STREET 50 National Day Buffet Highlights

I have reviewed the food at STREET 50 located at Bay Hotel a few times. It is one of the interesting places, a bit out of the way, but usually one which can be depended on for a nice, quiet meal.

For National Day, they have, for only August 9, a special buffet. I was invited to do a tasting of the highlights. Many thanks to Wanzhen of Craft Communications for the invitation and hosting the delightful dinner.

To start off, we had Tiger Prawns with warm ginger sauce

Beautifully fresh tiger prawns were marinaded in ginger juice and steamed. A helping of home made ginger sauce is ladled atop, and served. The prawns were fresh, and crunchy...and had a nice aromatic kick due to the ginger. Simple but delicious.

We then had the experience of the chef's local favourites with a twist...steamed hainanese chicken rice...but served with breaded chicken rice balls.

As can be seen, the chicken is almost bog standard...nicely done, cooked just so...the meat was tender and juicy...and passes muster, but hardly original or interesting. 

What made the dish interesting was instead of just chicken rice balls, a la those served in Malacca and in one restaurant in Square 2, the rice balls, made from chicken rice, was breaded, and lightly fried. The outer crust of the bread crumbs were crispy, and the chicken rice within rich, bursting with flavour, and still very moist. I found the chilli which is made from tomato chutney to be quite piquant and uplifting as well, though like many dishes in this tasting (and earlier tasting) to be a tad sweet...not too sweet, but on the sweet side of neutral. I guess the chef has a predisposition towards a sweet palate.

The next dish blew my mind. Penne with chilli crab sauce

Absolutely my favourite for the evening. The penne was cooked perfectly - al dente, and very nice. The sauce was something else. Sweet, slightly sour and powerfully spicy, with a touch of sweetness. The crab meat added another dimension and a depth to the taste. The dish is prepared a la minute, as pasta dishes should, and definitely a must try.

The spread on the buffet is quite substantial, but these were the highlights. Other dishes on the buffet spread are dishes like braised sea cucumber with baby abalone, fried scallop cake with yam, bak kut teh, Teochew braised duck and their popular durian pengat:

Crepe, like those prepared in a French styled Creperie, wrapping a cold dollop of pure durian, a dash of gula melaka makes this a beautiful dish to was the meal down with a sweet note. 

The National Day Buffet is only for August 9, and is priced at S$49++ for adults with a complimentary Singapore Sling, and for every 3 paying adults, the fourth pays only S$4.90++. Children at S$25++ will come with a complimentary Merlion Swing mocktail.

STREET 50 Restaurant & Bar

Bay Hotel Singapore

50 Telok Blangah Road, Singapore 098828

Tel: +65 6818 6681

Opening Hours: 6am – 4am