KL Day 3: Last Tango, Then Singapore

We got up to have breakfast at the hotel as usual.

"Mama, I'm hungry!"

And as we were picking out our breakfast, I found it interesting that the hubby and I had totally different opinions on what we considered breakfast food.

Hubby's breakfast

The hubby prefers a cup of coffee and more Asian-style food such as fried noodles, rice, curry, porridge, etc, while I prefer a cup of tea and more western-style food such as french toast with maple syrup, cinnamon croissant, sunny-side up or scramble eggs, sausages, etc.

My breakfast

He would never eat my kind of breakfast just as I would never eat his.

I know what you might be wondering. What does baby girl eat for breakfast then? Well, she's exactly like...*drumrolls*...daddy! Eggs and toast? Urgg. Porridge and fried noodles? Mmm, yum!

Ah well.

We had one last soak in the bathtub (baby girl's favorite activity on this trip) before checking out of our hotel at 10.30am. We left our stuff at the lobby before heading for some last minute shopping and lunch at Sweet Chat Cafe one last time.

Then at 1.45pm, we boarded our bus at the Super Nice Office (opposite Berjaya Times Square), which departed for Singapore at 2pm.

On the way back home!

For some reason, the journey back took 2 hours longer! We were either delayed by the heavy rain or by a passenger who mysteriously disappeared after we passed the Singapore customs at the Woodlands checkpoint.

You can imagine our immense relief when we were finally home and a nice hot dinner was waiting for us, thanks to my dearest mum-in-law! Lovely.

We had a blast and will definitely be going back to KL again soon! =)

<< Back to Day 2: KLCC, Petronas Twin Towers & Mid Valley

P.S: Visit my travel page for more of our travel itineraries! =)

KL Day 2: KLCC, Petronas Twin Towers & Mid Valley

We woke up at 8.30am for breakfast at the hotel, which was included in our package..

Breakfast @ Berjaya Times Square Hotel

..before heading out to our first destination, Petronas Twin Towers and Suria KLCC Mall located at Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

There were essentially 3 ways to get there:
1) Take cab from hotel
2) Take the monorail from Imbi Station to Bukit Nanas Station, then walk approximately 800m eastward along Jalan Ampang straight to KLCC
3) Take the monorail from Imbi Station to Hang Tuah Station, then walk to the Hang Tuah Station on the Ampang Line (yellow) and take the LRT to Masjid Jamek Station. Once there, walk across the street to the Masjid Jamek Station on the Kelana Jaya Line (green) and take the LRT to KLCC Station.

Monorail/LRT

Street crossing that separated the two Masjid Jamek Stations

We decided to go with option 3, which was the cheapest mode of transportation (approximately RM2 per trip per person) but was also the most confusing! Unlike Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei, the train lines in KL are not integrated, which meant that you have to exit a station on one line before entering an adjacent station (of the same name) on another line (this may also mean that you might have to buy a ticket each time you transfer to another train!).

Entry/Exit Gantry @ Imbi Monorail Station

To lessen the confusion, it is important to:
1) Be armed with a fabulous Map of KL Transit
2) Use a Touch'n'Go card

This is the same card that we use to pay for toll charges at the checkpoints between Singapore and Malaysia and is very useful as it allows us easy access to most of the main lines such as the KL Monorail (purple) and Kelana Jaya Line (green). Just tap to enter and tap to exit!

Although it was a little more complicated to travel by rail, we enjoyed the experience of mingling with the locals! =)

We arrived at KLCC wanting to explore the Petronas Twin Towers, only to discover that the Towers were not opened to the public until December. We were really disappointed! We had little else to do but to shop at the mall.

Suria KLCC Mall

Outside KLCC mall

Family photos kindly taken by a Caucasian gentleman who gamely sat on the floor to get the perfect shot!

We decided to head on to our next destination, Mid Valley Megamall, for our lunch and more shopping!

Once again, you may choose to take a cab but we decided to do what the locals do and take the LRT from KLCC Station to KL Sentral Station, transfer to the KTM Komuter heading towards Seremban and alight at MidValley Station.

KTM Komuter

The KTM Komuter is interesting as it has cabins specially allocated for women! However, the intervals between each train is a staggering 30 minutes long, so my advice is to check the train timings beforehand and only enter the station 5-10 minutes before the train arrives so as to avoid waiting at the stuffy platform area.

Needless to say, after all the waiting and squeezing onto the train, we were totally famished by the time we arrived at Mid Valley!

Mid Valley Megamall

After scouring the huge complex, the hubby finally decided to settle at La Manila cafe located at the 3rd floor for our lunch.

