Sponsored Review
Sip the finest cocktail, munch on crunchy fritters and savor the juiciest steak at the classiest restaurant in town.
Sounds like the perfect lunch getaway eh?
Well… I might know of a place that delivers just that. Read on to find out!
A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from my good friend, Anthony, who suggested that I should check out the new menu of a restaurant in the hotel he works at – Mandarin Orchard.
And the restaurant is none other than the award-winning buffet restaurant Triple Three. Big smile!
Triple Three is the definitive authority of asian-styled haute cuisine in Singapore, so I was extremely honored and exhilarated to be the first lucky few to try their newly revamped menu that is inspired by oishii Japanese cuisine!
This is an excited me and my friend Anthony. 😀
I also invited my good friend Alex and YT (the photographer of this photo) to join me. 😀
Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted warmly and sweetly by mouthwatering cakes and pastries.
This is the best welcome ever and it has certainly spurred us to pick up speed and head to the buffet table immediately. 😛
Wow! The restaurant looked spacious and very luxurious.
And now it’s time to unravel the highlight of the day!
The buffet table!
The delectable buffet spread featured eight culinary stations of sumptuous Asian and international delicacies! So there was no opportunity for menu deliberations. 😛
I met the Chef de Cuisine of Triple Three, Sam Chin who gave me a detailed walk-through of the buffet table and his inspiration behind all his palatable creations.
I know Sam looks kinda young (well he is young) but guess what…
He has already been a chef for seven years and has worked in several renowned restaurants in Australia and Singapore. :O
I can’t help but notice that he translated his passion and intercultural culinary experiences into this new menu which has a nice blend of both Asian and Western influences.
Well, he did this by Japanizing his international buffet with a plethora of Japanese ingredients to expand our palates.
Sam believes that Japanese ingredients are healthier and would appeal to his large number of health-conscious customers. Well, I can’t agree more! 😀
Both the health of his customers and the quality of the food are of utmost importance to Sam. Hence, he ensures a fast turnover of the food to maintain their freshness.
Besides a healthy and delicious Japanese inspired spread, Sam also made sure that the decor surrounding the food went hand in hand with the theme of the food.
For example, if the station served appetizing Indian cuisine, the station would be surrounded with artistic Indian ornaments or decoration that well represented the Indian culture.
According to him, this will create an all-round dining experience for his customers.
Talk about passion and details!
With all that detailed introduction and obvious display of dedication, I could not hold it any longer… I have to try Sam’s dishes now!
I went to my table and anxiously waited for the first dish to arrive.
And it did. Okay not exactly. The first item to arrive was a cool and refreshing glass of mocktail to pique my appetite!
My lunch officially began with a plate of Smoked Salmon Tartare that was exquisitely dotted with blueberry sauce and accompanied with crunchy lettuce.
The sinful creamy sauce was balanced by fresh salmon cubes, tasty lettuce and sweet cherry tomatoes. A burst of four flavors! The salmon cubes were not mushy and the dish was chilled to the right temperature. It was certainly a great and healthy appetizer to start with.
Teppanyaki Wagyu Beef is a signature of the restaurant so you bet that we felt extremely ‘obliged’ to try it! 😛
My Teppanyaki Wagyu Beef arrived in a sleek fine-dining presentation with juicy asparagus and drops of rich truffle oil.
First bite into the beef, I died and went to food heaven. I’m not kidding. The meat was soft, succulent and extremely delicious. Even my lunch companions agreed with me! It was definitely love at first bite.
I was still in food heaven when Sam woke my reverie with this astounding dish – Triple Three’s premium Snow Crab Tempura.
I’ve never been a fan of crustaceans because it’ll usually take me ages to extract their meat out of their shells. However, picking the meat from this crab tempura was child’s play. Most of the shell had already been removed leaving most parts of the meat open for savoring. To release the rest of the meat from the shell, simply give it a slight pull and you are all ready to enjoy this tasty snow crab.
After the tantalizing snow crabs, we were served a light and sweet basil sorbet to cleanse our palates and clear all our senses for the next dish.
Cheers to a great meal!
Just when I thought it couldn’t get better, the Triple Three folks gave me a small surprise…
Tadah!
Yes! I was served the legendary Chatterbox Chicken Rice!
“Isn’t Chicken Rice only served next door?” I asked.
Mary (a friendly Triple Three staff) replied “Yes. But we know you’d mentioned to Anthony that you would like to try the Chicken Rice so we thought we could make an exception by bringing it over to you from Chatterbox.”
I almost teared.
Gotta share this with my friends on Instagram immediately!
Every Singaporean has a love affair with Chicken Rice and so do I. So I was very excited to try this famous chicken rice that everyone has been swooning over.
The dish had hits and misses. The hits were the fragrant rice, crunchy texture of the cucumbers, smooth tofu in soup and great sauces.
Even though the chicken was soft and tender, I thought it tasted very much like the ones I had in the hawker stores. Well, I guess that’s a miss for me.
Despite the ambivalent feelings towards the dish, I think the price is still worth the warm service, nice environment and incredible sauces!
And the grand finale of the lunch was of course – the dessert. 🙂
“Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos.” – Don Kardong
I totally concur that so I had the matcha ice-cream to conclude this wonderful lunch at Triple Three.
The aroma of matcha instantly turned on my taste buds again. I’ve always been a huge fan of matcha ice-cream and to me, a good matcha ice-cream is one that is not too milky or sweet. It is quite a task to find good green tea ice-cream in Singapore you know?
But I was very happy to find my perfect matcha ice-cream at Triple Three. I ate the ice-cream with much fervor and delight.
Afterthoughts…
The one thing I noticed throughout my lunch was the impeccable service rendered by the Triple Three staff.
They had a great attitude and accommodated all requests such as change of orders or table and even photo taking! They were all smiles and sunshine all the time!
I love their wholesome and delicious menu. Indubitably, there were still plenty to explore in their new Japanese-inpired menu. I can’t wait for my next visit already!
Overall, a cozy and classy restaurant that offers oriental food with a modern flair.
4.5 Honeyz Crowns!
Thanks Sam, Anthony and Roberto of Mandarin Orchard for the invitation and great hospitality!
From left to right: Anthony, me and Roberto.
For your own dose of the perfect lunch (that consists juicy sashimi, crunchy tempura and luscious dessert), visit Triple Three at Mandarin Orchard!
Lunch Buffet (12noon to 2.30pm)
Monday to Saturday Adult : $48.00++ Sun & Eve of and Public Holidays Adult : $58++ Child : $28.00++ (daily) – 6 to 12yrs old
Dinner Buffet (6.30pm to 10.00pm)
Sunday to Thursday Adult : $88++ Fri/Sat & Eve of and PH Adult $98++ Child : $33++ (daily) – 6 to 12yrs old
Dining Reservations: +65 6831 6288/71
I’ve shared my idea of a perfect lunch getaway. What about you? What’s your idea of a perfect lunch?
Your friend, Juliana
Disclaimer: Please be rest assured that even though the food and services were sponsored, it does not have any bearing on the content of this post. Opinions stated are genuine and honest.