Marina Bay Sands 24/7

Marina Bay Sands: Asia's most popular integrated resort and an icon of Singapore's skyline, i see it with a fresh pair of eyes after visiting the underground labyrinth underneath the 57 floors, 194 meters tall building.

With over 2,500 rooms and a US$5.7 million price tag, MBS has a 9,000 strong army to keep it ticking around the clock.  For example, the bakery within the kitchen does not stop work at all.


Little did the guests above ground floor know what goes on underneath.

Especially to Lady Gaga who lives in a similar suite (SGD $8K - 13K a night) as this when she visited last year.


The floor that doesn't exist to hotel guests, it's like another city and a much futuristic society below. Going underground has also made me realize that any business is really about the people behind it, or in this case, beneath. Without people, there wouldn't be any business.

The 24/7 Uniform Room stores and sorts over 100,000 garments including uniforms, scarves, aprons and ties.

The team works around the clock to tailor, press and attach electronic tags to the garments, which are then sorted out in a conveyor belt system to be collected by uniformed staff, all fully automated and organized.

Feeding the Masses

 On a typical day, team members consume 200kg of rice, 1,200 kg protein/ meat and 1,500 kg of veggies in the staff dining room. This is equivalent to the weight of a female Asian elephant.

As the Executive Chef of Marina Bay Sands, Christopher Christie oversees the entire 400-strong culinary team at the integrated resort. Chris is responsible for making sure the 43 individual kitchens deliver an average of 15,000 meals a day.

I ask the chef some questions.

Me: Overseeing a massive amount of food daily, do you still get hungry? You may already be visually full!

Chef Christie: I actually rarely sit down to have a proper meal at work. I am often on-the-go, tasting food throughout the day for quality control.

For every minute you stand on your feet, you burn 7 calories. For Chef to stand and eat, he must hardly store any fat!

Me: Does it hurt when you see food wastage?


Chef Christie: It does! I don't take it personally but i do investigate. If not the taste, then is it because the portion is too big? Food wastage is a huge issue in our industry and the Marina Bay Sands vision is to go green. We create awareness in the staff dining room, so that's the start of education!


Me: What's the oddest food concoction you were asked to prepare?


Chef Christie: Peanut butter and apple! Both uncooked, as is, was the weirdest combination ever requested. As a chef, it's the most unlikely pairing. I was curious, so yes i did try after the customer was gone, but no it didn't taste good.


Such requests however spurs me in daily experimentation to discover new combinations and flavours. We're currently working on durian creations, not my most favourite fruit but Singaporean's!


Merely a sneak preview of a Chef's life (large scale responsibilities), there'll be an episode on BIO: The Biography Channel where real drama will unfold as the Marina Bay Sands banquet team prepares an 8 course meal for 5, 000 guests.

In comparison, William and Kate's Royal Wedding only had 1,500 guests and they didn't even have a sit down meal at the Buckingham Palace but mere canapes.

Marina Bay Sands 24/7 is an 8 episode series that gives viewers an unprecedented and exclusive look into the "Heart of House".


Behind this series is Chris Humphrey, Executive Producer across all original content produced across the South East Asia region for AETN All Asia Networks.

Me: How real is Marina Bay Sands 24/7?


Chris: Nothing is scripted at all. Every line you hear, they're all impromptu. We were very fortunate to be able to pick 12 of the 30 staff who we auditioned to be key characters in the series. 


Fortunate indeed, as the 12 staff were really charismatic and a natural in front of TV. As i said, the people make the business. Similarly for a show, you need good people too!

Me: In your years of creating biographies, which was your most favourite and who inspires you?


Chris: Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr P Ramlee, a Malaysian film actor, director, singer, songwriter, composer and producer was my proudest film to date. It sparked alot of emotions and local talk, it touched many hearts which touched mine.


I look up to business figures like Tony Fernandes, founder and CEO of Asia's first low-cost carrier AirAsia and Ho Kwon Ping, founder of Banyan Tree Holdings. I admire them because they aren't just business men but the passion and the drive behind their doings is commendable.


13 years in Singapore, while Chris loves the little red dot for its location amongst many other things, kiasu-ism is still something he hasn't come to terms with.


And no, he still hasn't succumbed to using Kleenex to chope his seat.


Watch Marina Bay Sands 24/7 starting 31 May, 9.30pm on BIO channel.

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Hide Yamamoto at Marina Bay Sands

A michelin star restaurant at Marina Bay Sands, Japanese is my favourite cuisine!

For $169 per person, you get a divine 8 course meal.

Yuzu Ume ($12) is my favourite alcohol beverage. A citrusy refreshing tang with plum wine. I downed 2 before the food even came! Go straight for a jar instead of ordering for the glass, it's better value. 1 wouldn't be enough.

The first dish was a trio of cold appetizers. The one on the right is baby octopus that is so smooth if i wasn't careful it would escape my jaws and slide right down my throat. Biting into its head, the juices squirt and i climaxed. The middle one was forgettable, i can't remember what it was.

The one on the extreme left was a cube of sea urchin capsule in a jelly like substance. I've tried something similar by Tung Lok, a herbal chicken jelly which tasted better than this one. This taste rather bland, another passable dish. I remember sea urchin being yellow and mushy, but what's in this cube looks like shredded chicken. I wonder if the Japanese chef explained it correctly.

Next was the sashimi that was so fresh that it squeaks "eat me eat me".

