Once in a while, I love to try random eateries and since the presence of Zomato, it became so easy to foresee whether a restaurant or cafe is worth to be visited. As I am right now staying near Pondok Indah Mall, it is not impossible that there would be a time when I have had visited each one of the eateries there (lol). So long story short, Blacklisted, was on my list.

Blacklisted is a cafe that serves coffee as their specialty along with all-day breakfast foods. Aside from that, you could find quite a variety of menus to choose from, similar to what a usual cafe could offer. In Pondok Indah Mall, this cafe is located on the Street Gallery complex, side by side with a plethora of restaurants and cafes. From the outside, the cafe seems to be crampy and have a very limited seating. Turns out, they provide a greater space at the back reserved for smoking area. Thankfully, I arrived pretty early that there is no single person inside and could enjoy the better-designed space without any smokers.


I had a great first impression when I entered this better-looking dining area. The interior design is very contemporary and somewhat classy. The black wall finish somehow complements the brown leather banquette, wooden chair, and white marble tabletop. The classy-feel, thanks to the leather sofa, become pretty prominent as it contrasts with the wall and floor color. I really love how they combine the color scheme of black, white, and brown. Not forget to mention the beautiful pendant lamps that shape like upside-down classic lanterns.

On one side of the interior, we could see yellow jars, teapot, and cups adorn the whole interior. Quite bold, and turns out that the yellow color is the trademark color of their brand.

After looking around, I found a spot, or we could say a corner that was very interesting in terms of design. Looks like a study area or reading area in a library, with aesthetic decorations adorns the shelves above the table.


I somehow did not choose from the coffee menu nor the breakfast menu. Well, I could be planning to go back here for that as how enjoyable the ambiance is. At that opportunity, I tried their Mushroom Soup with Truffle Oil. Tasted quite good and really love the garlic bread that came with it. The soup was thick and have a nice earthy taste to it. And hey, the portion was big and suited to my liking. A great start to my meal.


The main dish that I ordered that noon was Norwegian Salmon with Lemon Beurre Blanc. To be honest, I was risking myself to order this as this was my first time eating salmon that was pan-seared. As I always loved my salmon to be smoked or sauteed in order to keep the moisture, pan-seared salmon, in my thought would be dry and overcooked. Thankfully I was wrong! The dried part was only on the outside and moreover added an extra crispy texture to the usual moist and succulent salmon. The mashed potato and the lemon butter sauce also went pretty well with the salmon. I love this dish!


I may not have tried their specialty and could not judge the cafe quite yet. But through my short experience here, I love the interior so much that I would come back just to enjoy that. For the food, it was great and it might be a representation of how the whole menu in this cafe taste. Since this cafe is not new, it would also reflect how they could keep up with their food quality.


BLACKLISTED

One of the best things staying at this hotel is how the hotel is located just across an MRT station. For the sake of convenience travelling around the city, this hotel is surely on the top list. It is also located close to numbers of cafes and restaurants as well as a shopping centre which is all within walking distance. Better yet, the hotel acts as an oasis especially for the hotel guests since there are numbers of gardens inside the building.


A tip from me, when you are going to stay here, don't hesitate to book the club room. The rate difference between standard and club room is insignificant as you get so many perks compared to the standard room. The best perk staying in club room is that the room is way more spacious than the standard rooms and it provides a bathtub for those longing to pamper themselves after a city exploration.

One of the advantages of staying in Club Room is the separate check-in area on the Club Floor which is exclusive only to club guests. The club floor also is where the Club Lounge and Infinity Pool located. After a hassle-free check-in, we used a different elevator to reach our room.


As we could all see, the hotel heavily incorporated a certain geometrical shape that resembles the hotel logo almost in every part of the building interior. One of the beautiful examples of the shape usage is visible on the room number sign that I like so much! The shape is also visible in each room in a different way as a wooden decor. The room design is quite simple yet feels sophisticated. There are nicely positioned alcove lighting above the headboard as well as on the ceiling that elevates the sophisticated feels to the room. Moreover, the hanging bronze side lamps also add to the whole contemporary-ish interior design. The bed itself is very plush and I remembered having a great sleep on it. Staying in this hotel also grant the guests free use of a Handy mobile phone which can be used for unlimited phone call to certain countries and unlimited internet during your stay.

