Staycation #9 & #10 at MBS

After checking out from Park Royal Pickering, we only stayed at home for a night before checking into MBS again. For our last two staycation at MBS this year, we had dinner at Lavo and Oscar's. I did not take any photos at Oscar's though as I was fighting another war with my tummy that night. 

Just outside the restuarant

Complimentary starters

The awesome view after sunset

Many people taking photos at the deck

LAVO is also on the 57th floor of MBS like Spago, but it was at Tower 1 and Cie La Vi is another restaurant at Tower 3 (which we did not manage to book this year). These restaurants take full advantage of the height and good view on the top of MBS and setting up their roof top bar/restaurants there. Honestly, before this bout of staycation, I did not notice there were three different restaurants. 

Our booking at LAVO was at 6.30pm but we went down slightly earlier as we were quite hungry. Unlike Spago fine dining setting, this was more casual american italian place. I have to say the setting was casual but the service was really good and the view was superb so I dont mind visiting again. It is also a good place just to get a drink with friends at sunset. 

It was warm when we just arrived as the sun was setting, there were a couple of girls drinking on the deck but most people were sitting indoors to avoid the glaring sun. As time got closer to 7pm, it got cooler and more people gathered on the deck to view the magnificent sunset. There were many people taking photos as well, so we finished our food and went out to snap some pictures. 

Staycation #8 Last day at Park Royal Collection Pickering

P looked happy with his food

 

The rice made the difference for P

The spread

On the last day, we went down to Lime restaurant for breakfast and the service there was really better than in the lounge. For our hotel package, we were entitled to late checkout at 4pm, so it was just a day of more napping and nuahing and watching Netflix since its staycation and my stomach was still giving me issues. In the end, we checked out at 1.30pm as P was expecting a parcel to arrive at home and I also decided that it was time for me to see a GP to treat my digestive issue. 

There was a short queue at checkout as the process was not as fast and painfree as the keydrop at MBS. Anyway, we charged our dinner at Lime to the room so we also had to do a proper checkout at the counter. 

Staycation #7 of 2020 (Dinner at Spago)

Two days ago, we were back in MBS again. Most of the times, we stayed in Tower 3 and in Deluxe rooms and this time we were allotted a Premiere Room in Tower 1. It came with a nice bathtub and very spacious sofa area overlooking the city.

The spacious room

P had the time to soak in the bathtub

I was busy with meetings and stuff the whole day while P went off earlier to check in and enjoyed his time soaking in the bathtub. This time round, we tried out the roof top bar on the 57th floor in Tower 2 for dinner, just to experience something different. Spago is actually the regular breakfast place for people staying in MBS, but we always had our stays without breakfast included. Spago is also under Wolfgang Puck so the decor and menu were quite similar, although CUT is the one with one michelin star and specialising in steak. 

The set menu (3 course dinner)

View outside (Cant see this when inside the restaurant)

Complimentary starters like CUT

P's first course was grilled octopus which was super tender

My first course was a huge piece of grilled eggplant

We gave wagyu a chance

My main course was crispy scale sea bass

Souffle with sorbet and cream

As it was fine dining and P was dressed rather casually in his sports berms, the staff at the reception had to check if we are allowed into the restaurant. They seemed to be quite okay about it but P went back to get changed since we were just staying in the hotel.

The menu was rather simple, just like CUT, there was a choice of 3 course set meal or ala carte menu with almost the same dishes. Of course, the set dinner was much more worth the bucks as it cost almost the same to order just the main course on its own. In my previous post, we did mention that the steak at CUT was not up to our expectations. We decided that we have to give it another try and order Wagyu this time, since the previous time we only had sirloin. Somehow I was in a steak eating mood after Sen of Japan. The 3 course set dinner cost $65++ but there were quite a few options for each course that we could order with top up prices and of course the Wagyu steak was one of those. It cost a whopping $150 whether ala carte or part of a set menu and we decided to just go for it. 

As like CUT, they served up a dish of bread and atas butter and these were warm and delicious. We were trying not to eat too much of those as it filled up our stomach and we couldnt finish the steak the previous time. They also offered some warm puff with mushroom fillings and we slowly finished some of those as the food took quite sometime to arrive.

The first course were served and it was presented in fine dining artistic way like some artwork. P topped up additional $10 for the grilled octopus and it was really tender and nice. It went well with my grilled eggplant. Finally, the main course was served and I have to say wagyu steak at Sen of Japan was definitely better and cheaper. The doneness at Spago was quite okay but it was just not as fatty and tasty as what we were expecting, especially since this is the most expensive steak we have ever had. My crispy skin sea bass was not too bad though. 

P always order rice and mashed potatoes for his steak so our server asked the kitchen to get us some complimentary rice and we ordered this dish call pommes aligot which is basically cheesy mashed potatoes. The dish was not bad but it was super duper cheesy and the cheese was overpowering the potatoes taste so it got quite 'jelak' after awhile.

They served up dessert with candle for P as we mentioned we were celebrating his birthday. Both of us got the standard souffle dessert without topping up for alternative choice. The souffle came out piping hot, it looked like a brown sugar cake but it was very soft once we dig our spoons into it. It goes well with the cream and ice cream sorbet that came along with it. It's nice but also get a bit 'jelak-y' after awhile. I would say the dessert option at CUT was better.

Our bill came up to $300 and I think if we were to go back Spago, the 3 course dinner was okay for the set meal price to enjoy some fine dining. I wouldnt top up or try the steak again, we'll just stick to other dishes for the ambience and great service. When I first sat down, the main wait staff asked me if I wanted still water or sparkling and for the whole night we were expecting charges for the still water as it was served out of VOSS (P even ask them for the bottle). To our surprise, it was complimentary.