Review: CNY food tasting at Azur, Crowne Plaza Hotel

Carrie invited the Mystery Makan girls for a food tasting session at Azur, Crowne Plaza Hotel a week back. If you were wondering why Azur sounded really familiar, you may perhaps read my previous review of Azur with Fidelis and the boys.

I was a bit surprised when Carrie had invited us as I remembered Azur was a buffet restaurant. Carrie shared with us girls that the dishes that we were sampling were part of the Chinese New Year Festive Buffet Menu. After hearing that, I immediately texted the hubby telling him we should go for a buffet instead of a normal 8 course dinner for CNY instead. LOL. I felt that it’s more value for money and there’s more variety!

Here were the dishes that we sampled that day.

Look at how huge the Three Treasures Yu Sheng is! (It’s much bigger than the normal portion of 8 as there were 17 of us!) The Yu Sheng (S$68+) is rather different as it’s a unique fusion of Japanese and Chinese flavours. There were ingredients like Hokkigai Surf Clams, Ginseng and Yuzu Dressing and trio of golden radishes and carrots tossed with Japanese picked radish, picked cucumber, wakame seaweed, tamago, Chinese pickled mango, pickled papaya, crunchy black fungus and delicious Bak Kwa Strips served with crispy wanton skin. Definitely the most unique Yu Sheng that I have ever tasted!

If you want more “nian nian you yu”, feel free to add in additional toppings such as:

– Sliced Abalone – $48.00+
– Fresh Hokkigai Surf Clam – $38.00+
– Meikajiki Toro (Swordfish Belly) – $28.00+
– Fresh Norwegian Salmon – $18.00+
– Yuzu Ginseng Dressing – $8.00+

I really liked the Yuza Ginseng Dressing. It isn’t bitter at all though it contains Ginseng, it made the whole dish rather light!

Reminder to self to never take pics when “lao-ing”. I found lots of pepper on my camera after the chaos has settled down.

This is definitely the freshest Yusheng I have tasted in my whole life. The vegetables were juicy and delicious! Carrie mentioned that Chef actually grated the ingredients right before we arrived.

Just take note that if you were to order the Yusheng at Azur on the spot, you’ll might have to wait as Chef only grates the vegetables upon order. Better order in advance to prevent waiting!

We also enjoyed a very refreshing Dragonfruit juice affectionately termed Bye bye dragon (symbolising the end of the dragon year). As someone who feels that fruit juice are just a variation of sugar water (i.e. CARBS), I thought it was good enough to order a second serving.

We also tried the Treasures of the Ocean Seafood Soup with Fish Maw, Dried Scallops and Crabmeat. I thought this dish was so-so but I knew that Fidelis really enjoyed the fish maw.

Instead of the conventional cereal prawns, Azur presented Wok Fried Sea Prawns with Mixed Berries Infused with Margarine and Milk. I thought I wouldn’t like this dish as honestly, when it comes to food, I am usually apprehensive about fushion dishes. But this really blew me away. With every bite, it was like my tongue exploded with the different sensations. We had sweet, sour (from the berries) and savoury. I regretted not going for a second serving!

Confit Salmon accompanied with Darjeeling Beurre Blanc. Basically Salmon with caviar. The salmon by itself was a bit tasteless but with the caviar, it was so good! It was a tad salty but bearable in my opinion. I’m sure the mothership would love this dish!

Braised Sea Cucumber, Baby Abalone with Superior “Conpoy” Gravy. A rather classic dish. Didn’t find anything special about it.

Fragrant Glutinous Rice with Pork Belly and Pork Lard otherwise known as the FATDIEME dish. One of my favourite dishes throughout the entire food tasting.

We enjoyed the Trio of Chinese New Year Pastries which consisted of: Mandarin Orange Mousse, Lychee and Osmanthus Jello and Tempura Nian Kow. Most note worthy was the Tempura Nian Kow which really reminded me of home. The batter was rather light. The Mandarin Orange Mousse captured the hearts of many of us as not only was it delicious, it was also really cute and tiny.

If you’re interested in the CNY Festive menu, here are the rates:

CNY Dinner (9 Feb) – Adult: S$88++ Child: S$44++
CNY Brunch (10 & 11 Feb) – Adult: S$58++ Child: S$29++
CNY Dinner (10 & 11 Feb) – Adult: S$78++ child: S$39++
CNY Lunch (12 – 15, 18 – 22 Feb) – Adult: S$48++ Child: S$24++
CNY Dinner (12 – 15, 18 – 22 Feb) – Adult: S$58++ Child: S$29++

Do make your reservations early! Call Azur at 6823 5354 or email them at: azur@cpchangiairport.com

However, that was not the end of the dinner! A few days prior the tasting, I had actually sought for a favour from Carrie. As the food tasting was a day after BFF’s birthday, I thought it would be nice to celebrate her birthday there. As I ended work later than the rest of the girls, I wouldn’t be able to buy the cake earlier and pass to Carrie so I asked her to help me purchase one.

The sweet dear sponsored the cake in the end. Really really really really nice of her to do so! Thank you Carrie!

I chose their famous durian cake as BFF is a huge fan of durian.

When the cake came out, silly BFF thought it was for me. Hello woman! Day before is your birthday leh :p