Studio M Hotel: No Lofty Dreams

As some of you may know, I am not feeling the best lately. So my parents have kindly took over the parenting of my little one during our family staycation. My father chose Studio M Hotel because of its cool loft but honestly it was a terrible idea because the toddler couldn't stop climbing up and down. 

And I...an adult, also find it a chore to climb up and down in the middle of the night as the toilet was located on the ground floor. My parent's room was pretty clean but ours had dirty cups and water boiler. We ended up getting our own mineral water and had to use my parent's boiler to make hot water for our little one. We figured it was just easier to house him in the other room since theirs had a bed on the ground floor.

This hotel isn't built to make you stay within its compounds. I would describe its facilities as skeletal. The pool was really small (it is the jaccuzi pool in our photo, but the other pool is no lap pool either). My son was quite petrified of the water so with or without pool didn't make much difference. There was also a pool table for recreation. 

I quite like the location of the hotel because it was beside the scenic boat quay. There was also a lot of decent food options around for us to explore. The breakfast was unlimited set orders, which I surprisingly enjoyed. (Sorry, but I forgot to take photos.) It was really yummy and I think I might pop by again next time to try out their lunch and dinner options. 

Overall, I was pretty drained after the staycation and was somewhat relieved it has come to an end. The bed didn't really work for me so I didn't have that great a rest. But I really appreciate the time spent with my family now that I don't exactly stay with them and have a family of my own. And...I really wanted my kid to have an opportunity to bond with them as well. 

Oddly, my father is somewhat emboldened by my son's sleepover in their room and wants to bring him on a cruise next himself, which I think it is terribly bad idea. LOL!

2022: Hello Bird Park!

Omg I feel so stupid, so the husband asked me if the Bird Park was still in Jurong and I am like duh no, it is in Mandai. Ah crap, it is still in Jurong (feel so stupid). I don't know if it is because I have low expectations, but there were some really pretty features at Bird Park that left a deep impression on me. The last time I went there was like a good decade back, there were quite a bit of changes. 

This time round, we went with the extended family because I wasn't feeling the best, so more help is always appreciated (tips for parents!) Unlike the previous family trips, we didn't last as long "in the wild". It was really because of me (sobs) more than my little boy. 

Now that Covid restrictions has been lifted, we even managed to get seats to the bird show and some nice, maskless photos at the end. I was pretty stoked because this is the first time after a long while (I just couldn't book any at the zoo). The parrots were so talented! But my son wasn't too impressed by the flying birds and cried to get out of the show halfway. Initially, we did consider purchasing some bird feeding tickets but because kiddo didn't react too well, we decided to give it a pass this time round. 

In terms of the toilet, I find that they are not as kid-friendly as those in the zoo. My kid ended up going to the ladies and standing at the side (with tons of other kids and Mummies) as we changed their diapers. Food options were slightly more varied, but stock supplies were low. I wanted a pasta but because it was OOS, I had to be satisfied with an ice-cream, which my kid unabashedly chomp off half. 

The cages at the Bird Park does make it really difficult to bird-watch. I have no idea why, but the cages are green in colour which camouflage with the leaves. The anatomy of birds are pretty much the same so I sort of got bored after a while. Our kiddo as usual miss the whole point and was more interested in the greenery, with occasional cries and points when he spots a bird. Basically, every bird he sees is called a bird apart from the cockerel which he correctly identified. 

The terrain is also filled with a lot more slopes. Thank god, tram ride is free! My kid thoroughly enjoyed those rides and call it the cho-cho train. Parents, do remember to bring your stroller. At areas where the strollers were not allowed, the kiddo had his doting uncle/ grandma who was always eager to carry him around. 

We didn't visit every place but some areas not to be missed include the penguin arena (there is aircon and you can see the penguins swimming around), my son love those little creatures. Also, at the Treetops cafe, there was this link bridge with lots of birds feeding activities. It is really awesome!

Presenting my favourite spot - the manmade waterfall. Initially, I thought it was just some lame photo spot. But it is an uncaged area with birds wandering and flying around. I somehow felt one with nature. I love how jungle-like and uncurated it is. I don't think the photos did any justice to the place, but this is truly a spot not to be missed. 

I can't remember if Bird Park was always like this or if this was a new addition along the years. But it truly blew me away and made the trip very worth. I would say that this spot beats the zoo hands-down. :) By the way, the children's play area is still closed :(

The Joy of Toys (Indoor Playground)

A fellow Mum actually recommended me to this place - Joy of Toys. Initially, I thought it was some new indoor place. Well turns out, I am quite the fool because this little indoor playland has been opened for quite a while. 

Basically, Joy of Toys is a land filled with a plethora of toys. I am not even kidding - there are wooden toys, doll house, pretend play, musical toys etc. To get the best bang for my bucks, we went on a weekday ($24 unlimited playtime with re-entry plus free entrance for 2 adults). But to be honest, eventually we stayed for around slightly more than 2 hours max. because that's how long a child's attention is and the adults haha wanted to explore other things to. 

