Breakfast Buffet at BTWN, W Hotel, Sydney

Update Review, February 2024 Visit

Hard to believe it, but, just two months after my first visit to the W Sydney, I was back again in February.  Which meant, more high quality breakfasts at BTWN, one of the hotel restaurants.

The lineup did not change much in the two months between my stays, so I'll skip re-reviewing everything I tried my first week there.  See below for that original review.  This update only covers the new items I tried this time.

Baked Goods

Classic Lamington. $7.

"2 layers of vanilla sponge, a house-made raspberry jam and a Heilala Vanilla & cream cheese cream. Dipped in a dark chocolate glaze and to finish, they are rolled in coconut chips"

"Layers of soft and fluffy vanilla sponge cake, house-made raspberry jam, raspberry crumble and Heilala vanilla cream cheese filling. Individually dipped in a dark chocolate glaze and rolled in coconut."

I'm not generally excited for lamingtons, and the hotel I was at the week before (Sheraton Grand) had them every night in the club lounge (different flavors), but I couldn't resist trying these when they showed up (I think weekends only?).  They looked so inviting!

Why do I not normally like lamingtons?  Well, the cake is frequently pretty dry, there is no frosting/icing/buttercream (which is a critical part of a cake for me!), I find the jam to generally be lackluster, the chocolate always seems to distract, and the thin shredded coconut makes it eat so dry.  Basically, there is rarely anything compelling about a lamington for me, save a layer of cream in the middle, depending on how that is done.  The only exception I've really found is the version from Flour & Stone bakery, where the cake is soaked in panna cotta so it is moist and rich, the berry component is a compote instead of simply jam so there is a bit more fruit going on, and the coconut is large shards so the overall texture is better for me.  I had actually just enjoyed the Flour & Stone version two days prior, in large format cake form, when a co-worker brought it to the office, so, I had restored my hope in lamingtons, and thus, tried the Sonoma Bakery version.

It was considerably better than most lamingtons I've had before, although not nearly as glorious as the Flour & Stone one.  It was fairly moist, so the cake itself was better than most lamington cake.  The jam layer was more flavorful than average, and the cream quite delicious.  Very thick layer of cream filling that was essentially cheesecake.  Definitely the prime component.  The outside coating I didn't love, neither the chocolate nor the coconut, but, it was a bit better than average too, larger coconut flakes that were less dry.

So overall, quite good for a traditional lamington, but still not an item I'm super excited about.  ***+.

Lemon Blueberry Financier. $5.50.

"Fragrant lemon, almond and blueberry cakes topped with sliced almonds and a citrusy lemon drizzle."

Lemon flavors, and financiers in general, are not generally my thing, but once I'd tried everything else in the baked goods section, I decided to give these a try.  They were larger sized than traditional financiers, cut in half here, normally rectangular shaped and longer.  I was drawn in by the berries and almonds.

I liked the sugar top (which I guess was lemon drizzle?), and the almond slices on top were good for crunch, but ... it was a financier, and that just isn't my thing.  Way too strong in the almond meal.  It was moist, and probably fine if you like this sort of thing, but for me, *+.

Daily Special

During my stay in November, the pancake/waffle station never had items ready when I cruised through breakfast at 6:30-7am.  They have addressed that delay, so I was able to try these daily rotating specials finally.

Pancake.

The pancakes are not made to order exactly, but they are in a separate, staffed section, and made in small batches as they run out rather than in the general buffet.  Plentiful toppings are available, which I've enumerated before in my prior post.

The pancake was highly average.  Average size, fairly thin, not very puffy.  No interesting flavor to it, no buttermilk tang.  Not bad tasting, not burnt, but, just very uninteresting.  It was also lukewarm.  Syrup and fancy butter, or whipped cream and berries helped, but, they still weren't particularly good.  **+.

A few days later, I tried the waffle.  Again, highly average.  No interesting flavor.  It was crispy in the pockets, but pretty soft and soggy elsewhere.  Not something I wanted.  **+.

Made to Order Eggs

Custom Order: 1 Poached Egg, Hollandaise on the side, Crumpet on the side.

While the benedict at BTWN is always good, one morning I wanted it deconstructed-ish, so I could potentially just spread my crumpet with jam/butter/whipped cream as a sweeter dish *after* my eggs (and some days I found the hollandaise a bit too lemon forward, so I wanted that on the side just in case it wasn't to my liking).  I asked for a poached egg, with hollandaise on the side, and a toasted crumpet on the side.  Basically, the benedict, but with no topping choice (e.g. no spinach, ham, bacon, etc), and intending the components to be separate.  It still came with the egg on top of the crumpet, and was drizzled with oil (which was soaked into the crumpet too, so, that ruined my plans for making that a sweet option).

