Before L departed for her year-long placement in Poland, we decided to complement her final days in Singapore by spending some quality time together. Some of you may recall that we previously had a staycation at the Fairmont Hotel in Singapore, which we had a great time owing to impeccable service.

True to that, there were a couple more days to spare and hence L decided to book a night at the Fairmont Hotel again. This time round, she managed to use her free room upgrades in conjunction with the complimentary stay - funny because we were not allowed to utilise this the last time round, but we got the free upgrade regardless and the room was an absolute treat! However, this time the upgrade entitled us to a suite and we held great anticipation.

A photo of us in our last Fairmont Hotel staycation back in October 2016.

The day of the staycation came about quickly enough - and accordingly the day that L departs for Poland. We had previously requested for an early check-in and so we decided to head in pre-lunch in hope of obtaining access to our room and to drop off our bags before heading off for lunch at Vatos Urban Tacos, which L had previously raved to me a year back and re-ignited following our Valentine's Day meal at Super Loco.

L posing with her freshly-gifted stalk of rose.

Unfortunately, the room was not yet available but we nonetheless managed to leave our belongings with the concierge, and L was pleasantly surprised with a rose stalk from the friendly counter staff. Always nice to receive personalised service wherever we go! After which, we took a short stroll across the road to the new South Beach Quarters, a spanking new office tower which houses the likes of Facebook (for now) and McKinsey, built around a number of conserved military buildings, where Vatos Urban Tacos was located. Not before a scoop each of an ice cream and sorbet from Tom's Palette in Shaw Tower, being the greedy souls that we are.

Tucked away in the historical ground level of the historic armoury building, Vatos Urban Tacos is a Korean chain that really heated up the scene in Seoul with its Korean take on Mexican street cuisine. Restaurant was moderately packed for a Saturday afternoon but what struck me was the casual vibes that were being given off, although the place was rather dimly lit. That said, we very quickly decided on having tacos that afternoon and with the help of the friendly staff got right into things.

Our spread of lunch tacos. 

We started off with portions of the Korean Pork Belly tacos and the Baja Fish tacos. The pork bellies were where the Korean influences really came through – akin to having a bbq’ed marinated pork belly and paired with an onion / ginger garnish, this dish went down a treat! I was expecting the fish tacos to made up of grilled / pan-fried fish, so as to allow the fresh flavours to come through, however they came with a beer-battered crust instead. Despite that, I thought the dish held together relatively nicely flavor-wise, although I would defer to Superloco’s take on its Taco Pescado Snapper anyday.

Baja Fish tacos. 

Mid-way through the above two sets of tacos, our hungry tummies craved for more and we called for an extra serving of the Galbi Short Rib tacos which wasn't all that bad.

L posing with our Vatos Ritas - Margarita with an upturned bottle of craft beer. 

However, the highlight of lunch, in my opinion, was the signature Vatos Ritas, outsized margaritas served with an upturned bottle of craft beer. The simple contraption used to hold the upturned beer bottle set the scene for a revisit to physics lesson for L. I enjoyed testing out various physics theories as well - a throwback to engineering days. More importantly, the margarita was fantastic, with a great balance of sweetness and the flavours of the craft beer - definitely something worth going back for!

The Grand Piano in our Fairmont room, overlooking the living and dining room. 

We then proceeded back to Fairmont to check into our room and were pleasantly surprised by the multiple room upgrades applied - I guess we hit the ceiling of upgrades because the room assigned was the Penthouse Suite, the highest tier in the entire hotel! A full equipped room with a living and dining area, kitchen, bedroom, and an oversized bathroom with an in-built sauna. The icing on the cake was the grand piano in the corner of our living room which added that extra touch of classiness!

My selection of canapes paired with a glass of Moet & Chandon. 

I had planned for an evening of bar hopping to surprise L during our staycation, with the first port of call being a nearby rooftop bar which I used to frequent whenever I returned to Singapore for holidays - the Loof at Odeon Towers, given L's love for rooftop bars. However, due to the inclement weather, we decided to head for Fairmont's Executive lounge instead, where they were hosting a drinks and cocktail reception. The area was surprisingly crowded and the required dress code meant that everyone was relatively well dressed and looking dapper! We were welcomed by the friendly staff and took a corner seat with a view of the Marina Bay area, before proceeding to raid the spread of nibbles.