After taking a look at the different play spaces, we decided on the main play space. It was recommended for school going kids (and he obviously isn't one) but I felt he would enjoy the toys there more. There are small parts but he is at a stage he doesn't put things in his mouth and throughout our time there, we gave him constant supervision. 

Kids being kids, my son was overjoyed when he was released into the room. He went straight for the nearest toy and for a good 15 minutes, he was just watching and doing the ball roll again and again. First amused then thoughtful with a serious look as though he was figuring out the whole mechanics. I don't know about other parents but sometimes I really like bringing him to different places because it "unleashes" some part of their brain and he comes home either with a wider vocab and more varied physical action. 

His favourite was probably the trucks and was toying with a intricately built city. Interesting, we also have these toys at home just that they are of a less impressive size. He used to play with them but after coming home from Joy of Toys he appeared to have a new love for them, which is great because I hate seeing toys sitting by the side collecting dust. 

I made effort to bring my son to the doll's section to expose to him this genre of toys. We do have quite a bit of plushies at home. However, we don't have dolls at all at home (very male dominated extended family haha). I guess we are not entirely into "gender-neutral" parenting so we only get him boyish toys or toys that are usually associated with masculinity. 

Initially, he was quite curious but after a while he seem to not really enjoy "playing Mummy" to the dolls and was seen flinging them on the floor. Guess, we won't be buying dolls for him for a while. LOL.

He did however, enjoyed "pretend play" and I did too, this was like one of my favourite as a kid. The amount of "food" and "cooking equipment" was massive. There was a lot to play. Seeing how much fun he had, we actually invested in an Ikea duktig kitchen, much to the horror of my parents. LOL! I showed them a photo and they thought I bought a new kitchen for ourselves. 

I would think Joy of Toys is an awesome place to find out the likes and dislikes of your kids because even if you have all the money in the world, you probably want to junk up your house with all the toys. And from the experience, we actually made a better investment in his future toys. 

If your kids are older, this is an excellent place to dump the kids and take a break/ go shopping. Caught a few fathers napping at the sofas and I took a page from them as well. Ultimately, indoor playgrounds are always a nice place to learn and play with the little one. To be honest, nowadays the kid's toys are so different and fun as compared to our time. The husband was so engaged toying around too LOL!

Food Tour 25: Good Food, Good Company

Now that covid is a little more under control, I am dining out a little more often with my friends, family and colleagues. So here's some of the reviews :)

1. Buttercake N Cream

I always walked past it but never tried it, so I sort of suggested to my friends to try this out. It was quite a meaningful gathering this time round because we brought our kids along. I even did solo parenting like wow. I had the beef stew and it was pretty good. Overall, I think the food was decent and the price reasonable since beef always charges a premium. 

The staff was also kids-friendly. My son spent most of his time walking back and forth on the benches checking out the fake flowers. There was also a platform with more "fake floras" for him to explore. Honestly, because of the great company, I sort of can't really remember much details on the food. LOL!

2. Sol Luna's Lunch Set ($44++)

My photos sadly didn't go them much justice, because I would always take a bite and then remember this is deserving of a photo. It is really more cafe food like, but I love the ambience and the access to the sky garden (photos are without filters by the way), which is breathtaking by the way. 

What I had (I didn't have as much choices because I had some dietary restrictions):

• Mediterranean Tomato Soup
• Seared Halibut
• Vanilla & Coconut Mousse

Love the fact that this set comes with 2 drinks!

3. Waffletown

Basically, we caved in to the hype and hunted the place down. Thank god we came early cos the queue was bloody long after. The appeal is definitely the friendliness of the owner. It basically reminds me of the cheap western food. My favourite and I would definitely be back for more is the sambal fish.

I really wanted to try out the "waffles" but I lost the courage to queue for desserts. The queue just got longer and the wait wasn't short either after you got your food. I guess the next time we come would probably be a super off peak hour. 

Baby Friendly Cookies

Found some old photos in the phone as I was transferring them out and decided to do a post on this since I did research a bit to come out with this. These "cookies" are suitable for babies around 8-9 months. It dissolves in their mouths and doesn't contain any eggs/ flour. I came out with this because the kiddo grew out of the Gerber oats at that point and I had so many spare bottles. :'(

It is really easy to make and I usually prepare and bake them when the toddler went for his 1.5 hour nap. Usually I add in red dates to enhance some sweetness, but you can add in banana, carrots or cheese, depending on what your child has tried and has no allergy to. 

1. Use 1 serving of Gerber Oats to 1 serving of chia seeds (the chia seeds is to replace the flour to help to the cookies stick together and keep its shape. We used chia seeds because they were power food and is really good for our body.)
2. The amount of water to add would depends. You just need enough water for the ingredients to stick together and form the shape. But not too moist. 
3. Put tiny lumps on baking paper and bake it for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You can butter them to prevent them from sticking. But I was avoiding butter at that time so I would lick those that stuck to the bottom myself. 
4. Store excess in the fridge and try to finish them within a week. 

The texture is gooey and it breaks apart when you "munch" on them. Our kid used to love eating it and I would experiment different flavours for him. Hope you parents enjoy this little baking recipe.