I only have to look back 2 years ago to realize that holidays then and now are worlds apart. Literally. No more "off the beaten track" or "adventure" but hello to "kids friendly". Instead of The Rocky Resort, a boutqiue resort with a private beach far from the madding crowds at Koh Samui.where we spent our honeymoon, I'm looking at Sheraton Phuket where words like "visiting baby elephants" and "supervised kids' activities" get me rather excited. And when I see the description of a 'Happy Baby Studio' that includes a high chair, stroller, cot AND a microwave, it makes me want to do a crazy dance around the room because there's the remote possibility of a holiday. What have I morphed into??! A parent with 2 VYC.
Having VYC makes traveling a logistical challenge to say the least. We will be bringing cargo-loads of diapers, jars of baby food and ration of formula, Crayola markers and papers, story books and favourite toy cars. Sometimes this logistics challenge makes any excursion more emotionally costly than the enjoyment it bestows. And for that reason, I loathe to drag the VYC out.
But like a friend puts it, everyone needs a holiday. She just left for a 3 week Thai beach and KL holiday with 2 preschoolers. Maybe when these VYC become not so very VY, I can dare imagine getting out of the house again.
microbeanie is 5 months & 2 days old
minibeanie is a 2.5 year old toddler
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Monday, February 8
Thursday, July 2
Finnish pictures
Finally, the long procrastinated pictures from Finland.
It's a rite of passage for every Finn. First, the sauna followed by a dip in the lake... no matter how freaking cold it is. And trust me, despite it officially being summer, it was supposedly the coldest June in 60 years. The temperature in this lake was therefore a toasty 14C.
Sisu (Finnish for bullheaded determination or stubborness ;) or plain crazy?
It was a tearful struggle getting him out of the lake even though he was shivering
Row, row, row a boat, gently in the lake....
Happy passengers. Our cottage in the background
The sandpit providing hours of fun.
Note his sizable collection of pine cones...
... whereby the hoodlum took joyful glee in throwing them at me
minibeanie is 1 year, 11 months, 1 week & 6 days old
microbeanie is 29 weeks 1 day in utero
It's a rite of passage for every Finn. First, the sauna followed by a dip in the lake... no matter how freaking cold it is. And trust me, despite it officially being summer, it was supposedly the coldest June in 60 years. The temperature in this lake was therefore a toasty 14C.
Sisu (Finnish for bullheaded determination or stubborness ;) or plain crazy? 
It was a tearful struggle getting him out of the lake even though he was shivering
Row, row, row a boat, gently in the lake....
Happy passengers. Our cottage in the background
The sandpit providing hours of fun.
Note his sizable collection of pine cones...
... whereby the hoodlum took joyful glee in throwing them at meminibeanie is 1 year, 11 months, 1 week & 6 days old
microbeanie is 29 weeks 1 day in utero
Saturday, June 6
Updates
Update 1: We have enrolled minibeanie in EtonHouse! We were eligible for a 4% discount on the school fees because we attended the Open House but I managed to wiggle for a 10% 'scholarship' because we were the first Nokia family and we would be paying for the fees ourselves. For that, we had to sign a confidentiality agreement. SHHHHH......!
Also goes to show that everything can be bargained ;)
Update 2: We would be heading to Helsinki on Monday. Just 2 weeks. It would be an extremely short trip compared to my Finnish friends here who usually stayed for 4 weeks or more. We have booked the same cottage, a 150km away from Helsinki, that we used for our wedding reception nearly 4 years ago. I'm looking forward to the trip but bracing myself for the jetlag and the fact that the sun rises at 3am which would mean...... we ALL get up at 3am! :#
Also goes to show that everything can be bargained ;)
Update 2: We would be heading to Helsinki on Monday. Just 2 weeks. It would be an extremely short trip compared to my Finnish friends here who usually stayed for 4 weeks or more. We have booked the same cottage, a 150km away from Helsinki, that we used for our wedding reception nearly 4 years ago. I'm looking forward to the trip but bracing myself for the jetlag and the fact that the sun rises at 3am which would mean...... we ALL get up at 3am! :#
Thursday, June 4
Beijing Trip
The trip to Beijing was a really nice getaway. We stayed at a boutique hotel that was within walking distance to Tiananmen located in a quiet street amidst hutongs and local eateries. With only 3 full days in the city, all we could really do was the mandatory tourist sights - Forbidden City, Great Wall & Temple of Heaven.
