Chinese New Year 101

12 02 2010

Chinese New Year is coming up, and Little Big teachers took the opportunity to teach the kids all about this festival in their lessons…

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Getting a whiff of yummy mandarin oranges!

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Mouth wide open!

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Learning about receiving oranges and that all-important red packet!

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Gong Xi Fa Cai!

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Even when it’s his classmate’s turn, he loves that orange so much he sneakily steals the orange from Ms. Liyun’s lap!

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Holding three active toddlers’ attention raptly – guess what’s under those bowls?

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Ta-da! More CNY goodies!

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Nothing beats taking a bite of those goodies!





Water Fun

31 01 2010

Venue: KidzWorld at the Singapore Zoo!

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While the older kids were busy getting themselves pelted by the water sprays…

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Jayvon preferred the gentler sprays! Haha!

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Nonetheless, he still got thoroughly soaked!

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Julian’s Birthday Party

6 12 2009

It can be such a headache organizing kids’ birthday parties.

But Serene did a rockin’ job with her son Julian’s 4th birthday party at The Polliwogs! Jayvon was invited, and we were excited to go!

Here’s a look at their facilities…

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A huge outdoor pirate ship bouncy! (Jay loves these bouncies, but didn’t get the chance to hop on this time)

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And a big indoor play area as well!

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IMG_4628In the party room, all the parents and kids waiting for the party to begin!

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The hardcore bloggers that we are… Meet the Tays!

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And the games begin! Meet Daddy Ivan and Daddy Robin, who were game enough to, well… play the game! And the game was really fun… but Jayvon’s not at the age to really play well with others. So… He wandered off and discovered the buffet line.

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Here’s Jay, enjoying his yummy fried noodles and apple juice… while the party was going on. He was so unaffected by the ‘noise’!

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When it came to the cake-cutting time, I dragged Jay over see this gorgeous (and very yummy) cake! Here’s Jules with his daddy! Every kid was crowding over this cake, and couldn’t stop pointing at it!

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And at the end, it was present time… from the birthday boy to every child!

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Serene prepared INDIVIDUAL gifts for each kid! Talk about excellence!

After the party, it was back to the playground! And the kids had a blast!

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Thanks for the invite, Serene! Jay & I had such a fun time!

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Chow Time In Kuala Lumpur

25 08 2009

We spent Sunday and Monday in Kuala Lumpur, and we ATE so much good food! This deserves a post ALL by itself!

First off, by Pastor Yong’s recommendation, we went to KLCC’s Madam Kwan’s to try out the nasi lemak.

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Instead of the usual fried chicken-style of nasi lemak we’re used to in Singapore, Madam Kwan’s serves it curry chicken style! The chicken was nicely done, very tender, and the curry wasn’t really spicy. The sides included sambal ikan bilis (real good!) and half a hard-boiled egg. At RM !4.50, it was a pretty okay bargain.

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We also ordered some chicken wings for Jayvon. So-so. Not too bad, but not very fantastic, considering these 5 wings came at a price of RM 15! Steep by Malaysian standards!

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Sambal petai – or in Chinese 臭豆, or literally ‘smelly beans’! Not the most pleasant of names, but this was nicely cooked! The beans were well-cooked, and there wasn’t any weird smell or overly-strong taste (quite rare with these beans!). This dish was cooked with several large prawns as well. To Nic, this dish was the highlight of the entire meal!

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Check out Nic & Umah’s very contented faces at this great meal!

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This is my favourite part of the meal – dessert! It is fried banana fritters with rich vanilla ice-cream, doused with maple syrup! YUM!!!

And the ambience of Madam Kwan’s was very nice as well. We were seated at the ‘al fresco’ portion of the restaurant – though it was still in the overall air-conditioning of the shopping centre! Haha! Here’s our view…

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On the outside looking in…

So if you’re in the vicinity of KLCC, pop by Madam Kwan’s on the 4th floor! It isn’t cheap fare, but it is worth the overall dining experience!

Another favourite restaurant I love in Malaysia is the chain of Secret Recipe outlets! I love the cakes (especially the Chocolate Banana), and the fact that cakes are priced almost exactly the same in Sing dollar as they are in Malaysian Ringgit, which effectively means the cakes are more than 50% cheaper!

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We tried the butterscotch pecan cake – so divine! – as well as a cup of caramel macchiato!

And you would think we had a feast in Malaysia already ya?

Almost… just almost.

We stayed at the Impiana KLCC Hotel & Spa, which was just 5-minutes away from KLCC. And Nic spotted a flyer pasted in the lift, advertising the special Ramadhan dinner buffet. He had always heard of how Singaporeans would travel to Johore during the Ramadhan month JUST to try out these dinner buffets, so it was hard to convince him NOT to go for this supper. Jayvon was dog-tired from the hour-long car journey, and we decided to spend some quality time and so Umah stayed back to watch Jay in the hotel room (and we got her packed wanton noodles from the KLCC food court).

And so we went to the buffet dinner.

It cost a staggering RM88 per pax. And after the taxes were included, it came up to RM100 per person. Or about S$45. Not cheap.

But SO worth it. It is one of the most ‘quality’ buffets I’d ever sampled!

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The restaurant wasn’t well-lit, which explains the pasty-looking pictures (and taken with my blackberry to boot!). But the sheer array of food available was mind-boggling!