Anyway, the egg was well poached, although it did have a bit of runny white AND a bit of medium-cooked yolk, so not flawless.  The hollandaise was indeed too heavy in the lemon for me, so I was glad to have it on the side.  

The crumpet was glorious as always, fluffy, great crags, awesome tang.  I did wish it wasn't soaked in oil though.  While that makes sense with the egg perhaps, it wasn't what I wanted.  **** base crumpet though. Egg: ***.  Hollandaise **+.

Scrambled Eggs.

One morning I decided to mix it up, and order the scrambled eggs, even though I don't generally care about scrambled eggs, and even though the buffet had them available to just grab anyway.  I saw someone else get them, and they looked pretty stunning.  Yes, scrambled eggs looked that good.

I'll admit, these were pretty nicely scrambled eggs.  Silky smooth.  Lovely ribbons of egg.  But they were just scrambled eggs, and not particularly interesting to me, even once I drizzled with soy sauce + maple syrup + hot sauce.  But lovely preparation.  ***.

Crumpet.

I wanted to just enjoy a crumpet with jam and cream, so I asked for one untoasted.  It still seemed to come oiled? And sorta did still seem toasted ... but I do really like these.  ***+.

Original Review, November 2023 Visit

The brand new W hotel in Sydney is finally open!  

If you have visited Sydney in the past ... 4? years, you likely noticed the stunning huge new property being built along Darling Harbor.  This is the new flagship W hotel, the largest in the hotel portfolio.  I was pretty excited for it to open, given the proximity to my office (although I have been an extremely loyal guest of the Sheraton Grand in Sydney for years).  There were delays, Covid, etc, but it finally opened in October 2023, and I visited just a month later.

Since this is a food blog, and not a hotel review site, I'll spare you the details on the hotel itself, but, it is as stunning inside as it is outside, and features some very, very compelling amenities, such as a 29th floor infinity pool complete with cabanas that will instantly make you think you are on an island resort somewhere and not literally right in Sydney city, and full residential apartments (think: washer and dryer, dishwasher, everything), in addition to the usual swanky W style suites and rooms.

I really loved my stay at the property in general, but the focus of this review is on yet another compelling feature: the breakfast at the hotel restaurant, BTWN.  The service was definitely working out some opening kinks (e.g. a little too eager at times, neglectful at others), but overall, I recommend, a truly high quality experience.  Special touches include the hostess quickly learning my name and room number, and greeting me by name daily.  It is a little thing, but makes it feel quite welcoming.

Setting

BTWN is located on the 3rd floor of the property, with views overlooking Darling Harbor, but not a particularly high vantage point.  It is open to hotel guests and the public.  The space is fairly expansive, with many different sections and styles of seating.  The entire space is bright and light filled.

Bar.

The bar area is large and in the center of one of the first areas of the restaurant.  While not a focal point at 6:30am obviously, I imagine that during dinner service this is a more interesting area.  It had plush counter stools for seating.

Herb Wall.

As you enter, an interesting focal point you walk past is the herb wall, which presumably the restaurant uses for some of its dishes (although its pretty modest compared to the number of covers they do, so clearly isn't for all of them).  It serves as a reminder of the hyper local focus of the restaurant.

This area also has couch seating with oblong tables.

Dining Area.

Several dining sections are made up of a collection of more standard square tables with plush chairs, and banquette seating around the edges.  I generally picked the banquettes, as I like a soft comfy bench.  I found the seating all quite comfortable.

Food & Drink

BTWN is open for breakfast daily (6:30-10:30), lunch (12:30-2:30, longer hours on weekends), and dinner (6-10pm).  In the evening, it also houses 2AM: dessertbar by Janice Wong. I visited only for breakfast, which is a buffet style ... mostly.  Lunch and dinner are traditional a la carte.

The breakfast is $55 per person.  The buffet includes everything you'd expect, and in addition, you can order some items from your table.  The overall quality is quite high, with nearly everything sourced from a well curated selection of local artisans, rather than mass produced food service items.  The dishes are well labelled, and attractively displayed, served at proper temperature.  I was impressed with the quality level, particularly for the price point.

Breads & Pastries

The first section you walk through contains all the breads and pastries, along with a daily special station.

It was in this first section that I got a sense of just how different the BTWN buffet was than most.  Rather than the same generic mass distributed foodservice baked goods, they had stellar looking items from local bakeries.  I heard many guests commenting on the high quality pastries and breads.  This area also had honeycomb to scrape direct off of, a big huge wheel of Pepe Saya Butter, and Druken Sailor jams.

