This is the second post i’m writing on Marina Bay Sands. If you haven’t read the first post yet, click *HERE*.
Our second day in Singapore turned out to be a VERY educational and exciting, as we were a select group who were invited to:
- have breakfast and lunch at Sky on 57 and meet celebrity chef Justin Quek himself
- experience cooking demonstrations in cult restaurants Guy Savoy and Waku Ghin
- have an insider tour of the resort’s underground network and how MBS organizes 9,000 staff (i feel like putting an exclamation mark behind every sentence cos i’m really ecstatic while typing this but i shall refrain) - meet and chat with Tamir Shanel, the Vice President of F&B
This was an AWESOME day. Just looking back at the pictures reminded me how much i saw, learnt and ATE that day. I happened to glance at a digital scale in my hotel bathroom the night before, and stepped on it to read: 42.00kg. The next evening i stepped on it again and saw: 43.40kg. For someone my height and frame, i think putting on 1.4kg in less than 24 hours is a lot! Not that i’m complaining… i’d eat like this any day someone wants to feed me!
My stomach’s journey started with breakfast at Sky on 57, the 12,000 sq. ft. restaurant helmed by Singaporean celebrity chef Jusin Quek. He’s famous for presenting Asian dishes fused with premium Western ingredients; such as the Maine lobster hokkien mee, wagyu beef cheek rendang, and foie gras Xiao Long Bao. Doesn’t that sound crazy? Being a huge fan of curry and laksa, i couldn’t help but have his laksa for breakfast.
The laksa soup had the right amount of spicy and savoury flavours i love about the dish, and it was thick enough as well. One of the top 5 laksas i’ve had. I wasn’t feeling too hungry (unusual for me, that) in the morning (might be due to all the eating the day before!) but i still managed to lick the bowl clean. -_-
Took pictures of what the others had for breakfast.
We had breakfast with Tamir Shanel, the Vice President of F&B in Marina Bay Sands. I was a little bit in awe of this man… can you imagine – he oversees the planning, development and operations of ALL THE F&B activities in the entire resort and 2,000 team members, and 60 food concepts! Before coming to Singapore, Mr. Shanel was the Executive Director of F&B at the Venetian and Palazzo in Las Vegas, which is the largest Five-Diamond resort in the world.
He’s a very authoritative yet kind figure, and enthusiastically talked to us about his past and current projects for MBS. One of the interesting stories he told us was how he, the MBS sommelier, and his partner, all sat down to figure out which wine should be bottled exclusively as Marina Bay Sands’ house wine. They impulsively mixed two wines they liked very much together… and it worked, so came to be the Pirramimma Cabernet Petit Verdot 2007.
What is amazing was that this unique wine ended up winning the Silver Medal in its category at the International Wine Challenge in London. Also described by wine critic James Halliday as “a very powerful and complex full-bodied wine”, he gave the wine a score of 94 out of 100.
Mr. Shanel got a bottle opened for us to try that morning. 10am seemed a tad early but i wasn’t one to say no to their award-winning wine! I also must add that two sommeliers at Marina Bay Sands clinched awards at the Southeast Asia Best Sommelier Competition. Rajeshwaran Gopal (from db Bistro Moderne) was named Best Sommelier in Southeast Asia, while Alan Au (from Osteria Mozza) got the second place of the same title.
After breakfast at Sky on 57, we had what is called the ‘Heart Of House’ tour, where we got to see the underground level at which 9,000 staff members are organized and how all the food for room service and staff meals are prepared. Exciting! Like a school trip but even bettah!
All staff in MBS enter the resort area via this huge tunnel in the basement. It has an entrance that looks like that at an MRT station cos there must be so many people coming and going at peak hour!
This is where they swipe their ID tags to enter. Once they enter, there are eight different doors on the left. Each staff is assigned a particular door, where by swiping their ID tag, their individual garment bag and uniform comes swiveling right to the door opening. Once they get their uniform, they change in locker rooms, put their personal clothes back into the garment bags, and personal belongings into assigned lockers. Incredibly efficient!
