Colony at Ritz-Carlton Millenia: Throwback buffet review

Above image: Abundant sunlight. Streaming through high ceilings. At the grand entrance of Colony at Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore

Backstory #Throwback

This is my #throwback post to the buffet at Colony at Ritz-Carlton Millenia, that I had… ONE YEAR AGO. *facepalm*

As a blogger, there will inevitably be the occasional post or two that you keep MEANING to write about… but somehow other posts/life takes over… and before you know it, a year as passed and you never got to write that blog entry that you REALLY meant to do so.

This is one of those posts.

(sorry folks, I do work full-time, sometimes overtime, and have two small children – it’s a miracle I’m even blogging),

Anyway, a year ago, with a close friend – who’s birthday happens to fall on Valentine’s Day. we had the most wonderful meal there. At that time, I didn’t know, that it would be the very LAST buffet we’d have before covid-19 restrictions kicked in and changed the Singapore buffet landscape forever.

Round sofa seats, Colony at Ritz-Carlton Millenia

Colony at Ritz-Carlton Millenia

The place itself is beautiful – high ceilings with such ample natural lighting, with the furniture a neutral colour tone palette.

The seating options are either a more rounded sofa seat area (for larger groups; alternatively families with small children may find it useful) or the typical table-and-chair layouts.

Standard Table Seating

Menu

The menus can be downloaded from Colony’s main website right here.

The cuisine is divided into several sections, namely, the Ice Bar (with seafood and cold starters), the Grill and Rotisserie, the Steam Basket, the Wok (local favourites), the Tandoor (Indian selections), a Fruit Stall and the Patisserie (Desserts).

The options for drinks was a wow factor in itself.

Freshly squeezed juices aside, there’s also local drinks such as milo, ice lemon tea and teh tarik. Not pictured: gourmet coffee (e.g. caffe latte, cappucino) and tea options

 Before covid-19 kicked in, patrons could freely roam about and pick whatever they wanted off the buffet table. Currently, as far as I understand, servers would instead bring your chosen items to the table instead.

Seafood, Sandwiches, Starters

The dining area had two main geographical areas – in the outer, more brightly lit area, a gastronomy of starters, cheeses, sandwiches and desserts graced the area. (There is a more inner part of the restaurant with dimmer lighting, but we’ll get to that later).

Seafood on Ice

Sashimi selections

Bright and cheery – the salad bar was so colourful, even non-vegetable lovers would feel happy at just how aesthetically pleasing it all is.

Do-it-yourself salad bar

With premium olive oils, balsamic vinegar and salad dressings

There was also a sandwich bar – we could either help ourselves to the ready-made sandwiches (smoke salmon, tuna, or beef pastrami), or create our own sandwich.

Sandwich Bar

Of course, there were cold cuts and cheeses on display – practically a requirement for any high-end hotel buffet. 

Cold cuts of ham and salami and smoked meats

Left to Right: Mixed Greens, Mushroom with Capsicum salad, Capsicum with Feta Cheese salad

Local Delights

In many places, the local dishes in a buffet section can seem like an afterthought – after all, there tends to be the perception that one can get local favourites cheaply in hawker centers anyway. But in Colony at Ritz-Carlton Millenia, the local options were actually enticing – the huge variety and quality is truly worth boasting about.

Assortment of Malay Kuih

I mean, where else can you find a Rojak station, with ingredients customized to your preference?

Rojak Station

Of course, there were local chinese options too.

Steamed options – dumpling, siew mai, har gow, pau (buns)

Located in the inner portion of the restaurant were the heavier main-dish items. For example – check out the very amazing noodle and laksa bar.

Noodle and Laksa bar

Some may say that we are crazy to come to a hotel to have a bowl of laksa, but the one here is really good. Flavourful without being overly thick, the coconut-soupy spicy goodness is best taken on a cold rainy day. Depending on your personal taste, it possibly rivals the one at Rose Veranda, Shangri-La. 

(However, my favourite hotel Laksa is still the Laksa Lemak at Crossroads Cafe at Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel Singapore – read here for more pictures and reviews).

Colony Singapore Laksa

It was hard to capture everything on camera – there were woks of other chinese zhi char style items. 

Wok and Pot options: Soup, Fried Rice, Fried Noodles

I call this the ‘carbohydrate intensive section’ – even the meats are battered and fried.

Battered Fish

I mean, how can a person possibly eat it all?

Bits of Fish and Meat partitioned out

Not to mention the Roast meats section – with local Chicken Rice, Duck Rice or Pork Rice. It shares the same counter with the Pasta, but at this point the lines between food zones have been blurred, so yeap just try and enjoy whatever it is.

Spot the Roasted Meats

Western: Grill and Rotisserie

Walk into the Western food section, and it’s really easy to get distracted by the giant table of bread.

Assorted Breads

But once you get past the bread table, the glorious western mains emerge…

Grilled Lamb Chops

Rotisserie Spring Chicken

Pear-Infused Soya Brased Beef

Pan-Seared King Salmon with Citrus Butter Sauce

I tried all of them and everything was tender, well-flavoured, and cooked to perfection. It’s hard to pick a favourite – I’d say go for any animal (cow, lamb, fish, chicken) that appeals to your senses.

Or, if animal / meat doesn’t sit well with the diner, one can simply go for side dishes.

Sides – Greens, Mushroom Soup, Mashed Potato, Potato Wedges

A noteworthy mention would be the Summer Vegetable Grain. 

Summer Vegetable Gratin

Flavoured Margarita style, with basil pesto, quattro cheese,and truffle mushroom, this is best eaten with baguette or a piece of bread – grab some from the bread table!

Another noteworthy mention – the pasta section has the option of squid ink pasta. Personally, I like it with seafood.

Seafood Squid Ink (Negro) Black Pasta

The pasta was the surprising favourite of the day – cooked al dente to just the right texture, and sauteed with a seafood and clams mix – every bite was a taste of ocean. Totally unexpected in a good way.

What can I say? Guess that carbohydrates are the way to go. 😛

Dessert: The Patisserie

Patisserie: Defined as a style of baking that usually ends up with small designer cakes. 

Desserts on Display

Some of these were too pretty to eat.

At the Colony at Ritz-Carlton, one really MUST save space for dessert. There’s a reason why it’s called ‘sweet-endings’ – leaving this place without having dessert feels like a crime.

Assorted Chocolate

Italian Gelato

My Indulgence

Overall Thoughts

Service here was impeccable, the presentation and quality of the food top-notch. Even the simple items – such as Malay Kuih or Pasta – it feels like they were thoughtfully created, and made with pride. I cannot find fault with this place at all.

Folks who know me will agree that I almost always dine out with amazing discounts. Usually, with the (i) American Express Love Dining Programme, I can dine up to 50% off. And (ii) using the Entertainer App by HSBC, there’s the deal of one-for-one mains.

But there is a downside to all this – when one is so USED to getting huge discounts, it becomes ALMOST habitual to shun places that don’t offer similar perks. Compared to the 50% off offered by Amex Love Dining, here, Standard Chartered or Citibank credit card holders only receive 15% off the total bill.

(Admittedly, with this must-get-discount mentality – it may come at the risk of missing out on good places, but that’s another story).

That being said, there ARE places that are so good that I’m willing to dine in even without any discounts or perks. One example is L’Espresso at Goodwoork Park Hotel.

The Colony at Ritz-Carlton Millenia IS also one of them.

10/10 highly recommend it without reservation.

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