Al Fresco Dining at Makansutra Gluttons Bay

It was our first day in Singapore and after spending the entire afternoon resting at our hotel, Paul and I decided to grab an early dinner nearby. Luckily, The Swissotel Stamford was perfectly located near the Esplanade, which is a durian-shaped theater/convention center, right at the heart of Singapore's CBD. In fact, it only took us less than 10 minutes to leisurely walk from our hotel to The Esplanade. It was very accessible indeed.

We went around The Esplanade and watched a live free concert happening at the activity hall. It took us a while to locate our target destination, it was a good thing that some locals were nice enough to help us.

Finally we found it -- Makansutra Gluttons Bay.

It was just 630PM and the place was almost filled! Following the local practice, we got a small pack of tissue from my bag and placed it on an empty table. This is their way of reserving the table in any hawker center while the "owner" goes around and get his/her food.

Our first stop was at a Satay Stall. We both love satay in order to try a much variety as possible we got the Satay Combination ($7) where you get 2 sticks each of lamb, chicken and beef. We place our order, paid and told the stall owner we'll just go back for it.

The Satay was delicious! It was very tasty and we both love the peanut sauce that comes with it. It our first time though to try the condiment stick that is a mix of cucumber and a sticky rice cube that doesn't really suit our taste. Nonetheless, I love the lamb and beef satay.

The next stall that caught our fancy was the noodle stall selling Char Kuay Teow and Fried Prawn Mee. It was during our first visit when we had a taste of Fried Prawn Mee ($7) and we really liked it. Paul actually compares it to our local Palabok where it makes use of thick clear noodles, it has a rich creamy yellow sauce and it has juicy plump shrimps. It has just the right amount of consistency that we like. However, we are not fond of spicy dishes so we requested the stall owner to go easy with the chili sauce.

Lastly, to complete our meal, we made sure to get a couple of Chicken Wings ($1.30/piece). No visit to any hawker center would be complete without this. To prove this, we saw at least a plate of chicken wings in all our neighboring tables, a sign that we should definitely take their lead. We were not disappointed. The wings were big and does not just consist of skin and bones. It was perfectly grilled keeping the juice in tact while making sure the wings are cooked inside and out. We got 6 pieces and share which I felt was just right for us.

To quench my thirst, I ordered my favorite Iced Barley Juice ($2.80) at the only Beverage Stall in this hawker center. My drink was just alright, nothing spectacular about it but surely was refreshing on a warm weeknight.

After enjoying our dinner, we walked around and decided to cross the big bridge to get to the Merlion Park. The view was amazing, we couldn't have clicking away. What a wonderful evening to mark the start of our Honeymoon. :)

Makansutra Gluttons Bay is located beside the Esplanade Mall, 8 Raffles Avenue, Singapore. It's open from 5PM to 2AM.