Spudding good time @ Spuds & Aprons!

Did you know there was a place called The Jewel Box in Singapore? I certainly didn't. Apparently, it is the building that houses the Cable Car Station on top of Singapore's very own Mount Faber. The Jewel Box houses a number of eateries in the same building and we managed to check out Spuds & Aprons, casual dining with a fantastic view! We (including the kids!) liked the place so much, that we visited Spuds & Aprons another two times within 6 weeks of the first time we went there!

The first time we went there, was on a Friday night in January this year, for dinner. We didn't realise that there was complimentary (FREE?!) valet parking for all diners of the restaurants at The Jewel Box, including Spuds & Aprons with a minimum spending of $30, even during weekends(just excludes public holidays and eve of PH). Not knowing this, we actually parked a short walk away at the public carpark. It was a nice brief walk surrounded by greenery (see pic below! ;p) and the kids got to explore an old cable car that has been grounded. Still we thought the free valet parking was an excellent idea, since most people would probably balk at coming up here for a meal if they thought they'd have difficulty parking.

Kids in a grounded old cable car on Mount Faber. Not sure why Isaac is showing us his Enid Blyton book! :p

The first thing that caught the kids' attention was the koi fish pond! They were fascinated with the fish, and kept looking at them. The souvenir shop that sells the cable car tickets is right next to Spuds & Aprons and sells paper cones filled with pallets of food for the fish at $1 per pack. The kids really had tons of fun feeding the fish. Even after they were done, they still hung around looking at the fish, and pointing out "funny fish" to each other. I would never have thought that a pond full of fish would have kept the kids entertained ALL NIGHT, but they did. That's the power of nature for you! 

There were seats right beside the pond, but as we were there that night with our friends Angeline, David & Dana from PrincessDanaDiaries, the tables weren't large enough for us beside the pond. Besides, the adults were enthralled by the view off Mount Faber at Sentosa, as well as the view towards Keppel Island, so we insisted on sitting on the other side of the spacious restaurant. The kids were kept entertained by the koi in the pond till it was time for dinner when their food arrived, and after they ate, they were back at the pond.

The kids at the koi pond of Spuds & Aprons. Isaac must have been speaking to the guy in the red shirt at the table nearby. Didn't realise that till I was selecting pictures for this collage :)

The food was excellent, in our opinion. We loved it. Between us four adults, we had the Tobiko Crusted Cod Fillet, Braised Lamb Shank, Crispy Pork Belly, and Grilled Char Siew Lamb Rack as mains, and Chilli Crab in a Tux and Homemade Chicken Liver Pate as sides.  The kids had meatball spaghetti and pizza. The food was all mouthwatering and I would recommend all we had, except for the pizza. No, this is not the place for pizza, but everything else was simply delicious and I knew it there and then that we'd definitely be back for more!

We had a lovely view of the sunset that evening. Gazing at the rooftops of multi-million-dollar condo units that will likely never be ours... But it's okay, with good food, good health and good company, we must be contented with what we have :)

Great food and great view! Remember to go with great company!

As the night worse on, the sunlight faded away, and the view changed! Now it was one of lights lights lights. We imagine that you might be able to catch fireworks from here if Sentosa releases some on special occasions. Albeit being a Friday night, the place was not brimming, I imagine, largely because not many knew about this gem of a place yet as it is rather new. There was a large party of about 20 adults who were celebrating a birthday of one of them there. Just as I was wistfully counting the months to my birthday, the live band started to play! Oh my oh my oh my, I definitely want to celebrate my birthday here now! The band was very good, playing many familiar songs I knew, and they even took requests. I didn't have to request anything though, as they did a good job playing songs I liked! It's a sign!!! :p I went to ask when the band plays, and the answer is: Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Nice!

Spuds & Aprons, wickedly good! Indeed! Loved the live band!

So we had such a good time there that night, that I immediately started thinking of when we could go back again. And I knew the perfect occasion coming up (then) - Chinese New Year Reunion Lunch with my parents and my sister and her family! I knew my family would love the food coz we loved it, the pricing reasonable (mains were generally between $18 to $35) the ambience was fabulous, ther service was good, the free valet parking PERFECT for my Dad who hates going to places where it's difficult to find parking lots, and I was very certain the 6 kids would have fun by the koi pond. I was also keen to visit Spuds & Aprons during the day time, as I was sure the view and atmosphere would be vastly differently from the night, but equally dazzling.

So the first time we visited Spuds & Aprons, we sat the The Garden. This was the non-airconditioned part of the eatery, where it was open air. For once, the kids didn't utter a single word of complaint as they happily played by the koi pond. This is how the place looks in the day. It's so pretty that we spotted some local tour groups stopping by to let the tourists take a look at it and take pictures.

The Garden @ Spuds & Aprons, The Jewel Box, Mount Fabe, Singapore.

