JB CIty Square

Time out to the neighboring country for a foodie day! Considering the good exchange rate now, we can really eat till we dropped without burning a hole in our pocket!

1. Sushi King

First up in the itinerary is to Sushi King. Sushi on the conveyor belt is really a delight to the eyes. It is like a spread of buffet travelling in front of you while you eat!

The ingredients used were fresh and the sushi were reasonably priced. We had a very full stomach and the total damage was MR70 including drinks!

2. Arashi Shabu Shabu

Dinner was at Arashi Shabu Shabu. Each one had our own pot with our own set. Each set comes with a choice of soup base, the type of meat or seafood, a choice of noodle or rice and a bowl of vegetables, and ala carte items which I reckon should be their best selling items!

The meat was fresh and the the bowl of vegetables really complements the whole meal. Take a walk to the sauce counter to mix and match your preferred taste of sauce to dip in. What's best, a nice meal that cost us ard MR70 again! 

And Why cafe @ Bali Lane

Dessert Time @ And Why Cafe at Bali Lane. 

It's been long since we popped by the area and it is great to see so many cafe popping up in the years. Hop into Any Why cafe and there we come, calories!

This cafe is small and cozy but the ambiance was nice. The cakes were all on display and we can simply choose and pick from there. Ask if you need any recommendation for the cakes. We had the banana cake which was really yummy and the Neapolitan Cheesecake does not taste like cheesecake at all.

Okay, we did not try the mains here but well, maybe we will be back soon to try them out!

Full Passion, Wildberries, Neapolitan cheesecake, Banana Cake

Address:
31 Bali Lane #01-01, S 189867, tel: 6291 0993

The Ramen Stall

To The Ramen stall for a dinner was not a bad choice after all. Do head there early so that you do not have to queue long and also, a parking lot is easily available. No harm to start dinner early as you can hop over to other lanes for desserts and drink. The night never get late while in Kampung Glam area!

After some contemplating, I ordered the Volcano Ramen. You have the choice to choose the spicy level which range from level 1 to 3. I took the level 1 as I would like to taste the broth. But I reckon if you like spicy but does not know which level to choose, get the level 3. You can scoop out the chili when the ramen arrived and slowly add them back to get the right spiciness.

The broth was light and after the level 1 chili was mixed in, it tasted better. But if you do not really take spicy stuff, you can remove half of the chili, trust me. 

The Japanses style half boiled egg was well-cooked where we can taste the creamy side of the yolk. The crunchy corns, mushroom, minced meat and seaweed added texture to the whole dish. 

I gonna be back to try out the other food stuff. stay tune!

The Volcano Ramen @ The Ramen Stall

Address:
787 North Bridge Road

Cedele Tofu Miso Pasta

Time for dinner and it's a meatless Wednesday. 

Ordered the tofu miso pasta. okay, the meatless meal wasn't planned but I really did not know what to choose for dinner. 

Not a bad choice after all. Loved the combination of the tofu, pumpkin, mushroom and the edamame, The linguine was  just nice! a great dinner, for sure.

Tofu Miso Pasta

SALUTE coffeeshop @ ALEXANDRA

Found a heartland eatery - Atas food choice but at affordable price. So off we went to Salute Coffee Shop @ Alexandra - near to Ikea and Queensways Shopping Centre. 

As the setting goes as a Coffee shop, this place contains many uprising (in my humble opinion) food eateries coming together. 

We managed to try out 3 stalls there. Well, when there's food on the table, photos seems to be less. Reason being, (1) I want to start eating straight away. (2) You got to try it out yourself!

1. Two Wings

Because one just isn't enough. 

Actually I have not really heard from my friends so that day was really the first day I get to know about this stall. So with no reviews in my head, I tried out the wings. Well, the wing tasted okay to me. It does not taste oily though it was deep fried. The crust was a little less flavour. Okay, one is enough for me! 

2. Stew Kuche

Ordered the Aglio Olio as we wanted to have some carbos for the night. Had a pork sausage as well. The aglio olio was al dente and flavorful. Paired up with the pork sausage was great. The pork sausage was juicy but a little oily. Okay, I think this place is more for its Pork knuckles and so, well, I will be back to try it out the next time! 

