bay hotel

Staycation Review: Bay Hotel Singapore [Discount Code]

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Author: James Aw Yong

If you want to stay near one of Singapore’s most iconic beach (Sentosa) comfortably yet affordably , then I would say Bay Hotel Singapore is the BEST option for you!

Why BEST?

Let me just do a simple quick summary for you so that you can always remember this hotel easily! It is simply because Bay Hotel is….

Biggest Executive boutique hotel in Singapore (333-room Bay Hotel Singapore)
Accessibility (Less than 5mins walk to the nearby Harbourfront MRT station)
Yummy local street food favourites in restaurant open from 6am to 3am (new all-day dining menu, weekend buffet lunch and hotpot buffet dinner)
Handy smartphone for use during stay with free IDD calls to selected countries
Opposite Vivocity – the largest shopping mall in Singapore
Technology (complimentary WiFi and technologically savvy check-in perfect for millennials)
Enjoyment of Complimentary Minibar (replenished once daily) and other facilities in an eco-friendly Smoke-free hotel
Located strategically also at the gateway of Sentosa and at the foot of Mount Faber.

Should this short summary not hit the sweet spot for you literally, let me shower you with more details on these aspects according to our own recent experience.

Walk-through

And so once again #JamesnMaybel is ALL ready for our next Hotel review!

This time falling exactly on the National Day weekend with us all donned in our sponsored Superdry outfits! (In fact, the only Superdry store in Singapore is located in Vivocity. One more perks for the Superdry Fans staying near the hotel!)





Accessibility

Firstly, let me give you some context on how accessible this location is especially for tourists visiting Singapore for the first time.

Let’s just say this hotel is just ONE traffic light away from the Biggest Shopping mall in Singapore, VivoCity (located at Harbourfront MRT Station) and walking distance to Sentosa (Most Iconic Beach in Singapore).

And if you are looking to do some serious shopping, rest assured that this location is a mere 2-3 MRT stops from Orchard Road (Singapore’s Prime Shopping district)

Room’s Interior (Deluxe)

The room given to us for this Hotel review is their ‘Deluxe’ Room.

I like the cosy, simplistic concept & earthly tones within the room which kind of makes you feel rooted to Singapore already. The walk around space is decent for 2-3 person with a comfortable bed large enough to accommodate even 3 sleepers. If not, the ‘unlucky’ odd one out can always take the caterpillar cushion by the side of the window! >< Just kidding!

But trust me, you wouldn’t want to miss out on the super fluffy bed here which is comparable to any 4 to 5 star hotels locally!





However, if you do get the caterpillar cushion ‘bed’, don’t sulk. Because you are in for the best view within the room; One that overlooks Vivocity & Sentosa!

This view (below) getting increasingly beautiful as the sun set.





Moving onto the features within the room. They have all the basic features within a room such as TV and writing table etc.

Nonetheless, one of the tourist-friendly feature resting on the writing table is this Handy smartphone which allows for complimentary IDD calls to selected countries! So you are still connected be it locally or overseas!





One thing I like about this room is the snacks and drinks are ALL complimentary! For the drinks selection, this is not ALL!

Within the refrigerator, there are 7-8 canned drinks such as beers eg Anchor, gassy & non-gassy soft drinks. Also inclusive are 3 packets of snacks eg mixed nuts & potato chips.

Going hungry is definitely the last thing that will happen to you during your stay!





Rain Shower with decent space to accommodate two person bathing at one go. Appreciate the fact that they give a big bottle of shampoo & bathing gel.

I am not sure how many of you would understand the frustration of having to ration for these two items even for a one night stay! I have stayed in hotels which give you those ‘sample’ size bottles which seems only enough for one person usage! Luckily, you do not have to worry on such issues here!





Amenities ( Infinity Pool & Gym)

Getting out of the room, let’s check out their amenities! I am glad they have an Infinity Pool & Gym as these are the two places I will always visit when I stay in a hotel.

Even though the infinity pool here does not offer the picturesque, breathe-taking view of any 5-star hotel, there are two things I absolutely like about it: An undisturbed Nature’s view & glass protection. This allows anyone especially parents to have a peace of mind while enjoying this sanctuary.





