Splashing Good Time at Changi City Point

I managed to get one day off of work 2 weeks ago and decided to visit the newly opened Changi City Point with baby girl and mum-in-law.

Changi City Point located at Expo MRT Station

They haven't travelled far to shop and play ever since this mama started her full-time work so I wanted to bring them somewhere far away from our usual hangouts. The first thing we did when we arrived was to head on over to the water playground while the sun was still shining bright (you'll never know when it will start raining).

Water playground at Changi City Point

We took some time to find it since it was hidden somewhere at the back of the foodcourt. Baby girl was so excited!

Wheeeee!

The sun was shining so brightly that we all hid under this little umbrella shelter while baby girl swung on the swings.

Water sprays under the swings

She had a blast! Some children came by and could only look at baby girl have fun while they couldn't because they didn't have extra clothes. Isn't my girl lucky? I always have an extra set of clothes & swim diapers in my diaper bag at all times *grins*

There are toilets located near the playground so you don't have to worry if your child needs to use the toilet.

Left: Water hoses to wash off; Right: nearby female toilet

However, there are no shower facilities available except for some water sprays, which provided little privacy if you have older children.

Nevertheless baby girl had a great time and we were all famished after running after her in the water. We decided to have lunch at Eggs & Berries.

Eggs & Berries at Changi City Point

The interior really attracted me with its bright colours and natural wheatgrass (albeit fake ones *laugh*).

Baby girl drawing on the table mats while we ate the fish & chips that her grandma ordered

Feeding baby girl the bacon & cream spaghetti that I ordered

Baby girl really loved the spaghetti and ate a large portion of my lunch, if I might add. I ended up not ordering their desserts because we were so full at the end.

Dessert bar!

What a pity though since the desserts looked sooo good! *Mmm*

After lunch, we shopped around while baby girl took her nap and I managed to buy some books at a very reasonable price. We also went to check out the talked-about Petite Park located at the top floor.

Petite Park

I thought this playground looked really fun and great for little kids! Too bad my baby girl was sleeping so we didn't get to let her try it out.

But since we just found out that my church would be using Singapore Expo temporarily for our worship services for 6-8 months, we'll definitely have a chance to bring her there to try it out =)

Although this was more tiring than I had expected for my off day, I have to say I really miss the days when I don't work and get to go out with my baby and mum-in-law to almost every shopping centre in Singapore! (Yes.. I'm a mall-aholic!) I really had a nice time and will definitely arrange to visit more malls soon =)

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This post is part of my MadPsychMum Fun in Singapore Guide to all things exciting for kids! 

Check out other fun playgrounds and attractions in Singapore! =)

You can also follow us on Instagram or join us by using our hashtag #mpmfuninsg! 

Shenzhen Day 4-5: Final Feastination

DAY 4

We decided to skip dim sum (eat too much already!) and have wanton noodles for brunch instead. Then, it was off to Comic's City where the world of animation awaits!

Bought this teletubby (comes with a free DVD) from this shop for just S$9!

Super happy with her new toy!

Baby girl and my mum-in-law were thrilled at this purchase for totally different reasons. Mum-in-law was just super glad she didn't buy the exact same thing in Singapore for S$19.90 and baby girl, well.. who doesn't like a new toy right? *laughs*

After 3 days of hardcore shopping, you'd think we'll do something else but well.. my mum-in-law and I are actually shopaholics (though we look nothing like it)! Or more like bargain-hunters to be exact! *laughs* The DVDs were so cheap we bought way more than what we need (don't even think we have time to finish watching them)!

Dinner that night was promised by the hubby to be spectacular as it was our last supper and he wanted to "show hand".

Clockwise (from left): Barbeque mushrooms; fresh live prawns with bamboo art at the side hand-drawn by the chef using chocolate (we thought it was part of the design of the plate); beef with bean sprouts

Clockwise (from left): Steamed live fish; Peking duck at just S$12; Crab with beehoon noodles

The mushroom tasted surprisingly better than it looks and I really love the peking duck. The crab is tasty but don't expect it to be as big as the ones we eat in Singapore. Baby girl's favourite are the fresh prawns and mushrooms, which we cut up into many pieces for her to eat.

Feeding herself with the mushrooms and prawns

She's at the stage where she insists on eating on her own and feeding herself. If she can she would use a spoon herself and make a mess of the entire floor but the OCD cleanliness freak in her grandma and me always don't feel comfortable with that. Ah well.