Now, do you know what struck me when I saw this place? It'd be PERFECT for a wedding solemnisation to be held here!!! And the only reason why I am telling you this, is because I am happily married and so am not going to go through another wedding anytime soon! For if Spuds & Aprons had existed in the year 2005, I might have seriously considered having my wedding solemnisation here. Look at it, it's perfect! The tiny gazebo where the live band played can house a band, the wide open spaces, the LOVE installation, the Bell of Happiness, the spiral-ish stairs that I can make my grand entrance down to the Garden, the second floor private dining area and The Dining Room can both be contingency plans in case it rains, or just to house the relatives who are more likely to complain of heat... Fantastic! But since I am already married, I am so generously letting all of you know about this place kekeke... And it looks like I wasn't the only one who thought it was a good idea. The names above the bell are the names of the latest couple to wed there, and the names have been different every time we visited the place. So if you want to have a unique setting for your wedding solemnisation in Singapore, here's the perfect solution! You only have to act fast before your other friends catch on! :p

Perfect wedding solemnisation venue - Spuds & Aprons!

This time round when we went for our Chinese New Year Reunion Lunch, we sat at the air-conditioned area known as The Dining Room. Interestingly, it was my Dad who requested it, not the kids :p So this time, we had a great view of the cable cars and of Sentosa's skyline, in aircon comfort!

And thanks to the fact that we had 6 adults and 6 kids amongst our party, we ordered up a smorgasbord of culinary delights to share. It was all very good, and we even had second rounds of those we particular liked, like the Tobiko Crusted Cod Fillet on green tea soba, and the Grilled Char Siew Lamb Rack. We were so full but I had to have the house specialty Chempedak Bread & Butter Pudding which I sampled a bit of the last time we came. So we ordered the chempedak bread & butter pudding that came a scoup of ice cream to share. However, it disappeared faster than you could say "Spuds & Aprons" that we ordered another one shortly after the first one came - and vanished!

Food glorious, food!

The food at Spuds & Aprons is really pretty good. Coupled with all the good stuff I have been repeating above... we came back here a third time, just two weeks after this second visit. It was for a gathering of friends, our CNY gathering. We wanted a venue which had decent food, kid/family friendly, and not too crowded. Naturally, I suggested Spuds & Aprons. This time, we were alerted to the fact that if we applied for The Jewel Card, we'd get 20% off our bill immediately. Some quick calculation later, it was obvious that we should get the card and so hubbs applied for it on the spot. Then it hit us! Urrghh! We should have gotten the card 2 weeks earlier! That'd have saved us a ton off our bill and land us The Jewel Card to boot! This, I declare, is the only regret we have about this place. Hummphh. So remember, if you come in a group, chances are that it is worth your while to get The Jewel Card. Besides, it has many Cable Car and Jewel Box privileges AND also the member privileges of Sentosa's Islander Card. (Now, how do I hide this post from Sentosa's PR guys???)

The kids, as expected, were so occupied with the koi pond that the adults had a good time chatting, and didn't have to entertain the kids at all. The bag of doodling books and story books that I bring along whenever we went out to eat went untouched throughout the whole time we were there. Love the colourful wall by the koi pond. The koi fish here are very well fed as the kids love feeding them! :)

Who knew that fish could be so captivating to kids?!

After lunch we went on a cable car ride into Sentosa! :) It's been ages since we took a ride, and the adults and kids all enjoyed the ride. Asher and Shawna have been asking umpteenth times to ride on the cable car and so they finally got to do it. They were thrilled with the moving cabins, the high altitude, and the bird's eye view of all around us. There were the jokes of what they would say to a bird if he flew too close. And the kids had fun making expressions of how a bird's face would look like smashed up against our cabin glass. And then the girls were all distracted by "ADVENTURE COVE!!!" - and Isaac, Asher and Shawna went "We wanna go THERE! We wanna go THERE!!!"

Cable car ride from Mt Faber to Sentosa.

We originally wanted to go for ice cream, and head back on the cable car. But the Luge station was just across from the Cable Car Station on Sentosa, and the kids asked if we could go on a luge rides. Hubbs went to check it out and realised the group buy of 10 rides, worked out to be only about $5 each. And it was just nice for 12 of us, since Asher and Shawna would ride with hubbs and I. So off we went! To the Luge! Even my parents rode! 

Luge fun on Sentosa!

We had an excellent time that day. The kids declared that it was the most fun Chinese New Year Reunion meal EVER, and requested that we do the same thing EVERY YEAR. Oh my, sounds like the start of a tradition to me! :)

The Mount Faber Leisure Group sponsored our very first meal at Spuds & Aprons, and the Cable Car ride for the 12 of us. Everything else, we paid out of our own pockets. Truly highly recommended, I kid you not :) Oh and when you go, remember to visit the Level 1 indoor toilets! Most beautiful toilets with a view to boot!

Spuds & Aprons
109 Mount Faber Road, Level 2, Singapore 099203
(+65) 6377 9688  customerservice@mountfaber.com.sg
Operating Hours:
Sunday to Wednesday :11 am to 11pm
Thursday: 11am to 12.30am
Friday, Saturday, Eve of Public Holidays: 11am to 2pm