3. Sea Salt - The Seafood Place

Mussels was at the top of our mind when we saw this place. As we ordered the Vino mussels. This was quite disappointing as we had tried better ones. Not much of the white wine taste and aroma and the whole dish tasted quite bland. 

Next up is the Garlic Cream Prawns In A Pot. This was much better as the sauce was tastier. Dip the the complimentary baguette in it and it tasted great. The prawn was fresh and juicy. So thumbs up to this dish!

Last on the table went the Deep Fried Sea Bass with Mango Sauce. This is served with potato salad and broccoli on the side. No photo of it as we were busy eating away. The sea bass, I have to say, is really fresh. There is no 'muddy' taste and the mango sauce supplemented it well. 

Left - Seasalt the seafood place
Right - Stew Kuche

Will I be back? Definitely to try out other stalls!

Address:
Salute
119 Bukit Merah Lane 1
Singapore 151119
(behind Alexandra Village Food Centre)

Beauty in the Pot @ One Km

Time for dinner, time to venture out of comfort place (aka town). So let's head to One KM near Paya Lebar MRT station. It's just a 5-minute short walk from the station.

So what's for dinner tonight. We are going to try out the latest dinning concept of the Paradise Group - Beauty in the Pot. What's the fab? Well, collagen steamboat for a meal. Nourishing soup bases for the healthy us, why not? But well, if you did not make a reservation or you are too late in making a reservation, no worries, you can still do a walk-in. But the catch will be, you might have to wait up to 1.5 hours for a table. They have a rule to dine within 1.5 hours which I think it can be flexible if there is no queue outside. So, bear in mind. 

Soup:

We ordered the 2 soup bases - Beauty Collagen Broth and a medium spicy nourishing broth. It was not the first time I had Collagen Broth. I tried the 美人锅 before but the presentation is different. For 美人锅, the collagen came in the form of curb but for Beauty in the Pot, it came in flasks. Not sure if the flasks are refillable but 4 flasks of it plus the initial pot was sufficient for the 3 of us. 

The Beauty Collagen broth was really good. It tasted a little like those traditional prok broth which was simmered for hours before presenting to the customers. But if you want something that complements steamboat food and if you can take spicy stuff, the Spicy Nourishing soup would really suit you. Chinese herbs such as red dates, woldberries, ginseng are 'found' in the soup presented to us. Well, the fragrance of the herbs was great. There are three levels of spiciness for you to choose from, so take your pick!

Food:

Ordering through a tablet makes things easy for both the service crew and the customers. We can take our time to order what we really want to eat. 

For this meal, we ordered the pork belly, pork collar, homemade  fish paste, cabbage, tang o, assorted dumplings, live drunken prawns, black pepper pork balls, crab sticks (is really Crab stick) and many more.  

I can only conclude the food was really fresh. The prawns were still jumping in the glass pot presented to us. How fresh can it not be. The fish paste was great too and it was really tender. Pork belly and collar was, too, tender and shabu shabu it was really easy and quick. 

Say no more, try it yourself!

Oh, they do serve a refreshing dessert/drink at the end of the meal. Good to quench the thirst and to 'wash' away the oiliness!

Sauce:

Like many others, the sauce bar presented many sauces for customers to create our own blends of sauces. Each is unique to each individual and definitely makes us feel happier to dip in our food. So hesitated no further to customize sauces by your imagination and mood of the day. 

Service:

Well, the wait of 1.5 hours can really be a deterrent for me to revisit. Our wait of 1 hour is really a max for me. 

But what I can say is that each table is served attentively by a delicate staff who will bring you through the whole meal. From ordering to helping you to put in the fish paste to signing the bill. They bowed when they walked away. What a service. Me too, follow suit to return the bow. That's really too much for me to take. 

Conclusion:

Some asked if this is better than the popular Hao Di Lao, I would say "Give it a try! and conclude that yourself!"

 

Beauty in the poty @ One KM

Address:
OneKM
11 Tanjong Katong Road,
#02-21
Singapore 437157

Ice Cream Shack @ Bukit Merah Central

Bukit Merah Central is getting more and more happening with more eateries gathering at the town. First is Pan Delights, follows by The Bakery Chef. Tonight, we were at Ice Cream Shack enjoying some waffles and ice creams. 

