Our Hollywood Style Anniversary at RWS (II)

We actually aimed to wake up early this morning since we slept sooo early last night but all of us happily ignored the many alarm rings until 9am. By then it was too late. We ended up reaching Universal Studios Singapore at 11am (considered late since the attraction opens at 10am and hordes of tourists were already there).

Universal Studios Singapore

It rained in the morning and I was so afraid it was going to ruin our day so I prayed to God for the sun and God sent the sun indeed! It was so hot that almost all of us got sunburnt!

Our first stop was Hollywood's 'Lights, Camera, Action!' show hosted by Steven Spielberg.

Lights, Camera, Action!

The stage set attempts to create a typhoon scene by using special effects such as fire and wind. There were unexpected parts which made the show very exciting! A definite must-watch show =)

Then the sister and JM wanted to go on the Battlestar Galactica at Sci-Fi City, which the hubby and I weren't interested in riding (we can't even if we wanted to since baby girl was with us) so we split up to go explore the grounds while they queued for the ride.

Took a picture with the hunky Egyptian guards at Ancient Egypt
(wooo check out the hot bodies man! *giggles*)

Visited the famous Shrek castle at Far, Far, Away!

Baby girl's moody face is a result of the heat. Both she and her dad don't take to the heat very well. To entertain her, we brought her to ride some of the kiddy rides that she's allowed to ride. Her first ever ride in an amusement park is the Accelerator.

Waiting in line to ride the Accelerator

Baby girl looked apprehensive because we made the mistake of telling her not to be scared. Which made her feel even more afraid than she was before! *sigh* Halfway through the ride she started crying to be carried so I had to break the rules and place her on my lap. After that she felt better and stopped crying and actually began to enjoy it. It was too boring for the hubby and I though (come to think of it, most of the kiddy rides were boring to us). *Sigh* The things we will do for our baby girl.

Next, we headed to Madagascar, which has the most kid-friendly rides of the whole park. Since baby girl is tall enough (above 80cm), she was able to ride most of the kiddy rides in USS except for the junior roller-coaster.

Yay, I'm tall enough to ride A Crate Adventure!

The only ride that I noticed in the whole of USS that is mild enough for pregnant women, hand-held infants and even persons in wheelchairs is the carousel ride.

Left: Photo-taking with the famous Madagascar characters;
Right: King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round

The nice thing about this carousel is that there is a safety belt so you don't have to worry about your child falling off. I thought that was very thoughtful of the manufacturers. Since there's a safety belt, her daddy wanted to put her on the larger Melman the Giraffe or Alex the Lion but baby girl wanted something much lower and smaller so we ended up with this:

She looked like she's in pain right? Well she is.

Girlee (in grimace): Pain, pain!
Me: Where pain?
Girlee: Star-mak (stomach) pain!
Me: Huh? Stomach pain?

Then my Mama Instincts kicked in and I realised she meant that she is hungry! It was already 12.30pm and we haven't had lunch yet! So I let her drink a whole bottle of Vitamin Water while we walked as fast as we could to the next food place down the street. Turned out to be Mel's Drive In! =)

Mel's Drive In Fast-Food Restaurant

Love the old-school feel of this place! Daddy ordered the Kid's Meal, which comes with fries, dinosaur-shaped nuggets, ice milo and a cute lunch box. She perked up immediately after eating one fry after another (I don't usually allow her to indulge but since we're supposed to be in celebration mode, I just made sure she was well hydrated after). It was also a great place to take shelter from the sweltering Singapore heat!

After we've had our fill, we decided to go watch the Monster Rock show just next door. It was already 1.30pm and I was starting to wonder what had happened to my sister and JM. Turns out they went on both the Human & Cylon rides and the queues were so long it took them almost 2.5 hours! They joined us for the show, which was really boring but we stayed on anyway because the theatre was such a nice, dark and air-conditioned place for baby girl to sleep while we rest from all the walking in the sun.

After the show, we headed on to the ride we were all looking forward to:

Transformers the Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle!

The hubby and I queued for almost an hour while the sister and JM took care of baby girl and had their lunch. It was a long wait for the ride but it was so worth the wait! The ride was amazing! The effects were so authentic, it felt like we were in the battle even though it was only a simulator.

