Aqua Restaurant @ The Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

We already had visited Aqua at the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur when this outlet was operating under the name Cascade.

When booking the hotel - please see also our review -, we thought the new venue at the pool wouldn't have open during our stay. We were positive surprised when Aqua opened around two weeks before our stay.  We reserved a table for dinner.

Aqua is an improvement and is much more in line what guests would expect in regards to dining and design today in a Mandarin Oriental hotel.

It is casual, but elegant and the staff very attentive and friendly.

When we showed our reservation we were brought to our table with great views over the pool, the KLCC Park and the city.

We ordered a bottle of still Armani water, two glasses of Patron XO Cafe, homemade Conchiglie Bolognese, Pizza Chorizo, Valrhona chocolate ice cream sundae and warm Valrhona chocolate lava cake.

The food was delicious and the portion size was generous.

During our meal a very strong thunder storm was raging. Even though we were sitting under umbrellas and nearly under the roof, we were getting a bit wet, so our table was pushed back by the staff, but this wasn't a problem at all.

We were also invited for a free cappuccino, an offer we picked up. Overall, we loved our experience at Aqua.

Our bill came in at 321 MYR (ca. 68.85 Euro or 75.30 USD).

We would return to the Mandarin Oriental and Aqua.

  ©2015

Raffles Courtyard @ The Raffles Hotel, Singapore

When planning our full day in Singapore we wanted to go to one of our favorite places in the whole of the city.

We love the Raffles Hotel and surrounding areas.

We reserved a few months ahead a table at the Raffles Courtyard.

When we arrived it was very quiet and only another family with adult/teenaged children was there.

We were greeted warmly and brought to our table.

The setting was romantic with lush foliage, wicker furniture, the Bras Basah Wing on one side and the rest of the hotel encircling the courtyard.  Birds were singing in the background and we could hear a nearby fountain tinkling.

Singapore was celebrating 50 years of Independence and there were a lot of special offers available.

At the Raffles Courtyard it was a 3 course meal for 50 SGD++.

All items marked on the menu were included. We decided to have it, since it was good value and included many of the dishes we wanted to have anyway.

We started off with a bottle of Surgiva still water from Italy, a Singapore Sling, which celebrates 100 years in 2015, and a Raffles Indonesia cocktail. Each Raffles around the world has a signature cocktail and they appear on the menu of other properties as well. The drinks were beautifully presented and we enjoyed every sip.

We were looking forward for our meal to arrive, which was delivered freshly from the show kitchen at the back.

By the time our starters arrived the restaurant was filling up.

Our appetizers Gazpacho and Vitello Tonnato. Both were very enjoyable.

Our main courses were Orecchiette pasta with Burratina cheese, cherry tomatoes and basil and a Chorizo Pizza. We both loved our dishes. They were very sumptuous and full of flavor, but light enough to fit the climate.

As dessert we had both the same - a scoop of chocolate and hazelnut ice cream, in-house made, from the classic trolley. The ice cream was rich and just the right size.

Rain and showers are no problem, because every table is covered with a large umbrella. They not only protect from the rain, but also the sun.

The staff was attentive and friendly. We felt extremely well here at this gorgeous venue.

The meal took ca. 1.5 hours.

We paid 202.45 SGD (ca. 132.30 Euro or 142.30 USD).

Afterwards we felt rested and ready to explore the hotel and Raffles City.

We enjoyed the atmosphere, meal and surroundings very much, so we would return when we're in Singapore again in our future.

©2015