CLOVE’s popular international buffet makes a comeback with a refreshed menu line-up featuring exciting new live stations, fresh seafood on ice, plant-based options and many more!
Located at Swissôtel The Stamford hotel, the glasshouse-esque restaurant is really spacious with high ceilings and clear windows that let in lots of natural sunlight that adds to the vibe of your dining experience. But bear in mind that it can get a little warm especially in the afternoon when the daylight hits the restaurant space directly.
At a glance, CLOVE offers quite a wide variety of items of varying cuisines; though their fresh seafood or carved meat selection is not as extensive as other seafood/meat-centric buffets, they make up for it in other ways, especially with their unique live stations.
Our favourite out of all the items also happens to be the highlight of CLOVE’s refreshed buffet line-up: the CLOVE Style Truffle Bak Chor Mee Live Station. If you’ve wondered what it’s like to be a hawker, you’ll definitely have loads of fun at this station DIY-ing your own perfect bowl of bak chor mee! Simply pick your favourite noodle (mee pok or mee kia) and toppings (fish roe balls, prawns, mussels and beanspouts), add them to boiling water and cook till your desired al dente texture!
Add the truffle-infused braised minced pork, lard, fried onions and spring onions, and voila—you have yourself a bowl of bak chor mee that’s comparable to those you get at hawker centers! You can have your bak chor mee dry or with soup, and the soup is also pretty unique, more of a herbal soup instead of your usual pork broth. Our only gripe with this is that the truffle aroma/flavour could be more apparent; other than that, it was a solid and comforting bowl of bak chor mee.
Another highlight from CLOVE’s refreshed menu is their plant-based Barley Risotto served with grilled pumpkin. This one’s a good option for vegetarians: the barley gave a nice bite while the vegan cheese lended the creamy texture, though this was personally a little bland for us and could do with more flavour. The CLOVE Style Gnocchi Arrabbiata was much more flavourful and the gnocchi was cooked perfectly, but we would’ve liked it if it were a little more saucy.
CLOVE’s other local dishes are also quite spot on and authentic tasting, such as the Braised Pork Belly, Poached Sakura Chicken, Kopitiam Style Assam Snapper and Smoked Duck Fried Rice. They also have an Indian selection with Briyani rice, Butter Chicken and more; as well as an International section with Black Mussel White Wine, Mac & Cheese and Broiled Seabass.
If you’re more into seafood, they have a modest selection of seafood on ice: Cooked Prawns, Half Shell Scallops, Mussels and Venus Clams; as well as salmon sashimi and an assortment of sushi. Do give their salad bar, fresh bread selection, charcuterie and cheese selection a try as well for something a little lighter on the stomach.
We actually quite enjoyed the dessert selection, with a good mix of sweets, gelato (with assorted toppings!), traditional Nyonya Kuehs and fresh fruit. Must trys desserts include the Black Sesame Genoa, Cocoa Chocolate Bean and Muscat Fruit Salad. We especially liked how the desserts were just right in terms of sweetness, not cloyingly sweet—truly a great end to a sumptuous feast.
CLOVE’s International Buffet prices are as follows:
Lunch – $68/adult, $34/child
Dinner – $78/ adult, $39/child
In terms of value-for-money, though the buffet items offered are not the most novel or luxurious, $68 per pax is quite a good price point as you get to enjoy a wide variety of cuisines and food items, plus get some hands-on action at the live stations.
CLOVE
Ambience: 4/5
Food/Drinks: 3.5/5
Service: 3/5
Price: $$
Worth a visit: Family-friendly, affordable buffet spread with lots of variety!
Address: Hotel Swissôtel The Stamford, 2 Stamford Rd, Singapore 178882
Opening Hours: Monday-Friday, 12pm-2.30pm & 6pm-10pm; Saturday, 12.30pm-3pm & 6pm-10pm; Sunday, 12.30pm-3pm