After queuing half-way, we realised that the 'Single-Riders' queue (for riders who are willing to ride alone, separated from the group) was much faster. So after we finished, I advised the sister and JM to go for the Single-Riders queue and they were out in like 10 minutes! We loved it so much, the 3 of us were back in the S-R queue for another round of Megatron-ass-kicking action (hubby stayed back to bond with baby girl)! =)

When we emerged 10 minutes later, there was the real Optimus Prime walking around taking pictures with all the folks! The hubby tried to get baby girl to shake the Autobot's hand but baby girl started crying like crazy even before the machine hand touched hers.

With the moving Optimus Prime!

Baby girl managed to calm her nerves after the photo to wave goodbye to the Autobot, who kindly waved back. She even blew him a kiss eventually! *laughs*

We made a stop to ride the Revenge of the Mummy (which was my scariest ride of the day.. yes I have a weak heart ok?!) before proceeding on to Shrek 4D!

Shrek 4D Adventure

This was the hubby's 3rd and my 2nd time watching Shrek 4D but I still love it every time! Baby girl however, enjoyed chewing on her 3D glasses more than actually watching the show. She did like the jerking action of the chairs and the spraying of water though. She must have thought it was one of those kiddy rides she's used to sitting.

After Shrek 4D, we split up again. The sister and JM queued for the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure (waterboat ride) while we rode yet another kiddy ride, the Dino-Soarin', at Lost World.

Dino-Soaring at Jurassic Park

Baby girl didn't like it initially because every time I let go of the buttom, the dino will drop and cause your heart to jump a little. But eventually she got the hang of it and was less apprehensive after her 2nd time on it. She said no to a 3rd time though. Has a weak heart just like her mummy! *laughs*

As it was already late, we weren't able to catch the last 2 attractions: Canopy Flyer & WaterWorld, which was really unfortunate since they both seemed like great attractions. I made a mental note to make this a priority the next time we visit again. Nevertheless, it was a great day because we still managed to clear all the other rides between the 4 of us despite the hordes of people at USS.

We thought we would leave earlier than the closing time but between eating and queuing up for rides, we ended up leaving the park just 15 minutes before it closed!

Thanks to the hubby, my mum-in-law and my family for a wonderful celebration together! I'm already looking forward to our next anniversary celebration! Till next year.. *grin*


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Our Hollywood Style Anniversary at RWS (I)

We headed to Resort Worlds Sentosa (RWS) for our anniversary this year because I've been complaining to the hubby that everyone's been there except for us. Last year we celebrated our anniversary at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) so this year we wanted something different and decided on Hard Rock Hotel Singapore.

At Hard Rock Hotel Singapore

We arrived early to check in but our room was not ready so we had to wait at the lobby.

Lobby of Hard Rock Hotel

When the room was still not ready one hour later, I started to get impatient as this is no way to treat your guests. C'mon, you're a 5 star hotel! Their explanation was that they needed time to turn over 200 over rooms but it's really no excuse because they could have hired more people. So I carried baby girl and tried to use her charms on them..

Me (to receptionist): Hi, is our room ready yet? My girl is making a lot of noise I can't take it.
Girlee (smiling sweetly at receptionist): I want swim!
Receptionist: Hello baby! Oh you want to swim? Ok I'll see what I can do. Just a moment.

The receptionist heads to the back office and minutes later emerged with our room keys! Can't believe that worked *laughs*

Headed up to our room in a very glitzy elevator

The hotel room we were given was much smaller than the one at MBS but was nicely decorated and had an amazing view of the pool.

Our room on the 6th floor facing the pool

The nice thing about the rooms here is its entertainment system (i.e. TV) that comes with external speakers to blast music or watch a movie. There's even an iPod/iPhone docking system to charge your phone while playing music out of it.

The bathroom with separated bath and toilet facilities

The bad thing about this room is that there are no rods (except for the ones at the door to hang towels) to hang our wet clothes so we ended up drying it on every surface we can find. That was really inconvenient especially since we had a lot of swim wear to hang out to dry.

Nevertheless, the good thing is that this room is very family-friendly because each room has a super-single pull-out bed for additional family members at no extra cost.

Left: Comfy sofa (which can act like a bed when needed); Right: Comfy pull-out bed;
These were used by my sister & her boyfriend when they stay over on the 2nd night.

