Marina Bay Sands is continuing to reinforce its status as Singapore’s hottest food and beverage destination with the opening of what has quickly become the city’s best bar.
WORDS JAMES WILKINSON IN SINGAPORE
Bali’s iconic bar and restaurant Ku De Ta has opened its first outpost on the roof of Singapore’s new integrated resort, Marina Bay Sands.
The globally recognised hotspot is the latest international brand to set up a new venue at the Singapore mega-complex, joining a list of celebrated outlets from the likes of Sydney’s Tetsuya Wakuda.
Ku De Ta opened just days before the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix in late September and is located in Marina Bay Sands’ SkyPark, which features an infinity pool and views across the city.
Well known for its high-calibre of cocktails and food, Ku De Ta has been the toast of Bali for the last decade and the new venue is expected to raise the quality bar even higher.
In the kitchen at Ku De Ta is Dan Segall, who joined the Singapore venue after a stint at Zuma in Hong Kong, a restaurant that has twice featured on San Pellegrino’s ‘50 Best Restaurants in the World’ list.
“Guests at Ku De Ta can look forward to finding new and interesting combinations of flavour and texture not usually found in traditional Asian dishes,” Segall said. “Our cuisine is not about fusing two or three different styles together, but rather it’s about melting the boundaries usually associated with ethnic food.
“Having spent the past eight years travelling and cooking all over Asia, my head is flooded with culinary experiences (and) at Ku De Ta, the ingredients are our inspiration and memory is our guide.”
Ku De Ta is several venues integrated into one – it features a restaurant, lounge, outdoor bar and poolside terrace – and is available for exclusive events, alongside food and cocktails every night of the week for locals and hotel guests alike.
Like Bali, Ku De Ta features some of the city’s best bartenders and the cocktail list is expected to become the best in Singapore.
Alongside the new cocktail and food addition, Marina Bay Sands also launched a unique partnership with Singapore Airport during September, whereby guests can check-in for their flight at the hotel and have baggage transferred to the airport and onto their departing flight.
The first of its kind in the city, guests departing on Singapore Airlines (SIA) and SilkAir flights can receive their boarding pass and baggage claim tags at Marina Bay Sands before proceeding directly to clear immigration at Changi Airport.
“Marina Bay Sands is proud to partner SATS in launching this first-ever city check-in service in Singapore,” said Marina Bay Sands President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Arasi. “It speaks volumes of our ability to provide innovative and first-to-market services to our guests.
“This is another value-added offering that Marina Bay Sands is providing for the convenience of our guests, and we will continue to introduce more innovative services in the coming months,” he said.
Arasi said the service will be extended to cover more participating airlines in the coming months.
The Baggage Express service is free for guests without any check-in luggage (a handling charge of SGD$25 for every two bags applies) and the check-in service is also open to hotel guests staying in other parts of Singapore.
HM flew to Singapore with Singapore Airlines, the carrier that offers the most flights from Australia to the ‘Lion City’. Singapore Airlines offers Suites*, First, Business and Economy classes on selected flights between Australia and Singapore, several of which are on the Airbus A380 superjumbo. The seats in Business Class are the widest in the market and the cabin features food from Matt Moran (Aria Restaurants in Sydney and Brisbane) and a superlative drinks list from Australian Master of Wine, Michael Hill Smith. Singapore Airlines also features an award-winning entertainment system, Krisworld, which offers over 80 on-demand movies in all cabins. *Suites are available only on the Airbus A380. For bookings, visit www.singaporeair.com.au
(caption) Ku De Ta at Marina Bay Sands
(credit) Marina Bay Sands