Hey Hive!
It's time for another local trip because back in 2019-2021 we couldn't really fly anywhere due to travel restrictions and/or safety reasons. During that time, we saw more of our own country and I thought it'd be cool to share some interesting places from Singapore!
12 Jan 2022. Wednesday.
So in order to boost tourism during the covid period (post-quarantine of course), the Singapore government came up with these SingapoRediscover vouchers that locals can use at several tourist attractions like Universal Studios Singapore or Gardens by the Bay. But since we've already been to those places (and they tend to be quite crowded) we wanted to do something more chill and relaxing since we're always busy with work.
Source: Hindu Business Line
We decided to go on a tour of the Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore River! It's not something we would normally do and I think this was definitely not an option that many people our age would choose but we just wanted something relaxing and had food. There weren't that many options with free food so we were kinda limited.
So our tour started in the late afternoon since it was an evening boat ride so it thankfully wouldn't be as hot then. We arrived slightly late and got on the bus just in time! The tour guide was a local who told us about the sights as we drove to Marina Bay Sands.
We passed by most of the iconic places in city center to get there but it was interesting hearing some history about the buildings.
I think we often don't find the time to appreciate our own countries since we're always busy with our own lives rushing from one place to the other all the time. So it was nice to take a break and enjoy the sights for once.
We passed by the Singapore Art Museum that was under construction at the time and they very creatively had the barricades look like giant mahjong tiles, which I thought looked really cool!
We also took a loop around Raffles City in the Central Business District (CBD) area of Singapore.
And after driving for a bit we finally arrived at the Marina Bay Convention Centre!
There was a kiddy event taking place in one of the Expo Halls just past the glass doors so we could hear a lot of kids screaming as we entered.
Most of the other halls were quiet though apart from that one. I guess it was still a quiet time for events.
Our tour guide said we had to pick which menu we wanted for the dinner so they could prepare it in advance, and these were our choices!
Unfortunately they had a rule that each group had to order the same set menu so we couldn't try all the different dishes, which I felt was a real waste and such a shame.Both menus sounded really good! But ultimately we went with the first one.
This was when we got a look at the rest of the group and we felt so out of place since it was very clear that we were the youngest there. There was a couple that might have been just a few years older than us but still they looked like they were in their 30s. It felt like we were part of a boomer group.
After that the tour guide took us on a walk around The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, which is Singapore's largest luxury shopping malls with over 170 luxury brands and many award-winning restaurants!
There's even a mini canal in the mall itself! I think you can even ride in the small boats like in Venice but you probably had to pay for that.
There were Chinese New Year decorations up already since the CNY period was approaching at the time. And the city skyline was quite nice visible through all the glass windows.
The tour guide brought us to some select stores like this Bacha Coffee shop which I guess is a very famous coffee brand. Neither of us are coffee drinkers so we didn't really bother but we have seen their iconic packaging before.
I kinda thought they would have samples at the counter but I was mistaken, and disappointed. But I guess a famous brand wouldn't need to give out samples.
They had a very nice display of all the different types of coffee they offered as well as the special coffee pots and equipment you could buy to brew and serve it in.
It definitely looked really fancy; way too much for my tastes even if I was a coffee drinker. I felt so out of place just being in the store.
Beside that was the Swarovski store which I thought had a very interesting colour palette and definitely looked a lot more modern and aesthetic-looking compared to Bacha Coffee imo.
We took some pictures while waiting for the boomers to check out the coffee.
And after a little while the tour guide brought us out of the mall to another part of MBS.
On the way we saw this very nice Chinese New Year decoration in the middle junction!
There were these neon tigers with flowers coming down from the ceiling that looked really cool! It was for the year of the tiger of course.
After stopping for a bit of picture taking, we were rushed off by the tour guide for our dinner at RISE!
I'd never heard of this restaurant before coming here but I guess it's a pretty high class restaurant and is actually also the hotel restaurant at Marina Bay Sands so it must be good.
It was quite an "open" restaurant in that although it was indoors it was right in the middle and didn't have walls around, so anyone walking by could see you eating.
The ceilings were also super high so although we were indoors it still felt really open and spacious. I think all those floors were the hotel rooms actually.