After checking out our room, we headed down to the pool immediately because baby girl was very anxious to get into the water.

The small slide and water play area for children

The first thing that caught our eyes was this water slide at the center of the pool. We tried to let baby girl go down the slide on her own but she was just too afraid to do so.

Sliding down the water slide with daddy

So later mummy had to step in and slide down the slide with baby girl in my lap.

Because it was hard to land with her in my lap, I scraped my knees pretty badly. Yet I still did it again and again just because she said, "One more time, one more time!" The things I will do for you baby girl.

When finally I was too tired to climb the steps, we decided to soak in the man-made beach pool next to the slide.

They even have sand at the bottom of the pool

This pool is great for cleanliness freaks who want the feel of being at the beach but not all the dirt that comes with it. You don't have to worry about your kids getting swept away by the waves too. Love it! =)

It was also a perfect back-drop for floating on a 'pirate ship'!

Maiden voyage of her 1st boat-float thanks to Disney Junior

I took a long time to blow it up but seeing how happy it made her, I suppose it was totally worth it! =)

Baby girl was tired out after a few hours so we washed up and sent her and my mum-in-law to the monorail station to go back home.

At the Casino & Merlion

My mum-in-law is a real blessing to us! She came all the way there with us just so that she can bring baby girl home and we can have the rest of the night alone together.

Monorail at Imbiah station at the foot of the Merlion

Baby girl of course was initially too tired to care but once she reached home and discovered that mummy and daddy were not there, she kept asking for us. I missed her already! *pouts*

After they've left, we proceeded to watch Voyage de La Vie at the Festive Grand Theatre.

Voyage de La Vie

It was a circus performance cum mini musical; I'm the kind that prefers full musicals like 'Wicked' but the hubby really liked it since it had a lot more stunts and action than singing and dancing (song and dance are really not his thing).

We ended the night really early as I was too exhausted (didn't even have time to blog although I had planned to *sigh*).

The next day, my whole family went to pick baby girl up after buying breakfast & lunch for us. The minute baby girl saw us, she burst into tears and clung onto me and refused to let go. I suspect she was really hurt that we sent her off with her grandma and really missed us too =(

We cheered her up by filling her stomach with lunch (a hungry baby is a cranky baby) and brought her downstairs to swim.

With my brother, sister, JM, baby girl and the hubby

Don't know what's up with mothers but like my mum-in-law the day before, my mum also did not bring her swim wear so she couldn't join us in the pool *sigh*

More group photos in the sun

The boat-float turned out to be more useful and fun than expected. When baby girl lost interest and didn't want to sit in it any more, guess who thought it was their cue to take over?

Taking turns to sit on the boat-float

Well... everybody else, that's who! I tried it myself and it was really quite fun. Can't believe it could take our weight! *laughs*

It also came in handy for me to take shelter under the sweltering hot sun!

Yay, mobile shade for me! =)

We also had fun underwater with my waterproof Olympus.

Underwater shots taken by me =)

Turned out to be quite good don't you think? All done in just one shot. Gotta say I'm really good at this *laughs*

We had so much fun we only decided to leave when the sun shone so bright, it burnt into our skin. Baby girl, the sister, JM and my mother totally zonked out on the beds after the swim, leaving my brother, the hubby and I to visit the Maritime Experiential Museum & Aquarium (MEMA). The aquarium was not opened to the public yet so we could only see the exhibitions on display.

Maritime Experiential Musuem & Aquarium

The exhibition part was really small and boring. No wonder the entrace ticket is only $5 per person. It's very kid-friendly though, with a lot of activities for children and the young-at-heart alike to do. I would advise to visit only when the aquarium is opened though because it's really a small and boring exhibition without it.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring RWS and the different stores along the mall.

We just had to pop by the largest Candylicious store in Singapore!

We went for dinner with the rest of the family at Hard Rock Cafe Sentosa to celebrate my birthday at the same time.

Hard Rock Cafe at RWS

The food was great!

Anti-clockwise (from left): Starter platter for 3-4 persons (we ordered to share); potato with cheese (love it!); the hubby's main course = sirloin 'sandwich' (i.e. steak on garlic bread)

Clockwise (from left): The restaurant provided colouring crayons and activity sheets to entertain baby girl; beef burgers for all of us (except for the hubby); Mac and cheese with chicken for my mum, sis, baby girl and I.

