It's the end of the year again and as work winds down, it is a must for all of us to indulge and pamper ourselves a little (and some). The past couple of weeks was insane for me at work and i really needed a break. My wish was answered by Secret Santa (or pretty elves ;)) when i received an invitation for a staycation at Grand Hyatt Singapore and i happily scooted off to my mini holiday right after my work even ended.

The Grand King in the Terrace Wing was my room for the stay. The generous 42sqm of warm and relaxing timber environment came with a functional extended workstation bathed in natural daylight. To keep guests entertained, a 37-inch flat screen television with personal audio/video connection, including a DVD/CD/VCD player, allows you to chill out from the comfort of the plush soft goose down king bed with fluffy pillows.

Other than the fabulous room, what i like about Hyatt is their willingness to listen to their guests. Hyatt is Listening, a customer oriented project, focuses on tailoring the stay for each and every of their guest. Hyatt Has It, one of the enhanced services for all guests, offer essentials such as a phone charger, curling iron, steamer, yoga mat, makeup remover wipes and razors to keep, borrow or buy! You only need to bring yourself to Hyatt and everything would be provided for. Best way to rest and relax!

On top of that, i received some special treats! Champagne, chocolates, along with pretty flowers are my kinda thing. ;)

The sweet girls at Grand Hyatt Singapore also threw in a decadently rich Blackforest cake to sweeten my stay. Perfect way to kick start the staycation!

With bubbly in hand, i had a nice warm bubbly soak in the lovely tub and experienced yet another nice touch by Hyatt with their high quality June Jacobs bath amenities. I love the light fragrance of the Green Tea and Cucumber infused products.
Guests staying in Grand Club Rooms also enjoy a host of additional benefits and privileges including complimentary Internet, and the use and access to their Grand Club Lounge, which serves complimentary Continental breakfast, evening cocktails and all day beverages.

Time for some light snacks at the Club! Canapes and cocktails are served daily from 6-8pm.

I helped myself to some delicious sweet and savory bites before my spa session. A mix of hot and cold finger food are available. Make your own salad with the fresh greens or go with some hearty pastas.

Gotta love the variety of cheeses available for the picking. Perfect with the selection of red, white and bubbly at the drinks station.

Next, i headed to Damai Spa to experience their Signature massage. 
Damai Spa has 11 all-encompassing treatment rooms and they incorporate exclusive spa products from the June Jacobs Spa Collection. Each treatment room has its own water feature in a nature-inspired setting. A Couples’ Room features an indoor stone tub overlooking a private outdoor water terrace with an open skylight. 

The massage was very relaxing. The therapist complimented me on my very firm and strong back but said that my upper back is rather tight. I certainly need to see her more often!

Each treatment room has its own shower but i took the opportunity to check out the public shower area shared with the gym. A sauna, steam room, hot and cold plunge pools are available in both the male and female locker rooms. Perfect way to rejuvenate after a grueling session at the gym.

After being kneaded thoroughly, i headed to dinner at Oasis, a BBQ restaurant with an open bar, where chefs prepare meat and seafood selections a la minute on the open charcoal-fired grills. It's located on the 5th Level of the Terrace Wing, same level as Damai Spa, the gym and the pool.

All you can eat appetisers, main courses and desserts with free flow of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, D'Arenbery 'The Footbolt' Shiraz, Tiger and Heineken beers, margaritas and soft drinks for S$88 per pax. Buffet is available on Fri and Sat nights while platters are served on other nights. We saw that it was very popular with large groups.

A selection of the appetizers. The roasted sweet potatoes and tomato salad was delicious.

From the grill, there were some hits and misses. The first couple of prawns that we had were juicy and succulent, however the later batches were burnt and dry. The fish and roast beef weren't to our liking as they overdone as well. The sausages and the ribs however were noteworthy and had me going back for seconds. Surprisingly good was the roast duck which came with a Peking duck sauce. Yummeh.

Another part of the Hyatt is Listening project is to maintain their guests' health and well-being on the road. Their new menu offerings include fresh juices and smoothies, balanced portions and "create your own" options. We made our own fried brown rice with plenty of shredded cabbage and carrots, baby corn, mushrooms and some chili to taste. This was very addictive.

To feel like guilty about our meal, W and i had a self practice yoga session in the comfort of our room (which gave her the aches because i'm a mean yoga teacher). A call to housekeeper had the yoga mats sent over for our workout. Yay!

Woke up early for my morning Sun Salutation at the gym before heading for breakfast at the Grand Club Lounge. Buttery and crispy chocolate pain, served alongside eggs of our choice and plenty of juices, coffee, muesli and cheese. Perfection.

