Resorts World in Sentosa, Singapore
Happy Chinese / Lunar New Year! To ring in the new year, my parents decided to come over to Kuala Lumpur and then head down to Singapore to do what Chinese people stereotypically do… have a holiday and do business at the same time. :p
It seems more people will be headed that way both business and pleasure at the same time, with the new opening of Resorts World in Sentosa island which has transformed itself over the past few years from a laid back day trip get away into a sparkling mega theme park island thanks to Malaysia’s Genting group. Although some places remain the same such as the beaches, Underwater World, the Merlion lookout, the 4D cinemas, and the butterfly park, the majority of the tourist attractions and rides have definitely changed. For those who want to be like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, you can saddle up in a cinema in a cowboy costume and pretend you are in Singaporean National Service shooting laser guns around. If you like things slow and eco-friendly and ride Segways up and down Sentosa island before getting your blood pumping by racing down on a hill in a luge.
However, the biggest yet most controversial addition to Sentosa is Resorts World itself which comprises of about 5 different hotels, a casino, plus the much-awaited Universal Studios. Sadly for those with smaller wallets, Resorts World is expensive compared to other places especially since there seems to be an emphasis on luxury goods like Rolex watches, Jimmy Choo and Coach handbags, and more for sale. At the moment, there does not seem to be many places to eat but I suppose this could improve over time once everything has been completed.
After a long walk around Sentosa, my parents and I decided to go for morning tea at the Festive Hotel’s cafe called Boulangerie.
Boulangerie may be a French word for a bakery shop that specialises in breads or rolls, but it seriously sold only a couple of bakery items! Oh well, I guess they just wanted to use a fancy French sounding word to match the swanky look of the cafe. 
My mum ordered some kind of mixed berry slice thing, which was pretty average. Just a kind note to any Resorts World/Boulangerie workers – please do remove the cardboard at the bottom of the cake as it can get a bit annoying.
After morning tea, we wanted to go to the casino. Unfortunately what we didn’t realise is that foreigners need their passports to enter because Singaporean citizens are required to show their Identification Card and put down a deposit of SGD$100 per entry (or SGD$2000 if they want to go annually) as the Government is trying to deter Singaporean nationals and permanent residents from gambling. Even if you produce other foreign identification like your own country’s IC or driver’s license, they claim that you could be a Singaporean citizen or PR trying to create a loophole in the system.
After checking out all the food and shopping options available at Resorts World Sentosa, we realised that the only thing under $25 per person for lunch (very expensive by Singaporean standards) was the only fast food restaurant there called Ruyi. Ruyi is supposed to be a restaurant specialising in la mian (Chinese pulled noodles). La mian is usually made fresh in Chinese restaurants, however I noticed in this fast food restaurant they were using noodles that came from a packet which were akin to noodles from a 2 minute noodle packet. Go figure! Anyway, we also decided on Ruyi because the boxes they were served in looked large. Needless to say, looks were deceiving as it was only filled about 1/4 of the way up. Talk about false marketing!
For afternoon tea, we lazed about at the Hard Rock Hotel where we saw supposedly famous superstars. When I say supposedly famous, they had security guards and policemen and women around them but I don’t think anyon actually noticed them. We asked one of the Hard Rock Hotel staff members who the famous people were, and all she said was that she thought they were famous Chinese singers from Hong Kong, but she didn’t know who they were. Hmm… lol Well, I’m sure it’s good for all the fan girls and fan boys who are eager to stalk their favourite star when they go over to Singapore!
ps-sorry for the bad photos as they were taken on my iPhone…
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Hmmmm … they should have some cheaper food for the general public. not just food for the stiff upper lips. I am sure lots more to offer sometime in the very near future, june or july 2010?
Maybe, I will let you know.
You’re right, there should be some more affordable food outlets… but then again it is Singapore…
I recently went to Sentosa World Resorts in Singapore and it was lovely! The kids and I loved Sentosa island… but I felt that the main theme park was not worth the money. The individual rides further out in the island are actually better imo.
@Georgia – What rides did you like on Sentosa Island? What was it about Universal Studios that you didn’t enjoy?