Ion Orchard: The Great Singapore Sale!

Now a visit to Singapore would not be complete without the customary trip to Orchard Road, the most talked about portion of the city.  On my last trip to Singapore with Vicky & Monique, we had stayed in a hotel along Orchard Road, and we have such fond memories of walking up and down the road, buying deli foods, eating ice cream on monay, and shopping in Lucky Plaza.  Orchard Road has since changed complexion, and is now teaming with people, much busier with the opening of several malls and the closing of some older hotels.  On this trip I had none of that, but I spent some time in the Ion Orchard Mall--a relatively new mall developed and owned by Hong Kong magnate Li Ka Shing.  The mall's lower levels is composed of a maze of shops, eating places, road crossings and subway stops, and I had to backtrack several times to get my bearings right.  The upper levels have designer shops and other stores carry luxury brands.  I was hoping to find good buys in Church's shoes, but alas, I was not so happy with the styles on sale (even at 50% off, the shoes were still pretty expensive at S$700 a pair).  I spent time in Marc Jabobs, Cortina's Watches and TWG, which carried fantastic tea brands.  The Great Singapore Sale lasts till July 25, so if you have time for this, go out and enjoy!

Long Beach

My Singaporean friends told me that there are three truly Singaporean foods that must not be missed:  1) Hainanese Chicken Rice (which I've enjoyed at both Suntec City and Changi Terminal),  2) Char Kway Tyow (which I had at Marina Bay Sands food court) and 3) Black Pepper Crabs.  I was lucky that my hosts this trip learned that I have not yet tried Singaporean Black Pepper Crabs and as such, they brought me to Long Beach restaurant (East Coast Branch), which created the original recipe 65 years ago.  I was not disappointed.  The crab we had was just the right size for me--1.2 kilograms, and this was very very tasty.  We also had sweet chili crabs, but I found that the Black Pepper Crabs to be more to my liking.  I understand that the restaurant imports the crabs from both Malaysia and Australia, and that the dish has an international following due to its delicious taste.  When in Singapore, be sure to try this!  Great!

The Tower Club (Republic Plaza)

I've been invited several times to the the Manila branch of the Tower Club at the Philamlife Tower along Paseo de Roxas, and I've been quite happy with the ambiance, the food and the service.  When I was invited to lunch at the Singapore branch of the Tower Club at Republic Plaza, I was pleasantly delighted that in addition to enjoying the refined ambiance, the excellent food and the impeccable service expected of a Tower Club, I was treated to a wonderful view of Singapore.  Located at the 64th Floor, I could see the Sky Park of the Marina Bay Sands, and the view extended out, almost to Changi Airport.  It was quite refreshing, and I would pause in between servings in order to admire the view.  I was lucky that the weather, which had been cloudy in the early morning, was sunny and bright, and the vista was quite awesome.  This was the same thrill that I had experienced sitting atop the World Trade Center, looking down at the Statue of Liberty.  The food we had was well prepared, and I particularly will remember the oyster, cooked Chinese-style in soy sauce, as the oyster meat was as large as a computer mouse but was particularly tender and easy to chew.  The sharks fin soup was tasty and was exactly the right texture.  The main course of lamb was tender and grilled just right--fully cooked but still juicy.  I picked lychee sorbet from their dessert menu, and the presentation was interesting, as the sherbet cup came atop a bowl of colored water with dry ice, creating a mist-effect.  We started lunch at noon, but as the meal was served one course after another, we ended at 2:30pm!

Marina Bay Sands

The entire project cost US$7 Billion to build.  Sheldon Adelson, who acquired the Las Vegas Sands in the 90s, successfully bidded for one of two casino franchises in Singapore in 2004 (the other franchise went to the Malaysian Genting group--their Resorts World on Sentosa Island has a successful working partnership with the Universal Studios theme park). The Marina Bay Sands has effectively turned Singapore from the previously oft-described "boring" to the now touted "exciting!"  With three towers (55 storeys each) connected by a Sky Park at the 57th floor, the hotel-casino-mall has become the new icon of Singapore.  Vicky had told me that the property was big and could be viewed from afar, but that didn't prepare me from the awe I felt when I alit from the taxi and walked into the lobby.  The inside atrium was grand, and despite the fact that the floor area was quite huge, the place was filled with people!  Tourists, people on holiday, businessmen, families, honeymooners galore!  My room was at the 18th floor and was elegant, spacious and had complete amenities.  The adjoining mall had all the high-end names--Boucheron, Chaumet, Vacheron Constantin, Tolkowski, De Beers, Stephano Ricci, Chow Tay Fook.  I couldn't wait to enter the casino--and I wasn't disappointed!  This place was truly huge, and while floor traffic wasn't like the bumper-to-bumper grind in the Macau Sands, all tables were filled with players--take note, this was on a Monday night.  Went to bed past midnight, tired from all the walking, but giddy from all the excitement!