Each of the eight doors comes with a narrow window so you can look into the giant laundry and uniform area. We got brought into the area to have a look tho!
This is just a small portion of all the uniforms we saw hanging everywhere… Each staff have three uniforms provided and laundered for them (chefs have four), so there are 30,000 uniforms altogether?! There’s even a team of seamstresses working in a row to mend and alter the clothes. Every uniform also comes with an RFID chip sewn in, so they know at any given time who it belongs to, when it was last washed (and potentially, where you/it is!).
I’ve just got back from Singapore, where Marina Bay Sands hosted media and bloggers from Malaysia, Philippines and Australia for 3 days. I usually don’t take up media trips unless i REALLY want to go for them… and in this case, when i read the invite stating we were being treated to a ‘gastronomic experience’, i immediately replied YES.
My desire to devour all their good food (aka greed) got the better of me. But i learnt so much more than just how much i could put into my body for 3 days… i got to see how they run their entire F&B operation on an underground floor, met some of their most famous chefs, and even got cooking demos (and you know i love cooking!) in two of the most expensive restaurants there. It was like an educational school trip… except it involved lots of FOOD and DRINKS and how the MBS manages 10,000 staff. Really amazing!
My next few posts will be on my experience there (with some Myanmar blogposts i hope to slip in between for variety’s sake), so be prepared to view lots of evil food pictures. My clothes are hating me right now (especially my pants), but the inside of my tummy is yelling for moreeeeee. Blogging has spoilt me for life.
On our first day at MBS, we were ushered to have evening drinks at Sky on 57, one of the few restaurants sitting right on the tippity-top of Marina Bay Sands.
Sky on 57′s Terrace Bar goes around the end of the restaurant, and has a brilliant panoramic view of the Singapore skyline and bay.
I’m drinking the Pink Gin Asiana – a concoction of gin, creme de framboise, dita lychee, fresh guava puree and lime juice.
We also got to try some finger food which was incredibly yum. To the point i can almost taste it in my mouth as I’m staring at the picture and aim to have it the next time i’m there!!!
This was my favourite snack that afternoon – wok-fried Australian beef short ribs in salt and pepper. Sky on 57 restaurant manager, Damo Rayan, made it sound so simple when he described how they were cooked, and it tasted so good i’m inclined to have a go at preparing it for myself at home… but i’m sure i won’t succeed in getting the exact same result. Sad.
The croque monsieur flew off the plates really quick. It’s easy to love these puffs filled with classic French ham with Gruyère cheese. They’re one of Clem’s favourite foods and i wished he was there to taste it too!
For something with a little gravy, we sank our teeth into wok fried US Kurobuta pork fillet in black pepper sauce.
And finished off our ‘evening snack’ by eating sautéed king prawns in Singapore-style chili sauce.
At times like this i can’t say work is hard.
Sky on 57 is certainly a prime place to chill with a huge group of friends with lots of drinks and food. The great view is a major plus, and i appreciated their playlist as well – a few songs are played at some of my favourite luxe terraces in Bali and Phuket. (i memorized the playlist cos i *cough* copied one of the resorts’ entire playlists from their provided iPods into my mac, heh.)
We had a schedule to keep to! So after wolfing down the last bits of our cocktails and food, we made our way through The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands to Osteria Mozza. Created by celebrity chefs Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, and Nancy Silverton; the restaurant’s free-standing fresh mozzarella bar is one of its main attention-grabbers. Imported bufala mozzarella, burrata and burricotta cheese is prepared daily; and one can pick from their extensive menu of artisanal salumi, fresh homemade pastas, seafood and meat dishes cooked on a wood-burning grill.
But before delving into the prospect of dinner, our attention was brought to Osteria Mozza’s Amaro Bar, where the Italian tradition of aperitivi is doted upon. To have an aperitivo is to spend some time enjoying great cocktails, talking to friends, nibbling on little bites, and anticipating your palate for dinner. It’s something we do in the evenings anyway – after work, welcoming some drinks, before we start getting hungry for some real food!
