Singapore Flyer Sky Dining – Food, Romance and Adventure (with a View!)

Allow me to paint you a picture: you and your partner are on board the Singapore Flyer. You enjoy a beautiful 360-degree view of the skyline from the comfort of your air-conditioned glass cabin, possibly with a wine in hand. A dedicated butler is at your service, ever ready to serve you a fine 3-course dinner. Does that sound fabulous?

The Singapore Flyer unveiled the world’s first full butler sky dining and, through Asia PR Werkz, invited us to partake in this one-of-a-kind dining experience. Perfect! The invitation is made sweeter by the fact that we have always wanted to “fly” on the giant wheel!

Dinner for two package
SGD199 (per couple)++
Package rating:
Dinner timing: 7:30 / 8:30pm daily (book 1 day in advance)

From the start to the end, the service is topnotch. The experience? Simply magical!

Pre-boarding, we wait at the third-storey VIP lounge. As the timing coincides with the National Day Parade rehearsal, we can see the contingents marching by and the copters in the air from the open-air balcony.

Boarding time! A short distance away the regular passengers are queuing for an available cabin. But fret not; diners get priority boarding!

The usher brings us to our glass cabin where dining tables have been installed and a uniformed butler is waiting to serve us for the next one hour.

Each cabin accommodates a maximum of five couples. For full privacy, couples or groups of up to 10 can fork out $1500 to book the entire cabin.

The 3-course menu is created by the chefs from Megu and changes monthly.

Wondering how the food is prepared and delivered as we’re soaring 165 meters into the air? Here’s how!

1. A welcome drink and entrée are served during the first rotation (half hour).
2. The main course is served during the second rotation (another half hour).
3. The dessert, plus tea or coffee, is served afterward at the VIP lounge.

Fresh summer berries in ginger ale

Upon climbing on board and settling comfortably into our seats, we get our welcome drink of ginger ale with fresh berries, alongside bread and mineral water. It’s a sweet and refreshing concoction that magically puts everyone in a good mood. We love it!

Cured Norwegian salmon in medley of spices
Course: Entrée

Then it’s time for the entrée of cured Norwegian salmon. The intriguing combination of spices, dressing and fresh apple teases the taste buds, sending off pulses of pleasure with each bite.

If the chef’s aim was to create a melange of contrasting flavors, he has certainly succeeded. This is one savory dish that whets our appetite for more!

Apart from the food and the service, what makes this meal truly amazing is the panoramic view of the Singapore skyline at night. The wheel starts from the west, showing the quieter heartlands, before turning to the busy downtown and scenic waterfront.

My shoddy video captures the latter portion. On the left you would see the next cabin in a constantly changing multitude of colors. Towards the right is the floating stadium, where the National Day Parade rehearsal is taking place. (Soundtrack: Michael Jackson – Stranger in Moscow)

(At this point the butler takes our orders for the main course — either fish or duck.)

Our cabin approaches the platform at the end of the half-hour rotation. While the regular passengers from the next cabin disembark, having already reached the end of their ride, we remain on board as our dinner package consists of two rotations instead of the usual one. Yeah!

If I remember correctly, the cabin never actually comes to a full stop. Even when it’s already at the platform, it is still rotating, albeit very slowly. You can imagine how the waitstaff must have scrambled to get all our food on board before we spin off into the skies once more!

(During the first rotation, the butler must have already intercom-ed or walkie-talkied our orders to the kitchen. I hadn’t noticed as I was too engrossed in the view!)

Pan-seared fillet of Chilean sea bass topped with XO sauce
Course: Main

On our second and final rotation now. We get our main courses here. Not being a fan of duck at all, I have ordered the pan-seared sea bass. The fish is lightly-seasoned, and a tad dry. While the portion surely is generous, I think it can do better in the taste (and looks) department.

Roasted duck confit
Course: Main

The alternative main course of roasted duck confit is a more flavorful dish. That said, I do find the natural flavor of the duck rather heavy and overpowering. Of course, I don’t like the fatty bits at all, but I know some people really dig that stuff.

While I’ll be frank to confess that I haven’t enjoyed either of the mains, I’ll also be fair to add that the chefs behind the scene are working under an extremely tight schedule. From the time the butler first takes our orders to when the food is served, it must have been under 20 minutes. That surely isn’t much time to perfect the dishes.

Anyways across the table people seem to find the food okay, so I guess I must be the pesky eater!

Taking all of that into account, a 3/5 rating for both dishes seems fair.

The best part of the whole sky dining experience is that we get to see the entire fireworks extravaganza from way up high! No matter how many times you’ve seen fireworks, it never gets old :)

Look out for the star-shaped and heart-shaped fireworks. They are adorable! I have to remind myself that this is just the rehearsal. I’ll bet that the fireworks display on the actual day (August 9) would be even more breathtaking!

For those of you who have been on the Flyer before, have you noticed that just as the ride is coming to an end, it descends to these miniature buildings?

I spot the upcoming Marina Bay Sands in their midst. Can you tell which buildings are really there and which ones are the miniatures?

After the two rotations that have taken slightly longer than an hour (which is a good thing!), we are ushered back to the VIP lounge for desserts.

The waitress takes our order for tea or coffee and serves the chocolate souffle. This is basically a chocolate lava cake, with molten dark chocolate at its center.

Chocolate souffle
Course: Dessert

The wall of cake is slightly dry, and would have fared better if it’s served warmer. The plating is pretty, but I am kind of missing the scoop of ice cream that is usually served with this dessert.

On the whole, I feel that this package has been priced reasonably. For comparison’s sake, the usual adult ticket costs $29.50 for a half-hour rotation.

Here’s a summary of what the $199++ couple package includes:

• 2 rotations for both adults (4 rotations overall, loosely speaking)
• express boarding (skip the queue and feel awesome!)
• dedicated service throughout
• 3-course meal
• coffee and tea in VIP lounge

If you are looking to surprise someone with the most unforgettable dining experience, this sky dinner would be hard to top, literally! The $199++ price tag is an “introductory” one, so I’m not sure if it would stay the same for long.

Better yet, make your reservations for the next two Saturdays. Who knows? You may even get to catch a glimpse of the fireworks!

Singapore Flyer
30 Raffles Avenue #01-07
Singapore 039803
(65) 6854 5200
Service:
www.singaporeflyer.com

Bus services: 36, 70M, 75, 77, 97, 97E, 106, 111, 133, 162M, 171, 195, 502, 502A, 502B, 700A, 857, 960, 961C
Nearest MRT: City Hall