hburn10's Reviews
1=SGD 0.0587106 Yebbers Online!
Double Yebber Dollar Category for December:
Food & Beverage
Click here for future month
WELCOME TO YEBBER
You can use your Facebook Account to register in Yebber and start reviewing your favourite or least favourite businesses
Please click the login button below and proceed to create a new Yebber ID at the next step.
Picked Harris as recommended by my friend for a relaxing tour with 3 close friends. We paid SGD172 per person for 2d1n including 3 hours of spa and 1 free pizza per room.
There are 2 wings at Harris, the funky and the trendy which is the new wing. But we were told Trendy does not have connecting rooms which was our priority so we took the funky wing eventually.
The rooms are indeed bigger than most resorts or hotels but the rooms are very aged and look its age too. The furniture are poorly maintained and there are very obvious stains on the sofas and seats. There were stains on the bedsheets too but because its for 1 night only and they were faint stains, we didnt ask to change it. The foor felt abit sandy too and we had to wipe it over oursleves to make it cleaner. The bathroom was adequate but perhaps too stingy on the toilet paper even for 2d1n.
The pool was a free-form pool which was excellent for pool lovers but we didnt get to try it. Harris is also very family friendly as they have a whole host of activities to prevent hotel guests from getting bored. Spa, bowling, foot massage, KTV, F&B, Lounge, sea activities etc. We had a foot massage for 1 hour for only SGD17 per person which was a steal.
The 3-hour spa we had comprised of 1 hour scrub, 1.5 hour massage (aromatherapy or stone), and 0.5 hour bath. The masseurs were not bad, but the spa was outdoors and it was very warm, esp when the fan in the hut stopped working for a while midway through. The towels and spa facilities in the hut was also very poorly maintained, as there were insect droppings on a lot of things. The privacy of the spa huts outdoors is a huge concern to me, as the huts basically have no doors, just curtains and blinds which is not total privacy. While we were undressing, there were also male guests walking around. Plus they allowed male construction workers to be in the same area as us, which is potentially very dangerous for female guests. They seriously should do something about it.
We also felt misled by the lady at the spa counter. When we asked about the choice of aromatherapy or stone massage, she said for the aromatherapy, they use essential oils, so we picked that. But during the massage, we found out that they were using normal lotion instead. We queried the same lady at the counter after we were done -she said what she meant by 'use essential oils' was that they burn essentials oils in a burner during the treatment, not use on the body. And for that matter, we didnt even smell anything in the hut throughout.
The variety and quality of breakfast leaves much to be desired, although we had ala carte lunch orders the previous day and it was not too bad. The complimentary pizza was also quite good, surprisingly - thin crust.
I also do have to say, the staff at Harris were quite smiley and accommodating and exhibits a fun character that made the short stay more bearable. The cleanliness issue is my main gripe but perhaps the trendy wing is much better. The spa too should do something about the security of female guests - it is an accident waiting to happen.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
Took the Truly Spa FullBoard Package offered by New Century Tours Corporation in Singapore for a very quick getaway with 3 friends. The draw of the package was the 3 hours spa treatment which you get to choose from 4 options they offer you. Also included are breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which we thought added up to a fantastic trip. For twin sharing, each pax only had to pay SGD185nett (inclusive of whatever taxes etc). And you pick from almost hourly timing for your departure and return ferry. The only thing is you need to indicate what time you would like your spa upon booking so they can block the slots for you, especially important when you have a big group. Spa options are preferred to be selected prior to departure but you can also make changes when you arrive at the resort.
The resort has staff in yellow to bring you to their yellow mini van for the 15mins ride to the resort. The resort looks extremely old from the outside but I think they have done a good job in refurbishing the insides.
The lobby looks more hotel than resort and was a welcomed change to the typical beach resort look. The staff was friendly and smiley, maybe because it was a weekday than weekend when you get the crowds. We arrived at 10am batam time (1 hour behind Singapore time) and they said they'll try and get the rooms ready by 10:30am. Welcome drinks were soursop juice.
