hi-tea buffet: carousel (royal plaza on scotts)

it's my 3rd aunt's birthday yesterday, so my gift to her this year, is a hi-tea treat at the newly refurbished royal plaza on scotts hotel. i invited my mum and 2nd aunt along too, so it's a rare and cozy ladies-only family meal. reservations were made for hi-tea today at carousel - quite an interesting, asian-mediterranean fusion restaurant. none of us have dined at royal plaza on scotts before, so this is our first, and a nice experience too :)

my mum and aunts are not very adventurous folks when it comes to food, so i know the asian fare is going to be a safe bet for them. hi-tea serves from 3:30 - 5:30pm everyday (S$23.50+++ weekdays/S$28.50+++ weekends).

when we first stepped into the restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised with the wide selection of food for a hi-tea spread. it's almost like what you can get for lunch, just more of finger-food. i really like the ambience - it's spacious, contemporary, colourful... yet at the same time, warm & cozy. we got a table by the window which gave us some sunlight - i like that too.

i'd brought my camera to take pictures of the spread but got so distracted by the food, only managed to snap a few shots of the first 1 - 2 dishes in front of me *lol*. so, sorry for not being able to post more droolicious pictures here :P

reviews: food-wise, i like the wide selection.. the kind where you can just take a tiny piece from each tray and you'd be full by the end of it (no room for repeats). but in terms of taste, i'd say it's pretty average... ok, but not fantastic, mostly local fare eg. laksa, popiah, chicken congee, fried bee hoon, nasi goreng, rojak, gado-gado etc. there's also a small selection of salads, soup, japanese sushi, sashimi and cold noodle... along with savoury pastries, curry samosa, fried crab-cakes, mini chicken pies, quiche, scones, wafers, hot & cold desserts, ice-cream with condiments, cakes & pastries, fruits/chocolate fondue etc. i would have loved to see more meaty stuff (eg. fish, chicken satay, fried chicken drumplets etc.) but i guess i'm happy enough with what i get for hi-tea. oh, do remember that carousel is a halal restaurant, so strictly no pork/no lard.

my favs. today: salmon sashimi, shrimp bisque, laksa, mini chicken pie, chicken char siew puff (char siew soh), bread pudding, vanilla wafer with honey & ice-cream.

service is good: staff are friendly, cheery and attentive - they'd even sing a birthday song on request (a group of 5 - 8 service staff would clap, do a mini acappella and sing their way from the entrance to the diners' table), really cute.

current promotions: 15% discount off total bill for HSBC, UOB, citibank credit card payments.

all in all, a good and happy meal - my guests loved it too :)

other reviews for carousel:
- asia one
- uniquely singapore
- street directory reviews