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Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Sheraton on the Park Botanica Brasserie, Sydney

There's something distinctly Australian about the enigma that is The Seafood Buffet. We have plenty of seafood in our coastal waters. Why not allow the true blue Aussie eat half their body weight in one sitting in an all-out celebration of pure gluttony? =)

I say this as a recovering buffet-aholic. It is true, indeed, that these visits reached their culminative peak in the high school / university era dominated by "the pursuit of value". And yes, I know it was only on Boxing Day last year that I was stuffing my face with gleeful abandon. I'm entitled to relapses.

And then I did it again.



We are at the Sheraton on the Park, one of Sydney's premier hotels. There's a giant sweeping staircase, plush ruby red carpet and a dozen re-fillable plates with my name on them.

Our visit coincides with their "Curries of the World" theme, featuring dishes from India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. We remember our priorities though, and head straight for the seafood.


The fresh seafood buffet included cooked prawns, oysters, smoked salmon, yabbies and cooked mussels

There are two platters of assorted sushi...

Nigiri sushi and maki sushi

...and it's true, they really do serve you semi-peeled prawns ready to eat (try to dimiss the image of a poor apprentice chef stuck peeling 100kg of prawns)


Peeled prawns a-go-go


Curry, roast potatoes and steamed vegetables

Down one end of the room is a chef who will prepare lobster to order. What this means is he tops cooked half-lobsters with either a thermidor sauce, a curry sauce or "Asian-style fried hokkien noodles". More for novelty value really... oh and he carves you roast meats too.



A world of curries


And plenty of salads too

We get waylaid by the dessert counter as always. This one isn't quite as spectacular as the spread we enjoyed at the Sheraton Four Points, but then we presume that buffet spreads during the festive season get a little extra magic added.

The endless row of creme brulees are swooped on with gusto, although disapointingly the heat lamps have melted the burnt toffee toppings.

We eat, and eat, and eat some more.

And as I waddle out the door, belt loosened and breathing shallowly, I promise myself I will no longer succumb to the "quantity over quality" mantra.

Famous last words.


Elegant soft-set jellies and creme brulees


View Larger Map

Botanica Brasserie
Level One, Sheraton on the Park Hotel
161 Elizabeth Street, Sydney
Tel: 02 9286 6650

All-you-can eat seafood buffet
(prices correct as at 4 Sep 2009 - please ring to confirm)
Lunch
Monday - Saturday $65.00
Sunday $75.00

Dinner
Sunday - Thursday $79.00
Friday - Saturday $99.00


Related GrabYourFork posts:
Shangri-La Cafe Mix buffet
Sheraton Four Points Corn Exchange buffet

Swissotel JPB Restaurant Fondue Chinoise buffet
Swissotel Crossroads Bar High Tea (Jan09), (Nov06) , (Jun06) and (Oct05)
22 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Anonymous on 8/10/2005 10:47:00 pm


22 Comments:

  • At 8/11/2005 3:23 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    LOL!

    that is why i refuse to go to buffets, no matter how good nor how quickly they refresh the food. inevitably, i eat enough to feed a small country. or even a medium-sized one. LOL!

     
  • At 8/11/2005 4:35 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Impressive buffet, especially the half-peeled prawns! All one has to do is pluck off the head and enjoy. But won't the prawns have lost their juiciness which would otherwise have been retained by the shells? Besides, I think I'd be feeling too guilty to enjoy the prawns, all the while thinking of the poor guy who has to meticulously half-peel kilo after kilo of the crustaceans. :P

    And don't be so hard on yourself, AG. I do believe there's an inner "buffet-aholic" in everyone of us. :)

     
  • At 8/11/2005 6:11 am, Blogger boo_licious said…

    Wowee, love the spread they have especially the prawns which is perfect for me as I hate peeling them.

    Yeah, I tend to avoid buffets as I end up overindulging. If I succumb to my "buffetaholic" tendencies, I always eat the Japanese buffet. I console myself it's healthier as all I do is just eat sashimi.

     
  • At 8/11/2005 7:10 am, Blogger *fanny* said…

    This buffet looks like the one i had in the Niagara on the lake Sheraton... Are all the Sheraton the same? I don't think so: the one i usually go is Sheraton Park Tower in London and it doesn't offer such a buffet. Hum, weird, ill have to ask the question...

    xoxo

    Fanny

     
  • At 8/11/2005 1:02 pm, Blogger Kelly said…

    Ohhh. I've never seen peeled prawns on a buffet before! That is the ultimate!

