Big appetite for buffet despite price hikes
The Straits Time 28 March 2011s -by Jessica Lim
Prices of buffet spreads in Singapore might be heading north - but foodies are still ready to splurge for variety. Buffet-goers are forking out anything from $15.80 to $64 each for spreads that range from porridge with side dishes to oysters and rotisserie fare. When The Straits Times checked with 20 popular buffet joints here, it found 30 had raised prices by $1 to $9.
Buffet restaurants cited rising costs for food ingredients, electricity and labour as reasons for the price hikes. Even so, 11 of these 13 establishments actually saw a rise in patronage.
Quality Hotel - the Taiwan porridge buffet at this hotel welcomes 15 per cent more customers now than it did last year. About 400 people flock to the generous spread at the cafe over the weekends. 'Every weekend, we have a waiting list of at least 20 people a day, said food and beverage manager Dennis Muthu, 37. 'We've even had to open the lounge to diners.' The hotel, located on Balestier Road, now charges $15.80 for its dinner buffet spread, up from $14.80 in January this year and $13.50 last year. Laksa has been added to the spread.
The Straits Time 28 March 2011s -by Jessica Lim
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| After the price hikes at 13 buffet restaurants, 11 of them actually saw a rise in patronage |
Prices of buffet spreads in Singapore might be heading north - but foodies are still ready to splurge for variety. Buffet-goers are forking out anything from $15.80 to $64 each for spreads that range from porridge with side dishes to oysters and rotisserie fare. When The Straits Times checked with 20 popular buffet joints here, it found 30 had raised prices by $1 to $9.
Buffet restaurants cited rising costs for food ingredients, electricity and labour as reasons for the price hikes. Even so, 11 of these 13 establishments actually saw a rise in patronage.
Quality Hotel - the Taiwan porridge buffet at this hotel welcomes 15 per cent more customers now than it did last year. About 400 people flock to the generous spread at the cafe over the weekends. 'Every weekend, we have a waiting list of at least 20 people a day, said food and beverage manager Dennis Muthu, 37. 'We've even had to open the lounge to diners.' The hotel, located on Balestier Road, now charges $15.80 for its dinner buffet spread, up from $14.80 in January this year and $13.50 last year. Laksa has been added to the spread.
Tarafuku Japanese Buffet - at 313@Somerset in Orchard, now serves 570 diners on the weekends, up from 220 when it opened in September last year. These days, it charges $27.80 for dinner; last year, dinner prices from Monday to Thursday were $2 cheaper.
Italian restaurant Basilico - Sunday buffet lunch here now attracts 20 per cent more diners than it did a year ago. The buffet is priced at $64, against $55 last year and $49 in 2009.
Carousel at Royal Plaza on Scotts -started charging $62 for its weekday dinner buffet, up from $58 last year and $52 in 2009. The restaurant, which also started offering fresh oysters instead of frozen and a wider range of seafood, is now welcoming an average of 720 customers on the weekends, up from 600 last year.
Carousel at Royal Plaza on Scotts -started charging $62 for its weekday dinner buffet, up from $58 last year and $52 in 2009. The restaurant, which also started offering fresh oysters instead of frozen and a wider range of seafood, is now welcoming an average of 720 customers on the weekends, up from 600 last year.
Ms Nikole Ow, 22, a student who dines at buffets once a month said: 'Nowadays, even food courts charge quite a lot. If you can find a buffet for under $20, it's actually better value for money.'
'Prices at eateries all over Singapore are going up, so people are willing to pay a bit more to get a lot more. They see a buffet as value for money,' 'If you go a la carte, you can't eat as much for the same price.
