Hello Everyone,
Baby and I recently dined at the Manhattan Fish Market that is situated at Plaza Singapura and I must say, we have had one of the most amazing and interesting dining experiences there. So, when I arrived there early just so that I could queue up and grab seats for us, there was already quite a long queue forming all the way to Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe. While waiting for our turn, Aladdin [one of the service staff whom was at the queue stand] distributed menus to those of us whom were in the queue and approached us to enquire how many of us were going to dine. Ok, a side note here, this is one practise that most restaurants do when they face long queues of guests waiting to dine at their restaurants and its a norm just so they could keep guests entertained while waiting. But here’s the amazing part, Aladdin took out a tray of drinks in mini plastic cups and served it to everyone whom were waiting in the queue! Now that’s something really extraordinary. Having worked at many F&B outlets in the past and having dined at so many restaurants, Manhattan Fish Market at Plaza Singapura is one of the rare few that treats their guests to a cup of drink while waiting in line! Kudos to them for the excellent initiative!
So when it was our turn and we entered the restaurant, everyone of the service staff [ok they call themselves, sea-cret agent!] greeted us with a big “Welcome!” in unison. We were so blown away by the warm welcome that Baby said that it was indeed a rare sight for a restaurant to be so welcoming and happening! One of the sea-cret agent [I think her name was Myein or Wyein] presented us with the menu and because Baby had a coupon that has this one-for-one promotion, we decided to give it a go and ordered a set of Fish and Chips which comes with a Clam Chowder Soup and any one drink in the beverage menu. Just to add, the sea-cret agent was very knowledgeable with the food and beverage served in Manhattan Fish Market as well.
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| From Manhattan Fish Market 2012 |
Our beverages were served rather promptly. I had the Citrus Mint while Baby had the Cala Cala, and I have to say this, their beverages are not just top in quality but also top in terms of presentation!
The Cala Cala! [Baby said it was neither very sour nor very sweet. In fact, it was rather balanced and she liked it alot.]
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| From Manhattan Fish Market 2012 |
The Citrus Mint! [Baby found this drink to be quite leafy in taste but I kinda like it because I have always been chewing on mint leafs since I was 12.]
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| From Manhattan Fish Market 2012 |
Here’s the flavourful Clam Chowder which I really love. Its not very creamy in taste and its filled with generous portions of superb tasting seafood. Not only that, the texture of the soup was just nice and the soup was served piping hot, the way I like my soups to be!
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| From Manhattan Fish Market 2012 |
While waiting for our main course, Baby and I were entertaining ourselves by taking photos of one another.
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| From Manhattan Fish Market 2012 |
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| From Manhattan Fish Market 2012 |
And here comes the huge portion of Fish and Chips!
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| From Manhattan Fish Market 2012 |
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| From Manhattan Fish Market 2012 |
Our entire dinner for the day!
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| From Manhattan Fish Market 2012 |
Seriously, the portion was so humongous that even Baby and I could not finish the entire plate of Fish and Chips. In fact, if you are deciding to dine there, we would recommend you to share one plate of Fish and Chips with another person because its really alot even for an above-average eater like me. It can also save you money too!
Just in case you want to know where the restaurant is exactly located, its on the 6th level of Plaza Singapura and they are opened till 10pm daily. For reservations or menu enquiries, you can call their number at 6835 9300.
Stay tuned for more updates from us!
God Bless!
Hello Everyone,
I am sure many of you are very familiar with Astons and their awesome tasting char-grilled chicken! Well, Baby and I have been to Astons to dine many a times but here’s what we found out when we dined at not once but quite a number of times at Astons Specialties [The Cathay Building/Suntec City Mall/Changi Airport/Illuma], once at Astons Prime [Centrepoint Orchard], and many a times at Astons Express [Ang Mo Kio Central]!
What’s the difference you may ask. Well, the food quality standards across the three categories of Astons are actually worlds apart.
