The Line

According to other reviews this place has grown old. Maybe 10 or 15 years ago it might have been one of the best. But now it’s grown out of fashion due to the newer places popping up everywhere.
There is a wide spread of food ranging from Indian to Chinese cuisine. It has a pretty decent starters area and the smoked duck is one of the best I have ever tasted. There was another alternative of the duck. The ducks breast with balsamic onion glaze. The first set that was there when I got there wasn’t very well cooked. Not sure if it is a health hazard but it should be checked out.
An awesome spread of dessert. Sadly I couldn’t finish it all because I was way too full. Devil’s Cake was heavenly. Ironic really.
I have to commend the woman womanning the ice cream area. She smiled at everybody and although I couldn’t catch her name, she should be appreciated.
Also the server for our table was very on task. Literally every time my water cup ran out, he was there and he filled it up. Once again I couldn’t catch his name but he should be appreciated.
For a date with your special someone or for a group outing, this restaurant is fitting for your every need.

I’ve never heard of this place until now. I haven’t been living under a rock I just don’t live here in Singapore. The buffet spread rivals that of a Vegas buffet at a mid range hotel. The cold seafood appetizers, cheese and sweets selections wereby far my favorite with variety and are simply delectable. The fresh salad selection was somewhat limited. The Caesar salad was already prepared in a bowl but that made the lettuce sink into the bowl with the dressing and the croton soggy. Maybe having a chef at the station tossing salads would yield better quality salads. There were local fare thrown as well. For a buffet restaurant, the service isn’t lacking surprisingly. Plates were removed promptly from your table once you’re finished, drinks are topped up. For the price for this buffet, I only wished the décor isn’t as casual. It reminded me of a campus cafeteria. I also wished considerations be given to Shangri La guests who didn’t know to make reservations for dinner on a Thursday evening. I nearly missed the opportunity to Unilocal this buffet.

This was THE PLACE for high tea buffet 10 – 15 years ago. These days, with all the newer, hotter places popping up all over the islands, we don’t really think of coming here anymore when we visit family and friends in Singapore. I’m glad that we gave it try this time.
I thoroughly enjoyed every bite, from the foie gras and smoked duck salad, Chinese roast duck and chicken rice, sashimi, raw bar, lamb curry and prata, satay to desserts and fruit. They also have a coffee/​tea station that served very good teas and the coffee/​tea/​hot chocolate beverages were included in the buffet, which is nice (yes, some other places charged separately for coffee/​drinks).
Granted that it does not have the greatest selection or the more delicate desserts one would see at Edge nor does it have the more elaborate local fares one can get at Straits Kitchen, the quality of everything I tried was solid and the service was good when we were there. Happy with our visit!

We’ve been staying at the Shangri La and have had their breakfast at The Line every morning. The spread is more than impressive with foods to satisfy any pallet from American, British, Indian, Chinese, Japanese and more. This includes soups, salads, fruit, pasteries, meats, juices and more. Getting seated during the week around 9 am has been no problem, but the weekends are a larger challenge. The wait line backs up and it’s a little frustrating to see so many open tables that aren’t being filled just due to inefficient process. It’s been difficult to catch a server to get drinks and I’ve had multiple occasions where my table has been cleared when I went to go grab fruit after finishing my main course. With so many folks and no real order to the procession to grab food, navigating to your table is a challenge, although people watching is spectacular. If you’re looking for variety and quality, and are willing to forgo service and efficiency, you’ll be happy with your choice. I would recommend Straits at the Hyatt over The Line if you aren’t staying at the Shangri La. We may venture outside just for a change of pace, but it’s hard to beat the selection we’ve got just a short walk away.

I’m not fond of buffets because its an array of mediocre food. A huge selection but not one will stand out. But my friends enjoy going to The Line so I go for the company. If you find yourself in this place, suggest you go for the cold bar — oysters, mussels — fresh because of the high turn over. For the Japanese bar, just get the salmon sushi — the rest are just stomach fillers. The Chinese bar is the most decent — don’t even try the Indian bar — the naan and roti are stone cold.
There was a long line for the grilled meat so I thought this was the highlight. I realized that the long line was because the server cuts the meat in sloooooow motion.
The quality of service has declined considerably — I didn’t feel like I was in a hotel and felt like I was in a cheap restaurant with servers who could not speak english.

Overpriced Singapore breakfast buffet. It does have many variety of food but the taste was average. Service was below par. Their breakfast buffet wasn’t ready 15 minutes after opening time. Many staff were running around setting up the place while customers were left unattended. For an established operation in an upscale hotel such as Shangri-​La, it was a disappointment.

I enjoyed the breakfast buffet on more than a few occasions and will have to say the I was not disappointed whatsoever.
My only gripe is that it left me gutted (full) for the rest of the day.
It’s quite pricey but it is singapore so what do u expect.

