Taiwanese Themed Buffet at Holiday Inn Atrium [Halal] | Food Review

All thanks to Mister for showing me the video on Facebook on this curated Taiwanese themed Dinner buffet from now till 1 April 2022 at Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium. After changing our reservation twice due to unforeseen circumstances (a very bad week to begin March) 费尽周折, we finally made it for the buffet! I can't be more grateful. Let me enjoy this one okay?

I miss Taiwan so much and anything Taiwanese is YES FOR STELLA!!!

Highlights of this Taiwanese Themed Buffet:

• Taiwanese Oyster Mee Sua
• Taiwanese Style Grilled Beef Cubes with Garlic
• Taiwanese XXL Fried Chicken
• Spicy Taiwanese Pepper Prawns
• Taiwanese Style 3 Cup Fish
• Taiwanese Taro and Sweet Potato Dessert

First of all, let's talked about this hotel. I remembered we have been there before during kiddos' time and it was known as The Glass Hotel (now known as Holiday Inn Atrium). My uncle stayed there after coming back from work in China or don't know from where (if I remember correctly). We took the lift (as seen in the 2nd pic) and went to his room with my cousins and even took a photo at the lobby (the position seems to be the 3rd pic). I think we still have that old photo at my parents' house. 

Funny thing is my grandparents' house is just so near, probably 10 mins (between hotel and house). I don't know what reasons but it was fun and back then my bro was still small.

The external look hasn't changed much over the years since the 90s.

So let's move on to the buffet. Atrium Restaurant located at the 4th storey. It is a Halal-certified restaurant so to my Muslim readers (if I have), add this to your dining list. When we were there at 1pm, I could see not much of patrons and especially when it was a weekend. Thanks and no thanks to Covid.

I think it has been a long time since we had buffet and this Covid period, we order the food we want and get serve instead of going around and grab the food we want. I observed the pros and cons.

Pros: The portion you order is quite a small portion which is just enough for 1 pax (or probably 1 bite). So you don't waste food if you don't like. Just 1 or 2 bites, you clear your plate and move on to next dish and never order the one you don't like again. This helps in reducing food wastage. I like and I will not over-eat or just share with Mister. 👍

Cons: You waste papers because you order on a small slip and just pass to the server. If you keep eating, you keep filling up the slip. How many papers waste? Or how many trees are killed? Yes you try your best to order one shot but you can't predict what you crave for next. You definitely order more to make your money worth. Depends on stomach capacity lah. 👎

Taiwanese Themed Highlights

The first thing to do is ordering all the Taiwanese Themed food to try first and followed by the rest. That is why we are here for. To start with the Oyster Mee Sua which wasn't flavourful enough and Mister said it was quite garlicky. And 3-Cup Fish was mediocre. No wow factor. 

Mister liked the Grilled Beef Cubes and we ordered twice. But where the garlic though? Bite texture was good. I remembered the last time we travelled to Taipei for a short holiday in 2019, we chanced by a stall near our stay Rainbow Hotel inside Ximending. They torched the beef cubes. Wow... 

I liked the XXL Fried Chicken with the spice powder over it, although it looked a little pathetic here with just 2 slices (1 portion mah). Is it just me or because I long time never had Taiwanese XXL Fried Chicken outside? If possible, fry it a little longer for the crispiness but not overdo it.

The Spicy Taiwanese Pepper Prawns could be better but I must say the prawns quite fresh. Loved those Salt and Pepper 椒盐 type of dishes especially on prawns. And I'm quite particular on prawns. It has to be fresh.

Move on to non-Taiwanese Themed.

Ordered Mutton and Chicken Satays (only these 2 choices) that came with cucumber, onions and ketupat. Okay the satay passed the flavour test though not the best (I like it more charred). Can I suggest that the satay not drizzled with the sauce and should serve on the side to let us decide whether to dip or not.

Salmon is a must order for Omega 3 dosage. Ordered twice and we enjoyed it. Mister said the wasabi wasn't spicy or 呛鼻. But didn't matter because I loved having it on its own.

Just part of the buffet spread we ordered. I'm just trying to prove Mister that I can have buffets. Because I'm usually a buffet waster. Always choose the cheap ones like fried or cooked food instead of seafood or expensive stuff. This time I tried to have better ones (other than those Taiwanese themed) like salmon sashimi, beef, scallops, prawns and so on. Okay honestly their variety of food very limited but tell me lah, how much can you have? This is good enough for us at least.

Share my thoughts about their Sushi of the Day, Soup of the Day and anything with 'of the Day'. Either you make effort to ask what's the 'xx of the Day' or you leave as a surprise when it is served. I'm the latter and so I got Sushi of the Day which I didn't like at all (corn with mayo on top of sushi rice) and Hot Dessert of the Day which I liked (Green Bean Soup). So wanna try your luck, be like me.

CHEF'S SIGNATURE

Really a decent 1 pax portion for the Chicken Rice and Laksa. Let's talk about Chicken Rice first. The rice could be more fragrance. Probably we are on the heavier taste bud side. The chicken meat was a little tough. If you like garlicky taste, they gave a spoonful of minced garlic on top of the meat. Enhance the taste with their chilli should do the trick. No soup or dark sauce given. So you might wanna ask if there is. Asking doesn't need money. For us, we just make do with it.

Next up, the Laksa. Served in thick beehoon along with shelled prawns, fishcakes, tau pok and quail eggs. I liked it because it isn't diluted and you get that coconut taste. 👍👍👍 A decent bowl to enjoy.

Popiah was decent, short and fat cute one.

Mister found the plain prata nice. Lol... according to Mister, he said their Dhal Curry has mustard seeds that brought a little bitter taste to it. It was good but could be less diluted. 1 pax portion by the way. Hey he loves curry and cooks them at home when he has the form. See is to believe. Watch the video below and you will know.

Dessert time! Ordered Hot Dessert of the Day which was Green/Red Bean Soup. 👍👍 Then the butter cake and pandan cake were good too. Not very dry. And lastly, Taiwanese Taro and Sweet Potato Dessert. No sweet potato lei. Grass jelly, red beans and taro. Taste more like eating chendol. Or am I having Chendol? The taro not springy (QQ) enough. Kind of disappointed. Or did they bring me the wrong thing? Bring me to Taiwan soon, okay?

Ended our lunch with some cut fruits. Already full to the brim. But fruits still a must every meal. The pineapple so juicy that Mister kept spitting out the juice unintentionally.

Ordered their Cafe Latte and Cappuccino since included in the price. Some other drinks need additional money. Oops... too stingy to spend extra. But I'm okay with Latte. And they provide drinking water on each table too.

From now till 1 Apr 2022, if you wanna have a piece of Taiwan feel, you can make your reservation for lunch or dinner at their website and select Taiwanese Themed Buffet. Apart from the Taiwanese highlights, there are also others like Western, Japanese, Indian cuisines to indulge. Plus 50% off for adults only. Why not right? Some more is Halal Certified restaurant. Enjoy people!

Holiday Inn Atrium

Location: 317 Outram Road

Disclaimer: All the above were paid by writer. Not sponsored post. All reviews are based on writer's preference and taste bud and does not represent anyone else other than herself, sometimes her Mister too.