While my dear M is indulging in her poolside shots, I get to indulge in my manly business aka Gym! Technically, its for me to burn off all the calories built during the scrumptious food tastings within this hotel (which I will share more below)!





Do not expect an extremely well equipped big gym. Nonetheless, they have all ample equipment for you to sweat it out with!





Complimentary Breakfast

The stay comes with a complimentary breakfast the next day to cure your hungry stomach.

Be sure to come down early especially when the occupancy rate is high during holidays. You are sure to get your seats at the popular ‘ Street50’ restaurant due to its large seating capacity. BUT I cannot guarantee you will get your favorite food if you are late!





The chef consistently ensure that you get hot pipping food served! Yummilicious!





The spread they have for breakfast is also pretty generous! M was totally head over heels with their Chocolate Donut balls which seeks to satisfy the sweet-tooth! For me, it just had to be their hot crunchy nuggets! I had like a 20 piece nugget meal myself!

Other food includes scrambled eggs, Ham, Croissant, yogurt, muesli, waffles, different variety of cheese, hash browns and many more!

A hearty breakfast accomplished!





For all those who are in for shopping spree & beaches, this hotel is a definite must stay! Where else can you get an affordable room in the central which is within a stone’s thrown away from the biggest shopping complex and our iconic beach, Sentosa!

ROOM DISCOUNT when you quote “Maybeline Sim”
Exclusive: 10% Off Best Available Rate plus buffet breakfast for 2 persons
Valid for stay between 21 Aug to 30 Sep 2016 only; subject to room availability
Not applicable for the period of 15 – 18 Sep 2016.


‘SINGAPORE FOOD STORY’ Weekend Buffet Lunch (For those who are Foodies only!)

If you are planing for food venture tour instead of a shopping spree, I will highly urge you to try out their ‘Singapore Food Story’ Weekend Buffet lunch!

Why?

For Foreigners – Unless you are staying for a good one week in Singapore, chances is that you are going to miss out either one or two of our famous local delicacies. With this buffet, you are almost able to capture all our famous local delights across different races eg Malay Satay, Indian Rojak etc.

For Locals – Yes, you guys might already be familiar with the local delicacies since you stayed almost half your life here. It would then be the affordability and quality of the local food!

I would say the new chef makes a good concerted effort with perfecting every local cuisines on the table here especially the Laksa which Maybel had two bowls in a row. For me, it’s their satay as he made it extremely palatable without overly burning it! Especially, I have see really ‘carcinogenic’ ones elsewhere!





Apart from local cuisines, they also have additional ‘Grill’ Stations that prepares Grilled Beef, Chicken and etc. So in totality, their spread is definitely generous and bang for buck!

Additional Details

Every Saturday & Sunday, 12pm to 3pm

(After the special debut on National Day, 9 Aug 2016, 12pm to 3pm)

Adult: $42 ++, Child (6yrs to 12yrs): $20 ++

(Children below 6 yrs dine for free with every paying adult, subject to maximum of 2 children per table)

Bay Hotel is located at 50 Telok Blangah Road Singapore 098828.

Review: Bay Hotel Street 50’s New Ala Carte Menu

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Author: James

For ALL the foodies who are heading down to Vivocity, you might want to consider making a walking trip down to Street 50 Restaurant & Bar. This restaurant residing within Bay Hotel is presenting a whole new array of favourite local street food in their brand new all-day dining ala carte menu.

For those who are existing customers, you might taste a slightly different style and flavor as they have just engaged a new head chef (Previously from Sofitel Hotel) to helm Street 50’s kitchen! In the spirit of sharing, these dishes created exclusively by this new head chef will come well-presented in palatable small plates. This ensure that NO food goes into wastage & more importantly maintaing a reasonably affordable price tag for the price conscious ones from $7.90 to $12.90!

One of the key selling point of this menu is their smart move jumping into the bandwagon of ‘Salted Egg’ craze! In fact, you will see two of the dishes being themed & teamed with Salted Egg!

Here’s some of my honest review of their LATEST menu.

