SPG Gold Vs Hilton Gold

I've read somewhere that Hilton Gold is equivalent to SPG Platinum.

There's some merit to that - SPG Gold doesn't quite cut it any more for me other than the 4pm late checkouts and the wider selection of hotels available to suit varying budgets.

Hilton Gold offers free breakfast for 2, complimentary high speed internet access and executive lounge access which means - free drinks, cocktail food, wifi yada yada.

And I really dig the fact that my account with Hilton Honors is updated very promptly without my having to write in to check on the status of my points.

I had been worried that for some reason (like the fact that I've been staying in KL hotels only) , Hilton might try to deny awarding me the 40,000 points for my 4 stays at the Hilton Hotel using the Infinite Card before May 2012. However, a few days after I completed my 4th stay, I saw that my account had been credited with the 40,000 points. No chasing required.

I think that I will focus on keeping my Hilton Gold membership and possibly give up my SPG one.

Cabin in the Woods (2012) Movie

Even when we were friends, my CEB would take a certain perverse delight in terrifying me. He once booked the movie "Legion" when we were supposed to watch "Citizen Kane" and I had nasty nightmares for weeks after that. Even today, I can't forget the scene with the ice-cream man elongating to a spider and the scene with the child monster climbing on the wall.

Well, this time my CEB told me he would buying tickets for the movie "Lockout" and only after lunch with my family when I was confirming the show with him did he sheepishly admit that he had bought tickets for "Cabin in the Woods"

Me "Oy! U know how I hate horror movies"

My CEB "Yah, but no other shows at the timing we want"

Me "Then can don't watch what"

My CEB *big grin and starts to make scary noises till I punch him in the arm. Hard. The noises coming out of him stop abruptly,

Anyway, I'd seen the trailer for Cabin and was prepared for 2 hours of squeezing my eyes shut, or peeping out through squinted eyes (The smaller the better so I can close them faster, right?). I was of course most unhappy because at my age, the goal is not to get wrinkles in a hurry. My CEB seems to be doing everything contrary to that - tickling me when I have a clay mask on, booking horror movie tickets...ugh!

Well, I hadn't read any of the reviews before watching the movie so if you have not watched the movie...you need to stop reading. Now. Spoiler ahead.

The Slog Reviews: ?/10. After we came out of the movie, we both turned to each other and said it was 1 of the crappiest shows ever. However, I couldn't get the movie out of my head for days after and 1 review I wrapped summed up how I felt. The movie was insanely genius. I thought we were in for a Slasher Type or Evil Ghost Type of Movie but no, oh no. This was way way WAY more than this. End of the world anyone? A combination of famous horror movies in the most creative way and no, I don't mean parody. Throw in female front nudity, lots and seriously lots of blood, a ballerina with a hole in the face, the Hellraiser's Lazarus Box...you've got an unforgettable movie going. A must watch. Esp for horror fans.

Latin Aerobics Kicks Ass

Despite the weather as well as entreaties and diversions from my CEB and good friend, I proudly make it to my weekly Latin Aerobics class. There have been flashes of lightning across the sky so I park as near as I can to the community club and this effort to find a good lot comes with a hefty price - I'm late for the class. My friend is already there dancing to the music. She has taken salsa classes in University and it shows. I make my way to stand near her but the instructor has a better idea - she waves me to a position across my friend on the other side of the room. I think she figures that if we do not stand together, we will not be disruptive for the class. The problem with my spot is that I am behind 3 other ladies and I can barely see past them to the instructor who has on a pair of pants with tassels on the ass and knees. However, since I have made it there, I am determined to get the most I can out of the lesson. For the first time, the teacher incorporates jumping steps in the routine. The kind that you jump and fold your knees behind you. A lot of the ladies are unable to keep up, but to be fair, they are in their 50s to 60s. I get great delight in jumping as high and as much as the instructor does. That will show them! Those ladies go to the back of the room and sit on those chairs to watch the rest of us. I know they have a clear view of me since I am at the back so I do my best to do myself proud. Lunge, I lunge. Twirl, I twirl. Flex my biceps, I flex. Shake my upper back fats, I wobble like a firmly set jelly-o. Jump in the air, oh my, hear me land. Then the instructor does some sort of mass dance move, the kind I did in my secondary school days. She thrusts out both arms and bends her knee backwards and up. I am so caught up in the routine that I follow her without thinking. The heels of my too-big track shoes find themselves each a nesting place in my ass. Whomp Whomp one after the other. I yelp with surprise. I hear the bwahahaha above the laughter from the old ladies sitting behind. Shouldn't my friend be watching the instructor?! I tell you, Latin Aerobics kicks ass - literally.

