The Rice Table Review: 14-Course Indonesian Lunch Buffet At $18.95 Nett At Orchard

For all the goodness that comes with free-flow food, I can’t deny that buffets do have their cons. Whether it’s the need to constantly move about, refrain from cringing at the kid reaching out for food at the counter with his hands, or the hits. Misses that come with the myriad of food, buffets can go wrong in many ways.

At The Rice Table, that said, their full-service buffet allows you to feast without these worries. “Rice table” is a direct translation from the Dutch world rijsstafel and refers to a dining concept of having a wide variety of side dishes placed on the table all at once. At their All-You-Can-Eat Rice Table Lunch ($18.95) , the restaurant serves 14 Indonesian dishes in a rijstaffel style with unlimited top-ups.

Indonesian Buffet At $18.95 Nett At Orchard - The Rice Table Food at The Rice Table The moment we were seated in the restaurant, we were spared from the hassle of deciding what to order. Of the 14 dishes that ranged from refreshing fruit salad to the heavier ones like meat rendang and curry, three dishes stood out to me.

First was the well-fried Ikan Goreng , made of fried dory fillets coated with sweet and spicy sauce. At first sight, the dish did not look exceptional and I was hesitant to try it because of my one-too-many experiences with soggy, greasy, and tasteless fried fillets.

Though the batter that covered the fillet was dark in colour and looked unappetising, it was crispy, non-greasy, and held the soft flesh of the fish very well. The combination of saltiness, sweetness, and slight spiciness of the sauce was the highlight and gave an overall delightful touch to the deep-fried fish. The grilled skewer was made of crunchy chicken cubes that were thoroughly marinated and glazed with a thin layer of satay sauce.

The generous chunks of meat came in close to twice the size of your usual satay and had close to no fats at all. The peanut-based satay sauce went well with the savoury meat and this was altogether a delicious savoury side dish. It was almost impossible to pick just a few dishes that impressed me the most.

Of the 14 dishes, each had its own distinct taste and were all very well-executed. To end off the meal, we as well ordered Durian Cendol ($4.25+), which was not included in the buffet set.

The dessert was not too sweet and the toppings of grass jelly, kidney beans, and rice flour jelly added to the range of textures in the chendol. I was slightly disappointed by the fact that the bowl did not come with bits of durian flesh and was no different from any other chendols besides a slight durian taste in the ice chunks.

Ambience at The Rice Table Though tucked away in a relatively quiet corner of International Building along Orchard Road, The Rice Table was surprisingly crowded with families and office employees during lunchtime. I was most impressed by the amount of effort put into each of the 14 dishes to bring out its distinct flavours and not even one dish disappointed me.

For a good all-you-can-eat experience in Orchard, with quality food that costs less than $20, it felt close to too good to be true.