I love the ambience of the place, it’s got warm lighting in a classy and comfy setting, with lots of interior detail around to look at.
Bar Manager Lucas Swallows entertained us that evening, telling us stories about how he started as a mixologist in the US and how close-knit the cocktail community there is. He made us all beautiful Bellini cocktails of Prosecco and peach puree, while i snacked on some ricotta cheese.
I don’t mean to rave so much about the tiny ricotta cheese snack… but i can’t help it! I took a bite and stared at John with wide have-you-tried-this eyes. I’m a big fan of cheeses and eat copious amounts that i stock up at home, and this was absolutely tasty and melt-in-your-mouth. I am dying inside while blogging this.
Lucas also insisted we try Amaro Bar’s version of the Singapore Sling. He expressed how excited he was when he first came to Singapore to try the famous cocktail at its home bar, but was somewhat disappointed by how the nuances of the flavours weren’t balanced, and how the pineapple juice overpowered the whole drink. After some research on the history of how the cocktail even came to Singapore’s shores, he decided to pay homage to the original iconic cocktail and now serves Singapore Sling 1913 - a beautiful blend of dry gin, cherry brandy, D.O.M. Benedictine, bitters, lime and soda.
The cocktails were all mind-numbingly wonderful. It was like a party of gorgeous liquids in my mouth and i wish oh-so-bad that i had a bar just like this right where i live…
For lunch, we went to this place famous for its murtabak
After lunch we rushed to catch The Lion King musical at Marina Bay Sands!
I’ve watched it before, so felt quite spoilt to be watching it again
It’s showing till end of Oct 2011 so you better hurry if you want to catch it before it’s gone for good! (in this region anyway)
We had a quick change and chill at the hotel,
before heading to the F1 race track.
There were SO many people!
Every seat was filled gila
Being the noobs we are, Didi and i forgot to bring our earplugs we were provided with…
luckily some REALLY NICE man behind us passed us a pair!
Else our eardrums would’ve suffered
It was kinda cool to see the cars race past… for the first 5 laps.
After that i was like omg i’m going to pass out.I am quite interested in how the race goes,
cos i used to hang out with some super F1 freak friends who would thrust F1 magazines into my face and relentlessly feed me F1 information and politics…
but i didn’t THINK of streaming the live commentary from my iPod
(which i learnt much later from a guy outside my hotel who flew in from Melbourne for the races!)
So everytime i thought the cars stopped zooming past,
i’d take out my earplugs to listen to the commentary/watch the screen,
then when the cars approached i’d hurriedly chuck them back in.
After 15 laps the teams started going by more constantly cos they were more split up.
Around the 20th lap i gave up and (easily) convinced Didi to chill outside where the loud engines wouldn’t kill us.
I was super tired and hot… and OKAY i admit it I WENT HOME.
I had seats to the F1 and i LEFT.
Was just dying for a shower so badly and my bed.
Didi wanted to stay for Linkin Park (i’m not a fan) so i went back to the room myself.
Showered in relief, climbed into bed,
switched on the TV and…
managed to catch Linkin Park performing live at the F1.
I was so happy to be snuggled up comfortably in my jammies watching the show,
while Didi was banging in the moshpit and taking great pictures like the one below >
She told me the story the next day on how she acted all girly (so noT her) to get into the moshpit where she had the time of her life.
I was like you’re crazy, i would’ve died in there.
Anyway, throughout our whole trip in Singapore, Deeds took some vids and edited it into a summary
There are some great shots of LMFAO,
us trying on sunnies in LV,
all the food we ate,
the ArtScience Museum,
a drunk guy passing out standing up,
F1 cars zoooooming!
and crazy moshpit shots during Linkin Park.
Aih, just watch it yourself below!
And because i heart Didi for making my trip all the more interesting,
i’m soooooo plugging her!
blue skirt; azorias lace top; bkk
bag; jim thompson
sunnies; marc jacobs
We dropped by Marina Bay Sands to check out the new LV store.