Having an ice cream break in the Imperial Garden, Forbidden City
Then, there were of course the evenings where we hunted down Beijing's famous ducks. The first evening, we went to the almost obligatory QuanJuDe (全聚德) where the dish is supposed to originate in the late 1800s. We even headed to the original shop (there are now several branches ;) where the old shopfront was preserved. Despite the wait of 50min, even though we got there at 5:30pm, it was well worth it as the Peking Duck was the best I'd ever eaten. There was none of that heavy layer of fat that I'd come to associate with Peking Ducks eaten in Singapore or Chengdu. Instead, its skin was crispy and the chef had nicely included a sliver of meat. All in, I could eat a whole lot of it without feeling guilty! :D
minibeanie's favourite dish of the house was its liver (盐水鸭肝). It was tasty & soft... quite unlike the overboiled chicken liver pieces sold in Singapore's chicken rice stalls. Again, I could finish off the whole plate if it wasn't for the nagging voice in my head that tells me preggies shouldn't be eating too much liver for their Vitamin A :P
Other dishes we tried were their deboned webbed feet dipped in a wasabi-like radish sauce (芥末鸭掌) as well as fried duck hearts (火燎鸭心). Both were good but weren't in the same league as their Peking Duck or liver.
The other duck restaurant we tried was Da Dong (大董), a new-age restaurant that married tradition with avant garde blending of flavours & serving. The tradition I was referring to was what they're famous for - Peking Ducks roasted in a good old fashioned wood-fired oven. The new age twist in their menu was in the way they served some of their appetizers or dishes - 3 little mouthfuls of appetizers on a long plate, soup in a martini glass... u get the idea. Well, we stuck to their Peking Duck and liver since that was our first visit. Again, the food did not disappoint :)
So, if anyone wants to try the best Peking Ducks in Beijing, here's an article written in Chinese on the Best 5 places to have the duck in Beijing. Otherwise, print out the addresses at the bottom and show it to your concierge to make the reservations 3 days ahead.
全聚德 (no reservation taken; dinner queue starts at 4:30pm -no kidding!)
崇文区前门大街32号
大董
东城区东四十条甲22号南新仓国际大厦1-2楼(东四十条桥西南)
Tel: 010-51690329 51690328
minibeanie is 1 year, 10 months, 1 week & 2 days old
microbeanie is 25 weeks 1 day in utero
Having an ice cream break in the Imperial Garden, Forbidden City
Then, there were of course the evenings where we hunted down Beijing's famous ducks. The first evening, we went to the almost obligatory QuanJuDe (全聚德) where the dish is supposed to originate in the late 1800s. We even headed to the original shop (there are now several branches ;) where the old shopfront was preserved. Despite the wait of 50min, even though we got there at 5:30pm, it was well worth it as the Peking Duck was the best I'd ever eaten. There was none of that heavy layer of fat that I'd come to associate with Peking Ducks eaten in Singapore or Chengdu. Instead, its skin was crispy and the chef had nicely included a sliver of meat. All in, I could eat a whole lot of it without feeling guilty! :Dminibeanie's favourite dish of the house was its liver (盐水鸭肝). It was tasty & soft... quite unlike the overboiled chicken liver pieces sold in Singapore's chicken rice stalls. Again, I could finish off the whole plate if it wasn't for the nagging voice in my head that tells me preggies shouldn't be eating too much liver for their Vitamin A :P
Other dishes we tried were their deboned webbed feet dipped in a wasabi-like radish sauce (芥末鸭掌) as well as fried duck hearts (火燎鸭心). Both were good but weren't in the same league as their Peking Duck or liver.
The other duck restaurant we tried was Da Dong (大董), a new-age restaurant that married tradition with avant garde blending of flavours & serving. The tradition I was referring to was what they're famous for - Peking Ducks roasted in a good old fashioned wood-fired oven. The new age twist in their menu was in the way they served some of their appetizers or dishes - 3 little mouthfuls of appetizers on a long plate, soup in a martini glass... u get the idea. Well, we stuck to their Peking Duck and liver since that was our first visit. Again, the food did not disappoint :)
So, if anyone wants to try the best Peking Ducks in Beijing, here's an article written in Chinese on the Best 5 places to have the duck in Beijing. Otherwise, print out the addresses at the bottom and show it to your concierge to make the reservations 3 days ahead.
全聚德 (no reservation taken; dinner queue starts at 4:30pm -no kidding!)
