Restaurant Week 2013: Equinox Restaurant, Swissotel the Stamford

Restaurant Week is here again!

For our first stop in 2013, the man decided to have dinner at Equinox. There were 2 different options for each course, so we chose one of each to sample what they had to offer.

Equinox Restaurant is one of the 6 restaurants located at the Equinox Complex in Swissotel the Stamford. It presents diners with an exquisite Modern European culinary experience coupled with breathtaking views overlooking Singapore's busiest district.

The 3-Course Set Dinner cost $55++ per person and if you are keen to get a table by the window, it will be an additional fee of $20.

For this post, it is a combination of photos taken with my iphone and photos taken with the man's Sony RX100. Dim lights and scenery are just incompatible with the iphone, so the difference will be rather stark.

We figured that being on level 70 of the hotel, we should take this opportunity to witness Singapore's transition from day to night. We reached the restaurant at about 6.30pm, right after work. It was really bright and sunny, so we get to enjoy a day view of our beloved island from our seat:

The meal started off with us being served 2 slabs of butter, salted and seaweed-flavoured, and salt:

The waiter will come by with a basket of freshly baked bread and introduce us to the various bread before asking us to make a choice.

We liked the black olive bread, which was complemented well by the butter. The onion and cheese bread was stronger in taste.

Black Olive bread:

Onion and cheese:

We couldn't resist taking another photo of the breathtaking scenery:

We were also presented with a complimentary appetiser, though sadly I was unable to catch and remember the name of it:

For food pairing, we have separately opened a bottle of Moet & Chandon Rose Imperial for the night at the promotional price of SGD99++.



Pre-dinner Toasting while overlooking scenic Singapore:

After much anticipation, our appetisers arrived. I WAS SOLD (I am an appearance-sort-of-person though i don't exactly look appealing myself).

It was as if you can feel the heart and soul of the chef who has prepared them. The dishes were so sincere and exquisite! The naming of the dishes aren't exactly creative though... it is basically just telling you what's in the dish.

i. Grilled Vegetable Salad, Goat Cheese, Quail Egg, Frisee Lettuce, Horseradish

Special mention to the quail egg, which comes with a beautiful golden runny yolk centre:

After tasting the salad, i must say that grilling has brought out the sweetness of the various vegetables, and the quail egg's yolk was done to perfection. However, the dish in its entirety was not the best salad i have eaten, and appetiser wise, i prefer the tuna tartare (below).

ii. Tuna Tartare, Avocado, Crispy Onion, Soy and Lime Vinaigrette
We love the gorgeous presentation, which makes the food taste even better! The tuna tartare was light, and it was refreshing when paired with avocado:

Another sneak peek at the dimming scenery out there:

As the area turns from a bustling business district to a gorgeous entertainment central, we start our main course:

i. Poached Salmon Fillet, Star Anise Oil, Braised Lettuce, Beetroot Gnocchi, Razor Clam Sauce

It was getting a little too dark to see the dish properly. On the overall, I would not rate this too high, because the star of the main course (salmon) was a little too fishy in my opinion. However, the redeeming factor was that the razor clam was fresh and the braised lettuce and beetroot gnocchi were tastefully done.

[Mental OS] Looking at the presentation, I wonder what has happened to the kokoro ('heart' in Japanese) displayed during the appetisers...



ii. Breast and Thigh of Chicken, Potato Terrine, Morels, Cauliflower, Toasted Almonds, Roasted Onion

I love this, which was much better (in my humble opinion) as compared to the salmon fillet. The potato terrine was well baked, and the chicken paired well with morels.

Next up was desserts!

i. Violet Wild Strawberry, Granite, Almond Sable, Meringue
It was definitely not as sweet as it looked and sounded. It was balanced, and you can experience different textures of the meringue, granite, sable... all intertwined together.

ii. Verbena Apricot, Preserved Blood Peach Jelly, Lemongrass Sorbet
I love the lemongrass sorbet, but i thought that the preserved blood peach jelly and verbena apricot were overly sweet. (actually, at first bite, i thought it was hawthorn and not blood peach *i need to get my tastebuds checked*)

Personally, I think that going to Equinox during restaurant week is very worthwhile, as they maintained their top service quality despite the much lower prices. However, it may be a tad overpriced for the same food quality because there are hits and misses along the way.

If you are running out of dating ideas, why not look out for the next round of restaurant week?

Equinox Restaurant
Swissotel the Stamford
2 Stamford Road
Singapore 178882

Hours:
Brunch on Sunday, 11am - 2.30pm
Lunch on Mon-Sat, 12nn - 2.30pm
High Tea everyday, 3.30pm - 5pm
Dinner everyday, 6.30pm - 10.30pm

Reservations online / phone (68373322) / email (reservations@equinoxcomplex.com)

[Staycation] Moevenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa - Heritage Suite Merlion [Photo-Spam]

Following my previous post on Moevenpick's Onsen Suite, we went to their Heritage Suite Merlion again, as they have extended 50% off their suite as a kind gesture of our slightly shocking encounter with their rusty water tank.

This suite is located in their restored colonial building, and boosts of an incredible view of the merlion:


This is exactly what we saw when we looked out of the window in the day. The great weather helped too.