There was the usual appetisers, including raw oysters, mussels, salad bar, malay kuih-kuih. And the mains like chicken rice, roti john, nasi briyani (we steered clear of these though!). Also on the menu, freshly grilled sambal fish and squid and prawns and crabs! Oh, and durians for dessert. All in all, it was good!

But… the one thing that made the buffet worth it?

The lamb.

Not just any lamb. I’m not talking about kebab. There was literally a lamb CARCASS hanging on a spit.

I kid you not.

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The chef working on the lamb…

I know it looks pretty gruesome. But gosh was it GOOD. I am not a ‘lamb’ person, but it was lip-smackingly divine.

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Being a Singaporean… just the food itself deserves a blog post! Hahaha!

Will conclude my trip in another blog post soon!





Our First Family Holiday

25 08 2009

For four very glorious days, we went on one long road trip! Destination? Genting Highlands from Friday to Saturday, and we spent Sunday night at Kuala Lumpur before flying back to Singapore this afternoon!

I’m feeling a bit tired, and my arms aching from lugging a 12kg toddler (it’s a muscle-developing few days, I tell ya!) and so I think for this post, I will let the pictures do the talking!

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In the mini-van, on our up to Genting! Jay is engrossed with…

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watching Hi-5 using our portable DVD player! A definite GOD-SENT for us!

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Our travelling companions – Aunty Doreen, Umah & Aunty Julie! All decked in such festive RED!

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Even my mother was in red! Hahaha…

Jayvon was a dear throughout the entire travel, be it by plane or car! On the 45-minute flight to Kuala Lumpur, he fell asleep as soon as the plane start wheeling onto the runway… and he woke only when we landed in Kuala Lumpur International Airport. On the mini-van, he was suitable entertained by the Hi-5 DVD. However, as the ride took two hours, and half was spent going up (and round) the mountain, the altitude and thinner air contributed to an overall stomach-churning experience for him – and Jay prompted puked once we alighted from the van… but he quickly recovered soon after again!

And once we checked into the hotel room at Hotel Resort, he was busy about fiddling with ALL that the room had to offer. From the remote, to the mini-bar, to the phone to the light controls!!!

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In the next post… the FOOD of Malaysia!





Day Out With Mommy

5 08 2009

After a loooong last week, I was relieved and happy to finally spend some quality time with my boy!

Just today, I decided to bring him over to Bugis Junction. As I anticipated, Jay lurved the floor fountain! It was super difficult to tear him away.

In fact he was so engrossed, he forgot where the spray of water was, and got the water splashed into the side of his head! Check our his shell-shocked expression!

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And being the good mother that I am, after I laughed my head off, I promptly brought him to “air-dry” himself. Seeing how I totally forgot did not bring an extra change of clothes for him. *ahem* So I brought him to chase some pigeons.

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Once he was sufficiently dried, I brought Jay to the toy section, where he got into some fun with some drums!

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After he had his fill of fun, it was also time for Mommy to do a bit of shopping! I got a top from M’phosis & wandered into Charles & Keith to check out the shoes there… when all of a sudden, I noticed Jay bopping to the beat (the shop was blaring techno-pop in the background!) and I couldn’t resist this cute video!

Jay dancing from Sandra Tan on Vimeo.

All in all, it was a fun day out with my lovely prince! :)





Weekend Fun With Magic?! Wow!

29 06 2009

Teresa & I brought Jayvon out for a very special treat over the weekend!

That’s right – a very special treat!

That has to do with one of his favourite things in the world. Animals. Specifically birds!

And so when I received the email invite from omy.sg to attend a magic show at the Jurong BirdPark, I readily agreed!

Magical Wonder with Birds

It was a usual hot balmy Singapore night, and Jayvon was all decked out and ready to watch a great show!

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Here he is, snacking on some animal crackers as we were waiting for the show to start at 7.30 p.m.

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And the stage is set!

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And the crowd prepared!

And the show begins!

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I enjoyed the show, due to the the more concerted effort to include parrots, owls and other gorgeous birds into the show.

The magic performances, to me, were not absolutely fantastic or exciting. But the saving grace of the entire performance has to be Priscilla Khong’s charisma and stage presence! She is a warm, engaging and friendly, and made the entire performance lively and enjoyable!

Jayvon especially loved the times when she made birds suddenly ‘appear’ and when a table ‘flew’… My boy was busy flapping his wings arms at that sight!

Here’s a short video preview of the magic show:

So all in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable night out! Thanks omy!





Busy Mommy

1 02 2009

This is the life of a Mommy.

Being busy about my baby’s business.

And he is a such a social butterfly!

He has his hands FULL with birthday parties and full-month celebrations this month.

We’ll be wishing dear Jaelyn a happy first year birthday later!

And then next Sunday, it’s off to play bubbles with Nathan – who’s turning a ripe old age of TWO!

And then to top off the month of February, it will be handsome Eljasz’s one-month celebration the following Sunday.

He will have such a blast at these parties!!!





Yummy Treats!

28 01 2009

This year’s Chinese New Year was a memorable one, as it is the first Jayvon could really enjoy! As he has turned a year old, I decided to let Jayvon savour some goodies (just a teensy bit), and allowed him to enjoy yummy goodies like these:

love letters  oranges





Yummy Treats!

28 01 2009

This year’s Chinese New Year was a memorable one, as it is the first Jayvon could really enjoy! As he has turned a year old, I decided to let Jayvon savour some goodies (just a teensy bit), and allowed him to enjoy yummy goodies like these:

love letters  oranges








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