崇文区前门大街32号
大董
东城区东四十条甲22号南新仓国际大厦1-2楼(东四十条桥西南)
Tel: 010-51690329 51690328
minibeanie is 1 year, 10 months, 1 week & 2 days old
microbeanie is 25 weeks 1 day in utero
Tuesday, May 12
Emei getaway
Our weekend trip to Mount Emei was wonderful. We arrived on Saturday at our hotel nearly 2pm. We decided to hit the road for the summit almost immediately because of a natural phenomenon that was supposed to take place between 3 and 4pm - the sea of clouds (云海). And it was just as well because our driver took an hour to bring us to 2700m. From there to the summit of 3079m, it was to be a 1.5 km hike followed by a 2 minute cable car ride to the Golden Summit (金顶).
Dada carried minibeanie on the baby carrier when we began the climb. The air was moist as the entire mountain was enveloped in clouds - we were walking in clouds! Unfortunately, that also meant we couldn't see much beyond. So much for for the 'sea of clouds'. Thankfully though, it was cool because soon we were huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf. Excellent cardio workout! I have to add that dada was complaining of sore knees and our friend was feeling faint while the slight expectant lady in the group was still rather sprightly after the hike :D
The cable car ride was nice although it passed in a haze - literally! :D We arrived at the Golden Summit without too much time to spare as the last ride was at 6pm :( Ascending a long flight of steps, we were met by the world's highest golden Buddha, Puxian. It stands at 48m tall with a weight of 660 tons. The 10 head sculptures in 10 directions of Puxian signify the boundless practices and wishes of Puxian. At the summit was also the monastery that was founded as early as 1st century AD. I wish we had time to explore the place a lot more leisurely and read up on its history!!
Quite amazingly, we were the only the only foreigners around. And of course, minibeanie always gets the attention of all the ladies.
Puxian shrouded in clouds on our ascend
Clearer weather on our descent
The mission for next day was Good Tea Hunting. We went tea tasting at the renowned Emei Xueya 峨眉雪芽 (Snow bud of Emei? Transliteration is always a tricky if not hilarious affair ;) and after that, found our way to another company which had a tea plantation in the vicinity. Zhuye Qing's 竹叶青 ("Green bamboo leaves") tea plantation/tea house/museum grounds were beautifully landscaped in the traditional Chinese style. All in, we tasted and bought some great green tea only grown in Sichuan.
There are altogether 6 categories of tea with green tea being the least processed and not in the least fermented. [Green tea, 绿茶, is not to be confused with another category of 'green' tea that is fermented 青茶). Green tea has to be made with 85C water - too hot and its essential oils evaporate thus changing its taste. Green tea shouldn't be steeped unlike black tea as the first and second brew have the most delicate of flavours. Subsequent brews would result in a slightly bitter palate. The type of vessel is also important. One has to use either glass or porcelain with the former preferred as the unfurling and dancing tea leaves are a visual treat by itself.
A couple of months ago, I was so keen to learn about tea that I bought a Chinese book on tea! ... along with a Chinese dictionary ;D I realized that there was a real dearth of knowledge among the English literature on Chinese tea. All the books on tea I found on Amazon were superficial in depth and nothing more than glossy picture books. Perhaps I should research and write a book on Chinese tea :) I wonder if there's interest in this topic...
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months, 2 weeks & 2 days old
microbeanie is 21weeks 6days in utero
Dada carried minibeanie on the baby carrier when we began the climb. The air was moist as the entire mountain was enveloped in clouds - we were walking in clouds! Unfortunately, that also meant we couldn't see much beyond. So much for for the 'sea of clouds'. Thankfully though, it was cool because soon we were huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf. Excellent cardio workout! I have to add that dada was complaining of sore knees and our friend was feeling faint while the slight expectant lady in the group was still rather sprightly after the hike :D
The cable car ride was nice although it passed in a haze - literally! :D We arrived at the Golden Summit without too much time to spare as the last ride was at 6pm :( Ascending a long flight of steps, we were met by the world's highest golden Buddha, Puxian. It stands at 48m tall with a weight of 660 tons. The 10 head sculptures in 10 directions of Puxian signify the boundless practices and wishes of Puxian. At the summit was also the monastery that was founded as early as 1st century AD. I wish we had time to explore the place a lot more leisurely and read up on its history!!Quite amazingly, we were the only the only foreigners around. And of course, minibeanie always gets the attention of all the ladies.