The stay at Moevenpick comes with a pair of complimentary three-day pass, so that hotel guests can shuffle between Singapore's main island and Sentosa for free as many times as they would like, to enhance their stay in Singapore. This is very useful for tourists, who should not be spending SGD$4 everytime they re-enter Sentosa Island through the monorail.


I personally love this handwritten note from the Butler Team, which really made us felt at home, and you know, being woman, gives me the warm fuzzy feeling inside:


View from the door - a mini recreational area, with tv and snack bar (payable separately):

The bathroom and restroom facilities, together with the open wardrobe:

Toiletries:

The bathtub, which we have added Lo'ccitane's Effervescent Revitalising Sugar Cube, is huge and comfy:

Speaking of which, the sugar cube (bought individually from local Lo'ccitane stores) is really revitalising as what its name suggested. It contains essential oils of mint, pine, and rosemary, and immediately releases effervescence into the water, turning it into a refreshing mint green shade with a delicate fragrance.

I love the simplistic and modern clock by the bedside:

We received complimentary snacks delivered to our doorstep that afternoon, and I assumed it is strawberry mochi. Well, this tasted pretty horrible and we couldn't finish it. On our way out to explore Sentosa, we saw plates of unfinished / barely touched mochis outside the guest rooms. We believe that other guests felt the same way too.

The view down from the corridor:

Dinner dessert, Moevenpick Tiramisu:

Dinner dessert, Moevenpick Mudpie:

I didn't take much photos of the dinner, as it was supposed to be pizza and pasta night, but the kitchen did not seem to be able to keep up with speed. The pizza trays were constantly close to empty, and the waiting time to get a plate of pasta is at least 20-30 minutes.

After some feedback, the kitchen seemed to be able to dish out food faster though, so I do not have much issue with it. Plus, the food was pretty good, though we would expect faster service and food renewal rate if it cost SGD$25++ per pax, buffet style.

I have took some photos of their breakfast spread so I am not posting any duplicates this time round. They have some fine selections of doughnuts over here:

Last but not least, all hotel guests get a complimentary scoop of their famous Moevenpick Ice-Cream. It is delightful to enjoy this calorie-laden dessert on a hot day; my only grouse is that we cannot choose the flavours we wanted.

[Staycation] Moevenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa - Onsen Suite [Photo-Spam]

We decided to do a staycation for the weekend and for that, we selected and booked Moevenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa's Onsen Suite.

According to Moevenpick Hotel's webpage, the hotel comprises of 2 separate wings: the newly-built contemporary wing with 105 Deluxe Rooms, 19 Onsen Suites, three Executive Suites, and two Penthouse Suites; and the heritage wing, which is a restored colonial building that dates back to the 1940s, with 62 suites.

The Onsen suite features a Japanese-style hot tub set in a tranquil outdoor sanctuary.

The lobby is set a level below the main entrance, so we took a while to get to the lobby on the first day. The hotel staff were friendly, and very courteous. While showing us to the room, they brought us round the hotel and told us where were the various facilities (e.g. swimming pool, gym etc).

The Suite was bright and airy:

View from the inner walkway:

View from the private outdoor area:

Randomly, the mini snack bar in the room is complimentary, all snacks and drinks are complimentary.

View from the room, looking out into the outdoor 'onsen':

We checked with the hotel engineer, the onsen's water is not recycled, so we let the water run a little before using the onsen pool and i insisted on going in with my swimsuit (yes, i am paranoid, and it doesnt help that the pool doesn't look very clean to start with).

Closer view of the pool:

To be very frank, the pool was jacuzzi styled and hence, really relaxing and comfortable. 

Random night view shot:

We bought some asahi and kirin beer, and opened the snack packs from the mini bar while enjoying the onsen pool.

I love how they put the toiletries in the chinese bamboo steamer:

Dry-cleaning laundry bag:

Slippers labelled as 'for him' and 'for her', but i realised that they are identical, of the same size:

As we have booked the onsen suite, it comes with complimentary use of the crystal lounge, where guests can enjoy complimentary high tea (snack bites and drinks) at the comfort of the lounge:

Took some random shots of the snack bites:

So apparently the man told them that it is our anniversary, so they delivered this to the room:

Never mind the very interesting handwriting that kind of looked smeared, but the cake was really delicious (i mean, what do i expect of Moevenpick right - nothing, but the best):

Complimentary evening snack bites and drinks at 'World of Whiskey':

Breakfast at Tablescape, with an array of selection - toast, pancakes, waffles, muffins, assorted bread, congee... etc.

On the overall, we had a very pleasant experience there. The rooms were comfortable, but the outdoor area was slightly dusty, which cannot be helped since it was open-air i guess. The food was acceptable, and the staff's great attitude made up for any imperfections in their breakfast selection (i guess eggs are not their forte).

One incident that happened during our stay was: There was a period of time when the tap-water turned brown, so we were alarmed and checked with the hotel staff. They checked with the engineers and ascertained that it was a technical fault but there was nothing they could have done, except to ask us to let the water run for a longer period of time.

As a kind gesture, they offered us 50% off our next stay with their heritage suite Merlion, which we have gladly taken up. Photos for that will be in a separate post.