Banyan Tree/Singapore: Day 2

Mon, 27 Feb 2006, 11:17 pm

Day 2 dawned bright and early…and I really meant early…I was wide awake by 7.30am, a rare occurance, let me assure you! I left hubby dozing in bed while I took my shower and changed, before bugging him to get up, get up! We left our room at about 8.30am, and took the now familiar route to Treetops restaurant for breakfast. We were given a table at the verandah…it was just lovely to hear the sound of the sea below, feel the light breeze and smell the scent of bread and eggs in the air! While the spread for the buffet breakfast wasn’t huge, the food was really good…and they even had champagne for drinks…how decadent!

Left to right, top to bottom: Ham, freshly baked bread, muffin, peanut butter, chocolate spread…all belonging to hubby; Waffles, sausages, French toast, bacon…all belonging to hubby too!; A small modest plate for yours truly…hehe…; Poached Eggs on Brioche…yummy!

As part of the breakfast, we were given a choice of eggs…hubby went for the Farmer’s Omelette, while I chose the Poached Eggs on Brioche with Hollandaise sauce…yummy! We filled our plates with bread, pork bacon (yes, pork bacon), sausages, pancakes, waffles, French toast…and proceeded to stuff ourselves silly…*grin*. I don’t know if it was the fresh air, the good night’s sleep or…but everything tasted so good. I particularly liked the French toast which was crispy on the outside with a sprinkling of sugar and maple syrup. And they had the loveliest homemade pineapple jam!

After breakfast, we took a walk around the resort and took more photos. By the time we were done, the sun was shining brightly, so we decided to return to the room, change and head out to the shady swimming pool. As soon as we arrived, two bottles of ice cold water was brought over, together with cold towels, insect repellent and a small bottle of face-mist…talk about good service! I ended up dozing off on the lounge chair for a good half an hour while hubby read the day’s newspaper…the sound of the waves was so hypnotic. When I awoke, we decided to finally go into the pool….but as soon as I put one foot in, I squealed and ran back to the lounge chair…the water was icy cold despite the hot weather!! Unbelieveable. Anyways, my butt remained firmly glued to the lounge chair despite hubby’s protests that the water isn’t that cold. Hmpph. He isn’t the one that has just recovered from fever, flu and whatnot! I watched hubby swim for awhile before he finally came out (I bet he was feeling cold…haha….), and we headed back to the room straight into the oh-so-warm jacuzzi. Bliss…

Lunch was at The Cove, a Mediterranean restaurant situated below Saffron. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. While the bread basket came with a delicious tasting tuna mayonnaise, my basil pesto pasta was so bland! Hubby ordered the Calzone with ham which he said tasted really nice…so I managed to salvage part of my lunch by stealing some of hubby’s parma ham…*grin* When the waiter asked about our meal, I made a comment about how bland the pasta tasted…guess what? It was removed from our bill! What a surprise!

Left to right, top to bottom: Bread basket; Rocket Salad with Prawns, Mussels and Squid; Basil Pesto Pasta; Calzone

After lunch, we ended up taking some photos at the beach before going back to the villa for a short nap (we’re turning out to be such piggies …hehe…)…

Hubby’s great find…

Quick, quick…I’m melting!!

Woke up at 3.45pm and walked down to the Banyan Tree Spa for our massage. After a short wait at the reception area where we were served cold ginger tea, we were taken to the massage room. There, we got a quick foot bath before we changed and settled down for a 30-minute scrub (I opted for the Kaffir Lime scrub while hubby went for the Kemiri Nut Purifier) and a one hour massage (Lomi-Lomi for me, Balinese for him). As usual, I could feel my whole body relax as they pounded and kneaded the tension from my back and shoulders…ahhh! After our session ended, we were served lemongrass tea and fresh fruits and vege sticks…just the thing to fill my tummy (obviously, lunch was not enough!) before dinner.

We’d ordered the In-Villa BBQ for dinner and at 7.45pm, our doorbell rang, and there stood the friendly staff with three huge baskets in tow. Within 15 minutes, he’d set up an electronic grill, covered our table with plates and plates of food and shown us how to BBQ the seafood and meat…efficient! Hubby also got a small complimentary birthday cake!! Dinner was scrumptious, although I think we only managed to finish only three quarters of the food. We chose the Rume Thai set which consisted of Spicy Grilled Beef Salad, Seafood Salad, Tom Yum Goong (hot and sour shrimp soup), Lamb Chops, Lobster, Tiger Prawn Skewers, Seafood Kebab, Beef Medallions, Thai style wok-fried rice noodles with shrimps and chicken, Fried Rice with Crab Meat, Mango Sticky Rice with Santan (coconut sauce) and a selection of fresh tropical fruits. Feeling full just reading the menu? Imagine how stuffed we were!! The prawns and lobsters were extremely fresh, and hubby loved the lamb cutlet and beef…we just ate and ate and ate…

Top to bottom, left to right: The Banyan Tree staff preparing our table; Fully laden with food food food!; Four types of chilli sauce and one big bowl of peanut sauce; the seafood grilling away; lamb cutlets and beef medallions marinated in coriander and lime; Fresh rolls; Seafood Salad; Beef Salad and Tom Yum Goong; Fried Rice and Thai Fried Noodles; fruits are always good for you!