Hello y'all! Did you miss me (or specifically, my rants on this blog?) I hope you did~
Well recently, my weekends are constantly being burnt because of you-know-which-evil-organization that doesn't believe in letting people rest on weekends. So much for 5 days work week right? Oh well, at least the rest of the month's weekends are free - or at least I hope they stay that way.
Anyway, yesterday, I went to Vivo City to have lunch at "Carnivore"! Heard that they are quite well known for their roasted meats and that the experience is really unique so I decided to bring Alvin there for his birthday treat. Another reason is because he's pretty much a carnivore too. :)
And as always, loads of pictures... Feast your eyes!! (pun intended)
Located on the first storey of Vivo City, Carnivore sits in a pretty isolated place from the bustling shopping center and therefore, you can be promised that peaceful dining experience. Well, probably not that peaceful when it's a weekend plus the restaurant's Brazilian music but it's still acceptable. Oh yes~ Carnivore's like an All-You-Can-Eat restaurant and they really challenge you (or just me?) to eat all you can! Obviously, I KO-ed pretty fast. I'm not born for buffets...
When you enter the restaurant, you are greeted with a small salad bar filled with an assorted selections of fruits, soup, salads, pasta and other random but nice looking food. Well decorated, no?
Yesterday, beetroots were on the menu and I still remember the days when I was in US and my friends would constantly spam beetroots at the salad bar because to him, it's heavenly but to me, it just looks scary. I don't really like food in weird colors but if you like something sweet, beetroots are for you. They also have colesaw, this green pea salad (not my favorite kind of green pea though) and pasta salads. Quite nice~
Honestly, when you stay at the restaurant long enough, you'll realize that the selection isn't that huge but I guess it's acceptable. So far, the best buffet I ever had was in US because the selection is MASSIVE! No Singapore buffet actually matched that huge variety yet but again, Asians are not made for buffets, right? See those greens? I think I ate a lot of those... :P
Now in case you're wondering "WHERE THE HELL IS THE MEAT?", calm your inner lion down. The meats are not served on the buffet table. When we got our seat, the staff gave us these round cards to place at the edge of the table to indicate if we want their staff to bring us any meat or not. So if you want meat, show them the green side and if you need a break from the oily goodness, show them the red side. Yes, the discs are 2-sided.
One of the disadvantage of this system is that you have to keep an eye on what the staff is bringing out on this huge skewer. The photo above's a bit dark but I'll show you a better photo later. So while having your meal, you need to open your eyes huge to target at the meat you want - almost like playing a game if you asked me. But if you want to try every single thing, show them the green card and be assured that they will definitely serve you.
Broy's tip on a healthier buffet - start with the salads! At least that's what my bestest friend and I did when we entered the restaurant. My logic is that you have the salad first so you have something in your stomach and you won't tend to overeat. Actually, it kinda failed because I overate eventually because I had 2 buffets in a day but that's for later in this post. Some of my friends actually call me stupid because I like to eat all the cheaper food at the buffet and some even said if they open a buffet restaurant, they would love customers like me. Evil~
Roasted pineapples! Apparently, their roasted pineapples are what attract people to this restaurant. This fruit dish may be simple but it's really sweet and juicy~ Really refreshing! Best to have it when you're almost done with your meal because it helps to refresh your mouth a little from all the meat. This is my favorite photo of the day, by the way.
In case you haven't realized, photos in this entry aren't placed in chronological order. This is what I had first - salad with sausages. Of course, you get to mix and match what you want in your salad so this is how I did it.
Tip: If you want to dine at Carnivore and you are on a budget, say no if they offer you iced tea or anything else other than plain water because this glass of normal tasting tea costed me S$6!! Perverted no?! Guess the restaurant stuck to All-You-Can-Eat as opposed to All-You-Can-Drink. So misleading! At least tell the customers that you have to pay separately
lah~
Round 2 of salad... :P
The meats. They serve an array of different roasted goodies but a lot of them are really greasy and fatty. Honestly, I wouldn't say they are the best because they are so oily they kinda hinder your ability to taste, making a lot of the stuff taste very similar. The sausages are nice though, probably because it's seasoned differently. Just by looking at the shininess on the sausage and plate is enough to tell you how fattening this meal was.
Lamb, chicken, fish, beef, etc~ The first few slices of these taste quite okay but the more you eat, the scarier it becomes because it's so overwhelming! Even carnivorous Alvin said it's a bit scary, let alone the person who eats more veggies than meat - ME! But if you really love your meats, then go for it!
Well in terms of the pricing, I would say that Carnivore isn't something that you want to have every weekend because during weekends, it costs around S$33+ per person, not inclusive of the drinks which shouldn't be very economical-friendly. Think it's only meant for a once in a blue moon treat or just a once in a lifetime experience.