Now, let’s start with the highest end of Astons, the Astons Prime, situated at Centrepoint Orchard. Baby and I have been there only once and we reckoned that we won’t want to dine there again because the food quality does not meet up to our expectations. You know, people always say this, “You pay peanuts, you get monkeys!” But at Astons Prime, its altogether a different ball game. Here, you pay a slightly higher price for their signature char-grilled chicken and all you get is chao-tah [burnt] chicken with mushroom soup that taste more like flour than mushrooms. The only pro that I could think about dining here is that you can make reservations to dine instead of queuing up like you’re queuing up for some Hello Kitty freebies.
Next, we have the mid-range of Astons, the Astons Specialties. Well, Baby and I have been to Astons Specialties many a times and all I can say is this, the queue at almost all of the Astons Specialties we’ve been to is just entirely crazy! I still recall a time when Baby and I queued up for more than an hour just so we could dine at Astons! While I have to agree that the quality of food served at Astons Specialties is slightly better than Aston’s Prime, the long queue just puts us off. [unless we are really desperate to satisfy our cravings for the cheap char-grilled chicken] Even so, the quality of food served at Astons Specialties cannot beat the quality of food served at Astons Express.
Ok, now why do we want to advocate dining at Astons Express instead of Astons Specialties or Astons Prime? Well, first and foremost, we felt that Astons Express quality standards of food served is in fact much better than those served at Astons Specialties or Astons Prime. Ok, so how is the quality of food different?
Well, usually, Baby and I would order our standard char-grilled chicken with sides of mashed potato and corn on the cob/french fries and colesaw, and a bowl of mushroom soup that comes with garlic toast. Let me start with the standard char-grilled chicken. While it is common sense not to serve chao-tah [burnt] chicken to guests, it is also common sense that the gravy/sauce for the chicken should neither be too runny nor starchy. The same goes for the mashed potato and the mushroom soup as well! In most cases when we dined at Astons Specialties, we noticed that the kitchen staff just do not know how to balance the texture of the sauce/soup! Sometimes when we dined at Aston’s Specialties, we were served mushroom soup that tasted like flour and at other times, we were served soup that tasted like plain tap water. There is just no consistency at Astons, unlike at MacDonalds’, a Chicken McSpicy at Changi Airport tastes the same as a Chicken McSpicy at Jurong Point!
And the other advantage of dining at Astons Express? You don’t have to queue up for more than 15 minutes. In fact, you just need to have your order taken and then feel free to sit at any corner of the coffeeshop a.k.a kopitiam while waiting for your food to be served.
Do not be mistaken that I’m here to slam Astons but rather, I would really hope that Astons could really improve on their food quality standards and consistencies in cooking. Afterall, Baby and I are die-hard fans of Astons Signature Char-Grilled Chicken.
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| From Astons 2012 |
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| From Astons 2012 |
Stay tuned for more updates from us!
God Bless!
Hello Everyone,
at Baby’s recommendation, we caught the movie, “This Means War” last week and I just have this to say, its a movie that is definitely worth catching. If you haven’t caught the movie yet, you should go and catch it while its still showing because I’m very sure you would find yourself laughing away the stress from work. It is also a suitable movie for dating couples and groups of friends.
What We Liked About the Movie:
It’s really hilarious and witty when you see 2 well-trained and skilled CIA operatives whom are best friends falling for the same woman. And well, although slightly exaggerated, they used the State’s resources to spy on one another and uncover more details about the woman just so they can get an edge over each other.
Movie Plot [as extracted from Golden Village]:
The world’s deadliest CIA operatives are inseparable partners and best friends until they fall for the same woman. Having once helped bring down entire enemy nations, they are now employing their incomparable skills and an endless array of high-tech gadgetry against their greatest nemesis ever – each other.
Some Screenshots of the Movie:
Movie Trailer:
We hope you would be inspired to catch this movie because we are confident that it won’t be a waste of money!
