Mezza 9 @ Grand Hyatt Hotel

We had a belated 7th ROM Anniversary celebration dinner. As you get older and have more family commitments, annual leaves have become so precious! Annual leaves are no longer a luxury for your own personal use. They need to be shared with your spouse, your kids and your caregiver. So each leave we plan it carefully and ensure we maximize the usage of the leave we take!

And so today is the Meet-the-Parents session in school. We took leave for that and also went for a dinner celebration on the same day... killing 2 birds with 1 stone. :)

Hub made the plan and reservations.

Mezza9 @ Grand Hyatt Hotel - I have heard about it but never thought of visiting it. Reason being... I'm not a very fine dining person. I look dainty but not refine enough to dine at posh places like that. I always feel out of place. I'm the type who likes to slouch as I sit... uses whatever utensils as I please... laugh when its funny.... and when you have a kid.... fine dining is all the more out of question. :P Moreover, to spend $150-200 for 2 to dine, its too lavish for me.

I

Still we went ahead because hub planned for it, I didn't want to dampen his plans. You know sometimes must close eyes and enjoy. Because its very hard to get men to make plans and if they do, appreciate it and enjoy. Otherwise, next time they don't plan!

We were early for dinner as we needed to pick up our boy after dinner. So it was relatively empty and quiet when we arrived.

I'm not too impressed with the menu. I am a visual animal. I love pictures over text anytime. 

Anyway, the menu is quite widespread. There are grill items, japanese, thai or chinese cuisine if you prefer that.

After a few trips to Europe, hub is hooked to sparkling juice. Actually, I kinda love it too.

The bread that was served looked tough but it wasn't that bad.

I ordered a steak. I love beef and normally beef don't come cheap in such dining places. This beef steak was awesome and portion was just perfect for me. 

We had asparagus as one of the sides. The asparagus was soft and juicy.

I am always complaining I need to diet because weight is piling on me but I always cannot resist carbo like potatoes, rice & etc. Baked potato is one of my favourite!

The condiments for our baked potatoes.

Hub is not a fan of fish but he seems to be ordering a fishy dish most of the time?! *shrugs The waiter assured him that this chinese fish (I cannot remember if it was soon hock) will be de-boned and cooked in western style. I was quite amused when he told me it can be cooked in western style. Hub says its very tasty and he loves it.

A cake counter within the restaurant.

No matter how full I am, there is always space for dessert! :)

One thing I felt awkward is that, the tables are all spaced really closely. So in the quiet restaurant, your chats with your companion can be heard loud and clear at the next table.

The wine chiller....

We ordered a flower pot dessert. This concept is nothing new to us. We have tried this at another cafe quite some time back. Nevertheless, it didn't stop us from ordering this.

This flower pot dessert tasted really good! 

Both of us were happy with the food and service. We left the place happily. Well, maybe fine dining occasionally isn't that bad!

Website: http://www.singapore.grand.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html?src=sinrs_googleplaces_lclb_mezza9

Will I Return to This Outlet: Yes
Got Service: 8/10

Bulgari @ Marina Bay Sands

Shopping for a luxury item is a pain when you enter the boutique but you have no one to attend to you. That was what happened when we went into the Bulgari boutique twice at Ngee Ann City. We stood at the display counter... trying to find something we like. When we found one, we wanted to speak more to the retail associate, none seemed free to entertain us. Some were genuinely busy with customers but some walked in and out, past us didn't even want to give us ANY eye contact or at least signal to us that we will be attended to.

We were in there for at least a good 15 minutes and no one said Hello or attended to us. Such snobbish retail associates! I think no matter how busy you are, you ought to at least acknowledge a person's presence whether they buy or not right? Maybe... maybe we didn't look rich enough to afford their brand.

So one day, the other half decided to head to the outlet at Marina Bay Sands on his own to enquire. He was attended to by a lady called Michelle. I heard the ring sizes were not available and she would transfer the stocks from head office. So when the stocks came, my hub was being notified.

We then went down together to try out the ring sizes.

Michelle was really friendly. She was all smiles and very patient with our questions. At the MBS outlet, we get to sit and was served drinks. Even my son was being offered some biscuits. At its Ngee Ann City outlet, we didn't see drinks being served to buying customers. Not sure why the inconsistency in services but that made us realize, its better to shop at MBS. Services are definitely better and more attentive. At least we didn't feel 'transparent'.

The rest of the staff on duty were very friendly too. Even the security officer was friendly towards us.

If you are genuinely interested in their items, go visit the outlet at MBS. I would think it should be the same for other brands too. At least, I feel that way when I visited Chanel and Celine in MBS. The retail associates for various brands at Ngee Ann City often than not makes me feel they entertain for sake of entertaining a customer... not sincere and always a rush job.

Anyway, this pair of rings marked our 7th year anniversary. Hub suggested getting a new pair. When we registered our marriage 7 years ago, we did not splurge on rings then. Cos we were on a budget and also there was nothing that really caught our eyes. So we just got a pair that we thought was one of the best though not our favourite and within our budget then.

Maybe we should have new bands every 7 years. LOL


Website: http://www.bulgari.com/
Will I Return to this Outlet: Yes (and look for Michelle)
Got Service: 8/10