The hotel can get you a taxi for SGD5 per pax, which amounts to SGD20 per one-way ride to the nearest shopping mall 30mins away. The shuttle bus costs the same per pax but you'll have to adhere to the restricted timings which was only one departure and one return per day.
Rooms were roomy enough for 3 to share even with an extra bed fitted in. Clean, adequately fitted, and well maintained - much better than what I expected from one of the oldest resort in batam. Beds were nicely comfortable although not luxurious. Bottled water was also provided in the rooms.
The resort has a nice pool which we did not try, and its own private beach. If you go on weekdays, it practically feels you have the whole place to yourself.
Breakfast was a good spread, although quality for some items can be improved. Buffet lunch which was included in the package was not good as they were basically leftovers items recycled from breakfast. The packaged dinner for Kelong Restaurant was very good though, with black pepper crab, deep fried calamari, butter prawns, sweet sour fish, tom yam soup, vegetables, which was all good and fresh. Its a good 10mins walk from the main lobby though, but I guess its a good short workout to balance out all the good food.
Definitely a good place for a quick getaway!
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
This was my choice for a family high tea, and I wanted some place which I've never tried. Gave it a shot despite not knowing what I'll get. Tried Orchard Hotel a few weeks back and it was so not worth it.
Maybe because I never expected much, I thought the food and spread was not so bad after all.
Bread and pastry- Variety is not big but it didnt look very warm fresh-out-of-the-oven either so gave this a miss. Also saw cold sandwiches and scones but I didnt try it either as both looked dry.
Cold stuff - plenty of appetizers like achar, potato salad, jellyfish, pasta salad, corn nibblets, sushi, prawns, mussels: the prawns were of good size and quite fresh. The achar was very good, the pasta salad too. The rice on the sushi was too hard so I ended up eating the ingredient on top.
Hot stuff - otah omelette, curry puffs, stewed veg, ngoh hiang, dim sum, fried rice, stir fried beef. otah omelette was quite bland with neither the otah nor egg taste. Ngoh Hiang was surprisingly tasty, dim sum so so, and fried rice deceptively named as it was only rice with fried egg.
Soup - There were 2 the day I went: cream of brocolli and old cucumber with spare ribs. The cream was strangely orange in colour so I took the other. It is excellent and seemingly boiled for very long, with no porky taste at all. Mushrooms and dates were added for that extra touch.
Laska station - although it looks promising, taste was only so so, with the gracy being overly thick. Serving portion was also too big for ladies I feel.
Coffee / tea - 2 coffee machine and comprehensive choice of tea bags. Coffee was quite good for a cafe coffee.
Desserts - The mini sized desserts looked good but they were not. Cakes were dry and disappointing in taste too. I ended up having a better time with ice cream.
Serivce was nothing to complain about, with the place about 3/4 full, although clearing of plates can be faster.
Some dishes obviously needed improvement, but I will still say its not too bad an attempt especially when the hotel is just trying to reposition itself. Orchard HOtel was about $4 cheaper than this, and the spread and quality was worse. For an okay experience, I have no problems with Cafe Mosaic. Although at $38 they are not the cheapest around either.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
When my friends suggested this place for a catch-up dinner, I went 'huh??'. I didn't knew the building, least to say the restaurant, existed. So I went with apprehension and expected sub-standard western fare, like some of the places that call themselves cafes nowadays. I went away with fond memories at the end of the night.
The place itself is sort of opposite the Cantonment Police Complex, and parking's available at the basement car park; restaurant diners park for free. But I think it is a fair walk if you take the train to Outram Park station.
The place itself is decked out in old wooden tables and chairs, with warm soft lightings, it feels like a place that's been there for ages. I likeed the decor and the ambience, pretty good for catching up.
