SINGAPORE: What to Order at ADRIFT Restaurant, Marina Bay Sands

SINGAPORE: What to Order at ADRIFT Restaurant, Marina Bay Sands

Adrift is a restaurant by Michelin-starred Celebrity American Chef, David Myers. Adrift is located at the Hotel Lobby, Tower 2 of the Marina Bay Sands. It's the first time we tried this restaurant and we really loved the food. So I'm recommending the food we ordered.

This is the Hotel Lobby in Tower 2 of the Marina Bay Sands where Adrift is located.

The restaurant is dark and cozy inside.

WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND ORDERING THE FOLLOWING:

SALAD

Mesclun Salad
with asparagus, pomegranate and pecorino
16 SGD

Warm duck salad
with mizuna nam jim
16 SGD

MAIN COURSE

When we asked the waiter what the signature meals of Adrift are, he recommended these.

Adrift Wagyu Burger and Fries
with tomato jam, gruyere and pickled jalapenos
28 SGD

Iberico Pork Chop
with umeboshi glaze and leek shoots
32 SGD

DESSERT

Yuzu cheesecake
Berries, matcha
13 SGD

COCKTAILS:

I highly recommend that you try the cocktails. They are created by Sam Ross, a famous bar consultant and icon of the New York bar scene (see HERE). He created the Penicillin cocktail (made of blended scotch, fresh lemon, ginger, honey and islay float). You should try the Penicillin cocktail. I was not adventurous so I tried my usual Margarita. The Margarita was great! 

The Margarita
Tequila, cointreau
23 SGD

DINNER MENU

For a clearer menu, click HERE

For the drinks menu, click HERE
For the dessert menu, click HERE

Where to Buy R & M Dried Mangoes

Where to Buy R & M Dried Mangoes

R & M Preserves is the company that pioneered dried mangoes in the Philippines. So naturally it's the brand that people prefer to buy when bringing dried mangoes as pasalubong or gifts to friends and relatives. In recent years, it has been difficult to find stores that sell R & M dried mangoes. I used to be able to find it at SM supermarkets or Robinsons supermarkets. But in the past few months, I couldn't find any even in these stores. 

In my recent trip abroad, I was able to find R & M dried mangoes at the airport, specifically, at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. There are a lot of pasalubong stores after the immigration counter and near the gates but there is only ONE pasalubong store/stall where you can find R & M dried mangoes. All other stores carry the other brands.

Here is where you can buy R & M dried mangoes at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3:

1. It is located at the International Departure Gates.

2. After passing through immigration, you turn left and walk to the gates.

3. The stall selling R & M dried mangoes will be on your right side, beside The Great Man Han Restaurant 

R & M dried mangoes, 100g. , 130 pesos

HOTEL 101 MANILA: A REVIEW

HOTEL 101 MANILA: A REVIEW

I booked Hotel 101 as a place where I can stay overnight before running the half-marathon at the 2017 National Geographic Earth Day Run. The venue of the run is the SM Mall of Asia grounds. The start line is at Seaside Boulevard, which is around 1 1/2 km. walk from Hotel 101. The half-marathon gun start is at 3:30 AM. So I decided to stay at Hotel 101 so I can rest more and avoid having to compete for parking space at the SM Mall of Asia, especially since thousands join the Earth Day Run. Apparently, it was a good decision. A lot of vehicles are stuck in traffic on the road leading to the start line.

My Reasons for Liking Hotel 101

1. The price

The price of the room is only 2,755.68 pesos per night for two persons. We didn't get the room with breakfast included because there's a Jollibee store beside the hotel and a lot of restaurants within short walking distance of the hotel.

I BOOKED HERE FOR THE BEST RATES FOR THIS HOTEL.

2. The hotel room and its basic amenities

The room has a minimalist design but very clean. And basic amenities are complete.

Water is strong and the shower has heater.

It's very good that the toilet has bidet unlike other hotel rooms.

They provide complimentary 2 bottles of water, a snack (Pillows) and coffee.

As you can see, bottled water and Oishi pillow snack is complimentary.

There's a microwave.

There's a small ref.

You can see the storage space of the ref.
The items you see inside the ref is not free.

They provide a bathrobe, in-room safe and slippers.

They provide a flashlight inside the cabinet in case of emergency. 

They provide a hair dryer.

There's a dental kit, shaving kit, cotton and earbuds. 

They provide shampoo, conditioner, lotion and soap
Of course, there's also toilet paper, facial tissue and towels provided.

3. The shops and services near the hotel

There's a 711 store at the ground floor of the hotel building

There's a Jollibee store beside the hotel

There's a Baan Khun Thai spa and a Phoenix gas station beside the hotel.

4. Ube express shuttle stop

The hotel is one of the stops of the Ube Express shuttle that goes to the airport, the NAIA Terminal 1, 2, and 3.

From 5:00 AM until 12:00 mn.
The buses pass through this stop every 30 minutes.

The Ube Express shuttle bus stop is in front of the hotel entrance

5. Ample hotel basement parking space

Hotel 101 is a value-for-money hotel choice if you wish to have a place to stay when:

1. You're running a marathon very early in the morning in the area of Mall of Asia/Roxas Boulevard and wish to stay overnight at a hotel nearby to avoid the traffic and having to look for parking space.

2. You're attending a concert at the nearby SM Arena.

3. You wish to go shopping before going abroad and leaving for the airport.

The hotel is near the airport and the shopping mecca, which is the SM Mall of Asia.

4. You leave far from the airport and wish to stay at a nearby hotel to ensure you make it to the airport on time.

In case you have difficulty finding a taxi, the hotel is one of the stops of Ube Express as shown above.