Stay tuned for more updates from us!
God Bless!
Hello Everyone,
thanks to the folks from Nuffnang, Baby and I had the privilege and honour to catch the Singapore Gala Premiere of John Carter which would be officially released on 9 March 2012! Well, in this entry, I will share with you how I felt about this movie.
To start off, let me just make a mention of how this film came to existence because I felt that it is worth noting the long history involved in the production of this film. John Carter, the movie, is largely based on “A Princess of Mars“, the first novel to feature the hero, John Carter. The story was originally serialised over six monthly installments since February 1912! [yes, that's a long time] So in 1931, the director of Looney Tunes, Bob Clampett approached Edgar Rice Burroughs with the idea of adapting the novel into a feature-length animated film. However, the test footage received many negative reactions that the series was not given the go ahead. In the late 1950s, Ray Harryhausen expressed interest in filming the novels, but it was not until the 1980s that producers Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna bought the rights for Walt Disney Pictures, with a view to creating a competitor to Star Wars and Conan the Barbarian. However, the project collapsed because McTiernan realized that visual effects were not yet advanced enough to recreate Burroughs’ vision of Barsoom. [rather similar to the issue that James Cameron had for Avatar] The project remained at Disney, and Jeffrey Katzenberg was a heavy proponent of filming the novels, but the rights eventually returned to the Burroughs’ estate.
A picture of the novel.
Having read the Burroughs’ novels as a child, Producer James Jacks was moved to convince Paramount Pictures to acquire the film rights and a bidding war with Columbia Pictures followed. After Paramount and Jacks won the rights, Jacks contacted Knowles to become an adviser on the project and hired Mark Protosevich to write the screenplay. Robert Rodriguez signed on in 2004 to direct the film after his friend Knowles showed him the script. Recognizing that Knowles had been an adviser to many other filmmakers, Rodriguez asked him to be credited as a producer. Filming was set to begin in 2005, with Rodriguez planning to use the all-digital stages he was using for his production of Sin City, a film based on the graphic novel series by Frank Miller. Rodriguez planned to hire Frank Frazetta, the popular Burroughs and fantasy illustrator, as a designer on the film. Rodriguez had previously stirred-up film industry controversy by his decision to credit Sin City’s artist/creator Frank Miller as co-director on the film adaptation; as a result of all the hoopla, Rodriguez decided to resign from the Directors Guild of America. In 2004, unable to hire a non-DGA filmmaker, Paramount assigned Kerry Conran to direct and Ehren Kruger to rewrite the John Carter script and the Australian Outback was scouted as a shooting location. However, Conran left the film for unknown reasons and was replaced in October of 2005 by Jon Favreau.
Now, Favreau and screenwriter Mark Fergus wanted to make their script faithful to the Burroughs’ novels, retaining John Carter’s links to the American Civil War and ensuring that the Barsoomian Tharks were 15 feet tall (previous scripts had made them human-sized). Favreau argued that a modern day soldier would not know how to fence or ride a horse like Carter, who had been a Confederate officer. The first film he envisioned would have adapted the first three novels in the Barsoom series: A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, and The Warlord of Mars. Unlike Rodriguez and Conran, Favreau preferred using practical effects for his film and cited Planet of the Apes as his inspiration. He intended to use make-up, as well as CGI, to create the 15 foot-tall Tharks. Favreau’s affiliation with the project was never strong, and in August 2006 Paramount chose not to renew the film rights, preferring instead to focus on their Star Trek franchise. Favreau and Fergus moved on to Marvel’s Iron Man.
