Category Archives: Living in… Singapore

SINGAPORE’S TOP KID-FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS

21 May 2013 2 comments

My little article on Singapore’s Top Kid-Friendly Restaurants is up on Material World :)

 

In Material World magazine!

I was really delighted when Material World contacted me to be a guest writer. They are an online magazine, headed up by 4 cool women with a background in publishing (with magazines such as CLEO, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Weekly, Her World, etc). The magazine encompasses a wide range of lifestyle categories – like Beauty, Health, Food, Relationships, etc. It’s basically a one-stop-shop for interesting and informative reading.

I’d added them on Facebook when they first ‘opened’, and was eagerly following all their articles. So I was really chuffed when they contacted me out of the blue! Obviously, I said YES ;)

We decided that my topic would be Singapore’s Top Kid-Friendly Restaurants. Writing about something like that kinda comes naturally to me, since I am out every day! My only issue and headache was trying to narrow down the list to just 5…… I had around 20 on my shortlist!

But there you go.

Have any recommendations that you reckon should reaaalllyyyyyy be there? Tell me :)

PARROTS @ DEMPSEY HILL

18 May 2013 2 comments

I was a bit unsure when I heard that there is a carpet store in Dempsey Hill called Lotto Carpets Gallery, that “houses a garden full of parrots”. Dempsey is a dining area full of nice restaurants and cafes, and this was a carpet gallery, and it had parrots???

Errrrr.

There is also not that much info online if you search for “parrots in dempsey”, which I did, so I was a bit iffy when I decided to bring the family there to check it out. Anyway, I figured we’d have a nice dinner in that area anyway, even if the parrots were imaginary ones or a real let down! (they are actually macaws, I believe, not parrots).

Turns out, it was a pretty cool experience :)

Very good if you have young children, and/or if you have 15 minutes to kill before meal time. Also good if you are super sick of having your kids in malls (there is not thaaat much to do outdoors in Singapore) and want to at least have the bragging rights that “Yes, I DID do something outdoorsy with my kids today!” Ahem.

So here we are:

In front of the parrot garden

 

Chris is being beefy and holding both kids.. and I am like a random person that popped into the photo. It was super hard getting the kids to look at the camera, they were far more fascinated with the birds behind. Because hooboy they were NOISY!!

It’s like parrot paradise in there. The birds have a pretty large garden to fluff their feathers and wander in, and lots of poles to perch on. A lot of bird lovers visit them frequently and it was so sweet to see how the parrots had their ‘favourite person’, and would allow that person to stroke them.

One of the parrots, a GORGEOUS multicoloured one, deemed Chris OK enough to stand on his arm:

The feathers on that bird was gorgeous! I’m wearing a super-cute Joules dress from the Nottoobig store, and carrying my smooshy Stella McCartney falabella bag.

 

Hunter, normally pretty hesitant (and especially so since the birds were so loud), got brave and was stroking a gentle little white parrot (cockatoo?). He had a lot of fun and declared it so afterwards.

“Puuuulllllll your tail!”

 

Spacious bird paradise

 

It makes a great experience for young children around Hunter’s age (2 years old) because they can see these gorgeous birds up-close – way closer than at the zoo or bird park, and it’s FREE! You can’t beat that :)

TIP: bring a bag of peanuts with shells and you can feed the parrots.

 

MACAROONS AT LADUREE

1 May 2013 13 comments

A gf and I hit the Ladurée store at Takashimaya about a week after it opened. I was thinking that the queues would be much better one week after their grand opening, but nope, still queues!

If you’re female, or travel, or have had a girl friend, you probably know what Ladurée is and what they sell. And if you love really overpriced desserts and overpriced merchandise, Ladurée is your store.

They are famous for one thing - macarons. You know, those little double-discs of sugary goodness, with more sugary cream sandwiched in between them?

I never used to be a fan of macarons. It was like just eating fluffy sugar to me. But after our France trip, I was pretty seduced by the likes of Ladurée and Pierre Hermé. My question, could Ladurée Singapore match their macarons back in Paris?

 

Gorgeous store

 

Ladurée merchandise

 

The queue looks a little daunting but the staff are incredibly quick and so it’s perhaps 10 minutes, tops. Pretty impressive. I actually didn’t have much time to consider which flavours I wanted before it was my turn and I was politely pressed to tell them what I wanted.

The macaron menu

 

They are $3.80 a macaron, which is staggeringly expensive as they’re also pretty petite. Man, I could buy a whole meal at the food court for just ONE macaron?

But wait. There’s more.

They have a Singapore edition box to pack 8 precious macarons into, which costs…. $38. That’s $4.75 a macaron.

*faint*

But…. ummm… because I am a bit of a sucker, I went the whole shebang and got the Singapore box. I wanted to keep it as a souvenir!!

Makes a nice little display piece, right?

 

My favourites were the Rose, which I didn’t expect to like but was pleasantly surprised with the beautiful fragrance. And the Praline, because I’m always a sucker for hazelnut stuff. The Salted Caramel was also pretty tops, and the Valrohna Chocolate was deliciously rich.