The Louis Vuitton Island Maison is one of two stand-alone glass + steel crystal pavilions designed by architect Moshe Safdie (who also designed the ArtScience museum which i love).
Visitors can enter the LV Island via three ways:
- the outdoor bridge (above)
- by boat, disembarking at a jetty
- from the mall via a tunnel and ascending ‘travelator’
The nautical-inspired interior of the store was designed by Peter Marino,
who implemented timber that’s used for sailing ships and stone of harbours and slipways.
There’s even an art exhibition and book store in LV,
where i bought Julia Child’s ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’!
Been reading it and absorbing so many interesting facts
The others went to walk around Marina Bay Sands,
while i shopped till i tak larat to carry everything,
then sat outside and started on my new books.
We didn’t have time to go back to the hotel
and went straight to the F1 racetrack.
Didi and i were trying to take a picture of ourselves.
We must have looked pathetic cos a stranger offered to take one for us.
He snapped and ran off.
Then saw we totally got photobombed by some friend of his.
We saw Shakira live! Have to say i thought her dance moves were very… suggestive.
But damn her body is BANGING.
Makes me want to RUN to the gym and get mine to be like hers.
After F1, Didi and i finally managed to make it back to the hotel.
Seriously… we were like DEAD people.
SO freaking tired from being out most of the night before,
and all day!
Whatmore i had to have a hangover, period cramps and headache simultaneously.
Triple whammy can die.
We were just dying in bed.
When Sa insisted we COULD NOT miss out/ffk on Amber Lounge,
so we got up, turned on all the lights,
put on some music,
took a shower and made up all over again…
to go out at 2am.
I really think we deserve a medal for our Party Efforts.
Deeds in heels is indeed a rare sight.
Deed’s accessories - thirtyfour cuffs and clutch, and her beloved BlackBerry -_-
Amber Lounge is a pop up party along with F1,
that is held only in 4 cities globally – Singapore, Monaco, Abu Dhabi and Delhi.
Supposed to be one of the most exclusive parties in the world.
Well i managed to see Richard Branson!
But i didn’t want to be a starer cos i hate that too,
so i allowed myself to look at him for ONE second before looking away.
me + Didi
Man Deeds, your bone is jutting out so much i can place Wilson in there and he won’t fall off!
My make up was a lot better in SG than in KL.
Promise i’ll try to make more effort in my own city
I’m using Chanel foundation, Shu Uemura eyebrow pencil + eyeshaow,
MAC eyeliner, and some loose powder (forgot brand).
Ahhh i’m so backlogged with all my blogposts!
Had to put my head down to online ad work when i got back from Sri Lanka,
so i haven’t even had time to start to edit the hundreds of pics i took during the past two weeks!
First of, i really want to say a big thank you to Singapore Tourism Board,
who sponsored my trip there and hooked me up with Marina Bay Sands,
who in turn upgraded my room and treated me like a rockstar.
Marina Bay Sands is a resort that includes a hotel with 2,561 rooms,
a world-class casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines,
a massive convention/exhibition centre,
The Shoppes mall,
the new gorgeous lotus-shaped ArtScience museum,
2 theatres (one in which we watched The Lion King!),
and more things i’m going to leave out before i get carried away..!
Clem and i were put up in the massive Sands Suite that measured at roughly 2,390 square feet.
I’m glad i went there *before* Sri Lanka…
cos if it were after, i’d feel ever so guilty for the amount of space we got,
considering some people in the world have a tiny box to live in..!
The living room and dining area
Floor-to-ceiling glass windows lined the whole living + dining area,
complete with remote controlled curtains of course. I mean, who’s going to pull open and close the massive curtains every time i wanted it done?
Hmm the butler maybe… :p
Actually… i think the butlers would have done them if there weren’t any remote controls!
Living room couch
Tea + coffee
One side of the theatre room
Our bedroom + 2nd living room (because… the other living room just seems so FAR away at times you know?)
Should’ve taken pictures of it with my clothes and shoes in there,
but oh well i forgot!
