Our third anniversary (Part 2)

We were looking forward to Part 2 of our staycation as this time round we were more prepared and were ready to have a blast. P surprised me by requesting for a room on the higher floor (32nd floor) and facing the city. The view was truly awesome and breathtaking. We actually took time off from work to collect the renewed LTVP from ICA prior to this so we were earlier this time round. We checked in around 4pm and were in the room resting for a bit before we decided to head down for a early dinner (as both of us were famished after check-in). 

Awesome view from our room

P meant to take this pic as a trial for his tons of photos

The premiere room looked even bigger than our previous stay 

Even though it's really odd for us to do staycations during weekedays when we're working, this FOC offer is too good to be missed. Too bad we had to redeem it within the month of August as there's some school holidays coming up in September and October which will be a better timing for us.

Rare for us to dine at Michelin star restuarant

We had the early cuts

This time round, I planned for dinner early and booked a table at Wolfgang Puck since I've been wanting to try a Michelin Star restaurant for the longest time. It's a splurge but the price was slightly cheaper since we're going for the early cuts which ends at 7pm. Our initial booking was at 6pm but I called from the room to change it to 5pm. The whole restaurant was dark as the light was dim and there were only a few groups of patrons when we went in, but it slowly filled up until we left at almost 7pm. I would say the service was top notch as there were many servers hovering around to serve us with big smiles and they were really attentive. I decided to give P a treat as he really loves steak and this will be a really awesome meal. 

Complimentary bread from the restaurant

Soup with lobster bits

Sirloin steak with sides (creamy spinach and fries for me)

The dessert came with a card

I was hungry when we sat down even though we pushed the appointment earlier so I ate quite a bit of the bread and starters, in the end I did not even finish the smallish piece of steak. CUT is famous for its steak but we found it just average (we didnt order wagyu due to the price) and the nicest part was really the dessert and service. P decided he wouldnt want to visit again as our bill came up to near $300 for quite average steak. No surprise as he didnt appreciate the expensive Japanese ryokan kaiseki dinners too. After the dinner, the friendly servers came around and asked if we wanted to order some tea. We were wondering if it was complimentary but still went ahead to order anyway, and it added a little to the bill as each pot of tea was around $20. We were too shy to ask! 

Complimentary macarons

Late night supper

We were really full and sleepy after the dinner so we went back to the hotel and knocked out into a nap. We had a swimming pool booking at 9.30pm till 10.30pm (the last slot) and P was really keen to go for a dip so we dragged ourselves up and went for a quick dip at 10pm. I thought it was quite a hassle to change and lug back the wet swimsuits just for the quick 5 minutes in the book. After we washed up, it was past 11pm and P felt hungry as we had dinner early, he was specifically craving for char siew bao. He first went down to the MRT station as we remembered there was a 7-11 there and they might have some food there, but alas the 7-11 was closed as the last train service had left. We decided to get room service instead, the food was actually not too bad and P brought the remaining pizzas back to school in the morning to heat them up for breakfast. 

Our third anniversary

Our third wedding anniversary fell on a Wednesday this year and we tried to book a staycation for the long weekend right after our anniversary, but the hotels we were looking at were fully booked. Seems like everyone is rushing out to get a breather! I was trying to look for a nice hotel buffet dinner but there wasnt a good timing left for us as buffet dinner is basically ala carte style nowadays so the capacity is reduced. On that day, I had tuition in the evening as usual and we had a simple home cooked dinner to celebrate after that. After tuition, P suddenly whipped out a bouquet of roses and it was a pleasant surprise as he usually dont buy me flowers. On my birthday this year, I received a bouquet of roses and I thought it was already quite rare and he did it again! :D

Surprise bouquet from P

My anniversary bouquet next to my birthday flowers

 

Dinner at the Canopy

 

Two days after that, we had a day off as it was Hari Raya Haji. We walked to the nearby The Canopy at Bishan Park where I booked seats for dinner. Just a few weeks before our anniversary, I met up with some friends for dinner there and realised that the food was pretty good. The steak was nice but it seemed that P was not impressed enough for us to visit the place again so soon.

Not a long queue for check in 

A week after that, we celebrated National Day and it was a long weekend as well. There are still a few school holidays coming up for us teaching folks but the next public holiday is going to be Deepavali in November. Shortly after National Day, P received some promotion message offering us two nights of free stay at MBS and it's totally FOC, just that the dates for staying is really weird, like Monday till Thursday. We decided to take it up since its free, even though we had to check out early the next day to get to school. We chose two separate Mondays for the stay and we did the first staycation a few days ago on 17th August. I was actually looking forward to the staycation prior to that, its like a belated anniversary celebration for us.

Complimentary drinks and snacks for us

We took all the snacks and teabags

View from the room was awesome

This was taken by P

Unfortunately, we had a WPS session in school and only left school fifteen minutes before 5. Looking at the people checking in, there were not many people with luggages so I guess most of them are locals like us doing staycations. The room was nice and it has a awesome view, the other time we stayed in one of those rooms was a few years ago when P's mum was here and we decided to book a night to let her enjoy the pool and the view. 

Pool was closed for cleaning on rainy day

We were hungry after check in but we decided to visit the infinity pool before going for dinner. Due to COVID and safe management measures, we realised we had to book a slot to visit the pool as the number of people is restricted. The slots were already full for that evening but the staff told us we could try our luck and check if there's availability. We walked to the other end to take a look at the sky deck but it started drizzling soon. I would say MBS is doing quite well in managing the crowd and putting in place extra measures. There were staff stationed at all exits and entrances to ensure everyone do their safe entry/exit, so I had to get my IC/ phone ready all the time. 

Pepper lunch

Fond memories of Italy

We went to the atas MBS food court as P had some vouchers he could use to redeem for food. We had Pepper Lunch set meals, the steak was alright for a free dinner but I decided to book Michelin star Wolfgang Puck early cuts for our next staycation there two weeks later, I'm so looking forward! I had no idea we have a few Venchi outlets here in Singapore, the staycation really brought back fond memories of Italy and we shared some gelato from Venchi after dinner. We bought some snacks from the 7-11 at the MRT station and went back to the hotel room quite early after that to chill.

I almost fell asleep while I laze on the bed but had to drag myself up to shower. We wanted to have an early night and decided to off the lights and rest around 11.30pm. Strangely enough, I could usually sleep quite well and easily no matter where I am but I had a hard time falling asleep that night. I realised the soundproofing was not too great as I could hear the people in the next room laughing and talking away till late night. I wondered why they gave us the rooms just next to each other when most of the rest of the rooms were unoccupied. I think I only managed to fall asleep at 2am++, after I off all the lights in the room and tried my best to sleep. Fortunately, it did not really affect me at work the next day though I felt quite tired and sleepy and knocked out once I reached home on Tuesday. 

Happy National Day Singapore (55 Years of Awesomeness)

The flag that came with the fun pack

Each household received one of this, very apt for COVID days

Love my place so much, with fireworks right at the door step

Viewing the mobile column earlier in the day

Showing the sunset view from our balcony

 

National day was over a week ago and it was a long weekend, however the we did not get the school holiday off this year since the actual day was on a Sunday and we only had the Monday off in lieu. We did not get a half day off after the school celebration either since the eve of National Day was on Saturday this year. It was no biggie since we could not travel this year, I realised we had been spending most of our National Days abroad and this is the only year we have so many Singaporeans celebrating National Day in Singapore. The National Day Parade was scaled down to a small morning parade but many people (esp those with kids) were excited with the mobile column segment and the fireworks segment in the neighbourhood. I was lucky enough to see both from my balcony.