Travel, Itineraries & Guides, Hotel Reviews
Park Hotel Group, the chain behind the Park and Grand Park hotel brands, has launched a new rewards programme for guests. Membership is totally free – anyone can join with immediate benefits even to base-level members.
I got to to see first-hand how this relatively new loyalty programme works via a recent stay at Park Hotel Clarke Quay. The property invited me for a stay but I extended my nights there on my own accord and used my membership in the process.
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There are times when I obtain the resolve to go somewhere just because of a picture that I’ve seen. That pretty much led me to Taiping, Malaysia; a seemingly nondescript town in between Penang and Ipoh. Taiping – translated in Chinese as “Everlasting peace” – is not a tourist town, with its claim to fame being the rainiest city in Peninsular Malaysia. This has benefited the town with an extremely verdant vegetation, the kind that even others from the tropics would envy over. As for me, all it took was one picture of the beguiling Taiping Lake Gardens, with its lush greenery and calm waters with almost perfect reflection for me to get smitten.
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Exploring Ipoh while on an impromptu heritage walk, I had my doubts on how such a sleepy town could actually be the 3rd largest city in Malaysia. Seeing Ipoh for the first time, I felt like I had stepped into a bygone era when people still traveled by rickshaws and opium dens were the order of the day inside the many Peranakan-style shophouses. The quietness of the old town’s streets coupled with the charming but crumbling colonial architecture only seemed to add to the allure.
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As of current, these are the routes and days when Singapore Airlines’ new A380 products will be made available. I will update this list as and when new routes and schedule changes are announced.
In case you missed it, Singapore Airlines announced in November 2017 a refurbishment of its A380 fleet which feature new suites class, business class, premium economy class and economy class seats. If you would like to try one of these seats, these are the flights where SQ deploys the relevant planes.
Singapore – Sydney – Singapore
SQ221 (SIN to SYD) – Daily
SQ232 (SIN to SYD) – Daily
Singapore – London – Singapore
SQ 322 (SIN to LHR) – Daily
SQ 317 (LHR to SIN) – Daily
Singapore – Hong Kong – Singapore
SQ 856 (SIN to HKG) – Daily
SQ 861 (HKG to SIN) – Daily
Singapore – Shanghai – Singapore (starting 2nd August 2018)
SQ 830 (SIN to PVG) – Daily
SQ 833 (PVG to SIN) – Daily
Singapore – Zurich – Singapore (starting 2nd August 2018)
SQ 346 (SIN to ZRH) – Daily
SQ 345 (ZRH to SIN) – Daily
Singapore – Tokyo (NRT) – Singapore (from 1st January 2020)
SQ 638 (SIN to NRT) – Daily
SQ 637 (NRT to SIN) – Daily
Singapore – Mumbai – Singapore (from 1st September 2019)
SQ 424 (SIN to BOM) – Daily
SQ 423 (BOM to SIN) – Daily
Xin Cuisine, the Cantonese restaurant at Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium, reopened in June 2019 after a few months of renovation. The restaurant’s kitchen underwent some refurbishment while the dining hall remained the same. Xin Cuisine has been around for some time now and is generally considered one of the more established Cantonese restaurants in Singapore. Along with its range of ala carte dishes, they also serve dimsum during lunch time – the latter which I’ve tried previously.
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Un-yang-kor-dai in South Bridge Road adds to the breadth of Thai cuisine available in Singapore with its offering of Isaan dishes and more mainstream Central Thai favorites. The Un-yang-kor-dai brand, which literally means “anything goes,” hails as a chain in Thailand where it traces its origins in Khao Yai. Having visited Isaan previously and well aware of the lack of Isaan cuisine in Singapore, I was quite curious to try them out after the restaurant sent me an invite for a tasting.
unyangkordai interiors
The Isaan region of Thailand is traditionally known as the country’s breadbasket. Agriculture is still the primary way of life for many residents there and the artwork in this restaurant reflects that simpler pace of life.
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El Mero Mero, the Mexican restaurant in Chijmes was established out of a gap that used to exist in Singapore for authentic Mexican fare. Going strong for a number of years now, El Mero Mero traces its origins just after the global financial crisis when a Mexican expat lawyer saw his company withdrawing its representative office in Singapore. What followed was a string of F&B concepts. Aside from El Mero Mero, the group also owns the Señor Taco next door.
El Mero Mero is literally a Mexican slang for “the main man” and with this name, the restaurant aims to be the go-to place for Mexican dining where Singapore is concerned. Make no mistake about it, this is not a taco joint. The experience here aims to be authentically Mexican – coming with the range that this cuisine isn’t always given due credit for.
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Tablescape at Grand Park City Hall recently welcomed a new chef, Armando Aristarco, who counts several years of experience working for fine hotels. I previously encountered him a couple of times while dining in LaBrezza. As I took to my seat in Tablescape, Chef Armando himself came out to say hi to diners. After I told him I tasted his cooking previously in LaBrezza, he was quick to point out that upon taking helm of the Grand Park City Hall restaurant, he has expanded his culinary offerings to continental fare. Indeed, Tablescape mixes both an old world charm with contemporary European cuisine. It is old-world because of the classical look of the place – think black and white and accented by a bit of beige in terms of the furnishings. Even the way certain dishes are presented reminds me of restaurants of yore. Tablescape has a bread cart filled with various selections of freshly baked buns and even has a dessert trolley topped with various sweet endings. Inded, this venue doesn’t delve too far from the grand proposition that the hotel housing it professes to deliver.
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