SAFRA Toa Payoh BBQ Pit Review – Newest But Is It The Bestest?
Would you want to have your next gathering at the SAFRA Toa Payoh BBQ pit? Check the pictures to make a decision if Pit 1 or 2 suits you best. Spoiler alert: Pit 2 is better. Find out why.
For servicemen and their spouses staying in Toa Payoh, the SAFRA may be refurbished to gleeful residents living in the area.
Amid facilities such as 3 indoor badminton courts, 2 squash courts, a swimming pool that lets you peek at cars driving through the basement car park (but you’re not actually allowed to swim into that area)… there’s the BBQ pits.
A quick walk about the area reveals everything you need to know about SAFRA Toa Payoh’s BBQ pits, whether it’s better than the one you had in mind. Most importantly, you’ll discover which of the 2 pits you should be looking to book.
Locating The BBQ Pits
To gain access to the BBQ pits, you’ll need to walk towards the swimming pool. Passing the McDonald’s at the main entrance, you go through the glass doors to reach the childcare centre. Turn right upon reaching the childcare centre and you’ll find yourself leaving the air-con comfort of the building and towards the gantry.
If you’re looking out for your friends to arrive, here’s your point of view.
Beside the gym, you’ll need the access card to enter the swimming pool. The washrooms serve both patrons of the BBQ pits and swimmers.
The water cooler outside the washrooms make it a good idea to bring cordial syrup concentrates to make many cups of fruity drinks for huge crowds.
The dark area in the left hand side of this picture is where you’ll find the washrooms.
Walk straight after the gantry and you’ll see the simple BBQ pit set-ups. Complete with 4 sets of benches, umbrellas and taps.
Note that areas not covered by the umbrellas will get wet when it rains. Of course, no one will have a BBQ when it’s rainy.
Poolside view.
But, in Singapore it can rain in the middle of a sunny day.
So, if you’re for a sheltered pit, consider this one at SAFRA Tampines instead.
Pit Assessment
Each pit comes with its own green rubbish bin nearby to toss the trash you generate from the BBQ.
Pit 1 on the right, Pit 2 on the left… counter-intuitive, but that’s how it is.
There’s also an unused umbrella leaning against the wall. It’s their version of who you want to save in case of rain – yourself, or the food on the stove?
The BBQ pit itself has just one layer for charcoal and the grill that goes above the burning charcoal. Interestingly, the height between the burning charcoal and the grill is high compared to most HDB pits.
Plenty of room to reach in and grab your foil-wrapped goodies.
Will it reduce the chances of your food catching fire, or is it being thoughtful for the vegetarians who don’t have to lose hair to retrieve their foil-wrapped corn and sweet potatoes?
A Possible Dealbreaker For Savvy Party Planner?
We’re reaching the most exciting part, that is “which is the better pit to book, assuming both are available upon logging into the system”?
If you want to throw the most awesome BBQ party by the poolside and invite your friends along, what will differentiate it from being a meh party to a super awesome party?
Say you want to play the latest chart-toppers from Spotify. You’ll want your friends to sing along to only the latest songs, without fear of being judged for liking songs that are way past their shelf lives. But, your phone is dying from all the calls you’ve been receiving from guests who are lost… that’ll suck!
Or, say you want to bring life to the party but your portable bluetooth speaker is dead because you forgot to charge it the night before… that’ll suck!
Or, say you want to keep the bottle of sparkling drink cold, while waiting for the star to arrive. Thing is, your portable fridge doesn’t have a socket to power up so you have to live with warm sparkling drink in a styrofoam cup… that’ll suck!
The solution to these nightmare scenarios (that are by no means exhaustive), yet serious enough to downgrade an originally “A” experience to a “B+”… is to have the pit with a power socket.
For that, you simply click on Pit 2 during your booking.
All your worries are now gone, and you will look forward to the most awesome BBQ party you ever hosted.
If you’re feeling entrepreneurial, you can even charge a fee for Pit 1 to use the electricity so their looks of envy can turn into a profitable event for yourself.