[Staycation] One Night Executive Room @ Mondrian Singapore Duxton

Read more about previous stay here. This time round, I chose the Executive room with hope to experience the premium Club Benefits. Similar to the Skyline room, the Executive King room is similar in size and layout.

Managed to check-in around 2plus in the afternoon after the lunch at Araya. 

first look at Executive King room

nice to have that space beside the bed to lounge around or to do work

Oh, looks like the welcome amenity (fruits?) has not been delivered to the room. 

coffee machine

love love Lavazza coffee capsules

tea for you?

The bathroom is smallish. The door to the bath area needs to be opened so that the water on the floor can dry up.

bathroom

The MALIN+GOETZ body wash and shampoo had lovely scent.

view from room

Took a 2 hours nap. I think I drank a tad too fast during lunch.

Went down to Christina's for evening cocktails and finger food.

evening cocktail menu

Looked like not many are at Christina's during the evening cocktail hours on a Thursday evening, or maybe the party was elsewhere?

truffle cheese sandwich, potato samosas and chocolate

Aperol Spritz

additional order of truffle fries (not part of the evening cocktail)

We enjoyed the truffle fries as it was served piping hot and well fried with crisp outer layer and soft insides.

fruits platter

dragonfruit

Got a complimentary slice of cake for my birthday, thanks to Mondrian Singapore!

yummy chocolate cake

Breakfast was a quick affair as there were people waiting outside for a table.

Still the same setup as per previous visit, so it'll be juice and porridge for me. Didn't take the coffee here as I still have the Lavazza capsules in the room.

favourite things for breakfast; porridge with scrambled eggs and condiments

watermelon, salad, cheese and tomyum fried rice with a sausage

I must say, the tom yum fried rice was tasty. 

It was a super short stay at Mondrian Duxton. Till the next time, take care!

A Quiet Lunch @ Araya Singapore, Duxton

My cousin-in-law recommended this place when I told her I was doing a staycation at Mondrian last year, so when the opportunity arises again, decided to give Araya a try.

Since I was available on a weekday, decided on the Business Lunch menu ($58++). A three-course menu comprising of bread, starter and a main. Decided to upgrade the starter to Rainbow Ceviche (+$12) and chose Duck as the main. Both the starter and main options were chosen as part of the reservation process. 

entrance

Was a few minutes early for the lunch appointment and was just looking at the entrance to figure out if this is the right place when suddenly the door opened, and the hostess gave out a soft greeting of "Hola~" Hehe, I guess she can see who's standing at the door.

Once the guest name was ascertained, I was quickly ushered to my seat. Ah, counter seats.

beautiful space

Once seated, Vikram introduced himself and I was presented with the business lunch menu and also the  beverage options. Empanada was highly recommended as additional add-on (+$12), so I went with the recommendation. 

Discovered that there is a wine package ($48++) that would be good pairing to accompany the food and for me to get acquainted with Chilean wines.

ready for lunch

Hand sanitizer was offered prior to the start of the meal.

Montes Sparkling, Central Valley Chile NV

just a little sip

fresh and crisp

my POV

LA PANERA / BREAD

with merkén chilli butter and cochayuyo seaweed butter

Chef introduced the merkén chilli in its ground(ed) form, and I also got to see it in its pepper form. 

merkén chilli

cacho de cabra

left to right: bocado de dama, marraqueta

interior of the marraqueta

Marraqueta has a crusty exterior much like a baguette. According to Wiki, marraqueta is the most widely consumed bread in Chile.

with lots of merkén chilli butter

The bocado de dama or nori-wagyu roll, is a soft roll flavoured with nori. I liked the softness of this bread. Both flavoured butter were lovely but my favourite was the merkén chilli butter with the soft roll.

cute tiny flowers - close up view of cochayuyo seaweed butter

cochayuyo (kelp)

Was rather intrigued by the cochayuyo on the table. Normally fresh kelp looks green in colour but cochayuyo is a brown kelp. 

Bread and butter, with sips of crisp Montes Sparkling Angel wine; was a good start. I had a few bites when the starter arrived.

ENTRADAS / STARTERS

RAINBOW CEVICHE

Ceviche Rainbow (+$12)

The Ceviche Rainbow dish has Hokkaido scallops, oca, daikon, leche de tigre and avocado sorbet.

oca (root vegetable native to the Andean highlands of South America)

Oca is said to be somewhat similar to small potato with a tangy, nutty flavour. Chef advised to mix everything together to enjoy the Rainbow Ceviche.

closer view of the scallops

The avocado sorbet was creamy and the sweetness from the scallops was made more prominent with the Sauvignon Blanc.

Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc (Casablanca Chile 2022)

CHEF'S FAVOURITES (Add-On)

EMPANADA

Wagyu beef, pebre (+$12)

PRINCIPALES / MAINS

DUCK

Duck (aged cacao sauce, seared foie gras, cherry chimichurri)

Los Vascos Cromas Carmenere Gran Reserva 2021

The cacao sauce was interesting tasting with more of the bitter profile at the fore, and balanced with the rest of savoury-sweet. Loved the lightly seared foie gras that's soft and wobbly texture, with that bit of crispy from the buckwheat. "It tasted like mini popcorn." I thought.

closer view of foie gras and duck

POSTRES/ DESSERTS (Add-On)

RHUBARB & WILD STRAWBERRIES 

Rhubarb & Wild Strawberries (+$12)

delightful morsels

The rhubarb dessert was not what I had expected initially (maybe I was thinking more of rhubarb pie or something?). It has a slight tartness and overall not too sweet. The dessert came with a small cup of sweet tea.

dessert tea

My first time having a cacao infused pisco and I liked it.

cacao infused pisco

Somehow, in Araya, one loses track of time. As the meal came towards an end, staff brought out the cake with candle and a continuation of well wishes.

happy birthday~

Thank you to all whom I met at Araya especially Vikram, Cecelia and the two lovely Chefs who emerged from the kitchen; lovely Chef who introduced the breads and another Chef who enquired on overall meal experience. Not forgetting Chef who was at the counter seats. 

Thank you for the good meal and for the well wishes.

chocolate bon bons (coconut coated was my favourite)

ps: I needed a nap after all the feasting and drinking

Araya

Address: Mondrian Singapore Duxton 83 Neil Road, Duxton Hl, #01-08 Access via, 089813

Website: https://www.arayarestaurant.com/

Contact: 88700871

Business Hours:

Sun: Closed

Mon: 5:30–11 pm

Tue - Sat: 12–3 pm, 5:30–11 pm

[Staycation] Rest for a bit @ Momentus Alexandra

Was initially offered a single upgrade to Premier room till I enquired if it was possible to be accorded the double upgrade. Staff did another round of checks and found a Club room that was still available. She shared that for that particular week, there was an influx of GHA Discovery members staying at the hotel.

Club Room

Club Room (24-square-metre)

view from room

The Club Room amenities are not included for the upgraded room and the minibar in the room was empty but no worries as one could walk over to Anchorpoint, which is just across the road, to stock up on drinks and snacks.

bathroom

Appelles products

toiletries

Alexandra Food Village

Went over to the newly renovated Alexandra Food Village and decided to snack on some sweet potato balls and as usual, got myself some avocado juice. I usually get the juice from the other stall where it is manned by a lady.

Walked past the Queenstown Famous You Tiao (stall #01-72) and since there was no you tiao at that time, I bought some sweet potato balls to try.

sweet potato balls

First time trying sweet potato balls and wow, these were so good! Soft and chewy on its inside, with almost a thin layer of lava and sweet. I thought six of these were nothing much but it was pretty filling. Ate it for lunch and tea-break.

GHA Discovery In-Room Amenity

GHA Discovery in-room Welcome Amenity

 

The in-room amenity was delivered later to the room (around 5+pm) and it was there jars of local snacks.

crispy broad bean snack

sweet peanuts

muruku

I remembered seeing these in the Club Lounge on previous visit. The muruku and broad beans were savoury and crispy. 

morning view

Breakfast at Verandah Rooftop Rotisserie

Went down to Level 7 for breakfast at about 9am and it is considered as 'off-peak' at this hotel. Think there were 2 or 3 staff manning the floor and none actually enquired if it was the guest first time at the hotel. Staff would just indicate where the guest would be sitting and that's about it. 

let's get seated

The coffee and juice machines are included in the breakfast buffet (unlike the semi-buffet lunch where one has to top-up for the coffee and juices). 

omellette station

ready eggs

fruits, carb and protein

orange juice, omelette porridge with creamed spinach

assortment of dumplings, rendang, fried rice and fried noodles

tag to indicate table occupancy

On first morning, the staff didn't place any tag to indicate the table is occupied and I ended up with the staff clearing away the table when I went away to get coffee. 

Free Shuttle Service

waiting outside the hotel for the shuttle bus

shuttle bus

The shuttle bus was pretty on-time as per the schedule. Took a short ride to Harbourfront and walked to Vivocity for some shopping and lunch. Went back to the same drop-off point to get a ride back to the hotel.

Bonus

wildlife spotted across the road