December 2018
In all the years that we had been together, we had never flown further east than Dubai. We decided it was about time we did and investigated into possible destinations. Given the distance, we made our mind up that we definitely wanted to turn it into a twin city trip. Eventually, we decided on Singapore and Bali.
Landing in Singapore, we got a ‘grab’ (cab service similar to ‘uber’) to our first hotel The Fullerton (fullertonhotels.com). Upon arrival your cab door is opened by a doorman with your suitcase taken by a porter and you are escorted directly to reception, a proper five-star service. We only booked the basic ‘courtyard’ room but nevertheless your bags are taken to the room and you are shown around the room by the porter. As I said earlier, it is the basic room but the standard is absolutely exceptional. Unbelievably comfortable bed, a work desk, armchair and impeccable bathroom with separate shower, free standing bath and the best toilet known to man (at least that is what Ian would not stop going on about). Another great feature of the room, was the ‘Handy Phone’- a device in which you are encouraged to take out of the hotel- enabling you to connect your own devices and save on data costs as well as the capacity to ring home for free. A little touch but, for us, a first and a welcome addition.
Given the time difference, we settled on something light for dinner and ate at the sister hotel ‘Fullerton Bay’ restaurant on our first night, Clifford Pier (fullertonhotels.com/fullerton-bay-hotel-singapore/dining/the-clifford-pier). It was a Sunday and the restaurant were serving a buffet, which as buffets go- was pretty good (despite our general dislike) with a wide selection of options and nice desserts. It is a lovely location, as this overlooks the Marina Bay Sands and is a good place to view the nightly ‘water show’.
Singapore is an incredible place to walk around at any time, the place is extremely clean and feels very safe. At night, it has the added dimension of lighting on the various buildings- certainly one for a stroll with a camera in tow.
We had done our research and attempted to get a booking at Burnt Ends but to no avail. Instead we opted for Zafferano (zafferano.sg) an Italian restaurant set up high in the financial district, again with great views of the city. We had a pleasant meal but not overly notable with a fairly expensive bill but please be mindful- Singapore is not a cheap place- especially when you have alcohol.
We checked out of the wonderful Fullerton Hotel the following day, headed to the airport and onto Bali. We had booked to stay at a private villa in a place called Seminyak named Uma Sapna (umasapna.com). We had organised with Uma Sapna reception to collect us in their private car from the airport which, following our four-hour flight, was most welcome. We were picked up by the extremely polite driver and then experienced the crazy world of Bali roads. If you are of a nervous disposition, then be mindful that it can be a stressful looking out of the window. There are hundreds of motorbikes/mopeds and we would strongly advise anyone to think twice about renting a car. The whole journey we were in fear of witnessing an accident but within the chaos there is disorder and it seems to work although we have no idea how.
The villa complex was going through some major refurbishments, which we had been advised a few weeks prior to arrival but after we booked. During check-in we were informed that we would receive, a sizable discount on all villa and associated restaurant purchases, complimentary massage and complimentary island tour. We thought that this was a good way to make up for the works and were escorted to our villa shortly afterwards. The villa was lovely; it has a large footprint with its own pool and outside area consisting of a covered sofa as well as two sun loungers. Indoors you had a large bed, with bathroom area behind, alongside a separate shower and toilet. All villas are designed in such a way that your privacy is maintained and we barely heard any other guests during our time there or the refurbishment works
Like with Singapore, we were quite late arriving on our first night and we opted for the restaurant connected to the hotel, Kilo (kilo-collective.com/en/kilo-kitchen-bali). Now, our expectations were not high, we were just grabbing something to eat prior to heading to bed. We elected to share beef tacos to start followed by slow cooked beef cheek and BBQ Ribs for main. One taste of the tacos and we were completely blown away by the flavour- this married by the fact that there was a local pale ale on the menu, Ian was hooked. The mains were just as good as the starter and our Bali food experience was off to a flyer. The desserts were equally excellent with a lava cake the choice of Natalie and Ian went with a Pistachio Cake with parmesan custard- a complete first but nevertheless very tasty. The bill was very reasonable despite the discount and we were equally fortunate to have breakfast here every morning- which was marvellous too.
Given the timeframe involved, it is difficult for us to remember the order that we went to all the restaurants but one of the first was Merah Putih (merahputihbali.com). This was a visually stunning restaurant serving Indonesian cuisine. The service and the food were superb and we had a thoroughly enjoyable meal here, it was a particular favourite of Natalie.
Barbacoa (barbacoa-bali.com) was another one of the earlier restaurants. Again, a very attractive restaurant with slick service and a good atmosphere. This is essentially a Grill restaurant with various steaks, ribs etc on the menu. The food here was very good with the ‘burnt carrots’ particularly memorable.
