Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Hotel’s free-to-join dining loyalty programme, Dining Society, I was able to enjoy a complimentary birthday buffet dinner at Melt Cafe (the voucher could be redeemed two weeks before or after my actual birthday). This was an awesome perk at that point of sign-up but sadly, they have since revised their programme benefits, including the removal of this privilege.
As my husband joined me for dinner that evening, he had to pay for his share but thankfully with an added discount of 15% from my Dining Society membership. Given our previous experience during breakfast here back in 2021, I specifically requested for an indoor table to avoid the bird mayhem we witnessed that time.
- Our order:
- Wagyu beef dinner buffet for 2
- Spent: SGD$93.50
There were different sections of seating spaces to choose from in a generally comfy restaurant setting. The staff assigned to our section was quite on the ball with clearing our finished plates. He was polite and professional as well (I think his name was Yves?). With that said, I felt that service as a whole was average as most staff don’t really acknowledge you until you need something.
The theme for that month was wagyu beef, so there were a plethora of beef-inspired dishes amongst the already mind-bogglingly wide variety of items. In addition, there was fresh seafood like oysters, lobsters, prawns, clams and such. The crab claws were juicy and sweet while the lobsters were cooked pretty well (neither rubbery nor powdery). We helped ourselves to a whole bunch of fresh salmon sashimi too.
I would definitely recommend the soups as well. The truffle scent from the wild mushroom soup came through quite prominently and the double-boiled chicken soup was hearty and comforting (reminded me of the delicious chicken soup we had at Conrad Hotel’s Oscar’s Restaurant). As for the wagyu beef sliders, I liked the medium rare patties that were nicely seasoned.
Most of the larger desserts were really yummy, such as the bread and butter pudding, tiramisu, mango cake and waffles (loved this eggy, slightly chewy batter). The signature chocolate cake was delightfully moist too but alas, it was a tad too sweet and heaty for me. As for the petite desserts, I’d say it’s fine to give it a miss if you’re running out of stomach space.
The rest of the food we tried was okay but didn’t particularly impress. I did find the taste of the papadum cigar pretty interesting as I wasn’t expecting to taste such a strong medley of spices on my palate. Although rather disconcerting initially as I wasn’t used to papadum tasting like that, it started to grow on me after a few more mouthfuls, plus it was a lot less oily as well (:
My overall rating of the experience: 4 out of 5 stars. I thought it was a generous gesture to provide members of their Dining Society loyalty programme a complimentary birthday buffet dinner, but I suppose all good things must come to an end (‘: My husband and I had a great time trying out the different dishes from the staggering spread, with a decent number of them being memorably delectable. It was refreshing to see a few non-standard items for a change as well, like the exotic-tasting papadum cigar. I do think service staff could afford to be warmer and more welcoming but other than that, our experience this time was much better than the one we had at breakfast during our last stay.
If this post helped you in some way and you’d like to buy me a coffee, I’d be incredibly grateful (:
Dania Experiences 