The Flasher at Latin Aerobics

I used to believe in the power of willpower, that nothing within my control was impossible if I set my mind to it. As my good friend once told me "U Gotta Hit It with Your Mind".

Armed with sheer determination, I told myself that THIS time, yes, this time, it would be different. My friend texted me she would be late so I made my way to the class first. Despite my being slightly early, there were already 7 ladies there so I could not take the prime spots just behind the instructor, nor could I see myself clearly in the mirror. Especially since I'd left my glasses (for driving) in the car.

The music starts and I find myself jumping and hopping to the right and to the left like a drunk one-legged toad with my hands held up in front of my face and the other knee crocked at a ninety degree. The instructor on the other hand looks really cool and I figure that I am just being too harsh on myself. I study her back as intently as I can - she is wearing a muscle-back shirt and I can see the flesh on her upper back wobbling.

So I try to shake as hard as she does to make my own back fats move in time too. It does not require great effort, having a great deal of them. Then the instructor lets out an insane cackle of laughter and starts skipping around. This makes me very excited. I want to prance too, like a pony, like a kid, oh watch me, I am young again!

Between prancing and making sure I shake every bit of me the way the instructor does, AND with my view of myself in the mirror obstructed, I forget how I look. I want to hit this with my mind, so my attention is focused fully on the person I must mimic.

When we do a side move and I get a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I am horrified. The waistband of my too-small shorts has rolled down to below my lower belly to expose my bright red panties. It is the action of moving my knees upwards to my belly that has caused this. I roll up the waist band of the shorts over my panties quickly.

I want to believe that the instructor bears me no ill will. But the next few moves involves bending over, wiping the ground and again my waist band rolls down when I bend down. I cannot concentrate any more, I cannot hit it with my mind anymore. The universe seems to be conspiring against me. How can I draw flowers in the eye or draw an imaginary violin when 1 hand has to keep rolling up the waist band of my shorts.

I tell you - it has to be a conspiracy of sorts to keep me from being the star of this show.

Hilton at Petaling Jaya

I know it looks as if I have changed loyalty but the Hilton's Gold Membership Promotion for the first quarter (click here to read) was too attractive to pass up. And hence, we have been trying to clock the 4 stays before 31 May 2012 so as to qualify for the 40,000 HHonors Points.

Now, as we all know, hotel rates in Singapore are the most expensive in South East Asia. So, paying over SGD 200 to stay in an ordinary room in Hilton Orchard isn't the most ideal way of racking up the stays. KL on the other hand, offers more attractive options for Hilton hotels and the cheapest would be Hilton at Petaling Jaya. And it was cheap (I'm talking about SGD120+ per night inclusive of 2 breakfasts and an upgrade to a room with executive lounge access) with good reason. Getting there by public transport (without a car) was a hassle. To get to Hilton PJ from the airport by train, one has to take the shuttle bus (RM9) from KLIA/LCCT to KL Sentral. There, one has to buy a ticket/token for the Kelana Jaya Line and take the train service all the way up to either the Taman Jaya Station or Asia Jaya Station. I prefer to get off the Taman Jaya Station Line BUT it is a lonely road leading to the back of the hotel and we all know that KL isn't the safest place in the world. Getting to Asia Jaya Station though is more of a hassle because it involves trying to cross more main roads and there aren't well, properly defined crossings but loads of broken pavement. Still, at least it is on the main road so one is that much safer.

Anyway, the hotel was under renovation. And all the executive rooms and the lounge were being ungraded. However, we were given 1 of the newly renovated rooms on the second floor facing the pool. So per the picture below, the furnishings and furniture and all were spanking new.

However, as with Double Trees Hilton, there was no bathtub in the room. The toiletries in the hotel were extremely well-packaged (see the pic below) but I assure you that once one removes the boxes, the contents are most ordinary. Disappointingly ordinary in fact.

Well as I mentioned, the executive lounge was under renovation so we were given access to another lounge. Needless to say, it was a far cry from the one at Double Tree. The selection of drinks and food was really limited and ordinary and although there was internet access, everything in the place was run-down, old and shabby.

The hotel provides a shuttle bus at 12noon to 1Utama but without the return service. Hence, we decided to go to 1Utama on our own for dinner. We walked the broken pavements to Asia Jaya Station and paid RM1.30 each to get to the end of the line - Kelana Jaya station. I had read that 1Utama provides free shuttle buses to the mall so we asked around and were told to cross a overhead bridge and wait at the bus stop in front of a row of shophouses (see pic of station and the overhead bridge we crossed).

