Beast and Butterflies - 2022 @ 90 Robertson Quay

Not a stranger to this place, read more from this post. Went back there in May 2022 with Tracy, Hence and Ivan. Our visit was more memorable as Fiona really made sure we had a good time there. Thank you!

It is quite obvious that my favourites there are the Hokkien Mee and Pork Knuckles. This time round, I wanted to try the lamb rack, so we got that too. Also took the chance to enjoy their weekend 2 hours free-flow cocktail with top-up of $25++. You could select the Mimosa, Aperol or Sangria. I tried the Sangria and I do agree with Fiona that the concoction is delicious!

Claypot Hokkien Mee @$14

Crispy Pork Knuckle @$22 (half portion)

Is it just me or the portion of the pork knuckles seemed to have decreased? Hahaa, I think I could do a full portion next time! Crackly skin and moist meat. Hokkien mee is as flavourful as I remembered it albeit it had lesser crispy pork lard but I am sure if you request for more, it will likely be acceded.

Lamb Rack (300gm) @$48

Lamb Rack was the most expensive item but it was pretty good and we liked it for its succulent texture. Well seasoned too, so each bite was precious. No additional sauce was required.

We were kept happy with our cocktail. Mood was light and jovial with a touch of sweetness, and Fiona did check on us to see if there's anything else that we needed.

Sangria

Of course, we ended our meal with dessert. Not just one or two, but four!

(from left to right) Molten Chocolate Cake, Apple Pie, Lemon Tart 

Pandan Panna Cotta @$12

The Pandan Panna Cotta has that distinctive pandan fragrance and the rich sweetness from the gula melaka sauce. It was wobbly and not too dense.

The Molten Chocolate Cake, I just love digging into all the chocolatey gooey goodness for that decadent bite. 

Molten Chocolate Cake @$17

For the apple pie, I liked the version here because it is not too sweet. Lovely to enjoy by yourself or with friends.

Apple Pie @$10

The lemon tart was lovely too with some tart/tangy/sweetness from the lemon flavours and to be honest, I think you can find something that you will like.

Lemon Tart @$8

Thank you Tracy, Hence and Ivan for the birthday treat. Am glad to have all of you in my life to enjoy the delicious food and our adventurous impromptu travels. 

Special shoutout to Fiona and team at Beast and Butterflies.

Beast and Butterflies

Address: M Social Singapore 90 Robertson Quay Singapore 238259

Website: https://www.millenniumhotels.com/en/singapore/m-social-singapore/beast-and-butterflies/

Contact: 9183 9420

[Tasting] Chef's Christmas Tasting Menu @ Grissini Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel (4 Dec 2020 to 1 Jan 2021)

For the festivities this year, why not indulge in a Chef's Christmas Tasting Menu? Each course in this set menu from Grissini was a treat, for the visuals as well as for the tastebuds.

One could opt for the 8-course, or the 6-course menu at $98++ or $78++ per pax. Book 3-days in advance to enjoy 10% off.

Come during dinner time and guests will be served with complimentary bread basket comprising of foccacia and multigrain breads. A trolley of olive oils and balsamic will presented to diners, and one could choose the dip of their liking. I had the house-infused olive oil with black balsamic.

of balsamic and olive oils

bread basket (served warm)

I enjoyed the warm breads and preferred the soft foccacia. The first course was served fairly quickly. One of the item from the 8-course menu is the Fresh Oysters, served in trios (yay!). The oysters were good.  Served in red wine vinaigrette, shallot, chive and lemon juice. High tangy.

Fresh Oysters (part of the 8-course menu)

plump, juicy and saucy, no need for extra lemon

Next, we had the tuna tartare. I had two variations of tuna tartare from Grissini before and this would be version 3.0. This version was the daintiest of all. 

Tuna Tartare

Not sure if I should mixed the tuna tartare but did that anyway. End result, was a genteel taste and loved the extra crunchy savoury lift that the croutons provided.

lovely starters

Next came the hot starter; Pumpkin soup. Sweetness was prominent, and liked the addition of orange in it. If you are worried if the soup will make you very full, the verdict was, it didn't. 

Pumpkin Soup

Then, we had the Eggplant Parmigiana. Now, I've had this before and looking forward to enjoying it again in this tasting menu.

Eggplant Parmigiana

Look at that. So so cute. Was fairly impressed when I started on the eggplant parmigiana. Maybe because of its smaller portion, the parmesan and mozzarella cheese became more pronounced. Loved the chewy, smokiness from the cheese and the softer texture of the aubergine.

For the next course, Gamberi e Caviale was served, on a bed of orange celeriac purée.  This is part of the 8-course menu. Enjoyable and finished in a few bites.

Gamberi e Caviale (part of the 8-course menu)

Before we dived into the main course, we were served the Lime Sorbet. 

Lime Sorbet

For main course, one could opt for the Josper-grilled Ribeye Steak or Kurobuta Pork Collar. I'd choose Ribeye Steak. Loved the smokey flavours and texture of the beef.

Josper-grilled Ribeye Steak

gorgeous

Had a burst of flavours with the Kurobuta Pork Collar too and that's when I happen to chew on a piece with fats. So good!

Kurobuta Pork Collar

go for the ones with fatty bits

And for the finale, we must have dessert and we're getting baked Alaska. If you loved the baked Alaska version served at the alfresco dining, you will be impressed by this special version served as part of the Chef's Christmas Tasting Menu. Tableside service to flambe this dessert, so get your camera ready.

Baked Alaska (before flambe)

light it up~

Chocolate ice-cream with passion mango compote and a marshmallow-like texture of the outer layer. 

dig in

For reservations, please call 8168 1539, email dining.gcw@millenniumhotels.com or click here 

Book 3 days in advance for 10% off, and do enquire by contacting the hotel/restaurant directly.