Puxian shrouded in clouds on our ascend
Clearer weather on our descent
The mission for next day was Good Tea Hunting. We went tea tasting at the renowned Emei Xueya 峨眉雪芽 (Snow bud of Emei? Transliteration is always a tricky if not hilarious affair ;) and after that, found our way to another company which had a tea plantation in the vicinity. Zhuye Qing's 竹叶青 ("Green bamboo leaves") tea plantation/tea house/museum grounds were beautifully landscaped in the traditional Chinese style. All in, we tasted and bought some great green tea only grown in Sichuan.There are altogether 6 categories of tea with green tea being the least processed and not in the least fermented. [Green tea, 绿茶, is not to be confused with another category of 'green' tea that is fermented 青茶). Green tea has to be made with 85C water - too hot and its essential oils evaporate thus changing its taste. Green tea shouldn't be steeped unlike black tea as the first and second brew have the most delicate of flavours. Subsequent brews would result in a slightly bitter palate. The type of vessel is also important. One has to use either glass or porcelain with the former preferred as the unfurling and dancing tea leaves are a visual treat by itself.
A couple of months ago, I was so keen to learn about tea that I bought a Chinese book on tea! ... along with a Chinese dictionary ;D I realized that there was a real dearth of knowledge among the English literature on Chinese tea. All the books on tea I found on Amazon were superficial in depth and nothing more than glossy picture books. Perhaps I should research and write a book on Chinese tea :) I wonder if there's interest in this topic...
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months, 2 weeks & 2 days old
microbeanie is 21weeks 6days in utero
Friday, May 8
Getting away
My advice to any would-be parents is, "get away before your whole life changes!" And I was really glad we went to Buenos Aires in my 20th week before minibeanie came along (in fact, it was somewhere above Brazil when I felt the first definitive kick from minibeanie). Two years on, just when we get comfortable with the toddler routine, we feel that our world is about to be rocked again.
[deep breaths]
There's no time like the present so we thought we should make some holiday plans in the next 3 months. First stop. Mount Emei (峨眉山). We'd been pathetically sequestered in Chengdu city for a year, so besides claiming to have seen the pandas, we should add 1 of China's most sacred Buddhist mountains to our list. After all, it's 'merely'* 150km away.
Like many of our trips here, the impetus was a friend visiting. Thus, this weekend, I've arranged for us a driver and his car to be our chauffeur for the 1.5 day trip. Accommodation has been booked in a 5* hotel at the foot of the mountain with hot springs. Unfortunately, I won't be able to partake in the hot springs but I'm hoping that we get some magnificent views at the summit, visit Emei's famous tea plantation (峨眉雪芽) and visit some monasteries, supposedly the birthplace of Shaolin martial arts.
Can't wait!
* no distance is near enough with a toddler!
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months, 1 week & 5 days old
microbeanie is 21 weeks 2 days in utero
[deep breaths]
There's no time like the present so we thought we should make some holiday plans in the next 3 months. First stop. Mount Emei (峨眉山). We'd been pathetically sequestered in Chengdu city for a year, so besides claiming to have seen the pandas, we should add 1 of China's most sacred Buddhist mountains to our list. After all, it's 'merely'* 150km away.
Like many of our trips here, the impetus was a friend visiting. Thus, this weekend, I've arranged for us a driver and his car to be our chauffeur for the 1.5 day trip. Accommodation has been booked in a 5* hotel at the foot of the mountain with hot springs. Unfortunately, I won't be able to partake in the hot springs but I'm hoping that we get some magnificent views at the summit, visit Emei's famous tea plantation (峨眉雪芽) and visit some monasteries, supposedly the birthplace of Shaolin martial arts.Can't wait!
* no distance is near enough with a toddler!
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months, 1 week & 5 days old
microbeanie is 21 weeks 2 days in utero
Wednesday, March 11
More pictures
Here are a couple of pictures that didn't fit anywhere else in the earlier post.
On the Great Ocean Road
Road Trip
Here's one taken in our favourite restaurant in Singapore's Little India, Gayatri. Hmm... I usually can't decide between their Dum Briyani, their a la carte dishes & South Indian vegetarian breads like Masala Thosai, Uttapam....
Here minibeanie's sampling Paneer Masala (cottage cheese) & cheese naan.