Finally had a chance to eat here, thanks to my sisters organizing a weekday lunch. There was a promotion if you book online. I’m not a real fan of buffets but definitely wanted to check out this buffet that everyone and their grandmas were talking about. There’s definitely a great spread — seafood, sushi, salads, italian, indian, chinese, a local noodle station, beverages, dessert, and much more. It’s not possible to sample every single dish unless you have a really great appetite so target well. My favorite is the noodle station and I love the teh tarik and desserts. The service could be a little slow though. At one point our table was not being cleared and we had to take our dishes to the bussing station. But the staff was apologetic and stepped up their service pretty soon.

I was there for my birthday celebration, a month’s ahead since I flying off soon. So happened that I get to try the new items on its a la carte menu.
Ranked in order of popularity, I was presented the Flank Steak Sandwich which is my heart-​throb. Absolutely won the hearts of many at the table of 9 + 2. X-​factor lies in the right cut — flank steak. Rich beefy flavour with a hint of sweet from the caramelised onions, the most memorable tenderness in its juicy frame. The winning ciabatta lends an attractive crisp to the soft filling, thanks to the toasted underside done in garlic-​butter spread. Sous chef Kelvin Cha added a handful of mild peppery arugula and melting cheese for a final flavour boost. In general, the sandwich is very well executed.
Next came The Salmon Burger. U may think nothing of it but the painstakingly hard work behind the patty construction allows for a greater appreciation. It was’t any grilled fish burger we commonly seen, not a simple slab of pale salmon fillet sandwiching your buns. This, the patty is handmade from scratch. The shoyu marinated salmon meat is coarsely grind and compacted with preserved capers to give a bit of zest and preventing overly firmed formation. I witnessed how the sweet pickles and crisp lettuce magnify its freshness with crunch. While some may be biased against cooked salmon, this patty is terribly moist and juicy, not dry like any overcooked variants that exhibit bitterness. The teriyaki-​coated bonito flakes doubled up the charred flavour but slightly nectarous for some in the overall taste. I love the sesame bun for its fluffiness at the top and a light buttery underside, grilled.
Then the Crispy Chicken Burger arrived. Served in plain burger buns, this one has an amazing chicken texture that has never occurred to me that it was a chicken breast cut. The right formula throws in cornflakes to bind with the 5-​spiced batter for frying. The cornflakes play an important role that result in ultimate crisp and crunchy exterior (even when cold) while a juicy and tender chicken fillet smitten u in the middle with a dollop of light mayo, with pickles and lettuce for a healthier feel. Very deserving.
So I need not succumbed myself to the old boring Club Sandwich whenever I dine a la carte at The Line. I less enjoyed the mega buffet table because I disliked cold food and prefer a smaller portion.
Although I find the new creation attractive, the restaurant can lure me further when fewer waving is required on my next visit. The service level has somewhat lagged as the year goes by, something the management should look into at The Line restaurant.

Wide spread of selection! Be sure to try as many cuisines as you can. Great seafood except the oysters tasted a little too bitter for my liking, as for the mussels they are really sweet and fresh. The sweets are a mega must try! Love the peach/​passion mousse cake and dark chocolate log cake. I swear they are beyond words! The ice cream sorbets are a must try too! Love them so much, especially raspberry and mango ;) Not quite a fan of the sushi (s) as they’re quite plain, nothing surprising. Overall, people come for the generous spread of food selection as well as the seafood. I wouldn’t consider it the best buffet in Singapore, but definitely not your typical average line!

The Line has one of the widest varieties of any buffet line I’ve seen in Singapore. They have a great variety — Indian, seafood, Japanese, Chinese, Italian — a little bit of everything, if you wish to say so. Also, they have a beer buffet thrown in on Mondays (Tiger beer is served here).
I came here to celebrate my girlfriend’s birthday and as a result you actually get a discount when you dine here.
I would recommend their oysters which are nicely shucked right in front of you so they’re as fresh as possible. I like their sashimi — it’s pretty fresh — but unfortunately they don’t have a huge variety of sashimi, from what I remember it was only Salmon and Tuna. I also like their satay, there’s a really long queue for it and no wonder, they have such good meats and the peanut sauce is well made.
And I’d like to compliment their service staff which were really nice to us, they actually remembered it was my girlfriend’s birthday and brought out a cake to celebrate. So, that nice gesture really made me bring this review from 4-​star to 5-​star.
Only one downer for me — this place is really hard to get to, you need to cab in and cab out. Cabbing in isn’t an issue, but if its raining it’ll be a challenge to get cabs to bring you home.

