Cool Concerts: Beautiful Sunday - The Love Jukebox performed by Novo Winds ft. Khim Ng

We are BACK at Beautiful Sunday! And a beautiful Sunday indeed, because it's Mother's Day! It feels almost ages since we stepped into the Esplanade Concert Hall to attend a concert, partially thanks to Covid, and of course the birth of our little one. Now that he's already 4 years old, it means more we-time for ourselves. :D

The concert for the day is themed Love Jukebox and it was performed by Novo Winds. The guest singer was Khim Ng, who was a contestant in the Chinese singing reality show"Sing! China" back in 2017. Together, they performed many popular hits from the 70s, 80s, 90s, with notable ones such as:

1. (They Long To Be) Close To You, a cover by The Carpenters

2. 追 by the late Cantonese singer Leslie Cheung 张国荣

3. Reflections by Christina Aguilera

4. 原来你什么都不想要 by A-Mei 张惠妹

4. Hey Jude by The Beatles

They also performed a few other Malay/Indonesian songs. The one hour concert really brought us back to the days when we enjoyed live music performed by these talented musicians, at the beautiful Esplanade Concert Hall. Looking forward to more interesting and exciting performances, since Singapore has opened up and no further restrictions on gathering size or social distancing required. The only requirement is wearing masks indoors, which we believe everyone is totally fine with it.

Read More

Review of The Tots' Classroom

How time flies! Our Baby Ryan has reached a suitable age to participate in enrichment classes. We wanted somewhere near home and my aunt recommended us to The Tots' Classroom (TTC). A quick call to their hotline and speaking with Teacher Wan Ting was reassuring. They operate with compassion and though their monthly fees are higher than some centres, I am attracted to the way they run the centre. After comparing with a few other centres, we decided to send our boy to TTC. 

We have been attending classes there for a few months now and what do we think about it? Firstly, Ryan loves going to their classes. And that itself is very telling! He can get his hands dirty on all sorts of activities which train his motor skills. They also emphasize a lot on activities that foster good interaction between teacher and student. Songs are sung in unison with body movements, giving the children opportunities to train their hand-eye coordination. Secondly, their teachers are friendly, caring and engaging. Lastly, they have huge windows that allow you to look into the classroom and see your child participating in the activities. If your child is sticky to you (like my Ryan), the school actually encourage a parent to join in the class which is a great comfort to both the child and parent. 

Location

The classroom is located at Bedok North, which is a feeder bus away from Bedok bus interchange. Would have been better if it were located near the interchange or MRT station. We had to take two buses to get there so we always take the easy way out and took cab instead. 😆

Cleanliness

Even prior to this pandemic, the centre has already been practising temperature taking prior to entering the centre and washing of hands after activities and before tea break. Now, with even stricter requirements from the authorities, the teacher will in addition ensure all children and parents sanitize their hands before entering the classroom. It certainly is a clean and safe environment for everyone.

Class Size

The teacher student ratio is 1:4 and we love just how each child gets enough attention from the teacher to ensure no child gets neglected. The teacher will rotate her attention among the children, even when the parent is around. Hence, I appreciate the fair treatment that was given to each and every child. 

Teachers 

Ryan's teacher, Teacher Sha, is very approachable and always gets the children's attention with her clear and loud voice. She gives very lively lessons and is able to engage all of them to participate in the classroom activities. 

Teacher Wan Ting added a personal touch every time we visit the centre. She is also very approachable and has a sunshine personality. I enjoy the chats we have during each tea break while Ryan plays beside me.

Other Areas

There is a library corner, where children can borrow some books to enjoy reading at the comfort of their own homes. Right next to it is a play area with toys such as a kitchen set, a cash register and a doll-house, all of which promote role-playing, and to keep the children entertained before the class starts and during tea breaks. The interior of the school is brightly-coloured, with plenty of artworks created by the students pasted all over the walls. Your child's masterpieces will from time to time be showcased on the walls, where other children and parents can appreciate.

Note: The above pictures were taken back in 2019 when we first joined the centre. Due to the pandemic, the centre has changed the layout to meet the authorities' requirements. 

The Tots' Classroom

Address: 531 Bedok North Street 3, #01-704, Singapore 460531 

Tel: 6445 5881

Website: http://www.thetotsclassroom.edu.sg/ 

Opening hours:
Mondays to Thursdays: 9:30am to 6pm
Fridays: 9:30am to 6:30pm
Saturdays and Sundays: 9:30am to 3pm

Written By: Momo

Read More

Product Review: Kundal Shampoo

After being a mummy, I have to be quick in my daily routines. One of them is to bathe as fast as I could. I was thinking it would be great if I can find a shampoo that can soften my hair without the need for me to use conditioner. I chanced upon Kundal Shampoo while surfing online and one of the reviews caught my attention. The buyer said it was sufficient to use just the shampoo and her hair felt soft and silky without conditioner. I was tempted to buy and so I did. 

