually very well spaced out and that the whole restaurant was huge and spacious! This meant that eventhough it was fully booked that evening, the crowd was not so huge (and noisy) as to affect the dining experience. This also translated to a more pleasant queue at the buffet lines.
The next thing we noticed was that the restaurant had a Peranakan theme to it. The centre pieces, displays and even the tables and chairs had a Peranakan feel to it.
Highlight of the Buffet – Crabs Galore!!
The buffet lived up to its name in that there was an assortment of crabs available to choose from! From the cold platters, there was Spanner Crabs, Snow Crab Claw and even Alaskan Crab Claws!
But of course, the highlight was the famous Chilli Crab with Golden Mantou as well as the Black Pepper Crabs. The Slipper Lobster in Black Pepper Sauce was also a favourite of ours. Salt baked crabs and nonya crabs were also available at the buffet.
The buffet was generous in its servings and there was no lack of pincers for buffet lovers to go for. We had so many pincers that we lost count! Here’s a tip for you crab buffet lovers – We noticed that the Chilli Crabs had pincers that were particular huge (somewhat like Sri Lankan Crabs!) as compared to the black pepper crabs and salt baked crabs.
We strongly recommend the Chilli Crab as well as the Slipper Lobster. The Chili crab was not as spicy as the other versions and the sauce was enticing yet flavourful. The gravy really went well with the Mantou – but then again, any fried flour tastes good right? But we must say that the Golden Mantou was for real, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The slipper lobster on the other hand was fresh. The meat came off its shell rather easily and you can easily enjoy one big chunk of the lobster – Yummy!
The only bad thing about the crabs was that not all of it were fresh. There were actually some that were turning bad – soft and mushy. Therefore, choose the huge pincers (Sri Lankan Crab lookalikes) from the Chili Crabs! You wont go wrong with that!
Peranakan / Nonya Food
There must be a reason why the restaurant is decorated with a nonya theme. The nonya food it serves! There was actually a selection of peranakan food available at the crab buffet as well. Ayam Buah Keluak, Kueh Pie Tee, Nonya Curry Chicken and Crabs – Traditional Nonya fare were served up in that selection. We went for the braised pork with vinegar and was thoroughly satisfied.
The meat (and of course the skin) was fully infused with the soya sauce and mild vinegar which gave it that fragrant smell. The meat literally melted in your mouth. Dont be too overly concerned about its name with the word “vinegar” as it’s more like a condiment in this traditional dish.
Other selections at the Buffet
Besides the crabs and nonya food, there was also a small selection of sushi, sashimi as well as gourmet fish such as fried tilapia,sting rays and steamed garoupa to choose from. There was also an array of appetisers as well as mains such as lor mee, stir fried udon and fried rice available.
Highlight for the ladies – DESSERTS!
Then came Kate’s favourite segment of any buffet – DESSERTS! And the desserts @ Ellenborough Market Cafe did not disappoint. There was a good mix of western desserts such as cakes and sweets as well as traditional desserts such as cheng tng, nonya kuehs and of course the signature dessert of Ellenborough Market – Durian Pengat!
We tried all the traditional desserts and rounded them up in a nice flower shape…
Starting from the top (the dark one) in clockwise order was cheng tng, bubur terigu, almond paste, bobo chacha, white fungus with pear (good for the throat especially after all the durian pengat), ah balling glutinous rice balls with peanut fillings and last but not least – Durian Pengat right in the centre!
Basically, everything was good but you can give the almond paste a miss. Of course, the best was still the Durian Pengat!
Tasting the durian pengat was literally eating durians itself! It was rich, flavourful and even had the fibres of that of the durian mixed into it! Heavenly! The durian pengat went well with the pandan chiffon cake and of course the golden mantou! (What?!) Yes! Enjoy it with the mantou for your own version of durian puff!
To round things up, we had a healthy dose of fruits (durian pengat also counted as fruit right?)
as well as the complimentary coffee and tea.
Excellent Service
There’s something that we want to mention about the service. It was excellent! Contrary to what is written on some food review blogs (and note that this is NOT a paid article), the service was really really good! Here are examples of why we say so
1. We told the manager that we wanted to have seats in the air conditioned area once it was available. She remembered and came back to us when it was available later on. She even got the staff to bring our food over for us.
2. The lady and gentlemen serving us at the alfresco area was prompt with their service. Once we were sat down, the lady asked us for our beverage options and came back with our ice water in a jiffy. The gentlemen also cleared our tables as soon as we were done with our food.
3. But the most amazing part was this. Seeing that we were struggling to use the tool to crack the pincers, the lady offered to bring our pincers to be cracked open and brought them back to us. Not once but twice! She was also the one who linked up with the manager to bring us to the seats inside. Kudos to the service team!
Verdict
The excellent service really made our experience at Ellenborough Market Cafe an unforgettable one. It seemed as though they were exclusively serving us but in actual fact the restaurant was at full capacity.
The large variety of food was also a plus. Not only in terms of mains but in terms of desserts as well. Most buffets would only have a measly dessert section. Ellenborough Market Cafe certainly blew their competitors away in terms of variety and value.
The taste of the crabs and quantity of pincers that you could have was great as well.
The only draw back is that some of the crabs were not fresh. They went mushy instead of turgid and succulent as it ought to be. So please stick to the Chili Crab (large) pincers as recommended above and you’d be fine.
Overall, the crab buffet at Ellenborough Market Cafe / Swissotel Merchant Court scores
3.75 out of 5 stars for us! But excluding the service standards, it would be more of a 3.
How to get to Ellenborough Market Cafe @ Swissotel Merchant Court
Swissotel Merchant Court is located at Clarke Quay right beside Central Shopping Mall. Take the Northeast Line (NEL) to Clarke Quay station and take a short walk along the river and you will see the Ellenborough Market Cafe just before the Read Bridge.
Hotel Deals
For your convenience, we have arranged for the best hotel deals at Swissotel Merchant Court right here!
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Hope you have enjoyed our coverage of the Crab Buffet at Ellenborough Market Cafe at Swissotel Merchant Court!
Kate and I have been watching lots of American Drama/ Sit-Coms lately and the Golden Corral Buffet commercial kept popping up (along with chillis and subway…), argh…consumerism…
Yeah…we couldnt resist consumerism, so we went to Golden Corral to give it a try…
Golden Corral is really cheap for a buffet, it costs around 10-15 bucks per person. (Depending on Lunch or Dinner and your location). Here you can really enjoy an all American meal at a fraction of the price.
At the restaurant, we could see many families enjoying the food and having a good time. We also do see many with obesity issues in the restaurant…the price of consumerism…
The food itself was ok. Liked the fried chicken and the cuts of beef. Yum. In general, the food was not that fantastic but it more than made up in variety. There were asian, italian and of course american food served here. Kate and I tried the foods that we like for the first round and those that tasted good, we went for the second round…here are the foods we had
Overall, it was a good place to hang out and have a variety of foods. The price was really economical and makes it a very family friendly venue without causing a hole in the pocket. But if you really want to make your money’s worth, have lunch there and save for dinner!
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