Monday, August 12, 2019

[Tasting] 25 Degrees Burgers and Liquor Bar

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Was invited to 25 Degrees Burgers and Liquor Bar recently. While I had been a customer at Ginett (am always lured by the concept of reasonably priced good wine with good food) prior, this was the first time am setting foot at this restaurant just next door to Ginett! Thanks to Jasmine for the invitation.


come on in

The Ambiance

25 Degrees possesses an old Hollywood charm in a casual setting. High ceilings, dark interior and classy American decor.


The Staff

The service staff at 25 Degrees are friendly and ever ready with a response to our queries. 


The Food


We heard that Cheesy Mac Attack is Back! This burger is not on 25 Degrees regular menu but was an earlier favourite, and was brought back due to customers' demand. How cool is that? Thanks to these loyal customers, we got to try this highly popular burger, once more.

Cheesy Mac Attack @$18

Oho, it was actually the perennial favourite of mac & cheese, battered and deep fried to golden brown to form the 'bun' to the burger. I see! Crispy, cheesy and beefy. We had all our burger patties done medium and it was flavourful and with some moisture retained. How does caramelized onions, bacon, nacho cheese, swiss cheese and thousand island sounds to you? If that doesn't scream creamy and  flavours, I don't know what will!

Best part? All of those and that little side of pickled gherkin, tomato slices and lettuce are priced at $18++.

yummy

I loved the Cheesy Mac Attack and can understand why many others do too. Crispy exterior with that familiar cheesy yums of mac and cheese inside the fried 'buns', smothered with thousand island and more melty cheeses along with the flavourful handmade beef patty, it was like having two favourites of mac and cheese and burger all at once!


happy hour, means need happy juice

For the kiddos, how about some milkshake to shake the blues away? We got one from the Classic selection and another that is more adventurous in nature. The Chipster is a vanilla based milkshake topped with potato chips. Think salty sweet mix. It tasted as it is. Milkshake and potato chips. Was happy that the milkshake here were not overly sweet and really enjoyable, if we do not have to care about the calories it packs...

Classic Chocolate Milkshake @$12++
The Chipster Shake @$16++

For some of us, we chose beer to wash down our burgers. One could get beer on tap (Kronenbourg Blanc or Calsberg) or bottled craft beers.

Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc @$16++ (1 pint)
Bevy of beauties @$16++ each

pour me some


Let's get some sides while we are at it. As the burgers does not come with any french fries, one could order a side of filthy/truffle/french or curly fries. We had the filthy fries that was topped with bacon gravy, caramelized onions and cheese.

Filthy Fries @$6++

25 Degrees Wings @$8++

The 25 Degrees Wings were interesting as it came topped with curly fries and had a coating of spicy homemade sauce that tasted like, some say sambal? Only mid-wings were used and these little wings were moist and flavourful. Seasoned pretty good.

The must order for the sides would be the onion rings. mMmmm, so good! The batter was good, the size of the onion rings were huge and outer was crispy while the inner was moist and sweet. Strongly recommended.

onion rings @$5++

so big!

Let's try some more burgers. We heard that Number One, and Number Three are the current crowd favourites while the new kid on the block was the Buttermilk Fried Chicken Burger. The burgers are priced at $14++ and one could opt to switch for gluten free buns at additional cost of $2++. We just got ours with regular buns.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Burger @$14++

The buttermilk fried chicken thigh was well fried and tasty but it turned soggy with the slather of spicy miso BBQ sauce. Decent but I preferred the beef patty burgers instead.

Let's bring out the beef burgers, shall we?

Contender Number Three would be the jalapenos, chipotle with the mezzo secco jack cheese versus the reigning champion, Contender Number One with its arsenal of caramelised onions, artisanal cheeses of cresenza, prelibato and gorgonzola, topped with bacon and the pepperish bitterish arugula and smacked with thousand island sauce.

Number Three (beef patty, roasted tomatoes, mezzo secco jack, jalapenos, chipotle, avocado)
Number Three unveiled
Number One

Much as I liked Number Three for its attempt at spicy smoky, Number One wins hands down! The combination of all its cheeses and that arugula with delicious beef patty, meant its overall tasty flavours were much more prominent and seriously good to munch on this one. Yums!

irresistible Number One

After all the good times, the one that I will miss the most, is still you; Cheesy Mac Attack. Hurry and get your hands on one before 31 August 2019!