After waiting about 20 mins, there was no sign of the bus so we took a cab instead. It cost RM8 one way. 1Utama was huge and had many shops including Coach. We thought of taking the complimentary shuttle back to the train station in the evening but found out that the shuttle service was only for 1Utama Card Members. The cost of being a member would be RM10 each. And even though we offered to pay a nominal fee to the bus driver to take us to the station, he refused unless we became 1 Utama Card members. So much for "complimentary" bus svc!

The Slog Reviews: 7/10. This hotel is really cheap by KL stations and for the Hilton brand but it is with good reason. I would suggest waiting till the renovation is complete before booking a stay there. And it would be advisable to rent a car or drive up from SG because this Hilton hotel is the most inaccessible of the lot.

Latin Aerobics - I will be back.

I missed the last class (the third one) because I was holidaying in Kota Kinabalu with my CEB the weekend before the Easter weekend.

If not for the fact that my friend had signed up for the class and was counting on me to turn up, I would have skipped the class yesterday as well. Having an exercise buddy really does help to keep one on the exercise track!

Fresh from the "success" of preparing dinner on Sunday for my FIL and CEB (which I shall blog about next), I decided to steam the fish slice that my MIL had given me for dinner before the aerobics class. Steaming the fish with lots of ginger slices (to kill the fishy smell), salted vegetables ( to lend taste) and some chili padi slices on the top was a fast and healthy option that required little preparation between the time I reached home from work and the class at 7.30pm.

As we were walking to the CC, my friend shared that last week's class was the toughest yet. And to my delight, I found out that she had the song "Move it like a freak" stuck in her head too since the last class. With the healthy dinner in my tummy and my spirits boosted by our little chat before class, I entered the dance studio brimming with good cheer.

We were slightly late so we had to stand near the back of the class and it was difficult to see the instructor past the girl in front of me. And once the music started, it became abundantly clear that missing one session hadn't done me any favors. I seemed to have two, no make it three, left feet that wouldn't co-operate and my movements were all out of time and not coordinated.

Midway through the class, a middle-aged man with a board comes in. He nods to the instructor and walks to the back of the class. It is impossible to watch the instructor and dance while watching him at the same time but I do my best. He appears to be taking notes and even a recording. I guess he could be short-listing dancers to take part in some parade or event. I also guess that he could be noting the class's attendance and instructor's performance.

When he leaves, the instructor comments that she does not know why he is there. I tell my friend that maybe he is there to take a video to post on YouTube, or there to find the world's worst dancer which would be yours truly. She starts to laugh her bwahahaha laugh and soon I follow. The instructor glares at us.

And as if to punish us, she puts on a really fast routine and I find myself twirling around, and making ridiculous motions with my hands such as mock-wiping my bum. She does not look silly doing it but I do. I figure that if I follow her exactly, I will not look silly too. So I resolve to shake every part of the body that she shakes and move as fast as her.

I concentrate so hard on mimicking her that I do not notice the distance between my friend and me. I twirl, shake, draw flowers in the air with my hands and poke her somewhere I have no business poking. She lets out a donkey bray of surprise and laugh the bwahahaha. I am totally unable to concentrate any more on the instructor. We stand there like two clowns chortling at our own jokes. The rest of the class is serious, all trying to mimic the grace of the instructor who is now scowling at us. It was an accident, mdm! An accident.

I do not fit in. But I will be back.

A weekend at Hilton Double Tree at KL

It seems like not too long ago when I spent a weekend with my good ole mama at Hilton Double Tree at KL. The reason for the trip was to clock 1 out of the 4 Hilton Stays before 31 May 2012 so as to qualify for the 40,000 HH Points (Visa Infinite Card Promotion) and although Hilton at Petaling Jaya was the cheapest of the 3 Hilton hotels at KL, Double Tree was more accessible.

So, from the LCCT, we took the Sky Bus to KL Sentral where we then took the Kelena Jaya line to Ampang Park LRT Station. The cost of the train ride was just RM2 per person from KL Sentral. However, the overhead bridge from Ampang Mall to the hotel was under construction so we had to scamper across the wide busy roads.

Check-in took some time because the hotel was staffed with trainees. However, we were upgraded to a room on the executive floor, thanks to the Hilton Gold membership. And given two large warm biscuits to boot.

This was the welcome platter which greeted us in the room - fruits and miniature cakes. The cookies were from the reception.

