Thursday, August 12, 2010

Morton's Bar @ Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Singapore

Singapore post #2 - Living it up at Morton's Singapore :)...

Mini confession:
I have had the great pleasure of staying in the Mandarin Oriental Singapore before, more than a year ago*.
(* Was very lucky - Went to SG for work and all the usual places my company books for lowly executives were full... so I got bumped up this 5 star hotel instead. YAY!)

Still, as I walked in (last week), I was a bit in awe of the hotel's old world elegance, with its high ceiling/ skylight and lush fixtures like elaborate crystal chandeliers:
Rows and rows of gleaming crystals....

That night, we were headed to Morton's, located on the 4th floor of the hotel. I had heard so much about it but never eaten there before, so I was really looking forward to the experience.
:)

We were not going to the main steakhouse though, but to the cheapo/ smart person's option - the Weekday Happy Hour at the Bar At Morton's:
(The Bar is an extension of the main restaurant, and is located in a separate treehouse-like structure - cute!)
The luxurious "treehouse"....

Happy Hour only starts at 5pm but we arrived a little earlier, at 4.40pm.

At that time, the bar was still pretty empty with only a few tables taken up**:
(** WARNING: It filled up completely by about 5.20pm. Apparently this was most probably an anomaly caused by the bad traffic jam induced by the rain, as it is usually completely full by 5pm sharp)
Where's my eye candy? *pout*....

So what's the deal with the Happy Hour?
- Weekdays from 5pm to 7pm.
- Cocktails at SGD 12++ each (Classic Martini, Appletini, Lychee Martini, Chocolate Martini and Cosmopolitan).
- Free flow of filet mignon sandwiches.

All the Martinis were yummy*** but if I had to choose I think I preferred the Apple and also the Lychee one as the Classic Martini was just a TAD too strong for me:
(*** ... although there were complaints within the Sg bunch that the martinis used to be stronger)

Of course, the Chocolate Martini was also good, with melted chocolate swirled inside the milky, creamy drink:
First round - cheers! :)....

Anyway, the friendly wait staff started passing out the free sandwiches soon after.

Note: They pass out the sandwiches at (roughly) 15 to 20 minute intervals and will only give out one per person, until they ensure everyone's gotten one. IF there is any to spare then you can ask for another:
The waitress hands out the rations....

My first thoughts when I got my sandwich?

"Wah lau. SO SMALL WAN!!"
2 bites at most....

After one bite, I had no more complaints*** - it was AWESOME.
(*** Except that I wished that the waiters would replenish the sandwiches faster)

- Fluffy bread, lightly buttered and grilled,
... with a
- Light swipe of creamy mayo/ mustard,
... encasing the
- Perfectly cooked, TENDER, tasty, small but thick cut of steak with a lovely hint of smokiness:
1 chomp down, 1 to go....

Inspired, I anxiously awaited every round of sandwiches, wolfing down at least 5 in my time there....

Of course, while you wait, you are more than welcome to order more and more drinks... and a few cocktails later:
Um. It wasn't all for me, really!....


.... I imagined that my martini was smiling back at me:
Can you see it? :D....

Needless to say, I had a fantastic time there with Jo and the SG bunch...

I must say though, the well dressed office crowd are very unapologetic about the Happy Hour. Generally:
- All tables are taken up by 5.15pm,
- very little standing room left by 6pm,
- and after the last sandwich at 7pm, almost everyone immediately disappears.
:)

So, it's: Casual dining, fast and fairly friendly service, nice martinis, AWESOME (free) steak sandwiches during Happy Hour! :) BUT gets very packed and sandwiches only come around every 20 or so minutes :(....


Summary Information:
The Bar at Morton's @ Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Singapore

Opening Hours:
- Monday to Friday 5pm to 7pm (Happy Hour @ The Bar)
- Monday to Saturday 5.30pm till 11 pm, Sunday 5pm till 10pm (The Restaurant)

Phone: +65 6339 3740
Address: 5 Raffles Avenue, 4th Floor (in Mandarin Oriental Hotel), Marina Bay, Singapore 039797.

NO PORK SERVED
(I think. Didn't go into the main restaurant)



OTHER REVIEWS:
- Lady Iron Chef
- The Local King
- His Food Blog


PS/
This post makes me kinda sad because writing/ reading/ posting it makes me think about my holiday (Want holiday again!) and the SG bunch (Miss you all!! *hugs*).
Bleh.

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15 comments:

  1. that's a good deal! so if a customer just orders one cocktail the whole time, he'll still get to have enjoy that cocktail AND 10 bites of filet mignon for only 12 dollars :D

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  2. Ooh, nice! Makes me sad too because I have absolutely no clue when I can shack up at a spanking hotel with flowing happy hour liquids!

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  3. Hi

    nice!that's a good deal!great job. thanks for this blog!



    John Williams
    Zubaida

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  4. Chocolate + Martini + J ... Lethal combination :-)

    Happy Belated Birthday!!!

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  5. to Sean:
    Ya loh! So worth it, right?
    (This Happy Hour thing is on the top of my list for the next time I visit SG. I just hope I can control myself when it comes to the martinis because they r really yummy too!)

    to minchow:
    Me too. :(
    I think that was (perhaps but hopefully not) the first and last time I'll be staying in a 5 star hotel acterly.
    (Well, we can still afford to drown our sorrows at the Bar. 12 bucks per martini and free flow of steak sandwiches - YAY!)

    to Zubaida Appa:
    Thanks. Glad that you enjoyed it. :)

    to Julian Si:
    WOT? :P
    I behaved very well, thank you very much.
    (And thanks for the belated wishes. So does that mean that you owe me a present? LOL)

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  6. Wah, that Chandelier's really nice!

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  7. to qwazymonkey:
    Yeah, and it was massive too! My eyes went O_O when I saw it.
    :)

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  8. Wow... happy hour!! I really miss those times :(

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  9. to thule aka leo:
    Any hour can b happy hour. Next time you and Jenn r in KL, let's all meet up, k? :)

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  10. Haha.. heard abt MO's tea for 2 tht's really nice! I got to go try nx time!

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  11. to thenomadGourmand:
    Tea for 2? Mmmmm... sounds interesting.
    (I look forward to you blogging about it... )

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  12. look at all you cheaparse singaporeans trying to take advantage of mortons... pretty damn pathetic

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  13. to anonymous:
    Well, it is a happy hour promotion. :) If this is taking advantage then I guess in the same way, all
    happy hour promotions are?
    (I'm Malaysian btw)

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  14. Wow yr post really makes me wana head to Mortons right now ! ! ! Wish I cld though as there isnt any Mortons in Japan where I live - Am Sporean though and the last time I enjoyed Mortons Bar was prolly 5 to 6 yrs ago :((

    Missing the Chocolate Martini though I read that the prices have increased quite a fair bit over the recent yrs - Nevertheless quality worth paying for :))

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  15. to Samantha:
    You are not alone! I wish I could head to Mortons right now too but same problem - no Morton's in KL...
    :( :(

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Appreciate your thoughts, opinions and feedback. :)