There is a conveyor belt style toaster available, but, not for guests to use directly.  Instead, you hand your bagel/toast to a staff member, who puts it into the toaster for you, and returns to you when ready.  I'm assuming this is because they've learned their lesson that guests burn toast and get bagels stuck all the time, but it was a bit inconvenient. 

Bagels, Rolls.

The bagels are from a local place, Brooklyn Boy Bagels.  Our lineup included Za'atar ($4.50 from them directly) and rainbow ($6).

Za'atar

"Classic Brooklyn Boy dough dusted in a traditional mix of oregano, thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds."

I first tried the Za'atar bagel, drawn in by all the herbs.  It ... was nothing like a real NY style bagel.  It was more like a big ring shaped bread.   Considerably bigger than a standard bagel.  Didn't have a shiny exterior or nice chew to it.  The herbs were substantial, but, a bagel this wasn't really.  **+.

Rainbow: 

"Take several different doughs, of every colour in the rainbow, and twist them all together. What you get is a bagel that's screaming for Instagram fame! It has only the faintest hint of added sweetness, so it plays nicely with sweet or savoury toppings. Unicorns and 100s & 1000s, optional."

I didn't try the colorful rainbow bagel, but I saw plenty of excited kids grab these.

Sonoma Bakery

The bread and pastry selection came from local Sonoma Bakery, which I'd heard of before.  It is a well regarded bakery.  The lineup was extensive to say the least.  

A la carte, these pastries are available 2 for $18 from the hotel.  The prices I've listed below are the direct from the bakery prices for reference.

Artisan Breads.

The breads were beautifully displayed, and mostly not yet broken into by other guests when I arrived soon after opening.  Most are sourdough base, which isn't my thing.  I was tempted to try them though as they looked so good.

My second to last day I did just that.  I went for the big fluffy white panor loaf.  I toasted my slice lightly.  I really enjoyed it, particularly with some scrambled eggs stuffed inside.  Great bread, and I say this as someone who isn't usually particularly excited about bread. ****.

Well Labelled Pastries.

The pastries, like everything in the buffet, were well labelled with the vendor and the selections.  They were piled in distinct areas, rather than mixed together.  As a lover of baked goods, I made my way through this entire area with glee.

Mixed Berry Muffin.

"A rich berry muffin studded with raspberries and blueberries an

d a hint of toasted coconut."

There was only one type of muffin available, mixed berry.

I liked the pearl sugar top that was lightly crisp, and it was nicely moist inside, exactly my style of muffin.  Good crumb structure.  The berries were minimal however, and I didn't really find the hint of coconut they describe.  It was considerably better than any other hotel breakfast buffet item, and I appreciated that it was a full size and not mini muffin, but I wouldn't really seek it out from the bakery itself.  ***.

Cultured Butter Croissant. $5.

"Traditional yeasted French style crescent pastry, crisp and light with a soft layered and buttery interior. Individually handcrafted using the finest ingredients."

And then we got into the croissant lineup, a signature item from Sonoma Bakery.  The plain croissants looked shiny and textbook.

Pain au Chocolate. $6.50.

"Crisp and light with a soft layered and buttery interior, with Belgian chocolate."

Next up, the pain au chocolate.

Sadly, the croissant itself looked better than it was.  Lightly crisp on the exterior, but fairly soft inside, not very flaky.  It was fine, don't get me wrong, but, not as premium as it looked.  The two bars of dark chocolate were decent, but fairly small.

Overall, for a bakery or cafe, I'd give it a low ***, for a hotel though it was ***.

Almond Croissant. $8.

"Soaked in syrup and filled with almond cream and flaked almonds, this croissant is twice baked to achieve its caramelised crust and melt in the mouth, soft interior."

The first croissant I tried was the almond croissant, which is always a bit polarizing for me, but, when I like an almost croissant, I really like it!

This one was a let down.  The pastry wasn't particularly flaky, and didn't really have the "caramelized crust" they advertise.  The filling was extremely minimal, not even a tablespoon of the promised almond cream.  The flaked almonds on the exterior were good and had a nice crunch.  Again, better than your average hotel breakfast buffet croissant that comes frozen from a large distributor, but not up to par with a good bakery.  **+ if I was judging from a bakery, ***+ from a hotel, *** overall.

Ham & Cheese Croissant. $10.

"Cultured butter croissant fold baked fresh with a filling of shaved ham, matured vintage cheddar, béchamel and two types of mustard, seeded & Dijon."

