Canopy Park in the Evening @ Jewel Changi Airport [Singapore] #jewelchangiairport

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After a few hours of fun at Jewel Changi Airport, we proceeded to The White Tiffin in Changi City Point (one mrt stop away) for early dinner and then returned back to Jewel Changi Airport to catch the bus back to Yishun.

But before then, let's check out Canopy Park again as the tickets allow us multiple entries on the same day and I thought it might be a different experience at night! 

Note: it's not as if the sky had already turned dark but the lights illuminating the park were already switched on and some natural lights would allow better photo-taking given that I am a lousy photographer who sucks in photo-taking and didn't have a tripod.

Topiary Walk - a place filled with spots for photo-taking with fake animals like the above gigantic chameleon! Night time gave a eerie vibe and I think replacing the animals with replicas of ghosts around the world would give one a good scare during Halloween. 

Colours would change; beauty of LED lights technology.

Adorable elephant fountain; easily the cutest animal in the entire Topiary Walk! It's hard to take a selfie with it, given its location right in the middle of the small pond.

Some of the impressive trees at Jewel Changi Airport; the first one is a ficus whereas the second one is an olive tree! No wonder it looked kind of familiar as I remember there seeing some back in Gardens by the Bay. 

There was this area I missed in the daytime; an enclosed pond where a pair of mandarin ducks resided. Do you know that they are said to mate for life and is a symbol of everlasting marriage in the Chinese culture?

Is there something holding its wing to prevent the duck from escaping? 

The structure remains as majestic at night! Known simply as Discovery Slides, this would be the place that kids would love and enjoy! Click here for some pictures. 

Various holes for you take a plunge; note that some were closed due to COVID-19 safe management measures. A real pity as some visitors might complain that they are paying usual ticket prices and hence, should be able to enjoy the full array of activities. 

View of the lit pathway along Canopy Park. 

As mentioned here, peak of Discovery Slides is a perfect spot to catch the HSBC Rain Vortex; the world's tallest indoor waterfall.

Recorded quite a few time-lapsed videos to reflect the change in colours but each colour change took so long! "The Light & Sound Show is temporarily suspended until further notice".

See-through glass; about 6 meters in height.

There was a slide I failed to check out during the day and I immediately turned into a kid as my butt slid down the smooth surface. I should blog about the Admiralty Park Playground in Woodlands, which has a staggering 26 slides! 

Don't these benches look like lanterns?! 

Coming to the last of the Canopy Park; the Foggy Bowls. p.s. there's another section called Petal Garden but it was closed for upgrading work back when I visited in January. It should be opened by now though.

I find Foggy Bowls to be the most fascinating attraction within Canopy Park. Once activated, you would have clouds being dispersed from the middle of the 'bowls' and being you know it; it's all over you! 

Like what happened to me! 

It even lingered a while, forming a mystical layer floating mid-air! It's such a surreal experience and I almost feel like I was in a magical rainforest. p.s. I might not have felt the same if the whole place was filled with people.

Walking past the Manulife Sky Nets (Walking); if this was allowed for re-entry, I might have just popped in again to take more pictures.

Another photograph of HSBC Rain Vortex; can you spot the control tower that's right outside? From this photo, you would also have a better gauge of how close the Canopy Bridge is to the HSBC Rain Vortex. 

Tempted to grab a beer at Tiger Street Lab, "Tiger Beer's first ever global experiential concept store showcasing an unexpected side of Singapore", on the same level but I resisted! A bit of regret honestly as I have never had Tiger Beer, despite it being a local brand. 

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Address 

78 Airport Blvd., 

Jewel Changi Airport,

Singapore 819666

Map of Canopy Park

As above.

Website

https://www.jewelchangiairport.com/

Pricing Menu

As above; second photo is for annual pass. 

Ayam Penyet Ria @ Jalan Legundi (Opposite Sembawang Shopping Centre) [Singapore]

It's no secret that I love ayam penyet (Indonesian smashed chicken) and when I noticed that Ayam Penyet Ria has opened for business just a short bus ride away from where I stay; I made a mental note to check it out soon as I remember this particular brand is popular at its original outlet in Lucky Plaza! 

Place was deserted when we arrived during lunchtime and I attributed it to the Puasa month for which our Muslim friends are fasting and could only eat when the sun sets or before the sun rises. Unlike most Indonesian-themed eateries, it felt more like a cafe setting.

Order list - pretty extensive with both fried and grilled selections. There was even a salted egg variant and our favourite Indonesian drinks and desserts like avocado juice and es teler. It was hard deciding even though the classic ayam penyet is a must-order! 

Avocado Juice - known as jus alpukat, I was supposed to find that it's blended avocado drenched onto a bed of shaved ice. Shouldn't they be fully blended? Nevertheless, the taste was pretty good but with all the ice, it's real hard to suck them up using the metal straw.

Teh Botol Sosro - to think that I used to hate this national drink of Indonesia; it's now a need-to-order beverage whenever I am in an Indonesia restaurant. I ordered the large size and it sure didn't feel sufficient; even the metal straw was less than halfway into the drink! 

Bawal Penyet - as I was with my mom, I think the fried smashed pomfret would appeal to her, especially when I remember occasionally digging into that large piece of fried pomfret when there was an ayam penyet stall in University Town a few years ago! 

