What does the socially distant future hold for buffets?

The integrated resort is now humming with activity following months of closure. Attractions, amenities, and restaurants are springing back to life, ready to welcome guests and hungry diners. Buffets, in particular, are also making a comeback at MBS.

But before these restaurants receive diners, the team is busy writing a new chapter of the self-serve experience. At soon-to-open Rise, diners can either enjoy unlimited servings – à la carte style – or pick from curated set menus. Most food, with the exception of freshly baked bread, cold cuts, and cheeses, will be pre-plated and served at the table. Christine estimates that some 90 percent of the restaurant’s original spread will be retained in this new format. 

“To minimise cross-contamination, we will be designating a service captain and server to each section of about seven to eight tables,” she adds. 

The Line at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, has reopened to also provide à la carte options. A pared-down selection of some 35 dishes, ranging from seafood to local delicacies, are available for unlimited orders via a digital menu. Each dish is prepped fresh, and served in bite-sized portions directly to the table. 

“With dishes that are cooked-to-order, guests can also enjoy a more personalised service with the flexibility to make requests,” says a spokesperson from the hotel. “Guests can also catch our chefs in action from their tables as they will still be cooking the dishes at the live stations within the restaurant.” 

Others, like Goodwood Park Hotel, started making tweaks to its buffet service even before the ‘circuit breaker’ period. At its English Afternoon Tea Buffet at L’Espresso, staff were previously stationed at counters to help serve dishes to diners. 

In Phase 2, the restaurant had to pivot, again, to its current tableside service. Orders are now made via a paper chit, then served in individual portions to each table. “This allows for a more personalised and leisurely experience that is similar, if not more enjoyable,” says a representative. 

Other forms of buffets have had to be adjusted as well. 

Zafferano’s resumed Italian Table Champagne Brunch will serve all dishes to the table, which are meant to be shared among the same dining group just like “the way Italian families have dined together for generations”. Diners can also opt for the food to come individually plated.  

Special care will also be shown when serving its free-flowing beverage. “We will be mindful that the pouring of champagne will not have physical contact with the drinkware,” shares operations manager Vadim Korob. 

What used to be a dedicated cheese room filled with over 40 varieties at Regent Singapore’s Basilico has since been distilled into an intimate cheese pairing menu, where the chefs will recommend options based on the type of wine. 

Similarly, Manhattan’s Adults-Only Sunday Brunch had previously carried some elements of tableside service, says the hotel’s executive chef Angelo Ciccone. “Now, we have amplified that by wheeling trolleys of gins, vodkas, and garnishes, and customise Bloody Marys, gin and tonics, boozy milkshakes, and garibaldis exactly how the guests tell us they like it,” he adds. 

- Christine Kaelbel-Sheares, Vice President of F&B, MBS

But the newly redesigned buffet format poses a new set of challenges. Anecdotally, most restaurants cite increased manpower as their primary concern.

General manager of Kingdom Food Group, which runs buffet chains I’m Kim Korean BBQ and GoroGoro Steamboat & Korean Buffet, Kelvin Chui, estimates that switching to an à la carte format has resulted in a 40 percent increase in staffing. 

“We have to serve each and every food item to the diners’ tables, including drinks and condiments. This has led to an increase in our operating cost, while our sales have dropped by 30 to 40 percent due to spacing constraints,” he says. 

Of the group's seven restaurants, two GoroGoro Steamboat & Korean Buffet outlets at Centrepoint and Tampines, and I'm Kim Junior at Scape, remain closed during Phase 2 due to “resource constraints” and “the high manpower involved”. 

Kelvin adds: “By ordering via a sheet, the ‘visuals’ of the food are lost.” The buffet chain hopes to alleviate this issue by serving up an unchanged menu that keeps to the same variety, and price.

Over at the reopened Level33, its weekday lunch buffet has also been replaced with a 'plated' one. Diners can still head to the counters for free-flowing appetisers but now, a chef places the food on their plates instead. It’s a labour-intensive process, shares founding managing director of the Ponte Group, and one that’s compounded by split team arrangements. 

“We have to work with entirely separated shifts and teams that do not mix or overlap,” Martin Bèm says. “Although we do have considerably less seating capacity, the main workload has not changed much. And this causes serious rostering challenges.”

Colony at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore has also chosen to adapt its signature buffet experience, despite the need for more manpower. “The menu from our seven conservatory kitchens remain largely the same, but are now presented as individually plated dishes,” shares executive assistant manager of F&B, Nicolas Bailet.

Still, like many restaurants, Colony is committed to providing this new buffet service to its guests despite the challenges. Nicolas explains: “To offer a simple a la carte offering would have totally changed the identity of the restaurant.”

- Kelvin Chui, General manager of Kingdom Food Group

Self-serve breakfast buffets – a common offering in most hotels – on the other hand, have largely been discontinued. Most hotels have removed their endless spread of bread, bakes, and other breakfast food due to the lack of guests. 

The Line at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore now provides “elaborate” breakfast sets with a choice of two starters, and mains that range from local nasi lemak to Shakshuka poached eggs – all to “provide guests with ample variety” according to a spokesperson. 

Likewise at Goodwood Park Hotel’s Coffee Lounge, the breakfast buffet has been replaced with four different set menus: American, Continental, Japanese, or Asian. 

Restaurants at Regent Singapore remain closed during breakfast. “Should stays open up before buffets are allowed, we will look at creating an à la carte menu of gourmet breakfast staples,” shares Angelo.  

However, Spago and Club55 at Marina Bay Sands have plans in the pipeline to transform their breakfast into an unlimited à la carte format when they reopen. Tray-passed items of cold cuts, bacon, cereal, and yoghurt will also be served. 

Christine from MBS adds: “While this new way of buffet dining will not be an exact replica of buffets as we know them, it is the safest and most responsible way to indulge in our favourite activity – eating – for now, and at least in the near future.”