It was still fairly early in the evening so the restaurant was almost empty and we had to wait a bit for the staff to seat us. But the restaurant itself was really nice! I liked that they made it look outdoorsy with the lamps and giant plants.
It was quite a big restaurant too; they had the buffet on one side and most of the seating area on the other side of the entrance.
There was a variety of seating options available too, like these fancy booths as well as corner booths and regular tables.
Even though there were a lot of tables it still felt very spacious and the glass windows also added to the vibe of eating al fresco without actually being outdoors.
We were shown to a booth which I personally liked better and were shown the menu one more time.
Even though we had already told the tour guide our option, the staff double checked with us the menu we wanted and we made sure to ask if it was possible if we could try one of each and again we denied.
It was unfortunate, but it was a free meal after all so we couldn't complain.
We sat for a while waiting for our food to be served and enjoyed the ambience of the restaurant since it'll probably be our first and last time eating here.
I guess this must be their regular menu which I also took a look at, and it seems they specialise in Southeast Asian dishes just like our usual hawker favourites, but obviously it's a lot more expensive.
While the ambience is nice I wouldn't say it's that worth it if I can get authentic hawker food for much cheaper prices in a more accessible location, but this must be what luxury feels like.
After a few minutes, our appetisers were served! We started with Bak Kut Teh, which is pork rib soup with plenty of chinese herbs and spices in a garlic and pepper broth. The pork was also really tender and easily came apart from the bone.
The soup was quite light but hearty. The spices weren't too strong and it wasn't as peppery compared to our favourite Bak Kut Teh place, but it was still very tasty, and provided a nice start to the meal.
Our soup also came with fried dough fritters, which was a surprise since it wasn't on the menu! We were delighted since these are some of my favourite snacks and it was so crispy!
The dough fritters were crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and not too oily. Just yummy! I think some people would choose to dip it in the soup but we ate them separate since I don't like them soggy.
Our next course arrived shortly after, which was the Ngoh Hiang - or 5 spice roll with minced pork and prawns in crispy bean curd skin.
The Ngoh Hiang was really crispy too, with a nice blend of pork and prawns for the filling. Very savoury and tasty!
The first two courses were served together and were already pretty filling!
Then it was time for the main course - Hainanese Chicken Rice! This was the poached sakura chicken, which was so tender and juicy with the sesame soy sauce.
Our chicken of course came with a side of fragrant chicken rice, broth and the standard 3 sauces - ginger, chili and sweet black sauce.
As opposed to a traditional plate of chicken rice, this one had the chicken and rice served separately, which is common if you order a bigger portion of chicken. I think they catered the amount of chicken to the group size so we probably got a half chicken while the group of 4 had a whole chicken.
We also had some stir-fried vegetables; Hong Kong Kai Lan and Mushrooms in oyster sauce - a common vegetable dish to have with chicken rice.
The food was served pretty quickly I guess because of our tour schedule. I barely finished my appetisers before the main courses arrived!
It didn't look like a lot of food but I actually had some trouble finishing the main courses! The rice was nice and flavourful and while not as oily as the ones you'd find in hawker centers it was still yummy. The veggies were a little bitter but still paired well.
Everything was so delicious! I wanted to take my time and savour the food but we only had about 45 minutes to eat before we had to leave for the boat tour.
After I barely managed to finish my plate, dessert was served! I'd never tried Sago Gula Melaka before so I was really curious.
I'd heard of Gula Melaka before and I think I've definitely tried it in some form but actually seen it raw before. It's just a really thick and sweet syrup though and the sago while refreshing was quite plain so we added the coconut milk and some of the Gula Melaka to it.
It was a very nice dessert to round out the meal and wasn't overly sweet since the sago is quite dense and plain and we didn't add all the gula melaka. But unfortunately we couldn't finish because we were just too full and were kind of in a hurry for the boat ride so we had to leave shortly after our dessert arrived.
Overall though it was still a very delicious meal and a very good experience dining in a 5* restaurant at Marina Bay Sands for the first (and probably only) time!
But that's going to be all for now! Tune in next week for more of our tour where we enjoy a sunset boat ride on the Singapore River!
Thanks so much for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
Check out my previous post in this series!
TacoCat’s Travels #192 (SG): Getting Festive and Supporting Locals with We Bare Bears! ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