The bathroom is separated by a one-way sliding mirror partition that provides a view to the room from the inside. One note, the one-way mirror is quite ineffective when the bathroom is brightly lit while the room itself is not. So it could be quite awkward if you stay in this room with your friends. But nevertheless, the bathroom is very enjoyable especially with a bathtub in it.


Since we were counted as club guests, we were able to enjoy canapes at the Club Lounge. The Club Lounge also provides free flow alcoholic beverages. The food quality, even though limited in variety, was great. One of the most memorable foods served were the smoked salmon topped with caviar. I shamelessly took it way more than a normal people would in a seating!



The club lounge was more enjoyable than most of other hotel's club lounge I had ever visited because it comprised of the infinity pool and lounge area outside the Club Lounge room. Since the whole floor is a club floor, we could freely choose where to sit and enjoy the meticulously made canapes. Surely, this floor is easily my favourite spot on this hotel.

Usually, club exclusive pool would be narrow and small while the main swimming pool would be large and spacious. In Oasia Hotel Downtown, it is the opposite! The club swimming pool is not only spacious but also surrounded by garden-like surroundings. Moreover, the swimming pool is covered from direct sunlight which makes this pool a perfect place to chill around. Not forgetting to mention that the view from the pool is also mesmerizing as it directly faces Chinatown with its rows of heritage townhouses.


Located on the top floor of the building, the common swimming pool area is also worth to be explored. Even though there is no infinity feature and beautiful view, the surrounding lounge area is even better than what the club floor provides! Especially in this floor, we could see the beautiful and colourful Tropicalia chairs by Patricia Urquiola. The lounge area is also surrounded by detailed brick walls that go so well with the perforated shades of green ceilings.


The only thing that was quite disappointing was the breakfast. It was surely not the great service I was complaining about, but the breakfast spread itself. For this beautifully designed restaurant, the food quality and the very limited variety of foods available for the breakfast just didn't hit the right score. Breakfast spread was very basic, some continental, Asian, and American delicacies were all enough to be displayed on a row of a buffet table. Moreover, on the next day, most of the menu was repeated.  It was also such a let down as the taste of the foods for the breakfast did not have similar quality with the one they served in Club Lounge. I don't know whether this issue is still present, but hopefully, they managed to make it better!


Staying in a new hotel surely will bring some kind of hit-and-miss guests' experience. But in Oasia Hotel Downtown, I would easily forget those shortfalls just because of how enjoyable the Club Lounge area was. This hotel is still a good recommendation especially for those looking for a short escape from the bustle of Singapore as the hotel could at least keep up what the name Oasia meant to be, an oasis.


OASIA HOTEL DOWNTOWN SINGAPORE

Recently, I went to Bali for a short business trip, and gosh, it truly was a refreshing trip! As most of our activity was centred in Seminyak area, I tried to spare one short afternoon to visit an eatery around the area. Seminyak is the hip part of Bali where all the partygoers stay and have fun. The traffic could get nasty if you tried to visit the area by cars, so just walk or rent a motorbike for a better experience of the area. Seemed kind of random though, I chose to eat in Bo & Bun among the greatly diverse choices of cafes and restaurants in Seminyak.


Bo & Bun is a fusion eatery that focuses on Vietnamese dish. (Well, I recently tried some Vietnamese food in Jakarta and fall in love that I will come back and do a proper documentation of my visit next time!) The place is not striking at all from the sidewalk, the only thing that differs itself from other restaurants is the black-coloured signage. But when I entered Bo & Bun, I was happily surprised. I actually expected to see dark interiors with dim lighting, but it turned out that there was a row of skylight on the left side that illuminated the interior nicely.


Bo & Bun, as it is a part of the contemporary side of Seminyak, is designed with industrial style of interior. Concrete walls, metal chair, rustic wooden table tops and beautiful downlights decorated the eatery. There are several spots of French-influenced decor that brings the Vietnam vibe to the cafe. I especially love the number of different lamps around the intimately sized restaurant that enhance the whole eatery's eclectic interior.


On that hot and sunny day, I tried to chill down and ordered myself a Frozen Vietnamese Coffee. Tasted OK as it was like the typical blended coffee you would find in a coffee shop. But it really did serve its purpose to chill me down.

Frozen Vietnamese Coffee (45K)

Fresh Vietnam Rice Paper Rolls (40K)

When I was reading to leave after the scrumptious lunch, I asked for the bill and it came with a beautiful Vietnamese flower mirror box. A very simple touch that became a memorable aspect of Bo & Bun.