155. Sheraton Towers Hotel - The Dining Room

A picturesque high-tea affair at the Sheraton Towers Hotel, The Dining Room. I was welcomed by the tall glass panes and a man made waterfall. Albeit the waterfall wasn't of a great height, the tall glass panes created a towering and thus a grand feel. Condensation of water vapour on the glass panes created the feel of being in a jungle except there weren't any animals.

Dining outdoor brings you closer to nature. There is a smaller waterfall and a pavilion. The lush greenery made my hot Saturday afternoon cool and relaxing.

8 of us were seated near to the entrance to the outdoor seating and when the day got later, we found ourselves basking in light sunlight, consoled by strong air-conditioning and the waiter who warned us beforehand.

Clockwise: Olive fried rice, curry samosa, pandan chicken, yam pie, mini wrapped glutinous rice, masala, chawanmushi, black carrot cake.

The olive fried rice was pretty good. It was not oily and every mouthful exudes a mild fragrance of the olives. No puckering taste of olives. The pandan chicken was another savoury item. Tender and well-marinated.

The curry samosa wrapped like a pyramid was just alright. The dipping sauces was a boon companion.

The masala, yam pie and glutinous rice were not to my liking. It happened that these 3 items were a tad too dry to my taste.

The chawanmushi was the smallest and yet ingredients-filled cup that I have ever had. But it was quite bland. The density of the steamed egg was slightly off the scale, making the chawanmushi honeycombed and diluted. Ginkgo is by nature, bitter. I didn't like the addition of the ginkgo. I preferred my ginkgo sweetened. Lots of crabmeat but I wasn't as lucky as camemberu, having had mini-combs of fins in her cup of chawanmushi.

My friends commented that the carrot cake was quite good. Being pan-fried made it less oil-laden. No doubt, it was healthier, but maybe it was due to this, the carrot cake seemed more like mashed potatoes to me without the gleam shine coat of oil on it. And it didn't trigger my taste buds to taste it.

This is their signature dish, got to know it from camemberu's review. I am not a big fan of laksa and even though my curiousity in food-tasting was still running high after the asian food, I wasn't keen on having laksa. I shall reserve my comments on this.

Each bowl was quite a small portion. Laksa lovers will be running back to the chef for a few more bowls.

Rice paper wrapped with roasted duck and mango drizzled with sweet and sour sauce and garnished with salad greens. This was prepared by the lady chef.

The rice paper was slightly thick. Fillings was Chinese and Vietnamese combined. Parsley was used. If I didn't remember wrongly, either the basil or mint leaves weren't used. The taste wasn't like an authentic Vietnamese rice paper wrap.

Rojak -Mix it yourself! Mix your plate of rojak with your secret recipe servings of condiments. I didn't mix this plate neither did I try it. Comments reserved.

Assorted sandwiches. Dainty display of bite-size sandwiches, a pleasure to the eyes, not to the taste. The wholemeal bread they have used was slightly hard, not like the usual texture of bread.

The ball of tuna spread was a little too much for the size of bread. Some had too much mayonnaise The one with salmon and a little black caviar was much better.

The durian pengat was thumbs-up. I only took a tablespoon lest the high sugar and fattening dessert gave my waist a boost. Tasted coconut milk in it. My friend actually gave this a miss as he felt the king of the fruits was overly pungent and definitely not palate inducing to him.

The desserts station was a die-die-also-must visit place for me. The small shotglass desserts looked so delicate and delicious. Though not as exquisite as those in the upmarket buffets, they were enough to satisfy my sweet temptations.

Bread pudding with melted vanilla. The bread pudding had a rich milk taste, coupled with swirls of melted chocolate and drizzled with melted vanilla sauce, it was tasty and definitely cushiony.

I didn't take the marshmallows dipped in chocolate fondue but I saw my girl friend popping them into her mouth one after another, the taste of them shouldn't fare any worse.

Apple crumble with blueberry jam and kaya base. I felt it was a pretty weird combination. But the toppest layer of crumble was crunchy.

The financier topped with sweetened walnut wasn't very much to my liking. It wasn't light enough and a tad too dry. However, I liked the mini saucepan alike dish it was served in. So cute!

Waffles baked hot! Choice of fruits, syrup and also ice-cream to add to your waffles. Didn't try out the waffles.

The eclairs were not just chocolate eclairs but the filling cream made of banana and chocolate combined. Banana and chocolate makes a perfect combination in taste and also a double carbohydrate boost. It was quite nice. But I would still prefer my filling cream of chocolate with liqueur rum. Haha.

Praline chocolate cake was another hook-inducing dessert. The dark chocolate mousse was very moist. The feullitine was the crunchiest I have ever tasted.

The walnut cheesecake was delicious too. Not too heavy on the cheese. The walnut added the nutty texture.

The raspberry mousse was quite good. 1 thing I didn't really like was the layer of raspberry jam. Slightly sourish and too much. The mascarpone cheese was velvety smooth.

High-tea buffet cost $29.80+ per pax and opens from 12pm - 4pm.

15 % off for Amex, DBS, HSBC and Citibank card holders.

7th person dines free with every 6 paying adults for UOB card.

For more details, http://www.sheratonsingapore.com/diningroom.html#menu1

For other reviews,

http://sgcake.blogspot.com/2008/10/weekend-high-tea-at-dining-room_25.html

http://www.camemberu.com/2008/03/high-tea-at-sheraton-towers.html

Overall, it was a pretty enjoying meal. Very good ambience. For the price paid and length of time, I felt it was pretty worthwhile. Service was prompt and good.