In January 2007 Disney regained the rights, acquiring them again for Andrew Stanton and writer Mark Andrews. Stanton noted he was effectively being “loaned” to Walt Disney Pictures because Pixar is an all-ages brand and John Carter was rated PG-13. By 2008 they completed the first draft for Part One of a John Carter film trilogy; the first film is based only on the first novel. In April 2009 author Michael Chabon confirmed he had been hired to revise the script. Having completed WALL-E, Stanton and Wells visited the archives of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., in Tarzana, California, as part of their research. Jim Morris, general manager of Pixar, said the film will have a unique look that is distinct from Frank Frazetta’s illustrations, which they both found dated. He also noted that although he had less time for pre-production than for any of his usual animated projects, the task was nevertheless relatively easy since he had read the Burroughs’ novels as a child and had already visualized many of its scenes.
The film was originally titled John Carter of Mars, but Stanton removed “of Mars” to make it more appealing to a broader audience, stating that the film is an “origin story. It’s about a guy becoming John Carter of Mars.” Stanton plans to keep “Mars” in the title for future films in the series. Kitsch said the title was changed to reflect the character’s journey, as John Carter will become “of Mars” only in the last few minutes of the picture.
Alright, so in summary [pardon me for the history lesson], though the idea for the film came about in 1931, proper work in producing the film by Disney only came about in 2007! Well, the reason why I’m sharing with you all these is because I strongly felt that the film would indeed be worth catching, considering the fact that it took so long to produce this film. [100 years in fact!]
So what’s so interesting about the film? First and foremost, I have never read the novel, A Princess of Mars before but having watched the film, it stirred up an interest in me to want to read the original novel; and secondly, I felt that the story kinda touched my heart because to me, the entire movie speaks about how a man tries so hard to leave his past behind, breaks out of his comfort zone venturing into the unknown, and come to love this unknown place which he eventually called home. Not only does the story touched my heart, but I liked the various scenes that were shot in Utah. Some of the locations in Utah where the film was shot included Lake Powell and the counties of Grand, Wayne, and Kane. [do a quick search on google and you can see many beautiful pictures of the place]
Well, I asked Baby how she felt about the film and she said that it was too fairytale-like; which I have to agree with her. Nonetheless, we really enjoyed the film and we would rate it 3.5/5.0 stars. Oh and I have to add, we caught the 3D film and we felt that its effects were quite good. Do catch the film if you feel inspired to! =)
Here’s the movie trailer:
Stay tune for more updates from us!
God Bless!
Hello Everyone,
I was really privileged and honoured to be invited by OMY.SG and Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore Hotel to an evening cocktail cum dinner party and in this blog entry, allow me to share with you the amazing experience that I have had there.
Alright, all of us were supposed to be meeting on the 4th level of the hotel at 1830 but I arrived only at 1845 due to a really bad traffic jam. Nonetheless, I noticed that the hotel had undergone major changes since the last time I’ve been here many years back.
The corridor of the 4th level
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
So when I arrived, we took a tour of their newly renovated deluxe rooms and it was quite interesting because the rooms at that level now has a backdoor access to the swimming pool and you can now see through the shower room from the bed.
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
The interesting see through shower concept from the bed.
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
Close-up view of the bathroom
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
Daily amenities provided by Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
New chic contemporary furniture!
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
Here’s the backdoor access from the room to the swimming pool! I feel that it’s a resort-like concept!
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
The magnificent swimming pool!
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
Well, if you ever wonder where on earth you could have a poolside party/event, you can consider Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore because the space is huge and the ambience is excellent for hosting parties!
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
And then we took a tour around the hotel to see what facilities the hotel has.
So, they have a gym here!
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
And a rather contemporary bar! I really liked the ambience of the bar. In fact, it’s really a nice place to just sit down at the bar, have a drink or two, and just let your mind relax.
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
The cocktail segment was held by the poolside alfresco style and I managed to grab a few bites of the tasty canapes that were served.
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
Guess what I had for cocktail? Well, I had a triple sec mixed with blue curacao!
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
And after the cocktail, we were all ushered to their very own Jiawei Chinese Restaurant and I must say this, it has been perhaps one of the best dining experiences I’ve had so far! The service staff were extremely polite and courteous and most of them have been working there for many years already!