I had a super tight schedule the entire time i was in Singapore,
and decided to skip out on walking along Orchard Rd. cos i was simply exhausted from being up at 9am and going on till 1am.
So the first evening we were at Marina Bay Sands,
I decided to check out the famous 150m infinity pool…
I think i’ve got terribly spoilt with all the places i go to,
cos i thought the pool was terribly crowded!
And i’m used to privacy and having… the whole place to myself haha.
So i shifted to the jacuzzi to chill there for a bit..
But i left after tourists started taking pictures of me sitting in there with the bg.
It just felt too weird… -_-
Decided lounging about in my our massive suite was SO much better!
I was bouncing with excitement cos we were going to watch The Lion King musical that night!
Musicals! Costumes! Songs!
Most of all – THE LION KING!
My dad bought the OST when i was a child and i memorized ALL THE SONGS WORD FOR WORD.
Before the musical, we dressed and headed to Santi for pre-show tapas and drinks.
Having been awarded Best New Restaurant by Singapore Tatler Best Restaurants Guide 2011,
Santi combines Mediterranean culture with the authentic taste of the Catalan region.
Oh it was all sublime! My favourite was the octopus,
followed by the hams. I’m a real sucker for authentic hams and salami!
No pictures for The Lion King but i must say,
I was almost crying with happiness when i watched it.
The puppetry’s creativity was OUT OF THIS WORLD,
and i kept on staring at the giraffes (i love zirafah!).
The Lion King is reason and occasion enough to go to Singapore,
just go there and WATCH IT.
I can’t believe nobody convinced me to go there just to watch it before…
YOU SO SHOULD!!
Sigh, i want to be a giraffe puppet.
Anyway, after the show, we went to Kudeta for a few drinks.
I’ve been a loyalist to its Bali counterpart for years,
so was very curious to see how the Singaporean Kudeta was like.
It’s different, doesn’t have the lounges like the Bali one,
but then again, that faces the sea and sand.
Kudeta SG is a beautiful sky bar and we were very lucky it was a clear night…
Just look at that view.
It does feel like a different world up there.
I faced the open air
stared up at the bright moon
danced with my drink in my hand…
Look it was so clear my pancake lens could capture the moon!
After drinks at Kudeta, Clem and i went to join Danny
who was celebrating his birthday in Singapore.
He likes it so much he wants to move there now -_-
And of course… we dragged him back to our suite to party on.
How could we NOT party in that suite!!!
All other pictures and videos censored after that.
Let’s just say we ran around and i managed to convince them to lean on the giant glass windows to pretend we were tiny flies.
Ok yes we drank a fair bit too.
Slept at 3:30am and woke up at 8:30 to go for breakfast at the SkyPark.
I have to say the view is simply fabulous and a lot less crowded in the mornings.
Too bad i didn’t have time to lounge about *sad*
Buffet spread was great, every thing i took made me want more.
I had prawn mee, fried rice, mushrooms, and finished off with fresh kiwi.
We strolled around The Shoppes mall in the afternoon
after going to the ArtScience museum (that’s for another post!)
The huge mall is filled with all these luxury brands that make you want to cry.
There’s a skating rink that’s not made of ice,
but a special material that just makes it seem so!
A few things you really must take notice of when you go to Marina Bay Sands,
is the Rain Oculus and Wind Arbor features that are designed by Ned Kahn.
The Rain Oculus (pic above) is a large acrylic dome that allows a whirlpool motion when water falls through it to the fountain in the mall below/inside.
As for the Wind Arbor, they’re tiny metal plates that move with the wind in between the three main towers,
giving the building a more organic feel to it.
You can see pix of it *here*
We had lunch in db Bistro Moderne.
The moment i stepped in, i felt like i was in New York…
They serve French cuisine (love!) and American fare.
I had a wholesome pot of seafood (which i thought was great for SGD35).
Felt so sleepy after that!
OK this has been such a long post
cos we did SO MUCH at Marina Bay Sands!
