Dine next to the Ocean

The closest we can ever get to dining with the fishes here. Lunch was at Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora before the staycation at Hotel Michael starts. It was quite difficult to reserve a table as I guessed due to the small number of tables.

As usual, the kids were having all the fun.









It's good they could accommodate children, although mine were a bit noisier than most ...

A set meal was S60++ with starter, main and dessert. There was a minimum spending of $38++ if you went ala carte.

The BAD - They didn't serve water, you had to ordered a bottle, juices or soft drinks. This is outrageous and it would keep me from going back ever. Food portions were small as well and you wouldn't be filled at the end of it.

Mesclun Salad - Roasted beetroot, Goat Cheese, Walnut & Lemon Vinaigrette


Cabbage & Bacon Soup - Chicken Liver Mousse, Toasted Brioche & Truffle Oil



Tuna Tartare - Apple, Cucumber & Avocado



Braised Boneless Wagyu Short Rib - Celeriac Puree, Sauteed Mushroom & Caramelized Oatmeal



Cripsy Kurobuta Pork Belly - Sauerkraut Puree, Sauteed Savoy Cabbage & Mustard
This is good, crispy on the outside and tender inside.



Poached King Salmon - Leek Puree, Confit Potato & Sea Urchin Emulsion



The desserts were worth finishing with.

Mont Blanc - Hazelnut Meringue, Chestnut Paste & Vanilla Ice-cream



Chocolate Passion - Banana Stew, 68% Cocoa Ice Cream & Passion Fruit Espuma



Vacherin - Textures of Strawberry & Creme Fraiche

The 15th already?

Due to a number of unforseen things cropping, our dinner date had to be postponed to 14-Oct today. No matter, we are here to give the acclaimed Joel Robuchon a try,

I decided to give L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon at RWS Sentosa a try. For one, I like to see chefs at work and I quite like this concept of the L'Atelier.



However, the experience was somewhat lacking as we would soon see. No one opened the door for us ... and the door was heavy. No idea what the guy at the reception was doing ...

We had the counter seats where we should be able to catch some cooking action.



The bread was hard and cold ...



L'Amuse Bouche - Foie gras custard with red Porto wine and parmesan foam



Le Caviar Imperial - Imperial caviar in duo of French butter beans
This was unevenly cooked. Some of the beans were too hard whilst others were soft.



Le Homard - Sauteed Maine lobster on broccoli couscous



Les Eringi - King oyster mushrooms and prawn tsukune in a giner bouillon
Forgettable. The waiter forgot to give us spoons ... does he expect us to lift up the bowl and drink?



Le Foie Gras de Canard - Pan seared duck foie gras, glazed mirabelle prune and gingerbread
I hated prunes but here I downed two in a jiffy. As usual, foie gras is always good but then it's a cruel way to eat ...



Le Cabillaud - Roasted cod with white Paimpol beans and Iberian flavours
The Paimpol beans were from Brittany and in season. Sadly, the cod was way overcooked. Too tough to be enjoyed. I didn't finished this dish.


Le Boeuf Wagyu - French-style wagyu skirt steak with shallots confit
The beef tasted quite bland ...



Signature Joel Robuchon mash potato
Apparently a signature of Joel Robuchon. It is smooth and buttery.



La Caille - Caramelized quail and mash potatoes



Le parfum des iles - Smooth passion fruits, dark rum granite, light coconut foam
This must be the highlight of the dinner. Smooth and refreshing. The crushed ice below was the dark rum. Love it.



Le Mango - Brittany biscuit disc, caramel lightness, mango sorbet
This was good too. Thankfully the patissier was good with his creations.



Service was really bad. The bill took a good 20 min to settle. Spoons forgotten for the soup. Door wasn't opened for us. The waiter spoke too softly in his introductions to the dishes. Luckily we asked to keep the menu. In reality, the L'Atelier concept didn't really took off well. For one, there is no interaction between the chef and the diners. You also couldn't really observe what's cooking as the kitchen top was a distance away. In the end, the kitchen staff was just rushing to complete all the orders and the waiters were all overwhelmed and flushed.

Nah, doubt I'll be going again. Next one, back to Les Amis :)

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2nd time Adventure Cove

Wanting to make full use of our free tickets, we went back to Adventure Cove two days later. Since that was a Sunday, there was a bigger crowd naturally. It didn't much affect us as A and B were too little to go for the more thrilling rides. No queuing for us. Weather was good with a nice warm sun :)





This time round, they are even more afraid of the water! There was no way we could drag them to some water fun!



