Ever since I knew that there was a restaurant within the SEA Aquarium where you could dine while enjoying a full view of the largest tank in the place, I put it on my list of places to try. Of course it's gimmicky, no doubt about that. But I'm a sucker for such things and I figured it was worth trying at least once. DD's birthday presented the perfect opportunity.
Even though it was a weekday evening, I decided not to risk it and booked a table about two weeks before at Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora, asking that we be given a seat with a clear view of the tank. I was duly chuffed when we were seated right in front of the glass. Not only did it mean that we had an ever-changing view to admire through dinner, it also made for an interesting backdrop to shots.
The menu was surprisingly limited. There were just four starters, four mains, and two desserts. In addition to this, there were two three-course set menus, one vegetarian and the other non-vegetarian, comprising items that were already on the ala carte menu. And the prices were, well, really really high, especially once you see the tiny portions. The starters were $25-$30, the mains $55-$65 and the desserts $22-$25.
Still, it was a birthday celebration, so we just went for it anyway. We opted to go ala carte, since the set menu offered a paltry $4 saving on the combined price of the items. This later turned out to be a good decision because we discovered that there was a Mastercard promotion for a 10% discount on all ala carte items. That was certainly better value than the sets.
As I said, the portions are tiny. At least the food was really good.
The restaurant had a children's menu, which I appreciated. It came on a big activity sheet for kids, and colour pencils were also provided. It did help keep the kids occupied during the meal. Though really, the tank was a bigger draw.
It was a bit stressful dining with the kids in a fine-dining restaurant, especially when it was only the four of us. We've eaten out in nice restaurants before, but usually with my parents and siblings in tow, so there are plenty of willing parties ready to take the kids on their laps or outside when they get restless or difficult. Meips ate half her meal standing up on her chair and we had to remind both kids to keep their voices down at times. The staff were very accommodating, but I felt bad for folks who were there for a romantic night out.
It was an expensive dinner, but an experience worth having. The restaurant is a level up from the ground of the tank, so you actually brought to the level where you are eye-to-eye with the rays and fish as they swim by. You therefore get amazing views like this:
It's really something else to have the huge manta ray, and also the giant grouper -- I think it looked at least 1.5m long -- swim right in front of you. Of course my camera had to run out of batts right at the moment the grouper swam by. We did however manage to catch it in a fairly memorable family shot.
It was a fun evening out, but I guess the best part for my husband was being able to spend time with his family. The kids enthusiastically sang happy birthday to Daddy and both just as enthusiastically blew out the candle without asking. Haha. Happy birthday to my husband, the one who takes all my nonsense, my need to always go out and do stuff and my poor housekeeping without complaint. At least most of the time. Thank you for being a wonderful Daddy and hubby!
Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora
S.E.A Aquarium
Resorts World™ Sentosa
8 Sentosa Gateway
Singapore 098269
Tel: 6577 8888
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