CHASING FOOD DREAMS: Hotel

Showing posts with label Hotel. Show all posts

April 25, 2021

Staycation in Singapore

It’s been a while since travels across borders are allowed due to current pandemic situation. My family and I have been reminiscing about our trip to the Land of the Merlion. We took the trip back in 2019 and really enjoyed ourselves as we rendezvous through Singapore’s tourist and local hotpots.

We checked into Dorsett Singapore for our trip and was pleasant satisfied with the beautiful hotel and its modern contemporary design. Location was also excellent as the hotel is set above the Outram Park MRT Station, making its easy for us to maneuver around the city through public transportation.

Our Deluxe Room had a lovely city view. We requested for an extra bed as well for our little one. Equipped with all essential and a little more of room and bathroom amenities, this hotel is one of the nicer and premium category hotels in Singapore. We stayed 3D2N and was indeed well-rest with the hotel’s premium bed and facilities.

Besides the view of the city is lovely and the breakfast option is also very good. Too bad we spent more time touring the city that using the facilities of the swimming pool and other facilities. Maybe we can do that the next round.

Searching for a hotel that best caters to your needs are now as easy as it can be. Such websites now offer plenty of options and prices with hotel guest reviews that helps to reiterate your needs on hotel stays.

One can also opt to stay at Sentosa Island hotel if you are planning to enjoy Sentosa during your trip there as there are plenty to do on the island itself. In fact, Capella Sentosa Hotel pop-up recently on my social media feeds. Possibly because I have been doing a little travel search on Hotel in Singapore to plan my trips once the borders are open!

We visited Singapore’s Science Centre on our trip and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was truly a very knowledgeable experience and we also had a blast taking lots of photos. One of the must- experience at this Science Centre is their Omni-Theatre where we catch the amazing Great Bear Rainforest show in Southeast Asia's first 8K 3D Digital Dome Theatre.

There’s plenty to do and one can certainly spent half day to a full day there easily exploring all science displays at the Atrium. Also do check out their Professor Crackitt’s Light Fantastic Mirror Maze, Laser Maze Challenge, E-mmersive Experiential Environments, Butterflies Up-Close, Marine Alcove and more.

While we savored several yummy meals in Singapore, one of our most highlight was in Chinatown in the city. Despite the many choices available there, we settled for Chinatown Seafood and was happy with our choice of their wide range of seafood menu.

The restaurant is heavily packed with locals as well as tourist, a good sign that the restaurant does cater to many. Menu is laden with lots of seafood choices as well as meat and vegetable options along with some dim sum.

To start off, our Xiao Long Bao was pretty decent, considering this is not a dim sum restaurant. Each dumpling was filled with that delectable hot broth encased in thin skinned and beautifully pleated folds.

Little one wanted Fried Rice while I wanted to enjoy Singapore’s Chili Crab! Sufficient to say, both of us were satiated with our choices. Fried Rice had that lovely breath of wok hei with fluffy rice and egg.

My Singapore Chili Crab was divine. We couldn’t resist ordering mantao to mopped up that thick and creamy eggy spicy gravy. The crab was also very fresh and sweet. I would reorder this anytime again…

Another dish that also won brownie points from us was their Salted Egg Prawn Balls. Utterly sublime, large deshelled prawns were fried and glazed in that umami savory salted egg sauce. Truly worth its price in my books.

Our stay in Singapore may be short but it was definitely sweet! Perhaps its now a good time to start planning like me so that we will be ready when the borders open for travels…

April 1, 2021

Buka Puasa Buffet @ Four Points by Sheraton KL Chinatown

Celebrate the Holy Month with Bazar Selera

Let Four Points by Sheraton Kuala Lumpur, Chinatown take you and your family on a Bazar Selera culinary marketplace filled with nostalgic Malay flavours along with other international flavours this festive month of Ramadan.

Quan’s Kitchen Executive Chef Gerald Chong and culinary team has curated a lavish buffet spread to take diners through the ancient Silk Road where the world’s melting pot of cuisines gather among the traders. Dine at comfort at the spacious all-day dining restaurant amidst a lovely cityscape view.

One of the main highlights of Bazar Selera is catching the La Mien Sifu preparing the specialty of hand-pulled noodles at the Lan Zhou La Mien station. As the skilled master deftly transformed a ball of dough into silky strands of noodles, freshly prepared-to-order, one can chose some topping to make your own bowl spicy or non-spicy.

There are also choices of thickness of the noodles from thin to broad textures. Each bowl is slurping yummy!

Hilton Garden Inn Puchong

Cuti Cuti Malaysia Dream Away Staycation

After having stayed at quite a few Hilton Garden Inns abroad, it’s a first for me to check into the Hilton Garden Inn Puchong recently with my family. Located in Millennia City, the hotel boasts of a city and lake view, making the staycation experience a lovely one.

