This year, Mr Milo’s birthday was celebrated in a big way.
Part I
Firstly, his birthday fell on a Thursday this year. As I had a class with The Learning Point(7.30-9:30pm), we were only able to celebrate it with a the mango cake I baked him at the end of the day, and not with dinner.
Part II
One of the entitlements of the Astor Card membership I bought earlier in the year was a night’s stay in St Regis. So I reserved a room for the two of us on Sat 30 May 2009.
We checked in at the reception (sit down check in) and were shown to our room (602) with a view of Tanglin Road. Although a standard room for the hotel, it was not a standard room by our standards. We explored our abode for the next 24 hours while waiting for the butler to appear and tell us it’s features. At the entry way was a well-stocked minibar (with champagne, no less. Coke was $14, twice that of the Ritz-Calton which we complained about some years back).
To the left of the entry way was the marble-lined bathroom, with double sinks, a standing tub, TV in the wall, shower and WC. The toiletries supplied (shampoo, conditioner, shower scrub and body lotion) were mid-sized bottles of the in-house spa’s (Remède).
Straight on from the entry way was the room. It had a long wall of full-length windows, with a settee and coffee table to the right, and an armchair and footstool to the left. On the coffee table was a plate with 3 very yummy cookies.
On the right wall was the entertainment centre, with a 42-inch plasma TV taking pride of place. Hidden in the built-in cabinet under the TV was the Bose sound system and 2 CDs – Harry Connick Junior and Fredrika Stahl. Continuing from this cabinet was the desk with a very lovely lamp and the IP phone JH was very interested in because NLs and their partner did not get the job.
On the opposite wall was the extremely comfortable king-sized bed. On the wall behind the head-board were fabric panels, one of which was (hand?) painted with flowers and birds. The bed had very smooth sheets, a luxurious duvet and 4 long pillows.
On the wall against the bathroom was the built-in 4-door wardrobe, with doors that could be tucked away. I liked the fact that the platform for luggage that is found in every hotel room is hidden in the wardrobe. This makes the room very neat and uncluttered.
When the butler arrived, he explained the lighting system of the room and recommended the Immortal Moments tea. The tea, when he brought it in, was very fragrant. It is by TWG, and I believe they have a counter in Takashimaya. It went ver well with the cookies.
From 5:30 to 6:30 pm, hotel guests are invited to a wine tasting session at the Decanter bar. They had 4 whites and 4 reds for us to sample, together with cheese, nuts and fruit. The whites were a French Chardonnay, a German Riesling, another French wine (???) and an Italian (???). I preferred the Chardonnay. Very light and bright, with a hint of dryness. The Italian was interesting – stronger taste. The reds were a South African Pinot Tage (sp?), a Pinot Noir, and two others I have forgotten. We liked the Pinot Noir best. We were entitled to 2 tasting glasses of white and two glasses of red each, so between us, we tried all 8 wines. ;)
After the wine tasting, we made our way to the Mandarin Oriental where we had an 8pm reservation with Morton’s that the butler/concierge at St Regis helped us to set up. We left St Regis rather early, immediately after the wine tasting, wisely, as it turned out, given the traffic. As we still had some time, we visited some shops on the way to the hotel. Turns out that due to the renovations to Marina Square, there is no longer a direct entry into the hotel from the mall. I suppose this is better for security, although we got rather lost.
Morton’s of Chicago is on the 4th floor of the Mandarin Oriental. We were greeted by the Maitre De (sp?) who showed us to our table, which was a booth. What was different, and nice here was that instead of having the guests scoot unceremoniously (and very ‘unglamly’) along the seat, they actually pull the table out so that we can walk right up and take our seats. Our server came along shortly, and informed us of the meat, seafood and vegetable selections available to us. Unfortunately, his accent was very strong, and he rattled off too quickly for us to digest everything he said.
We ordered the “slightly smaller” single cut filet mignon (medium well) and the normal sized rib eye (medium), with sides of sautéed garlic butter mushrooms and steamed fresh broccoli, and an upside-down apple pie for desert. We wanted to order the prime rib, but it was out of stock, so our server suggested the rib eye instead. Before the mains came, we were served an entire onion loaf. It was very delicious and we had to control our intake for fear of not being able to finish our food later. The steaks were very good. The main difference between the filet mignon and the rib eye was that the former was very tender, and the latter extremely flavourful. In all, the dinner was very good.
We had some trouble falling asleep despite the wonderfully comfortable bed and the recommended white tea, so we had a nightcap of yummy hot chocolate.
The next morning, we had breakfast at Brasserie Les Saveurs(included). Mr Milo had the Eggs Benedict, and I, the Healthy Eggs Benedict, together with the buffet selection. After resting in the room and letting the food digest, we went down to the pool for a swim, and then enjoyed the Wet Lounge at the Remède Spa, which had a Sauna, Steam Room, Jacuzzi (2 – one indoor, another out), 2 heated marble seats, a spa garden, a sensory lounge and an Ice Fountain (ice chips to rub over your skin after using any of the above-mentioned heat treatments.
Just before checking out, we shared another pot of Immortal Tea, and then met Dad and WL for lunch at the nearby California Pizza Kitchen.
All in, a wonderful, relaxing weekend.
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