Back in Chengdu, we stumbled upon a Hong Kong style restaurant. We tried a couple of 'signature' Cantonese dishes - Shrimp Wanton soup, Roast pork (char siew) rice, Beef brisket noodle & a cup of milk tea. What a wonderful change from Sichuan cuisine!!! :P
minibeanie is 1 year, 7 months, 1 week & 6 days old
On the Great Ocean Road
Road Trip
Here's one taken in our favourite restaurant in Singapore's Little India, Gayatri. Hmm... I usually can't decide between their Dum Briyani, their a la carte dishes & South Indian vegetarian breads like Masala Thosai, Uttapam....
Here minibeanie's sampling Paneer Masala (cottage cheese) & cheese naan.
Back in Chengdu, we stumbled upon a Hong Kong style restaurant. We tried a couple of 'signature' Cantonese dishes - Shrimp Wanton soup, Roast pork (char siew) rice, Beef brisket noodle & a cup of milk tea. What a wonderful change from Sichuan cuisine!!! :P
minibeanie is 1 year, 7 months, 1 week & 6 days old
The Ozzie holiday
Gosh, I started writing this on 27.2 and see when I finally finished it ;P
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Our holiday got off to a good start when the cheapest category car we rented for 19 days, a 1.3l Hyundai Getz, was upgraded for free to a Toyota X Trail. And did I mention that it was a 4WD? :D Yay! That meant we could throw all our luggage, 1 Samsonite, 1 trolley bag, a huge duffel bag containing all our food, a tent, a hook-on baby chair PLUS minibeanie's pram, into the car without that sardines-in-a-can feeling. Another advantage of having a 4WD was that we could go off the beaten track in search of olive groves hidden in obscure locations (no thanks to inaccurate & badly drawn maps from the local tourist information center). Then of course, dada had some off-road fun ;)
Mount Zero, so obscure that it wasn't on our Tomtom GPS maps
minibeanie loving the wheel & all the fancy knobs and switches
We spent nearly 3 weeks in Victoria, Australia. We had the warm hospitality of my cousin, Eileen, and her husband to thank for letting us put up at their house. minibeanie was also really happy playing with his cousins :) We'd many memorable moments at Eileen's house - the Ozzie barbie, the kids taking a communal bath in the backyard, the quiet evenings after the kids have slept and us adults having cheesecake and wine.....
Our plan was to visit the Great Ocean Road & Yarra Valley for 4 days each with the hope of making day trips for Puffing Billy, the only steam train in Australia, and to see the cute penguins on Phillip Island. Well, at least on paper that was the plan anyway. First off, we loved Great Ocean Road (GOR) so much that we extended by a day and 2 days before heading to Yarra Valley, the devastating firestorm in eastern Victoria broke out. We made alternate plans pronto and decided on another wine producing region, Grampians. As for Puffing Billy and Phillip Island, there was no time not to mention the fact that Puffing Billy was right in the line of fire, so to speak. Besides, with the total fire ban around, no way the steam engine would have been used - we would have been sitting on its electric cousin Puff Diddy instead.
The Great Ocean Road
The GOR drive was spectacular with its undulating coastal roads with crashing white surf on one side and towering cliffs on the other. But much has already been written and I don't think I can do justice to the natural beauty and tranquility of the place in a few sentences.
We spent our 5 days driving to the 12 Apostles, looking for the blueberry farm in vain, enjoying the beach in late afternoons and enjoying a Devonshire cream tea at a 1900s guesthouse that had obviously seen better days together with its grumpy proprietress. We also had our fair share of fish & chippies - excellent flaky fresh fish coated with guilty crispy batter. hmm....
The Grampians
A few things stood out in my memory about Grampians. The beautiful, luxurious brick house we rented right by a golf course frequented by a 30-strong herd of kangaroos, the aptly named Best's wineyard (one of the few family owned vineyards left in Australia) that still has a 1860 vine from France and the 4WD experience of driving up mountains in search of Mount Zero olives.
Pinot Noir!
Bunjil, the traditional creator land of the land, & his 2 dingoes
A few Firsts
We arrived right smack in the middle of Melbourne's worst heatwave on record. 46.8C. It's impossible to describe the crushing heat or the wind that does not refresh but add to the heat. If there was hell, it probably felt like that. I felt like one of the many chickens that I'd merrily popped into the grill. Walking 20m from the car to the refuge of an air-conditioned mall was enough to make minibeanie turn beet red - it was that bad.
