Marina Bay Sands

Last month, the husband and I celebrated our Anniversary as a couple, not wedding though. :) He surprised me with an overnight stay at Marina Bay Sands. It was a very nice experience! Our daughter didn't want to leave, saying "I want the nice room, Mom." Ha, if only we could stay there for a month!

As usual, the bed was nice and soft and pillows were fluffy. :) Our room didn't have tub though. I guess it was a blessing in disguise because for sure the little girl won't come out of the bath! We already had a hard time pulling her out of the pool, I guess that's enough struggle for the weekend. Don't ya think? :)

 

The room came with a sofa and a viewing deck. A breathtaking view of Gardens by the Bay.

Every room's fridge has an automatic sensor that any item removed, it will be charged to the room right away. Tsk, tsk. Having a precocious little girl with us, we had to request for them to have the fridge locked. So they gave us a small fridge instead. It was done quickly and without any issues. Great service! 

Some photos I took that are included in the room. But that doesn't mean you can take them home! :)) They provide TWG tea and Robert Timms coffee. Nice!

Being a guest in the hotel gives you free access to the Sands SkyPark Infinity Pool. Good thing you don't have to bring your own towel as they provide one by the poolside. Also they have free flowing ice cold citrus (orange/lemon) water. Yum! 

Also, on the other side of the roof top are several jacuzzis. The husband loved it there, too. 

We had a wonderful time in Marina Bay Sands. We tried their Chocolate Buffet but will put up a separate post on that. I cannot think of any negative feedback. I guess big hotels like this gives one of the best services to guests. Hoping we could come back in the future!

Marina Bay Sands

10 Bayfront Avenue,
Singapore 018956

Email: inquiries@marinabaysands.com
Telephone: +65 6688 8868

Review: Old Hongkong Tea House in Katong Village

Facade of the place

Few weeks ago, the husband's friend asked if we're interested for a dimsum buffet because she found a good deal. Who could resist a dimsum buffet? With discount?!! Think about har gow, siew mai, bolo bun paired with piping hot chinese tea! Just thinking about it makes me salivate already!

We booked for 1:00pm but some of the friends came 30 minutes late. We didn't order right away because the coupon we got had a time limit of 2.5 hrs. Unfortunately, the server informed us that it's just 2hrs. Tsk, tsk. Robbed of precious 30 minutes!! :(

After about 15 minutes, the husband and I started ordering like crazy. Thinking it's ok to order several items since it might take about 20 minutes before the food gets delivered, just in time for the rest of the group to arrive. 

Chinese Tea

To be honest, the photos I'm posting here are not even half of what we had. I'm just a tad shy to post everything! :))

Some of the items we got were:

• 2 dishes of pasta melts (which could feed 2-3 people)
• A fried chicken wing
• 2 dishes of vegetables in light sauces
• 5 servings of hakaw (just because it's limited to one serving per customer)
• 3 servings of siew mai

The mixed meat platter was really good. The duck, roast pork and chicken were cooked to perfection and tasted great. We actually ordered several plates of the roast pork. :) How many? Don't ask.

Mixed meat platter

Just ordered this once. Also the other vegetable dishes such as the greens and the eggplant in thick black sauce. No dish stood out. Sorry. :|

Tofu in thick sauce

I accidentally ordered a cold chicken feet dish. Thinking the other girls in the group liked eating chicken feet, I ordered about two dishes but unfortunately, they were like me, not interested at all! So the husband ended up eating these. :))

Chicken feet

The bolo bun was really really nice. Even compared to Crystal Jade's, it's wonderfully made. The crust on the top doesn't crumble easily and it was served with butter in the middle which made me extra special.

Clockwise: Eggplant in black sauce, chicken curry, bolo bun 

By the time we finished eating, I couldn't move much. My tummy hurt. :)) It was a good experience but 

with regards to the quality of food, I would say, it's just okay. The hakaw, bolo bun and roasted meat platter were wonderful but the rest were just blah. Some servers couldn't speak or understand English so we had a hard time communicating. Like when one of the girls ordered for a Coke, it took 2 or 3 servers to understand and gave the drink after 30 minutes. That bad, huh?

I think I want to go to Yum Cha's high tea dimsum buffet next time! :D

Old Hong Kong Tea House

86 East Coast Road

Bloack A Katong Village

Singapore 428788

Telephone: 6345 1932

Fax: 6345 1438

Open daily - 24 hours

Website: http://www.oldhongkong.com.sg/

I'm in Paradise!

When we had the lunch at Thai Express, I can't get my mind off the coconut ice cream and glutinous rice dessert we had. So I thought, "Why not make my own?" Hmmm... But then I realized, where would I get coconut ice cream? I scoured at least 4 big grocery stores but I didn't find any, even just the Yam & Coconut was out of stock. Argh! I checked for recipes online, and I was happy as a clam! I can make coconut ice cream without having to use an Ice Cream Maker! Wahooooo! :)) Will share the recipe on a separate post :)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Glutinous rice (soaked in water, overnight)

crushed peanuts

1/2-3/4 cup Coconut cream

1/3 cup brown sugar

Slices of ripe mangoes

Coconut ice cream

Method:

1. Soak the glutinous rice in water at least 6 hours or overnight. Strain and prepare for cooking.

2. Cook by steaming the rice over a boiling water. The thai way is by using a basket atop a boiler and the rice is covered in cheesecloth. For me, I used a clean washcloth and steamed the glutinous rice for about an hour or until the rice becomes tender and shiny.

3. In a medium bowl, cook the sugar and coconut cream. Add the cooked rice. Cook for about 15 minutes. Adjust the quantity of cream according to how much rice you have, just enough to coat it.

4. Stem the rice again, but not covering with cloth anymore. Do this for about 20-30 minutes or until the rice is sticky. Let rice cool for about 30 minutes. Roll them into small balls.

5.  Arrange plate by putting the glutinous rice balls. Sprinkle with peanuts, serve with mango slices and a scoop of coconut ice cream. Enjoy!

Source: http://zoebakes.com