I obliged.

Then it was the chawanmushi with a generous layer of truffle oil and one lonely sea urchin icing the top. Truffle is very expensive by the way, the guests on Titanic had fresh truffles. Truffle oil is like fine dining who want to be atas but know patrons can't afford real truffles. Truffle fries at some cafes is like Astons disguising as Lawry.

Then came the main course which you have a choice of fish or meat. I don't quite remember how this taste like, i think it tastes like grilled fish.

Seafood toufu was nice.

Then there was 5 sushi topped with various sashimi like tuna belly and other premium variety.

Finally dessert which you could choose from the menu. Out of the entire course, the dessert was the least impressive though it scored for presentation and inventiveness in the ingredients used.

This was soya sorbet with tomato jelly. Feels uber healthy despite being dessert, i'd go for it!

For a Michelin star fine restaurant at the Marina Bay Sands, the deco was a tad disappointing. Nothing fancy, it was pretty basic. It had a see through glass with limited seating where you can have Teppanyaki though. Finishing your heavenly meal, you can then stroll outside of MBS and enjoy the free fountain laser show nightly at 9pm. I must say, it's one of the prettiest i've seen.

Food bloggers are the most hardworking because they put in the most effort in their photos yet it's not for their vanity. I am not a food blogger, as you can tell from my half hearted attempt at this. I like my food hot.

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www.gudanggrosiran.com Categories: food review, hide yamamoto, marina bay sands, michelin star restaurants

A Red and White Affair

Singapore is the only country in the world (correct me if I’m wrong), that has a lot of fan fare for National Day. We have performances of glittery song and dance (where thousands of students, national service men etc. sacrifice hundreds of hours rehearsing for), much coveted for goodie bags, and parade tickets are sold in the black market. Unlucky souls who weren’t successful in balloting for a free ticket, they bring out their picnic mats and gather at spots nearby to catch the spectacular fireworks display.

The long weekend started for me with a coastal clean-up first. Heading to Lim Chu Kang mangrove, it was a very educational experience. We did not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Trash is regularly deposited on Lim Chu Kang mangrove from the straits (and I bet Malaysia will probably have the same to say about thrash coming from Singapore), so various interest groups often organize clean-up events. All these thrash, if left on its own will poison the water, which poisons the plants, which poisons the creatures who eat it, which poison the predators, which ultimately leads to poisoning us humans (mercury in fishes for example) because of the spoilt biodiversity. If you think you aren’t that noble to sacrifice time, effort and money to do something for the environment, then see it from the self centered angle. You will be affected. It’s like how some people don’t see the point in helping ex-offenders. They believe ex-offenders sought their own ending. So if you’re really that self-centered, then think it this way: Helping ex-offenders reduces your risk of being a victim of crime.

At 8am, we begin picking up thrash. It was a group of university students as well as scientists who studies about the environment. There were helmets, TV, and lots of plastics. The spooky part was this voodoo bag. Inside seemed to be a wooden cross with something hung on it, we didn’t dare look, and we didn’t dare touch.
                                       
I think someone else braver picked it up in the end and threw it. Must be one of the scientists, after all, they believe in science and not the paranormal right? Secluded places like these are often a place for human trafficking, illegal immigrants, make-out places as well as cult activities.

The spookiest, however, was this toilet seat cover that looked like the last person who sat on it had diarrhea.

I particularly enjoyed what comes after cleaning up. The kind scientists educated us on the characteristics of the mangrove, and even showed us some specimens including this dogface snake which really freaked me out. They say it doesn’t bite, but I was so afraid that after so many hands has handled it, the snake will be pissed when it finally reaches me and decides to bite right.at.this.moment.

And this horseshoe crab that is estimated to be at least 300 million years old! Dinos are 200. It’s really amazing to be able to catch a sight of such an old creature; it might go extinct any time now because of pollution. The dead ones will stink, but you can choose to keep the empty shells! It’s a fossil, that’s your incentive to do coastal clean-ups.

The scientists also found the complete skeleton of a wild dog. Dogs hide out in mangroves because the agencies put any stray dogs to sleep in the city. That’s so sad; I played with such an adorable black puppy a distance away from the mangrove.

The amount of thrash we accumulated, not dumped hor.

On Sunday, I checked out the National Art Museum where 99 life sized wolves reside temporarily in the basement.

                                  
This one exhibit is for free, so drop by the museum if you’re around Dohby Guat.

On Monday, I had the privilege to watch NDP from the Presidential Suite in Marina Bay Sands.

                                     

32 inch flat screen TVs were placed everywhere in the suite. We could play pool and watch TV!

                                       

We saw the fighter jets soar and roar from our balconies, with the main highlight of course, was to see the fireworks in full view from the 54th floor in our own private space (ceiling to floor wide windows) with a friend playing appropriate dramatic notes on the grand piano as background music.

                                      

                                        

                                       

The living room is 3 times of a 3 room HDB flat. The Suite also has its own gym, massage, kitchen and karaoke room.

                                         

                                       

                                 

Needless to say the bathroom is 2 times my HDB bedroom. It costs $5000 a night here, but high rollers (gamblers who win AND lose millions) can get the suites for free sometimes.

Lotsa bubbles, chips and Cold Storage’s roasted chicken, it was such a good night with old and new friends.

Special thanks to KS who invited me to crash and LC who took the pictures and took me home.

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