For me and a few others, it’s 5 more days to ORD and in order to celebrate this joyous occasion, Nicholas organised a mini cohesion cum birthday celebration for the wonderful people at SA Branch and my former branch head respectively. Well, despite the fact that I was no longer working at my former branch, I am really thankful that Nicholas extended an invitation to me and I really enjoyed myself that evening catching up with my former colleagues.
The celebration was supposed to take place at the Marche that is situated at the 313 @ Somerset but due to some mis-communication, we eventually dined at the Marche that is located at VivoCity. As I was there at the 313 @ Somerset [not knowing that it was supposed to be at VivoCity], I happily went around snapping pictures of Marche.
I really like how Marche is decorated, especially with the fanciful props and the way the food are being displayed. Unfortunately, photography of the food stations are not allowed and this is something that I can’t understand; especially when the presentation of its food is fabulous.
The interior decorations and furnishings of the restaurants are also elaborately designed and hence, provides lots of really nice photo opportunities.
When I was there, they had specials that are written on a display board and I found out that Marche at 313 @ Somerset actually won the 1st place for being the best of the best family-friendly restaurants 2010 in fresh food concept. If you look at the photographs below, you will definitely agree with me that Marche does serve fresh food!
Here’s a shot of the breads and pastries that were on displayed. As you can see, food presentation at Marche is a big deal and they really put in a lot of effort to make food look attractive.
After shooting all the photos above, I was about to enter the dining area when I was then informed that the dining location would be at Marche [VivoCity] instead. Imagine the horrific expression on my face, especially when ERP cost $2 and the carpark fee was like $3 for the first 2 hours. Nevertheless, I journeyed down to Vivocity with four other former colleagues in my car and we arrived at Marche [VivoCity].
Well, so here I was again shooting both Marche‘s exterior and interior decorations which I really really like.
This is how Marche [VivoCity] looks like overall. The lighting, dining ambiance, and the see-thru glass panels really gave Marche a rather uplifting, executive look.
Reservations are strongly recommended because more often than not, you would find huge lines of people just queuing up waiting to get in.
Here’s the Friday’s lunch special at Marche [Vivocity]
The interior decorations and furnishings at Marche [Vivocity] which really offer diners a rather unique dining experience.
Anyways, Marche is a really good dining place for dining in large groups. Whether it is a birthday celebration, a family gathering, or even a office celebration, Marche is able to accommodate large groups of people.
Another unique thing about Marche is that every diner gets a Marche Guest Card which they can use to order the food they like. Contrary to what many people believe, Marche is not a buffet place. In fact, Marche is like a big food court where you can find many different types of food and beverage product offering and in order for you to place an order, all you have to do is just to present your Marche Guest Card and the kitchen staff will just log the order into your card. At the end of the day, you just need to present your Marche Guest Card to the cashier and the cashier will just processed your bill accordingly. This rather efficient cashiering system saves the hassle of splitting up bills after a meal, especially for group dining. However, one point you need to bear in mind is that; should you lose your card, a penalty of $100 will be imposed and the money will be donated to a charity of your choice.
So when everyone kinda settled down, we went around to place orders for food and here are just some photos of my colleagues enjoying their food!
Here are just some photos of the food that we ordered.
Cream of Mushroom Soup with Foccacia Bread
Crepes with Roasted Chicken and Lettuce
Rosti with Sausage and Sour Cream by the side
Pan-Fried Salmon Fillet with Mashed Potato and Brown Sauce by the side
1/2 Roasted Chicken with Brown Sauce by the side
Ok, I have to admit. This is absolutely my virgin experience at Marche and the food was exceptionally good and extremely fresh; despite it being pricey. The whole dining atmosphere is rather uplifting and unique and it feels rather cosy. I will definitely return to Marche to try their other food and beverage product offerings and I will definitely recommend Marche if you’re looking for a unique place to dine at.
So moving on, we held a mini birthday celebration for my former branch head and from her facial expression, we could tell that she was extremely touched by the nice gesture.
The cool dudes from SA Branch gotten my former branch head a rather cool gift! A dual-sim Nokia non-camera phone which she could use in camp [not all camps allow camera phones and even if camps do allow camera phones, there are certain areas where its not permitted].
She was really so happy when she finally undone the wrapper and unveiled the gift!
Some funky group photos for the lovely evening at Marche [VivoCity]
3 Generations of SA Branch Present in 1 Single Occasion!
The rather sinful chocolate cake that was simply delicious.
And a wonderful way to end the dinner on such a high note is a sweet ending!
I really would like to take this opportunity to thank Nicholas for the kind invitation and to the rest of my former colleagues for the lovely evening together. It was really an awesome time catching up with the people whom have made a difference in my National Service and I am really grateful and blessed to be in the company of such an amazing group of people. Well, since I am 5 more days to ORD, this isn’t my ORD Farewell Post so do stay tuned and look out for it in the next few days.
Stay tuned!
God bless!