Our slightly boozed up selves at the Executive Lounge, overlooking the Marina Bay Area. 

I liked the scallops and prawn fritters that were served while L tried out the various cheeses on offer. We had a great time sipping on champagne while trying out an IOS game recommended by L - which saw us making a little fool of ourselves that evening. This meant that we were relatively boozed up by the time dinner came knocking.

Stay tuned tuned for a second post around our staycation.

To be continued...
D

With my move to Poland happening in less than a week, time seems to be whizzing by so quickly. As a couple, it feels like the more we plan for exciting weekend dates, the faster they come, and the faster they go by. I would like to share a surprise Satur-date that D meticulously planned just over two weekends ago.

It came out of nowhere one day when D said to me: "Next Saturday, you are mine for the whole day, are you able to keep it free for me?" Being fond of surprises, I was more exhilarated by the idea of having a surprise date that D put great effort into, than the activities we were actually going to do (D had apparently been spending quite some time conceptualising and planning for this "surprise" date). <3

It is also funny how we often like to spoil our own surprises. When I was told that it was a surprise, my natural instinct was to find out more about it. Which from a conversation with D subsequently, he inadvertantly gave on that we will end the night with a musical. I decided not to further spoil my surprise and refrained from checking Sistic's website to identify the musical we would be catching. That said, we had both talked about our love for musicals and that one day, we will together watch a musical in West End in London, Broadway in New York etc.

I recall how the preceding week went by really quickly, given the Chinese New Year long weekend and the resultant short three-day work week; and Saturday (4th February) was finally here. D, being secretive about the day's plans, revealed our first pitstop was a Hearty Brunch at The White Rabbit.

Brunch at The White Rabbit.

We decided to go for a mix of a hearty Fry-Up and a healthy salad to accompany. For the Fry-Up,  we  both enjoyed the creamy scrambled eggs and D particularly enjoyed the thick-cut bacon. The Endive & Frisee Salad is a dish unique to The White Rabbit, and I loved it for its refreshing twist. The highlight of our brunch, however, went to the freshly baked Madeleines which were served warm and infused with a pleasant citrus flavour, a perfect sweet note to end our meal.

L - R: The White Rabbit Fry-Up topped with Snail Sausage. Endive & Frisee Salad.

One of our favourites for this meal, the freshly baked citrus Madeleines served with Orange Curd.

Post-brunch stroll at The Rabbit Hole, an outdoor garden / dining area, which doubles up as a watering hole. 

Coincidentally, we bumped into one of D's close friends, who came here for a pre-staycation birthday date with her plus one!

Stealing a photo from our neighbour, a coincidental encounter with D's close friends!

D then revealed our next activity for the day - S.EA. Aquarium at Sentosa. Even though I had been here before, my recollection of the marine animals exhibited here were vague. More importantly, I was excited to experience this with D given that it is his first time here. D is a huge animal person and I particularly enjoyed watching the dolphins perform underwater, preparing for their leaps / somersaults.

S.E.A. Aquarium - One of our favourite photos captured here. 

At the Touch Pool, getting up close and personal with a Starfish and Sea Cucumber.

Eel spotted!

A slight change of our dinner plans given that we were slightly tight on time with the Musical start time being a limiter. D insisted I stock up on emergency medical supplies / first aid kit in lieu of Poland and we spent some time at the pharmacy for this. Hence, in place of a romantic dinner overlooking the sea along the beach at Tanjong Beach Club, we headed to Singapore Seafood Republic for a fine dose of chilli crabs!

A seafood dinner spread at Singapore Seafood Republic.

Surprise Satur-date ended with Mulan the Musical at RWS, which incorporated elements of local twists and humour. The highlight of any musical and the yardstick that you have been to a good one is when the cast members boast amazing voices. This was nonetheless true for Mulan and its lead cast members.

Mulan the Musical hosted in RWS.