A short Cuti Cuti Malaysia is what most of us have learn to really enjoy and appreciate lately. The weekend beckons for a staycation nearby to unwind with family. Hilton Garden Inn offers a solitude from the city and yet, if there is a yearning for some shopping, there’s the IOI mall only 10 minutes away from the hotel.

Checking in on a sunny Saturday afternoon, we were greeted with warm smiles from Reception located on the sixth floor. A quick registration and we were handed our room key and briefed on the hotel’s facilities and breakfast options. The reception is spacious and warmly lit by Nature’s light streaming in from the glass windows of the hotel area.

Our room, King Deluxe Room, boasted of a view of cityscape with the lake view at sight as well. The room is spacious, enough to hold a lovely king-sized bed as well as an additional roll-away bed along with a work desk area and an apple green single sofa chair.

Eat All You Can Makanthon @ The Emperor, Dorsett Grand Subang

A la Carte Chinese Feast

Time to chow down at The Emperor at Dorsett Grand Subang! It’s a Eat-All-You-Can Makanthon for an affordable price of RM68 nett per adult. Available daily, the Makanthon features an a la carte order style with over 40 Chinese cuisine with a few local and international ones thrown in for good measure as well as 9 desserts.

The Emperor is renowned for Muslim-friendly handcrafter dim sum as well as award winning Executive Chinese Chef Bryan Teh’s signature list of Chinese dishes. For a limited time, the Makanthon promotion offers diners a wide choice of dishes prepared upon order in small portions so that one can enjoy a larger variety of dishes. We checked out the deal recently and was really pleased with the affordable pricing and the dishes served.

From appetizers, soup, Western and local noodles to Chinese dishes along with Chinese BBQ, dim sum and desserts, we’re glad most dishes are served in small portions as we get to try more. Diners are given the menu sheets and they can simply order to their hearts’ content. Since there is no time limitation, one can take their time to order and enjoy the freshly prepared food without having to waste food.

Dim sum is always a popular choice and there is a solid list of steamed and fried ones available. Tuck into the classic Steamed Prawn Dumplings with Coriander and Steamed Siew Mai Emperor Style to enjoy these plump dumplings.

Heritage Wing Staycation @ E&O Hotel Penang

Luxury Stay Safe Promotion

There is always a sense of belonging when I return to the Pearl of the Orient. The island holds beautiful memories of yesteryears and offers locals and visitors a bounteous heritage of culture and food. The recent pandemic situation had recently allowed interstate travels and so we made a short getaway to take a breather.

Checking into the Eastern & Oriental Hotel was a brilliant option as the hotel is currently offering a Stay Safe Promotion with several options. Not a first time but rather a returning one, we always look forward to our stay at this luxurious hotel. The hotel recently went through an extensive refurbishment on their heritage wing and re-opened in December 2019.

Stepping into a league of elegance, the iconic heritage wing has always been renowned for personalized service as well as the timeless historical grandeur theme of the hotel. Going through the hotel’s revolving door and greeted by the waitstaff, we quickly scanned to check-in before going through the sanitization process as encouraged by the hotel’s arrangement for safety measure.

The main lobby where the famous Crazy Rich Asian was filmed had me pausing for some admiration.

With several packages available on the hotel’s Stay Safe Promotion, we checked in for the E&O Luxury Stay which includes breakfast and dinner for 2 persons.

Best Western i-City Hotel Staycation with All You Can Eat Seafood BBQ

Stay & Relax, Enjoy Seafood BBQ and QR Code Room Service and Play at i-City Theme Park

A short weekend retreat, we found ourselves back at the Best Western i-City Hotel for some R&R time with the family. A great place for a simple and affordable Cuti Cuti Malaysia without having to burn a hole-in-the-pocket, Best Western I-City has all the great markings for a family retreat with its nearby i-City Theme Park and Central i-city Mall – the latest mall in Shah Alam.

Its been a year since our last visit and the hotel has certainly been well-kept at a glance. From the moment one walks in, the hotel staff greeted us with warm smiles. We quickly checked into our room but not before stopping to check out a quaint corner where kids can pay RM5 to take a fish to their room for the hotel stay.

We were debating as Crush here was so beautiful with its shiny glowing blue…

Buka Puasa Buffet @ Melting Pot Café, Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Citarasa 6 Sekawan

With the coming holy month of Ramadan around the corner, Melting Pot Café at Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur is getting ready to spoil their diners with a Citarasa 6 Sekawan buffet to commemorate the moment of Iftar.

