The White Label Review: $49++ Trolley Buffet At This Halal French Restaurant

The White Label has a $49++ weekend trolley buffet in Lavender

If you’re looking for a new place for brunch, The White Label is one for the books: the French restaurant has a brand-new weekend buffet with a fun twist. You can expect a unique blend of traditional French flavours and the heartiness of Malayan cuisine here. 

Instead of having a spread of items displayed on a central table, their brunch buffet ($49++ per person) operates in a unique trolley concept. Each unlimited course part of the buffet spread is served to your table in six individual trolleys, fresh and piping hot. Unfortunately, the trolley wasn’t available during our tasting but note that this is what you can expect on your visit. 

Food at The White Label

We kickstarted our meal with the starters which consisted of toasted bread and four savoury dips: Harissa Hummus, Honey Mint Yoghurt, Chicken Liver Pate, and Sambal Romesco. Our favourite of the bunch was the Harissa Hummus which combined the earthy and nutty flavours of mashed chickpeas with the fiery smokiness of harissa. 

We also really enjoyed dipping our bread in the hearty Soup Vichysoisse AKA French potato leek soup. On the side, they also had the Salad Nicoise which—for the uninitiated—is a French salad that typically comes with tuna or anchovies. This version had a tuna tataki, which is a type of Japanese tuna that is seared as lightly as possible and seasoned with citrus to cut through any heavy flavours. 

Moving on, our mains consisted of three parts: meats, seafood, and carbs. To start off, we had the Wagyu Beef Bourguignon, which boasted a sweet reduction cooking method, reminiscent of red wine. 

The beef pieces were decently marinated, from sitting in and soaking up the stew. However, it was not as tender as we had wished, considering that most meats cooked the same way typically turn out melt-in-your-mouth tender. 

Next up, we had the Forty Garlic Chicken. One bite of this dish will surely give you the most poignant garlic breath due to the generous amount of roasted garlic used. But the pungency was worth it because of the savoury touch it gave the chicken.

The last course in the meat category was the Whole Roasted Leg of Lamb. FYI, this dish is typically brought on a trolley and sliced directly to your plate at the table. Albeit simple, this was our favourite meat of the spread. 

The lamb slices were extremely thick, tender,and flavourful on their own, and lacked the overly gamey taste that would usually put me off. Paired together with the mustard seasoning and sweet chilli salsa, it was even more delicious and we polished it off quickly. 

And if the spread of meat wasn’t enough to satiate your protein fill for the day, there are several seafood dishes you can expect. There was the Scallop Au Gratin and complimentary Morotsu Bay Oysters; the former featured huge scallops topped with butter and cheese then seared to a lovely golden brown, while the latter starred fresh, plump oysters.

Then, we dove straight into the Halibut Parmentier. For the uninitiated, Parmentier is a French dish which involves layering leftover meat with mashed potatoes and baking it in the oven. We enjoyed this one—what looked like just a bed of mashed potatoes turned out to be an explosion of flavours. 

The flesh of the fish was flaky and soft, and was enveloped in a sauce redolent of sambal. It was a delicious concoction of smoky, spicy, salty, and tangy flavours, elevating the otherwise subtle flavours of the fish. This paired wonderfully with the silky mashed potatoes that were layered on top, providing a nice contrast of textures. Although we were both not big seafood eaters, we thoroughly enjoyed this dish. 

And for our carbs, we had the Macaroni Au Gratin. Similar to macaroni and cheese, the pasta was slathered with creamy cheese and had a crispy crust from being baked in the oven. It’s the kind of dish that makes anyone happy because it’s both familiar and delicious, and I see this dish to be especially popular amongst children. 

Our final course was dessert. We were most enticed by the Coconut Banana Crumble which was sticky, sweet, and crumbly, and we’re sure you will love this dessert if you’re a fan of banana bread. 

Next, we tried the Bread Pudding with Mao Shan Wang Durian Pengat, which was everything we had expected it to be—soft and pillowy with a slight crust. This was our top pick out of the desserts! On the other hand, the Marshmallow Brownie was a tad too cloying for our liking—it wasn’t very noteworthy and paled in comparison to the other two desserts. 

Ambience at The White Label

The White Label adorns an all-white interior and exudes a luxurious vibe, which makes it the perfect setting for a special weekday brunch with loved ones. The restaurant is located inside The Sultan building, which is an eight-minute walk from Nicoll Highway MRT Station. The restaurant is extremely spacious with three storeys, and can accommodate up to 90 diners.

The verdict

The fare here combines authentic French flavours with a familiar Malayan twist. The White Label is a great place to have your formal introduction to French cuisine if you haven’t had it before! And for the amount of food and the quality you get, it is a decent brunch buffet. Even better, the offerings are Muslim-friendly too.

The buffet here is priced at $49++ for adults and $15++ for children, and is available every Saturday and Sunday at 11am and 1:30am. Do note that drinks aren’t included, but you can top up an additional $9.90++ for free-flow Fruity Sangria Iced Tea. You can make a reservation here.

For more buffets, check out our guide to the best buffets in Singapore. Alternatively, read our The Masses review for affordable French-Asian fare.

Address: 101 Jalan Sultan, #01-02, The Sultan, Singapore 199002
Opening hours: Daily 11am to 10pm
Tel: 8202 2358
Website
The White Label is a halal-certified eatery.

 

Photos taken by Casandra Nicholas.
This was a media tasting at The White Label.