The Clifford Pier @ The Fullerton Bay Hotel

Why you should take a holiday to Singapore

SAVOUR 2014

Attended Savour, Singapore's largest gourmet festival this afternoon under the scorching pan-frying heat. Half-way through our eating frenzy, my friends concluded that we had to get dinner tickets if were to attend next year's festival. The humidity and heat definitely made it tough to enjoy this outdoor festival despite the awesome food that was being served.

Hence, the saving grace of the entire event was definitely the FOOD.

With that, I shall let the FOOD pictures do the talking to wet your appetites:

25 ice cream parlours to visit in Singapore

There's this amazing thing about ice cream cafes. It seems to emit an atmosphere of happiness.

It brightens up a crying kid. It brings joy to the loving couple at the far end.

And it brings friends together for a night of laughter.

Having eaten from so many different ice cream cafes, I've thus decided to share with everyone,

a list of 25 different ice cream parlours that are scattered across the island.

Hope this list helps the next time you've an ice cream craving.

Now how many of these parlours have you tried?

Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve

A day out bird watching and appreciating mother nature

Despite being mostly a concrete jungle, in the west of Singapore lies a wetland which has been preserved as a nature reserve. Away from the hustle and bustle of city life, Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve provides a tranquil respite for those seeking to get in touch with mother nature. An important pit stop for migratory birds, do remember to bring your binoculars along if you would like to catch rare glimpses of them. For the adventurous, be prepared to cross paths with a variety of  insects and even reptiles!

A big hello to mother nature and the fresh clean air.

No concrete, just gravel and stones

mother nature in her full glory

A science lesson for everyone young and old. 

Lots of animals to be seen in their natural habitat.

Hello dear reptile, are you lost?

You are crossing my footpath -_-

At one of the many bird watching huts.

One of a kind arrowhead fishes.

This creature is probably a good friend of our police coastguard.

Saw this cute little letterbox on our way out 

For those thirsty for knowledge, there is an information corner that will answer your myriad of questions. 

If you are one who is tired of that brand new shopping mall and all things concrete, this nature reserves provides an alternative to your usual weekend routine. I would recommend this place for nature lovers and those wanting to see animals in their natural habitat.  

Getting here

It is a better option to drive as the walk in is rather long.

301 Neo Tiew Crescent

S(718925)

Tel: 67941401

website: https://www.sbwr.org.sg/

Photo credits: Azaria Sih

River Safari Singapore

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Say hello to KaiKai and JiaJia at River Safari Singapore!

Thanks to deals.sg, we managed to secure tickets to both River Safari and Singapore River Cruise for $29. So happy I've finally managed to see the two pandas! 

Say hello to Kai Kai the more active panda. Unfortunately, Jia Jia was hiding in her den most of the time. Apparently, she's one shy panda! Anyhow, we came here on a Sunday and amazingly there were no queues to see the pandas.

Bought Kai Kai and Jia Jia paos at the River Safari too!

Aint they so adorable!!!

This is sold at the Mama Panda Kitchen just outside the panda exhibit

Of course...it being the River Safari, they were many other animals being exhibited too.

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The wildlife park basically revolves around 7 different rivers and the animals that stay around these rivers. For adults like me, it is a refreshing change from seeing gorillas, giraffes and zebras at our Singapore zoo. 

However, the 2nd major highlight, the river cruise is still currently under construction. As such, ticket prices have been reduced to $25 if you buy your ticket at the entrance. It is not that crowded YET, so if you are one that dislikes crowds I would advise you to patronize the place now. 

We tried catching their animal show but sad to say, there was only one row of seats available. Most of the guest made do with sitting on the floor. I guess they are still in the process of building an amphitheater of some sort. 

The place is wheelchair and kid friendly. So if you are thinking of visiting this place, dont forget to bring along everyone in the family!

River Safari Singapore

Adult $25, Kid $16

Opens daily 9 - 6pm

Credits

This post would not have been possible without the help of Hester Tan.

Photos marked with *** were taken by her.

Do visit her website for her full portfolio.

Instagram: iamhester

Dining and gambling at MBS

It was the start of the long Easter weekend when I received a text from a close friend.

"Wanna go to the casino?" it read.

I was pretty bogged down with work but hey, whats a life if I have no work life balance.

So my reply went back as

"Sure but after 7pm cause I've tons of work to do"

Girls being girls... 7pm turned to 7.15pm and then to 7.30pm.

Yes and so by the time M picked me up in her cab it was only around 8.30pm when we finally set foot on MBS. We had to queer our (actually just mine) hungry stomachs before we hit the slots. As my gut instincts felt that I was going to lose some money (I mean the house always wins!), I told M to go somewhere cheap. We ended up at TCC but not before waiting for a good old 15 minutes as the place was packed with dinner customers. 

