Checkers Brasserie, Hilton Singapore

I had lunch with my ex-colleagues and they chose the Checkers Brasserie over at Hilton Hotel. Somehow I had never dine at Hilton Hotel though I had the pretty well known cheesecake before. It was a lunch/high tea buffet which was from 12noon to 4pm. I must say this was the least crowded place I had ever been to for a buffet. It was probably only half full when I was there from 1230pm to 3pm.

We had a table by the window which was pretty nice with the sunlight streaming in and the greenery out there. I liked that we could have freshly squeezed juices. You just select the fruits/veggies and the staff would juice them. That was a nice touch. I had watermelon with celery and then honeydew with watermelon.

The cold appetizers (grilled zucchini, portobello mushroom, smoked salmon, pumpkin, mozzarella with tomato, mushroom, egg and sushi) which I didn't really like. The sushi was hard. Of what I tried, I only like the portobello mushroom which was woodsy smoky and juicy.

From the small dim sum/Chinese selection, I tried the mushroom rice roll, char siew bun and fried beehoon. The mushroom rice roll was surprisingly good. It was tender and soft. The beehoon was a tad too salty for my palate.

The char siew bun was not too bad. At least the bun was not dry and hard.

More items from the appetizer section. Seared tuna which was ok, portobello mushroom, kueh pie ti (I loved this. It was crispy crunchy and tasty), roast chicken which was pretty standard and roast beef. The roast beef was tender and not too chewy.

Finally the mains ~ pizza slices and potato skin which were hard. The crispy baby squids were very good. The pasta was so-so and the fish was average too. Again the kueh pie ti shone in this plate.

There was a noodle section where you select the type of noodles (kway teow, yellow noodle, tang hoon, bee hoon) and toppings plus the soup (laksa or prawn stock). I chose tang hoon with veggies, prawns, squid, fish and mushroom in prawn stock. The chef would cook the ingredients and then you just top up with the soup of your choice. I should have added more soup as the tang hoon just soaked up the liquid. This was nice as the seafood was fresh and sweet.

Dessert was pretty much hit and miss. I only liked the bread and butter pudding with vanilla sauce. The other nice item was the coffee square. The rest was not as great.

Again only the bread and butter pudding was nice. I totally forgot to try the marble cheesecake as I was not really a big fan of cheesecake. I should have since Checkers is known for its cheesecake.

The place was not big, yet I did not really try everything. I totally missed out on the fruits and chocolate fountain section, as well as the wide selection of cheese and crackers available and the other hot mains like tempura, some Indian food and more Chinese food. Another nice thing was the selection of tea available. You get to choose the type of tea and brew it in a pot.

I would not say Checkers Brasserie is fantastic but there are some dishes which are nice and others which are not really to my taste. It is always good to get out of my usual buffet places (yes, Greenhouse at Ritz Carlton or Rose Verandah at Shangri-La) and try other restaurants for a change.