Valentine's Date at Starker Zhongshan Park

Even though we live in Balestier, we only recently started exploring the restaurants at Zhongshang Park and thought it was a wonderful new place to hang out. It's like this big patch of greenery, with reflection pools all around and surrounded by restaurants and hotels. Most of the restaurants have glass facades overlooking the main park so you can either be inside the restaurant enjoying the scenery or actually sit outside and enjoy the outdoors. The first time we went there, it was for dinner at Kotobuki, after which we took a stroll in the park with the kids. There were kids chasing bubbles or kids chasing dogs. All very idyllic. There was this restaurant across the park with outdoor seating and all the outdoor tables were booked. It looked to me like this was the place with the best views of the park. We eventually strolled over and checked it out and promptly booked reservations there for Valentine's. That restaurant was Starker.  

Husband enjoying Starker housepour

Trio Mushroom Soup

Angus Beef Tenderloin, plated beautifully but portion seemed small for the price (upwards of SGD30), also a bit dry but likely because I asked for it well done, next time I'll probably order it medium well  

Husband ordered 12-inch Quattro Formaggio Pizza which tasted delicious, and since my beef tenderloin was surprisingly minuscule, I had room for 2 slices of these

Creme brulee for dessert - don't be fooled by the size though, the dish is very shallow so technically it's not really a large serving

Great interiors, maybe a bit too bright, I would have preferred a slightly dimmer, cozier look and feel  

Looks like we found another new favorite place. Definitely a hidden gem. Next time we'll probably bring the kids on a weekend and enjoy a slow Saturday at the park.

Dinosaurs! Dinosaurs!

We were choosing between two dinosaur exhibits, the one at Science Centre or the one at Marina Bay Sands. I figured the ones here which are animatronic would be more child-friendly than the ones at Marina Bay Sands which are more authentic but probably less fun. Good choice. The dinosaur at the entrance alone was awe-worthy.

 

The animatronic dinosaur at the entrance of Science Centre. It was huuuge!

Another cool-looking dinosaur at the entrance.

 

Dino-heads as signage to the exhibit

 

 

Posing for pics in front of a dinosaur head

 

Kids are amazed at the dinosaur fossils

Dino mommy with her babies - all animatronic 

A row of triceratops heads

Fossil digging time!

 

Goofing around

 

There were interesting sculptures just outside Science Centre, like this Transformer-esque one near the garden area.

 

It was a cool exhibit, interesting enough even for my 2.5 year old, at one point we came to another huge and scary dinosaur inside the exhibit and my kids kept running to and from the dinosaur pretending to be scared. Not a lot of people even on a Saturday so quite enjoyable just strolling through. I would recommend for a nice, leisurely afternoon activity and afterwards, you can take the kids for a splash at the water playground - just bring swimsuits.