And as you can tell, my good ole mama was more than delighted with all the complimentary food. Even though she was pretty stuffed from all the eating at the Rainforest Lounge earlier (thanks to the priority pass), she still managed to put away quite a bit of the pastries.

I'll give the decor of the room an 8/10. Like The Intercontinental Hotel in Melbourne, Double Tree rooms do not come with a bath tub. I think it is to do with the conservation of water, you know, eco-friendly.

After I'd managed to pry my good old mama away from the complimentary platter, we went to the executive lounge just across the lift lobby of the same floor about 5pm which was the scheduled tea time.

Our plans to go out for dinner fell through the moment we saw all that food in the lounge. I mean, the selection was simply awesome. I'm talking about quality and quantity here!

I'll let the pictures do the talking. And yes, those were chicken wings and samosas in the picture above and nice little cuts of roast beef in the picture below.

And tandoori chicken, smoked salmon around asparagus, all beautifully presented. I tell ya, the presentation of the lounge food is among the best I've ever seen.

And let's not forget the desserts.

I have to confess that I helped myself shamelessly to lots of biscuits to kill time while my mother used one of the lounge's computers to play her online game.

Ah yes, the picture below is the last helping of the lounge food I had before they closed the refreshment service at 7.30pm. But even after then, fresh fruit juice and a pot of warm milo for my mum were forthcoming.

We stayed till about 10pm before going back to our room. Hilton has a choice of pillows that a guest can select - contour, bamboo that sort of thing. However, I was too stuffed to think straight and made do with whatever was on the bed.

The next day, we took a train out to KLCC after a filling breakfast at The Executive Lounge. We were too full to have lunch so we decided to head back to The Lounge for the evening's refreshments. Again, the variety of desserts was impressive - strawberries with sugar!

And we did not have to spend a cent for dinner with all that lounge food. The chicken curry was thick and warm, and went very well with the yellow Indian flour thingy.

And from the lounge, we had a great view of the city. I took this picture while the sun was going down.

From the windows on the other end of the lounge, one can get a great picture of the twin towers.

The Slog Reviews: 9/10. A wonderful experience at Hilton Double Tree KL. I would have given the hotel a perfect score if not for the one too many trainees who were unable to assist effectively (at check out etc). Other than that, I'm looking forward to my next visit at Double Tree which is in 2 weeks time!

JetQuay - the Quayside Service at CIP Terminal

This post is long overdue but having experienced the Quayside Arrival service at Changi Airport when we returned from our KK trip today for the third time in 2 months reminded me.

The first time I booked the service through the HSBC Infinite Card butler was when we holidayed in HongKong in February this year. Because we were flying on a budget airline (Jetstar), we could only use their Gateway Departure service without the buggy. However, since parking at CIP terminal was free of charge, we were more than glad to park there and then walk (about 7 mins) to Terminal 2 where we took the skytrain to T1. (This would of course not work as well if we had check in baggage or lots of heavy items to carry.) If we were flying on a non-budget airline, we would have been able to do our check in at the CIP terminal and have the buggy ferry us right to the departure gate (there is an immigration counter at the CIP terminal).

Anyway, when we landed back in Singapore about 12.45am, there was a nice elderly gentleman waiting for us at the aerobridge with a large sign that had my name on it. He asked for the baggage tag for the check in luggage and radio-ed his colleague to retrieve our check-in bags for us while he whisked us off in his buggy to the CIP terminal.

Now, truth be told, before this experience, I never knew that those buggies that go beep beep beep around Changi Airport were for those using the Quayside service, and I never knew that T1 connects to T2 internally and T2 connects internally to the CIP terminal (both connection at the gates area).

However, what I do know was that I was so grateful for that service at almost 1am in the night. We did not have to wait for our bags at the carousel, and we did not have to walk to the immigration counter and queue for our turn. We were the only 2 folks using the immigration counter (there was an officer there) at the CIP terminal. I didn't dare to take a picture of the immigration counter area so I took a picture of the lobby instead.

While waiting for our bags to arrive, we grabbed a drink at the CIP lounge. The selection was very limited, and not just because of the hour we arrived. I had read pretty nasty reviews about the cold food and lack of variety and these reviews were spot on. I would suggest using the normal airline lounges instead (like the Krisflyer one) if one has time to kill before the flight out. However, I'm not complaining too much given that this is the only lounge one can use if one is flying in to SG.

Here is a picture of the lounge I took in Feb, but the lounge was undergoing renovation today. There is a toilet with shower but I couldn't find any towels or, toilet paper for that matter. I think it must be because of the renovation going on, because the last time, there was. In any case, this time round, there was a pot of warm soup.