Mom was pretty satisfied as far as taste was concerned (I thought there was a slight fishiness to it) but I had a bigger issue with the size of the pomfret; it was only about the size of my knuckle and cost a ridiculous S$12.90. I recalled paying less than half that amount for a fried pomfret doubled that size in NUS. Has the pricing of pomfret increased exponentially over the past few years?! 

Ayam Penyet - two things disappointed me; one, the display was different on the menu and two, I was looking forward to having the chicken thigh, not breast! 

Other the aforementioned, I have no complaint about the flavour of the meat and skin; in fact, I did enjoy the crispy bits on top and had a love-hate relationship with the chilli! Loving it because it had that addictive, aromatic spiciness and hating it because it numbed my tongue and I was sweating buckets! 

I don't understand why people don't like tempeh; known in Chinese as stinky beans, I don't find it smelly at all and while the one at Ayam Penyet Ria didn't have much of a taste; it's definitely the chilli to the rescue.

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Truthfully, it was a pricey meal and I would have gladly stomached it if the portion was of a decent size, which wasn't the case for the bawal penyet and even the beverages we had. I am not that huge of a chilli fan to return and its competitor, Ayam Penyet President had a branch at Northpoint, just a few minutes' walk from my home.

Address

8 Jln Legundi, #01-04, 

Victory 8, Singapore 759274 

(opposite Sembawang Shopping Centre)

Map 

As above.

Website

https://ayampenyetria.com/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Avocado Juice - S$6.90

Teh Botol Sosro - S$3.00

Bawal Penyet - S$12.90

Ayam Penyet - S$7.90

The Boiler Seafood Bar and Beer @ Esplanade Mall [Singapore]

Despite being somewhat of a national icon in our little red dot, I don't really visit the biggest durian inspired structure in the whole wide world; Esplanade.

Famed for holding world class arts events, my objective for visiting last week was sadly for food, once again, and the destination was at the Annex wing of Esplanade mall. 

The Boiler Seafood Bar and Beer; said to be voted as the best seafood in Singapore! That's an incredible accolade as we have no lack of seafood restaurants in Singapore, although a closer look at the smaller print on the glass revealed that it was quite a few years ago.

Whatever the case, I was drawn to the seafood-in-the-bag dining concept and when it comes to the best seafood, the secret is ultimately on their freshness! Best is right out from the sea which can be a challenge for lazy people like me.

Main reason for the visit; to celebrate Alex's birthday! 

p.s. he was given a special apron to commemorate the occasion. 

Items to make the eating easier; the crab cracker, gloves to protect your hands and even a plastic bag to keep your mobile phones. Latter was quite useless for iPhone 12 Pro Max though as the bag was too small. One item that should have been included is the ultra helpful crab pick! 

Four seafood bag combos to choose from and since it's Alex's bird day, let's go with Duo Plus and another Chilli Crab (Sri Lankan Crab). Boy, I am really having too much seafood nowadays; cholesterol for the win. 

Bundaberg Root Beer - for carbonated drinks, my choice would always be root beer. However, I am happier with the memorable yet cheaper A&W root beer; the Bundaberg one didn't really appeal to me. One brand that I personally feel can compete with A&W is Stewart's. 

Duo Plus Seafood Bag - here comes our main meal. I was expecting a long waiting time but from the timing of the photographs, the wait was only about 10 minutes. 

Frankly, this content in the bag appeared to be insufficient for two seafood lovers like Alex and I but once we got started; it was substantial and included ingredients like mud crab, prawns, mussels, clams, smoked sausages, pearl sweet corns, and fried buns which I initially assumed were for the chilli crabs! 

Our sauce was garlic butter as their original sauce was spicy and I guess it might be too much for us to handle since we would also have a chilli crab. Sauce of the month was laksa, which we didn't consider for the same reason! The sauce was all concentrated on the bottom; so do remember to dig further in! 

Ingredients were fresh and as I mentioned earlier in this post; that's vital. One surprise I got was from the smoke sausage as it was delicious! Sauce has the magic to enhance the taste and while the garlic was aromatic and appetizing, I thought the butter could have been a tad more saltier and flavourful. 

Loving the concept of seafood in a bag as there's no plates and I could literally eat like a barbarian without any fork / spoon / knife! Oh ya, almost forgot about the chilli crab.

Chilli Crab - said to be a version of "sweet and savoury tomato and chilli based sauce", I must say the disappointment hit hard as I personally feel that it had more a sambal chilli twist to it and lacked the sweetness that would make it comparable to its competitors. 

Thankfully, the 600 to 650-gram Sri Lankan crab was fresh and the meat was pulpy and satisfying enough to our birthday boy here. 

Restaurant prepared a slice of red velvet cake for Alex as his birthday cake! This kind gesture caught Alex by surprise as he totally didn't expect and I noted on the bill later that it cost S$9.90! Kudos to the service staff! 

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While I can't say I would be back for the chilli crab, the seafood bag combo is something I would bring my parents to in the near future, given that it's going to be Mother and Father's day soon! And a gentle reminder for me to try their Signature Haddock Fish & Chips next time.

Address

8 Raffles Ave #01-13A,

Annexe Esplanade Mall,

Singapore 039802

Map

As above.

Website

https://www.theboiler.com.sg/

Pricing

Duo Plus - S$89.00

Chilli Crab - S$48.00

Bundaberg Root Beer - S$4.50

(Subject to GST and Service Charge)