Singapore Food Diary: Ritz Club Lounge, Colony & McDonald's

For the final day of our Southeast Asia trip, we decided to slow down and eat our way through The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore. Club Lounge afternoon tea, a mall McDonald's run, and the Colony dinner buffet: here is everything we ate and experienced during our last 24 hours in the city.

For the full hotel review of our Ritz-Carlton stay, see the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore Review.

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Club Lounge: Afternoon Tea

After the check-in situation finally resolved (the full story is in the hotel review), we settled into the Club Lounge. The views over Marina Bay are stunning and the food presentation is beautiful. The lounge draws a lot of guests, particularly Japanese tourists, and it is easy to see why.

Afternoon tea spread:

Smoked salmon sandwiches: Fresh and well-made, but nothing that stood out from other afternoon tea spreads we have had.

Vegetarian curry puffs: These were the winner of the savory options by a significant margin. The curry filling was deeply flavorful and the pastry had a good crunch. If these are on the table when you visit, get multiple.

Desserts: The white bean paste mochi was our favorite sweet of the afternoon. Smooth, not too dense, and not overly sweet. The other standout was labeled "Golden Coffee," with an intensely strong espresso flavor that hit immediately.

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Marina Square and Singapore McDonald's

After the afternoon tea, we walked over to Marina Square mall nearby. The Mid-Autumn Mooncake Festival was in full swing with booths set up inside, which was a nice unexpected discovery.

At some point during the walk, we ended up at a McDonald's. This was not spontaneous: Vincent's friend in Singapore had specifically told us to try the Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich before leaving the country.

It is a Singapore-exclusive item. The sandwich comes topped with a slice of pineapple and a sauce that is unlike anything on the standard menu. Sweet, savory, and the chicken was genuinely crispy all the way through. We paired it with criss-cut fries. For a midday snack between two formal hotel meals, this was the right call.

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Colony Dinner Buffet

The evening was spent at Colony, the Ritz-Carlton's main restaurant. We used our $100 USD Amex FHR property credit (approximately $130 SGD) toward the dinner buffet. Colony is very popular among both hotel guests and locals, and the dinner spread is the reason.

Seafood station: We started here and spent most of our time. Fresh oysters, sashimi, and whole crab. The crab was genuinely exceptional, as fresh and flavorful as anything we had at a dedicated seafood restaurant during the trip.

Indian station: I went with butter chicken and regular naan. I thought about the cheese naan and then decided against it. I may regret that.

Local dishes: The salted egg white fried chicken was one of the best bites of the entire meal. We also grabbed fried bread to use for dipping into the Singapore chili crab sauce, which is essentially a richer, spicier version of sweet chili sauce. It works perfectly with the fried bread.

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The Laundry Story

This is the detail that most clearly showed what the Ritz-Carlton Club level service actually looks like in practice.

Before leaving on this trip, a cat had torn a small hole in a pair of Vincent's linen pants. We sent the pants to the hotel laundry service. They came back to us unwashed with a polite note asking us to confirm it was okay to proceed, since they did not want to damage the fabric further around the hole.

We confirmed it was fine and asked them to go ahead. The pants were returned the next morning: perfectly pressed, washed, and the hole had been completely repaired. No request from us, no extra charge.

The repair was barely visible. The pants were delivered folded in a bag, ready to go straight into luggage. That last part is worth noting as a general travel tip: if a hotel offers laundry service, ask for folded delivery. It saves repacking time and the clothes arrive in the same condition they went in.

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A Note on the Lounge Staff

Before checking out, two Club Lounge staff members, Juliana and Mora, gifted us an exclusive Ritz-Carlton stuffed lion and took a photo with us. Small gesture, memorable send-off. It is the kind of thing that lingers after you leave.