In terms of service, I would say that the staff are extremely friendly and careful with their knives and skewers. They serve generous portions as well. Unfortunately, the food is mediocre because of all the oil and fat that numbs your taste buds, making everything taste the same. Guess I won't be going back there in the near future... Gosh the calories... :(
Now, let's take a break from all the oil and look at something that's much lusher and green. This banana tree is located just outside Swissotel: Merchant Court. After having lunch at Carnivore, I went to visit Vera and Aik Hin at their crepe stall by the Singapore River (will feature this in another post!). Stayed around for awhile before heading to my father's van to head off to yet another buffet. Saw this banana tree and took a picture of it~ :P
If you followed me on Twitter, you would have seen that I tweeted something like "So full I can die". Yes!! Imagine a small eater like me having buffets twice in a row consecutively! My stomach didn't even have the time to digest those greasy food and I'm thrown into another challenge.
Anyway, dinner was at this new restaurant just beside Tan Tock Seng Hospital - Oasia Hotel. Really cool looking hotel with excellent interior design. My sister bought these coupons which allowed us to eat at this buffet for S$19.90 each! Cool~ Original price is like 50 something if I'm not mistaken.
Photo above is what I started off with - salad again. I was extremely bloated even during dinner and I can't just waste the money and go to the restaurant just to sit there and look cute right? So I attempted to stuff more food down my throat and since veggies are easier to swallow, I took these. Plus salmon, of course. :D
Due to the fact that I was so bloated, I didn't really want to move around to take photos of food (In fact, when I saw food, I was a little terrorized~) so I just took some at the table. This buffet serves lots of great food though. Cheese, bread, Chinese food, salads, desserts, roasted meat (again), fruits, etc. In fact, I think this buffet is quite healthy with the selection of fruits and vegetables being so attractive. They even have a bar specially for sashimi and you can get the chef to prepare this gorgeous sashimi spread for you. The wasabi leaves look like play-dough, no? :P
Like they always say, there's always room for dessert and obviously, I did stuff my face with some of these sweet goodies. The desserts are marvelous and they actually made me slightly more comfortable because it reminds me of the taste of sweetness as opposed to grease and oil and fats. Ugh! Highly recommend the chocolate mousse in the small glass because it's made of dark chocolate but it isn't disgustingly bitter. The mango agar agar in the tall glass is also a treat! Noticed I took 2 of everything? I shared it with Vera so yes... I'm not that greedy.
They also serve lots of tropical fruits like rambutans and mangosteens. Too bad I didn't get a chance to grab the mangosteen because this greedy uncle Orang Utan took them all! :( They also serve apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries (yes!!), grapes, etc. Vera thought that the bowl of fruits at the salad bar was just for decoration but I proved her wrong when I went to take the strawberries. First buffet I've ever been to which serve fresh fruits! Thumbs up!!
Notice the crackers and cheese on the plate? This is also the first buffet that I've seen to serve a selection of cheese, including those cartoon Swiss cheese with holes, with a variety of breads and crackers. Interesting spread, no? I tried the cheese with crackers and it rocks~ Really interesting~
Vera's mini-salad which she had after having her meats. Come to think of it, I only had a few slices of salmon, some lamb because it was served with a salad and some chicken because I was so sick of meat during dinner.
Leon and his dessert which I think he ate all by himself. Fatty...
Vera enjoying her chocolate mousse. I want another one!!
I would recommend this buffet over the Carnivore one simply because it's so much healthier and probably cheaper? At least you get to try something else other than non-stop meat. The Oasia buffet is also the first that I've seen to focus so much on fruits and vegetables to encourage people to take more fiber than protein and I say it's a huge thumbs up! Call me a health freak, I don't care but I rather get sick of eating veggies than meat because veggies don't make people fat.
After dinner, we walked around the hotel to check out the swimming pool which I did take a picture of but the photo is so dark and uninteresting so I'm not going to upload it. But I did take a photo of this really scary person...
Nick stood above the light shining from the floor and because it was so dark there, it cast lots of interesting shadows on his chubby body and face. His cheeks are so huge that it cast a shadow over his eyes~ Scary!! Looks like some Japanese ghost~ He should audition for Ju-On next time~
Being the evil eldest brother that I am, throughout dinner, I had been trying to take photos of Nick's big tummy and I finally got a chance to do so when I caught him unguarded in the elevator. His stomach's so huge!! :P
Well that's the end of this entry. Maybe I shall start working on the next entry featuring
Crepezee Crepe, Aik Hin's and Vera's crepe store at the Singapore Food Festival starting from July 15 - July 24. Do go down to support them. Information at their Facebook event page above!!
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