Sunset Dinner Cruise

So as we enter yet another lock down (of sorts) thanks to the rising cases here in Singapore I have to consider myself fortunate. I was supposed to go on a cruise to nowhere in July which got postponed to August which got post-phoned again so I cancelled the whole thing. I can only handle so much disappointment it seems.



Friends asked me to join them for a cruise in October which I seriously thought about but in the end also declined because I didn't want to get excited about it only to have it dashed on the rocky shores of covid lockdowns (been there, done that twice already), which as it happens would have been the case, it seemed as though cruises and I were never meant to be.

That all changed last night when I was giving a surprise birthday sunset dinner cruise onboard the Royal Albatross.

The food was amazing, totally surpassing my expectations, the staff were warm, friendly and attentive. Each dish was cooked to perfection and beautifully presented and the whole meal beginning to end was well paced. It really was a unique dinning experience with exceptionally good food. The ship itself is well maintained, with a beautiful air conditioned lounge below deck just adding to the experience. And you get to see the amazing city skyline from a distance (which is a view I have always loved) and as the sunset it cast a beautiful orange glow across the water that just adding to the magic of the moment.

I left feeling full and content, and lighter in mind and spirit.  It was the first time I have set foot off my island home in almost 2 years, and even if it was only for a few hours it certainly helped to recharge my internal batteries as we enter another lockdown (of sorts) here in Singapore.

A really memorable and enjoyable experience that I highly recommend.

For those intereseted you can make a booking HERE

Museum of Ice Cream

The Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) is the latest immersive experience to hit the shore of Singapore and if people's Instagram accounts are anything to go by is certainly worth a visit, or is it?

I mean who doesn't love ice cream, the plethora of flavours, the many many ways to eat it, not to mention that it just about goes with every desert there possibly is. So the thought of "all you eat" at the MOIC was indeed very tempting. 

Myself and couple of friends visited on Saturday 11th of September and a fun time was had by all, although I need to be up-front and honest that had nothing to do with the ice cream on offer. You basically move from room to room, each room tells you a little bit more history or fun facts about everyone's favourite dessert. Each room has a specific theme and walls and ceiling are done in shades of pink. There are plenty of photo opportunities throughout and we absolutely made use of those.

The staff made the whole experience even more fun. They were bubbly, energetic, enthusiastic and fun to interact with. Clearly they wanted everyone to have a great experience (and side note, whoever was in charge of the bouncy castle on the above date .... Marry me!).

Despite the above, which was great, the whole experience was let down by the ice cream itself. 

Station one has two flavours of Häagan Dazs, and I wish I had stayed at that station and filled up but the anticipation of even more to come after such a great start was too strong. Two flavours here, good old chocolate, and our favourite Pina Colada (with alcohol) which was delicious!.

Station two was a soft serve station serving watery soft-serve that tasted more of ice and less of cream. It was a gluten free vanilla (insipid) and a apple pie, which was unusual, tasted like apple pie for sure, but the texture was just so completely wrong in both cases that it was totally unenjoyable. 

Station three was glutenous black rice brick. It's a very local flavour and although some friends thought it wasn't bad, none of us went for seconds. 

Station four was Yam, and the only reason I knew that was because of the colour as it totally lacked any flavour at all. 

And that was it, a total of 6 flavours, 4 of which I could happily never have again. So if you are going for the ice cream you are going to be very very disappointed. If however you are going for the experience, the Instagram moments and the staff (who really make the experience) then you will absolutely enjoy yourself. 

But, take my advice visit an ice cream desert bar afterwards (there are quite a few to select from in Singapore) to enjoy some really delicious ice cream because the MOIC is, unfortunately, sadly lacking in this department.