Basilico

I also really enjoyed this burnt caramel hazelnut mousse cake. Surprisingly, it’s not too sweet and there’s a surprise crunchy cookie layer in between that tastes exactly like a ferrero rocher. So tasty and there’s also hazelnuts on top! Their desserts are quite big slices though, so take them to share if you wanna try more so that you can minimise food wastage!

Haven’t had Basilico’s buffets in a while, and decided to go because they have a weekday lunch buffet for $50 instead of $64 by booking on Chope or through their hotel’s website. It was overall pretty disappointing though, I felt like the food quality had gone down since the last time I went.

Notwithstanding, their desserts were still pretty good. Their apricot frangipane sage tart with Chantilly cream on top looks normal, but the sage really added a punch of flavour and made this stand out. Also liked that they used fresh apricots!

Antipasti and dessert buffet was so good! Large variety including rock melon, salad, burrata and all types of ham. Don’t miss out the cheese room at a secluded corner, you will smell it before you see it. Exotic types of cheese (choc, truffle etc) its impossible to try all. Good selection of dessert as well, highly recommend the gelatos!

Bring a cheese lover to this Italian joint, and they'll love you for a long time. The Formaggissimo Night ($58) flaunts a free-flow selection of over 40 Italian cheeses, from Burrata to Smoked Mozarella and Gorgonzola. Cheeses aside, you can also fill up on the scrumptious variety of crudo (Italian-style raw fish), cured meats, bread and cook-to-order pastas here.
Photo by Burppler Cassie Ong

Brodeto alla Triestina ($80/++)
.
The main course for 2’s selection at Basilico located within Regent Hotel. Aside from the mains, the buffet spread included cold cuts, salads, breads, desserts and their most sought after cheese room. Cheese fans will adore this place. The seafood stew main course was full of ingredients but some of the fish was a little overcooked for me.

Sumptuous Italian buffet, especially on Sunday. Most fabulous is the cheese room; even in Italy, it is rare to find a place serving or selling so many different cheeses. The cooked-to-order raviolis with fresh truffles and the pan-fried foie gras are also delicious. The seafood is extremely fresh, even if they don’t offer oysters. Relatively speaking, the mains (for which there are many) are the weak link here - we’ve all had better versions of the same dishes. Excellent, pro-active service staff. To a customer (unaccustomed with elegant buffets) who spent a long time picking bacon pieces from a serving plate of pappardelle, a busy chef offered him a big helping of the pork.