The High Life - in Macau

In previous posts (here and here), I related my brief forays into the world of high rollers, big spenders and gourmet diners - at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

More recently, I decided to take a trip to Macau to better appreciate the experience.  Not to mention entering a casino without having to pay $100 entry levy. Don't get me wrong.  I'm not a gambler, and don't intend to become one.  But I wanted (in my friend's words) to take the opportunity to increase my understanding of human psychology.  Well, I did indeed get to see the inside of a casino but since that was in no way the highlight of my stay, I won't waste any more pixels on it.

Indeed, I truly enjoyed my stay in Macau.  We spent three nights in the Venetian's "Bella Suite", where I had my very own canopied Queen-sized bed, plus living area with a great view of Taipa.    The Venetian itself was truly fun, with its reproduction of the Rialto bridge and the Campanile of St Mark's in Venice outside, by the man-made lagoon.  Within the resort, the streets and canals of Venice were re-created.  A food court in a main square, gondoliers (singing better than any in Venice) guiding their gondolas down the canals, troubadours walking the streets created a fun and distinctively different atmosphere within. MBS is nothing to it!

The current exhibition on at the Venetian was the "Ice World", featuring work by the Harbin ice sculptors.  We spent a happy hour or so here, marvelling at the ice huskies and polar bear, plus the Eskimo fishing with his little dog beside him.  Earlier, the sights of Macau (the Macau Grand Prix, the ruins of St Paul's and the Venetian) had also been reproduced in ice.  At a chilly -8 degrees Celcius, we were glad that free overcoats were available for use.  But I also marvelled at one gentleman who made his way through carrying his coat over his arm!

We quickly realised that the intense competition between the many casinos in Macau offered lots of opportunities for casino-hoppers to enjoy free entertainment.  Wynn's performing lake was not in operation (work was being done to "transform" the performance) but their "Dragon of Fortune" (see video below) and "Prosperity Tree" were going strong, every half hour, right outside the casino entrance.  The MGM entrance lobby housed a small globe containing a butterfly exhibition (with an incubation room in one corner).  Hotel Lisboa and Grand Lisboa across the road shone brilliantly across the road from Wynn.  Even the pawnshops in the area were brightly lit!

But one of the "high life highlights"  of my stay in Macau had to be the lovely and exquisite lunch at Robuchon   au Dome, on top of Grand Lisboa.  From the dome, all of Macau lay below us, and the ruins of St Paul's could be seen clearly from our table.  But the food! Aspiring gourmets get to choose their appetiser, soup, main dish (fish, meat, or both) and dessert.  The bread selection was extensive -  olive bread, cheese, walnut, a sort of ham pastry and maybe one more. The amuse bouche (lemon cream, over a light jelly with a basil pesto base) was refreshing and piqued the appetite.  My appetiser was a crab dumpling, with crab meat in a cauliflour puree.  Served cold, its combination of fresh flavours just made me want more. My main dish, of wagyu beef cheek, was also just right - tender, savoury and truly satisfying.  Dessert was a choice of two dishes off the dessert trolley.  I had an apricot tart (which I found tart) and a pistachio cake with smooth pistachio cream.  I  still can't believe my mother asked - "is this a pandan cake?"

All in all, a memorable visit to Macau.  But as I walked through resort after resort, I could not rid myself of this feeling of being in a very contrived and artificial environment.  Undeniably there was much entertainment and many distractions to pass the time.  But give me the hot and humid walks through the old village of Taipa, and in the historic centre of Macau- feeling the true heart and heritage of this charming little territory.

See more photos here.

Living the High Life

Gardens by the Bay, a photo by Taking5 on Flickr.

Some time back, I blogged about my visit to Marina Bay Sands.

Last night, I had the opportunity to spend the night there. It was a significant night, partly because it was the opening ceremony of "Gardens by the Bay", a new garden in Singapore's new Downtown area. We had a magnificent view of the Garden at night, from the top of MBS, whilst eating a quiet bowl of beef noodles at Sky on 57. The Gardens were laid out like a splendid necklace of lights below, with the two glass domes at the edge of the bay, and the supertrees rising in the midst of the darkness.


But the visit was far more than that. We had great fun visiting the infinity pool on top of MBS, first at night, and then the next morning.  At night, the infinity pool is a magical place.  The water glows from the lights in the pool, and city skyline twinkles brightly behind it.  There's a certain buzz in the air.  People are laughing and talking, splashing away in the pool and in the jacuzzis tucked in the corners.

I went for a swim in the pool early the next morning. It was quite a thrill, as though I was swimming to the ends of the earth only to see this totally different world before me.  At that hour in the morning, there were fewer people in the pool which made it easier to swim around and also to take photos with no one else inside....  It was also a wicked little pleasure, to think that I was enjoying this little getaway from the office, whilst all these people were enduring the morning rush hour to get to their own workplaces in this other universe before me.

Alas, it has ended all too quickly.  Back home now.  But looking forward to the next visit!

The High Life

I finally made it down (a few weeks ago) to the Marina Bay Sands, one of Singapore's two integrated resorts (or IRs for short).  Not, of course, to visit the casino.  I certainly am not going to waste money like that.  But, I did stand outside and peer in.  Not much of a view, and not very pleasant with the odour of stale cigarette smoke in the surrounding air, but nonetheless quite interesting.  Didn't see many people entering but I suppose it was a little early in the day (around lunch time).

I was actually at MBS for lunch at Pizzeria Mozza, one of the celebrity chef restaurants in the IR.  Pizzeria Mozza and its next door neighbour Osteria Mozza are by Nancy Silverton, in partnership with Mario Batalli and both restaurants are famous for their mozzarella, in particular the burrata mozzarella (this rather mouthwatering article tells all about burrata).  We had the burrata for our starter - the absolutely delicious mozza caprese - burrata mozzarella topped with a little pesto sauce and grilled cherry tomatoes (on the vine). The milky cheese, the tart sweetness of the tomatoes, the flavourful pesto - mmmmm...  The pizza too was tasty, and the famous crust was indeed light and elastic.  But the star of the show is indeed the burrata and I'm seriously thinking of visiting the mozzarella bar in Osteria. 

After lunch, we decided to take a trip up 55 floors and visit the MBS Skypark.  This was not without some debate.  Did we really want to pay $20 for a view?  In the end, we decided to do so and max out the time there.  Oh dear.  Did I just sound very Singaporean?  So we went up, and after walking around a bit we sat at the bar there and had a drink or two.  The view?  Well, it was certainly quite interesting to look down at the surrounding areas and to see all the way to the ends of Singapore, but I'm certainly not going to pay $20 again for the experience. 

So that was my visit to MBS.