SEA Aquarium & Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora

My last memory of a visit to an aquarium was probably the one in Ocean Park from too many years ago. I therefore had pretty much no expectations before setting foot in what apparently is the largest aquarium in the world, the SEA Aquarium. Opened only 6 months ago, it is one of the newest attractions in Sentosa and their star residents, the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose dolphins, had just moved in right before we paid our visit. 
The entrance of the SEA Aquarium is inside of another museum so all visitors are forced to walk through the Maritime Museum before entering the aquarium. To say the least the Maritime Museum is uninteresting and uninspiring. No wonder the admission is attached to the ticket of the aquarium.
Divided into different sections according to areas of origin, the aquarium houses marine animals in all shapes and sizes. Photography buffs and marine life lovers would be spoilt by the colourful creatures. Here are some of my favourites:

  
The only restaurant inside of the aquarium is owned by Cat Cora, the American chef from Iron Chef. The Ocean Restaurant faces the largest viewing tank of the aquarium and offers a panoramic view of the marine creatures. It was a unique experience to watch the magnificent manta ray swimming elegantly in front of you while enjoying your meal. 

First course was chicken ravioli in pumpkin soup. At first impression the combination felt slightly strange. But I liked the velvety smooth texture of the soup. 

W's pasta was slightly disappointing. It tasted nice but was nothing out of the ordinary. 

My prawns were very fresh and nicely cooked. The sweet and juicy beetroot purée made a nice complement.

Dessert was chocolate tart with cameralised banana, mango purée and vanilla ice-cream. The chocolate tart was rich and the pastry was crunchy. The homemade ice-cream was flavourful and the mango purée was refreshing. This is definitely the most satisfying course of our lunch! 

Feeding session for the fishie!

 Manta ray doing a dance!

The SEA Aquarium is definitely worth spending half a day in if you enjoy watching animals. As for the Ocean Restaurant, the serene ambience and the dining experience probably gives it more appeal than the food. 

Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora
8 Sentosa Gateway,
SEA Aquarium, Resorts World Sentosa

Privé

If I had to pick one favourite spot in Singapore, it may well be the Keppel Bay. Board walk by the waterfront, distant view of Sentosa, it seems a world away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city.

Privé occupies the Keppel Island consists of three outlets: a Grill, a Waterfront Bar and a Café. Although offering very different atmospheres, they all have a great view of the Keppel Bay. Privé Café was the one we went to.

This may well be the first fish and chips I have ordered since boarding school and it was worth the risk! Fish was tender inside the crispy batter. Chips chunky but not too greasy. Salad nicely dressed.

Calamari made a nice starter but the seafood pasta did not impress me. It was shop bought pasta and you could tell.

A dinner always tastes better if it ends with a nice dessert. I picked a chocolate cake layered with crunchy peanut butter. Neither flavour was overpowering and complement each other very well!

Being a café they were also selling artisan bread, cookies and pastries and I bought myself a chocolate muffin to go. It was moist and rich even on the following day!

Its location made Privé a good choice for anything from a romantic date to a group gathering. I know I wouldn't mind coming back for a weekend brunch!

Privé 

2 Keppel Bay Vista, Singapore

Cugini Trattoria Pizzeria

I love Italian cuisine. In fact almost everyone does. No wonder Elizabeth Gilbert chose Italy as her gustatory destination in Eat, Pray, Love.

Nested in one of the colourful Peranakan shophouses on Club Street, Cugini Trattoria Pizzeria is a 2-storey restaurant serving Southern Italian cuisine. With an awning bearing its logo and furnitures beautifully painted in ocean blue, it stands out from the neighbouring pubs and bars.

I certainly am no expert but after a little bit of research, I have learnt that Italian food is extremely diverse with different regional fare. It seems that fresh pastas made with eggs, rice, beef and speciality sausages and more commonly found in Northern Italy due to their fertile soil. Whereas the southern regions enjoy lighter flavours with olive oil, anchovies, seafood and lamb. I am not sure if Cugini bears the authenticity of Sardina and Sicily as their owner claims, but the food was surely delicious. They also put in a lot of effort into decorating the venue. Even the plates have all been beautifully hand-painted.

The complimentary bread was served with a Spanish dressing made with carrot, garlic and olive oil. It was light and creamy but I preferred my foccacia with olive oil :)

The pizza had a thin base and a mildly smoky crust. Tomato sauce went very well with the squid and the fish but they were not very generous with the toppings!

This was the special pasta of the night and the portion was rather small. But the freshly made pasta cooked to al dente had a bouncy texture and the beef sauce was amazingly sweet and juicy!

The squid ink fettucine was beautifully presented but unfortunately too spicy for W's taste. The pasta had just the right thickness and every inch was coated with the delicious creamy sauce. Again I wished the serving was a big bigger.

Their tiramisu was incredibly rich and smooth. I could not get enough!

Cugini Trattoria Pizzeria
87 Club Street Singapore

Blog Re-Opening!

It is no secret that Singapore is not exactly my favourite city to live in. Although I have got used to the many aspects of living here (such as the suffocating heat, the complete lack of change in season, the always-overly-salted-and-spicy food in hawker centres, the incomprehensible Singlish to name a few), the light-cooking-only policy still bothers me. It is beyond me why people can bear to eat out everyday while they have a perfectly functioning kitchen at home! 

I miss the joy of picking fresh produce from the weekend farmers' market, browsing through online recipes accompanied with mouthwatering photographs, spending a whole afternoon trying out new recipes and the smell of freshly baked cakes in the house. Not to mention the exhilarating satisfaction that you get when you get compliments from people who have tried your cooking. Indeed I am starting to worry that I may be losing my skills as a baker!

But no cooking should not equate to no writing. Having a devoted foodie as your boyfriend gives you the obligation to try out different restaurants. Being such a multiracial city, Singapore has a lot of cuisines to offer, from Peranakan and Korean, to Lebanese and Swedish (and I am not just talking about IKEA meatballs!). Aware of the countless existing food blogs, I will try to alternate restaurant reviews with other materials.  

So it is time to get over my year-long writer's block and start blogging again!