Don't want to read the long post?
Quick summary:
Food: Definitely above average. Near the top of the line relative to other buffets in HK.
Pricing: Pricing is fair based on venue + food. 25% off was offered for new Shangri-La Members and normal Credit card discounts are 15%.
Environment: Very nice. It was a very comfortable atmosphere which isn't often replicated. It wasn't too loud, too bright and the tables were spaced out nicely and It never felt cramped.
It was a rather spontaneous decision but my friend and I decided to come here on the day of and to my surprise there was space when I called around lunchtime to make a reservation.
I was told that the pricing was 630$ with a 15% HSBC credit card discount over the phone and that seemed logical given the overall prices of buffets these days in Hong Kong. 600 is the new 300 from 5 years ago as there are more and more mid-low tier buffets popping up. In my opinion, nowadays, if the buffet isn’t charging 5XX, it’s not worth going just due to the quality and presentation of it all. I would have a nicer buffet less often than a lesser buffet but more often; But take it as you may, that’s just my opinion.
Environment: Tucked away at the Shangri La on top of Pacific Place in Admiralty; Café Too was a nicely renovated and lit venue with a very impressive looking buffet. The tables were spacious and the lights were bright
enough where it was comfortably lit and not so dark that it was difficult to carry on the night. The buffet looked very impressive with various stations spread out over a large area, seafood, and sushi/appetizers on one row,
Desserts on an island, Noodle and tempura stations off to another side etc. The waiting staff were quite eager and plats were never present after going up for another round which was a big relief.
Food: I was genuinely impressed as I was being taken to mytable at the large variety of both cold and hot dishes. The seafood selection was not too plentiful but the usual Lobster, shrimp, mussels and crab was fresh
and always available with no breaks (not like some other places!). There wasn’t too much sashimi to choose from; from memory it was salmon, tuna, octopus but it was supplemented with a lot of nigiri, rolls and some soba noodles. I’m not a fan of buffet sashimi usually and so I had a few pieces and that was that. The salad/appetizer section was quite small but there was a large platter of delicious smoked salmon and prosciutto which was a big plus for me. One interesting point was they had an asian cold dish section which I didn’t try but it looked quite delicious. I wish I had more information but that’s beyond my scope!
In terms of hot plates, the typical few Chinese dishes, western dishes and Indian dishes of which a few were barely touched and a couple were quite tasty. There was a pork lion steak ready to be carved and the
BBQ asian meats were also present (Chicken, bbq pork, suckling pig and duck/goose). They had a small variety of Dim sum as well which I found to be quite interesting. But I didn’t come around to trying it. There was a noodle
station as well with a few different types of supplements, including different ball and vegetable varieties. They was a variety of tempura as well with shrimp and eel as the proteins along with a small selection of vegetables which I found quite delightful! One of the more surprising items that was offered was a teriyaki beef cube station where you were able to choose the degree of doneness (yes that’s a word).
The desserts were a bit plain in my opinion. There were many options but nothing really stood out. A nice fruit row, ice cream selection and cake selection was all present but nothing really caught my eye as a must try while walking past the whole night. This was rather disappointing as I have a big sweet tooth!
Pricing: As I mentioned above, I think the pricing is fair for the venue and food offered. The quality although incomparable to a fine dining restaurant, is leaps and bounds above an average buffet. In relation to the other ones of the similar price range, Hyatt, Grant Hyatt, Miramar etc, I think it’s a pretty good value. The selection of food was large enough where you wouldn’t really have the dilemma of deciding what to eat next and not so large that you wouldn’t be able to try everything you wanted (Like Harbourside at the Intercontinenal). I had prepared to pay the full price + 10% service charge with the 15% HSBC discount but a staff member came up to me and informed
me that if I signed up for the Shangri-La Membership (No fees) then I’d have 25% off instantly. Obviously I took the deal and the bill came out to 10XX for 2 people which I thought was very fair.
All in all, I would definitely recommend this place for anyone whos looking to splurge a little or maybe have a little bit of a nicer place to celebrate a birthday without the super dressy environments of fine dining!