There is a wide range of ice-cream flavours to choose form at the display counter. You can get to try the different flavours before deciding on your chase. Interesting flavours like Lychee Rose, Sarsi Float, Sea Salt Caramel is on the menu. Not forgetting the usual favourite flavours like Cookies N Cream, Chocolate, Mango and D24 Durian. 

The Gelato Ice Cream is mentioned to be handmade, low fat and low sugar. So less guilt having more scoops of ice cream topped with waffles. The waffles are crispy. Real crispy. You cn hear the crispy-ness when you cut through the waffle.

We had the Cookies N cream and Hazelnut. Will be back for more!

Waffles with Hazelnut and Cookies N cream

Address:
163 Bukit Merah Central
#02-3605
Singapore 150163

Boracay Day 5 - Ariel's point

Another checked for my travel bucket list today! Today was the most 'adventurous' day for us. Time for some height and get wet!

The Ariel's point is one of the highlight of the trip. Okay, nothing fanciful for the trip but you get to leap off the cliff and dunk into the sea. Can't get to do this in Singapore, for sure. 

We pre-arranged the trip with the Ariel's point personnel. The day started before 10am where we had to gather at Ariel's House (Whote Beach Station 1) for a pre-trip briefing. This is to safeguard our safety.

After which, we took the boat out to our destination. The service was real good and they provide water and beer (yes, if you want, you can beer all day) throughout the day. The boat ride took about 40 minutes and there we reached. 

Okay, while we had to pluck up our courage to do the 5 meters jump, there were fellow tourists who took the plunge at the 15 meters. Kudos to them, for sure. 

There we stood to do our jump. I'm glad I did both the 5 & 8 meters dip and okay, leave the 15 metres for my next trip there!

Cliff dive plank @ Ariel's Point

Besides cliff dive, you can also do other activities like suntanning, kayaking, snorkelling or just swim and relax!

A buffet lunch was included in the 2,000 pesos cost. 

The other activities

The day ended at around 5pm and well, it's our last night at this beautiful island. Have another look at how the sunset paints the background for the night.

Sunset, yet again!

Time for our last dinner and it's time for seafood at 'I love my backyard'. This restaurant is situated in the centre of D'mall. Not very hard to find but believe it, it is very hard to get a table. We tried once but could not get a table immediately. So this time round, we waited for half an hour before we had our butt seated at this restaurant. Great dinner to end off the day and to round up the trip.

Seafood platter @ I love my backyard

I will be back, Boracay!

Boracay Day 4 - Spider House

Another amazing weather to start off another beautiful day.Today, there is no itinerary. We have nothing in mind and we just wanted to go with the flow. So well, enjoy the moment, and my photos. 

White Beach

Okay, there was one place in mind - Spider House. Wanted to go there to relax for the afternoon and to enjoy the sunset. Heard that the sunset looked great there.

Spider House

The fantastic view of the sunset. I simply loved it! No photoshop, no human intervention. The place just looked amazing and well, I have to say, even better in real life!

Sunset!

Boracay Day 3 - Island Hopping to Crystal Cove, Puka Beach

The island hopping trip starts at 10am. So we headed to the beach to people watch after our breakfast. 

The colour combination is really great. Blue sky blended with the sea water. Simply amazing to just relax by the beach and doing nothing. This is also another interesting part of travelling. 

Here we went, start of our island hopping day!

White Beach

As mentioned earlier in my post, this island hopping is a 6-hrs program and it costs 800 peso, including lunch and water. Oh, but it excludes snorkeling fee which costs 20 peso. So if you are not in for snorkeling, you need not pay this fee. So, do take note. 

First stop was at the middle of the sea and it's time to snorkelling. Well, I do not have a waterproof camera and thus, not able to capture any underwater pictures. But do it yourself and you will love the sea creatures! The sea was rather choppy but not too bad as the fishes were lured near us as the crew dropped bread crumbs into the sea. 

You will be given life vest. Do wear it for safety precautions though I saw some tour mates not wearing. 

After snorkeling, we stepped onto the first island - Crystal Cove. A nice place to spend the late morning. Okay - 2 choice once we embarked on the island. Pay to visit the crystal cove or just relax at the beach. I think it costs 100 Peso.