Salad bar - for any main course, you'll just have to add $4.30 to have a set meal: salad bar, soup, coffee/tea/soft drinks, and dessert of the day. Why not? The salad bar does not have your fancy rocket leaves etc but more really basic items like mixed peas, corn nibblets, lettuce, onions, cucumbers etc but for me its really more about the feel that yay, I have a salad bar! Feels like sizzler all over again. Dressings are basic too: thousand island, vinegrette or french.
Soup - pumpkin soup was for the day. It actually tasted not too bad, with just the right thickness and didnt taste like it was from a can.
Buffalo wings - served with normal thai chilli sauce, these were excellently deep fried and served piping hot. Didnt taste too much of any marinate though.
Drunken Mussels - Very good, please order this. The mussels were fresh and firm, served in a hot pan in wine white (if I remember correctly) and garlic. Order some bread to mope up the super tasty sauce. You can use the complimentry bread they serve, although I have to admit those were very tough and way too chewy for my liking.
Prawns & chicken ($18) - 2 good-sized prawns halfed for your convenience, with chicken filet. You can have either mushroom or black pepper for your filet. Prawns were not too bad, although the chicken wasnt lean enough for me.
Dessert ($7.50 each) - You can igmore the slice of dry pound cake that was served as dessert of the day and order as ala carte the now more commonly seen frozen italian gelatos. Smart move huh. We had the green apple gelato that was too cute; taste wise I expected more though at least on the taste of green apples. We also had the tartufo which was dark chocolate and could do no wrong.
Coffee - Coffee was better than I expected, with coffee foam although I think it came from a machine.
Service was excellent and smiley throughout, thumbs up!! Crowd that trickled in mostly around 8pm on a Friday night was made up of families and dinners for older age working class, so the place was thankfully not noisy and more cosy instead.
Price is not exactly cheap I think but worth a revisit ~ I didnt know the total bill as it was a treat but I will be more than happy to pay my own. Total amount spent is based on my own estimate ~
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
A girl friend picked this place for a night out for us 3 ladies; said they served nice pizzas. I've never seen this place although I used to frequent Robertson Quay, but later realised its nearer the Park Hotel side so you'll probably not walk past it unless its a deliberate attempt to eat there.
We walked pass Bella Pasta on our way there but it was empty. Bella Pizza was the opposite, with bustling tables and busy staff trying to manage the small-ish place.
Im guessing the indoor sits probably at most 25pax, with some alfresco tables outside but in no big numbers as well. Reservations are recommended because the place fills up quite quickly.
PORTOBELLO RIPIENO ($18) - Oven baked stuffed portobello mushroom, served with porcini mushroom sauce - this is our 2nd choice as the avocado salad was not available. And the staff could have informed us when he saw us discussing about it instead of telling us AFTER we told him. This came in 2 huge portobello drowned with diced porcini and its sauce. It's a basically a mushroom lover's delight as the 2 kinds of mushrooms blended really well and the fragrance really outstanding. But for some reason the presentation made it look like meat patties when it came.
PIZZA CON RUCOLA ($25) - Pizza with tomato, mozzarella, arugula,
Parma ham and shavings of parmesan - This is near excellent, with just the right thickness of the pizza base. Everything else was in good proportion; my only gripe is that the arugula was too limp.
PIZZA MASCARPONE ($24) - Pizza with mozzarella, mascarpone,
mushrooms and black truffle oil - the mix of mozzarella and mascarpone was too je lart for me. There could have been more mushrooms, and I was quite glad for the truffle as it lifted the whole dish.
Portions are huge, considering the 3 of us leaving behind 5 slices of pizzas even after sharing. So small eaters are better off sharing with at least 1 or 2 more persons.
Service was really basic, like taking orders and bringing the bill. Nothing above that. But perhaps they're just really busy running around.
And even if its a small place, I feel it is reasonable to at least ensure that there is enough space at the table for 1 main course per person, no? The 2 pizzas filled up our table for 3 too much; perhaps they can re-think that abit.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!