The savory croissant option was ham and cheese, nicely studded with everything seeded crust.  I did really like the seeded crust, and the pastry was better than average for a hotel, but like the almond one, not great in the bakery sense.  I didn't care for the very strong flavored ham, and didn't actually taste any of the promised duo of mustard, nor the béchamel, both of which seem like they'd make for an interesting pastry.  The cheese was nicely melted, and was flavorful.

Overall, fine, but not something I wanted another of.  ***.

Banana Bread $6, Rhubarb Danish $9.

Banana Bread: "Loaded with ripe bananas and a touch of cinnamon. Sweet and moist, perfect toasted with cultured butter."

Next we moved into banana bread that didn't look particular great, and several danish options, starting with rhubarb.  A co-worker had that one of the danishes, and said it was good.

I tried the banana bread later in the week, and it was fine.  Fairly moist, but also fairly standard, not particularly interesting spicing, no nuts, no frills.  ***.

Sour Cherry Danish. $9.

It was hard to decide which danish to try first, but I went for the sour cherry on my first day.

The danish pastry itself was fine, clearly fresh, flaky, not a frozen foodservice product, far above average for hotel breakfast or cafe.  Studded with cocoa nibs for some crunch.  The filling is where it shined, juicy slightly tart cherries, and a bit of custard.  I enjoyed the filling.  ***+ in the high quality bakery rating scheme, but **** for hotel/cafe/buffet item.

Update review: I had another, and still enjoyed the filling.  This one also seemed to have chocolate in the center, which was even better, sorta black forest like.

Seasonal Danish: Apricot. $9.

"Flaky Danish croissant pastry filled with Heilala vanilla cheesecake crème and topped with an apricot half. Garnished with diced green pistachios and individually glazed with a vanilla sugar syrup."

The final danish offering was apricot, with a full apricot half right in the center, and an inviting pistachio rim.  I had this a few days after the sour cherry one.

The pastry itself was much the same as the previous - reasonably fresh tasting, good butter on the finish, better than your average buffet, but not top tier Parisian bakery quality.  I did like the pistachio dusting for crunch.

The vanilla cheesecake filling was fine, a thin layer of it under the apricot.  It added a creamy component, and slight cheesiness.  There wasn't much though, so it was easy to miss.  The apricot was a poached (?) soft apricot, great flavor, clearly not a dried fruit.  I preferred the sour cherry filling to this, but this was nicely done.  ***+.

Cinnamon Cruffin / Morning Bun. $6.

"Sonoma signature treat, a croissant pastry scroll sprinkled with cinnamon citrus sugar."

The hotel had these labelled as cinnamon cruffins, but Sonoma just considers them morning buns, which is what I thought they were too.  I grabbed one my first morning, as it looked so perfect to have alongside my coffee.  

It was fine.  Certainly far better than standard hotel breakfast pastries, better than most coffee shops.  Really well coated in cinnamon sugar (I didn't taste the citrus notes).  Fresh and flaky.  But I found myself bored by it - perhaps warmed up, or with some whipped cream to dunk it in, I would have enjoyed more.  But certainly far far above average for a breakfast buffet.  ***+.

Update Review: I had another a few months later, as they really do just look so good.  I was again let down slightly ... it had good sugar coating, and was nicely rolled, but, I just didn't find it particularly flavorful nor interesting.  ***.

Portuguese Egg Tart. $4.50.

"Delightfully sweet, flaky Sonoma puff pasty tart filled with a rich vanilla egg custard that has been baked until caramelised."

The final offering was a surprise to see, Portuguese egg tarts!  Now, I love a good pastel de nata, but I certainty didn't expect it at breakfast in the buffet in Sydney.  (Side note: if you ever find yourself in Lisbon, yes, Pastéis de Belém is as good as people say it is).  They looked great, just the right level of lightly caramelized on top.

The tarts really were quite good.  Flaky pastry.  Rich custard filling with strong vanilla notes.  Not too eggy.  Just, really quite good.  No complains at all about these, and I wished I could have one warm, as I bet they'd be magical that way.  ****+.

Update: I had these a few more times, and loved them every time.  They really do seem more dessert appropriate though, as they were sweet, and the filling so rich.  But, top notch.  ****+.

Gluten Free

The buffet catered well to many dietary needs, with dedicated gluten-free sections, which were always well labelled.

Gluten-Free Breads.

Gluten-free and vegan diners had several local made breads to pick from, from Nonie's bakery.  

Charcoal & Quinoa:

"The Activated Charcoal & Quinoa Bread has a depth of flavour to match its looks. The earthiness from the charcoal, quinoa seeds and buckwheat flour is balanced by a delicate sweetness from organic coconut sugar. This striking black bread can be served savoury or sweet."