So step in and enjoy the view. We did not manage to visit the Cove 2 as it was high tide. What a waste!

View from Crystal Cove

View from Crystal Cove

Lunch was buffet style and the food was okay.

After Lunch, off we went to Puka Beach. The stay there was quite s short one and sorry no photos as I was a little deterred by the hot weather.

So after Puka Beach stay, off we went to the next snorkeling spot. This spot was not as great as the first one.

Alright. that's about it on our third day at Boracay.

Boracay Day 2 - Parasailing, Joanh's Fruit Shake , Sunset

Woke up to a wonderful day. We started off our day with the Hotel breakfast. There are 5 choices to it and is the usual choice of eggs, either bacon or ham. Salads and drinks are available too. Not those buffet style.. So sit back, relax and wait to be served. 

After the breakfast, we stepped out of the hotel to have the first taste of Boracay's daylight. Wonderful feeling. We headed back to the White beach and started our beach retreat. 

We read and did our research about the activities available on the island. First stop was to look for Diamond Water Sports. We read that it provided good service for parasailing. That was something that we wanted to try for the first time. So headed up towards Station 1 of the beach. It was not long that we stumbled upon some beach tentage, one of which happened to be Diamond Water Sports. At first, we thought we were looking for a shop front and did not really trust what the counter people were saying. We just treated it as touting. And yes, a lot of people were at the beach, trying to sell us their service/activities when we walked past them. Not a single moment was spared. 

So after some persuasion by the crew, we took up parasailing and Sunset Paraw Sailing for the day. It costs us 1,500 peso each for the activities. Not a bad deal, I guess, since he quoted us 1,500 peso for Parasailing alone. 

And after the payment, he led us to the beach. Oh god, that's efficient! Without any preparation and we were to embark on our first activity. I just had a heavy breakfast. But well, that's not a bad timing for the Parasailing as the weather would have been hotter if we were to delay the trip. 

So here we waited for the boat to pick us up to the middle of the sea -

Beautiful beach and water!

So the parachute looked great here against the blue sky. The view up there was fantastic too. Oh did I mentioned, for this trip out to the sea, it would take around 15 minutes. That's just us on this boat, so well, I guess, it was considered a 'private' tour. 

There were 3 crew personnel on board with us. One as the driver and the other 2 to take care of us, giving us instructions, helping us with the safety and of course, as a free lance photographer for us. 

Us, high up into the sky

And we went higher and higher up and before we landed back to the boat, we got a dip into the sea. Well, it was not those sudden drop like a freefall.. The wind was too strong for that. Slowly as we came closer to the boat, they asked if we wanted a dip. Yes, it was a choice. So we went for it. What's not getting wet for sea sports. So be in your swim wear for this!

High up, dip in

And so it ended, in a blink of an eye. Since we were at Station 1, we decided to walk further down to catch the Willy's Rock. Oh well, it looked nice from far but we did not make our way up to it. The algae there was not that pleasant after all.

White Beach Station 1, Willy's Rock

Okay, another highlight in Station 1 is Joanh's Fruit Shake & Snack bar. They say, it serves the best fruit on the island. Well, try it and answer that question for yourself. I had the mango shake and on such hot sunny day, it was really great.

They served the takeaway in a normal mineral water bottle but they 'poked' a hole at the cap to put in the straw. A nice way to bring around the bottle as the circumference is not as big as those plastic cup! Yummy!

Joanh's Fruit Shake & Snack bar, fruit shake

After making a trip to Station 1, we decided to head to Station 3 - reason being, we wanted to book our island hopping snorkelling trip for tomorrow. It was mentioned in some websites that ALLAN BOAT provided good service for this activity. It was noted that the counter is located near Villa De Oro Hotel. So we just headed off, trying to find the Hotel . Okay, once you passed Mcdonald's dessert kiosk, you are about to reach the ALLAN BOAT counter. Just keep a lookout. 

So we booked the 6-hrs Island hopping (Puka beach, Crystal Cove visit, 2 snorkelling points, Lunch)....at 800 peso each. Not too bad a deal since it included lunch. So after settling the itinerary for the next day, it was time for Lunch. 

