22nd December 2010 was a special day for me and my fellow mates from NTU – the first day of our liberation from examinations. During the long and torturous period, my friends, KY and M, planned an outing to allow the rest of us to look forward to the end of exams. Thankfully that day arrived and we survived the onslaughts of the exams.
The place that we went to was Vienna International Seafood and Teppanyaki Buffet Restaurant. Located at B1 of United Square, it has a seating capacity of 210 with the majority of the seats indoors. This is the first time I do up a food review from scratch which does not only include writing the review, but also taking all the photos. If my photos are not up to standard, I promise I will work harder in this area. 😀
I should say that Vienna offers a wide diversity of food items ranging from Japanese raw sashimi to Crabmeat Vermicelli and to cakes and pastries. However, due to my limited stomach capacity, I was not able to taste every item that was on offer so what I got here was what I ate.
For every customer who patronizes Vienna, a complimentary serving of Buddha-Jump-Over-The-Wall will be served. For a buffet standard, i thought that the soup was not too bad. It contained shiitake mushroom, pacific clam, chicken, cordyceps and red dates. The herbal taste was distinct but yet not too overpowering. the only thing that I do not like about it is that the soup is too salty. (does this remind you of a mastercard advert?)
After a serving of piping hot Buddha-Jump-Over-The-Wall, I went straight for the cold dishes as appetizers. Soba with Prawn was served in a small bowl with sweet soba sauce. It was definitely a refreshing and sweet start to my virgin Vienna experience.
I cannot resist the temptations of Sashimi. During the summer break this year, I had the opportunity to go to Tokyo for an internship for 10 weeks. In that short span of time, I fell more in love with Japanese cuisine especially sashimi. Sad to say, the standard of the sashimi from Vienna was nowhere near in comparison to those that are sold at the famous Tsukiji Fish market. Nevertheless, they are still fresh. Something to take note for sashimi lovers, the chefs at Vienna are generous and they cut reasonably thick portions.
Who doesn’t like to eat Tofu? Haha 吃豆腐. Being bite sized, it is especially ‘friendly’ to the buffet-goers. It does not take up too much space in your stomach and gives you the fulfillment of eating it. The tofu sauce was sweet and the century egg added a twist to its taste.
This was my first experience with Mussel with Sweet & Sour Sauce. It was a good move to use the sweet and sour sauce as it could mask and complement the ‘ocean’ taste of the mussel. Nice. The only downside was that it was not as fresh as what I expected.
After having all the cold dishes for appetizers, it is time for the main dishes. This Soup Bowl with Bread reminds me of what I have had before at The Soup Spoon. The puffy bread was so crispy that when I used my spoon to tear it open, everything started to disintegrate into flakes. I liked the cream of corn soup for its sweet taste and creamy texture.
I thought the Crab with Vermicelli tasted like those that are served in seafood restaurants. Generally, the vermicelli had a crab and peppery taste. It was firm and i liked it a lot.
Eating this Fish with Orange Sauce was like eating an orange sweet with a piece of fish. No kidding. It tasted a little weird as I felt that the sauce do not go well with the fish.
Bamboo Rice was not really fantastic. It consists of peanuts, chicken and dried prawn. It tasted more of like glutinous rice and did not have fragrance of bamboo.
I was beaming with excitement and anticipation when i collected the Abalone Fried Rice from the tray. However, i was a little disappointed to find out that it tasted just like the bamboo rice. Also, the abalone that was present was so small and insignificant.
After some misses, the Cereal Prawns proved to be a hit. The cereal was crispy and sweet. The taste of the cereal was infused into the prawn and enhanced its taste. Yummy! 😀
The food at Vienna is constantly replenished and maintained warm. The Cheese-baked Scallop was so hot that I scalded my tongue a little -.- The scallop tasted cheesy and soft.
Ever since Charlene and I went to the Hilltop Restaurant at Jurong Hill, I fell in love with Teppanyaki so I was very looking forward to Vienna’s very own Teppanyaki buffet. They served shishamo, lamb chops, chicken and beef fillets, salmon and greens like beansprouts. The Shishamo was not overcooked and it tasted fine.
The Lamb Chops contained more portions of fats as compared to meat.
The Salmon was fresh and i loved its crispiness.
I love the saying, “Everyone has one more stomach for desserts”. I truly believe in it and usually have room for desserts. At Vienna, there were pastries, cakes, jellies and cookies. Generally all these desserts tasted refreshing and provided a good ending to our heavy meal.
One dessert that particularly stood out was the Fried Durian Puff. It was crispy and soft on the outside while the paste inside was thick and sweet. And when we sank our teeth into it, we felt as though we were in heaven. Ok that’s a bit exaggerating. With the exception of J who does not like durian, we all enjoyed it.
The other dessert that left an impression on me was the Bird’s Nest Egg Tart. I guess typical Singaporeans would normally associate bird’s nest with ‘atas’ and we were quite excited 😛 However, there was barely any in the tart. I liked the flaky crust though.
That’s all for now. Happy new year in advance! 🙂
Opening Hours:
11.30am – 3pm (Lunch)
Mon to Fri
S$30.80++ (Adult)
S$18.80++ (Child)
Sat, Sun & Public Holidays
S$32.80++ (Adult)
S$19.80++ (Child)
5.30pm – 10pm (Dinner)
Mon to Thu
S$37.80++ (Adult)
S$20.80++ (Child)
Fri, Sat, Sun & Public Holidays
S$39.80++ (Adult)
S$21.80++ (Child)