These were about as close to the water as they can get.







They definitely enjoyed lunch better :)






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Adventure Cove Waterpark @ RWS

Adventure Cove Waterpark @ RWS

After much obstacles, e.g. colds, coughs, fevers bringing down the whole family for the past month and rainy weather too, we finally made it to Adventure Cove. Still the weather looks dark this morning and it was drizzling when we made our way there.

Entry was free, we had four free tickets from the complimentary RWS membership from Stanchart. Only used 2 today, which means we still can have another go for free :)






A and B weren't too keen on the water. I guess they just had to go a few more times to get used to it. We stayed for about an hour before there was a lightning alert and we decided to call it a day.

Sibling Spats

Siblings spats are common at my home, but today's was a little different from the usual hit-and-run or grab-n-run cases.

Today, the kids somehow got agitated by what each other did and took turns to shout angrily at each other! They usually do not express their anger in that way...

B took A's drawing board and A was so angry that he shouted at her on and on in one breath. He only simmer down after the board was returned to him.

Shortly after, A threw the sofa cushions on the floor and B was so irritated that she clenched her teeth and fist and shouted non stop at him. She only calmed down after the cushions were back in place.

Hmm... I wonder what caused them to be so easily agitated today? Fortunately, it didn't take too long before they were back to their usual cheery selves. :)


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2 Guns

Academy Award(R) winner Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg lead an all-star cast in 2 Guns, an explosive action film that tracks two operatives from competing bureaus who are forced on the run together. But there is a big problem with their unique alliance: Neither knows that the other is an undercover federal agent.

Cast: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton
Director: Baltasar Kormkur
Genre:Action/ Adventure
Language: English
Release Date:19 September 2013
Running Time:109 minutes

==========================================
Quite a lot of dialogues and twists in this movie... it only got me interested in the middle when all was linked up. Not a bad movie, nice closing. :)

Elysium

In the year 2154, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined planet. The people of Earth are desperate to escape the crime and poverty that is now rampant throughout the land. The only man with the chance to bring equality to these worlds is Max (Matt Damon), an ordinary guy in desperate need to get to Elysium. With his life hanging in the balance, he reluctantly takes on a dangerous mission - one that pits him against Elysium's Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) and her hard-line forces - but if he succeeds, he could save not only his own life, but millions of people on Earth as well.

Cast: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Genre:Action/ Adventure
Language: English
Release Date:15 August 2013
Running Time:109 minutes

===========================================
It's all about survivor skills! Happy but not perfect ending...

Riddick

Riddick, the latest chapter of the groundbreaking saga that began with 2000's hit sci-fi film Pitch Black and 2004's The Chronicles of Riddick reunites writer/director David Twohy (A Perfect Getaway, The Fugitive) and star Vin Diesel (the Fast and Furious franchise, xXx). Diesel reprises his role as the antihero Riddick, a dangerous, escaped convict wanted by every bounty hunter in the known galaxy.

Cast: Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Jodi Molla
Director: David Twohy
Genre:Action/ Adventure
Language: English
Release Date:12 September 2013
Running Time:119 minutes

==========================================
A surprisingly nice movie! Makes me wanted to know more about this character and what happened during the previous episodes!

Next to the Ocean

The closest as one could get to the ocean ... the RWS Ocean Suites. The moment I saw the offer for RWS Invites member at $1288 nett, I knew we had to grab it :) It comes with spa and breakfast for two but we skipped the spa as we couldn't leave A & B alone. During check-in, the lady kept encouraging us to try the spa, sounded good ... oh well ... 24-hr butler and buggy service were included with the stay too.

The bed facing the aquarium. Wifi reception at this level was bad though.




The upper level with outdoor jacuzzi. There is also an additional bathroom there.






The kids had so much fun up and down this flight of stairs.




Complimentary fruits from RWS Invites. A and B were so excited over the grapes!




This was a pleasant surprise and matched the ocean theme definitely.




View from the bedroom. It's actually the viewing gallery on the opposite end. We could vaguely make out the silhouettes of the visitors and the occasional camera flash. We were told they may also make out our forms if we stand right next to the viewing window. That's why, when the blind was drawn up, the lights in the room were automatically dimmed.




Dinner was at Starz Restaurant, Hard Rock Hotel.




The on-call buggy service to bring us around.




The area in front of the bed could be opened up to reveal a bathtub for a soak. Bath salts from ESPA was provided. For us, it was the kids that enjoyed it.




We really loved the stay. It's so different staying right next to the fishes, compared to other hotels.