Macau Day 3 (Jade Dragon & House of Dancing Water)
Read part 1 of the day here!
Next stop was the much reverend The Venetian Macao! I first read about The Venetian in Kenny Sia's blog and its golden splendour left such a deep impression that my brain has somehow made it synonymous with Macau. Well, along side Portuguese egg tarts that is xD
The beyond amazing ceiling at the main entrance of the resort.
In 2007, the opening of The Venetian Macao was the largest integrated resort of it’s kind in Asia. And It has integrated a full suite of entertainment, shopping and leisure fun.
And these bloggers all walk super fast lah, see? I’m always the last >w<!
And then the sculptures around O__O
Yes… everything is so gold and shiny it’s almost blinding xD
More kira kira sparkly effect from Lumix GF5 xD. All photos from this trip is taken with the Lumix GF 5!
*Click to continue reading*
The venetian Macao offers more than 1 million square feet of convention and meeting facilities to cater for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE). Throughout The Venetian macao, guests can dine at more than 30 world-renown restaurants, shop at more than 330 stores in the Shoppes Grand Canal while enjoying peaceful gondola rides and their amazing street performers.
Here’s a pensive looking gondolier! With SPARKLES 
And by this time the sparkly scene mode from Lumix GF5 is probably starting to annoy you but mweh, I don’t care. I like it xD!
Our first stop was the Qube adventure zone. The Qube adventure zone is as the name suggests, a place for adventure!
Our innovative activity center offers amazing climbing structures with slides and nets, and more computer games than you could throw a hand controller at.
This 9,000 square-foot (836 sq m) children’s playground features a 6-meter-high multi-climbing facility with a free fall slide, rainbow slides, a V-Net bridge, over and under barriers, zig-zag net climbers and more.
The Qube is designed to offer more than just great fun. It’s also a tool for personal development to boost children’s abilities and confidence.
Teenagers can get on the computers to access the internet, play video games or shoot some pool. And for those celebrating a birthday, the holidays or any other special occasion, kids of all ages can throw their own parties in one of the two themed party rooms at Qube.
It is basically a big playground for young children. The rates start from MOP/HKD 90. 
Strangely, the kids aren't the only ones enjoying the facilities. Look at these bloggers! They are really … *face palms* I think they are happier than the kids xD
And you would never guess this, outside the Cube was a wall of GASHAPON MACHINES !!!
Ok ok. It's no big deal if it's just Gashapon Machine. I've seen plenty to be nonchalant.
But I spotted a NYANKO SENSEI GASHAPON and HOMG THAT'S IT!
Each turn at the Gashapon machine cost only HK$10! Which is equivalent to around $1.70 SGD! So much cheaper than the exorbitant price of at least $3 in Singapore ! And it's Nyanko Sensei >m<!!!
After the crazy Gashapon turning and money burning, it's off to the freezing Ice World!
Knowing how afraid of the cold I am, I went to change into an additional pair of opaque tights. Liz Lisa cardigan with pink Daiso leg warmers because I'm that scared of the cold xD
Thankfully Winter jackets were provided otherwise I might have died inside xD
Entrance ticket to the Ice World is priced at MOP/HKD100 per person (exhibition until 16 September 2012). The Venetian Macao’s Ice World this year has ten themed zones full of stunning new carvings. Famous landmarks from across Asia, enchanted Fairytale forest and Double Dragon slide are some of the highlights.
And into the winter wonderland we go! 
The maze which was pretty difficult to get lost =x
The exhibition this year has many landmarks from Asia and here's our very own Merlion! I may be smiling but HOMG , I really just wanted to get out of the place because it’s just too cold for me T___T
The very fast and exciting Double Dragon Slide! Most of us had a go at it and Sakura Ai was the only one to get stuck halfway XD!!! And she was stuck for 3 times straight! hahahhaha!
Snow dogs and sledge!
The Music zone! This zone showcases the drum set, piano and organ, all encased in ICE!
Yiwei plays the piano here and we were surprised to hear the Piano make a sound! Those things really work! I’m not sure if the Organ and Drum sets worked as well because I was highly distracted by the fact that the exit was just 2 meters away. After taking a few obligatory photos like the responsible Blogger I am, I dashed out of the exhibition and thawed in the Cloakroom area totally knocked-out.
After the freezing experience at the Ice World, I was more than ready for dinner.
Next stop was City of Dreams!
When I first saw our travel itinerary and saw ”City of Dreams” I was like “what O_o? Is this a hotel or a museum or a theater show ?”. Turns out City of dreams is quite literally, a small ‘City’ by itself.
City of Dreams (新濠天地) is a property along the Cotai Strip in the Cotai reclamation area in Macau built, owned and managed by Melco Crown Entertainment. City of Dreams is Melco's second mega-sized property in Macau. It is located directly opposite The Venetian Macao.
City of Dreams, is in the style of a podium, with four towers: namely the Hard Rock Hotel, Crown Towers Hotel, and the Grand Hyatt Macau (2 towers). Its three-floor podium includes a mega-casino, over 200 shopping facilities and hotel guest facilities.
