Ristorante Bologna

It could have been the misleading words - first, renowned, amazing spread, that tricked me into booking a slot with them.

Was really looking forward to authentic Italian food - pasta, vongole, ravioli truffle, aglio olio, pizzas & more. I even excused my already expanding waist for that day. Booked for the lunch buffet 2 weeks in advance and even excitedly reminded Dylan to block his calendar.

But the dining experience was such a let-down.

We arrived at the hotel lobby, hopeful and very hungry. It was a pleasant sight to see that the restaurant was almost packed at lunch hour. It was certainly delightful to see a wide range of food platter to choose from. It was not good news at all when we were told that our restaurant was actually oppsite across the isle.

It was then that we realized that our intended restaurant was empty.

The buffet spread was meagre - Baked vegetarian pasta, garden vegetables, fried garoupa (is it even Italian?), grilled chicken. The pasta of the day was overcooked. The penne was HARD.

The chef came out of the kitchen and greeted us. We could bearly raise our lips to smile. Dylan and I had to convince ourselves that perhaps it was cooked for Italians taste. Because the food didn't come close to any of the local Italian restaurants we've been before.

We munched on the butter bread bitterly - that was the only thing that could fill our stomach for a while.

We have tried all sorts of cuisines - Chinese, Malay, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indian fushion, Meditarrenean, Italian, American, what not. But seriously, nothing comes as close as bad as this.

We left the restaurant with a very unsatisfied stomach and wondered where did the dining award came from?