My box of treasures

 

So, verdict?

Still insanely overpriced.

I hear they are flown in frozen from France, so it’s a good thing that they are made there.. but I’m surprised they can be frozen?

No question, these macarons are done well. Similar/same to their branch in Paris.

Still though, I would prefer a giant quality cupcake for cheaper. Perhaps it’s because I’m not that mad on macarons. I personally would never buy these for myself.. perhaps only as a gift for a girl friend that I know would really appreciate the stuff!

 

THE OUTDOORS LIFE

29 April 2013 2 comments

There’s a lovely park in Singapore called West Coast Park, situated in… errrr… the west coast area. I was surprised by how big it was. It doesn’t feel like you’re in Singapore, thanks to all the greenery around! Well, except for the giant port in the ocean a distance away, but I guess you could squint and pretend it doesn’t exist and that you’re staring at an empty peaceful ocean instead ;)

The lush West Coast Park

 

They have a LOT of stuff for big kids and little kids. Hunter’s eyes BUGGED OUT when he saw it all! “Play ground” was his first word and he still adores play grounds. They have one for younger kids like Hunter, all brightly coloured and cutesy. And there are others for the older kids, and an impressive flying fox for even older kids and adults. Man, it’s a lot of fun!!

Hunter now has his trademark wink..

 

Having fun on the ride-em animals

 

Playing fireman

 

Carter and I both squished into this little car. Thank goodness it didn’t collapse!

 

Love the ocean in the background. Not sure why Hunter looks so sulky here though…

 

There’s also a lovely board walk at West Coast Park, which is actually much cooler than expected as it’s under all the trees and by the water. Really nice for a quiet little stroll in the shade.

Checking out the boardwalk

 

“Any fish in there?”

 

I see one!!

 

The pics below are in a different play ground, it’s one in a residential estate. The kids had a blast! Pretty sure they could be in a play ground 24/7 and be perfectly happy..

‘Helping’ Carter down the slide by giving him a nice big shove

 

LMAO at Hunter’s face vs Carter’s face!

 

Awww they wanted a photo together :)

 

Such a happy (winking) shot of a happy boy

 

My little water baby. He loves swimming even more than Hunter does!

 

Boys so happy to be swimming together

 

GARDENS BY THE BAY

24 April 2013 6 comments

 

Gardens By The Bay

 

How gorgeous is this?

Gardens By The Bay is one of Singapore’s prettiest attractions, IMHO. And especially more so if you love flora and/or have a young family in tow.

It’s a sustainable and environmentally-friendly (gigantic) garden that was built from scratch by the government and it is just W-O-W.

I don’t consider myself a ‘nature’ person, but I still really liked pottering around in there, and seeing how fascinated the kids were with all the sights and sounds.

Hunter, of course, loved the tram ride. Except he only got to ride on it once for all of 1 minute (just to the next stop) because we didn’t realise they stop running at 5PM, d’oh!

 

Where to now, driver?

 

The Cloud Forest recreates a mountain with a sky-high waterfall. It is incredibly….. moist! The moment you step in, you’re greeted by that giant waterfall and mist is constantly pumped into the whole area. Think damp hair and skin. It’s actually pretty refreshing because it’s also rather cool in there, but if you’re a bit of a vainpot, don’t go when you’ve just blowdried your hair or it’ll fall flat ;)

Biiiiig waterfall. We got wet taking this photo!

 

The whole misty-interior made for really nice photoshopped-looking pictures. 

 

“Pull ears like a monkey”

 

The super misty interior

 

There is also, a bit randomly, a miniature town and train. I believe the trains actually run along the tracks, but were under maintenance when we were there so we could only look at them sitting stationary on the track. Didn’t seem to matter to Hunter though, who was pretty overjoyed to spot “choo choo trains!!!”

Cute miniature town with trains

 

View from the top

 

Pretty flowers

 

Going for the Best Pout Of The Year award……

 

There’s a sky-walk thing that circles around the ‘mountain’ and makes for a gorgeous little walk. If you aren’t afraid of heights. One of the few times you can walk under the sun in Singapore and it’s super cold, thanks to the huge glass dome!

Walking around the mountain

 

Tropical rainforest at the base of the mountain

 

A pitcher plant. So pretty yet freaky.

 

We also checked out the Flower Dome. It’s an expansive area boasting plants from the Mediterranean and semi-arid subtropical regions. Think cool and dry versus the cool and moist air of the previous dome. Reminds me of Australia, actually.

Hunter did his 2-hour afternoon nap in here, and I have to say, this dome makes an awesome nap spot – cool and comfy! :P

The large Flower Dome

 

Up and cheery as anything after his nap

 

The Easter decorations were still up when we went last week. Eggs and bunnies galore! They change the theme around 4 times a year (I think?).

Colourful eggs everywhere

 

What’s down there??

 

Man he looks like some sorta michelin baby here

 

This pic below makes me smile. Hunter went up to take a photo with Carter, and dished out big hugs and kisses to his baby brother for the camera. When Carter flapped his arms in pleasure, Hunter mimicked him. And here’s the photo :)

YAY for super cool brothers!!