There was minibeanie's first time on the beach. I'm glad he was past the age of putting sand into his mouth ;) He liked it even if the water was rather chilly.
Then there were the animals that minibeanie got to see up close & personal. Cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, guinea pigs, kangaroos....
minibeanie is (older than) 1 year, 7 months & 1 day old
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Our holiday got off to a good start when the cheapest category car we rented for 19 days, a 1.3l Hyundai Getz, was upgraded for free to a Toyota X Trail. And did I mention that it was a 4WD? :D Yay! That meant we could throw all our luggage, 1 Samsonite, 1 trolley bag, a huge duffel bag containing all our food, a tent, a hook-on baby chair PLUS minibeanie's pram, into the car without that sardines-in-a-can feeling. Another advantage of having a 4WD was that we could go off the beaten track in search of olive groves hidden in obscure locations (no thanks to inaccurate & badly drawn maps from the local tourist information center). Then of course, dada had some off-road fun ;)
Mount Zero, so obscure that it wasn't on our Tomtom GPS maps
minibeanie loving the wheel & all the fancy knobs and switchesWe spent nearly 3 weeks in Victoria, Australia. We had the warm hospitality of my cousin, Eileen, and her husband to thank for letting us put up at their house. minibeanie was also really happy playing with his cousins :) We'd many memorable moments at Eileen's house - the Ozzie barbie, the kids taking a communal bath in the backyard, the quiet evenings after the kids have slept and us adults having cheesecake and wine.....
Our plan was to visit the Great Ocean Road & Yarra Valley for 4 days each with the hope of making day trips for Puffing Billy, the only steam train in Australia, and to see the cute penguins on Phillip Island. Well, at least on paper that was the plan anyway. First off, we loved Great Ocean Road (GOR) so much that we extended by a day and 2 days before heading to Yarra Valley, the devastating firestorm in eastern Victoria broke out. We made alternate plans pronto and decided on another wine producing region, Grampians. As for Puffing Billy and Phillip Island, there was no time not to mention the fact that Puffing Billy was right in the line of fire, so to speak. Besides, with the total fire ban around, no way the steam engine would have been used - we would have been sitting on its electric cousin Puff Diddy instead.
The Great Ocean Road
The GOR drive was spectacular with its undulating coastal roads with crashing white surf on one side and towering cliffs on the other. But much has already been written and I don't think I can do justice to the natural beauty and tranquility of the place in a few sentences.
We spent our 5 days driving to the 12 Apostles, looking for the blueberry farm in vain, enjoying the beach in late afternoons and enjoying a Devonshire cream tea at a 1900s guesthouse that had obviously seen better days together with its grumpy proprietress. We also had our fair share of fish & chippies - excellent flaky fresh fish coated with guilty crispy batter. hmm....
The Grampians
A few things stood out in my memory about Grampians. The beautiful, luxurious brick house we rented right by a golf course frequented by a 30-strong herd of kangaroos, the aptly named Best's wineyard (one of the few family owned vineyards left in Australia) that still has a 1860 vine from France and the 4WD experience of driving up mountains in search of Mount Zero olives.
Pinot Noir!
Bunjil, the traditional creator land of the land, & his 2 dingoesA few Firsts
We arrived right smack in the middle of Melbourne's worst heatwave on record. 46.8C. It's impossible to describe the crushing heat or the wind that does not refresh but add to the heat. If there was hell, it probably felt like that. I felt like one of the many chickens that I'd merrily popped into the grill. Walking 20m from the car to the refuge of an air-conditioned mall was enough to make minibeanie turn beet red - it was that bad.
There was minibeanie's first time on the beach. I'm glad he was past the age of putting sand into his mouth ;) He liked it even if the water was rather chilly.
Then there were the animals that minibeanie got to see up close & personal. Cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, guinea pigs, kangaroos....
minibeanie is (older than) 1 year, 7 months & 1 day old
Wednesday, February 25
Back after 5 weeks!
After a long hiatus, this blog is back :)
The last 5 weeks had been eventful. First stop was Singapore for the Lunar New Year, followed by nearly 3 weeks in Victoria, Australia. And when we came back to Chengdu, I'd (and still have) my mum with me. Only now after a week of settling back in, did I find the energy, will & time to blog. But more about the holiday later...