As we were walking out to the car, my CEB said to me half-seriously that he was prepared to pay the annual fee for the HSBC card the next year given the perks like the unlimited use of the JetQuay service.

I cannot agree more - the jetquay service is a pretty cool service which saves a weary traveler a lot of time (like having to wait to collect the luggage) and footwork (to walk to the immigration counter) at the airport.

Edited to Add: Complimentary parking at Jetquay is no longer available if one uses budget airlines to travel. Bummer.

The Zon Regency Hotel and Tai Son Restaurant at the duty free zone in JB

I'd managed to get us a decent deal for a night's stay at The Zon Regency Hotel at Stulang Laut - just SGD 75 nett inclusive of all taxes and breakfast. It was very easy to drive from the Malaysia Customs to the hotel which is located along the coast of JB facing Malaysia at the Stulang Laut area.

The hotel is not easily missed. As you can tell from the picture below, the hotel is like one of those massive hotels at Genting (First World anyone?).

Our check-in at the reception went smoothly. Strangely though, the hotel did not ask for any sort of deposit - whether by way of credit card or cash. In the lift, we found that we need to swipe our room key on a panel before we can press the button to our floor. I am surprised that the hotel has this type of security. However, the elevator is rather slow (we stayed on the 13th floor) so we had plenty of time to "fun" around.

Stepping out of the lift to the corridor, I was struck by how the layout of The Zon Regency Hotel so closely resembles that of Marina Mandarin's. Except that this hotel had no air-conditioning whatsoever in the corridors. The carpet of the corridors was also threadbare and stained. In short, the hotel looked like it it was old and could not care less about aesthetics or the comfort of its guests.

Our room was decently sized and we had a great view of the causeway and the coast. The TV was a small old CRT TV with some cable channels and the bed was too squishy and soft to be comfortable. However, the floor of the room was filthy and we decided to keep our slippers on the whole time. Forget hotel room slippers - none were provided. The hotel room was in short, basic and bare. WIFI connectivity which was free was sh*tty in the rooms, making it difficult to surf the net. And the bath-tub was grotty which meant no soaking in it.

 There was a departmental store called the Zon which was deserted on a Saturday afternoon. And rightly so. Talk about an extremely poor selection of cheap goods which were marked down even further. I love a bargain as much as the next person but the items on sale was just too awful to be bought.

The only decent shop to shop in the complex was Watson. There were also quite a number of KTVs on the third floor of the shopping center, and many booze and cancer-stick shops. Oh, and chocolate shops too. Prices were not cheaper compared to Singapore except for the duty-free items - booze and cancer-sticks. However one is not allowed to bring alcohol (beer etc), spirits or wine to Singapore without declaration of the same at Customs so we did not buy any alcohol at all.

There was a Mary Brown's and we probably should have eaten our dinner there or at Starbucks. However, we ended up giving the restaurant just outside the hotel, Tai Son Seafood restaurant a shot and it was a waste of good money. RM75 spent on satays (those were decent), fried noodles (oh so plain and unexceptional for RM12!), vegetables (awful ) and a sambal stingray which my CEB proclaimed the worst singray meal he ever had. I am not sure what we were paying such high prices for - maybe the view of Singapore across the water, which is nothing spectacular.

The breakfast buffet the next morning was alright. Edible but not tasty. Parking at the multi storey carpark is complimentary for hotel guests.

The Slog Reviews: 6/10. A very basic hotel hotel surrounded by lousy food and shopping. A good place to stay only if one is intent on buying lots of cheap spirits up to one's hotel room to drown one's sorrows. The swimming pool is also smallish, outdoors and looks just plain awful.

Latin Aerobics AGAIN

If not for my friend, I would have just skipped the class. As it was, the instructor was most surprised when we walked in 2 mins late. She said she thought we weren't coming back. With good reason.

This time, I manage to stand near the back of the class, somewhere in the middle of the room where there are partitions dividing the room pushed up against 1 wall. She sets us on a punishing routine and I spend a large inappropriate amount of time staring at her ass. She has on this pair of pants with two long tassels that are attached to each side of her ass. OF course, there is a lot of shaking the booty going on and I can see clearly in the mirror that I have a long way to go before I attach any tassels to draw attention to my ass. Half her age and double the ass. Way to go.

I think I have trouble with the turning around steps. This time, I turn so hard I end up with my nose 1cm away from the partitions. I also lunge and hit the lady next to me without meaning to. Luckily it is a glancing blow and I apologize.