The activated charcoal one looked stunning, so I tried it.  It was ... just dry bread that happened to be an odd color.  Lots of texture from quinoa.  It tasted too healthy.  **.

Spreads, GF Crackers.

They also had a dedicated GF cracker section, with assorted spreads.  I tried the fancy looking peanut butter, and the macadamia butter.  Both were fine but not as exciting as they sounded.  Same with the black wafer crackers, that seemed like just rice crackers, and were flavorless and unseasoned.

Mmmore Slices: Coconut, Caramel? or Hazelnut. 

Gluten-free/vegan guests weren't left out of the sweets either, as they had some slices from yet another local company, Mmmore.  Every day had a lineup of their raw slices.  Mmmore makes 8 different flavors, including some awesome sounding ones like mint chocolate, peanut butter, or caramel, but I was only able to try three more simple options.

Mmmmore hazelnut slice

"A rich, powerful raw cacao and hazelnut combo that will make you emotional (the good kind)."

On the left was one labelled as caramel, but, I believe this was the hazelnut (the caramel one has a much lighter main portion, and a coconut biscuit base, and, presumably, tastes like caramel, and this one did not).  What I had was more of a fairly healthy tasting bar, made up of dates, coconut, and nuts (hazelnuts, cashews), with a hint of cocoa.  It was lightly chewy, lightly crunchy from bits of nuts, and although it had healthy vibes, it also tasted a bit decadent, from the intense coconut.  I was glad that I didn't taste dates too strongly, they mostly just provided some natural sweetness and a binding agent.  Considerably better than most healthy date based bars.  It seemed a bit odd to eat for breakfast, but also wasn't a dessert to me, and I'd rather have as a post workout snack perhaps (which, I certainly could have done, had I gone to the gym in the morning instead of just getting up, rolling out of bed, and going to feast).  An interesting product, but I don't think I'd get it again.  ***+

Mmmore coconut slice

"Lush coconut filling with raw choc top and chewy almond base. Best eaten in secret on tropical island."

Next up, coconut.  It was pretty obvious which one this was, as it it is the only blonde item they make, and was coated in extra coconut.  This one had an even simpler ingredient list: the same coconut, dates, coconut oil, and cocoa powder as the previous, and just some almonds to help form the base, and additional brown rice syrup to add more sweetness.

It basically tasted like coconut.  Slightly chewy.  A tiny bit of a nutty taste.  But mostly, like coconut, like a macaroon.  I really wanted to dip it in chocolate.  Fine, but, just coconut really. Low ***.

Raw Raspberry Slice.

"Pink coconut dream. Dreamy coconut whip with tangy raspberry ripple. Low in fructose. High in love."

My last day a pretty pink one showed up, so I obviously grabbed it.  This turned out to be raspberry, with a description that seemed a bit far fetched (coconut whip?  Nope, its a solid bar ...).  It had a base of almonds, coconut, and brown rice syrup like the previous, and a body of more coconut, raspberries, and dates.

The base of this was basically the same as the coconut slice, lightly chewy, lightly nutty, a bit too healthy tasting for me.  The top was much the same too, it tasted strongly of coconut and little else, although it had a mild fruitiness to it.  I liked this one slightly more than the plain coconut, but the raspberry was pretty muted.  ***.

Daily Specials

Adjacent to the breads and pastries was a staffed station, with a daily special and toppings. The special seemed to just alternate between pancakes and waffles, none of which were made to order, but were made in small batches out there, and served to you directly rather than sitting premade in the buffet.  Breakfast opened at 6:30am, but this station was rarely ready to go by 6:45am or even 7am when I arrived, so I never tried it.

Toppings.

The toppings lineup here was a bit odd.  The cream cheese and Nutella made sense for the toast/bagels.  Cocoa nibs for waffles I guess?  And then nuts?  There was also maple syrup for the pancakes/waffles, but nothing fun like fruit purees, no whipped cream, no chocolate shards, no 100s & 1000s.  This is one of only two areas where I feel the Sheraton Grand does a better job with their breakfast buffet, as they always have great sweet toppings.

The next day, there was whipped cream.  It was a rather thick, gloopy style.  Closer to just clotted cream for scones than what I think of as whipped cream.  Lightly sweetened.  I used it with crumpets and jam one morning, and with fruit another, but it wasn't particular good whipped cream.  **+.

Berries.

This section also has the only berries.  There is plenty of other fruit in the buffet, ranging from fruit salad to whole fruit to sliced fruit of all kinds, but, the berries were only here, and only in small little bowls, with small serving spoons that made it hard to take only a few at a time.  It seemed almost like a cost cutting thing to prevent people from taking tons of berries, but, given the high quality bounty of the rest of the lineup, I don't think that was the reason.

