PUBLISHED July 26th, 2018 06:00 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 02:00 pm
Oscar’s at Conrad Centennial Singapore is a stalwart in the Singapore hotel buffet dining scene. And despite the competitive hotel dining scene in the area, its popularity doesn’t seem to be waning – at least, not when we visited recently for its Supercharged Sunday Brunch! With a capacity to seat over two hundred people, it’s no surprise that most reservations were by large groups of friends and extended family members.
Available weekly from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, $168++ per adult gets diners free-flow Laurent Perrier Brut, wines, bottled craft beers, as well as craft gin & tonics on top of all the food one can eat at this international buffet. The dry, crisp champagne is vibrantly acidic and food friendly, complementing both the lighter and brighter flavours of Asian dishes and the rich, robust items of the proteins and the cheeses. The only complaint we have about drinks service is that too many bottles are crammed into one bucket such that the bubbly is actually not cold enough.
The fresh seafood bar is eye-catching, with all the ocean’s bounty on ice: mussels, scallops, prawns, Alaskan crab, and a few varieties of oysters (the Irish ones are brinier while the Scottish oysters are creamier). For lobsters though, we suggest skipping those on ice in favour of the American lobsters cooked on the barbecue manned by a chef, across from the a la minute pasta and noodle live station. From here, we recommend the laksa, which is lemak but not too rich. Pro-tip: make your own lobster laksa with the grilled lobster for a really satisfying bowl of noodles.
The outdoor terrace is also where you’ll find another bar stocked with craft beers and gin & tonics. However, instead of Hitachino as advertised, we had a couple of beers from the US (Freshly Squeezed IPA of Deschutes and Founders’ All Day IPA) and Scotland (Brewdog Punk IPA). All well-watered, head back in for the roast meats. The oven roasted US Prime Rib was a well-executed medium rare, they made an effort in providing more atypical accompaniements like tomato mustard and green peppercorn mustard.
The Spanish suckling pig slow-roasted Filipino-style has great crackling and fat that rendered well. We were somewhat surprised by the live stir fried vegetable station next to the meats with fresh mushrooms, Chinese spinach, xiao bai cai, and the like. The chef didn’t bat an eyelid when we requested for our veggies to be fried spicy with bird’s eye chili.
There are other stations of course. The soup maker in me was surprised at the flavour profile of the Chinese-style Chicken & Bittergourd soup (and wondering how to recreate it at home), the Peranakan end with DIY kueh pie tee, a small but curated selection of cold cuts and cheese, and a massive dessert counter. Before moving on to the perfunctory sweets treats, try Oscar’s adorable attempt to be healthful in the midst of all the indulgence. Their Healthy Blitz is a sweet yet not overly cloying blend of fruit and health foods – pomegranate seeds and powder, lucama powder, and leatherwood honey. The other counter held a concoction of avocado, chia seeds, and yet another type of honey.
Long story short: is Oscar’s Supercharged Sunday Brunch worth it? Yes, if you’re already looking for a free-flow brunch with good non-vintage champagne in a more laid-back and relaxed setting, without having to get overly gussied up. We’re not sure if summer holidays were a factor but it did seem more popular with families compared to other places we’ve reviewed!
Oscar’s is located at Level 1, Conrad Centennial Singapore, 2 Temasek Boulevard, Singapore 038982. Sunday brunch is available 12.30pm-3.30pm.
Food and drink images courtesy of Sylvester Fedor.