iLove: Mariner's Corner Restaurant & Steakhouse

I can't remember ever being as thankful that it's Friday, as I am today.

After what was a heavy week (well, than usual anyway), I am absolutely gagging to knock off and collapse into bed!

On Tuesday night, I had a couple cheeky vodkas and a refreshing magnum Hoegaarden (with a squeeze of tangy lemon!) during the final pub quiz at Turnstyles Holland Village. Their lease is up and have decided not to continue at Holland Village, focusing on the city bar at Boat Quay and their New Orleans concept restaurant and jazz bar, The Big Easy at Resorts World Sentosa.

Funnily enough, in the last 4 years that Turnstyles has been open at Holland Village, I had never attended a single pub quiz. But boy was I glad that I turned up for the last one - I had a ball of a time! It helps if you've got great company to form a team.

Sadly, our team Wizard Sleeves did not win first place, losing out to the champions of the night by a measly half point but on a lighter note, I am definitely more enthusiastic about participating in more pub quizzes at Turnstyles in the City (45 Circular Road) on Tuesdays. If you think you've got a bright bunch of mates, SMS Neil at 96143004 to reserve a table as their quiz nights are extremely popular with the regulars. Winners will receive attractive prizes!

The Wednesday night that followed saw me at battle with insomnia, resulting in 3 hours of rubbish sleep so I was understandably exhausted by the time I sat down to celebrate the official union of Mr & Mrs Cheshire at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Thursday. I'm not really one for traditional 10 course Chinese wedding dinners but seriously, the Cod they served definitely made a lasting impression. It was cooked to perfection, with a subtle sweet sauce drizzled over the thick chunks of fish.

I have to say, there were a few things that really disturbed me about the wedding reception last night. One of them was about how rude some of the guests were during the best man's speech. Now, half the guests were expats, seeing as the groom is and the other half, as is Singapore, were made up of a majority of Chinese. As the best man, also an expat, was giving one of the best wedding speeches I've ever heard, not only were the tables with the Chinese guests not even paying attention, they were talking amongst themselves and laughing loudly, their silverware clanging sharply on their dishes. It was as if they were there solely for the food than to be a part of a couple's most special event.

Another thing that really annoyed me (and the other guests I'm sure) was that the hotel banquet staff were serving food and clearing dishes while each of the three video montages were playing on the screens, blocking the view of guests of other tables. I've never managed a hotel banquet before but I would think he should have had the brains to orchestrate timely service that would not disrupt the programme for the evening!

So 10 mini servings of food and what seemed like a barrel of Tiger beer later, I stumbled home and snoozed for 4 hours.

(If you've been paying attention, that's 7 hours in the last 48 hours. You can imagine the mega eye bags this morning.)

I was planning to have a nap at lunchtime this afternoon but my colleagues decided forgo our usual kopitiam noodle lunch for a nicer restaurant steak lunch. They took me to Mariner's Corner Restaurant & Steakhouse (120 Cantonment Road Maritime House #01-02) for the most delicious steak set lunch I've ever had!

They offer different selections of main courses for different days of the week but their New Zealand sirloin steak is available from Monday to Friday for set lunch. We were served garlic bread with a bowl flavourful minestrone soup which arrived almost immediately after we placed our order. The staff were not particularly approachable but they were very organized and worked fast.

The steak arrived just moments after we were finished with our soup. The 200g of grilled beef was laid seductively on a bed of roasted potatoes, soft buttered carrots and green beans. The thick, dark mushroom gravy was admittedly the most delicious steak sauce I've ever tasted. I requested for mine to be done medium rare but it arrived more red in the centre than I would have preferred. Nevertheless, it was absolutely delicious and I took my time to enjoy it, which was a good 5 minutes more than everyone else. They were even worried that I was struggling to finish it but like a good girl I eventually did.

We were expecting the dessert to be some store bought spongecake or cheap vanilla ice-cream but were pleasantly surprised when they served us bowls of creme caramel with a light golden syrup coating. My colleagues were kind enough to mention the hidden raisins and I unglamorously fished them out of my pudding before diving into the light, silken custard.

And guess how much lunch cost me? $11.90 inclusive of taxes and service charge!

If you work around the area, I urge you to call and make reservations! With all the typical local fare from the variety of food centres to choose from day to day, this cosy, understated little steakhouse will be a welcome change.

And thank God it is officially the end of my work day and it's time to go home because after such a filling lunch and the air conditioning at full blast, all I can think of is sleep.