The Bar & Billiard Room @ Raffles Hotel

Few buffet restaurants in Singapore can boast of a long history like that of the Bar & Billard Room in Raffles Hotel. The room together with the hotel, was build in 1887.




One of the most famous tales was that Singapore's last tiger was shot dead inside the Bar & Billard Room in 1902 .




This is our 2nd time to Bar & Billard Room for their buffet dinner. We were there 10 minutes before the buffet started. And they were strict with the timing as the restaurant only opened their doors at 6:30pm sharp.




This small room used to be the dessert, appetizer and BBQ room, but everything has now been moved to the main restaurant area.




The chilled prawns here are sweet and crunchy. Oysters had a little fishy taste to it. I think I must have ate 10 jumbo chilled prawns.




The bread and butter station is usually the least patronise station in all buffets. Especially in Singapore.




Lot's of hams at the appetizer station.




Various preserved veges and spreads for crackers and bread.




The pasta station was quite good, especially the cream pasta. But remember to remind the chef that you want a small serving, not the normal size pasta.




The mains station. Nothing here is deep fried, all are either baked or stewed items. My favourite is the cod fish dish.




My chilled seafood.




Salmon, cod fish, scallops, ham etc...



Fruits to help digestion.



Lot's of pretty dessert items to choose from.



My all time favourite - Bread & Butter pudding. Please save your stomach for this!



My dessert platter



Ended the emal with complimentary TWG tea or coffee.



In addition, ordered a glass of Zinfandel Rose from the wine menu (not included in the buffet).


The Bar & Billiard Room
1 Beach Road
Raffles Hotel

Snowskin D24 Durian Mooncakes from Home's Favorite

Visiting the Takashimaya Mooncake Fair is a must-do for me every year. Being fond lovers of the thorny fruit, purchasing durian snowskin mooncakes is an annual affair for my family. My search for the best snowskin durian mooncake involved sampling the goods from almost every booth at this year's fair, and of course, trying all the durian mooncakes available heheh! 

It was a tough fight, but the creamier and richer durian pulp filling of Home's Favorite Snowskin Black Durian Mooncake eventually edged out Peony Jade's Organic Pandan Snowskin Mao Shan Wang Durian Mooncake as my top snowskin durian mooncake pick available at the fair. The other top competitor worth mentioning would be Four Seasons Durians' Mao Shan Wang Durian mooncakes.

The main difference between Home's Favorite D24 Durian Mooncake ($50 for four pieces) and its D24 Black Durian Mooncake ($52 for four pieces) is the addition of charcoal powder to the snowskin of the latter. Though the difference between the two mooncakes is subtle, the charcoal powder in the snowskin seems to render the Black Durian Mooncake slightly less sweet and helps to bring out the bitterness of the durian flesh it encases.

Except for it being a little too soft and a bit sticky, I had no complaints about the snowskin. What makes Home's Favorite durian mooncakes a highly addictive affair is the fantastic pure durian pulp filling used. Both D24 and Mao Shan Wang durian mooncakes are available, but only the former was available for sampling at the fair. The D24 durian filling was so luxuriously luscious and punchy, I really wonder how good the Mao Shan Wang durian mooncakes ($68 for four pieces) are going to get!

However, durian mooncake lovers who are picky about the quality of the snowskin might want to go for Peony Jade's durian mooncake, whose melt-in-your-mouth snowskin is bound to please. While less pungent and bitter, its rich durian filling is excellent nonetheless.

This post will feature in Food Bloggers' Potluck #001 and this week's host is Food Prints.