I am sitting next to a shallow body of crystal clear water with its own mini waterfall, nearby are streams of water raining down gently. Behind me, and around me are large palm trees in giant terracotta pots adorned with green fairy lights. A man is singing classic hits, accompanying himself on the piano or guitar. He sits on a podium that juts out over the water. I am surrounded by strangers, all of whom seem to be enjoying their dining experience. Where am I? 

For a moment not even I am sure. It feels like I have gone on holiday and am sitting in a resort, or at least the outdoor dining space of a resort. I am in fact in The Greenery in The Royal Garden hotel.

Seafood Focus

The Greenery is home to a seafood-focused dinner buffet, which I have come to try as part of WOM's buffet series, which this month spotlights seafood buffets. With my mind on gems from the sea we head straight for the cold selection of prawns, king crab legs, crabs, mussels, and salmon. To my surprise and disappointment there are no oysters.

Standouts were the sweet prawns, sweeter than you find at most hotel buffets. The king crab had been pre split, which made eating the flavourful flesh a joy. It was a little salty though and perhaps a tad watery, but this did not prevent us from enjoying its excellent flavour. The smoked salmon had an intense orange almost red colour and a strong flavour to match, and it was a hit with my dining companion.

Next we headed to the sashimi and sushi counter. From the selection of cut-to-order sashimi we had Tasmanian salmon, yellowtail, scallop, and Taiwanese abalone; other choices included tuna, squid and octopus. The scallop was hit and miss, while mine was creamy and tasty my dining partner's scallop did not taste good at all, not off, just not nice. All the fish was thick cut and so the fresh flavours were pronounced. While the salmon was nice, certainly rich and oily, it was the delicate yellowtail, with its distinct flavour that was our favourite. The abalone tasted like it had been marinated to soften it and was delicious - fantastic texture and flavour. 

The pre made sushi included popular choices of eel, shrimp and scallop, but instead we went for the Aburi or roasted sushi that leaves the seafood partially cooked. The server brushed the salmon and shrimp with a mayonnaise based 'Japanese Sauce' before scorching the seafood with the flame, while the eel was sans sauce. It was fascinating to watch the shrimp tail curl up under the intense heat. The sauce was a surprisingly delightful partner to the shrimp, but was unnecessary on the already rich salmon. I like aburi sushi for the combination of cooked and raw flavours and textures, but in this case I found the sushi rice to be too cold and a distraction from the seafood. This could be rectified by making the aburi sushi to order instead of using the chilled pre-made sushi. The wasabi had an excellent lingering heat, yet was obviously powdered.

A Spot of Tweaking

On to the poached seafood station with items cooked while you wait. I kept it very simple and chose scallop with roe and two large prawns with the sake seafood broth, and my dining partner had the same seafood with the addition of vegetables, tofu, noodles and cuttlefish mouths in a thousand year egg and coriander broth. There is a selection of condiments to individualise your dish and experience. I thought the broth was delicious with a traditional Japanese taste, the prawns were good and worked with the soy chilli dipping sauce, while the scallops were just OK. My dining partner's unusual broth was complex and not for the faint-hearted, while a tad salty the flavours were balanced and he loved it.

Also on offer for the seafood fan are the jumbo grilled shrimp that appear to be freshly grilled, and had been at some point, but not by the time we had ours at around 9pm, an hour before the buffet closes. They were overcooked and almost cold. Unfortunately the same was true of the special complimentary serving of Seared King Scallop with Mango Mustard Seed Sauce. Although the scallop appeared to be cooked to order, and why not, they don't take long, it wasn't, and not even the final blast on the hotplate before serving could disguise that it had been cooked some time ago and was now tired and only lukewarm. As my dining partner said, the produce itself is of good quality but we had missed the window of opportunity for eating it at its best. A shame as the pairing of rocket, mango sauce and scallop was wonderful. With just a spot of tweaking these two items could have easily had us raving about how fantastic they were.

Space does not allow me to go into too much more detail about what other dishes we tried and those we didn't from the cooked dishes section (seafood, vegetable and meat dishes, including signature lamb and US 1855 roast beef, plus salads) but my friend had what he described as one of the best Hong Kong style Borscht, and the Hainan Chicken was excellent.

Early is Best

With just enough time we managed to fit in a variety of desserts. The most interesting was the Lavender Brulee, which had an unexpected lavender intensity that was intriguing. Our favourite was the Chocolate Mochi Roll, with its contrast of sticky, smooth and crunchy textures and depth of chocolate flavour. 

The buffet at The Greenery does satiate the needs of the seafood fan, and there are plenty of options for those that are not. In its current format I would recommend going to The Greenery earlier in the evening for the best shot at an excellent meal, when the food is at its optimum.

Ambience, Service, Price   

The Greenery's unique garden-like atrium setting and decor provides a sense of escapism that I love. The addition of the water features, and live music does feel like being on holiday and certainly different to any other place in town.

The staff all seemed happy to help with suggestions for the buffet and were all friendly. My only complaint is that I felt rushed to have completely finished my meal by the 10pm end-of-buffet time. It was only 9.45 and staff were busily cleaning tables, rushing around and generally making me feel like I had overstayed my welcome.

The buffet is priced at $418 for adults and $318 for children, Monday to Thursday, and $448 and $348 on Friday to Sunday, Public Holidays and eves of Public Holidays. The restaurant also serves an all-day international menu, as well as breakfast and lunch buffets.