Melting Pot buffet at Holiday Inn (Outram): review

It's the first time I've been to Holiday Inn and I was at Melting Pot for its buffet lunch.

My first impression is that the hotel looks extremely 90s. Imagine a Channel 8 drama that's filmed shortly after Zoe Tay won Star Search. The plot is a virtuous wife goes for high tea with her spendthrift friend for the first time and unfortunately witnessed her husband going up the glass lift with a super pretty woman. Yes, this will be the exact place they'd have sourced and filmed at.

But I don't actually mind it. In fact, I found the ambience rather cosy. The Melting Pot is more a family hang out than say, where yuppies go to after work. Or at least that's the vibe I got when I visited it today (a lazy Sunday afternoon).

The spread is mainly Mediterranean, although they do offer some Asian fare.

These are a few picks from the salad and starters bar:

Tomato with cheese, mushrooms with olive oil, grilled veg and jellyfish.

They offer around five types of sauces for you to pick from.

My fave from the spread is the pasta, which is cooked instantly. The other cheesy selections (e.g. veg lasagne) also make for great comfort food.

Ultra cheesy comfort food!

Meat-lovers won't be deprived.

Satay, sirloin, oxtail, mashed potato.

Here's a peek at the (round) table I'm at, the (free flow) Sprite with grapefruit and the rest of the restaurant.

I know of people who go straight for the seafood counter at buffets, because they know that's where they can get a bang for their buck. But at Melting Pot, don't bother. The seafood really isn't their best offering. In fact, they're just bland and obviously not too fresh. Go for two more servings of the wonderful pasta instead.

Masala prawn, and (not so fresh) prawns and shellfish.

Chinese food.

They don't have a huge dessert offering, but it's decent. There were at least eight different types of cakes, two types of ice-creams with several toppings, and waffles.

If you only have stomach for one, go for the waffles. You might have to join a short queue (because they only have one waffle maker, 48 squares (as in the small square) each time only, but waffles are just yummy with maple syrup and butter.

Cakes and waffles.

Zoe Tay will see her onscreen husband going up that glass lift. Can you see it?

And this is her spendthrift friend.

The Melting Pot is located at Level 4, Holiday Inn (Outram Road). And its lunch buffet would make you poorer by less than $30.

Do you know of any good and affordable buffet venues?