If you're planning to give yourself a treat (if you're not headed overseas which you should be doing), do consider the Grand Hyatt Singapore for a staycation. Thank you Nicole, Sandee and Indrani for the invitation once again!

Grand Hyatt Singapore 

10 Scotts Road, Singapore 228211
Tel: +65 6738 1234

Christmas is not complete without log cakes and this time round, Smoulder the Soft Core bakers are back with their Signature Dark Chocolate Log Cake with a delicious chocolate ganache filling. Think rich, dark, dense and intense, just like the sweet boys at Smoulder who sent the delightful bites my way. ;)

What's more is that these yummy treats are gluten-free! The Signature Dark Chocolate is flourless, while the Black Forest is not and contains kirsch-soaked alcoholic cherries! Yums. These huge logs come in 500g ($32) and 1 kg ($52) and there is an early bird offer that ends 2 Dec ($28/$46).

For gifting or for personal indulgence, Smoulder has shrunk the logs and made bite-sized versions of their Signature Dark Chocolate and Black Forest cakes. I easily devoured a log by myself! Each log only costs $5. Be warned that the cake is very dense and is more brownie-like that cake-ish. I found them a little on the dry side.

Another special edition that should not be missed is the Dark Chocolate Peppermint Lava Cake. Definitely no sharing for this one. I love the the minty and rich molten center. Sinful but delightful! Hurry go get your hands on them. The 3 piece set goes for $8.20 and it's $24 for the 9 piece set.

Here are the other lava cake offerings at Smoulder. http://www.ms-skinnyfat.com/2012/07/dessert-review-smoulder-lava-cakes.html.

Thank you Smoulder for the early Christmas treats!

Smoulder
Raffles City Shopping Centre #B1-68 
China Square Food Centre #01-04

The French are crazy fans of alfresco dining regardless of any weather condition. I've seen them all wrapped out, chilling out over coffee and cigarettes even in the dead winter cold. Well apparently they like it even better in the hot and humid weather on our sunny island. When i headed to O Batignolles for brunch some weekends back, i found the place packed with French diners seated along the corridors of their Gemmill Lane shophouse unit.

While it looks really charming and romantic to be dining at such a cute spot, the exposed design at O also meant that diners looking for respite from the heat would hardly be cooled even in the air-conditioned (sorta) interior. So yea, do pick a cool day to go. 

A revamped brunch menu now includes a decadent Champagne and Croissants brunch  (yes croissants) served only on weekends from 11am to 4pm. For $89, this includes free flow bubbly and croissants, along with coffee/tea, freshly squeezed orange juice (we saw them bring in oranges), a choice of bread (4 option) and a choice of eggs (4 options). If you're not up for that, there's also the $29 brunch set which excludes the free flow champagne and croissants. Sandwiches and other brunch items are also available on the a la carte menu. 

We started off with coffee, not a very European thing to do as they always have tea and coffee after their meal. But this skinnyfat girl needs her caffeine boost in the morning and is never one to stick to dining rules so to hell with that. Coffee was so so i.e. drinkable but not fantastic.

From the bread section, we had the blueberry pancakes and the bread basket. The pancakes were horrible and made us conclude that we should never order anything that isn't French at a French place. They were hard and dry and despite soaking them in the maple-ish syrup (i don't think it's real maple), it weren't enough to moisten the dough. MEH. Should have gone for the Brioche with Nutella or French Toast.

That said, the bread basket was fabulous. The croissant and the chocolate pain are deliciously buttery. Just look at the gloss on the pastry skin! Layers and layers of thin crisp goodness that peels and crackles away to reveal the moist, chewy and savory center. No additional butter required though butter is always lovely on croissants. One of the better croissants around Singapore. No kidding. Now i understand why they would have a Champagne and Croissant brunch. It was impossible to stop at just 1!

The croissants are available for takeaway. If i didn't remember wrongly, each small little baby costs $1.50. A little on the pricey side but they are too good to be missed. They certainly evoked deep wanderlust for France.

We had the Eggs Benedict and Eggs Pacifico, one with parma ham and the other with smoked salmon. I wasn't wowed by the eggs, they were adequate but again nothing mind blowing. A richer hollandaise sauce would have made the difference. The muffins used were quite good however.

Service here may be a little shoddy. Our cutlery were cleared before we finished our meal. My bread basket was served without the condiments and when they finally arrived, i noted that my bottle of jam has been opened and used. My dining partner walked to the counter to get me another bottle of jam because service was too slow. Boo boo.

I would make a trip back to O Batignolles for their out-of-this-world croissants but i'll never do their brunch sets again. Pick from their selection of sandwiches instead. The croque monsieur from the next table looked rather fab and their salads sounds really good too.