I think I can get a little overly critical of buffets because most of the time I get too excited about the prospect of an endless spread of food and it ends up not being as good as I thought. The Line is pretty decent with your standard international fare — Italian, Japanese, Indian… there is a little of everything. The seafood was really fresh the last time I went but I’ve heard friends complain otherwise.
Being one of the most popular buffet choices in Singapore also means you have to tolerate a crowd. My iced lemon tea never came despite three reminders but they were nice enough to send two on the house after they realized their mistake.
Thing is, I can’t remember a single dish that stood out and that is not too good, is it?

The Line at Shangri La Hotel may not be the number one buffet in my heart but definitely has the best service amount all its competitors. By this, I don’t mean that the others are bad just that The Line is way better by a lot. For example, your plates are cleared normally right after you finish your food. Plain water keep being replenish, Napkin that you left on your seats when you are away will be folded neatly on the table so you won’t sit on it when you are back. Service crews are all smile when serving and on and off asking about your satisfaction of The Line. Quite impressive, they must love their job.
The food standard are good. No reason for you not to finish them when you already took them. Every food item that I have tried is good. They have the biggest oyster compared to those I have seen in other buffets. Seafood are very fresh.
Another thing I like about The Line is the dessert counter. Lots of cakes and tarts to choose from. Very fresh fruits and Giant Chocolate Fondue machine.
The restaurant is near to the pool so it is not a bad thing to choose a outdoor seats. More relaxing and quiet which is totally different atmosphere as compared to when you are inside the restaurant.
The only thing I don’t like about the place is its lighting. The whole place projects a orange surrounding and quite hard for photo taking.

There used to be a time that people wouldn’t mind paying an arm or leg to have a go at the buffet at The Line.
Sadly, standards have dropped and are not showing any signs of improvement. While the seafood on offer is fresh, there’s nothing really fantastic that stands out. And its quite surprising as the prices to dine here are on the high side, but service has been appalling for some time.
The variety of food was also limited compared to other buffets and includes the standard salad bars, Asian fare like indian curries, chinese roast meat noodles. What’s more, with the seafood being the main draw, you can expect long queues over at the Japanese counter for sushi and sashimi — something you can get at decent prices elsewhere easily.

Tried many of the hotel buffets locally but the most satisfying one would still be the Line. I love the selection that the line provide, ranging from japanese, western, chinese, indian and local cuisine. For those with a sweet tooth, there are also a large selection of desserts and ice-​cream to choose from. Kids are often wowed by the chocolate fountain that they have and the ice cream mix-​in bar. Great variety, caters to crowds with a mix of tastebuds.
The only problem I have with the Line is its ambience. As the place traps sound, it can be very noisy. It makes it feels like a high class kopitiam.
What makes the buffet value for money is the ongoing $ 39 lunch deals. Make an online reservation via their website to enjoy that promotion.

Buffets do not get any more comprehensive than the one you will find at The Line.
When it comes to buffets, often people adopt the mentality that they have to eat until they have got their money’s worth. At around $ 65++, that’s a lot they will have to eat here. Thankfully The Line will help you out with the most incredible spread — I struggled to think of something I could reasonably expect at a buffet that they did not have.
The classic buffet trick is to hit the sashimi bar hard — sashimi being one of the most expensive food items you would find anywhere. The sashimi is adequately fresh, nothing that would blow your mind, but nothing less than you would expect from a hotel. You would also want to get the oysters, which is fairly fresh, but apart from that and the prawns, the rest of the cold seafood can be quite forgettable.
I stayed away from the Indian fare as it was not particularly my cup of tea, not at a buffet especially. Instead I went for the roasted duck and pork, which came highly recommended, and rightly so. Not quite in the class of some hawkers’ best, but I was well satisfied with what I had.
The rest of the chinese section consisted of a selection of dim sum, a chef that made noodles for you, and some of the standard chinese dishes you would expect, such as sliced beef and sweet and sour pork (if I remember this correctly!). Nothing really that tempted me enough to take it.
There is also a western section with sliced roasted beef, complete with yorkshire pudding and beef gravy, but it was unfortunately a tad dry and nothing to shout about. The same could be said of the Italian fare, which I’d like to think I wisely gravitated from.
The main attraction was always going to be the dessert bar, complete with a chocolate fountain, shelves after shelves of cakes and puddings and an array of ice cream flavours and toppings. A kid’s heaven, and by that I’m referring to that little guy in every single one of us. Don’t expect each piece you pick up to be of stunning quality, but they are at least a pretty nice eat.
The thing about buffets is that you have to realise you are paying for the entertainment of having the ridiculous option to eat whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want — as though you’ve bought yourself a whole wad of Monopoly money to spend on. Of course you’ll never end up spending it all, but you have to try to enjoy the process as much as you can. That said, it is quite a lot of money you’re paying to treat it as ‘just a game’, so… whatever floats your boat here!