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.
Photobombed by a manta ray!
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.
We were served rolls individually, but they pretty much let us have as many as we wanted. The olive bread was my favourite. My kids, they wolfed the rolls down.
Helping himself to the bread and butter.
Alaskan Crab Salad ($30), with avocado, chilled corn soup and salmon roe. All the elements came together really well with the sweet crabmeat. Delicious, but you can see how small it is!
DD had the Braised Beef Short-Ribs & M6 Wagyu Striploin ($68), served with lemon mashed potato and sautéed vegetables. This was really melt-in-the-mouth good. You barely needed to cut the beef with a knife – it was so tender. I know DD enjoyed this very much and would have appreciated more!
My Baked Cod Fillet & Lobster Tempura ($68). When I ordered this, I didn’t expect to only get two minuscule pieces of lobster! Personally thought there wasn’t much special about the lobster tempura but the cod was delicious and cooked perfectly.
The Dark Chocolate Brownie Pistachio Puree & Ice Cream ($25). This was pretty good, though not the best I’ve had. The brownie had that mix of crumbly-ness and chewiness that I like, and it went well with the pistachio ice-cream. That little drop of chocolate espuma was happily lapped up by the kids.
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.
Noey had the Chicken Fingers & Chips ($22). I realise I didn’t try the chicken, though between both kids I think they finished most of it. The chips were great though. Both DD and I stole many pieces.
Meips had the Tomato Capellini ($22). Yummy, but then again, I love all tomato-based pastas.
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:
The giant manta ray swimming past literally right before our eyes.
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.
Meips couldn’t resist turning to look at the HUGE grouper. Check out the size of that thing!
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!
Happy birthday!
Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora
S.E.A Aquarium
Resorts World™ Sentosa
8 Sentosa Gateway
Singapore 098269
Tel: 6577 8888
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