O Batignolles
2 Gemmill Lane, Singapore
Tel: +65 6438 3913
Weekdays: 12pm - 12am
Sat: 11am - 12am
Sun: 11am - 7pm

For any coffee addict, Melbourne is the mecca for the magic potion. Days blurred into nights into days in my caffeine induced stupor as a result of the insane craving to get more. This whirlwind affair was far too short in my opinion and there were a million other cafes that I was dying to try. Here are some convenient spots that you should check out if you are headed Down Under.

The Establishment- Seven Seeds

106-114 Berkeley St., Carlton 

Seven Seeds is THE iconic coffee hub of Melbourne. Ask any Melburnian about coffee and they would probably highlight Seven Seeds as the benchmark for specialty espresso. It has won The Age Food Cafe Guide's best coffee award in 2011 and 2012. The whole warehouse roastery vibe draws in the university crowd and hippies from far and wide. The brunch and lunch offerings smelled darn awesome and i was eyeing the eggs benny next table despite my exploding tummy.

The CBD Brother- Brother Baba Budan

350 Little Bourke Street

Expect the same quality coffee as Seven Seeds as this is the grab and go brother in the CBD. Light snacks like cakes and pastries are available to go with your coffee. Do not hang around. Make space, move out of the way and let these poor office people get their cup of life.

Grab'n'Go- Patricia Coffee Brewers 

Little William Lane 

If you don't have time and you want to squeeze in as many cuppa as you possibly can during your short stay in Melbourne, i'd suggest you do a quick one at Patricia's. Pick from 3 options- Black, White and filter and trust that the coffee is sourced from the most popular coffee spots e.g. Proud Mary, Seven Seeds and Market Lane. Best way to sample the best beans in Melbourne i'd say. Tip: Patricia’s in a laneway next to the 500 Bourke St precinct in case you can't find the nondescript entrance. Btw, there are no tables here.

The Almost Coffee Chain- Market Lane Coffee
Prahran Market, Queen Victoria Market, Faraday Street.

Need some good and consistent coffee when out and about in Melbourne? Then you can't, shouldn't and wouldn't miss Market Lane Coffee. With 3 locations, 2 of which are at tourist hot spots Queen Vic Market and Prahran Market, you could certainly get your fix while checking out the rest of the farmers' produce. A small selection of coffee complements like cakes, pastries, muesli and bread are available for the munching. You can also take home a large range of single estate beans and brewing equipment for your home experiments. Free public cuppings are on at Prahran every Friday and Saturday, 10am - 11am.

Farm to Table Homemade Breakfast- Silo By Joost

123 Hardware Street

Silo by Joost is a great café that serves great homemade breakfasts. I couldn't stop raving about their Coddled Eggs, which is a simple dish with perfectly soft cooked eggs with baked oyster mushrooms and micro herbs. The winner is the unbelievably good bread made from flour from the Grampians (they make their own). All ingredients come directly from the farm to your table. Best breakfast in my life i swear!

The coffee takes on its unique flavor from the organic unhomogenized milk and is as great at their breakfast. Amazing place to have brunch at. I'll pick this over Hardware Societe just opposite their shop (their baked eggs are so so and more expensive!)

The Godfather - Pellegrini’s Expresso Bar

66 Bourke St Melbourne
Pellegrini’s is a classic Italian espresso bar in Melbourne and the vibe is certainly different from the regular indie third wave cafe. Expect strong coffee, quality banter and delicious home cooking. Do not go expecting eggs and bacon. Instead, tuck into Pelliegrini's idea of a simple breakfast, a salami and cheese toasted sandwich.

Communal Coffee- The League of Honest Coffee 

8 Exploration, CBD
Touted as one of the best coffee coffee houses in Melbourne, TLHC has earned itself a strong following with their Pour Over and Cold Drip options, on top of the regular espresso based drinks. Single origins are aplenty here and the beans are roasted by these guys themselves. Chill out with some quesadillas or tarts and pastries communal style in this airy space with a white, mint and wood theme.

The Venezuelan- Sonido
69 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

Sonido is a funky cafe that does a South American fare. The colorful and mismatched furniture and kitschy decor are bound to brighten up your day. Dig into their Arepas (corn bread) which come with fillings such as chorizo, eggs, beans and cheese. Single origin coffees are available here but their specialty is the Chocolate corona con queso, a traditional Colombian hot chocolate with cheese! Roll the wooden paddle to aerate the hot chocolate to give it that extra frothiness.