A recent development with minibeanie is that he has all of a sudden decided to use his spoon full time. I remember the precise moment. We'd just arrived in Singapore after a 7 hour flight from Melbourne and I decided to give him a fried egg for supper. Instead of feeding himself with his fingers like he usually did, he insisted on using the spoon and from then on, it was the spoon all the way :) I'm so glad he's feeding himself now because he's back to lapping up oatmeal porridge (with jam!) for breakfast.
minibeanie is 1 year, 6 months, 4 weeks & 2 days old
The last 5 weeks had been eventful. First stop was Singapore for the Lunar New Year, followed by nearly 3 weeks in Victoria, Australia. And when we came back to Chengdu, I'd (and still have) my mum with me. Only now after a week of settling back in, did I find the energy, will & time to blog. But more about the holiday later...
A recent development with minibeanie is that he has all of a sudden decided to use his spoon full time. I remember the precise moment. We'd just arrived in Singapore after a 7 hour flight from Melbourne and I decided to give him a fried egg for supper. Instead of feeding himself with his fingers like he usually did, he insisted on using the spoon and from then on, it was the spoon all the way :) I'm so glad he's feeding himself now because he's back to lapping up oatmeal porridge (with jam!) for breakfast.
minibeanie is 1 year, 6 months, 4 weeks & 2 days old
Sunday, January 18
A holiday coming up
We're leaving for a month long holiday to Singapore and Melbourne! :)
Quite miraculously by God's grace, dada managed to get a work trip to Singapore just when we're scheduled to go to Singapore again. So our Singapore accommodation and his air ticket are sorted out. After a week or so, we'll be visiting my cousin and her family in Melbourne for some R&R. Looking forward to it!
But before that, a 101 errands to run in Singapore...
Quite miraculously by God's grace, dada managed to get a work trip to Singapore just when we're scheduled to go to Singapore again. So our Singapore accommodation and his air ticket are sorted out. After a week or so, we'll be visiting my cousin and her family in Melbourne for some R&R. Looking forward to it!
But before that, a 101 errands to run in Singapore...
Monday, September 22
To Singapore
We'd be heading to Singapore tomorrow! Miraculously, DH got a working trip that coincided with the Formula 1 Grand Prix giving us a roof over our heads :>
More to come...
minibeanie is 1 year, 1 month, 3 weeks & 6 days old
More to come...
minibeanie is 1 year, 1 month, 3 weeks & 6 days old
Friday, July 11
Gastronomic Shanghai
It has been a great holiday so far!
From our hotel room, I see the neon lights of Nanjing East Road (南京东路）, Shanghai's answer to Paris' Champs Elysee, Singapore's Orchard Road. Nice! But as expected, having a little baby onboard means a very different sort of schedule - naps in the day, going out only after he has had his breakfast/lunch/dinner and to top it all, returning before he gets really grumpy for his bedtime. No matter, I think we've adjusted to the slower pace quite well :)
We wanted to sample Shanghai's street food yesterday and there's only 1 place for it - WuJiang Road （吴江路）. First, we had a flaky & crispy beef pastry （香酥牛肉饼) - minced beef nestled in layers of crispy pastry with a hint of sichuan pepper and generous amounts of spring onion. Then, we queued in a 20m long queue for the famous fried dumplings - XiaoYangShengJian （小扬生煎）. It was well worth the wait. It was like its famous cousin, XiaoLongBao （小笼包）, filled with soup. In fact, not knowing any better, I had to scald my arm with boiling soup when I bit into 1 hungrily. The base of the fried dumpling was crispy while the rest of the dumpling wasn't overly oily nor tough. In fact, the sesame seed speckled dough still retained a nice chewy elasticity. Hmmm...
XiaoYangShengJian
Next, we had a stick of barbequed little octopuses and a pair of succulent oysters grilled. Heavenly. Further down the street, we had stinky beancurd! It wasn't as stinky as I'd hoped :D Finally, we got a drink from 1 of the many juice bars lining the street. But what did we find? Durian milkshake! yesh! We were stuffed by then, but we couldn't resist the Portuguese egg-tarts :P
Octopus, oyster, mussel, pork, fish, chicken Grill
Today, we ventured to XinTianDi （新天地）. DH was missing good european food sorely so we had Italian at 'Va Bene'. DH's spaghetti with clams and white wine was on par with what we had in Rome but I was a little disappointed with my spaghetti with sea urchin and roe.
It will be another gastronomic adventure tomorrow. We've reservations with Whampoa Club on the Bund for its brunch and a dinner reservation with Le Platane, again at XinTianDi, a French restaurant helmed by a Singaporean chef.
