SIN: W Singapore - Sentosa Cove [Breakfast]

Poke bowl for breakfast - that's a first!

My second last staycation during Singapore's Phase 2 of Reopening was at W Singapore - Sentosa Cove (5*). In November 2020, a la carte buffet breakfast was served in a temporary space dedicated to The Kitchen Table as the restaurant was undergoing renovation. I wonder which other hotel dishes out healthy Hawaiian poke bowls for breakfast.

I had such a filling breakfast that my stomach decided not to be fed anymore until dinner time.

Bakery Basket

First delivered to the table before everything else, the bakery items were irresistible. I especially enjoyed the crispy and flaky croissant, as well as decadent chocolate muffin with a moist centre. The danish was filled with coarsely mashed banana. Accompanying the bakery basket were Beerenberg jam jars and Beurre D'Isigny salted butter.

Eggs Florentine

The poached egg sitting atop an English muffin was perfectly cooked, oozing with runny golden yolk the moment I cut it open with a knife. I was certainly glad that the spinach wasn't overcooked, although the Hollandaise sauce wasn't that rich. I also fell in love with the sautéed mushrooms that were so, so earthy.

Dim Sum

How I've missed having dim sum in HK during winter! Anyway, the steamed morsels weren't particularly memorable, but the bun filled with char siew (Chinese barbecued pork) was acceptably fluffy. I found the skin of the prawn dumplings to be rather thick and sticky, while the pork dumplings weren't so juicy. Chili sauce was provided (not shown).

Fish Congee

The congee was mildly flavourful with an adequate amount of fish, but I'd certainly love to have more century eggs. It was topped with a bit of fried shallots and spring onions. It was nice to see that the congee came with you tiao (Chinese cruller), which still retained a bit of crunch instead of being limpy.

Nasi Goreng

Purportedly done Indonesian style, the fried rice apparently wasn't Indonesian enough. In fact, I don't think the colour of the rice came from kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce), an essential ingredient for such fried rice. There was hardly any of the promised chicken meat. Besides that, I found the acar kuning (yellow pickles) to be a tad too sweet.

Singapore Laksa

It was a delight to slurp the white noodle in coconut gravy that had depth, although I'd love it to be spicier would be. The usual suspects like prawns, fish cakes, beancurd puffs, beansprouts and chopped Vietnamese coriander were present. Interestingly, there were also quail eggs, something that I hadn't eaten for so long.

Poke-Poke Bowl

I vouch for the quinoa-based healthy bowl, which was as good as those that you can buy outside. The salmon and tuna cubes were fresh, and the same can be said for the various vegetables. Having said that, I was hoping that the avocado would be creamier. There was enough dressing, primarily made of soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil, to evenly coat the colourful ingredients.

Smoothie Bowl

Seeing that I was going strong, the gregarious middle-aged female staff recommended the smoothie bowl. True enough, the visually stunning mango smoothie tasted so comforting that left a smile on my face. It was a fun mix of textures with all those berries, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds and toasted dessicated coconut, as well as granola served on the side for an extra crunch.

Buttermilk and Ricotta Pancakes

The made-to-order pancakes were quite fluffy. Since maple syrup was also provided, I suppose it'd be better for the berry compote to be separated from the pancakes because having both of them at the same time would be too much. The dish was made merrier with fragrant caramelised banana and cinnamon butter.

Fruits

The watermelon, honeydew and rockmelon slices were adequately sweet and juicy. However, the natural sugar content of the dragon fruit was too low for my liking. The banana leaf added a nice little touch to the presentation of the fruits.

Beverages

I had a decent cup of frothy cappuccino of medium strength. I'm not too sure how many different TWG tea varieties are served for breakfast, but one of them is English breakfast tea. You can also have a few varieties of packaged fruit juice, such as orange and cranberry. Pika's advice: In addition, you can request for fresh watermelon juice. I like eating watermelon, but I don't quite enjoy it in the juice form.

Melon's Rating

Taste: 8/10

Ambience: 7/10

Service: 8.5/10

Overall: 8/10

Even though it was a temporary space, one could even see small chandeliers hung on the ceiling. The renovation of the restaurant should've been completed by now.