And the evening turned out to be quite a dream!
Hard Rock Hotel was our firsts top in City of Dreams because this is where our dinner restaurant is!
Camwhore while walking! There were huge mirrors randomly lounging around the corridors.
Very awe inspiring dragon statue inside the hotel. The statue is probably around 2 levels high with interchanging coloured light.
And then we reach Jade Dragon.
A Chinese culinary masterpiece, Jade Dragon features exquisite, innovative Cantonese cuisine crafted by Chef Tam Kwok Fung and his team using the finest seasonal ingredients and the rarest Chinese delicacies. With enchanting views of Cotai and personalized services, this Chinese restaurant sets the benchmark for fine dining in Macau.
Like how the official webpage describes the restaurant, Jade Dragon can only be appropriately described with ‘exquisite’ and a restaurant that is dressed to impress. Check out the entrance area.
We came out from those lifts. Imagine the grandeur of our arrival LOL! *Atas*
Yes. Jade Dragon statues and a long stretch of traditional Chinese Medical drawers. Impressive is not enough to describe this place… and we haven’t even entered yet!
They even had this super pretty lady to welcome the restaurant patrons in! She was standing so beautifully poise and intricately dressed to theme I had to stop myself from gawking. I was like ‘ da*m, is this lady a superstar or something?!’ .
And I know I’m not the only one because Valyn and Sakurai both went up to take photos of her too. In this picture above Valyn is taking a picture of the lady’s hair accessories.
Jade Dragon invites it’s patron into the restaurant with an open concept, glass encased kitchen. Very unique and rare to see of Chinese restaurants much less fine dining restaurants.
We were ushered into a private room reserved just for us. Seriously, who would have thought blogging would bring me here oAo?!
According to Stephanie from City of Dreams, the intricate wall paintings seen around the room were all hand painted. This particular mural stretches all the way to the ceiling.
Sharing the table with me was Iris, Sakura Haruka, Willy, Valyn and Sau Jun!
Have you ever seen a chopstick holder made out of real Jade? Here’s one
The black chopsticks are for personal use and the white pair is for communal use; like when you use it to scoop the food from the main plate to your own plate. Hygiene much !
Jade Dragon’s Menu. A dragon is symbolically embroidered onto it with a piece of jade for it’s eye. Yes a real piece of jade. We were told that the cutleries used for this meal collectively cost MOP $10,000 !!! That’s like SGD$1666! I wonder what happens if someone decides to slip something home…
I know you guys are probably hungry right now. Here, look at what we had for dinner =)
Our appetiser. Scallop with fruit pudding and diced strawberry. The fruit pudding was pure heaven to me. I love zesty citrus flavours and the pudding was this perfect flavour of Pomelo and maybe a little bit of orange. The consistency of the pudding wasn’t too firm nor was it too gooey; it was a soft but firm gel like consistency. I’m not a particularly big fan of scallop but I was amazed at how well these 2 ingredients match up! I almost couldn’t bear to finish it but the next dish was already served…. 
The 2nd dish to be served was this trio. Deep-fried Fine de Claire Oyster, Jade Dragon Prime-Cut Iberico Barbecue Pork and Deep-fried Bean Curd with Chilli and Salt.
Being placed in the centre, you know this beautifully barbecued piece of meat is the diva. Not only is it Prime-Cut Iberico Pork which is famous for their exceptional texture, it is also barbequed with, get it, not just any wood but LYCHEE WOOD! A highly skilled chef with some of the finest ingredients can only produce exceptional indulgence like these. This is also the one piece of meat every blogger was craving for when we came back.
For someone who don’t like the fishy smell of Oysters, I’d say the chef did a pretty good job masking and seasoning it.
But the fried beancurd has got to be the biggest surprise. It was so soft and dense and simple and nice! It felt like the beancurd had been marinated for hours before it was gently fried. When you munch into it, you barely feel the resistance of the crispy skin. The softness and intense flavour of the tofu inside made me felt like crying . You mean this is what the rich people had been eating all along?! Da*m! this is just a tofu! Why does it taste so different from the ones at home?!??!! NOT FAIR LAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
The entire restaurant also employs an ‘open window’ concept for diners to enjoy the beautiful Macau scenery while they dine.
Camwhore to prove that i was really there!
The 3rd dish was the Hot and Sour Soup with Hairy Crab meat. A peppery hot and slightly sour soup with shredded hairy crab meat and a soft boiled egg on top. Helps open up the appetite!
Then it was Lychee Wood Roasted Goose!! Ah~ This is one dish that taste as good as it looks. Nicely flavoured and slightly smoky with a hint of lychee aroma. The skin is crispy and waxy, I don’t know if that makes sense but that’s pretty much how it felt like.
The 4th dish was fish! Steamed Green Garoupa with Egg White in “Hua Diao'” Wine Sauce. Very little seasoning was used in this dish to accentuate the freshness of the fish. I would prefer a bit more salt but that’s probably just me. Check out the intricate silver ware!
