Cafe Mix @ Shangri-La

Often you see somewhere that you want to visit and you tell yourself ‘one day I’ll try that place’, but the great thing about holidays is that you can make that ‘one day’ right now. I must thank Helen for the heads up; as soon as I saw her post about Café Mix I made a booking within 5 minutes of reading her post.

Why the eagerness? Jacky and I are in search of the ultimate buffet. I think we found the ultimate buffet 6 years ago at a Brisbane hotel near the river but we failed to note down the name of the place and have never come across anything like it since. They had the biggest and freshest selection of seafood; I distinctly remember the whole giant steamed fish, sashimi, oysters, mussels and crab. The variety of other cuisines and desserts was also enormous.

The thing that made this place the ultimate buffet was that you could peel your own prawns, bring it back to the chef with his own little counter who would then use it to whip up a fresh personalised pasta with the sauce of your choice or even better…garlic prawns. Fast forward 6 years we cant forget this place and have a desire to experience something similar once again.

So we gave Cafe Mix at the Shangri-La a go. Upon entering the cafe you are absolutely blown away by the dessert table that is right near the entrance. My sister told me that my eyes lit up like a small child at a candy store. I knew that I would be in for a treat.

This counter was full of crabs, oysters, prawns, mussels, smoked salmon and various salads.

For today they had a complimentary Tiro Italian Blood Orange sparkling drink for all guests, if you like their pink grapefruit drink you'll like this.

More salads

There was also an Asian Counter and an Italian Counter with chefs topping up and making fresh dishes as the patrons ate.

Antipastos

Asian condiments which included salty egg, kim chee, various pickles and sauces. The Chinese chef whipping up some Chinese vegetarian noodles.

Some Indian and Malaysian curries for a bit of spice

Then there was the Japanese counter with fresh sushi

and hand rolls made while you wait

After multiple plates the 5 of us (Jacky, Jacky's dad, Barbara, Sophia and myself) were ready for dessert. Jacky laughed that my friend Belinda who is the Queen of all things sweet would have rolled over and died if she saw what was on offer.

A chocolate fountain, fruit salad, macarons of various flavours and many many cakes.

A edible sculpture made entirely of chocolate as big as the chocolate fountain, the cheesecake which Jacky's sister highly recommends.

Not sure what some of these were but I think Jacky ate the whole tub of chocolate gelato himself!

Looked like a peanut brittle but much softer in texture and crumbled as you bit into it

Pavlova, coffee creme brulee, pineapple jelly with cream

There seems to be a few special deals for the month of January and today we paid $38 per person compared to the usual $48. Make sure you mention it when you get the bill as they don't seem to advertise it openly once you are there. This wasn't quite the 'ultimate buffet' but still very good all the same and definitely worth a visit.

Cafe Mix @ The Shangri-La Hotel
Level 1, 176 Cumberland Street
The Rocks, Sydney
Phone:(02) 9250 6000

Lunch Buffet
Monday to Friday $48
Saturday and Sunday $58

Dinner Buffet
Monday to Thursday $58
Friday and Saturday $85
Sunday $68