Address: Level 5, Premier Wing, Carlton Hotel, Singapore 189558
Contact: 6339 6966
Opening Hours: Mon - Sun 10:00 am - 11:00 pm
Website: http://www.lifespa.com.sg/
Carlton Hotel is located right opposite Raffles City, where the nearest MRT station is City Hall. There are several parking options. For a Saturday day-parking, Carlton Hotel carpark charges $3 per hour, we parked our car at Odeon Towers instead, which is situated right next to Carlton Hotel, as it charges $2.20 per hour. The cheapest option is to park at Bras Basah complex that charges $2 per hour.
Anyway, I did a lot of research on Spas in Singapore. The one that I liked the most, judging on the reviews online, is Ikeda Spa at The Central which is rated No. 1 in TripAdvisor. However, the price of the package was way over my budget so I did not pick that in the end. We ended up going to LifeSpa Prestige at Carlton Hotel.
Before entering the room, you will need to fill up a form with your particulars as well as your preference on the pressure of the massage and which part of the body you would like the masseuse to pay more attention to.
We got a private room for the both of us. Upon entering, the masseuses will let you know which bed is yours and will advise you to change into the disposable underwear they provided.
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| Jacuzzi bathtub which we did not use |
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| Locker to place your clothes and bags |
The massage was okay for me, enjoyable and painful at times. I did get some bruises on my left thigh (which I discovered one day later) as the masseuse used quite a bit of force. Is that normal???
After the massage and scrub was done, we were ushered to a lounge where hot ginger tea was served. Here comes the inevitable sales talk.. Helen, the sales executive at LifeSpa, was a little pushy but she did not give any attitude after we rejected taking the package in the end.
My first spa experience was alright, not very impressive. I should have paid > double for Ikeda Spa, I bet it would be a better experience. Next time then!
Singapore Botanic Gardens
The car park nearest to the Visitor Centre was "full" (though the indicator displayed "2" and there were 3 guards preventing vehicles to even enter the car park to wait for a slot. We were forced to park our car at the public carpark next to Raffles Building. If you know the Botanic Gardens well, it would be a longer walk and it wasn't fun to walk in heels from the car park to EJH Corner where Corner House is.
As we were there early, we walked towards the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage, right next to the Symphony Lake. There was a symphony performance at the stage with a huge crowd - that explained the car park situation. I think we should come back more often as Botanic Gardens is lovely and peaceful park.
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| Couple reading on the grass patch with symphony playing in the background |
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| Beautiful flowers |
Corner House
Address: 1 Cluny Road, Singapore Botanic Gardens, E J H Corner House, (Nassim Gate Entrance), Singapore 259569
Contact: 6469 1000
Website: www.cornerhouse.com.sg/
Ranked no. 17 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, our expectation for the food and service standards of Corner House was very high.
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| Elegant colonial bungalow |
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| Didn't know they have buggy services! Should have asked them to pick us up from the car park =P |
I made a reservation at 6.30pm. We arrived at 6.29pm and waited for about 5-10mins before we were ushered into the restaurant. We had a greatly positioned dining table for 2 right at the corner, with me facing the 'nature'.
The menu comprised of 3 different sets. No ala carte option is available. Looking through all the menu, we picked the 4 course set and 2 glasses of rose wine.
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| Very fragrant hand-churned French butter |
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| Sea salt flakes |
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| YUMMY! |
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| Oyster leaf? If I never hear wrongly. |
As we were chatting halfway, I spotted a squirrel climbing up and down the tree right behind! It was so adorable! That's the excitement of dining in the 'woods'.
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| Squirrel spotted!!! |
Appetizer
He ordered Carabinero prawn with variation of best season tomato, vintage sheery and Kirstal de Chine caviar. As I am allergic to prawn, I only tasted the tomato and caviar. I love the presentation of the dish using Chef Jason Tan's personalized plate. Oh and the caviar was DELICIOUS!
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| Carabinero prawn, variation of best season tomato, vintage sheery and Kirstal de Chine caviar |
I ordered 3 artichoke salade with Violet, Jerusalem, crosnes, cured duck, Riesling, grapes, hazelnut, black truffle. Yes BLACK TRUFFLE!! My appetizer was simply fantastic! He even mentioned that he would pick this instead of Carabinero prawn which costs $22++ more! Ha!
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| 3 artichoke salade, Violet, Jerusalem, crosnes, cured duck, Riesling, grapes, hazelnut, black truffle |
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| Close up of 3 artichoke salade |
Starter
Both of us selected Oignon doux des Cévennes, 62 degree egg, buckwheat, noisette crouton, as our starter. The first mouth tasted heavenly! Almost every other table took this dish as the starter too. As this was a little creamy, I got slightly 'sick' of it when I was about to finish. Nevertheless, it was nearly perfect.
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| Oignon doux des Cévennes, 62 degree egg, buckwheat, noisette crouton |
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| Omg <3 |
Main
Again, we decided to go for the same dish - Japanese A4 Toriyama beef with horseradish, macadamia, black radish, shallot and soy caramel; medium rare for me and medium for him. Love the marbling of the beef! The main dish was up to our expectation. Thumbs up (Y)!
So far, the only beef that nearly made me tear was the one I had at Pollen for my birthday in 2014.
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| Japanese A4 Toriyama beef, horseradish, macadamia, black radish, shallot, soy caramel |
Palate Cleanser
First palate cleanser dish we encountered after so many fine dining experience. We initially thought they gave us the wrong dessert. How foolish of us, hahaha.
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| Something poached pear... |
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| Closer look at the palate clenaser |
Dessert
He ordered My Kaya Toast (Pandan, coconute, gula melaka, muscovado sablé and pineapple) as his dessert and thankfully, the staff remembered my remark when I made the reservation - writing 'Happy Birthday' with a candle on his dessert dish. 10 points for Corner House.
I laughed at him for ordering a Kaya Toast for his dessert and I was so wrong. My Kaya Toast was unbelievably amazing. I could never imagine that being a 'kaya toast'.
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| My Kaya Toast, Pandan, coconute, gula melaka, muscovado sablé and pineapple |
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| My Kaya Toast, Pandan, coconute, gula melaka, muscovado sablé and pineapple |
I ordered Chocolat "Earl Grey yin zhen" with 40% Jivara, 70% Guanaja, yuzu, pistachio, kumquat. My dessert was yummy as well, still, My Kaya Toast wins it hands down.
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| Chocolat "Early Grey yin zhen", 40% Jivara, 70% Guanaja, yuzu, pistachio, kumquat |
The portion for the 4 course dinner was just right! We were happily full but not full to the extent that we feel that our stomach may explode anytime soon which we experienced at some other restaurants.
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| Bill - Credit card and receipt |
This was the most expensive meal I ever paid. Nonetheless, it was a memorable and delightful dining experience. Not only their food was exquisitely delectable, their service was exceptional. They paid attention to all little detail such as placing a cute tiny stool next to my chair for me to put my bag, pushing in my chair for me when I was first seated and even after I came back from the washroom. He complained that they paid more attention to the female than the male as they only look at me when they were explaining the dishes. Everything was 'Ladies First' in the restaurant. Wahaha =D No doubt, I would love to return in the future.
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