1 Market by Chef Wan

I remember when 1 Market by Chef Wan opened to much fanfare about a year or two ago at Plaza Singapura. A big name celebrity chef like Chef Wan was opening a buffet restaurant! Exciting right?

Well, obviously a lot of people definitely thought so! It was SUPER DIFFICULT to secure a table when they first opened!! If you tried calling, you'd be lucky if they even pick up the phone. If you emailed, best not to wait for an instant reply. And leaving a message or comment on their FB page merely served as an outlet to vent rather than secure a reservation!

Were you one those affected back then? Yep. That's how popular 1 Market was!!
And yes, we admit, we were among those who tried our luck albeit unsuccessfully to try and see what the big fuss was all about. And then we gave up! LOL

But here we are finally making our way down. And even though it does not generate as much buzz as it did when they first opened, 1 Market definitely still looks like a very popular choice judging by the crowd there when we visited.

Okay so as always, we're gonna run this buffet style with all the food you might enjoy when you visit.
Ready? Ok go!!!

Let's start with what we would consider Starters or Appetizers...

Baked Salmon

Let start by apologizing for not getting a shot of the Cold Seafood spread. The reason is very simple.. It was always gone! Even this Baked Salmon also I was so lucky to catch a glimpse of it so faster snap a photo (with my phone some more! Not even camera!!)

Anyways, please note that the Baked Salmon is served COLD!!
But they do have Oysters though!

Oysters

Glass Noodles with Mango

Pasta Salad

Lamb Salad

They even have fried goodies like Keropok and Popiah for munchies. Complete with dipping chilli sauce! Oh Yeah!

Assorted Keropok

Fried Popiah

Dipping Sambal

1 Market also does have a special section set aside for Japanese cuisine.
You can find quite a few favourites like Sushi, Sashimi and even some Udon too.

Udon

Grilled Salmon Head

Assorted Sashimi

Salmon Sashimi

Chawanmushi

Assorted Sushi

To be very honest, we had quite a bad experience with the Sashimi.
I saw them store most of it in a chiller but for some reason, it was room temperature when we tucked in to our serving. Errr... don't think room temperature Sashimi is a good thing... Kinda gave me the impression that the fish was not fresh...

But on the other hand they do have quite a wide variety for their Japanese spread!
Seldom would you find Grilled Salmon Head on a buffet line am I right?

And on to the mains! Which are mostly Asian-inspired dishes but there are some Western influences as well mind you.

Grilled Squid Skewer

Grilled King Prawn Skewer

The King Prawns were excellent by the way! Fresh and had a nice seasoning to it.
Great with rice or noodles or even just on its own.

Mackerel Tandoori

Assorted Naan

Condiments

Chicken Satay

#1 - That's a great photo right???
#2 - They also have Beef and Mutton Satay
#3 - Mutton was the best
#4 - Have I mentioned what a great photo that is???
#5 - Yes it's freshly grilled on-site

And another great photo!!

Bryani Rice

Hot and Sour Mackerel aka Asam Pedas Tenggiri

Egg Foo Yong

Chicken Picotta with Tomato Sauce

Mutton Masala

Black Pepper Crabs

Braised Ee Fu Noodles

Just a note on the Braised Ee Fu Noodles... I took it when they were fresh out (as in like the photo literally) and because it's braised, the noodles are very very very soggy. Just saying.

Another part you might enjoy at 1 Market are the Live Stations.
This is literally a fresh serving of whatever specialty dishes they might be serving when you visit.

Siam Laksa Live Station

The Noodles for the evening when we visited was Siam Laksa which we unfortunately did not try.
But if noodles are not your thing, then maybe some meat might interest you?

Roast Leg of Lamb and Chargrilled Sirloin Beef

Charcoal Grilled Whole Chicken

Grilled Pumpkin with Mint Chilli Dressing

All I'm gonna say is - watch out for that Mint Chilli Dressing.
Oh and the meats have a Belado sauce to go along by the way.