One of the favourite part of our stays… was the team of butlers who took care of us.
Thank you Razin, Shuane and Jermaine!
They were so very attentive,
wanting to walk us everywhere (mall, dinner, museum) so we wouldn’t get lost and ‘waste time’.
And every night we returned to the suite,
we’d find a little surprise!
First night was a plate of macarons and penguin towels
I had the fortune of having a butler previously,
so i always looked forward to how they arrange all my things neatly after i throw them around in a rush getting ready!
Clem and i laughed so much when we saw how they neatly arranged Wilson…
I was like, “OH NO, now they’re going to know we’re crazy…”
On the second night they outdid themselves with a red wine from Bordeaux, wines and chocolates.
They even scattered rose petals on our bed
and drew a bath for me!
Honeymoon or what…
Ok yeah i look like a small kid in the robe
I tell you, their attention to detail was astounding!
They’d fold all our clothes, hang up my mess,
put a mousepad under my mouse (they noticed i was using a magazine),
sew Clem’s missing button on (can’t believe they noticed that!),
replace his disgusting receipt he was using as a bookmark with a Marina Bay Sands one,
and even change the radio station to a love one the night they threw rose petals everywhere.
And i thought this was the most amazing of all…
I couldn’t find the plastic bags i used to pack my shoes in
and thought they threw them away.
On the day we were packing up to leave (they even offered to help us pack but i declined)
i stumbled upon them…
Neatly folded into little triangles and placed next to flowers.
How do i return to normal life after this!?
Everytime we’re in a queue, i’d tug at Clem and say “I miss our butlers…” cos they would have just sorted us out.
So spoilt okay.
I’ve scheduled this post to go up while i’m on the plane to London
(cos i’m a good blogger *halo*)
While i was in Singapore for the Audi Fashion Festival,
the tourism board peeps also asked me whether i’d like to check out the new Universal Studios.
I was like, “Hell yeah! Who doesn’t wanna meet Shrek?!”
Everything in there is freaking MASSIVE.
It’s been a long time since i’ve been to any theme park,
with my best memories being Disneyland and Universal Studios in LA when i was 8-years-old.
So memory on how large things around me might be inaccurate cos i was so tiny then!
Don’t the pictures look crazy surreal and bright?!
The penguins were making me laugh,
cos instead of posing with the visitors,
some would run away and hide behind pillars.
Hence scene of: people laughing and chasing after penguins as they dart off.
VIP (Very Important Picture): Beer that is available there!
Price: SGD7 a bottle.
Random nonsensical (which i obviously liked very much!) signboard at Enchanted Airways rollercoaster ride.
It’s recommended for children… and i found myself sitting next to a little girl. Me: Hi, what’s your name? Her: Ally
Me: My name is Joyce How old are you? Her: Seven
I love the Donkey show!
And don’t miss Shrek’s 4-D one as well!
Macam boyband kakaka
A shop selling cool hats at about SGD45 and above
I bought the purple one.
Because everyone should have a mad hat stored at the back of their cupboard, just in case.
The ride that’s not open yet
I think if you go to Singapore with anyone, you should go to Universal Studios.
It’s super happifying, and even tho i was by myself, i managed to super layan diri like mad!
I must say tho, that if you’re really into big rollercoaster rides,
wait till they’re all open first, then go!
Tips for when you go to Universal Studios:
- wear sunblock / bring hat cos it’s VERY hot. I was told i got a suntan after that day. And that’s after i slathered on SPF50 too!
- go early and plan a strategy on shows you want to see (timetable and map is available at entrance), with everything else in between. Also less ppl when it’s early so queues are shorter. Trust me, i went thinking i’ll just spend a few hours and leave, but once you’re there, you want to see AS MUCH as you can and the place is pretty big!
- if you like lunchboxes (like me), look out for a certain kiddy meal where you get really cool free gifts when you get meals. i made the mistake of rushing, getting an adult meal and totally regretting it.
- bring lots of water cos it IS that hot!
For ticket prices, click *here*
To view the official website, click *here*