1st Salted Egg Dish: Soft Shell Crab with Salted Egg Dip ($7.90)

See the yolk looking sauce, that is the Salted egg dip! Don’t be deceived by its bland looking yellow coloration, the Salted egg taste is actually pretty strong.

I have tried dipping a soft shell crab into many sauce but this is certainly the first time dipping into salted egg sauce. I must say it is a good marriage of both and promises a flavorful crunchy bite with every mouthful!





2nd Salted Egg Dish: Salted Egg Lava Chicken Breast ($9.90)

If I have to pick a favourite that night, the winner will definitely be this one! One of the reasons being which I do a bit of body building & we all know what’s one of body builders favourite food (Chicken Breast Meat). However, every body builder would also know that chicken breast meat isn’t the most tasty part of the chicken, for the fact that it is usually the driest and hardest part.

However, I am very impressed when I tasted this version of chicken cordon bleu; the meat was very tender and slightly moist most probably due to the clever move of infusing salted egg instead of cheese inside. Eat it after you cut it piping hot upon the sight of oozing hot salted egg! Yummilicious!~





Moving onto to some of the other local delicacies perfected under the hands of the chef.

Since most of our local crowd like seafood, let’s start with some prawns!

Cereal Prawns with Wasabi Dressing ($9.90)

Yes I do agree this dish might be slightly plain-looking but the taste is definitely a crowd-pleaser.

Starting from its key ingredient, the prawns are fresh to begin with; You can still get that crunchy bite even after deep frying and evenly-coating them with cereal. For those who like a bit of spice, the wasabi is going to give you that kick without overpowering the prawns’ original sweet flavor!





Missed your caffeine intake in the morning? No worries, you are going to like the next one!

Coffee Wings ($7.90)

Inspired by Coffee Pork ribs, this Coffee wings are bound to take flight in the hearts of many. Still, this is because of the crispy texture of the wings instead of the sauce. For Maybeline who is less of a caffeine addict as compared to me, felt it was just nice! For me, I would have love the coffee flavour to come on more strongly!

Nonetheless, I leave it to your good judgement on this one!





So much for protein, shall we move on to some carbs?

XO Scallops & Prawns Fried Rice ($9.90)

This tantalizing fried rice in all time favourite XO sauce is SO going to whet the appetite of carbo-lovers! Split open the egg wrapping and you are guaranteed to see an avalanche of sliced-up prawns spilling out of the crevice!





Shrimp & Eggplant Sambal ($8.90)

By this time, my stomach storage was almost up! However, space is always freed up whenever sambal comes into the picture! Especially flavorful ones like the one here! You already have an idea how fresh their prawns are based on its crunchy texture, so I will not further dwell into that!

Instead, I would just like to share how much I enjoyed gorging down the eggplant that was soaked with the palatable sambal sauce! Mouth-watering even at the thoughts of it now!





Oyster Char Kway Teow ($12.90)

How can we ever miss this famous local delicacy! I would go for this anytime for the fact that I am a bigger fan of oysters instead of cockles ! However, I was slightly disappointed to find that oyster shrink in size after stir-frying it.

Nonetheless, they make it up with quite a substantial amount of fried oyster which did satisfy my oysters craving. If that is not enough, the portion of Kway Teow is sure to make you full!





In the tropical climate of Singapore, there is always room for cooling desserts!

Such is the case here: Fresh Coconut Malibu ($8.90)

You are definitely get your fair share of fibre intake from this scrumptious dessert! It contains coconut ice cream, young coconut flesh, mixed fruits and fresh coconut juice. Worried it is too sweet? Rest assured this is not the typical diabetes-causing kind of sweet but more of refreshing one!

If your stomach still has space after those savory dishes above, I would recommend trying this one out and giving your palates that sweet ending it deserves!





In essence, I have had quite a few rounds of food tastings with Street 50 Restaurant & Bar and this is definitely one of the better ones worth going for! The new head chef has definitely done a good job perfecting local delicacies which you definitely should not miss out!

They are located at Bay Hotel Singapore, 50 Telok Blangah Road Singapore 098828.
Call in to 68186681 for reservations.