Then the Visa Man routine begins and I start jiggling about like that fat sucker in the commercials, my knees to my chest and my arms pushing down. I cannot help but laugh as I watch myself. And to my horror, I cannot stop laughing. My friend catches my eye and she knows what I am thinking. Visa Man. She starts grinning and then I really cannot stop the guffaws. I laugh so hard I have tears in my eyes.

I tell myself to quit it because the instructor can clearly see us in the full length mirror but the laughter bellows out of me. Woo hoo. Visa Man! Even when the instructor meets my eye, I cannot stop.

The mirth cannot be contained and I bellow with laughter as my body shakes uncontrollably.

I think I am getting the work out I need.

A lesson in Latin Aerobics

A friend of more than 14yrs persuaded me to join her in her bid to get fit. Of course, I agreed eagerly, what with my having to buy larger skirts the past year. She suggested Latin Aerobics and since this sounded like something I could do given my exercise routine of running 5km/30mins twice a week, I agreed to commit to an exercise program with her. The first lesson had me right smack at the front of the class (since I was a newbie) with a smattering of oldish ladies behind me. Everyone was dressed to impress...I meant everyone was geared up in nice black tights, proper shoes and a colorful fitting top. I had on my running shoes (which was inappropriate), a loose t-shirt and baggy home shorts. In short, I looked like a poorly dressed unfit bloop. The instructor who had a really tight slim body for her age started the lesson by teaching us a few basic steps. I caught on easily because I'd spent a large amount of my life exercising to aerobics tape which had the same steps. Naturally, my confidence and cockiness grew as I stepped and sashayed along with her. Until she started the music. Now, I found myself huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf while those grey haired ladies behind him seemed to be dancing effortlessly. I was soon out of step, out of sync with the rest of the class and having to face a full length mirror in the dance studio and watch that was a lesson in humility. Then the instructor put on a different song and changed her steps. Obediently, I imitated her without thinking twice and somehow, I ended up looking like the fat man in the Visa Commercials. Exactly. Right down to the smile plastered stupidly on my face as I pumped my arms downwards and jiggled my knees upwards. 

 Mercifully the song didn't last too long and the next song was something about Africa. I tried my darnest to imitate the instructor who was doing some high-legged flamingo step but ended up looking like an ungainly elephant with three legs and two trunks. Me whispering to Friend "That's it. I am not coming back." Friend "It's not so bad lar...just finish this lesson then say. Anyway, take it like you are burning calories". Inspired I again, I whirled and twirled enthusiastically for the rest of the class. With 10mins to go, the instructor decided to instruct us on a new move that was "Elegant" (like BallRoom Dancing she said). It consisted of putting one foot forward and making a 360 degree turn with arms stretched wide. I was happy. This was easy and beat looking like Visa Man. Then she did consecutive turns and there I was. Turning like a top. Free. Easy. Muscles stretched. I was as good as those old ladies in the class. Better in fact, since I was turning faster than them now. Hell, I could even beam at the lady behind me when we were turning ie. she's slow....old! I was toying with the idea of meeting her eyes meaningfully the next twirl around - you know, to convey the message that "I'm not as bad as what the mirror in front of us makes out". 

And indeed I found myself meeting her eyes. But something was wrong with the angle. Then I figured it out. I was lying flat on my back and she was peering down at me. My twirl had resulted in me falling right over. I didn't even know when I hit the ground. Something tells me that this Latin Aerobics thing and me aren't going to last too long. Friend "Next week you coming back right?" Me "Hmmm..."

Cabbages & Condoms Restaurant in Bangkok

This has got to be one of the better-known restaurants in the capital of the Land of Smiles. I believe it has been around for a few years at least, and if the size of the crowd on the Friday evening we were there is anything to go by, the place is still pretty popular among tourists. My CEB loves Tom Yam soup so this is what we had in a hotpot. The restaurant offers a choice between soup or curry being served in a hotpot which is more expensive, or in a bowl. Since we had pretty high expectations, we decided to go for the hotpot which meant a larger portion too. The Slog Reviews: 7/10. Soooo.....sooooo. Period. Not anything that would take one's breath away in a hurry. I suppose it is almost impossible to eat in a Thai restaurant and not try Tom Yam Goong so I would moderate my expectations if I were to order this dish from C&C.

Now, ever since our trip to Krabi last year where he had Tom Kha Gai for the first time at one of the more famous restaurants, my CEB has been hooked to this rich coconut curry dish which comes with pieces of chicken, pork or prawns. We didn't order this in a hotpot so here is how the dish looked served in a claypot bowl. The Slog Reviews: 6/10. If you like the rich sweet creamy sort of curry, don't order this dish at C&C. The curry was thin, watery and spicy to my CEB's tremendous disappointment.

