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On National Day evening, while most Singaporeans were glued onto their tv screens, I was at a buffet hosted by Silver Shell Cafe at Rasa Sentosa, together with Melissa from Melicacy and Derrick from SG Food on Foot.

The theme of the buffet is entitled “Good Ol Days” and features a wide range of local culinary delights, cultural performances for entertainment and games from yesteryear, which I found rather apt for this occasion. No effort has been spared into conceptualizing the theme, with cafe staff donning on traditional hawker attire, and Chinese, Malay and Indian crockeries and utensils have been specially purchased to add a more authentic feel for the meal.

Good Ol Days is priced at $58++ per adult and $25++ per child and runs every Thursday for the month of August but due to the overwhelming response, Rasa Sentosa has decided to continuing running it into September as well.

1) Chinese Food

One aspect that sets Silver Shell Cafe apart from most other locally themed buffets is the extensiveness of the live cooking stations. You can get oyster omelette, carrot cake, hokkien mee, laksa and lor mee, all of which are prepared ala minute.

Oyster Omelette

Carrot Cake

Hokkien Mee

Laksa

Lor Mee

Of course, there is pre-prepared food as well, ranging from bak kut teh, dim sum and chili crabs. Would have loved to have some fried man tou to dip the chili crab sauce with!

Chili Crab

One of the hits from the chinese food section was the kueh pie tee, which diners prepare themselves and can overload with whatever ingredients they like best. The kueh pie tee cups are replaced frequently due to the high turnover of this dish, so the cups were always fresh and crisp to my delight.

Kueh Pie Tee

There’s also a roast meat section, which serves steamed white chicken, roast chicken, roast duck, char siew and roast pork. There’s chicken rice available as well with all necessary condiments like ginger, dark sauce and chili. Would have been great if they included innards as well, as some tourists might not get the chance to try this back home.

2) Malay Food

While less extensive than the Chinese food section, the Malay section features signatures like otak, satay, begedil (fried potato cutlets) and mee rebus. Something I would love to have added to the mix as well is BBQ Stingray!

Mee Rebus

3) Indian Food

There’s an Indian chef that makes the roti prata from scratch at the Indian food section, and it was fortunate that I manage to snag a fresh batch to go with my curry chicken, vegetable dal and Assam fish curry. I thought the curry chicken was fantastic, with a thick creamy consistency from the coconut milk that goes well with the prata.

4) Appetizers & Seafood

There’s a section for appetizers and seafood as well, where you can get fresh prawns, bamboo clams, crabs, scallops and mussels, cold dishes and sushi.

5) Drinks

In tune with the theme, diners get to sip on local favourites like soy bean milk, grass jelly, bandung  (rose syrup drink), longan red date drink and coke off vintage glass bottles.

6) Desserts & Fruits

What I loved most from the dessert line was the Durian Pancake which was prepared ala minute as well, so it comes to you crisp and piping hot. It can be improved upon though, as the pancakes are on the thick side.

For this special occasion, in addition to the standard buffet fruits such as watermelons, oranges, lychees, bananas and rambutans, durians and mangosteens were also available just outside the cafe.

Tau Suan

Durian Pancake

During the course of the meal, we were also entertained by Malay and acrobatic Bhangra dances. There’s also a chance for audience participation if you feel up for it!

There are game stations which showcase games from yesteryear like five stones, chapteh, zero point and many other trinkets for the kids to have a go at.

In conclusion, if you are looking for the best carrot cakes and laksa in town, you will not find it here. What you will find though, is a great introduction to Singapore cuisine and culture, to reminisce the good old days.

Special Thanks to Rasa Sentosa for the invitation!

Silver Shell Cafe

101 Siloso Road, Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort Level 3

Tel: +65 6371 1966