I ordered this plate of Tobiko Scallop Pasta at TCC

Marina Bay Sands

The pasta was good due to the light Japanese soy dressing that blended perfectly with the spaghetti and scallops. It was not a case where you come out feeling out as if you've just swallowed a whole bowl of indigestible cream. The meal was made even better with the quality conversations we had with each other. I think we talked about how a certain occupation could become so rich and who is dating who. Oh well what to do, we are girls and so our conversations only revolve around so many things.

We headed to the casino and on hindsight so many signs were telling us that it was not going to be our day. The first sign was when my IC card got stuck in the payment machine. YES!!! My IC card was eaten by the machine so I had to call the guards to get it out. A bit of a drama but I should have seen it coming that it was sign to not go in. When we got in, the people at the table refuse to move even though the table was not full! How do we place our bets then? ARGHH!!

Anyhow M and I spilt up. She headed to play blackjack while I played three pictures. Three pictures is quite a brainless game compared to blackjack. This also explains why she is so much smarter than me cause she's the one playing the intellectual games. After we met up again, we were both down!!! It was really not our day at the casino :( We headed outside to breathe some fresh air and to expel all the bad air out. Yes we have our girly superstitions.

When we headed back in I refused to enter by the bad luck entrance. Yes we even coined the different entrances as the bad and good luck entrance. It was already 1am plus by then. As usual, we spilt up again to play our respective games. Lady luck was still not on my side as I went down even more! Yes the sad reality is that the house always wins. But the highlight of the day was when we witnessed a high stake game at the blackjack table. This guy was winning at least $25K worth of black $100 chips at the blackjack table. For those who dont usually go to the casino, the normal blackjack tables start at a base rate of $25 or $50. So to see this guy having a stack of black chips worth at least $25K was a sight to behold. What made it even more dramatic were his interesting antics. He kept on turning the chips around and around just before he placed his bet and continuously tapped on the table while the banker dealt the cards. It looked like something from a HongKong drama serial but this time real!

Even though we lost money, both of us felt that the drama at the blackjack table provided us with lots of entertainment which kinda made up for what we lost. At around 3am we hailed a cab and being Singaporean, headed to the nearest hawker centre for supper.

Malaysian Food Street - RWS

Having a bf who loves the Malaysian black hokkein mee, we decided to patronize the Malaysian Food Street at RWS. While we usually drive up to JB, this place was an alternative to satisfy one's craving for good old Malaysian food. This is especially so if you're not in the mood to squeeze through the usually jammed packed causeway.

Penange Hokkien Prawn Mee

Penang Lor Bah

Malacca Chicken Rice Ball 

KL Hokkein Mee

Ban Chean Kuih

Prices of Malacca Chicken Rice Balls

My plate of KL hokkein mee. 

Noodles were chewy and blended well with the thick dark black sauce.

Flavourful plate of Penang Lor Bak, fishcake, sausage and century egg

I'm a big fan of century eggs so am secretly hoping that they'll one day bring the century quail eggs to this foodcourt.

Would I come back here again? Why not? The prices are affordable for an air-conditioned setting and the food does exude the flavour of Malaysian food. 

Malaysian Food Street

Resorts World Sentosa

Opens daily

Next to Universal Studios!

Adventure Cove - a waterpark for all ages

Do you remember Fantasy Island? A water based theme park in Sentosa which was highly popular in the 1990s? Though it has closed down, a similar theme park has opened at Resorts World Sentosa and its called

ADVENTURE COVE!

Entrance of Adventure Cove

Adventure River

This ride gets guests to meander through a long river on a float. 

Experience 14 stunning themed zones which include cruising next to a glass aquarium and coming face to face with its sea creatures. 

Big Bucket Treehouse

An action-packed wonderland for kids.

Flush buckets of water down your friends or slide down with your love ones on the waterslides.

Whirlpool Washout

A whirl of excitement awaits you as you power through revolutions, twists and turns. 

One gets the options of going alone or sharing a float with your partner/child.

Spiral Washout

Hold on tight as one soars at incredible speed through a twisting water flume that will leave you reeling for more!

Bluwater Bay

This giant wave pool reminded me of the one I enjoyed lots at Sunway Lagoon as a kid. 

The floats are rent free so no worries about not having a float to frolic on.

There are also resort style cabanas next to the Bluwater Bay where one can relax in 

(background of pic).

Dueling Racer

Grab a racer mat and slide down this slide head first to a splashing finish.

Seahorse Hideaway

Designed for tots, this is shallow wading pool with fun fountains for children to soak and relax in.

Snorkel with 20,000 friendly fishes in this reef colony.

Seeing different coloured schools of fishes and swimming side by side with them was definitely an eye opening experience for me!

Snorkels are rent free :)

Grab a bite at The Bay Restaurant after a long day out in the pools.

Or get a quick snack at one of these outlets

Relax by these comfy sofa chairs lined up along the sand.

And before you leave,

these cute fluffy sea creatures will greet you at the exit.

"Buy me! I'm so cute! Bring me home!!"

Adventure Cove

Resorts World Sentosa

Prices: Adult $29 Child $20 Senior Citizen $20

Opens daily from 10am - 6pm