Best Barista- Cup of Truth

12 Campbell Arcade, Degraves Street Subway, CBD

By The Age The Good Cafe Guide 2013 has named Courtney Patterson, from Cup of Truth, Bonsoy's best barista. This cool dude has been pulling shots for the Flinders Street commuter crowd from this former ticket booth for the past four years. Grab a cuppa and go. Or hang around a bit and be in your zone before diving back into the madness.

I've barely scratched the surface of the coffee scene in Melbourne with the above list. The following are more cafes i would love to visit if they were more accessible/if i had more time.

Proud Mary
172 Oxford St, CollingwoodWith the accolade of Best Cafe in The Age Good Cafe Guide under their belt, Proud Mary sets the benchmark for roasters and coffee lovers in Melbourne.

Dead Man Espresso
35 Market Street, South Melbourne
This is one of the best looking cafes in town with very tasty coffee. A special Dead Man Espresso blend is made for them by Seven Seeds.

Auction Rooms
103-107 Errol St, North Melbourne
Best Cafe in The Age Good Cafe Guide 2013.They're said to be one of the coolest fitouts in town, with excellent coffee, a tight brunch menu and smart service.

St Ali Coffee Roasters

12-18 Yarra Pl, South Melbourne
Head on there for creative cafe food to go with the coffee.

Two thumbs up to the city that i wonder how the people ever sleep. Hope you enjoy my recommendations on Melbourne cafes. 

I dislike going to public gyms, those with membership included. There is something terribly disturbing with all these bulky sweaty shirtless men pumping weights and showing off. It is also intimidating because hello, i can't lift peanuts and i do not enjoy being gawked at while i work out. Well, Virgin Active changed my impression of gyms when i checked out their Asia flagship at One Raffles Place. 

The focus at Virgin Active is to provide a fun, friendly and encouraging environment to promote health and fitness. Find exercising a chore? Virgin Active has made working out a hassle-free activity by providing you with cool workout gear, you only need to bring yourself and your shoes. An RFID membership card/bracelet takes care of the lockers and cashless payments at the delicious snack bar (food supplied by Salad Stop). Their mobile site allows you to book classes on the go as well.

Starting with level 3, the high energy area. Here is where you get pumped up with the machines. Virgin uses the ARTIS line of Android powered fitness equipment from Technogym.

Each piece of ARTIS equipment is designed for connectivity, allowing members access to his or her own world: training programmes, training data track record, web bookmarks, apps, and social networks. In addition, it employs cloud technology, so members can track their workouts wherever they are in the world.

One of the special workouts at Virgin is the THIRTY TRYHIT, a new small-group training zone based on the principles of high intensity interval training. Fresh new workout every week, it is guaranteed to keep things exciting and fun and very very sweaty.

Another high intensity workout is Zuu, and it increases joint mobility, promotes fat burning and building lean muscles. I call this the animal workout as it is based on movements of animals.

On level 2, there's the spin studio with a digital landscape that changes to the beat of the music. Nothing as intensive as SoulCycle, which i tried in NYC but certainly one of the cooler ones in Singers. 

There's also the PowerPlate workouts to strengthen your core musics and to help with toning. 

Level 1 is what I'd call the OM zone. Of course i signed up for the Anti Gravity yoga class!  

Let me set your expectations right. For a beginner class, do not expect to get a workout from this. Or maybe i'm too hardcore. It was extremely relaxing for me and the hammocks made inversions so easy. It's perfect for those who wants to experience inversions but do not have adequate core strength, balance or confidence to get into a headstand or handstand. 

Looking forward to the tougher classes! 

After a sweaty workout (or not), enjoy a luxurious shower with rain shower in every cubicle and complimentary Molton Brown amenities provided for members’ use.

Virgin Active also offers a Relax and Recovery Zone which will soothe your nerves. There are steam rooms, ice rooms, experience showers and foot baths with complimentary use of bathrobes. I love the peppermint infused ice room and showers.

There is also a salt room with ionised salts that aid in skin rejuvenation and purify one’s respiratory system. Great place to nap if you don't mind lying next to strangers.

If you need a private power nap, do not miss out on the sleep pods on level 2. These are the Google beds! I'm definitely gonna try these sometime.

Are you wowed yet? For a frequent traveler and foodie like me, working out when i'm traipsing around the world is a necessity. With access to 170 clubs spread across UK, Italy, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Australia and now Singapore, i can certainly stay my skinnyfat self while holidaying. They certainly need to open one in the States!

Virgin Active Raffles Place’s flexible membership consists of a one-time activation fee of $199 and a weekly fee of $42.50. It goes by blocks of 2 weeks so you could terminate or put it on hold. Membership includes access to Virgin Active’s worldwide clubs and facilities.

It's time to get Active!

Virgin Active
One Raffles Place, Tower 2, Level 5-7, Singapore

Tel: +65 6908 7878