We queued up at the taxi stand for a ride back to the hotel. A somewhat friendly lady in her 50s was just behind us and we made small talk. In her 'kuai lo' accent, she told us she's back from London to visit her local relative etc. Once in the cab, we were soon caught in a traffic deadlock. A lot of the main roads were closed for the National Day Parade rehearsal. Our young Malay driver was resourceful enough to take alternative routes and it wasn't that long before we were back in the comfort of our hotel room. Wifey's stomach didn't agree with the driver's skill of sudden acceleration and hard breaking though. Thankfully she still managed to keep her lunch inside of her *lol*
After showering, we dressed up nice and headed out. Pretending to consider where to have our dinner, I 'suggested' we feast at Clarke Quay but wifey heard me asking the hotel's concierge for directions to Swissotel instead *haha* :p
Anyways, after a 3 minute walk outside, an awesome scene greeted us. The Singapore military were having a full dress rehearsal for the National Day Parade. *woot*
Like the many others on the streets, I whipped out my dslr and started shooting away. It was an impressive display of their military might and not only that, it was evident that every personnel was well equipped with strict discipline ... there were hardly any movement, no playful chattering whatsoever as the men in camouflage were poised and ready for action *salute*.
After a while, the entire arsenal started moving out and so did we. A leisurely 10 minute stroll landed us in Swissotel @ The Stamford. By then, Wifey knew I had something up my sleeve as I happily led her to the 70th floor of the hotel ... to The Equinox. It was to commemorate our first wedding anniversary and I thought it would be nice for us to dine high up amongst the stars. :)
When I made the reservation earlier, I specifically requested a table with the best view and they were happy to oblige by sitting us beside the floor to ceiling window. Dining at the highest restaurant on the island, it blessed us with the most breath taking spectacular view of the city ...
We had an unobstructed panaromic view of the newly openend Sands Marina, the Singapore Flyer, Clarke Quay and errr ... Maybank Tower. :p From up above, we could see the marching parade below and the maitre'd informed us that earlier in the day, paratroopers were seen gallantly swirling down from the skies.
Can you see the tiny marching formations below?
We decided on our beverages as the waiter recommended the house specials. The menu was extensive but nothing compared to their remarkable wine & liquor list. We soon settled our order as wifey's mocktail duly named The Raffles and my Moet & Chandon were laid on our table.
As we sipped on our drinks, we happily reminisced on the happenings exactly one year ago on the eve of our wedding. Fond memories of joy, anxiety, excitement were all blissfully remembered as if the wedding was only yesterday. :)
The waiter came over with the complimentray bread rolls and we had three types to choose from. They were complimented deliciously with olive oil & vinegar, unsalted butter and our favourite ... cream cheese. *Yummy*
We opted for the wagyu shabu shabu to share as our appetizer. Raw wagyu topped with tuna roe, salted tofu and mushrooms, it tantalised my tastebuds delightfully though wifey would have preferred the wagyu cooked.
Another suprise came about when we heard sounds booming from the outside. In conjunction with the National Day Parade rehearsal, the organizers were testing out the fireworks and it was an awesome display of colourful lights against the ebony night sky. We jokingly mused that this was all to add in to the celebratory ambience of our anniversary. :D
It was then time to feast as Wifey's whole grilled lobster and my angus tenderloin soon satiated our appetites. The de-shelled lobster was delish and so was my juicy tenderloin.
Such delectable food, wonderful surroundings and most importantly ... the perfect company ... it was fitting to the occasion and a night to remember indeed.
A sweet celebration needed a sweet ending, so we shared a sinful but very delighful dessert. I couldn't remember its name but it was highly recommended by our waiter. Layers of different chocolates ... a charming combination of bitter and sweet much to our liking.
We called for the bill and was ready to leave when we had another lovely suprise. :) The restaurant knew we were celebrating our anniversary and they sent us a complimentary chocolate cake from their kitchen. It was a very thoughtful gesture and we had it packed to enjoy later.
Since the night was still young, we walked towards River Quay (mistaking it for Clarkey Quay :p). We passed by the Singapore Parliament, the majestic Fullerton Hotel and the regal Asian Civilisation Museum just to name a few.
The Parliament Building
The Fullerton with the Sands Marina at the background
The Asian Civilisation Museum
River Quay is mainly made out of seafood and Thai restaurants, bars and a couple of massage parlours ... all targetting the expats living on the island. Every restaurant we pass, their waiters / waitresses would try to lure us in to savour 'the best in Singapore'.
Friends of mine would know that this self proclaimed flogger can be a quite the glutton at times and I simply cannot resist seeing photos of succulent crabs. I've been wanting to try out Singapore's famous chilly crab and nudged Wifey if we should give it a go ... much to her shocking disbelief. Haha. She finally relented though as Wifey knows me best.
Sitting beside the waterway, it was soothing to hear the sounds of the water lapping in. We ordered the chilly crab of course with fried dumplings to go with the sauce and a portion of stir fried green veg. Two young coconuts were served as well and it was on the house *we're sucker for freebies* :)
We reckon the crab was so-so and I'd rate it at a modest 4/10. Well, to be fair, I'm sure it's not the 'best in Singapore' but at least it satisfied my craving for it.
Watcha lookin' at punk?!
After our 2nd dinner *burp*, we took a slow walk to the taxi stand and made our way back to the hotel to cap off a fantastic first day in Singapore. :)
2 comments:
Congratulations on your 1st year wedding anniversary dude!
Heya Mark,
How's it going? Thanks man
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