Cheesy Mac Attack

Trivia (Value for $$ Alert!)

Did you know that 25 Degrees Burgers and Liquor Bar has a local breakfast set of kaya toast, poached eggs and free-flow brewed coffee for just $2.50 in the morning? Wah, I'd have to admit that's pretty good value!  It's even cheaper than the set offered at my workplace canteen and that's without the free-flow coffee, yo.



Once again, thank you Jasmine, R&B Lab and Hotel G for the invite and 25 Degrees Burgers and Liquor Bar for hosting the tasting.

Dinner with Kris (@msginginly), Alvin (@o_oican), Shermaine (@littletinysun), and Hence & Tracy (@chubbybotakkoala).


25 Degrees Burgers and Liquor Bar

Address: 200 Middle Rd, Hotel G - Singapore, Singapore 188980
Business hours:
Daily 7am to 3am

Sunday, August 11, 2019

[Influencer Takeover] The Grand Copthorne Waterfront Experience - 3 Days 2 Nights Staycation at La Residenza Serviced Suites

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Was invited to be part of the Influencer Takeover programme, and my segment was from 26 Jul to 28 Jul 2019. In case you haven't have a chance to view the postings on Grand Copthorne Waterfront social media channels, here's a list of it:

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0X6ILJnNW7/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0a5xhDnQWh/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0cuIF2nL97/

Facebook
Follow the hashtag #influencertakeovergcw


Grand Copthorne Waterfront - The Hotel

The hotel has 20 years of award winning hospitality under its belt and was recently conferred five prestigious awards by the International Hotel Awards 2019. Grand Copthorne Waterfront was also  conferred with a BCA Green Mark Platinum Award for Excellence in the Built Environment by the Building and Construction Authority (2015-2021). Wow, I was really eager to try out this award winning hotel.

entrance

The experience begins with the doorman (if he's not already occupied), whom will open your door upon your car's arrival at the hotel. Next, as one enters the hotel lobby, look up the ceiling and be mesmerized with the design feature called the 'Molo Clouds'. This feature was created to emphasize the spatial volume in the lobby.

Molo Clouds

I was to stay at the La Residenza and the front desk was a tad busy when I reached at about noon. Once it was my turn, check-in was fairly quick. I was escorted to Level 5 where the suites are located.


in the lift
Level 5 La Residenza Serviced Suites

Typically, guests who are on a mid to longer term stay would typically choose La Residenza Serviced Suites. Here's a short video on the one bedroom apartment that I stayed in.



complimentary fruits platter
living room

bedroom
bathtub view
Here's a look at the in-room amenities:

dryer and washing machine
kitchenette with the necessities

Am glad that the room came with a Nespresso machine. Must say that this machine was well utilized during my stay. Keke.

nice to meet you~

In-room Dining (Room Service via One Touch)


Tried the in-room dining twice during my stay at Grand Copthorne Waterfront. Simply flip the menu that's placed on the work desk and decide on what to eat. Then, press the 'One Touch' button on the phone to order. Simple!

menu for in-room dining
press the '1 Touch' to order

There is a waiting time between 30 to 45 minutes for the food to arrive. The food would be brought with a wooden tray and the drinks and food are covered. Was happy that the laksa arrived and was still fairly warm. The 'Super Laksa' is the luxury version of our comfort food with the inclusion of half lobster meat, 3 medium sized prawns and 3 scallops. The usual ingredients of cockles, beansprouts, taupok and fishcake slices are still there. There was a mountain of rice vermicelli (thick beehoon) as well!

Super Laksa @$32
closer view of "Super Laksa"

Also tried the 2-course meal for in-room dining. Ordered the beef tenderloin as main course and the Thai fishcake as appetiser.

2-course meal @$32
Homemade Fishcake with Mango Relish
Australian Beef Tenderloin (medium rare)

The portion for the appetiser was surprisingly big. There was five pieces of fishcake and I was wondering if it was meant to be shared? The fishcake was of a dense bouncy texture and rather spicy. Nice but too much for one pax to finish.

