Natalie C.
Yelp
I have been wanting to try TOCA's Sunday brunch buffet for over 2 years, but didn't really have an event to celebrate to justify the cost. However, when I found out that they were having a Saturday brunch buffet for a reduced price, I decided to make the splurge.
The hot food variety on Saturday is significantly less than what they offer on Sunday, which they have fairly stated on their online menu. However, they still had the "breakfast staples" such as sausages, bacon, pancakes and egg benedicts. Other hot food includes a lamb stew, roasted vegetables, a pan fried fish dish in a broth and a pasta dish. Nonetheless, the main reason why I wanted to go to TOCA was for their seafood bar (lobsters, king crab legs, oysters and smoked fish), which they also serve on Saturday. So to me, I find it more value for money to go on a Saturday.
The lobsters were smaller than expected, approximately 2-3 ounces per tail. Most of the ones I ate had a decent texture, but there was approximately 2 half tails I had that were quite chewy (over-blanched?). I was surprised that the crab legs have a "strong" sweet crab flavour! As most of the time the crab legs are tasteless and often have a hint of "icy" flavour as they are not completely defrosted. I also really enjoyed the smoked salmon and trout. They had a hint of smokey-ness and was mildy salted. The cocktail shrimps were big and had a "crispy" texture! The oysters were "meh". They were really small, sometimes shriveled up and occasionally quite "fishy". I only had a few (max 5) as I was afraid my stomach won't be able to handle it.
Another thing I was looking forward to at TOCA was their cheese, since they have a cheese cave (which is a glass room and not really a cave). However the 3 cheeses they had on offered were disappointing. The blue cheese variety didn't have the "tangy" kick. The other two cheeses were hard cheeses, which typically suggest they are aged and should have a bold flavour profile. However, they were prerty much tasteless and some pieces tasted "chalky". I was also disappointed that TOCA didn't label their cheese. They only had a generic sign saying "Selection of Artisan Cheese". In the future, I hope TOCA would replace one of the hard cheese with a soft cheese like triple cream brie.
I'm not a dessert kind of person, but I know Ritz Carlton, Hong Kong are famous for their dessert. Hence, I assumed the dessert served at TOCA would be similar. The desserts were beautifully presented and overall, they were pretty good! They had a decadent chocolate cake, a pistachio apricot mousse, creme brulee and a chocolate fondue. My favourite was the mousse. The sweetness was well balanced, the mousse was smooth and creamy. The creme brulee was a tad too sweet for me but had quite a significant amount of vanilla bean seed! The chocolate cake was rich but was too sweet for me. I would suggest sharing the piece. However, I do like the layers of moist chocolate cake and chocolate ganache.
Tip: Be prepared that for the first 30 mins of the buffet, most of the dishes (except for the desserts and salads) would be empty or only have a few pieces left. It's not that the food is replenished slowly (TOCA did a good job replenishing and service was great!), it's just that everyone was hungry. Plus, on the day I went 95% of the tables were filled.