Ian is a big fan of French food and after looking at the menu at Metis (metisbali.com) a booking was hastily made. Again, in keeping with Seminyak restaurants, this was another beautiful venue. It is very large and is open to the elements with the inside area merging into the outdoors. As a result, this means you can get very hot, as there is no air conditioning which Ian didn’t help by wearing a long sleeve shirt. We were seated in the garden, which has a theme of paddy field but with various light features and ornaments- extremely photogenic. I know this will be controversial for some but pan-fried foie gras is a given for Ian and this was one of the standout dishes. Prior to ordering our taxi, we took the opportunity to walk the garden, a must when dining here.
As we were staying in a villa, we wanted to check out one of the hotels and thought we would visit the ‘W’ and in doing so, eat at Fire restaurant (firerestaurantbali.com). This had a similar menu to Barbacoa and we both went for steaks. We had a thoroughly enjoyable meal here and it was a very nice hotel as well, which we took some time to explore following the meal.
The trendiest restaurant we visited was Bikini (ulookhotinbikini.com). This was a mix of gastronomy and nightclub, Heston meets Pacha. Expect elaborate plating with perfect cooked meats and generally stunning flavours. The biggest challenge with the restaurant is the music, it is very loud and makes conversation quite difficult- we enjoyed the food but struggled with the ambience. Saying that it was very popular, so maybe just not our cup of tea. Ian's mother is hard of hearing and we are quite sensitive to this within restaurant environments- which is why we have highlighted this specifically.
We also, tried a Vietnamese restaurant called ‘Saigon Street (now closed). This was a pleasant meal albeit not as impressive as some of the other locations we went to. Following our trip to LA and our introduction to ‘Vietnamese caramel’ we noticed a pork belly dish in the same sauce. It was nice but not as memorable as the previous experience.
Our favourite restaurant, which we attended twice, was Sarong (sarongbali.com). This is an ‘Indian’ menu, which is something we eat a lot back home. Similar to Metis, the restaurant is open with the indoors seamlessly integrating with the outdoors. Ian enjoyed the benefits of craft beer as well as full bodied reds, all by the glass. The food was fantastic, proper fine dining cuisine when we are used to this offering, at home, being good but not as intricate. The naan bread was one of the best we have ever eaten with the curries finding the perfect blend between spice and flavour without being overly hot.
All in all, Seminyak was the best place we have been to for food in such a small area. To put it into perspective, we experienced high end quality food at extremely reasonable prices. Nearly all the restaurants we visited, came in at around £50 a head with the exception of Fire @ the W which was around £80 and Saigon Street which was approximately £30.
We took the Villa up on both the massage and the island tour. The massage was conducted in the room and although we are no experts, we found it nice but probably something we wouldn’t be in a rush to experience again. The tour was with our own driver and we took the time to visit various areas of the island as well as a Hindu temple. It was interesting to learn about how Bali, a predominately Hindu population, successfully operates in one of the largest Muslim nations in the world, Indonesia.
Our villa was on the outskirts of Seminyak and generally we required taxis to the restaurants we visited. Be mindful there are a lot of illegal taxis which are made to look like the legitimate ones. The official taxis are called ‘Bluebird’- the illegal ones can look almost identical. If you do end up in the non-official type- make sure to haggle and do not be afraid to get out the vehicle- there is always another cab around the corner.
Seminyak is quite busy, I wouldn’t describe it as the most picturesque of locations but if food is your thing- then this is the place. There is a heavy Australian influence here, it is essentially their equivalent of Spain to us Brits. We hadn’t focused on the café culture that exists here. There are plenty of locations to grab a coffee, cake or burger- for us Sisterfields (sisterfields.com) was brilliant.
Following a busy nine nights, we headed back to Singapore, this time at the Marina Bay Sands (marinabaysands.com). This is one of the most famous hotels in the world, and as a result, expect a check in similar to Las Vegas (a large queue). This time we had paid for a more premium room- high up, with a view of the city. In terms of view, it is fantastic but you cannot help compare it to the Fullerton. It doesn’t quite have the class or style of the Fullerton but had the infamous ‘infinity pool’. The pool is amazing but be mindful of all the people who are there trying to get that one photo, which can become quite irritating- especially if you are trying to relax. There is no ‘handy phone’ or top class toilet but it is all about the view and I think the hotel know this.
For our last meal, we settled on Meatsmith (meatsmith.com.sg) a burger and beer spot. It was very good but compared to Seminyak not as good value for money. Despite that, as Singapore goes, the food and beer were great with the choice of craft beer, plentiful.
During the day, we checked out the gardens and as it was coming up to Christmas, the decorations were everywhere. The indoor sphere along with its waterfall were very impressive but coming from Britain, the luscious flower and planting arrangements were not alien to us.
All in all, we had an incredible time across both locations. I would happily go back to either location however- we would definitely go for the Fullerton over the Marina Bay Sands. In terms of Bali- despite the island tour, we didn’t see much of the Island outside of Seminyak but in terms of tranquillity, the villa option is perfect for those seeking that type of experience.
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