Lime Restaurant’s $58++ Buffet Has An Impressive 4.7-Star Rating—Is It Worth A Try?

Lime Restaurant has a $58++ lunch buffet in Chinatown

Lime Restaurant at PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering is one of those spots that frequently appears on best-of lists, especially when it comes to buffets. The Lunch Buffet, priced at $58++ per person, is known for its vast selection of international eats, along with local fare that some say is arguably better—think authentic chicken rice, prawn noodles, kueh pie tie and much more.

$58++ is a reasonable price as far as hotel buffets go, but is it worth the outlay? We dropped by the restaurant to find out.

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Food at Lime Restaurant

Like my colleague who recently reviewed Colony, another popular buffet, I tend to head for the seafood first. The seafood-on-ice section was smaller than I expected, with prawns, clams, mussels, and scallops on display.

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Despite the small selection, I was thoroughly impressed by the Prawns, which were plump, wonderfully sweet, and yes, fresh. They also had a nice snap that made them a joy to crunch on. Not a bad start indeed.

The other options here were decent, but not spectacular. The Scallops were really tiny, and the Mussels had a little bit of a funk—certainly not as clean as the prawns.

Next to the seafood-on-ice section is a small cabinet stocked with Sashimi, Sushi, and other Japanese eats. Again, these did the job without being outstanding, so I won’t devote too much time to these.

What the restaurant excelled at, though, was the meat dishes. Head over to the roast meats section, where Roast Pork Belly AKA shao rou and Roasted Chicken can be found. Both were succulent, well-roasted, and paired well with the many carbs available here, especially our next dish.

I’m talking about our de facto national dish, the Chicken Rice. Now I was sceptical of this going in, having tried one too many lacklustre renditions at hotel buffets. But this was actually a great rendition. It was wonderfully fragrant and savoury, with rice that had a firm bite and was nicely separated.

Other delicious meat dishes that would be familiar to Singaporeans include the Braised Pork Knuckle with Sea Cucumber, Pork Slices with Black Pepper Sauce, and Baked Chicken with Mushroom Supreme Sauce.

You can also pair them with the near-faultless Anchovy Sambal Egg Fried Rice, or the flawed KL-Style Seafood Tai Lok Mee, which was packed with the sweetness of dark soy sauce but little else.

But arguably the most interesting carb dish here is the Prawn Noodle. While the dish itself is solid, what sets this apart is that it is prepared entirely by a robotic system. It was just cool to see the machine whirl into action and produce a classic local dish in a minute or so.

The Roasted Beef Striploin was excellent, with a succulent, perfectly pink centre, and a slightly smoky exterior. The aromatic red wine reduction, when drizzled over the beef, lent a deep, rich flavour. Mint, mustard, and salt were also used to add new dimensions to each bite.

The Truffle Cream Parmesan Wheel Pasta was also a delight. Prepared in a literal cheese wheel, this creamy penne pasta had all the savoury goodness of parmesan, with the unmistakable accent of truffle.

The dessert selection is pretty stacked—for someone without a particularly sweet tooth, at least. Options include the Pistachio Financier, Purple Sweet Potato Mont Blanc, Osmanthus Jelly, Coconut Lime Mousse and many more.

Chocolate fountains, kuehs, and pancakes were some of the other desserts. But we can’t forget the Kueh Pie Tee station, which allows you to DIY your own Peranakan tart.

Ambience at Lime Restaurant

When visited during lunch, the modern architecture, spacious layout, and natural light filtering in through the large glass windows made Lime Restaurant a beautiful dining spot. It’s inviting enough that one could take their time to stroll through the aisles and slowly choose from the many food options. If you’re celebrating a special occasion, that mix of beauty and comfort makes this buffet a solid choice.

Lime Restaurant is a four-minute walk from Chinatown MRT Station.

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Lime Restaurant – Eatbook Review

Lime Restaurant offers a solid lunch buffet that gets most of its dishes right. While the seafood-on-ice selection leaves much to be desired, those who enjoy their meat and Asian dishes will find plenty to love here.

For a $59++ Italian lunch buffet at Bugis, read our LUCE review. For the best buffets across the border, read our best buffets in Johor Bahru guide.

Address: 3 Upper Pickering Street, Singapore 058289
Opening hours: Daily 7am to 10pm
Tel: 9859 0681
Website
Lime Restaurant is not halal-certified.

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Photos taken by Nathania Tay.
This was a media tasting at Lime Restaurant.