Have a Tasty Christmas, my friends!

Special thanks to Gilbert Ong, Lee Ji Cheng for the invite, and team Grissini at Grand Copthorne Waterfront for feeding us.

Grissini

Location: G/F Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, 392 Havelock Rd, 169663

Website: http://www.celebrateatgcw.com/xmas2020

Business Hours:

Daily - 12.00pm to 2.30pm, 6.30pm to 10.30pm

[Media] One Night Staycation in Loft Gallery Room @ M Social Hotel

Had a chance to spend a night in Loft Gallery Room at M Social Hotel recently, and I must say that the room gave quite the cosy romantic vibe. Room size of about  22 m² is not that big if we think about it, but it has an illusion of space since the design is in loft style.

Read more about my first staycation experience at M Social's Alcove Room here, and this was the second night and had the opportunity to roll about in Loft Gallery Room. The difference between Loft Gallery and Premier Loft Room, is the bed location. Mine is at the lower floor, and most importantly, next to the washroom. Bed that is near the washroom is an important factor for me as I age.

The Loft Gallery Room was at Level 7.

Loft Gallery Room

beautiful room

Similar to Alcove Room, it has a double bed with fluffy pillows that guarantees a good night sleep. Noticeable differences are the bigger space, availability of Nespresso machine, leather couch upstairs, and a sleeker bathroom door. If you are going solo, Alcove Room is adequate but if you're a couple, then Loft Gallery Room or Premier Loft would suit the mood.

I love my Nespresson

My favourite is the Lungo

Arpeggio - intense 

Similarly, the hotel had the Welcome Card and complimentary macarons ready in the room when you checked-in.

Welcome Gift for the Guest

ooh, different flavours of macarons

reading materials

something to read

bigger towel here

shower

As usual, the sink is outside of the bathroom. There is a complimentary care pack placed next to the sink area.

care pack

bottled water in the mini fridge

Let's head upstairs to check out the loft area (aka, let's watch TV!).

air cond controller at the start of the stairs

loving the groove

loft area

small work desk

view from upstairs

Video from the Loft:

When booking the room, one could opt for "Mix and Stay" package, the "Bottled Up Happiness Package" or the "Triple Treat Staycation", with varying prices. Be a My Millennium (the global guest loyalty programme of Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR)) member to enjoy discounted prices plus other benefits.

Did you know that My Millennium was recently crowned Best Loyalty Programme at the Loyalty & Engagement Awards 2020? Yes, it trumped shortlisted contenders from across South Asia,

Southeast Asia and ANZ regions to win Gold for Best Loyalty Programme – Travel/Hospitality and

Bronze in Best Regional Loyalty Campaign at the Loyalty & Engagement Awards (LEA) 2020 on 25

November 2020. Congratulations!

Here is the link to sign-up as a My Millennium member.

As part of the "Mix and Stay" package, guest could try their hands in making their own cocktail with Beast and Butterflies resident mixologist, Vladyslav Yesepiv. Guest would adjourn to the bar area to watch Vlad, demonstrates the basics of cocktail making and after which, it was up to us to dictate how our drink will turn out that night. Vodka as the base, with passionfruit liquer, and vanilla to mix. Nothing too complicated. And we got to play with 'fire' too.

cocktail making workshop

demo in progress

lime garnish is ready and torched

shaken, not stirred - you get to take home this complimentary M Social Cocktail Shaker

finishing touches

cheers~

After the workshop, guests could enjoy the cocktail that they had concocted as well as take the cocktail shaker home. Cocktail glass not included ya.

After the cocktail workshop, peruse the dinner menu at Beast & Butterflies which serves up delicious Modern Asian Cuisine. My personal favourite can be found here.

After dinner, please feel free to stroll around the hotel vicinity.

night view

The "Bottled Up Happiness" package is another popular staycation package where one gets to "Create your Own Perfume" with Maison 21G Singapore. Of course, you can bring your own bottled perfume with your unique scents, home.

Bottled Up Happiness Workshop

It was rather interesting to find out which scent suits my personality by taking an online quiz. Plus, there's a Day Scent as well as Night Scent. Wow. Pretty overwhelming!

Get busy in this workshop as you'll be curious to each of the suggested scents combination. A lot writing, spraying and sniffing.

combination

Finally, decisions. That was the hardest part as there could be so many scents combination that you may find it to your liking.

bottle it up, our own happiness - handmodel cr: @where.is.karl

finally

mine!

Thank you M Social Hotel, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, Gilbert and JC for the invitation and hosting the staycation.

I enjoyed my stay in Loft Gallery Room for its cosy compact design and good quality beddings. Shower strength was good and hot water comes about pretty quickly. Pro-tip: Keep the water running if you're lathered up otherwise, you may not be able to turn on the water in the shower with soapy hands.

In-room coffee (Nespresso) was good and recommend to get the breakfast with the room. Breakfast is of ala-carte buffet style, so one could eat to their fill. The eggs, and salad were really good. Not forgetting the cut fruits. I tried the nasi lemak and the sambal was nicely fragrant and not so spicy. Rice was served warm and loved the crunchy peanuts. Pro-tip: Do let the service staff know how you would like your eggs be done for the nasi lemak, otherwise, it will likely be served without any!

American breakfast from Beast and Butterflies

Set B - Nasi Lemak from Beast and Butterflies

The staycation workshops were pretty fun, and worth getting it together with the room. Plus, you get to enjoy the end product!

Till we meet again, stay tuned!

M Social Singapore

Address: M Social Singapore 90 Robertson Quay Singapore 238259

Website: https://www.millenniumhotels.com/en/singapore/m-social-singapore/