I'm glad to be able to (finally) have the spirit to write this.
Because up till a couple of days ago it was so hard.
You know how it is when you decide to go for a weekend breather but then somehow work catches up and you find yourself not having very much of a breather at all?
Yeah, that's how it (basically) was for me this time round at Hotel Jen Tanglin.
So much so that the next time I come here I'm not going to be burdened by big heavy books bound in red, but I'm going to go Botanic Gardens or go shopping at Orchard Road or somewhere.
No way (I hope) to be shtuck in the room with papers and pens and frenetic referencing to and fro in the hope that you can turn to the d*** page without any highlighter or marker or Post It or sort.
Was it a pleasant stay?
Well... had it not been for those d*** books, it would've been.
Nothing to do on the part of Hotel Jen Tanglin though.
This place is, and continues to be, one of the warmest, coziest- and affordable- places to be if, and when, you want to have a stay in Singapore.
Sure, it's on the far side of Orchard, bot oy, it's one of the most comfortable spaces to be this side of the road, and then there's Holland Road and Tanglin Road and Botanic Gardens and Dempsey a mere ten minute walk away,
Very little to complain about, especially what with the new range of cafes and restaurants downstairs at Tanglin Mall, plus two supermarkets that serve up fresh groceries and all those organic, keto, vegan, gluten-free kind of food.
One thing about Hotel Jen Tanglin which always charms me is her color.
Gone are the dark reds and dark browns of Trader's yesteryear.
Instead now we've got lots of orange, black, and, umm, a slightly paler brown...
Hotel Jen Tanglin is a nice place to work in if you're doing stuff you enjoy.
Then again, even if you don't, you at least feel more cocooned than if you were at, say, another place else.
One thing I like about their hotel is the bathroom, the desk, and the sofa.
You might be amused when I say bathroom (because aren't most bathrooms the same?)
Not necessarily, especially when you have one that is as compact as this, and when you have toiletries now done pump style high up on the wall.
It's a little weird, considering that I didn't use to value sofas very much.
But now I do.
I spent a lot of time on the sofa this time round, I tell you.
It was a place where I could spread out all the stuff I needed to read, and I could chuck it down whenever I wanted.
Being next to the window with a little ledge it was also a place where I could put my phone, my mug of coffee and whatever else I wanted to place there without having to put it on the floor.
There were cushions on the sofa- and I used them well- doubling up as a table and a back rest as I leaned against the wall to look out the window.
Now that I think about it, I'd like to spend time on the sofa reading the books that I want the next time round.
I also don't wish to do phone calls on the sofa any longer.
Or write stuff that I don't want to write about.
Perhaps in the future I might even spend some time at the pool- something which, ironically, I don't think I've ever done before.
There was much else I wish I could have done this time.
Pity it wasn't as much of a breather I'd hoped it to be.
That being said, it wasn't totally unentertaining.
We did have a great time with our Little Black Grill where in the late afternoon we went to the CS downstairs and bought up several meat patties and sausages together with shiitake mushrooms that we threw onto the grill and covered it whilst the meat sizzled in its own juices.
For meals like these, olive oil, salt, and pepper make it all good.
You don't find yourself compromising on cafe standards in any way.
And even if one feels like it's not enough, well, there's the restaurant downstairs at the lobby anyway.
We don't do room service very much here at Hotel Jen Tanglin, but we do take a fancy to their buffet breakfasts, and I love it whenever our deal comes with one.
This hotel does not stinge on their offerings.
What with the mix of guests and differing palates that they have in their rooms upstairs, there is pretty much variety-wise that one can find here.
There is salad, of course, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, kidney beans, corn, and next to it you find a platter of cheeses and a platter of cold cuts that one can help yourself with.
Next to it is the fruit, where more often than not, it goes local with its offerings of papaya, watermelon, dragonfruit, pineapple, banana, plums, apples, oranges and pears. On occasion one finds peaches (that look like they've come out from a can)
Then there're the variations of cereals, of course, as well as the variations of yogurt and milk at one end of the buffet counter.
There was a time where I'd take- besides other foods- a solid portion of Greek yogurt, and honey.
These days I moderate my meal a little where instead of taking everything that I want to have, I space them out to the tune of a bit here and a bit there.
It's all very mood based.
Like how this time I felt like having waffles instead of toast and so off I went to the tray, but then over there I saw that they had pancakes the size of hotcakes so I decided to get some of those on my plate as well.
It was a little difficult trying to decide between scrambled eggs or omelet, but I went for the scrambled egg in the end, and topped it off with wedges of fresh papaya and dragonfruit, which, if you've ever tried such a combination, make for savory and sweet so good.
Next day I decided to go for something different- something more Asian.
Because they had fried noodles.
And I'm one who finds it very, very difficult to resist noodles for breakfast whenever I see some.
So I took those, plus a huge scoop of mushroom ragout, and then because I thought I might as well have some vegetables, I got lettuce, smoked salmon, and pesto sauce.
Then after that, because I still felt like I hadn't eaten everything I wanted, another serving of noodles and mushroom ragout I went to have, followed by some steamed gyozas, and more dragonfruit, which in recent years I've found I really begun to like.
Yes, very weird an Asian-Western fusion type of meal, hot and cold, cooked, smoked and raw all on a single plate, but it didn't taste too bad, actually, and I fancied it very much.
One of the things to have when you're having breakfast here at Hotel Jen Tanglin is their laksa.
Never mind whatever diet you have.
Just go for the egg and the gravy if you have to.
It's SO, SO good.