A feast fit for a king! =)

A caution of warning though: don't eat seafood and drink beer together! After finishing a large meal of seafood, the hubby and his brother finished so many bottles of beer ('cos beer was so cheap they over-bought them but didn't want to throw them away) that both fell ill the next day. His brother exhibited symptoms of nausea at breakfast the next day while it took the hubby one more day before he really fell ill.

DAY 5

We woke up bright and early the next morning and had breakfast at 7.30am since we had an early flight that morning.

Girlee has the same unkempt hair in the morning as her daddy

We checked out of the hotel at about 9.30am and the hotel got a cab for us to get to the airport.

Sitting at the lobby counter

We didn't even have one group shot the whole trip so I kinda forced everyone to take one before we left (so happened they had a nice backdrop at the lobby).

Family photo =)

We spent the last of our RMB on some children's book for baby girl at the airport bookstore before we left.

We're leaving on a (jet)plane!

After just 4 days of non-stop feasting like royalty, I think I gained like 10 pounds! I still dare not weigh myself on the weighing scale even though I keep telling myself I have to face the truth sooner or later.. *groans*

Looking forward to our next trip together. In the meantime, time to start my exercise & diet plans!


<< Back to Day 3: Getting Our Just Desserts

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Visit MADPSYCHMUM TRAVELS for the rest of my posts on Shen Zhen, China 
as well as other travel itineraries!

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Shenzhen Day 3: Getting Our Just Desserts

Despite blogging about how bad the food and service at New Star was last year, we ended up going back there for dim sum again just because the restaurant at our hotel did not have our favourite Siew Mai.

Daddy writing down our orders while baby girl entertained herself by imitating the big-mouthed fish

As usual, it took a long time for the food to arrive.

Clockwise (from left): Har Gow (prawn dumplings); Century egg and chicken porridge; Pork ribs and Siew Mai

I don't know why we keep going back even though the food isn't as good and the service sucks. They even overcharged us on one of the dishes which we ordered but they didn't serve it yet they charged us for it -_-" *sigh*

Thankfully the cooling weather kept our spirits up =)

Baby girl in her rockstar look, which is really the most covered up she has been since her birth *laughs*

We decided to travel via the Shenzhen Metro to the mall near Window of the World to get a whole different shopping experience.

Nearest station to our hotel = Lao Jie

They recently upgraded this station to a interchange station so it was much much larger than before! We had to look carefully at the map to know exactly which direction to go. It's pretty easy really. Just take the green line to Window of the World station (FYI, the train going in the opposite direction is going towards Hong Kong).

When we finally arrived at Holiday Plaza, we shopped around at H&M but didn't buy anything 'cos the prices were similar to Singapore (they totally lost their appeal to me once they opened a store in Singapore).

Entrance to Holiday Plaza from Window of the World Station

As we weren't very hungry after such a heavy breakfast in the morning, we spotted Honeymoon Dessert in a corner with almost maxed out capacity and decided we had to try it.

Honeymoon Dessert @ Holiday Plaza

Clockwise (from left): Nice little background of books;
Durian pancake that I immediately decided on once I saw it (yum!);
Mango & sago with green tea ice-cream (you choose which flavour you like)

Had to force them to pose for the camera, which they finally did
'cos I suppose the sweet desserts put them in a great mood =)

We each chose a dessert of our fancy. My bro-in-law chose the chilled black sesame soup/paste with green tea ice-cream while I chose the warm version with tang yuan (glutinous rice balls) and peanut-paste filling.

I love me a good tang yuan with black sesame while my mum-in-law preferred the red bean soup 

Guess which dessert baby girl liked the most? *grin*

So in love with the desserts! Other than the red bean soup, every other dessert was spot on in terms of taste! Well worth the whole effort to travel all the way there even though this was basically the only thing we did there as there weren't much shopping to be done. If you have older children however, you might enjoy the ice-skating rink within their premises.

We decided to head back to the area where we were staying to do some grocery shopping and had dinner at the nearby restaurant again.

Clockwise (from top left): Roast meat platter consisting of duck and pork meat;
Fried beehoon & scallop with glass noodles (yes again!); hubby's favourite fresh oysters

Everyone's too busy eating to give a damn about taking a picture except for me

The service wasn't very good and the food standard dropped a little but we still enjoyed the dinner nevertheless. You definitely can't eat like this for only S$100 in Singapore =)


Continue to >> Day 4-5: Final Feastination
<< Back to Day 2: Dim Sum & Cheap Shopping

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Visit MADPSYCHMUM TRAVELS for the rest of my posts on Shen Zhen, China 
as well as other travel itineraries!