Every day had strawberries and blueberries, some days has raspberries or blackberries.

Anyway, the berries were all quite good, fresh, perfectly ripe.  I was thrilled to finally be able to eat some fresh fruit, not contaminated by melons (I'm allergic), as so many buffets always have the melon mixed in with the other fruit.  ****.

Gelato.

What is a breakfast buffet without gelato or ice cream?  Yes!  The gelato lineup had 6 flavors my first day: vanilla, salted coffee, port, baby peach, and mango sorbet.  The sign said $6, but they were actually included at breakfast.  The flavors changed daily.

Salted Coffee. $6/scoop (included with breakfast).

The first time I tried the ice cream / gelato / sorbet I went for the salted coffee, because, it somehow felt the most breakfast appropriate.  It was just coffee with sugar and cream after all, right?

It was decent gelato, fairly creamy, no crystallization.  This was a salted flavor that did deliver in the salt, which was a bit odd to taste with coffee.  I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it.  I wouldn't get it again.  ***.

Fresh Fruit & Juices

Once you've gotten over your amazement at the pastry lineup, it is time to be stunned again, with a wall of fresh pressed juices, smoothies, yogurt pots, sliced, and whole fruit.  This is in addition to other fruit found throughout the buffet, and larger format yogurt options that come later.

Juices, yogurts, fruit.

The fruit juices came from Nectar Cold Pressed Juices, and are available a la carte for $10.  Sliced kiwi, cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon were on offer the first day, along with peaches, nectarines, mandarins, and bananas.

The little yogurt pots here included plain, passionfruit, and mixed berry. 

Passionfruit Yogurt.

I tried the passionfruit yogurt pot, but wasn't into it.  The yogurt was tart and not very smooth, and the topping tasted more like pears than passionfruit?  **+.

A few days later, I tried the mixed berry one.  Same thing - I just didn't care for the not smooth yogurt base.  **.

More juices, yogurts, fruit.

Additional cold pressed juices, additional sliced fruit, pears, and several types of apples completed this fruit section.

The yogurt parts here were coconut, honey and chia, and, a bottled mango lassi (also from Nectar).  

Nectar Mango Lassi.

I tried the mango lassi, and wasn't impressed.  Not particularly strong mango flavor, tart, really just a generic smoothie.  But the bottle sure was cute. **.

Dragon Fruit.

My second morning, they had dragonfruit.  So vibrant.  Sadly not all that flavorful.

White Dragon Fruit.

Same with the white dragon fruit a few days later.  Fairly flavorless, although juicy.

Cherries.

Several days had fresh cherries.  Such abundance!  The cherries were excellent.  Every time.  Top notch cherries.  I got my monies worth on cherries and pastries alone!  ****.

Lychee.

And lychee!  The lychee too was excellent.  I was very impressed with some of this fruit.  ****.

Cold Buffet

Next came the standard continental lineup, with charcuterie, cheese, salads, more yogurt and fruit options, and cereal.

Charcuterie, Smoked Salmon.

I did try the smoked salmon, Leisa's Cold Smoked Salmon.  It was fine, but not special.  Fairly firm.  Not much smoky flavor. ***.  The meats were from Pino's.

Again, so much detail put into showing the local sourcing of the products.

Cheeses.

Cheese came from a selection of vendors, each labelled.  There was fresh cheese like fetta and boccacini, a soft triple cream, a medium firm smoked cheese, and a harder alpine style.

I tried a couple, they were fine cheeses, but I'm not really one to want cheese in the morning.

Salad Bar.

The salad bar was a bit interesting, with basic mixed greens, cucumbers, and tomatoes (which seem to be the standard at all buffets around here), plus some pickled things (peppers, gerkins, onions), and a quinoa salad.  Three kinds of dressing were on offer as well.

I missed having sprouts and other interesting salad items from the Sheraton buffet.

I tried a few pickled things, they were fine.

More Salad Bar.

The rest of this station had some fermented products (kimchi, cabbage), spreads (hummus, avocado, babaganoush), and condiments for the smoked salmon (lemon, cream cheese, caperberries).

I tried the babaganoush one morning.  It was nicely smoky and flavorful.  

Yogurt, Muesli.

The yogurt was the same brand as the little pots I didn't like, and looked to be the same style.  There was also coconut yogurt and bircher muesli.  

I of course tried the bircher muesli my first morning, since I love good bircher, and the Sheraton where I'd just been staying the week before has a version that is fine but not great.  This one was also fine ... not too mushy, not too yogurt heavy, not too acidic, but tasted more like standard overnight oats, just a thicker version, than muesli to me.  Fresh berries on top were a nice touch.  ***.