    AG, I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that my in-laws lurve a good buffet. I've learned from them some important strategic buffet rules. [1] No wasting valuable stomach space with filling carbs. [2] Don't bother eating anything you can get at home. [3] Eat as many prawns as possible. In fact, you don't have to eat anything else if you don't want to :)

     
  • At 8/11/2005 1:20 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Mmm, mmm! Those buffet pics look gorgeous AG. Though i don't do it too often these days, i do love a good buffet, especially a seafood buffet, with freshly shucked oysters!

    Many a time i've left a buffet restaurant stuffed full to the eyeballs, waddling in contentment. Hehe!

     
  • At 8/11/2005 3:25 pm, Blogger tytty said…

    you got the attention with the lobster! (^_')0

    didn't you blog once before bout corn exchange's winter offer? is that still on?

     
  • At 8/11/2005 3:26 pm, Blogger tytty said…

    aih, my attention i mean..

     
  • At 8/11/2005 4:08 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    In the U.S. we have a thing called California roll (sushi roll)....what's Oz's version of sushi?

     
  • At 8/11/2005 7:38 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I haven't had a decent buffet in 4yrs now.. :(
    This one is awesome..!!

     
  • At 8/11/2005 8:44 pm, Blogger Reid said…

    Hi AG,

    Hmmm. Looks impressive, but I was expecting a picture of your plate of food. =P

     
  • At 8/14/2006 10:17 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Is the weekday menu different from the saturday menus? (to reflect the cost)

     
  • At 10/21/2006 5:13 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    hi AG, i'm a new fan of yours, and after scouring over your numerous drooling entries...i decided i would want to head for a seafood buffet again! hehe. just wanna hear from you since you've tried both, do you prefer the seafood buffet by Corn exchange restaurant or Botanica Brasserie? I tried the seafood buffet at cafe Mix in shangrila, which was not quite good.

     
  • At 12/01/2006 6:47 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Thanks for blogging this buffet. Went there once but couldnt find any info on it except for your blog!

    Just got a q on the lobster and the chef. Can you really order him to cook lobster? Do you need to pay extra for that? Last time I went, I only took notice of him standing there and didnt know he can cook lobster!!!

    What's the difference between weekday buffet since the price is $20 cheaper?

     
  • At 2/04/2007 7:42 pm, Blogger Ben said…

    Not that I would know or anything, but if you have breakfast there, don't put the croissants through the self-serve toaster thing. It's for bread only. Again, I totally wouldn't know what might happen, but it would be pretty embarassing if, y'know, there were flaming croissants. Or something.

     
  • At 6/14/2008 5:52 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I've been a few times to this one. It is the BEST Buffet I have ever been to, and I love my food and have travelled!

    Deserts are to die for (watch out ladies - don't hold back, seriously)

     
  • At 6/15/2008 10:20 pm, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi Shimon - Who can ever resist a buffet? I'm keen to try their afternoon tea buffet too.

     
  • At 9/04/2009 10:18 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Price UPDATE

    Monday - Saturday Lunch $65.00
    Sunday Lunch $75.00

    Sunday - Thursday Dinner $79.00
    Friday - Saturday Dinner $99.00

    Please call reservations for furthur details
    02 9286 6650

     
  • At 9/05/2009 4:23 pm, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi Anon - Thanks for the price update. Have edited info accordingly.

     
  • At 10/20/2009 9:13 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Went to buffet for a monday lunch. Food quality was good, prawns tasty, smoked salmon didn't look top notch but great flavor as well as sushi that was incredible, curries and pesto ravioli, marinated chicken with potato and cold cuts of lamb and beef were delicious.
    only disappointment was the hot carved pork which was very tough.
    desserts looked to die for but some were dissappointing and therefore wish i tried more and made better choices.
    I got the chocolate mud cake and mini fruit berry tart which were not too good but mini tiramisu was outstanding and mini canoli with sprinkles was okay.
    Wish I tried the creme brulee, tropical paradise (some sort of cheesecake) and mini mousses but didn't want to go OTT seeing as am trying to loose weight and had just come back from holiday.
    The chocolate scoop yourself ice-cream was to die for and with a little waffle cone.
    Unfortunately chocolates and rocky road was let down.
    Overall most things were good and would definitely go back especially to try more of the desserts!

     
  • At 10/21/2009 5:47 pm, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi Anon - Thanks for the comprehensive feedback. Glad the desserts won you over - they're usually the first thing I check out whenever I get to a hotel buffet!

     
  • At 1/23/2012 10:27 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Wonderful buffet,presentation excellant.
    Our watiress Jenny was professional and went way beyond her call of duty.
    The desserts were delicious and the cheese plate very tasty. I would reccomend this restaurant to anyone.
    Michelle Goh.

     

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