Coffee Lounge at Goodwood Park Hotel has recently launched 7 new local dishes to enhance the overall Singaporean culinary experience. Local and international guests alike, will be glad to find an equal representation of dishes from our local Chinese, Malay, Indian and Peranakan communities, all under a specially created degustation menu.
The mini Tahu Telur was a lovely bite. Originating from the Chinese community in Indonesia, the dish had since find its way on to the dining table of Peranakan Singaporeans. Usually made of tofu cubes and eggs deep fried in a big metal mesh mould, this is a dish that was meant to be shared. The tower-like structure is then doused with lots of kicap manis for a particular sweetness favoured by most Indonesians. I was glad, however that the local version, as like the one here was tweaked to a spicier level more suitable to local taste buds. The portion is also made petite for the individual diner in mind.
I am sure many would be happy with the Pork Satay here as well. Not exactly Kwong’s standard, the benchmark of a good porky skewer, but the two sticks presented here was amply marinated with spices though the heat firing the meat skewers was a little subdued so the end result was a little sanitised.
I chose the Nasi Briyani against the other choices since my appetite was whetted upon seeing the yellow turmeric rice. For first timers, the good news is that the Briyani rice here was made with less ghee, less oil and less spices to reveal a feminine side of Indian cooking. The basmati rice was superior and came with a serving of sedap chicken rendang. While I cannot fault the chicken rendang I would have preferred the chicken to be cooked directly with the rice, like most Indian restaurants would have done, so that the Dum Briyani would be soaked with chicken fat.
Coffee Lounge has also adopted the KL style Hokkien Mee to offer a noodle dish less prosaic in Singapore.. The noodles were not bad, probably of a similar standard to the ones you have seen in airport lounges/ hotels/ banquet halls but I still prefer the darker ones at Taman Paramount or Petaling Street, for the same reason why I would never get my Char Kway Teow fix outside hawker centres. Other selection on offer from the new menu are the Nasi Lemak and the Mee Soto which I am hoping to try the next time I am back. Both are pretty good I heard.
A 3 course and 4 course set meal from the above selection would have cost $29 and $33 under usual circumstances but the prices have been adjusted for the Mao Shan Wang feature till 17 November. The 3 course and 4 course prices are set at $50 and $54 respectively and will be adjusted back to their original prices. During this period, diners also have the option of combining the Mao Shan Wang feature + dessert buffet with Goodwood Park’s famed ala Carte Taiwanese porridge buffet at $60/ adult & $38/ kid.
Goodwood Park Hotel is very proud of their durian sweets. This is not an overstatement. Ask any durian aficionados in Singapore and they would surely all unanimously point to Coffee Lounge’s. And the annual affair also seems to get bigger each year. Again, since I don’t eat durians myself I have to rely on their verdicts (most are regulars of Coffee Lounge too) to rate the durian desserts. They all love the Durian Swiss Roll and Durian Choux. These two unfortunately are missing on the spread but something similar, almost identical would be the Mao Shan Wang Éclairs, which was the most popular dessert on the day I visited.
Others raved over the Mao Shan Wang Creme Brûlée and the Mao Shan Wang Toast. Some swore by the Mao Shan Wang Ice Cream at the live station.
I was just happy with my choice of Prickly Pear Mousse Cake which brought back great memories on a recent dessert trip. Prickly pear is the common name of the fruit of the cactus plant. The Pandan Cake was also delicious I had one after another, ignoring the pleas of my fellow dining companions. Not before long I finished half of what was remained (on the spread). The Bread & Butter Pudding was also one of the finest I have ever had in years.
I don’t think it will be a tough call the next time you are on Scotts Road. No more pressure dining alone, and this is certainly welcoming for foreign diners who want to sample local dishes in an air conditioned comfortable setting. With less than a month left before the Mao Shan Wang season is over, durian lovers might need to hurry to check out the Dessert Buffet with Mao Shan Wang specialities at Coffee Lounge which is only vailable till 17th Nov!
Price options are as follows:
– $46.80++ per person (Dessert Buffet with Mao Shan Wang Pastries Only)*
– $36.80++ per person (Top-up of Dessert Buffet with Mao Shan Wang Pastries with any a la carte
main course order)
– $60++ per adult, $38++ per child (Taiwan Porridge A La Carte Buffet, inclusive of Dessert Buffet
with Mao Shan Wang Pastries)
– $50++ per person (Three-Course Design Your Own Local Degustation Set Menu, inclusive of
Dessert Buffet with Mao Shan Wang Pastries)
– $54++ per person (Four-Course Design Your Own Local Degustation Set Menu, inclusive of
Dessert Buffet with Mao Shan Wang Pastries)
*Exclusively for Citi Credit and Debit Cardmembers, enjoy a 10% discount for our Dessert Buffet with Mao
Shan Wang Pastries Only during this period.
Dine-in prices are subject to 10% service charge and prevailing GST. Child price is for children aged 6 – 11 years.
The above article is written by @ramenking2017. You can find him on instagram where he shares his love for food and travel.
The pictures are taken by Kelvin Dao @sg.food, Engineer by Day, Photographer by Night. For pictorial opportunities please contact him at daokelvin@gmail.com
Coffee Lounge, Goodwood Park Hotel
22 Scotts Road, Singapore 228221
Tel: +65 6737 7411
Operating Hours: 12pm-2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm
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