A friend told me about a doughnut buffet that was over at the Novotel Citygate in Tung Chung. We'd been there before for lunch buffets, but Essence (one of the restaurants in the Novotel Citygate) had advertised an afternoon tea buffet featuring a doughnut bar.
Seeing that I actually had been craving donuts awhile back, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to see what kinds of donuts the Novotel had to offer!
Essence Afternoon Tea Info:
51 Man Tung Road
Tung Chung
From the Tung Chung MTR, take exit C into the Citygate Malls. From the Mall, you can gain direct access into the Novotel reception lobby and Essence restaurant.
Hours
Weekends 2:45 pm - 5 pm
Price
$138/ person
The DOUGHNUT SPECIAL BUFFET lasts until October 4, 2015
I highly suggest to make a reservation, as weekends are always so crowded.
Tel.
3602 - 8808
In essence, the buffet at Essence was just a normal afternoon tea buffet. Before heading into Essence, I had been imagining tables and tables of doughnuts, teas, coffees, and desserts. But, alas, there wasn't a full room filled with donuts…I mean, there were a bunch of donuts, but they were only being offered at the dessert bar. There were other foods offered as apart of the afternoon tea buffet, as well.
***Taking a stroll around the buffet trays***
As with any buffet, we just had to start off with the salad bar, mix in some dim sum, and add some sandwiches on top.
We ended our two our eat-fest with the donuts.
Lasting Impressions:
1. The buffet was all right. There was a grilled cheese sandwich that was pretty good.
2. The drink selection was all right. There were orange juice, apple juice, and coffee options.
3. The service was pretty awesome. They were really nice and were always busy clearing dishes off of everyone's tables.
4. Our seats were pretty awesome. If you are lucky, you can score a seat in one of the plushy booths, but the other tables are also nice (as some of them can fit an entire family of 6+)
5. The donuts were all right. The nicest donut for me was the apple filled, matcha covered donut with silver balls sprinkled on the top.
Though I didn't get the donut buffet of my dreams, it was a pretty nice array of buffet foods to tide me over until my late dinner.
