Hello everyone!
I love May. Firstly, because it's the school holidays for me and it's the month of my best friend's birthday! Since it was her 21st birthday, we wanted to have a lunch buffet and after researching we decided on 21 on Rajah. The place received really good reviews and for the price of $32++ for lunch buffet on a Saturday seemed reasonable considering all the positive reviews.
Living in the NorthEast side, I must say it was a little inconvenient for me to travel all the way to Jalan Rajah. Nevertheless we were all excited to try the much talked about restaurant. When we first arrived, it wasn't so hard to locate the place as it was rather prominent from the bus stop near Moulmein CC.
When we arrived I cannot deny how much I loved the interior, it was decorated in white tiles and bird cages were hanging from the top (how cute!). I wish I had taken a picture of the interior to show you guys. The place was big and it was able to accommodate really large groups. I was hoping that a large space will also be catered to display their food and I have to say I was really disappointed with the variety of food they had. Let me take you guys through what they really had on that day.
Cold Seafood Section - Prawns and Mussels
You can accompany the seafood with any of the 3 sauces available. They had garlic Garlic Salsa, Wasabi Mayo and Tomato Coriander Chilli Salsa. I went with the Garlic Salsa and some lemon as I am not a big fan of wasabi and I wanted something light.
I must say the seafood was really fresh and juicy. I was going back for multiple helpings because this was the best thing they had for that day.
4 types of Sushi
My hopes of eating some salmon that day was dashed. I love sushi and this was definitely not the best I've eaten but it was decent. The inari sushi and California sushi was not too bad.
Salad Section
The ham used in the salad was very fresh and the cherry tomatoes were a delight to my taste buds.
"Did you come here to eat tomatoes?" (Roslina, 2014)
But the cherry tomatoes were really yummy. They also had a DIY salad station where you could mix rocket leaves, romaine leaves and a few stuff with any sauce of your choice.
Roasted Carrot and Baby Potato
I liked this dish but then again, how can anyone dislike potatoes. PLUS IT'S ROASTED MINI POTATOES.
Oven Baked Boneless Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
They also had Lamb Stew, Garlic Sautéed Asparagus and Baby Carrots, (Bland) Mac and Cheese, Sweet and Sour Fish, White Rice, (Unseasoned) Fish and Malay Style Mee Goreng which I did not get a picture of.
Dessert Section
We decided to take the desserts last but this was what was left. I really wanted to try the Tiramisu but sadly it was all gone within an hour. I have high expectations for desserts (I secretly blame my family members for spoiling my taste buds with fantastic desserts). But this was nowhere near meeting my expectations. The Ondeh-Ondeh was really thick which did not give enough room for the gula melaka syrup. The Carrot Cake was so dry. The Panna Cotta lacked flavour and the chocolate syrup overpowered the taste. The jelly (Agar-Agar) was too sweet.
"Even my worse attempt on agar-agar would taste better than this" (Roslina, 2014)
The cheesecake and black forest cake was pleasant but not enough to salvage my opinion on the desserts. They also had a fruit section where you can select from 3 different fruits.
Nazreen baked a cake for Roslina and it tasted better than the desserts that they had on that day.
Side note: Nazreen has her own business so do check her out. She has cakes, cupcakes and brownies (TRY HER BROWNIE)
Instagram: @nazspasteleria
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nazspasteleria
The total bill came up to $112 for 3 people and DBS/POSB card holders were entitled to 15% discount. Overall, I was greatly disappointed with my experience with 21 on Rajah. They did have really fresh seafood and salad but the other food were of average standard. One would expect to have a wider range especially during a weekend but I guess I should not have dined in with such high expectations.
"I am not full, but I do not know what to eat anymore." (Roslina, 2014)
Roslina does not have a very big appetite and for her to say this just shows the lack of variety they offered.
The menu does rotate and perhaps some other day you may get better dishes but judging from my experience I am not very sure.
For $32 it was definitely not value for money and it will probably be my last time here. This is just my opinion and preferences vary. If you would like to patronise them someday, the venue is below. If you are going in big groups or going on a weekend it is safer to make a reservation. You might want to consider going for dinner instead of lunch since most of the positive reviews came from Dinner experience.
Venue
Days Hotel At Zhongshan Park
1 Jalan Rajah
Tel: 68086868
Operating Hours: Weekdays
Breakfast - 6.00am til 10.30am
Lunch - 12.00pm til 2.30pm
Dinner - 6.00pm til 10.30pm
Operating Hours: Weekends
Breakfast - 6.00am til 11.00am
Lunch - 12.00pm til 3.00pm
Dinner - 6.00pm til 11.00pm
Comment down below if you have visited 21 on Rajah and had a different experience from me!
Till then, have a nice day!
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