Not knowing what to have, we decided to pop into Smoke Resto that is at an alley in D'mall. It is a local Filipino eatery which serves the local delights. A well hidden small and cozy restaurant and I got an impression that it is somewhere near to Tilapia n’ Chips. This place is really crowded and true enough, it sticks to its shop name. It was rather smoky with an open kitchen concept. 

I ordered the Kao Pad which is actually Chicken, Egg, Mango with rice. The chicken meat was tender and well seasoned. The 'sourness' of the mango added another flavour to this dish. A very nice combination of fruit and meat into a rice bowl. Well, maybe add a little greens will do wonders! Quite a good choice to start off my lunch in Boracay. 

Kao Pad (Chicken, Egg, Mango and Rice) at Smoke Resto

After lunch, we decided to head back to the hotel for a quick wash up. After which, we strolled away the D'mall market. Okay, shops were quite standard - Clothes, souvenirs, food. 

We took the 'free' pass to enjoy the Red Coconut beach front facilities. Sat at the beach chairs and well, I stayed in the shade. Could not bear to let my 'burnt' skin get worst. Yes, I got a burnt and I still can't get over it. Why? I applied the sunblock duly. *cried*

So, waited for the sunset and off we went for the Sunset Paraw Sailing. Was really looking forward to sunset. But well, it was a little disappointing for me. I guessed we went out too early and did not really catch a complete sunset. 

The ride was actually quite fast, say 10 minutes and we were back at shore. Oh god! So if you really wanted to view a sunset on the paraw, do it really near to sunset. But here's my view while on it. Or maybe, try to do a sunset parasailing, it seems nice to be up there!

Parasailing in action

The sun I captured, ready to set in minutes....

Sun about to set

And the sunset we viewed on shore... Enjoy!

Girl chasing the sunset?

Couple admiring the beauty

The coconut trees waving to the sun

The sail against the sun as backdrop

What a wonderful view!

Sail right in

Though the view of the sun setting was great, I found peace and serenity looking at the other end of the sky. Splendid view especially with the fluffy clouds. Crowds at the beach were really enjoying their time. Relaxing and well, I guess a self reflection would be great!

Sky at the other end of the sunset

Okay, last view before we headed to dinner!

Can't get enough of it... Good night!

Alight, sunlight down and everyone seemed hungry. Restaurants, cafes and eatery were full of people. We decided to pop into Andok's.  In search of desserts, we just order the half grilled chicken. Juicy meat at affordable price.

@ Andok's - grilled chicken

Okay, we got crazy crepes for desserts but no pictures. Try it out for yourself. Time to head back to Hotel to wash up and rest. Tomorrow will be a day out at sea! Cheers!

The Refinery Singapore @ Jalan Besar

The Refinery Singapore is at an "Industrial" area at Jalan Besar. I google my way but still felt a bit lost when trying to hunt for the place. Wasn't too bad when their address is hugely displayed on the wall of the building. Okay, cannot really spot the name of the shop as it is printed on the OIl barrel container. 

Enough said of the location and name of shop, the service there is great. The service crew would pop by the table to ask if we need to order more drinks, more food. They are not those pushy kind but I think they just wanted us to enjoy our night out. Take note that they do not have service charge but tipping is appreciated. 

Alright, time for some food review. We ordered:

1. Agedashi Tofu ($10)

A 4-piece tofu which is housemade according to the meu. They were crispy on the outside but smooth on the inside. The accompanying dashi stock complemented the whole dish. It was not too salty and good to have after the grilled skewers as it was light and less oily.

2. Dry Ramen ($6)

Dry Bar Chor Mee -kia as proclaimed by my friend. That is the local delight of minced pork with thin yellow noodle. Okay, just share this small bowl with your friends. A couple of bites was fine but not to the whole bowl to myself. It was too oily in my opinion. The pulled char siew was not too bad. 

3. The Refinery Sampler ($36)

It consists of  4 skewers of  Chicken Thigh, 2 skewers of  “Shiok Bak” (a.k.a roasted pork),  2 of Shishamo and 2 of Shiitake mushrooms. It took quite some time before this plate of sampler reached our table after the order. The Chicken thigh was too salty to my liking. I'm not sure if it was the sauce or the marination. I quite like the "shiok bak' and the Shisahamo. The roasted pork was tender and the shisahamo was great but to my opinion, a little over grilled. The shiitake mushroom was not 'juicy and a little salty. 