La Manila @ Mid Valley Megamall

Baby girl and I shared a Ipoh Hor Fun soup while the hubby had fried rice. Both turned out to be great choices as all of us slurped down our meal in a jiffy. Feeling like our meal wasn't complete without dessert, we decided to have ice-cream at none other than Baskin Robbins!

Baskin Robbins @ Mid Valley Megamall

Mmmm, yum! =)

Our bodies were aching like crazy by the time we were done shopping at this gigantic mall so we decided to take a cab back to our hotel instead of braving the crowds at the train stations. According to my granduncle, it is important to agree on a price with the cab driver before boarding the cab as sometimes the meters can't be trusted. Our agreed price was RM15, which we thought was quite reasonable.

Although our bodies were dead tired, we managed to drag ourselves to Berjaya Times Square mall for Teppanyaki dinner.

Teppanyaki @ Berjaya Times Square

The meal was actually one of the worst we've tasted in our whole trip. The meat was overdone and way too salty. Definitely not one of my favourites =(

We finally ended the night with me perusing the pages of Cleo Malaysia (cost me only RM5.80), reading to baby girl the books I had bought at MPH and Borders for between RM9-RM20 each while the hubby enjoyed his favourite soccer matches without being disturbed.

Magazine & Books we bought

So nice of us isn't it *laughs*

Continue to >> Day 3: Last Tango, Then Singapore
<< Back to Day 1: Berjaya Times Square

P.S: Visit my travel page for more of our travel itineraries! =)

KL Day 1: Berjaya Times Square

We woke up at 6am, all prepared for our family trip to Kuala Lumpur (KL) Malaysia for 3 days & 2 nights. We boarded the Grassland Express Super VIP Coach at Golden Mile Complex, which departed for KL at 7.45am.

Spacious seats allowed for baby to sleep comfortably

It was a lovely morning to travel. There were no queues at the customs at the 2nd Link and we had a very smooth journey all the way to KL. On the way, we had a short stop-over at this resting place where we had our breakfast and used the toilets.

Halfway stop-over station

Girlee and I were both tired and hungry so this was a welcoming sight! *yum*

When the coach finally arrived at Jalan Imbi KL at 12.45pm, we alighted outside Super Nice Express office which was directly opposite Berjaya Times Square.

Berjaya Times Square

We then crossed the road via the overhead bridge underneath the monorail station to check in at our hotel, Berjaya Times Square Hotel.

Lobby of the hotel

We actually got a little lost no thanks to our pride in not asking for directions until the last minute -_- but when we finally checked in, they gave us a large room with a king-sized bed =)

Large hotel room with many little 'rooms'..

..for baby girl to explore! She had a blast!

The bathtub, shower area and toilets were all separated from each other and there were 3 sinks altogether so there is really no need to fight for space to do your business! *laughs*

View from our room

We also had a great view of the city as our room was on the 33rd floor of the hotel!

After exploring our accomodation, we started to get hungry again and decided to have our lunch at the mall below.

Checking out the mall's directory for a good place to eat

We finally decided to eat at Sweet Chat Cafe, which looked really cozy and seemed to be famous for their desserts.

Sweet Chat Cafe @ Berjaya Times Square

Our yummy lunch

We ordered their curry laksa, mango and grass jelly drink and durian pancake and peanut tang yuan for dessert. The hubby loved the laksa, while Girlee and I devoured the durian pancake! Delicious! =)

After lunch, we decided to explore the 10-storey mall and especially the famous Cosmo's World Theme Park situated on the 5th floor.

Berjaya Times Square Theme Park

This is the largest indoor theme park in Malaysia and features a large indoor roller coaster which seemed to float in the middle of nowhere.

Roller-coaster ride

The admission rates are also pretty reasonable: Weekday (Mon-Fri) Adult = RM38, Child = RM28; and Weekends (including public & school holidays) Adult = RM43, Child = Rm33.

Although it is free for infants and toddlers below 3 years old, we decided not to visit it this time round as baby girl did not meet the height requirement for most of the rides. Since there was no one to take care of her, we couldn't get on most of the rides either so it definitely wasn't economical for us. But we'll definitely be back here next time when she's older or when we're with our family or friends.

Instead, we went shopping while baby girl slept! =)

When she awoke hours later, we decided to go for a swim at the hotel's swimming pool.

Swimming pool

Daddy Koala!

But it turned out to be too cold for all of us so we bundled up and had a nice, warm soak in the bathtub instead! =)

We were all tired out from all the shopping and swimming so we ended the night at my favourite Hong Kong restaurant, Kim Gary Restaurant.