And don't worry they have a few vegetarian-friendly dishes too.

Buttered Vegetables

Vegetable Lasagna

Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables

DIY Rojak Station

I quite enjoyed the DIY Rojak station actually. Put as much or as little as you want!
Just take note the chilli is already mixed in with the petis so it's a tad on the spicy side!

And last but not least... it's time fo dessert!!

My darling wife found the Cream Puffs a bit too light in terms of the cream filling but I didn't mind at all actually. Guess I'm a sucker for creamy things LOL but she does have a point though... it was a very light and fluffy cream that I guess we wouldn't expect to be in a puff.

Well besides the usual Western desserts, you've got to expect that a restaurant from Chef Wan has got to have some Asian desserts as well right? In fact, I've heard a lot about the Malay Kuih-Muih to be found at 1Market!

Well, I'd say there was quite a fair selection to be found but somehow I was quite disappointed. Maybe I expected else? I'm not sure why but I was just put off... For example, the Putri Salat. Just one look in the picture and I think some of you might agree that it doesn't look like a Putri Salat you'd wanna pick up and try am I right? Or maybe I'm just being too fussy...

But if Kuih is not your thing, fret not! There are other goodies awaiting you!

Errr... no idea why the sign says "Ask me for Ice Cream"... because it's actually "Ask me for Ice"..
Anyways they did change the sign to correct one later on... But Ice for what you ask?

CENDOL!!!

Goreng Pisang

Oh yeah that Ice Kachang looks good right?!?! Yeah you ask "Ask them for Ice" for this too! LOL

I guess actually the desserts are not too bad. Just go for the ones you really like because you'll probably too stuffed to go for everything. This is after all, a buffet. Oh and by the way when the Goreng Pisang runs out, they change it to Keledek so go for the Goreng Pisang while you can to take full advantage of the Gula Melaka syrup!

Wash it all down with a nice variety of drinks! Quite impressed with the number of choices!
By the way the Bandung was tawar giila when we went but the Barley is highly recommended!

CHILD FRIENDLY FACTOR
The restaurant space is actually quite big in most areas actually so you should have no problems with a stroller if you're gonna be somewhere in the corner. They also have baby chairs for you if you need.
But it does get quite noisy if you're seated near the washing area and also when the staff goes around ringing the bell for the last call of the evening.

Overall we'd say the Child Friendly Rating is about 3/5.

Adam's Verdict:
Overall 3/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Overall 2/5

Pak Busu Zul's Verdict:
Overall 1/5

Razali's Verdict:
Overall 1.5/5

Fateha's Verdict:
Overall 1.5/5

Pak Busu Zul has been here a few times and he commented that with every visit, the quality of food seems to be dropping. I guess maybe the stories I've heard from people who visited a few times might be true in that case?

No doubt the variety is there. There is plenty to choose from and from a wide variety of cuisines too but maybe that's the reason why the quality is dropping? I guess the question will remain - which is more important for a buffet? Better for a large number of dishes but the quality might be compromised? Or lesser dishes but able to concentrate on quality? Hmmm... a dilemma indeed.

Well, I'm sure that with a big name like Chef Wan, a quick refresh will set things right as rain and we're sure people will still flock to 1 Market because it is still a nice place to visit especially if you're going with a big group.

PS we visited on a Friday night for dinner :)

Prices for the buffet are as follows;

Buffet Lunch
Mondays to Thursdays - $26.80++ per Adult / $13.80++ per Child
Fridays to Sundays, Eve of PH and PH - $32.80++ per Adult / $18.80++ per Child

Buffet Dinner
Mondays to Thursdays - $38.80++ per Adult / $17.80++ per Child
Fridays to Sundays, Eve of PH and PH - $42.80++ per Adult / $20.80++ per Child

1 Market by Chef Wan

Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road #04-45 to 49

Tel: 6341 9159
www.facebook.com/1marketbychefwan

Operating Hours:
11.30am to 2.30pm for Lunch
6pm til 10pm for Dinner