Featuring over 160 dishes from authentic kampung favorites to various local cuisines as well as international favorites, the Citarasa 6 Sekawan buffet spread is simply not to be missed. Melting Pot is a constant hotspot for their amazing spread of sumptuous dishes set against a backdrop of the cityscape with their in-house resident strollers Begema 5 serenading diners for the evenings.

While standard classic Kambing Panggang with Sos Dadih Pudina and Sos Lada Hitam remains the highlight of the Iftar spread, there are plenty of other dishes that are equally tempting to whet the appetite for the evening.

The Citarasa 6 Sekawan spread includes Masakan Padang from the culinary team featuring an array of Gulai Ikan Masak Lemak Gulai, Sayur Kapau, Daging Dengeng Kering Balado Merah, Sambal Kentang Ikan Bilis Tempe and Ayam Pop with 3 Sambal. These are perfect with steamed rice, tomato rice or Biryani rice.

There are also plenty more timeless Malay dishes on the hot buffet warmers such as Siput Sedut Masak Lemak Daun Kunyit, Ikan Bawal Masak Kicap Berempah, Sambal Ikan Bilis Dengan Petai, Ikan Bakar Percik and more on rotational basis.

Street food favorite Roti John also made an appearance on the menu where toasty egg buns are sandwich with meat and veggies before being smothered with generous whizzes of ketchup, mayo and chili.

Live station where chefs are busy whipping up piping hot Ketam Goreng, Ikan Goreng, Udang Goreng and Burung Puyuh Goreng are constant favorite spots for many diners of all ages. Sink your teeth into succulent and tasty marinated quails, crabs, prawns and fish with that delicious crispy batter.

The Pembuka Selera section is a kaleidoscope of colours from the list of aneka kerabu such as Kerabu Taugeh, Kerabu Kacang Panjang, Kerabu Paru, Jelatah Timun Nenas, Serunding Ayam, Kerabu Hati Ayam, Kerabu Mangga, Pecel Kampung, Kerabu Kacang Botol Kelapa Parut, Telur Masin and Aneka Ikan Masin. The Rojak Buah and Jeruk Buah are good starters to get the palate going after a long day of fasting.

There’s the must-have Ulam-ulaman Kampung with Sambal Belachan, Sambal Tempoyak, Cencaluk, Sambal Kicap, Budu, Sambal Ikan Bilis Tumbuk and Sambal Cili Hijau to add more oomph to the flavour palate!

Then diners can enjoy hot soups and porridge like Sup Gearbox, Sup Tulang Rawan, Sup Ekor Lembu, Sup Perut, Seafood Tom Yam and Bubur Lambuk Ayam to warm up the tummy for more goodies.

Besides Malay dishes, there’s also a Thai section filled with Red Curry Beef with Fruits, Thai Fish Cake, Thai Roasted Chicken and Thai Steamed Fish.

From the Chinese section, tuck into luscious looking Tiger Prawn with Salted Egg Yolk & Oats, Lala Kam Heong, Braised Mushroom with Beancurd, Wok-Fried Mixed Vegetable with Oyster Sauce and Chicken Siew Mai. The seafood dishes was irresistibly yummy and finger-licking good!

Not to be missed, the Indian section has diners savoring delectable Fish Head Curry, Lamb Varuval, Vegetable Dhalca, Butter Chicken and Mee Goreng. The Fish Head Curry is delicious with rice and Thosai. Butter Chicken was creamy with a lovely buttery tang.

Another crowd puller is the Seafood Bucket featuring the standard chilled seafood such as prawn, mussel, oyster and Assorted Sushi.

There was also a section where chefs were busy frying up Cucur Udang, Goreng Pisang, Keledek Goreng, Keropok Ikan and Keropok Lekor.

Next to that station, more chefs are meticulously shaping and cooking Onde-Onde and Apam Balik at the dessert station. The Onde-Onde is so good, make sure to grab a few of these lovely soft and chewy balls filled with gula melaka and freshly grated coconut.

And no Iftar spread is complete without an array of kuih! From Kuih Tepung Talam, Kuih Sago, Kuih Bingka Ubi, Kuih Kole Kacang, Kuih Lompang, Kuih Ketayap to Abuk-Abuk, Seri Muka, Pulut Panggang, Bahulu, Dodol, Wajik, Kaswi and Indonesia Layer Cake, the hardest part of this colourful spread is choosing a few kuihs to savor.

There are two hot sweet bubur to try such as the Pengat Durian and Bubur Kacang Hijau. Durian lovers will enjoy the Pengat Durian with some sticky glutinous rice on that unctuous creamy broth.

And the standard international spread of desserts that many of us enjoy such as Assorted cakes, pastries, jellies, Bread Butter Pudding, Ais Krim Potong and fresh fruits along with drinks and maybe a cup of hot Teh Tarik!