Every New Menu at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore

All eyes are on the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore’s spectacular Yuletide Feast buffet, as they are every year, but we’re hungry for a little more. The hotel’s Lobby Lounge has launched no less than three menus that’ll take you from day to night: lunch, tea, dinner and drinks.

The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel is one of Singapore’s favourite, yet underrated dining destinations: it’s home to SanSara (one of our favourite Indian restaurants in Singapore), a near-monthly rotation of themed buffets at Food Capital, and Josper-grilled dishes at Riverside Terrace. Today’s menus are completely new, but they share the same panoramic views of the river and unpretentious flavour.

Lunch: Curated Lunch Sets and Tiffins at Lobby Lounge

The newest lunch menu at Lobby Lounge is Flavours by the River, which sees five globally-inspired lunch sets join the menu: a Thai Tiffin, Chinese Tiffin, Japanese Bento, Yong Tau Foo, and Western Set. Available daily, each set goes at just S$15-S$28, and comes with a side of beautiful river views, fresh juice, coffee or tea, and dessert.

We had the Thai Tiffin and Chinese Tiffin: each came in appropriately designed stacked lunchboxes with four courses each. The Thai Tiffin had rice, fish cakes, basil chicken and a side of kai lan: light but satisfying. The Chinese Tiffin, though, is commendable: it’s surprisingly reminiscent of a home-cooked meal in a Hong Kong household. This nostalgic set includes crispy chicken in lemon sauce, wok-fried kai lan, chicken ngoh hiang and steamed rice, with a course of comforting herbal black chicken soup.

The other sets are worth a try: the Japanese Bento is a hefty meal of chicken katsu, tempura prawn and vegetables, salmon and tuna sashimi, miso soup and Japanese white rice. The Yong Tau Foo Set has all the fixings with a choice of clear or laksa soup, and the Western Set includes Josper-grilled chicken.

Book a table for lunch at Lobby Lounge online.

Tea: Refined Afternoons with Pryce Tea

We sat down at the Lobby Lounge again for afternoon tea: the set we had was entirely pink, a returning experience in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The charming set-up had pink savouries like a Pink Burger with Wagyu Beef, Brie and Walnut on Pink Bread, and a refreshing amuse-bouche of chicken salad. Sweets included sakura financiers, pink macarons, and a whimsical Pink Velvet Madeleine.

Our afternoon tea came with a scone trolley and infinite scones: regular buttermilk scones and the hotel’s signature The Millennium Earl Grey Tea Infused Scone. That, and a smorgasbord of jams, marmalades and clotted creams: the Earl Grey scone goes predictably but surprisingly well with a little tart orange jam.

Tea is served with the Waterfront Orchid, a sparkling tea blend created exclusively for the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. It’s got a base of Tie Guan Yin and Golden Phoenix Oolong, and a veil of orchid. The tea was created by Pryce Tea, a local artisan tea brand founded in 2013.

Book your tea experience here.

Dinner: Izakaya Nights by the Riverfront

There’s plenty of izakayas in the area, but the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel has introduced its own take: the Izakaya Nights menu, served exclusively at dinner, is the Riverside Terrace's latest casual dining experience by the river. When the sun goes down, the grill lights up.

There are no big plates on the menu: like true Japanese izakayas, the Lobby Lounge serves small plates designed for sharing. The Wagyu Beef with Shoyu, Prawn Wrapped in Bacon, Unagi Teriyaki and more come on skewers, glazed and lightly charred. The best things in this selection are simple dishes like pork belly with miso, the classic Asparagus Bacon, and sweet-salty grilled corn.

These dishes are paired with selections of sake, some of the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel’s regionally-inspired cocktails, and good old Guinness. The Umeshu Martini, the most obvious pick for our dinner, is an original drink mixed from Choya Green Tea Umeshu, vodka, lime cordial and honey. A small tip: if you’d like a classic umeshu highball (a staple of izakayas everywhere), ask and you’ll get one.

Reserve a table at Riverside Terrace online.

All-Day Dining By The River – Global Flavours at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel

The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore has gone out of its way to provide three more stunning dining experiences: it’s also at Robertson Quay, one of our favourite places in Singapore for the riverfront and twinkling skyline.

The hotel is located at 392 Havelock Road, Singapore 169663.

If you live or work around Robertson Quay, here's a deal for you: 10% off the Flavours by the River lunch set.