You can also follow my travel adventures on Instagram via the hashtag #madpsychmumtravels! =)

Shenzhen Day 2: Dim Sum & Cheap Shopping

We had dim sum at the hotel's restaurant for breakfast in the morning.

Clockwise (from left): Fried handmade glutinous rice balls filled with pumpkin paste (very tasty!);
Char Siew Pau that both Girlee and I love (we can eat 6 between the 2 of us *grin*);
Tasty Har Gau ("shrimp dumpling") here costs only S$4! =)

Our entire breakfast meal

Due to rising inflation in China, a breakfast like this no longer costs under S$20 like it did in the past. Nevertheless, at S$25-35 a meal, it is still cheaper than in Singapore or Hong Kong.

After breakfast, baby girl played with water and took a bath in the beautiful bathtub in the big toilet.

This is a far cry from the previous trip where baby girl had to bathe in the sink! =)

We hit the streets not long after to start our shopping spree! As usual, my little shoeholic stopped by one of the many shoe stores..

She chose this blue pair, sat on the tiny stool and tried it on all by herself! I'm not even joking.

..and tried on a pair of shoes. Initially she was set on the blue pair (which her daddy liked too) but then when she was shown the same pair in pink, she immediately changed her mind so we ended up buying another pair of pink shoes (not that I'm complaining of course *laughs*).

Wearing her new pink shoes immediately!

We took a break from shopping to have a late lunch at our favourite Li Wan Restaurant.

At Li Wan Restaurant's 2nd outlet eating their signature wanton soup

Their business was so good that they even opened another outlet at the 2nd floor of the same building!

Clockwise (from left): Beef and wanton noodles (dry); Wanton noodles soup;
The hubby and his brother enjoying their noodles

And it's no wonder their business is so good. A set consisting of a bowl of noodles and a cup of milk tea only costs S$4! The beef was tender and soft, the soup tasty and the noodles "bouncy". Yum!

The hot dishes were perfect to warm us up when the weather outside sudden became chilling.

Baby girl got to wear this jacket that her grandma bought for her since last year but didn't have a chance to wear it in Singapore as she's so scared of being hot.

I thought the weather was like Singapore on a rainy day so I didn't bring any leggings or boots with me! I ended having to brave the colder days/nights with nothing but a cardigan, dress/shorts and fitflops! With my mum-in-law and the hubby joining me in wearing berms and slippers, we ended up being the only aliens who walked around looking like we were at the beach. One look and you can guess that we're Singaporeans! *laughs*

Luckily I'm well-trained by my baby girl and hubby to take the cold as they are the kind of people who can even perspire in a fully airconditioned room! Needless to say, the 2 of them were in high spirits throughout the whole trip!

We also spent an incredible amount of time at the shops that sold iPhone and computer accessories as they were selling them at only 1/4 of the price of those sold in Singapore!

Clockwise (from left): My newly decorated iPhone *grin*; Cute little pluggies I got for only S$3 a pair!; Cartoon 8 GB thumbdrives for just S$9 each (I saw the same thumbdrives selling in a flea market in Singapore for S$20-30)

There were many thumbdrives to choose from but the minute I laid eyes on the camera one, I knew instantly that I had to get it for my brother! Hope you like it bro! =)

Since everything is cheaper if we bought in bulk, I thought I might as well get them for my family and friends as souvenirs too.

Look at my shopping loot! Heh heh =)

I would have bought more if not for the hubby's constant nagging that I bought too much. Seriously, how can I pass up on such a good deal?! *laughs*

Continue to >> Day 3: Getting Our Just Desserts

<< Back to Day 1: Ticket to Seafood Heaven

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Visit MADPSYCHMUM TRAVELS for the rest of my posts on Shen Zhen, China 
as well as other travel itineraries!

You can also follow my travel adventures on Instagram via the hashtag #madpsychmumtravels! =)

Shenzhen Day 1: Ticket to Seafood Heaven

I was very excited for our fifth trip to Shenzhen (we go once every year except for 2010 since 2007) as we would be flying by Silkair!

