Between the breakfast buffet here and cheap local hawker food at the Lau Pa Sat Festival Market next door, we’d rather step out of the hotel and save some money.
If you’re staying here into a weekend or public holiday, breakfast options may be sparse with the central business district shut. Of course, there’s the breakfast buffet at the hotel’s Xperience Restaurant. Given the hotel’s limited size, we weren’t expecting an especially large buffet spread. Its price however didn’t seem to reflect any discount for the limited variety, raising our hopes that it would be made up for by quality. No such luck. Some hotel restaurants get around their lack of space by placing items on a menu to be made-to-order. The Xperience Restaurant did this but only for its egg dishes. These included eggs Benedict, but we should say that we got ours fully set and no longer runny. Having finished our tasting quicker than usual with no desire for second helpings, we’d suggest having breakfast elsewhere.
We review anonymously and pay for everything. All opinions expressed here are our own and all information is correct as of our last stay or visit and subject to change without notice.
Our excitement at seeing a little menu waiting for us at the table quickly gave way to disappointment when we realised it was just for the live egg station. Still, it included eggs Benedict so we gave it a shot. This arrived with its yolk almost fully set and barely runny, the ham thin, the Hollandaise sauce insipid, and the English muffin burnt. Horrified, we ordered an omelette, only to find it browned dry, verging on burnt, with little of its promised cheese filling inside.
We’d suggest sticking to the basics in the buffet spread. We liked the texture and seasoning on the chicken chipolata sausages and the hash browns — which were more like tater tots — were crispy on the outside and soft inside. The roasted potatoes weren’t bad either — a little sweet inside — while the sautéed mushrooms and grilled tomatoes were inoffensive. The seemingly bland barley compound salad was also surprisingly packed with flavour from its little bits of red peppers.
This was a far better choice than the brown rice compound salad next to it, which was hard and seemed undercooked. Also on the hard side: the roasted carrots. We weren’t fans of the pork bacon either, which didn’t have much fat or crisp.
The Asian food selection wasn’t much better either. The chicken siew mai was overseasoned and didn’t seem fresh while the skins on the “har gow” dumplings — which were filled with radish and dried shrimp — were thick and mushy. We had high hopes for the roasted chicken but it was dry and its skin lacked crisp. The fried kway teow was also a little burnt and very salty. The dish of Chinese sautéed vegetables was somewhat better but even then its broccoli seemed to be on the raw side.
We wouldn’t recommend the roti prata either — it was soggy and its accompanying vegetable curry salty. Like the brown rice compound salad, the nasi lemak seemed undercooked and hard. As for the live noodle station serving mee siam, the thin broth and barely cooked vegetables also made this a no for us.
What can we recommend? We thought the kaya bao was the best item here, with its generous moist filling and soft bread. The thick and soft congee was also a safe — if plain — choice, though the condiment selection was limited and nothing exciting.
We’d skip the bread and butter pudding which seemed a little congealed. The custard donuts and pancakes were safer choices, though we thought the crepes were a little powdery.
The croissants weren’t the best we’ve had either but didn’t let the hotel’s French branding down too much — they were buttery, soft inside, and a little crispy outside. The pain au chocolat wasn’t as buttery but packed a good kick of chocolate.
Instead, it was the custard turnover that stood out for us, its custard heart wrapped in flaky and crispy pastry. The cherry custard twist, while better balanced by the sugar and acidity from its fruit, was not as good in terms of its pastry. Still, it was a better choice than the cinnamon swirls (hard) or the marble cake (dry).
35 Robinson Rd, Singapore 068898
+65 6701 6800
https://www.sofitel-so-singapore.com/wine-dine/xperience-restaurant/