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
If you are looking for a place to have high-quality excellent tasting Chinese food at a rather classy Chinese restaurant for a group of people, this is one place you must consider. They even have a private dining area that is available for guests dining in groups.
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
Here, you see Jennifer, the Director of Sales and Marketing and Master Chef Lee Tuck Seng
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
First Course of the Night- Assorted Dim Sum!
As you can see from the photos, the Dim Sums were intricately designed and not only do they look nice, they taste fabulous as well!
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
Wasabi Prawn Roll
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
Siew Mai
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
Shrimp Wanton
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
Scallop Dumpling
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
2nd Course of the Night- Double Boiled Abalone Soup
I must say, this soup is really flavourful and especially rich in collagen! I wouldn’t mind having a second bowl of this soup as it was just so good!
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
3rd Course of the Night- Roasted Duck
An all-time favourite dish of mine, I found the roasted duck skin to be especially crisp!
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
4th Course of the Night- Prawns in Spiced Pumpkin Sauce
I liked how this dish was presented and served. In fact, here you can see a myriad of colours and while I initially thought that the gravy was curry, it turned out to be pumpkin sauce that interestingly has a bit of a curry taste to it.
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
5th Course of the Night- Steamed Toufu
This dish is also a classic favourite of mine! In fact, I really enjoyed eating the Toufu that as I’m typing this, I can still recall the soft texture of the Toufu that kinda melts into the mouth, combined with the great tasting sauce. I will definitely want to eat this again because the Toufu is very different from those I ate at other F&B outlets so far. And well, the Toufu is specially handmade by the Chef himself!
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
6th Course of the Night- Signature Laksa
The laksa was awesome because the gravy was not very oily and the ingredients were extremely fresh! It sort of have a Peranakan taste to it if you ask me.
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
7th Course of the Night- Signature Durian Paste and Durian Cake
This was a really sweet ending indeed and I really loved their Signature Durian Paste! I bet my mum would really love it too if she gets to taste this! The Durian Paste is something that you must try because the taste just leaves you feeling really high.
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
So yups, it was really a great dining experience at Jiawei Chinese Restaurant and I really enjoyed the Chinese food that were served there. I will definitely bring my family there for a dinner soon!
Here’s a group photo of all the bloggers that attended the Cocktail/Dinner event at Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
And here’s a picture of the wonderful souvenirs that all of us received from Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore
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| From Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel 2012 |
Alright, so much for the experience! Now, if you are interested to stay at Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore, they have 7 types of rooms for you to choose from. And well, for a night’s stay at the Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore, it will cost you at least $330 [including taxes]
However, if you decide to book a room for the weekends, it would actually be cheaper as the hotel caters mainly for business guests during the weekdays. And yes, there’s free internet WIFI connection as well. Not just that, there are free shuttle service to and fro Changi Airport from 6.30 am to 2.00 am daily and free one way shuttle service to the city going via Marina Bay, Esplanade and ION Orchard every Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday. Seriously, what more could we ask for? The hotel really do take into consideration the needs of guests and I am surprised that they are providing such services because it does value-adds to the guest experience!
In case you’re wondering what deals and promotions they are having now, you can click here <– and for more information about the various F&B Outlets, you can click here <–
And in case you’re wondering why you should stay here [especially you foreigners whom are coming to visit Singapore soon], Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore is just 15 minutes away from Changi Airport and the City Centre. Some attractions around the hotel are the very popular East Coast Food Centres, the East Coast Seafood Centre, the East Coast Park, the ethnic and cultural areas such as Geylang Serai, Katong, Joo Chiat, and Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple. In addition, Parkway Parade is just directly opposite the hotel if you’re planning to do some mini-shopping!
Well, I hope you enjoyed this blog entry about Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore and the experience that I’ve had!
Stay tuned for more updates from us!
God Bless!
