Qantas/BA lounge in terminal 1 – Singapore Changi Airport

Waiting for my Qantas flight from Singapore to London Heathrow, I went to the Qantas/BA lounge in terminal 1. With such hot and sticky weather in Singapore, my priority was first a shower before the flight, and second a light snack that would hold me over to breakfast – so I could get straight to sleep on the flight.

Snack

Happily, I had time for both. The shower facilities at Changi airport are excellent and refreshed, I had time to grab a quick snack before the boarding call. I had a couple of tuna/cucumber sandwiches and a small carrot cake. Both were freshly made, and tasted better than they looked. Perhaps not the best airline lounge food I’ve ever had, but quite reasonable for a person in a hurry and the freshness made up for the limited imagination.

Long Bar Raffles Hotel
1 Beach Road
Singapore 189673

Beautiful Raffles Hotel Singapore

Another interior view of Raffles Hotel

Anyone visiting Singapore should make at least one visit to the historic Raffles Hotel. I’ve been here before, but was travelling with some colleagues for whom it was the first visit. Finding ourselves nearby after the end of a business meeting, we decided to make a short visit to the Long Bar. The Long Bar is the birthplace of the Singapore Sling cocktail. Actually I don’t much like them – they’re too sweet for my taste, so I had a tiger beer instead. But despite the heavily touristic nature of the drink, it is still worth trying once.

Inside the Long Bar

Another view

Big box of peanuts

Another feature of the Long Bar is the tradition of serving peanuts in their shells. These have a nice flavour, quite unlike ready-roasted peanuts we’re more used to. At the Long Bar, peanut shells are just tossed onto the floor, which is a freedom difficult to get used to! Should you resist the custom though, and make a neat pile on your table, the next waiter to visit your table is just going to brush them off onto the floor in spite of you though, so you might as well just do it yourself.

Brizo Restaurant
Park Hotel Clarke Quay
1 Unity Street Singapore 237893

Our room rate at the Park Hotel Clarke Quay included a set three course lunch at the hotel’s Brizo restaurant. Sadly, we were not able to take advantage of that on more than one occasion. I say sadly, because (much against expectation for an “included” set meal), it was actually very good!

Seafood velouté

As starter, I chose a seafood veloute (the other option was a sort of pancake with kimchi – and I hate kimchi, so steered well clear of that). The veloute was very good, very creamy and smooth and served with just the right amount of seasoning.

Sirloin steak

The main course was a sirloin steak served with a balsamic sauce. What looks like mashed potato in the picture is actually humous – and a surprisingly good accompaniment. The steak, although not especially large, was tender and very nicely cooked.

New York cheesecake

Dessert was a New York cheesecake. Unlike the sort you get in London (which is the worst place on the planet for cheesecake, I think) this was not an overprocessed, sweet and gooey mess, but instead was textured and not overly sweet. A very nice end to a very decent meal. Service was friendly and efficient – what more to ask?

Cost & conclusion: There was no bill as the meal was included in the room price. Very recommended that you take advantage of this should you happen to stay in this hotel. Click here for a previous review of the Brizo, when we chose from the a la carte menu as lunch was not included on the day of check in.

Cafe Supunsa Thai Cuisine
30 Robertson Quay
Singapore 238251

Supunsa Cafe Thai Cuisine

The Cafe Supunsa is locate near Clark Quay, in a passageway leading to the restaurants behind Robertson Walk. It is a small and unimposing place, more diner than restaurant. It was clean, however, and the menu looked good – so we gave this a try.

There were four of us for dinner and we chose Pad See Ew (thick rice noodles fried with vegetables and chicken), Gang Keow Wan (traditional hot green curry), Gang Dang (milder traditional red curry) and Panang (a thicker red curry). Each of the curries was available with a choice of chicken, beef, pork, prawns or vegetables and priced between SG$ 10-12. We also took some spring rolls to share, and plain rice to accompany the curries.

Pad see ew

Gaeng Keow Wan

Gang Dang

Spring rolls

Well, the food in this little diner was very good indeed. Despite being “mild” the red curry was much spicier and flavoursome than the more westernised versions you find in London (whilst still being smooth and creamy). My colleagues reported the same with the green and penang curries, which led to us all leaving the restaurant as happy campers. As drinks we chose a variety of fruit juices, all of which were served nicely chilled. Service was friendly and quite quick (the place was not at all crowded).

Cost & conclusion: It was about SG$ 65.00 for the four of us (though I was not the one paying the bill), which I found to be excellent value within a touristic area. It is possible to eat much more cheaply in Singapore, of course, but compared to others in this area, the quality and value was very good. Definitely recommended if you like Thai food and are in the area.

Chameleon Japanese Restaurant
11 Unity Street #01-17
Singapore 237995

Chameleon Japanese restaurant

Chameleon Japanese restaurant

The Chameleon restaurant is located behind the Robertson Walk shopping complex, one of several restaurants on a large square that is also accessible from the river walk behind. The square is patrolled by marketers who do their best to draw you into the restaurants (be warned if you’re just browsing), but don’t seem to be affiliated to any particular one.

We chose this place for a restaurant mainly for speed and proximity to our hotel, and the Chameleon as its Japanese menu looked quite good.

Tori kara age

Looking just for some quick food, I chose tori kara age and a grapefruit juice. As you can see from the picture, the serving was fairly generous and came with a slice of lemon on the side. The chicken pieces had a slightly spicy coating and were just a little bit too dry for my taste, but otherwise inoffensive. The grapefruit juice was very good – not too sweet and with a nice amount of ice.

Cost & Conclusion: I was not the one to pay the bill. The service was friendly and prompt. Overall I would say the food here was uninspiring, but generally inoffensive. An acceptable alternative if you’re in the area and want something quick.

Other photos:

The Park Hotel Clarke Quay located close to the restaurant

Robertson Walk shopping complex - Fraser Place