Southbank 3006
Although I never hold high expectations of the food quality and know that I'll leave feeling like I need a six month detox to make up for the gluttony, buffets (with the exception of the horrendous Food Star) are always a fun place to eat. Something about unlimited food really gets the pulses going. Located within the five star Langham Hotel, I was hopeful that Melba would be worth pigging out on. For $89 per person on weekends and $79 on weeknights, it had to be good, right?
While there were a reasonable variety of salads on offer, none of them managed to set my taste buds alight. In fact, I've had much better salads from the cafe at work. Just in case you're wondering, I am not a carnivore and do enjoy my greens. The breads looked promising but were stale and in dire need of toasting. The dips were enjoyable as was the smoked salmon, although the latter didn't appear to be of the best quality considering there were large, visible blood spots on every slice.
Melba won me over with their seafood selection. The fresh prawns, oysters, crabs, mussels and Moreton Bay bugs (no, your eyes do not deceive you), were absolutely tantalising and kept me going back for more (and more, and more...). In particular, the large, meaty bugs were amazingly sweet and a unique and generous offering by buffet standards.
The Japanese sushi/sashimi station was another highlight. Yellowtail, salmon, tuna, prawn, octopus, unagi, tomago, tobikko, or any combination of these were meticulously prepared by Chef Takeshi on request. The variety was as good as most Japanese restaurants. Most of the available choices were backed with the quality to boot (particularly the salmon), but the tuna was pretty ordinary.
As far as hot food goes, it was incredibly hit and miss. The roast wagyu was succulent, juicy and tender, leaving everything else in it's wake. You have the ability to order customised Asian stir-frys at the 'turbo wok' station. Selecting the ingredients is fun and worth a try. The Peking duck is also quite well done, the pancakes were delicate and comparable with most Chinese restaurants. Everything else apart from a couple of the Indian choices, including the wonderful, chewy, freshly made to order naan bread, was deplorable. The dim sum was soft and overly starchy. The western dishes lacked wow factor and went largely untouched throughout the night, with little variety. The saffron rice looked spectacular but was flavourless. There is also a customised pasta station. I have to say that this was by far the worst pasta I have ever had the misfortune of tasting. My spinach and ricotta tortellini was ridiculously undercooked and tasted like cardboard. The 'cream sauce' looked like a giant pot of melted cheese, so I opted for the tomato instead. I didn't know pasta sauce could be this bland, flavourless and shallow. Anyone could do better with a tin of home brand tomatoes and some dried herbs. It was truly revolting.
There are a large selection of sweets, cakes and pastries on offer, including a magical chocolate fondue fountain and three generic ice cream flavours (they will be the first three that come to your mind). Although the ice creams were nice enough, the chiller didn't seem to be working properly which made them incredibly soft and on the verge of melting. No complaints about the fondue - can you really go wrong with chocolate? As for the other desserts, the chocolate and strawberry tarts were the standouts. Steer well clear of the creme caramel - it tasted like scrambled eggs.
Overall, I was slightly disappointed with the buffet at Melba. While it's one of the better buffets in Melbourne, the food was either good or all new categories of fail (I'm not getting over that pasta anytime soon). A bit more consistency would have made a world of difference. The 'variety' of the hot dishes was also a bit of a let down. Although the wonderful, fresh seafood and sashimi saved the day, there's only so much of it you can and want to eat in one sitting. Still, unlimited seafood and chocolate is never a bad thing.
Buffet/Fine Dining
Food - 3.5/5
Ambience - 4/5
Service - 3.5/5
Price - 2.5/5
Total - 13.5/20
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