HALLOFUS

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

SuperTree Dining @ Gardens By The Bay

SuperTree Dining - IndoChine

Gardens By The Bay @ SuperTree Grove
For Reservation: 6694 8489

Just by looking at the architecture itself, I was awed by the fact that I will be dining up there.
Thanks to Wen for making the arrangement for my birthday celebration.

A palate of delectable western and eastern cuisine, IndoChine proved to be the perfect host to be on top of the tallest Supertree.

After being greeted by a staff at the lobby, we were ushered into the 'tree' where we took the lift up to the Restaurant. A beautiful, unobstructed, panoramic view, cosy candlelight setting and cushy chairs, this place looked really romantic as evening falls.

The fault I could find was that the tables are a little too close, at least for me who was almost 8 months pregnant then. Walking space was a little limited. Also, washrooms didn't seem quite accessible. I'm not sure where they are, but I used the big handicap toilet which was situated just around the corner beside the bar. Quite awkward to go to when there are people dining just outside this toilet. Luckily we were not seated there.

We headed straight for the food as we were famished.

I highly recommend this tapas dish! It is very meaty yet refreshing.
Love the mayo and ebikko toppings!

Crispy Lychee with Kurobuta Pork Loin & Bacon

Our main course came and I had the lamb, while Wen had the beef.

My lamb came raw and I had to send it back to have it well-done. The waiter explained that it was meant to be that way but I didn't buy it. It was very raw, almost like a piece of raw meat placed in front of me, only a thin grill and sauce covering the surface.

Despite the unfortunate episode, it actually tasted very good with the sauce. Not overly done either. Wen's beef dish was good too, except that I found it a bit salty.

Lemongrass rack of Lamb & mashed sweet potato with truffle oil

Black Pepper Beef with Garlic & Butter

And time for desserts!

This dish came warm at our table and we quickly dug into the caramelised sugar and top it with the ice cream. It was vvvv good!

The Crème Brulee has a tinch of bitter coffee taste to it, and I like it. :)

Vietnamese Coffee Crème Brulee, Vanilla Ice Cream

After our dinner, we ventured a level up to the rooftop bar. You are also allowed to bring your drinks up to chill if you like. Wen brought his cup of beer up. It was super relaxing to watch the landscapes and to enjoy the breeze that came that night.

What a great way to end the dinner!!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

A lucky draw win on board Superstar Virgo! (27-29 March 2013)

Superstar Virgo (27-29 March 2013)

It has been awhile since I last blog. That's because there were just too many things happening around me (and in me!) that I could not really find the time to pen my thoughts. Nevertheless, Wen and I got ourselves a treat on Superstar Virgo, my first time on Star Cruise. It was actually a lucky draw ticket that we won when we booked our Maldives honeymoon trip at Natas fair last year.

Saved ourselves quite a bit as the usual price for a cruise trip doesn't come cheap.

The Grand Lobby

We were on a Wednesday cruise and surprisingly, it was packed. The check in and waiting at Harbourfront took quite a while before we were ushered onto the ship at 8-ish. Our cabin was on the 6th floor and was conveniently located near the stairs & lift. The room was cosy and clean, and somewhat bigger than what I have expected. The single bed though was a complaint for Wen. Amenities include shampoo/bodywash, hairdryer, towels, mineral water. Toothbrush and toothpaste were not provided.

We got a view from the window

There seemed to be a regular group of people visiting Star Cruise, many of whom were uncles & aunties, which I believe have one thing on their minds - the casinos. They were greeted by crew members as if they were just there yesterday. We tried our luck at jackpot whenever there was available seats (hardly any most of the time!) and we made a small sum from it! We stopped after making that small sum. :)

We tried our luck at Bingo too, bought 3 tickets (the 3 boxes you can see below). It was quite exciting as we circled off the numbers being called from our tickets. No one Bingo-ed that afternoon, although someone did win a mini prize, after they ended the Bingo prize and continued calling out numbers until someone completes his ticket.

We were so close to winning!

Apart from the gambling fanaticism, you can also easily put on pounds from their complimentary restaurants (that comes with the price of your cruise fare) that serve Breakfast, Lunch, Teabreak, Dinner & Supper!

Bella Vista - serves very good western breakfast!

I absolutely loved their breakfast, especially this French Toast, served with raspberry sauce and cinnamon toppings! This was served with bacon, egg, harshbrown and baked beans. Very nice and fulfilling treat!

Their waffles were not bad too, but unfortunately I was too full that day, after having taken breakfast at another restaurant before heading here!

