Au Petit Salut (28jan12)

Went to Au Petit Salut on a Sat afternoon to celebrate Joanne's birthday. Pretty good ambience for a casual day-dining especially with the outdoor garden setting that is typical of many Dempsey restaurants. Not so practical in the day, of course, if you're familiar with Singapore's weather. Probably much nicer sitting out there in the night.

Felt like mentioning this restaurant as the food is up to standard, at a good price ($35 for a 3-course set lunch), and you could get wines at $7 per glass during lunches! Ok the cheap alcohol is the real pull factor. Good value food and drinks..me like :) Things that we tried that were not bad: homemade duck rillettes, braised lamb shoulder, seared Onglet beef and choux buns. The Burgundy snails were very lacking because of the weird tomato topping. Not recommended.

Name: Au Petit Salut (website)

Location: 40C Harding Road Singapore 249548

Expenditure: ~SGD$50 pp

Les Amis Simply Black (11Feb12)

The weekend before vday, S brought me to Les Amis for a very fun & fine lunch. Called SIMPLY BLACK, this exclusive blind tasting wine luncheon is only held every Saturday. Wines are carefully paired with your choice of 3 or 4-course menu. Simply black because the wines are served in black glasses! Interesting. You'll be surprised to find that in these special glasses, you won't be able to tell a white from a red. There was no wine top-ups, but we both love the novelty experience. Analysing wines over a nice meal surely makes for an intimate & enjoyable time together. On top of that, the food was really good. I know this is rare but the one course that left a deep impression on us was the "Fancy lemon tart"! Definitely something to crave for.

Name: Les Amis (website)

Location: 1 Scotts Road, Shaw Centre, Singapore 228208

Expenditure: At S' discretion :)

Banyan Tree Bintan (2-5Feb12)

A getaway for 10 adults and 4 kids

In celebration of S' birthday, our group of friends actually managed to find time and escape together on a holiday away from Singapore! First time in history I was told. Some stayed 3 nights, some 2 nights and others 1. In spite of that, everyone made the most out of it and had a most fabulous time. With all that drinking, snacking, swimming, poker-ing and tanning (ok that's just me), I'm sure this vacation is now etched deeply in our memories :)

All in all, we occupied 3 Sanctuary Pool Villas in Banyan Tree Bintan (~700usd per night per villa). Each of these villas consists of 2 bedrooms. We love the infinity pool that appears almost seamless with the sea (clearly evident in the photos). Two thumbs up for the view that indulged us.

It might have rained out the first day, but the pavilion (common area between the 2 bedrooms) was the perfect place to chill and 谈心. Presenting to you...everyone! Including JJ :)

The lobby and the signature Saffron Restaurant that serves good thai food.

Breakfast at Tree Tops. Outdoor seating offering an excellent view. We sat indoors so as to avoid the mozzies.. Love the free flow sparkling wine.

Being tropical and rustic means you get to see all sorts of insects and animals around. Here's a monitor lizard for you. Pleased be advised to keep all belongings kept behind closed doors in your villa at all times. We have been warned by the hotel staff that monkeys do sneak into your "home" in search for food. They can open packet chips and even canned soda. Won't be surprised if they took interest in your small electronics like handphones :S Anyway, found some kiwi remnants that might have been nibbled at by squirrels. Hmph.

What a nice setting for our in-villa bbq dinner. Food's not bad too although kinda ex. ~65usd pp. Nice bedroom decoration for S on her birthday. All of us were full of praises for the high level of service rendered during our stay.

Golf at Laguna Bintan Golf Club which is right next to the resort. See the many villas in the background? Ours is one of them. Last dip before heading back to sg...

End note: Banyan Tree is getting abit too old for its premium price so hopefully they'll do a full refurbishment soon. Certain facilities weren't functioning and we experienced a minor incident concerning safety. No complaints about the staff though!