Penang Place

The price range of buffets has changed so much over the years that most international buffets will cost you at least SGD70 to 80 after tax. The more reputable hotels will cost more than SGD100 and the offerings might not even be that great

I started looking around for a pocket-friendly buffet option with dishes that the elderlies would be more receptive to and found Penang Place. The first time we visited Penang Place was when they opened their first outlet at One North and it has been a few years and I totally forgotten about them. My mum reminded me of them and I found their new outlet at Suntec City Mall

Serving authentic Penang cuisine since 2003 for 20 years, the restaurant serves affordable Penang food with no pork or lard via their self-serviced Buffet. The outlet at Suntec also features an a la carte section where diners can order dishes. The buffet section is located past a floral walkway with a seating capacity of approximately 50 people. The middle of the section is where the self-service buffet line is located

The buffet line has many different counters; the ones attracting the most diners have to be the live stations serving Penang Laksa and cuttlefish with kangkong vegetables. Other counters nearer to the kitchen include the satay and kueh pie ti station, the fried chicken nuggets, fries, and battered jackfruit. Some interesting self-service stations include; rojak, salad, nasi lemak and ice kachang. Other hot dishes include chicken curry, fried chicken wings, fried Penang kueh teow, fried rice, beef rendang and prawn curry. The huge selection at the dessert counter is also full of Penang kueh as well as hot and cold desserts like red bean soup

I took my food from the different counters. The first was the Penang laksa and cuttlefish with kangkong vegetables. The servings were small to ensure no food wastage, so if you liked the food, you could get multiple servings. I like that the laksa was punched with a sour kick but I found the soup missing a savoury layer. I was not sure if it would have tasted better to add more of the prawn sauce as that was in a self-service bottle. The cuttlefish and vegetables were also nice with the cuttlefish’s chewy texture and the sweet and savoury sauce combined the whole dish well

The counter I visited multiple times was definitely the satay and kueh pie ti counter. The satay was perfectly grilled with a nice charred flavour and the meat was seasoned well and the texture was tender and juicy. As this was a halal buffet, there was only chicken satay available. A great point was also the restaurant providing cucumbers, onions and a generous amount of satay sauce. The sauce was really peanutty and sweet and great with the satay. The kueh pie ti is crispy and the filling is also very flavourful and nice with the chilli giving a nice kick

For the rest of the items, I took a bit of everything to try the food except the salad, nasi lemak and beef items. The fried chicken and spring rolls are decent but nothing too special, the fried Penang kway teow was not too bad with some wok hei giving the noodles some smokey flavours. The other items I really liked were the prawn curry and squid curry as well as the braised Nonya vegetables. My only complaint was that the prawns were not extremely fresh as the meat was soft and limp and not crunchy. While it was not extremely fresh, it was also not stale or spoilt prawns so I did have quite a couple of them since the curry was really good

I missed out on taking pictures of the desserts but the kueh and hot desserts were pretty good and we really loved the self-service ice kachang and chendol station as we could add a handful of gula melaka to the dessert. There was also an ice cream fridge where you can scoop your own ice cream

Overall, most of the food items were decent for the price of the buffet at SGD36.90 on weekdays and SGD 39.90 on weekdays and relevant discounts for children and senior citizens. Do come with the expectations that the dishes are general and with some being mediocre given the price is quite affordable in a restaurant located right in the city. Personally, I did find the laksa and curry chicken quite delicious and took a few servings but my nephew hated the buffet so I would really lower your expectations when you visit

Address: 3 Temasek Boulevard, Suntec City, above H&M and Uniqlo, ATRIUM, #02-314 / 315 / 316 Convention Centre, 038983

Opening hours: 11.30 am to 3 pm and 6 pm to 10 pm ( from 5.30pm on Sat)