I really enjoyed the fellowship even more than the food (which was so good I felt so fat after it!)

Family photo taken by a staff member

My mum and bro left after dinner as they won't be joining us at Universal Studios Singapore (USS) the next day (they both have to work sadly). The rest of us stayed on and were supposed to play games till late at night but we were all so tired, we slept at 11pm! Can't believe it -_-

We are having the time of our lives so far. Can't wait for USS tomorrow! *Excited*


Continue to >> Our Hollywood Style Anniversary at RWS (II)

Deathly Glares and Stern Admonitions

One of my favourite shows to watch on cable is Take Home Nanny. I love to watch how Emma Jenner teaches parents across America on how to discipline their children. Also somewhat similar to Caesar Milan in his training of dogs. Not that children are dogs, although some regard their dogs as their children.. Ok ok you get the point.

Discipline used to be a big deal in the old traditional way of bringing up kids. Fathers used leather belts or canes to whip their kids (usually sons) in shape while mothers used a lot of scolding, which sometimes teethers on the edge of emotional abuse. My mother did both actually *laughs* (I'm laughing now but it sure ain't pretty when we were younger).

Nowadays people are more westernized and believe more in non-physical or violent ways of punishment such as getting them to do time at the naughty corner.

The thing is, as long as it was all done in love, I don't see a problem with whichever method of discipline that you choose to use (it's your kid, you know better). Just do it! Because it sure as hell beats having to listen to a screaming kid on the train or bus all day.

Young toddlers are at the stage where they're still learning what buttons they can push and what buttons if they did push, would send mama into a ballistic fit of rage and bring hell on earth. You know what I'm talking about.

So the key is to take a deep breath, stand your ground and NEVER give in! Even if she looks at you with puppy eyes that makes you all weak in your knees. And according to Nanny Emma, be consistent.

If you said "no!" today, make sure you'd say no tomorrow, and the day after and even 5 minutes after! So that they know you mean business.

Worse, never ever give in WHEN they are in their crying fits. It may be very tempting to do so but RESIST it! If you give in when they are crying, it sends them the signal that crying gets me what I want. So they'll keep doing it. It's exactly like emotional blackmail. It doesn't ever end.

Initially the tantrums may take minutes and even hours but if you keep at it, it will gradually decrease because they realize after a while that "hey, this totally is not working! Let me try something else.."

Should you find yourself in a situation where you just can't fight the baby eyes, you may give in.. But only AFTER she has stopped crying. That way, she realises the faster she stops, the faster she'll get what she wants. Everybody wins.

Another thing I learnt from watching Nanny Emma is that discipline does not mean barking out orders like a drill sergeant, which I have to admit I always do! All it takes is for a stern look and a firm voice to do the trick.

So I've been trying to put these tips into practise and I have to say so far it is working! Well 80% of the time anyway.

Bath time
Nai Nai (grandma): Come and bathe!
Girlee (runs away): NO!
Nai Nai: Quick, your mummy come already!

Girlee stops abruptly, scans the horizon and seeing that the coast was clear, continued in her mischief, not knowing that all mummies have an in-built radar that detects naughty children miles away...

Me (appears suddenly): What are you doing?
Girlee (smiles mischievously): Mama play?
Me (shakes head): No. Go and bathe. I count to 3 ah. 1... 2...
Girlee (chanting as she walks to the bathroom): 1. 2. 3!

On MRT
Me: Sit properly.
Girlee (wiggles in her seat): No, no, WALK!
Me: No walking. Everyone sits properly in the MRT so sit properly.
Girlee (starts to cry): Wahhh...
Me (deathly glare): Stop crying.
Girlee continues to cry...
Me (stern voice): Look at me!
Girlee look me in the eyes.
Me (low whisper): I said stop crying. No more crying. Now sit properly and behave yourself. You naughty I don't bring you to the playground.
Girlee (stops crying but still whimpering): Paygound! Paygound!

I don't how long this will last (she is after all not at the "terrible twos" yet) but I'm praying that I've indeed got this. Otherwise... *shudders*

Not going to think about that. Will cross that bridge when I get there *laughs*


P.S: Check out my guest post at World Moms Blog if you haven't already yah =)

Expensive Piece of Steak at Prime Society

Despite waking up on my birthday with a very bad headache and vomiting just before my official interview with potential employers, I still managed to keep myself in good spirits & enjoy the day.