The coconut yogurt was a nice consistency, smooth, thick.  It was very strong in the coconut flavor, as you'd expect.  I think I'd like it with some mango, which is one fruit I never saw show up in the buffet.  Not really my thing, but if you like coconut, it is likely yours.  ***.

Fruit Salad and Compotes.

I was happy to see a fruit salad without melons, although the strawberries in this were fairly mushy, and I didn't really want the apples or citrus.  Grapes were fresh and juicy.

Cereals.

The cereal lineup had all the expected cereals: Nutrigrain, rice puffs, corn flakes, bran sticks, Weet-bix, granola.

I tried the granola, it was fine, but pretty coconut heavy.  ***.

Milks.

The milk choices were full cream, skim, or soy.  No almond nor oat.

Nuts, Seeds, Crackers.

There was a selection of nuts and seeds, along with gluten free cornflakes and more gluten free crackers too.

Hot Buffet

The least exciting section of the lineup for me was the hot foods buffet.  It did have sections that changed daily.

Medium Boiled Eggs.

The first morning, and several days later in the week, this changing area was egg focused.  Kudos for the egg cups and little spoons.

I tried the egg one day, and it was really not what I'd consider medium.  It was fully cooked, seemed hard boiled.  Zero softness to the yolk.  A few months later, I tried another, and it was slightly softer, but still not what I think of as medium boiled.

Scrambled Eggs.

Some days, it was scrambled eggs.  I am not sure why, but I decided to try the scrambled eggs my first day.  The most generic item, and one that is never good in buffets, yet, I was oddly drawn to how creamy the eggs looked.  They were creamy.  I'm curious how they compare to the made to order scrambled eggs that you can order.  ***+.

I had them again several days later, and enjoyed them again.  I think there is copious amounts of butter in here, and likely some cream, or maybe even cheese ... it is hard to tell, they are a very runny style, but, not in a bad way.  "Loose" perhaps is the right term for them?  I really did like them, particularly drizzled with soy sauce and maple syrup, and stuffed into toast.  Probably the best buffet scrambled eggs I've ever had.  ****.

My last morning I had them again, but alas, they were far less magical.  They were still a somewhat loose style, but, really were not any more transformational than other scrambled eggs that at least didn't seem made from powder. ***.

Indian Vegetarian Curry.

The second day, the egg focused hot items turned into an Indian station.  I tried the curry, and it was quite creamy and flavorful.  Veggies a bit soft though.  ***.

Dal.

I didn't have the rice or dal.

Samosas.

The samosas were quite large.

Indian Condiments.

To round out the Indian station, a selection of condiments was available, with chutney and raita.  I really did like the green chutney.

Sides.

Next came a lineup of breakfast sides, these did not change: confit tomatoes, roast mushrooms, black forest double smoked bacon, potato rosti, baked beans (all $8 a la carte).

They were all displayed attractively in heavy casseroles.  The lids kept things warm, but were a bit cumbersome to open while also holding a plate.

Pork Sausage.

There was also some kind of sausage link every day, sometimes chicken, sometimes pork.  I did try both the chicken and pork sausages, and both had a great sear, nice snap to the casing, but inside was quite dense and I wasn't into the texture at all.  I wonder if this is an Australian style thing, much like flabby bacon?  **.

Potato Rosti.

The breakfast potatoes were always rosti patties, no hash browns, home fries, etc.

I tried them one day, as they did look lovely, golden brown, with some herbs in the mix.  I didn't really care for them though, just kinda greasy and not actually warm.  **.

Sauteed Asian Greens.

Every day had a different set of Asian sides, sauteed greens my first day.

Stir Fry.

And stir fry some other days.  I tried it once, with fond memories of the noodles from the Sheraton Grand breakfast, but these were fairly blah.  Not much flavor, kinda greasy, lukewarm.  Good chew to the noodles though. **+.

Congee + toppings.

The first day, chicken congee rounded out the end of the hot bar, with just a few meager toppings.  The next day it was miso soup.

There was no oatmeal nor Western hot cereal or grain.

Condiments.

Hot sauces, ketchup, soy sauce, barbecue, HP, Worchestershine, and mustards completed the buffet area.

Made To Order

There are no made to order action stations at BTWN, e.g. no barista bar, no egg chef, no noodle station.  However, from your table, you order coffee beverages and eggs.  I found this ordering process extremely frustrating - it could take forever to get the attention of someone to place an order, and, sometimes getting the items took forever.  I waited >20 minutes for a long black my first morning, in a fairly empty room.