We love Shanghai! ...and not a little bit jealous that we're in Chengdu instead of Shanghai ;)
minibeanie is 11 months, 2 weeks & 1 day old
From our hotel room, I see the neon lights of Nanjing East Road (南京东路）, Shanghai's answer to Paris' Champs Elysee, Singapore's Orchard Road. Nice! But as expected, having a little baby onboard means a very different sort of schedule - naps in the day, going out only after he has had his breakfast/lunch/dinner and to top it all, returning before he gets really grumpy for his bedtime. No matter, I think we've adjusted to the slower pace quite well :)
We wanted to sample Shanghai's street food yesterday and there's only 1 place for it - WuJiang Road （吴江路）. First, we had a flaky & crispy beef pastry （香酥牛肉饼) - minced beef nestled in layers of crispy pastry with a hint of sichuan pepper and generous amounts of spring onion. Then, we queued in a 20m long queue for the famous fried dumplings - XiaoYangShengJian （小扬生煎）. It was well worth the wait. It was like its famous cousin, XiaoLongBao （小笼包）, filled with soup. In fact, not knowing any better, I had to scald my arm with boiling soup when I bit into 1 hungrily. The base of the fried dumpling was crispy while the rest of the dumpling wasn't overly oily nor tough. In fact, the sesame seed speckled dough still retained a nice chewy elasticity. Hmmm...
XiaoYangShengJianNext, we had a stick of barbequed little octopuses and a pair of succulent oysters grilled. Heavenly. Further down the street, we had stinky beancurd! It wasn't as stinky as I'd hoped :D Finally, we got a drink from 1 of the many juice bars lining the street. But what did we find? Durian milkshake! yesh! We were stuffed by then, but we couldn't resist the Portuguese egg-tarts :P
Octopus, oyster, mussel, pork, fish, chicken GrillToday, we ventured to XinTianDi （新天地）. DH was missing good european food sorely so we had Italian at 'Va Bene'. DH's spaghetti with clams and white wine was on par with what we had in Rome but I was a little disappointed with my spaghetti with sea urchin and roe.
It will be another gastronomic adventure tomorrow. We've reservations with Whampoa Club on the Bund for its brunch and a dinner reservation with Le Platane, again at XinTianDi, a French restaurant helmed by a Singaporean chef.
We love Shanghai! ...and not a little bit jealous that we're in Chengdu instead of Shanghai ;)
minibeanie is 11 months, 2 weeks & 1 day old
Tuesday, June 26
Cottage holiday
2nd day at the cotttage 130km north of Helsinki. Rather sucky weather but that's ok because I'm just happy to sit around and enjoy the view. Apart from 2 parenting seagulls and their 3 downy babies that claimed the pier as their own, it feels as if we're the only ones on miles on end. That's such a Finnish psyche - no one wants to see a neighbour. It's just you, cottage, forest and lake.
We love this area. There's a local berry wineyard, butcher, strawberry farms and what do you call a place that makes cheese? .... Anyhow, we trooped down to the strawberry shop that also sells locally made jams, juice concentrates and honey and got 3 liters of fresh strawberries & a jar of raspberry jam.
At the wineyard, DH got some wines made from berries and get this, rhubarb wine! Rhubarb is a vegetable whose stalk looks very much like red celery, is usually used in pies and has a tendency to be sour :P A happy boy!
The butcher's not bad but to my surprise, most of its meat are pork rather than beef. We got some freshly made bratwurst, cheese sausages & pork for the grill. There's also another butcher who specializes in lamb a drive away. Hoping to go there and a strawberry farm a couple of days later.
M who hates mozzies
35 weeks 2 days
We love this area. There's a local berry wineyard, butcher, strawberry farms and what do you call a place that makes cheese? .... Anyhow, we trooped down to the strawberry shop that also sells locally made jams, juice concentrates and honey and got 3 liters of fresh strawberries & a jar of raspberry jam.
At the wineyard, DH got some wines made from berries and get this, rhubarb wine! Rhubarb is a vegetable whose stalk looks very much like red celery, is usually used in pies and has a tendency to be sour :P A happy boy!
The butcher's not bad but to my surprise, most of its meat are pork rather than beef. We got some freshly made bratwurst, cheese sausages & pork for the grill. There's also another butcher who specializes in lamb a drive away. Hoping to go there and a strawberry farm a couple of days later.
M who hates mozzies
35 weeks 2 days
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