Kim Gary Restaurant @ Berjaya Times Square

Although there's an outlet in Singapore as well, we still prefer to eat it in Malaysia as it is so much cheaper. My favourite dish of all time is the double cheese mushroom hotplate! *yum*

Food @ Kim Gary

The baked rice & spaghetti was also a hit with all of us, including Girlee (who was even provided with kiddy utensils). Score: delicious food 2, lousy food 0.

Can't wait for another day of shopping and food tomorrow!

Continue to >> Day 2: KLCC, Petronas Twin Towers & Mid Valley

P.S: Visit my travel page for more of our travel itineraries! =)

Mad-Made: Wood to Metal

I keep looking at the frames currently on my wall, which are only 2 at the moment, and can't help but feel that the wooden frames Mr & Mrs P gave us just didn't go with the rest of my frames. It was a little too woody, if ya know what I mean.

My initial idea was to paint them and the hubby suggested shiny silver. Excuse me, I don't have shiny silver paint! But then I found something in Daiso that was even better..

Operation Wooden Frame Makeover!

..silver metal-looking sheets that you could cut out and paste on your photo frames!

All you need to do is measure out the sticker..

Measure & Cut

..ensure that you have extra flaps at the side which can be folded to the back, cut it out and stick!

Masking Tape

And just to make sure that the ends stick well, don't forget to add masking tape to it.

I decided to makeover not 1 but 2 frames, turning the other into another one of my family photo frames.

My Silvery End Product!

For this one, I used the photo I took with baby girl on Mother's Day and added really cute baby-themed stickers I found at Made With Love. And in line with my theme of using snippets of lyrics from my favourite Disney classics as the title of each frame, the words for this one was inspired by one of my favourite songs:

I have often dreamed
Of a far off place
Where a hero's welcome
Would be waiting for me
Where the crowds will cheer
When they see my face
And a voice keeps saying
This is where I'm meant to be

I'll be there someday
I can go the distance
I will find my way
If I can be strong
I know every mile
Will be worth my while
When I go the distance
I'll be right where I belong

-- Hercules,

Walt Disney Films (1997)

Hope you'll like this one! More to come! =)

Mad-Made: Family Portraits

I have so many family photos that I printed a long time ago and have no idea what to do with them. That is, until I stumbled onto some great frames from Daiso, which I previously also used to make gifts for my friends.

For Frame #1, I gathered some of my favourite photos of our family..

Can't decide on the layout!

..and took a loooong time to decide the layout because with so many photos, it is harder than it looks! After I finally made my decision, I added thickers' lettering..

Frame #1

..and totally love the end product! =)

For Frame #2, I bought a transparent frame so instead of cutting the paper to fit the frame, I cut the paper (which I bought from Popular) a little smaller than the frame so that you could see through part of it to the other side. Then I added a picture of our wedding, the polaroid we took at Mr & Mrs P's wedding (which somehow totally fitted together) and..

Frame #2

..some lettering inspired by a song sung by one of my favourite Disney Princesses..

A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true

-- Cinderella,
Walt Disney Films (1950)

Hung on the wall

Now it is part of a growing number of photo frames on a section of my wall! Will definitely continue adding frames and will show you the finished wall when I'm done =)

Personalised Kid's Products by Tolalu

I was recently given some vouchers from Tolalu, an interactive online shop that sells personalised gifts for children, to purchase some great stuff for baby girl.

When you first arrive at the website, you will be greeted by a simple text box that asks you to type in your child's name.

Tolalu welcome greeting text box

By doing so, Tolalu is able to personalise all the products so that you can instantly get a view of how each one will look like with your child’s name printed on it. I thought that was pretty cool!

You even have the option of editing the name and sending a picture of how the gift will look like to others!

Some of their products include personalized learning materials like colouring books (with your child’s name on every page), personalised growth charts, calendars, notebooks, greeting cards, puzzles, bookmarks and stickers! There are also different themes available, such as animals, fairies, dragons, monsters and robots, which will greatly appeal to children of all ages.

After scouring the more than 350 products of different themes and designs, I finally made my choice and placed my order.

Invoice of my purchase

After placing my order, I waited for only 3 days for the gifts to be delivered straight to my home. There is a delivery fee of $7.00, but this is waived when customers spend $60.00 or more on the website.

Ding dong! My package is here!

Ah the excitement of a new package at your door =)

I decided to get this bright and cherry placemat as well as these cute, bright and pinky (I'm such a sucker for pink *laughs*) stickers for baby girl!