1 of the restaurant's specialties was soft shell crab in curry. It came on a hotplate and some yellow curry sauce. The Slog Reviews: 6/10. I ended up eating almost all of this dish on my own as my CEB flatly refused to partake more than 1 mouthful of the crabs. It wasn't that it was awful but the crab wasn't fried to crispy perfection but more like a soggy half-cooked mess with gills. Do not waste any Baht on this! Oh yes, I know it's quite a lot we ordered (now you who know me well can explain the weight gain), but we did have one last dish of green curry with pork. The Slog Reviews: 8/10. My CEB and I agreed easily that this was the best dish of the lot.

The restaurant has outdoor seating and indoor seating but the weather dictated that we have a table inside. Here is a pic of the decor, most of which is about...condoms or the popularity of the restaurant.

When we were walking out, I took a picture of this most innovative costume - there are multi-colored condoms pasted on the mannequins' cap, shirt and pants.

And while I marveling over the creativity of the designer, I saw this. Unrolled condoms for the skirt! How smart is that!

And while we were on the way out....and no, I haven't seen the inside of the condom packet that my CEB picked up. I wouldn't count on the quality of the contents though, especially if not having a kid just yet is high on one's priority list.

There was a shop just next to the restaurant (within the same compound) that was selling all types of C&C souvenirs - my CEB grabbed a couple of key-chains with condoms in them for his male buddies. Men will always be boys.

I wouldn't go so far as to call C&C a tourist trap but if your intent is to have really nice Thai food, this wouldn't be the place to go. And if you are minded to go for the experience, just do remember to make reservations. There was quite a queue on our way out about 9pm.

Rossini's at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Hotel

It was just after lunch time when I checked in and it was pouring outside so I was minded to find some grub in the hotel. I'd read about the award-winning restaurant Rossini's which just happened to be in this hotel so I decided to check out the place. To my delight, there was a signboard outside the restaurant advertising its Power Lunch, which looked really affordable at 690 (2 courses)/780 Baht (3 courses)(excluding taxes of course). Getting a seat for lunch on a wet Thursday afternoon did not pose much of a problem and the staff were attentive and spoke good English.

After I'd placed my order, the complimentary bread of basket arrived with some olives. No butter. I wonder why (but in any case I asked for some). And they also served a trio of flat lollipop-looking biscuits with nuts stuck on them. Forget the bread - that was nothing extraordinary but those biscuits things, they were just the right mix of sweet and crunchiness, the kind that leaves no cloying sweet aftertaste in your mouth, and not hard enough to hurt your teeth.

The waitress followed up with a complimentary beetroot mousse. Now, I hate beetroot but since this was free...well, it proved to be pretty alright with little bits of potato at the end.

I ordered the Seafood Salad for my appetizer and it came with all of 1 scallop, 1 squid, 1 mussel and 1 prawn. Fresh, presented well but...I would try some other starter if I'd the chance to go back. Even knowing that this was Rossini's did not raise this dish in my humble esteem.

I ordered the veal pansotti with parmesan cheese sauce as my main. It was a toss up between the veal and the snapper with black truffle sauce and it was only because the server strongly recommended the veal that I decided against the snapper (Which I will have the next time I go back to BKK).

Well, the dish looked like this when served - 3 lumps of yellow, green and brown. I'll give this dish a really low score for presentation. Just because it is a set lunch menu doesn't mean that you can depart with the aesthetics altogether, ya know?

But presentation aside, the whipped potato and the spinach heaps melted delightfully in the mouth and the veal was just awesome. Juicy, succulent, tender and done in a way such that each bite of the veal meant a mini-explosion of flavor in the mouth.

Dessert was the orange and pistachio cake. It was blah. Nothing to crow about - the cake was not too moist or too dry but it lacked the richness of a really delicious cake. I would not order this again.

Based on my experiences of having set lunches at better restaurants (even the celebrity restaurants in Singapore's MBS), I wouldn't be quite so quick to belittle my experience at Rossini's. However, I think that one should order from the ala carte menu to be able to truly judge the quality of the dishes of a restaurant.

And the power lunch (not very much food, was it?) cost a total of 918 Baht (about SGD 36?) after taxes. The Slog Reviews: 7.5/10 for this experience, and hoping to have a better experience at Rossini's the next time.

Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Hotel

Having stayed at Sheraton HCM and Sheraton Hanoi the last business trip, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that my co booked a room at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit for my Thailand work trip.

But it was a surprise, because the 3 SPG hotels (Sheraton, Westin and 4 Points) are located within 5-8mins walking distance of each other and I'd thought that the most expensive option wouldn't be their first choice. I had thought it would be 4 Points, and if I was lucky, Westin.

But as it turned out, not only was I going to be staying in Sheraton for 2 nights (The Sheraton was rated #4 of all the hotels in BKK on tripadvisor ), but there was also an upgrade to the grand deluxe room which came with a host of benefits such as the butler service, free laundry (2 pcs) per day and free high-speed internet in the room. More on that later.

The Sheraton is connected to Asoke Station by a sheltered bridge and it takes all of 5 mins to get from the lobby to 1 of the largest newest malls in BKK, Terminal 21. Westin is right opposite Terminal 21 but one has to cross a small road to get there and it was raining when I arrived. So in terms of access to the BTS and the mall, the Sheraton beats Westin hands-down.

Anyway, when I arrived, for once, the staff at the reception escorted me right up to the room after the checkin process. She also arranged for tea (there was ice lemon tea, coffee or hot tea) to be brought up to the room before we entered the room, and for the bags to be brought up later. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the tea came with 2 biscuits in a nice little tray. Below is a picture of the grande deluxe room. It reminded me a lot of the club suite I'd stayed in at the Sheraton Imperial in KL. The room was spacious of course but the design was far from modern and sleek as you can probably tell from the picture below.

In addition to the iced tea, there was a complimentary platter of fruits consisting of 2 bananas and 2 mangosteens next to the hot drinks facility. I have to say that the selection of complimentary tea and coffee bags was pretty good.

A picture of the room next to the toilet which is some sort of a walk in wardrobe. It came complete with a safe, and pretty fluffy complimentary bedroom slippers.

Here is a picture of the toilet. The bathtub was clean enough so I had a good soak in it. The shower on the hand needs to be improved - there isn't the right mix of hot and cold water - it is either a touch too much of either.

I'd read that the pool at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit was something pretty amazing and my room on the 2*th floor had a view of the pool if I looked straight down from the window. It did seem rather pretty with the lush greenery and the dark blue tiling. If one wanted, one could have breakfast by the pool (But the selection of food would be smaller)

The more distant view from my room was of the river. In 1 of the mags I read, I learnt that the river flowing through BKK was the heart of the city. Which was something new to me because all my trips to Thailand consisted of well, shopping, eating and massages at malls and little nooks and crannies.

When my CEB finally joined me late in the night (almost midnight), the 24hr butler service promptly provided more iced tea for the 2 of us and biscuits. That was when I really started digging the butler service.

Because I had to leave the hotel at 8am for work and I didn't want to wake up early to have a buffet breakfast that I wouldn't be able to enjoy, I ordered from the butler service, a cup of hot tea and some biscuits. It was delivered in all of 5 mins and this was how I left my CEB to enjoy his day of a nice buffet breakfast, free in the room broadband AND WIFI, and easy access to the shopping mall. While I went to work. To say my CEB was happy is an understatement.

Talking about the buffet breakfast, I'd read on the internet that the spread was something awesome but my CEB had told me it wasn't. I was to find out the next day when we went for breakfast together before checking out. I didn't think the spread was that limited - of course, there are better breakfast buffets we've had but still, it was decent enough. My CEB groused that there wasn't anyone to cook noodles on the spot for guests (unlike 4 Points) and eyed the noodles I'd ordered for breakfast from the ala-carte menu. I think the bowl of noodles cost about SGD13 but it wasn't expensive when one comes to think of it. At least in comparison to the breakfast buffet which cost SGD40.

Now, here is the reason why one should book the Grande Deluxe Room at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit. Other than the perks of the butler service, the room comes with unlimited drinks at The Living Room (the lounge for Sheraton).

I missed drinks the first night because I was out shopping. However, the second night found us at The Living Room enjoying the complimentary snacks AND the complimentary drinks between 6 to 8pm. Did I mention that the cocktails, mocktails, beers and even wine (red, sparkling, white) on the menu were ALL free?

So we drank quite a fair bit. My CEB going straight for the sparking wine of course, and me, pussy-footing around with the mocktails (literally) and then progressing to the cocktails.

The Slog Reviews: 9/10. I have to say that the amount for the grande deluxe room at the Sheraton is worth every penny. A fabulous experience all in all. And when we got back, the first thing we did was to book air tickets to go back to BKK in August.