I BOOKED HERE FOR THE BEST RATES FOR THIS HOTEL.

Disclosure: I paid for my accommodations while staying at this hotel. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions and insights.

How to Pay Philippine Travel Tax Online

How to Pay Philippine Travel Tax Online

Updated November 21, 2019!!: Check out my updated post in this link: http://www.pinoyroadtrip.com/2019/11/pay-philippine-travel-tax-online.html

Why Pay Philippine Travel Tax Online

To avoid having to line up at the travel tax counter at the airport.  I have traveled internationally on different days of the week and at different times. My experience at lining up at the travel tax counter is different each time. Sometimes the line is short. Sometimes, the line is very long. In airports in Manila, you line up several times, at security, at check-in, at immigration. By paying online, you avoid having to line up another time.

What You Need to Prepare:

1. An email address
2. Your passport information
3. Digital copy of your passport data page.
4. Airfare ticket  number or booking reference number  
5. Visa or Mastercard credit card

How to Pay Philippine Travel Tax Online

1. Go to the Online Travel Tax  Portal at

https://traveltax.tieza.gov.ph/

2. Create an account by filling up the form below.

Click "Create your  account"  

Fill up the form above.
You need an email address
After you click "Register", an email will be sent to the email address you provided.
View your email. 

This is the sample of the email.
Click the link to activate the account

Your username is your email
Add a password to your account

This will appear after you have provided your password.

Now you can log in. 

Click "Proceed" 

You need to complete your profile
to be able to proceed 

These are the information you need to furnish.

Warning: Before you can click “I Agree",
you need to scroll down until the very end of the Privacy Policy 

Click "Proceed".

You need to put the ticket or booking reference number
and date of departure, seat class, what airport you are exiting from.

Add caption

As you can see, there is an additional cost of 78.35 pesos compared to paying the amount in person at the airport or at other travel tax counters.

My tip: If you're booked at Cebu Pacific and are willing to pay additional 80 pesos for the convenience of paying travel tax online, pay through the “Manage booking" link of Cebu Pacific instead. 

3. Once payment is confirmed, you can print the official receipt and present it to the airline at check-in.

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NEW RULES ON HOW TO GET A STUDENT DRIVER'S PERMIT

NEW RULES ON HOW TO GET A STUDENT DRIVER'S PERMIT

For the past 4 years, I assisted my children in getting a student permit, not realizing that rules have changed since last summer when my daughter got her student permit. This year, I discovered that a lot of things have changed. So, I'm sharing with you the new rules so you don't make the mistakes I made when applying for my daughter's student permit this year.  

Below is the reproduced copy of AO AVT-2015-030, REVISED RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE ISSUANCE OF STUDENT DRIVER'S PERMIT issued 22 September 2015

1. The applicant must at least be at least 17 years old.

The old rules used to be that an applicant who's 16 years old is allowed to get a student's permit, provided one of the parents give his/her consent. But the applicant has to wait until he's 17 years old till he's allowed to get a non-professional license. 

The new rules state that the applicant for a student permit must be at least 17 years old and the applicant for a non-professional driver's license must be at least 18 years old.

2. A medical certificate is required.

The medical certificate must not be issued 15 days or more from the time of the application. This means, if your medical certificate was issued April 1, you can use the medical certificate to apply for a student permit until April 15.

The medical certificate can be issued by any licensed practicing physician. It's no longer required that the physician be an LTO accredited physician. So if you have a family doctor, your family doctor can issue the medical certificate for this purpose.

3. If an applicant is below 18 years old, only a letter of consent from the parent/guardian of minor, and not an affidavit of consent. A photocopy of 1 government issued card WITH SIGNATURE of the parent/guardian must be attached to the letter of consent.  

Sample letter of consent:

LETTER OF CONSENT

I, (Name of parent/guardian), of legal age, with residence at (state your address) state that:

1. I am the mother/father/guardian of (name of applicant)

2. I am giving my consent for him/her to apply for a student permit at the Land Transportation Office.

3. I am executing this document to support his/her application for a student permit.

Simpler form of letter of consent: 

I, (name of the parent/guardian), mother/father/guardian of (name of the minor applicant), give my consent for (name of the minor applicant) for him/her to apply for a student permit at the Land Transportation Office.

4. You cannot use the downloaded application form provided online and submit it to the LTO.

The LTO now requires that application forms submitted to them shall be the ones provided by the LTO offices bearing the LTO control number.

The official LTO application form with control no.

The official LTO application form with control no. on the left
The downloaded application form on the right

Checklist of requirements:

1. NSO issued birth certificate, original and photocopy

2. Medical certificate

3. Application form with control number (you can get from the LTO office or the mall satellite office)

4. If the applicant is below 18 years, a letter of consent from the parent/guardian with photocopy of 1 government issued ID with signature.

My tip for fast processing:

1. Get a medical certificate in advance. 

2. Get an application form in advance and fill it up before you arrive at the LTO office.

2. Go there at opening time, which is 8:00 AM.

If you're there at opening time and you have a medical certificate and the an application form already filled up, you will beat the line and be ahead of all the other applicants. The other applicants will have to line up to get a medical certificate first and fill up the application form. In our case, it took us only 20 minutes to complete the process.

NOTES ON RENEWAL OF STUDENT PERMIT:
1. You cannot renew the student permit before it expires.

The LTO computer system does not accept applications for renewal until after the old student permit has expired, unlike in the case of renewal of driver's license.

2. You can do away with submitting an NSO issued birth certificate in case of renewal. Just present the following:

a. the old EXPIRED student permit
b. valid ID
c. medical certificate
d. application form with control number