Thank you love for this amazing Satur-date! You have just made my upcoming departure all the more difficult :'(

xx,
L

In a blink of an eye, we bode 2016 farewell and welcomed 2017! Looking at our archives in this space, I realised that it had been exactly a month since we updated our blog. Incredibly, so many events, experiences and memories have been forged between D and myself in this short span of time. In summary, there was our first Christmas celebrated together as a couple, our first holiday getaway (Vietnam), our first New Year's countdown and our second holiday getaway (Thailand). As this blog was founded on documenting our stories on travels, food and lifestyle, that in itself creates quite a backlog for our blogposts. Breathe L...Slowly, we will get there. On the bright side, I am really proud of how we have been consistent on sharing about our lives, travels and favourites on Instagram. :)

For all things important that happen for the first time, there is often the process of seeking an understanding of how it used to be done, and subsequently, establishing your own rules and boundaries. This is nonetheless true for our first Christmas celebration. Christmas 2016 was celebrated amongst our friends, coordinating schedules so that we could attend our respective gatherings together. D cooked up a feast for his family, and not forgetting our own mini celebration as a couple. All in all, it was a 4-day affair, which I am glad that we had so much good fun, created bonds with each others' friends and now have fond memories of.

Celebrating our first Christmas at Monti Singapore.

Kickstarting our Christmas celebrations was a gathering with D's Cambridge University friends at Starkers' Bistro Katong on Friday evening (23 December). On our way to dinner, one of D's close college mate, T, dropped D a text asking him to drop by his place. The text sounded pretty important and needed to be talked through face-to-face, hence we took a detour to T's place, and sent our apologies for a late dinner arrival. When we arrived at T's place, we found out that T was now engaged with his longtime girlfriend, P, with whom D had been instrumental in setting up! P was flying back to London that night and the couple had wanted to ask D physically to be one of the three groomsmen for the multi-city weddings, which D can't be more excited for. 

After dinner, we celebrated T's engagement with cocktails and desserts at Baba Chews. We would recommend a visit to Baba Chews if you enjoy your cocktails strong.

Celebratory drinks at Baba Chews

On Christmas Eve, D spent the day visiting the meat grocers and prepared a beef roast feast for his family, while I joined my close friends from secondary school and their families for a homely gathering.

D's Annual Christmas roast

On Christmas Day, we visited Marina Barrage for our first picnic and kite-flying experience. We stocked up on a good variety of fruits from the supermarket, bought some Italian food takeaway, and D brought along some refreshing Pimms, adding a booze to this joyous occasion.

Marina Barrage: Our picnic spread

Our kite-flying experience was a great one! D is secretly a pro at handling kites - trust his engineering degree came in handy, even though we ended our session with some tangled strings.

Marina Barrage - Our first picnic and kite-flying experience

For dinner, we headed to my best friend's place for a gathering with the rest of the girls and their plus ones. It was jolly affair over food, drinks and the annual Christmas gift exchange!

On Boxing Day, it was finally our celebration together! A mini reservation mishap led us to a hidden gem - Monti Singapore, an Italian restaurant located at the pavilion right beside the Fullerton Bay Hotel. The restaurant can be recognised by its iconic dome and is situated along the waters of Marina Bay, making for outstanding views of the Marina Bay Sands and its surroundings. We had a fantastic dining experience, beyond satisfied with both the service and food quality. We did a fair bit of research on the food reviews and would recommend the following dishes that we had tasted. Perhaps because the restaurant is fairly new, there was only a small crowd at dinner time. The ambience makes a great hide-out from the city's hustle and bustle. We highly recommend a visit here, before this place gets popular with local foodies!

Antipasti Di Terra (Appetiser): Carpaccio Di Vitello Contartufo
Tajima wagyu beef carpaccio / Caramelised pear / Truffle / Parmigiano region / Rocket

Primi Di Terra: Invertiti
Ravioli filled with braised veal ossobuco / Cream of bone marrow / Lemon zest / Parmigiano Regiano

Il Pesce: Signor Monti
Monkfish wrapped in Italian bacon / Spring-time ratatouille / Rosemary sauce

Dolci: Rosmarino E Caffe
Pannacotta / Crunchy almond chocolate tuile / Vanilla sauce

Looking forward to our next festive celebration together!

xx,

L