Todai International Buffet, Marina Bay Sands Shoppes, Singapore

Perhaps the most pictures in one post ... ever.

View from Marina Bay Sands Shoppes overlooking the CBD

So the other day, when I was sitting around trying to come up with a Good Food Itinerary, I trawled the web for a good place to eat at on Christmas Day. The criteria wasn't that difficult - as long as it served turkey, had a good atmosphere, and could provide us with the Very Full feeling commonly associated with this time of the year, that would be sufficient.

Marina Bay Sands Shoppes - coming down escalator

There are SO many food blogs in Singapore, it's unreal.

Oh well - here's another one to add to the pile then.

Anyway, a quick search on the food blogs revealed that the Todai Buffet was quite seafood-oriented and as the pictures alone made me kinda hungry, I decided that we were going to have Christmas Dinner there.

Just in case you wanted to know when you're at the restaurant

Still kinda unsure how this is pronounced.

In the festive mood

I started sending links and pictures from other blogs to hubsy, getting him prepared for the feast that awaited. We almost trained for it like a professional athlete would - no effort was spared.

The placemat which is also helpfully a map of the restaurant

When Christmas Day came, and when all the festivities had been enjoyed, we ate a small lunch at a nearby food court (Kopitiam just for own reference) and made our way to the mall nice and early (around 45 minutes early).

As the place was still closed (4.15pm not usually being a popular time for dinner), we had a stroll around the mall and went back to the restaurant at around 4.45pm only to find this ...

Everyone is hungry

Yes, for those of you who are considering going to this place, they operate a registration process (even when you've booked) where by the lady at the counter gives you this handwritten piece of paper with your name and reservation time on it. With the table number also included on the piece of paper, that is your ticket to ...

Ready, steady, go

I whizzed past the entrance and other hungry diners (hubsy included) and below was what I saw on my way to the food counter (so I could be the first one to photograph the food, you understand).

Food!

(Maybe) Korean stars on the wall of fame

From the ocean

See food

As with all professional buffet wrestlers, I usually zone straight in on the seafood section. I'm sure everyone does that too ... come on, admit it.

Not zoning in on seafood specifically, but zoning in on what you think is the best value for money.

Twenty of these in my tummy

The prawns were fresh and enormous. What more is there to say? Each prawn took 2 bites to demolish, and every single one of them was crunchy, juicy, and very fresh. I had about twenty and could've easily have had more but self-control set in after a while.

  

Alaskan Crab Legs

These were so fresh. Todai provides pairs of scissors with which to eat the crabs and you could literally pull out the entire piece of crab meat from the shell if cut correctly.

Nice to meat you

Definitely 'happy day' with this amount of beef

Have a nice day (before)

Had a nice day (after)

Brazilian Churrasco section

We mostly spent our time here. All the meat you could want in one sitting.

  

Mushrooms, pineapples, sausages, chicken wings and beef

Pork belly before being cooked

Beefy goodness

Really liked these mushrooms - couldn't quite get the name but they were fabulous

The sushi and sashimi section

My favourite - squid sushi - so fresh and chewy

Sweet octopus

Boiled prawn with crabstick salad - really liked this

Each thickly sliced piece was just what amazing sashimi should be

The cooked food section 

Korean beef bulgogi

Duck and peach which was so tender - who knew peaches went so well with duck

Grilled Japanese fish on sticks

Korean kimchi section

 

Grilled gyoza 

Not sure what this was but took a picture so I posted this anyway

Christmas Day Specials

Roasted suckling pig

Because we were dining there on Christmas Day, there were several special items on offer for the occasion. First up was the suckling pig which was gone in mere minutes. Everytime they took out a pig, there was a queue and within minutes it was pretty much gone again.

We had a few pieces and the conclusion was that the skin was very chewy while there wasn't anything overwhelming about the meat itself.

Lobster in the gobster

The other special of the day was the lobster. Served directly to the table, we really enjoyed these little critters.

Down in one

The meat detached itself neatly in one swift forkful, and even when eaten cold, the lobster was very juicy, delightfully crunchy and fresh. The garlic herbed butter went brilliantly with the lobster, as it usually does. 

A plateful of smiles

I could get used to eating like this everyday

And something for afters

Strawberry mousse

Todai seem to promote their Korean strawberries quite a bit. A lot of the dishes (even savoury ones) were cooked with some strawberry in them. Guess I never knew Korean strawberries were famous but they sure were sweet.

More?

Possibly the best waffles in a buffet. Ever.

When we took some waffles and drizzled them with maple syrup and some vanilla ice-cream, we didn't think that it'd be any good. We just wanted to give it a try since I like waffles anyway. So we were nicely surprised when each mouthful of waffles was so airy, light, yet lovely and buttery - going so well with the maple syrup.

Surfing?

The above-mentioned Korean strawberries

And when all has been eaten and done ... 

Waitress refilling the buffet for the next session at 8pm

Ho ho ... wait a sec while I adjust my beard

This Santa was hilarious. He went round each table just kinda saying hi to everyone, but by the time he got to our table, his hat was falling off and so was his beard and hair. Pretty much the complete ensemble was falling off bit by bit, so the other pictures we took of him were just hair and a red outfit.

View of Marina Bay Sands hotel

I took about 380 photos during that dinner, and obviously couldn't post them ALL up here (couldn't say I didn't try though) so for those of you who really, really like looking at pictures of food, here's a link to the full Flickr set (click here).

We all enjoyed our Christmas dinner here, and if you like your seafood and meat (plus all the other items on offer), you'll probably like Todai buffet. The stuff served up were fresh, things were replenished quite frequently, and the selection of drinks (cold and hot, but all non-alcoholic) was above average. Quality AND quantity.

Useful information: Everything you need to know on their website.

But just for you ...

Location: #b2-01 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 2 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018972


Pricing:

LUNCH

Monday to Friday

Adult: $42++ Child (below 1m 30cm): $22++

Sat., Sun. and Holiday, Holiday Eve

Adult: $58++ Child (below 1m 30cm): $26++

DINNER 

Monday to Thursday

Adult: $54++ Child (below 1m 30cm): $26++

Fri., Sat., Sun. and Holiday, Holiday Eve

*Holiday Price

Adult: $70++ Child (Below 1m30cm height): $32++

Applied Date: 24,25,31st December 2011 and 1st January 2012

Opening hours:

Monday to Friday

Lunch: 11:30 to 15:00 / Dinner: 17:30 to 22:00

Saturday to Sunday

All Day Dining: 11:30 to 23:00