Banquet (Jurong Point)

I’m sure almost all of us have been to Banquet at some point or rather.
When I was a kid, I remember the big hoo-hah that there was an ‘All Halal Food Court in Jurong”!! And believe you me that was a very exciting prospect back then. It was not as easy then as it is today to find things like Chinese or Korean cuisine being Halal back then.

Today, Banquet has at least 8 outlets all over Singapore and they stretch in all directions of our island.
They apparently also have subs like Ah Mei Cafe, Bagus and even a Banquet Signature but I’ll check them out some other time I reckon.

We actually decided to eat there because we received some information that there was a stall there offering Bak Kut Teh. But unfortunately we could not locate the stall for some reason. So we settled on some alternatives instead.

Korean Combo Set ($8.50)

So my darling wife had the Korean Combo Set which consist of Chicken Bulgoggi and Saba Fish.
This actually gets cooked then simmered on the hotplate on a bed of cabbage and onions.
You also get a side of rice, soup and kimchi plus fried anchovies.

Well I know it looks yummy and also looks super spicy right?
Errrr… well….

My darling wife says “Everything is bad about it”. It’s too watery and everything was too bland. It looks like its got a lot of flavour but unfortunately it’s all a ruse. And she’s pretty particular about her Korean food so she’s also quick to point out that even the rice served was not like the normal starchy Korean rice which should be served. She really disliked this dish.

I know a lot of you might be saying “Of course lah.. food court only mah!”
Well, we’ve actually had better and it was also in a food court. Plus if you’re gonna pay $8.50 for a dish you’d expect to at least be of a certain level right?

Well as for me, they put enough MSG in there to make me keep scooping it off the hotplate!
And it’s really not as spicy as it looks. In fact it’s not spicy at all.

Chicken Rice Executive Set ($6)

Well I was decidedly more hungry and decided to have something a bit more filling.
I saw some dude having the chicken rice and thought to myself “well that looks good”.
And you have to admit – it DOES look good doesn’t it?

So what exactly is the difference between the Chicken Rice Set and the Chicken Rice Executive Set besides $2 in the price?

Well apparently you get an extra half-serving of chicken and some stalks of kai lan.
Yep. That’s it.

And the looks are about as good as it gets apparently.
There was truly nothing spectacular about this dish at all. The chicken was nothing special. The kai lan was tough (and didn’t even have the obligatory drizzle of oyster sauce) and worst of all – the chicken rice chilli sucked!

Was there no end to this mediocrity?

Fried Carrot Cake (Black) $4

Well here’s another dish that looked damn appetizing lah.
I prefer my carrot cake to have kinda like the sloppy wet look instead of the ones that are completely dry and this passes with flying colours. But how did it fare in the taste department?

Well let’s just say that between the 3 dishes, this one was the best.

I guess that Fried Carrot Cake is one of those dishes where everyone will have their own preference.
I prefer mine a little on the wet side with the ‘cake’ itself broken down to smaller pieces while I know some may prefer bigger chunks and maybe a drier version. Some prefer the White version altogether.

For me this carrot cake was not too bad. Not too oily but a bit too chunky for my liking.
Taste-wise was excellent though. Or maybe I was making up for the earlier disappointments.

Adam’s Verdict:
Korean Combo Set 2.5/5 — Chicken Rice Executive Set 2/5 — Fried Carrot Cake 3.5/5

Maryah’s Verdict:
Korean Combo Set 0/5 — Fried Carrot Cake 3.5/5

So has Banquet become just like other food courts? A mere place where people go to eat for convenience? Where the food is moderately priced but the food may not be that good? (This food wasn’t moderately priced anyways but was still not that good).

Well maybe we have to try a few more stalls at a few more Banquet outlets before we give a final decision on whether it was just THIS outlet or it’s all of them.