I was still "headachy" when the hubby came home but I still suck it up and went out to dinner with him because he promised good food I won't forget. And I'm such a sucker for good food.

Hubby drove into Grange Road and straight away I knew that we were heading to Dempsey Road. Turns out the hubby's got reservation at The Prime Society.

The Prime Society: Famous for the upper cut

The hubby generously ordered a piece of wagyu beef for me and at more than S$60, it was the most expensive piece of steak that I've ever eaten thus far! And mind you, I've eaten a lot of steak. The mushroom truffle with cheese sauce that I chose to go with it was absolutely divine! A must-try if you're choosing sauces for your steak =)

I have to say I really enjoyed the food here!

Appetiser: Wagyu garlic bread

The garlic bread was fried with wagyu oil and was the best garlic bread we've ever eaten! Delicious! =)

Enjoying our dinner in a nice romantic corner

Clockwise (from left): Potato wedges; Portebello mushrooms; hubby's ribeye steak with wine sauce

The potatoes were crunchy and yet soft at the same time while the mushrooms were just tasty enough without being overly salty. Hubby's pasture-fed ribeye was nice too but it definitely can't compare to the wagyu for sure. Nevertheless, he still enjoyed it very much.

Thanks dear for a wonderful meal. You know how much I love beef and western food. This is definitely a must-try for steak enthusiasts for sure =)

A happy birthday to me indeed *grin*


UPDATE: This is no longer the most expensive beef steak we've eaten. Kobe beef on our Hokkaido trip and black angus beef at Equinox are now top of our list.

Buy Shoes, Buy Shoes!

It's no secret. I have a shoeholic in the house. So when I asked her to choose some toys to buy at Kiddy Palace, guess what she bought?

Shoes for her doll! Yes it's the wrong doll but I didn't want to buy the original one for fear of my girl pulling its hair while I hear the sound of money going down the drain...

Anyway the important thing is that she loved it! That's all that matters isn't it? :)

Linking up to:

The Largest Chilli Crab @ Kim's Place Seafood

Hubby was feeling richer than usual (bonus mah) so he decided to treat our whole family of 5 to seafood at the famous Kim's Place Seafood at Joo Chiat.

Kim's Place Seafood

We've ever been here before in the past but we did not try their lobsters, which were going for only $38 a piece.

Daddy ordering food while baby girl played with her utensils

We ordered a few of their signature dishes to try as well as the hubby's favourite lobsters and Chilli crab.

Their signature fried Hokkien mee

Seafood hor fun & Spinach with 3 kinds of egg (ordinary, century & salted)

The Spinach with 3 eggs was terrible! I've definitely tasted much better so don't order this dish if you're going to dine there.

The fried Hokkien mee and Hor Fun were much better but still only just passed our high standards. You must understand, we live in Tiong Bahru, the haven for good Chinese food! You gotta be really spectacular to pass our standards! *laughs*

Then came the stars of our meal (and every meal we have actually):

Lobsters cooked in cheese (above) and garlic (below)

We ordered a total of 4 lobsters, 2 cooked with cheese and 2 cooked with garlic. I liked both as they gave you a different kind of taste for each. The lobster's meat was tasty and fresh and definitely right up my alley.

The claw of the 1.7 kg chili crab is almost as big as your face!

The bro-in-law and I also had the time of our lives eating a claw each of the LARGEST ever crab we've ever ordered! Oh the juiciness, freshness and chewiness of the meat! We were all so happily eating there wasn't much talking at the table!

Coincidentally, we were eating at a table with a picture of Joanne Peh and the boss of the restaurant hung on the pillar beside us...

Photo of Joanne Peh on the wall

...and guess who we saw!

Bobby Tonelli & Joanne Peh!

I have been following Joanne's blog for some time now and am a fan of hers (we're the same age if I'm not wrong) so I wanted to ask her to take a picture with baby girl and I. But I chickened out at the end! Sigh. Looks like my skin is still not as thick as I thought! *laughs*

Anyway, if you like seafood and Hokkien mee you might like to try this place. The prices are not cheap for the crab though but it's really worth it if you do =)

Kim's Place Seafood is located at 43 Joo Chiat Place, Singapore 427767.