The next dish was a Plum Wine sorbet. Apparently this little baby is not even considered a dish, it’s just something to cleanse our palate and it was very nice T____T richpeoplewaijoosogoodlifeeeeeeeee
Stir-fried Prawns with Lobster Bisque (2 head) . Very very crunchy Prawn ‘dumpling’ that is made out of 2 Tiger prawns. I don’t know how they managed to intertwine the 2 tiger prawns together to make it look like 1 circular prawn dumpling but it looks pretty cool doesn’t it?
We didn’t get the name of this dish but it’s some sort of blanched vegetables with a very thing slice of, if I’m not wrong, Dry-cured Ham (JinHua Ham). I think it’s another palate cleansing dish.
And finally came the carbohydrates. Jade Dragon’s Signature Fried Rice with Prawn, Sakura Shrimp, Conpoy and Goose. This little pot of fried rice was very intensely flavoured with the usage of dried Sakura shrimps and prawn. The side ingredients mixed in with the rice was abundant and every scoop was a nice mix of rice and meat. Very fragrant *_*
THEN IT WAS TIME FOR DESSERTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jade Dragon prepared the Petit Fours Selection for us and it consists of…
French Macaroons with Durian fillings
Chocolate sprinkled with soy bean powder.
This was DA BOMB! Rich, dense, aromatic and not too sweet describes this little confectionery best. Coupled with the nutty flavour of the Soy Bean powder makes for a very luxurious piece of chocolate. Think of it like chocolate fudge minus the diabetic sweetness.
Handmade Mango & Cherry sweets
Handmade Milk Tea & Black Sesame Ice Cream
I really liked this one too. I’m a fan of Milk Tea and I’ve never seen it as an ice cream before. It was such a nice, smooth and subtle flavour XD
After the fabulous dinner so generously sponsored by Jade Dragon, it was a mad rush to the theatre! It was so rushed we were stuffing the ice creams into our mouth while we ran LOL *gluttons*
It was time for “ The House of Dancing Water” !
“The House of Dancing Water” is a truly unique show in every sense. Following five years of development, two years of rehearsal, and with production investment running at over HKD2 billion (USD250 million), this incredible production has become the iconic entertainment centerpiece of City of Dreams and is deservedly garnering a growing international reputation as one of the most innovative and awe-inspiring productions to be staged anywhere in the world.
Envisioned by Mr. Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman and CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment, and personally created and directed by the world's greatest showmaker Mr. Franco Dragone, “The House of Dancing Water” is a creative masterpiece blending the best of the best entertainment elements from both East and West. A never-been-seen-before production that combines theater, dance, gymnastic artistry and high-performance diving, all of which push the physical boundaries of human performance and which leave audiences amazed and astounded.
The House of Dancing Water is the world’s largest and most spectacular water-based show. Costing over USD250 Million to put together, the show is a world-class production exclusive to Macau.
The show is performed by a superb cast of approximately 80 international performance artists and approximately 160 world-class production staff, technicians and professional divers from more than 25 countries around the world.
The Dark Queen descends!
The hanging cabaret! Such a spectacular sight!
The entire set suddenly turned into such a sparkly world!!!! so pretty!
The stage became a swimming pool and fountain!
Sigh, isn’t it just spectacular? The moveable stage and excellent combination of all the performer’s abilities really puts this world-class production at the top. I must also note that the cinematography design of the show was also breath taking. Every scene was well thought out and executed while every sight was a sight to marvel.
Everything that my eyes took it was like a piece of beauty artwork…. it was so breath taking >w<! I highly recommend anyone going Macau to check out this production!
Took a camwhore with the super lovely Iris from Macau Tourist Office. She had been such a dear the entire trip haha!
Willy deciding whether to buy the “House of Dancing Water” collectibles xD Here he is, seeking everyone’s opinion to buy or not xD
Sneaked a moment to Camwhore with the huge mirrors in the hotel again xD
Speedy camwhore (again!) in the hotel before I remove my makeup and bath and waited for Rinka to visit me in my hotel room >w<! Really liked how the triple flick eyeliner style worked. Yessss, I am wearing a bathing cap 
Tiramisu, Cream puffs, egg pudding inside an egg and tonnes of Vietnamese Kuehs XD It was way too much food for 2 girls but I guess it just shows how much love and thought she put into it
She even gave me a fishbone keychain and a Llama earephone lug xD *hugs Rinka* XD
A while ago, a fellow Cosplay friend asked me if I ever felt like Cosplay is something I shouldn’t have started. While many sacrifices were made for this hobby and I won’t lie, the journey of a cosplayer can be very lonely and tough. But when I look back, I realise there were a lot more smiles than tears. I count my blessings and am thankful for all the wonderful people I befriended through this hobby.
After such a long entry… I just want to say it was an awesome awesome day and it was all thanks to OMY.sg and Macau Government Tourist Office. I’m definitely counting my blessings =)
Comments
omg!! the girl is pretty!!!!!!
oh, i like the last pictar of u :>
Anyway the trip looks like soooo much fun!!! And the food *_*