4. Seaweed Fries ($12)

What can go wrong with french fries. This reminds me of the seaweed shaker fries that McDonald's's offers from time to time. I guess the special thing to it is the Wasabi Mayo Dip. Not too strong that will choke us but it compliments the fries. 

Agedashi Tofu, Dry Ramen, The Refinery Sampler, Seaweed Fries, Asahi Black Pint

This place serves quite a variety of alcoholic drinks. Non-alcoholic drinks were minimal. For coffee-lovers, sorry, this place does not serve coffee at all. Maybe coffee does not go well with grills? But maybe, who knows, in future, they might offer that. So, just wait and see!

Address:
115 King George’s Ave,
Singapore 208561

Boracay Day 1

I have to say, the trip did not started off smoothly. Tigerairway got delayed by almost 2 hours plus and we did not know it as we did not have to do a counter check in. Oh well, the schedule was a little pretty tight for us as we read that the journey from Kalibo International Airport to Caticlan Jetty Port to Hotel would take us 2 - 3 hours. Thus, with the delay, the flight would reach Kalibo after 4pm and so, by the time we reached Boracay Island, we would have missed the sunset. Oh well, that's life. 

Okay, once we reached the Kalibo International Airport, we took around 30 minutes to clear the customs as there were not many immigration counters in the small airport. Forget about duty free shopping as I did not see much except maybe for a small shop after we cleared the customs. 

Do not feel lost once you got out of the airport. If you have booked your land transfer tickets, that's pretty good as you could head off to look for the concerned company. 

As for us, we decided to purchase ours on the spot as we read that it could be cheaper. Some company really quoted as low as 500 peso per person for the return trip. But it seems too good to be true, that we decided to head to the South West Tour counter. For the official internet price, they quoted 1,225 peso per person for door to door return services, inclusive of bus/ boat/ van/ government fees (environmental fee and terminal fee).  On the spot, they quoted 1,080 peso. Not a lot of discounts, though we mentioned that some friends paid 900 peso for the same service. Well, I guess the plane delay was a good catch for the companies as they knew that we could not afford to delay our trip.

Then there we started our 'road' trip to the jetty. We saw the sun setting and the sky began to turn dark. Not a very good way to start the trip as I felt lost in the darkness. But I have to praise the service of the South West Tour. They had people stationed at every pit stop to ensure that we were on the correct path to the ferry. But do note, if you can carry your own luggage and if you do not wish to have a porter, please hold your luggage close to you and reject any help from anyone. At times, you might think that they were staff of the company, but in actual fact, they were free lance porters who would collect tips from you. 

Alright, after the bus ride, after the ferry ride and the van ride, we finally reached Red Coco Inn Boracay in darkness. A group of friendly staff welcomed us and that was really great. We did the check in, get into the room to rest a bit before hunger strike us. We decided to head outside with the directions from the hotel crew.

Not having our orientation clear and not knowing what to eat, we stumbled upon Tilapia n’ Chips. Well, the name of shop determined my first meal in Boracay - Golden Fried Tilapia. We ordered the set menu for the Golden Fried Tilapia which comes with rice, a side (coleslaw or fries) and chicken noodle soup brownie and a glass of ice lemon tea. All in for 380 peso which was quite a good deal. 

Alight, skip the chicken noodle soup if you do not like pretty salty stuff. The highlight of the meal was simply the Tilapia fish. The service crew was nice and taught us how to make the sauce for the dip. It was simply fish sauce, with lime and chili. Simple, yet nice! The fish was simply awesome, fresh and tender. The meat was really great.

This place, though a little far from the beach, was a clean cozy place with reasonable servings of food. Delicious and inexpensive and well, an added service of WIFI if you really need to share great food with your family and friends back home!

Golden Fried Tilapia with rice and coleslaw

Alight, time to end the day with a short walk by the beach. It was crowded with people and the loud music was great. You can see the beach and the sea as it was dark and the beachfront restaurants make shift their tables and chairs to the beach. Well, tomorrow, we will explore the white beach in day light!

Address:
Located next to Crafts department store, just a few doors down.
Mon - Sun: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Red Coco Inn Boracay

A short getaway to Boracay, Philippines in April. Weather was great, and it was really relaxing. 