Pavilion Restaurant

A Chinese restaurant that serves good dim sums and porridge. It can get quite crowded during meal times, better to come early or later to avoid long queues.

Their lunch/ dinner comes in a set like this, this was for 2 pax, it was so much! And the best thing is, you can order any of the dishes again and again! Unlimited! We love their prawns mayo, we had 2 plates of that. Other than that, the rest was more than enough for 2 of us.

Meditteranean Restaurant

I didn't take any picture at this restaurant, because it's just a typical buffet setting restaurant. It felt more like a canteen to me, where everybody rushes to queue with their trays and scoop every dish lined on the buffet table. I would say most people come here to fill their stomachs, not so much to enjoy the food. I didn't find the food any special, typical dishes and just alright. We came here for supper on our first night when the other restaurants were closed by the time we wanted to get something to eat.

Recreation

Other recreation on board includes a salon, reading room, ice cream parlour, games room, karaoke room (chargeable), lounge at Bellini, and swimming pool.

It was also a great feeling to just chill on a sofa, or have a stroll around the ship while enjoying the view/ breeze of the sea.

Games Room where we had a go at Carom!

We had a stopover at KL where some passengers alighted to tour the KL city.

We were too lazy and decided to take this opportunity to take a dip in the swimming pool, where it was normally crowded with children and groups of teenagers.

Wen also tried losing some calories at the gym center before taking a dip in one of the 4 available jacuzzi.

Haven't swam for quite awhile, it was relaxing and refreshing.

A final not to miss activity on cruise is to watch their entertainment performances at the Lido auditorium.

Depending on the period that you go, there could be concert performances, plays, or dances.

We enjoyed the 'Cirque du Soleil- equivalent' performance by Star Cruise in-house performers who staged a play called "Somewhere in Time". The sound system was kind of loud, but it was overall an enjoyable show. Definitely a must-watch.

That ended our 3 day cruise experience. It was technically a half-full-half day trip, which was quite short. For a full fare of approx $600/pax just to be on cruise, we probably wouldn't find it worthwhile to come, even though we did enjoy ourselves this time. :)

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Paradise @ Maldives - Niyama Resort

13-17 November 2012

Honeymoon @ Niyama, Maldives

This entry is gonna be picture-heavy. Not much words needed actually...

TMA seaplane - a 40min ride from Male International Airport to our resort, Niyama, located at the South Western Atoll of Dhaalu

Exclusive Niyama lounge near the airport - while waiting for the plane to depart

Complimentary refreshments before the ride! We had sushi, chips, tea, apple juice and danishes!

Charming view from the top...

On our arrival at Niyama, we were chauffeured on a buggy to our Beach front villa.

Our Beautiful Beach Villa!

The luxurious outdoor bathroom

We love the night view of the bathroom!

View from our room

Just me and the Blue!

Our first night dinner at The Edge and Subsix - we took a 5min boat ride out to this venue.
It was pitch dark that night and we saw lots and lots of stars during the boat ride, we felt as if we were in the scene from Titanic!

Our super sumptuous dinner platter -
Lobsters, scallops, mussels, prawns, bluefin tuna, complete with toasted bread and sauteed potatoes.
The damage - USD200+!

After dinner, we went down to Subsix to visit the unique underground club. The corals looked so beautiful..

Good Morning Maldives!

I love how our villa looked that morning...

Breakfast at Epicure

Our Number 1 Favourite Pic!

Our hearty breakfast!

Not sure why, but the sour passionfruit on the right was super popular with the Westerners.
I enjoyed the mangoes better..

More pics from our morning stroll

Off on our sunset cruise

And night fishing! Total catch from all 8 couples that night, 15 red snappers!

I caught 2 for dinner!

Getting ready for snorkelling with our gears.

I thought I looked like a bird - Angry Bird!

Beautiful corals and fishes in the deep blue ocean

Relaxing after the snorkelling trip.

With no one to disturb us but the sound of gushing waves.

We knew we were gonna missed the Maldivian Sunday night and we spoke to a waiter about this.
Without hesitation, he asked he could get the chef to prepare us something that evening.
Voila, we got our maldivian dinner. That's mango jam at the bottom of the pic, sweet and different.

We were ushered to our Water Villa on Day 3!

Fishes gathered outside our toilet at night where there is the only light source...

As part of the honeymooner package, we were given a complimentary dinner at Tribal Restaurant -
We had dinner by the beach under the stars...

We were surprised with this sweet deco on our bed when we got back to our room.
We sometimes received M&Ms, nuts or chocolates in our room. How thoughtful of the staff!