The Lion King in the Lion City

On Sunday, it was a family evening out to catch the new musical in town, the Lion King. Since it was also our first time at Marina Bay Sands, we decided to catch dinner there before the show and check out the place a little.

First impressions for dinner - this is a posh, upmarket place. Unless you want to go to the food court or you have cash to burn at the celebrity restaurants, there really is a dearth of choices for food. After surfing the internet, we made reservations at South Coast, an Aussie restaurant at the waterfront. What we didn't realise was that it had no air-conditioning. Not good if you're all dressed up for the theatre.

We sat at a large counter and ordered a couple of wagyu burgers, a pizza and Lesley-Anne had the macaroni and cheese. Halfway through Lesley-Anne's meal, she discovered a bug crawling in her mac and cheese. Ewww. I don't think it was originally there though, I suspect it dropped in midway. Another disadvantage of the open air concept. The waiter swiftly remade another portion for her.

Truthfully, the food was underwhelming and overpriced. The wagyu burger was nothing to shout about, neither was the pizza. The place was mostly patronised by ang mohs who notoriously love the al fresco idea even in crazily hot and humid Singapore. Somehow, I don't see this place being a hit with the locals. The Aussies are great in many ways but there's a reason they're not known in the culinary world.

After dinner, we explored Marina Bay Sands which I must admit, is pretty impressive. The skyline is picturesque, especially as the sun is setting.
















A swirling water feature.

Inside the complex.

And then it was time for the show! The sets and costumes are excellent, the music will probably be familiar to most. I think I would have been more wowed if not for the fact that we were sitting up in the Himalayas, so even the majestic lion looked rather puny.

Nevertheless, my kids really enjoyed it and I think this show is an easy crowd-pleaser. Worth bringing your kids if they like the Disney cartoon version. Afterall, the show is only here for a limited time.