Coffee

Decaf Long Black.

I generally started my day with coffee in my room using the Nspresso machine the moment I got up, so by the time I made it downstairs, I was ready for decaf.  I opted for a long black most mornings.  It sometimes was ready in 5 minutes, and other mornings, 20 minutes.  Hard to rely on them for coffee if you want it right away.  

It did come in an attractive double walled glass, and was reasonably warm.  No decaf funk, smooth flavor.  Good, but not exceptional.  ***.

I had one of these most mornings, and the flavor ranged from totally fine to too acidic.  But never great.  This was really the low point of the otherwise high quality buffet, particularly in a city with so much great coffee.

The Breakfast Experience

"Breakfast Experience" Menu.

From your table, you can order several "breakfast experiences".  Otherwise known as made to order eggs.  Options were eggs your way (sunny side up, scrambled, boiled, etc), omelettes (with choice of three fillings), or benedict (several styles).  The benedicts are served over crumpets by Merna, another small batch, locally made product.

This order at your table approach is definitely classier than standard buffet with an egg station that always becomes a bottleneck, but, I also knew it meant it would take longer.  I'm rarely there to linger, always rushing to work, so I do appreciate a regular buffet egg station where I can give my order, go get whatever else I want, and have my dish coming out fresh as I walk back.

If you order eggs or omelettes a la carte, rather than from the buffet, they are $24.

Eggs Benedict, Spinach.

OMG.

That is all I have to say about this eggs benedict.  It looked amazing, and tasted as good as it looked.

To start, the basics.  The egg was well poached, no runny whites, nicely runny yolk.  Textbook.  Also, it was a bit freakishly large, I think a chicken egg, but, certainly bigger than normal.  A+ egg.  

Next, the wilted spinach.  Again, textbook.  The portion was good, not too meager, not overwhelming.  It wasn't greasy or oily, which sometimes happens with sautéed spinach.  It went so well with the egg yolks and hollandaise.  A small thing, but, one that often isn't done that well.  A++ spinach.

Then, the hollandaise.  This was fine - creamy, rich, reasonable flavor.  Portion was generous, smothering the egg entirely.  Good hollandaise, but I actually found it not necessary, given how good the rest was, which is saying something, as I'm usually all about sauces.  

And that gets us to the base.  The crumpet.   I'll admit I actually almost asked to not have the crumpet, as I don't care for sourdough, and wanted to save stomach space for other pastry carbs, but, I'm so glad I didn't.  Everything before this was flawless, on par with the best eggs benedict I've had elsewhere, but it is the crumpet that took it over the top.  I can safely say that I've never enjoyed an English muffin or crumpet as much as this.  

"Crumpets by Merna are small batch, locally made sourdough crumpets, created using the best local ingredients. These Traditional Buttermilk Crumpets are made using Pepe Saya buttermilk."

It was extraordinary.  Another local product, this one from Crumpets by Merna.  Merna makes crumpets in a few flavors, ranging from savory cheese & chive to sweet chocolate ones, with coconut vegan offerings and even Christmas tree shaped seasonal one, but my benedict featured the traditional crumpet.  The restaurant toasted it perfectly, just the right amount of crispness, yet still soft and quite moist.  The flavor to this base was incredible, it turns out, I guess I can appreciate sourdough after all.  The fermentation, plus the buttermilk, just made it unlike anything I've tasted before. The crags and nooks and crannies were extensive, and were great vehicles for creating pools of delicious yolk and hollandaise once I cut into the egg.  It made me very interested to try one just with jam and cream sometime, but it was definitely perfect for the benedict.

So, yes.  Perfectly poached egg, non-greasy spinach, lovely hollandaise, and epic crumpet.  To say I enjoyed this is an understatement.  Stunning.  ****+.

Eggs Benedict, Spinach, No Hollandaise.

A few days later, I was back to the poached eggs and crumpets, this time, I asked for no hollandaise, not because I don't care for it, but because I wanted to drizzle it with my own favorite sauce mix: soy sauce + maple syrup + sriracha.  I love the sweet-savory-spicy blend, and I wanted to be able to taste the crumpet even more purely than with all the hollandaise on it.

The egg was again poached flawlessly.  I've had plenty of good poached eggs before, but, these were both truly perfect, not even a tiny bit of runny white, and yet totally runny center.  Perfection.  The spinach was again nicely wilted, and just the right portion for the egg.  The crumpet, again, lightly toasted, but mostly allowed to just shine, full of flavor on its own.  I ended up having a bit with one of the nice local jams and whipped cream from the pancake station, and loved it that way too.

Excellent.  ****.