The beef tenderloin was leaning towards medium and served with grilled asparagus and truffled mash with rosemary sauce. The beef was tender and loved the sauce provided. The truffled mash was well seasoned and flavourful. The asparagus was good too!

with sauce


Executive Club Lounge Access


For canapes and free-flow drinks (selected) in the evening, I could go up to Level 29 where the Executive Club Lounge is located.

Executive Club Lounge - evening view
enjoy canapes and Prosecco
after sunset, view from Level 29 Executive Club Lounge

Activities/Tour

If you're looking to join a tour for some activities after sun down, then head on to Level 3 where Tour East Lounge is located.

Tour East Lounge at Level 3
book your tour here
I chose the Nightout @ Marina Bay tour which is retailing for $68 per adult. The tour includes a pickup service from Grand Copthorne Waterfront hotel and drop-off at selected hotels within the vicinity, admission to one conservatory at Gardens By The Bay (Flower Dome or Cloud Forest) and admission to Sky Park MBS.

hotel pickup
first view of the SuperTree
admission ticket
Flower Dome - Baobab

orchid as our national flower, is the theme for August to celebrate Singapore National Day
hello Miss Joaquim
SuperTree Grove night show
passing by Singapore Flyer while walking to MBS
let's go!
the view from Level 56 (MBS Skypark) - was there at the SuperTree Grove earlier!

Guests staying at Grand Copthorne Waterfront would be the last passengers to be dropped off. Reached hotel at about 1020pm. Can't wait to go back to the comfy room and bed!


Stroll Along the River

In the morning, one could take a slow stroll or an adrenaline pumping morning jog along the river.

morning view
walked across the bridge
the view from the bridge
information
boat ride


Breakfast Option

Food Capital

If you fancy buffet style breakfast, then head on down to Food Capital to start your day with a good variety of breakfast foods. Bread? Cereal? Oats? Nasi Lemak? Eggs? Fruits? They have it all.

Food Capital
croissant for you?
sunny side-up, bacon, chipolata
an omelette for me please
breakfast at Food Capital

Executive Club Lounge

On Day 2, I'd decided not to buffet but instead to check out the breakfast at Level 29 to see what's in store. Hmm, decided to just get the french toast and the scrambled eggs.

self-service counter of the usual breakfast items; oat porridge, sunny side up, bacon, chipolata
breakfast menu
French Toast, with maple syrup drizzled
scrambled eggs (with added salt and pepper)
morning view

Grissini Contemporary Italian Grill Restaurant

For lunch options, I headed to Grissini as they were having a "Farm to Table Lunch Special". Guests could pick up the freshest agriculture produce imported from Italy. The colourful fruits and vegetables were on display when I visited.

"Farm to Table" menu
pick me
colourful diet

Farm to Table Lunch Special

ready to dine

Here are my personal favourites:

Heritage Italian tomato salad served with fresh burrata cheese and basil oil @$19
Italian Cantalupo melon served with traditional cold cuts, cheese and valeriana salad @$15

The burrata cheese was creamy and paired so well with the tomato salad that's sweet and tangy. The fig and the melon were so sweet!

The most interesting item to me was the Finochi gratinati, stated as fennel bread and baked with safron sauce.

Finochi gratinati @$18

a well grown fennel!
delicious wines

Overall a pleasant experience though there were a few feedback for improvement. For the summary of the experience, please visit the Grand Copthorne Waterfront's Facebook page for the original posts.

Thank you Grand Copthorne Waterfront for the opportunity to experience your hospitality. Happy 20th Anniversary!

Special thanks to Gilbert and Ji Cheng for the invitation.

Promotion

Promotion for a Staycation River Package, please click here, Please refer to the hotel website for further details. Happy staycation!

Grand Copthorne Waterfront

Address: 392 Havelock Rd, Singapore 169663
Websitehttps://www.millenniumhotels.com/en/singapore/grand-copthorne-waterfront/?cid=gplaces-grand-copthorne-waterfront
Contact: 6733 0880
 
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