Food Exchange @ Novotel Singapore on Stevens – Beautiful Decorations but Lousy Food

I have been to quite a few buffet restaurants in Singapore, but I have never heard of Food Exchange @ Novotel Singapore on Stevens until I was there a week ago for a colleague’s farewell dinner. 

I did a search on Google and I was very impressed by the grand decorations of the restaurant. I went with great expectations, but I was sorely disappointed. 

Food Exchange @ Novotel Singapore on Stevens is supposed to be an international buffet restaurant, but I only saw Chinese, Indian and Japanese cuisine.

I like to start my meal with the seafoods but this has got to be the most dismal-looking seafood spread I have ever seen in an international buffet. There are just prawns, mussels and clams, there’s not even an oyster to be seen.

The salad station is housed on a separate counter opposite the seafood. There are an assortment of greens and 5 salad dressings to choose from.

The main buffet section is at the back of the restaurant atop a beautiful u-shaped marble counter.

The left side of the front section serves speciality dish of the day which happens to be Laksa. You can choose what ingredients and noodles you want for your laksa and the staff will cook it for you. The laksa broth is rich and creamy but it doesn’t give me the “wow” feel.

Next to the laksa station is the pasta station. Tell the staff what pasta you want and they will cook it for you on the spot. Sadly, there is only tomato available and the ravioli that my colleague order tasted like pieces of cardboard. 

The roasted meats are my favorite part of this buffet. The roasted beef was cut a little too thick but tasted quite all right when paired with raspberry sauce. The roasted lamb shoulder was a little overcooked but otherwise tastes alright. 

To the left side of the laksa station is Chinese roasted meat station. There are char siew, roast chicken and roast duck. I didn’t have the stomach for it, plus it didn’t look tasty. 

To the left of the Chinese roasted meat station are prawn crackers and yam rolls. The yam roll is a little too sweet but crispy and delicious.

The bread station opposite the Chinese roasted meats is so well-hidden, it is largely untouched. There are a few loads of bread with individual pockets of butter.

 

The back counters are cooked Indian and Chinese dishes. The chicken satays, Indian naan with various curries are pretty decent. For Chinese, I recommend the Steamed Fish and Braised Pork Belly. You can’t go wrong with the satay.

The Japanese counter at the far back looks so pathetic, I couldn’t even bring myself to try it. There are just two lacquer boxes filled with an assortment of California rolls and nigiri sushi and a basket of Soba Noodles with condiments. 

The soups available when we visited were Wintermelon Soup and Cream of Mushroom. I didn’t try the soups but they looked watery and bland.

There is a cabinet besides the soups that has cut fruits, smoked salmon and assorted cheese.

There are only two flavors of ice-cream available, lime and yam with lots of toppings to choose from at the side.

The deserts and assorted cakes are just besides the Seafood on Ice. The chocolate cake and carrot cake are really good. The nonya kuehs besides the cakes counter are mediocre at best. 

Food Exchange @ Novotel Stevens has such gorgeous decorations but the food quality doesn’t quite match up. I strongly advise Food Exchange @ Novotel Stevens to invest in some food warmers because food always tastes better when it is served hot not lukewarm. 

 

 

Food Exchange @ Novotel Singapore on Stevens 

Address: 28 Stevens Road, Novotel Stevens #02-01, Singapore 257878

Telephone: 64916100

Opening Hours: Daily 6.30am – 10pm 

Prices: 

• International Buffet Lunch, Monday to Sunday, 12pm – 2:30pm, S$52⁺⁺
• Seafood International Buffet Dinner, Sunday to Thursday 6pm – 10pm, S$68⁺⁺
• Premium Seafood International Buffet Dinner, Friday  to Saturday 6pm – 10pm, S$78⁺⁺

Website: https://www.novotel-singapore-stevens.com/restaurants-bars/food-exchange/