Singapore: J65 @ Hotel Jen Tanglin

Having undergone an extensive SGD45 million makeover to transition from Traders Hotel Singapore, Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore has emerged with a fresh outlook. This contemporary and chic hotel is now home to J65, an all-day dining restaurant.

One of the most eye-catching features in J65 has got to be this refreshing, sweet and satisfying fruit punch and iced peach tea corner. Each of the glass jars are plunged halfway into a bucket of shaved ice, ensuring it is cold and lovely to consume. You can opt for warm/cold water or coffee/tea if don't like sweet drinks. 

Onto the meats section! Channelling my inner carnivore in progress.. I really liked the grilled salmon which was very tender and fresh, separating the meat from bone easily. The pork knuckles were quite tasty as well, and are sliced on demand.

Don't miss the kueh pie tee for the world - I love these succulent yet appetizing local pops so much that I actually finished all three of them. The laksa section features 5 different types - Singapore, Johor, Penang, Sarawak and Thai. I only managed to try the Penang Laksa, and it is an absolute delight to have, very piquant and strong tastes which are not overwhelming. Some of the other local favourites and crowd pleasers include the nasi briyani and Indian curries station. 

Their seafood section is spectacular with a whole sea of oysters, lobsters, fresh prawns, mussels, sashimi, salmon - all for free-flow grabs. This is the most impressive section in J65 because of the variety, the speed at which they refill this high-demand counter, and most of all - the immaculate freshness of the seafood provided here. It is very rare in Singapore to taste this freshness, and it was a pleasant surprise to find it at J65. The sushi is rather lacklustre and a waste of stomach space, so you can safely skip most of it.

Desserts. As most of you know, I love all things sweet and cold, regardless of what form they come in. However, my expectations were too high for J65's extremely photogenic and gorgeous dessert spread. While the cakes are lovely to see, they fall short of the texture and freshness. I was wondering if it was because they left it out there on display for some time already. The ice-cream and cute glass jars also failed to perform, ingenious with the flavours but quite a let-down on the taste. I guess I would advise you to eat more seafood instead of bothering much with the desserts!