Personalised placemats and stickers

I had expected the stickers to be small but boy, these were larger than average!

They're so cute aren't they?

With Christmas just around the corner, hop on over to Tolalu and consider getting some of their personalised gifts for your own kids, other people's kids and even yourself (secretly of course)! :))


Disclosure: Complimentary products were received from Tolalu for the purposes of this review. No monetary compensation was received; all opinions are my own.

Your Baby Can Read DVD

Before I started reading books to my baby girl, I started introducing words to her by making her watch Your Baby Can Read DVD series, which comes highly recommended by the sister's bf and his sister. Apparently his neices have been watching it since they were very young and it has helped them tremendously with learning words and reading.

And since I'm also aware that research in child language development has also shown that the optimal window of language acquisition is between 0-6 years old, it didn't take much for me to be convinced of the benefits of these educational DVDs.

Hence, ever since she was 2.5 months old, she has been watching it every single day! Hardcore I know.. *laughs*

When she started watching, she couldn't even sit on her own yet and needed to sit in her Bumbo seat.

Watching 'Your Baby Can Read' DVD at 5 months old

But as she grew bigger and bigger, she soon outgrew her bumbo and had to watch while leaning on tons of pillows.

Watching 'Your Baby Can Read' DVD at 8 months old

Nowadays, however, she doesn't watch it as often as she did before. I suppose it is because she got bored watching the same thing everyday.

But when she does watch it, she is now able to repeat and understand some of the words.

DVD: "Head. Can you say head?"
Baby girl: "Head!"
DVD: "Now, hold your head"
Baby girl holds her head.

She does this only for the words that she like and when she feels like it. I have no idea if watching it had any effect on her learning but I'm sure it had some way or other contributed to building her vocabulary.

I suppose I have to watch her progress and will definitely keep you updated on whether these are actually useful.. or not! Stay tuned! =)

Master Crab at Ghim Moh

To the hubby and I, Master Crab is the place to go for the cheapest and freshest crab in Singapore!

Master Crab Signage

We were first introduced to this place by the hubby's cousin Mich when I was still pregnant with baby girl and we've been one of their loyal customers since.

The crab-eating process at Master Crab is pretty different from other restaurants as there are other steps involved on top of just the regular 'order and consume'.

Step #1: Choose Your Crab!
The nice thing about Crab Master is that they put their hot-item on display so that not only do you see for yourself exactly how fresh the crabs are, you'll also know exactly how much they cost!

Hubby and Mum-in-law choosing the right crab!

The crabs are divided according to size and price (each crab ranging between $30-$50). The hubby likes to pick one that is actively moving about and also big enough to feed all of us, so we ended up choosing two relatively larger crabs.

Step #2: Choose Method of Cooking

The different methods of cooking crabs are displayed prominently on the signages above the seating area

When placing your order, let the staff know exactly how you want your crabs to be cooked and what other dish/es you would like.

Step #3: Wait for Your Food

Excited baby girl!

And then all you have to do is wait for your food to be served! As Master Crab doesn't serve drinks, you may want to take this time to go get some from the drinks stall located just next to it.

The wait isn't too long if you're early, which we were. And thankfully too, because we were hungry!

Hot Plate Tofu

The hubby and mum-in-law love this dish almost as much as the crabs! The prawns are large, fresh and tasty and therefore very value for money. We also ordered sweet pork ribs, but it wasn't as tasty so it's unlikely that we'll order it again.

Then came the stars of our meal!

Salted Egg Crab

The hubby asked for one crab to be cooked with salted eggs while the other was cooked with bee hoon soup. The salted egg sauce was more watery than what we're used to but just as tasty. I really like the combination of sweet crab meat with the salty sauce.

Crab with Bee Hoon Soup

Nevertheless, almost everyone, including baby girl, preferred crab with bee hoon soup! The simplicity of the ingredients used preserved the original taste of the crab such that you're able to fully enjoy the sweetness and freshness of the meat. The soup is thick enough and not too oily so it was just right for our taste. Although my mum-in-law and Mich prefer the soup served at the famous Ang Mo Kio restaurant, it is also two times more oily and expensive so in terms of value, this one wins hands down.

Most importantly, our little food connoisseur took one bite of the crab and finished an entire bowl of bee hoon soup and crab!

Having a feast of her favourite crab

Our Master Food Taster has spoken! =)

The entire meal costs about $109 excluding drinks, which was really value for money! There was so much food that we even managed to pack some home for my father-in-law. All of us were so full!

Master Crab is located at Blk 19 Ghim Moh Road #01-229 Singapore 270019