Melts my tummy

Guess what? My 2nd buffet, not too far from the 1st! :)

This time, it was a double date. Me and P, P's mom and dad. We decided on Melt - The World Café at the stylish Oriental Hotel as P and I have read many good reviews about the place and it was touted the 2006 Restaurant of the Year by some magazine (source to be confirmed "chuckles").

We were warmly greeted at the entrance and given a brief tour of the cafe. The tour was a good planning opportunity as we strategised how we wanted to work our way round the cafe. First up, the "cold" section - coz it was right in front of our table. We heaped our plates with baby lobster, fresh prawns, mussels, oysters and sashimi, yummy! The lobster flesh was a tad soft but the prawns were succulent and sweet!

There was a wide array of Asian food - mostly local, Thai and Indian, a small section for Western, and outdoor for BBQ. I particularly enjoyed the tender duck breast meat infused with fruit essence, and the Thai basil chicken was simple yet delightful. The BBQ was mediocre, but I did not have high expectations as BBQ food usually turn out too dry for my liking. We skipped the local delights section totally - seafood soup, char kuay teow and satay were too ordinary! In fact, I would suggest they scrap this section totally, just a waste of good space.

What impressed me most was the last section - desserts! My my! This time, we loaded our plates with the exquisite cakes and jelly concoctions in delightful colours! One clear, innocuous-looking jelly adorned with a small slice of orange, tasted suspiciously like tequila-pop jelly! I almost gagged tasting that one - I hate tequila! And then there was waffle with vanilla and chocolate ice-cream, which is my all-time feel-good food, a disappointing chocolate fondue (allo, milk chocolate is sooo uncool!), durian pengat (though not as good as the Merchant Court one), ice-kachang etc etc. For fruits, make sure you ask for mango. It's not pre-cut and displayed like the rest of the fruits, but if you ask, they'll cut it fresh for you.

All in all, a truly gastronomical experience, made all the more pleasant by the excellent service provided by the staff. We were greeted everywhere we went, used plates were promptly cleared and the service staff even fold your napkins as you walk away from your table!