Silkair flight MI966 to Shenzhen

This is the first time that we are flying a non-budget airline to Shenzhen because:
1) Singapore Airlines was having a promotion on their website (each ticket only costs $400+)
2) We're tired of flying at night, reaching there at midnight and putting our lives at risk
3) I just hate having to board any plane from the budget airport (glad they'll be tearing it down in future)

Baby girl is more than ready to go kai kai ("walk the streets" in cantonese)

Arriving at Terminal 2 early in the morning..

..to check in at the Silkair counter

As we have not had breakfast yet, we decided to have our breakfast at a foodcourt in the airport transit.

At T2 transit

We kinda regretted the decision as the food was almost twice the price of the food outside. But once we got our tummies filled, we were excited to board the plane.

"Mama, Airpane! Seet Airpane!

Another reason why parents with young children should pay a little more to travel on a non-budget airline: we got priority to board the plane first as we were "travelling with young children" and also got to sit at the first row which has more leg room.

We love to sit at the window seat!

Baby girl fell asleep even before the plane took off so she had no trouble with the air pressure in her ears. I thought I had to endure carrying her for hours throughout the whole journey until the flight stewardess introduced me to the in-flight baby bassinet.

Silkair's baby bassinet

I can't believe I had no idea this even exists till now. So suaku ("mountain tortoise")!

The bassinets are hung right in front of us so that we could still keep an eye on her

With baby girl tucked safely in the bassinet, we able to enjoy our lunch and entertainment in peace
.

Clockwise (from left): Shared entertainment station just above baby girl;
eating our lunch right under baby's nose (literally); seafood hor fun

It was a real bummer for me that there wasn't any individual entertainment and the meal wasn't exactly fantastic. Also, I had to carry baby girl out of the bassinet whenever there was turbulence so it can be a little inconvenient. Thankfully I only had to do it once so baby girl really had a good and long nap! By the time she woke up 3 hours later..

Eating the baby food provided by Silkair

..she was in an amazingly good mood =)

And this is why I'm willing to travel with my baby girl. She is such a great traveller and we have so many special privileges *grin*

First to disembark the plane as well! =)

We finally arrived at Shenzhen airport (on time too if I might add)!

Waiting for our luggage

As we arrived in the daytime, we were able to join the horde of people queuing up for the red taxis which we didn't manage to do previously (against our better judgement).

Red taxis in Shenzhen

We decided to stay in the Days Suite at our usual hotel (Days Inn) since it costs only S$20 more than the regular suite per night but was twice as large!

Clockwise (from left): Furniture to hold the fridge (which wasn't cold at all), utensils and kettle;
living area; main door and dining area

Clockwise (from left): Study area with lan connection (the extra bed was added in front of it);
king size bed; a 2nd TV

We added an additional bed which costs about S$30 a night just so that all of us can bunk in together as usual.

Clockwise (from left): The toilet attached to the living room;
A second larger toilet at the back of the room; The sink and large bathtub

There were a total of 2 TVs, 2 toilets, a large bathtub and separate shower facilities. More than enough to cater to our family's needs =)

For dinner, we had nothing else but seafood as usual.

Clockwise (from left): Entrance to our favourite seafood restaurant just across the street from our hotel;
The hubby excitedly choosing his favourite seafood while baby girl shouted "see fishh, see fishh!";
LIVE seafood galore!; Various interesting Chinese delicacies

The nice thing about this restaurant is that they give you fully sterilised utensils to use. Definitely perfect for the cleanliness freak or germ-phobe.

Sterilised utensils which are certified environmentally friendly

Some of my readers (ok ok, only my close friends) complained that I didn't post enough pictures of the food in my last blog posts of my previous trip (I was too busy eating if ya know what I mean), so I'm making it a point to post more food pictures for this trip =)

Clockwise (from left): The hubby's favourite fresh cockles; fresh live prawns (yummy!);
mantis prawns fried with chili and pepper

Clockwise (from left): steamed tiger garoupa (the fish was alive just 5 minutes ago, that's how fresh it is!);
fresh scallop with noodles; fried beehoon noodles

There is a wave of inflation in China recently so the prices of the seafood were definitely higher than our previous trips. Nevertheless, they were still cheaper than the seafood in Singapore so it's still worthwhile to make the trip here to try it.

Enjoy the food pictures! More to come tomorrow =)


Continue to >> Day 2: Dim Sum & Cheap Shopping

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Visit MADPSYCHMUM TRAVELS for the rest of my posts on Shen Zhen, China 
as well as other travel itineraries!

You can also follow my travel adventures on Instagram via the hashtag #madpsychmumtravels! =)