We stayed at Red Coco Inn Boracay. It is located at Station 2 but not at the beach front. It is stationed along the main road and well, it takes about 5-10 minutes to get to the white beach or wet market (D'talipapa).

But fear not as we are allowed to use the beachfront facilities of their sister company - Red Coconut at Station 2. Thus, we were still able to rest and relax by the beach.

The room was spacious and there is a sofa for us to rest but we used that to put our backpack and luggage. Essential amenities was in place such as the television, air con and of course, internet access if you can't leave your gadgets out. The room was nice and cozy which serve its purpose for sleeping or relaxing.

The staff were great too especially the security officers. I really think they did beyond their call of duty like opening the door for us when we got in and out of the hotel, or they even helped out with the reception and the breakfast crews when they were nowhere to be sighted. 

As a note that they are not having construction during the day - from 9 to 9. Was informed that they are expanding their hotel rooms and also to build a pool for their guests. 

I would say, I would definitely be back to stay after the construction is done. A good place to have, which is slightly away from the crowded beach but not that far off.

The cozy room

Hotel Website

Hanoi Day 7

City tour round the Hanoi city before we headed home!

Sufood - Vegetarian-Italian style restaurant @ Raffles City

Vegetarian-Italian style restaurant! This is how the concept of the restaurant at Raffles City. Not those mock meat vegetarian food but well, a mixture of vegetables and mushrooms make it great! Highly recommended by a friend who is a vegan-lover, she mentioned that we should all be punctual and to dine together as it is a 8-course meal, priced at $25++. 

The first dish served was a trio appetizer which the staff explained must be eaten from left to right as the taste gets stronger and richer. The poached Japanese yuca root drizzled with a blueberry coulis was the best, in my humble opinion ("tastebud").  

The next item was the cider which was announced by the staff to drink it before each dish. I guessed is to 'rinse' the mouth before the tasting the upcoming dish to have a better taste. 

Next was the Rosemary Breadsticks, with a choice of their mustard or blueberry sauce for dipping purposes. 

The above 3 items are standard and you do not need to make any decisions. But for the next few items, it's time to crack your brain!

First for choice is the salad. I had the Summer Salad which consists of lettuce, sweet potato, carrot, pepper and seasonal fruits served Thousand Island dressing and sesame sauce. I liked the crunchiness of the vegetables and fruits.

Next up is the soup and I went for Mushroom & Pea Pottage. I guess is the pull factor was the sweet peas. Never had it in creamy texture. Besides the sweet peas, it is also stewed and blended with three types of mushrooms, namely Button, Shiitake and King Oyster. NICE!

Finally is time for main! The choice was much more and I practically had a tougher time. And finally, I set my mind on Wild Mushroom Charcoal Tagliatelle. First try for me on Charcoal tagliatelle. I was thinking what kind of taste that will be. Will it be like squid ink? It came with King Oyster mushrooms sauteed in a light olive oil and homemade dressing. Well, I guess not the best choice of the night. Did not really love the texture and the overall taste of this dish. 

Osmanthus Flower Jelly and The very Berry drink ended the dinner. Both were refreshing and the dinner ended with a nice note. Will I be back? Most likely!

Top: Trio appetizer, Summer Salad
Bottom: Mushroom & Pea Pottage, Charcoal Tagliatelle pasta with king oyster mushroom

Address: 

Raffles City shopping Centre 

252 Bridge Road #02-19 

Singapore 179103

Hanoi Day 6

After the wonderful sleep on cruise, we headed to some kayaking for a morning exercise. Very relaxing!

Back to Hanoi City and we went for a food tour. A travel is never complete without trying what the locals enjoyed. Here we went and eat!

Hanoi Day 5 - Halong Bay

Overnight train back from Sapa to Hanoi was not that smooth as the first night, but nonetheless, it was an experience for me. The boss from the travel agency came to pick us up and brought us back to his place. 

Here, we repacked our bag to bring new clothes to Halong Bay. It was really great to engage this service as we did not have to lug our luggage around the places. 

Van ride to Halong Bay was smooth. I heard a lot on Halong Bay, the new 7 wonders of Nature. I was actually looking forward to the cruise stay and of course, the amazing view.

Let's the pictures below tells the stories!