The shampoo was marketed as Pure Natural Shampoo. 

1. All ingredients (except fragrances) are Environmental Working Group (EWG) Green Grade verified. 

2. Made from naturally derived ingredients.

3. Low acid (pH 5.2 - 6.2) shampoo

I bought it from Qoo10 at $10.50 per bottle and the seller is now running a promotion (buy 3 get 1 free gift) at https://qoo.tn/BvI8BX/Q127758523. Do note that seller has mentioned the free gift may not be shampoo but based on my purchase and other reviews, seller has been giving shampoo as the free gift, which makes it super worthwhile to get 4 bottles of shampoo at $31.50!

Kundal has many fragrances which made it so hard for me to choose. I ended up buying 14 bottles with some repeated fragrances as we both prefer flower to fruity smell. 

Fragrances we would purchase again
Cherry Blossom - Sweet smell, smells better than Wedding Bouquet.

English Rose - Pretty close to the actual rose smell

Baby Powder - Smells like baby powder

White Musk - Mild woody smell

Blackberry Bay - Surprisingly mild smell that is our favourite out of all of the above

 

Fragrances we will not purchase again

Blanc - Smell of laundry

Wedding Bouquet - Smells like public toilet hand soaps

Ylang Ylang - Strong smell

Amber Vanilla - Sweet vanilla smell that is too strong for my liking

French Lavender - Does not smell natural. Made me feel that it's full of chemicals. Too strong for my liking

I would say my top 3 favourites are Blackberry Bay, Baby Powder and English Rose.

However, one's preference in fragrance is very personal so please don't let my views stop you from trying a smell that you would love to try. Have fun shopping at https://qoo.tn/BHT8BX/Q127758523 right now! 

Kundal sells more than shampoo, and you get the following products from the same seller and shipped them together:

Conditioner (they called it Treatment): https://qoo.tn/BFU8BX/Q127758523

Hair Serum: https://qoo.tn/BdU8BX/Q127758523

Body wash: https://qoo.tn/B3V8BX/Q127758523

Body lotion: https://qoo.tn/BJV8BX/Q127758523

Hand wash: https://qoo.tn/BgV8BX/Q127758523

Hand cream: https://qoo.tn/BuY8BX/Q127758523

Read More

Parenthood: Review of Nursing Rooms @ Jewel Changi Airport

Location: Jewel Changi Airport
Floors: B2 to L4

There are plenty of such nursing rooms of varying sizes found throughout storeys B2 to L4 of Jewel Changi Airport. The one shown below is located on L2 and it contains 4 private nursing cubicles, as well as 4-diaper changing stations and 2 sinks. There is also a hot and cold water dispenser if a mummy needs to prepare formula milk. It has everything you need from a nursing room. What's even better is the whole nursing room was so beautifully designed that you could have mistaken it for a hotel room.

In the nursing room, there are 4 private nursing cubicles, each containing a comfortable linen couch. Next to the couch is a small table and just behind it is a ledge for placing pumping equipment, as well as sockets for your electronic devices. The nursing cubicle is spacious enough to fit your pram too. A very thoughtful design indeed.

As compared to other shopping malls' nursing cubicles that are either cramped or has poor air ventilation, this is certainly one of the best nursing rooms Momo has been to. In her opinion, it has dethroned those of Takashimaya Shopping Centre as the best nursing rooms found in malls. This will certainly attract her to visit Jewel Changi Airport more often!

So next time, if you happen to see these rooms on your way to the washroom, try popping into these nursing rooms for a quick peek. You don't have to worry about intruding into nursing mothers cos they will be seated comfortably in the private nursing cubicles within the nursing room, but be prepared to face wailing babies or get a warm shower if you are lucky.

There are 4 diaper-changing stations and 2 sinks.

Sliding door at the entrance that provides some privacy to this nursing room.

A closer look at the diaper-changing stations.

This sliding door leads to a private cubicle for the nursing mummy.

There is also a hot and cold water dispenser.

A comfortable couch and a little table inside the private nursing cubicle.
There are also sockets and a ledge for placing pumps and other nursing equipment.

On the inside of the nursing cubicle, you can and should lock the door to prevent entry from the outside.

Read More

Foodie Review: Shang Social 香聚 @ Jewel Changi Airport

We visited the Jewel at Changi Airport on a Monday afternoon. Shang Social looked like it could accommodate the two of us, since many other restaurants had snaking queues outside of them! We decided to give it a try.

In case you are wondering why it is called Shang Social? And in Mandarin 香聚? That's because it is owned by the Shangri-La Group, which of course, is the owner of the Shangri-La Hotel Singapore 新加坡香格里拉大酒店.

Shang Social is the first of its kind from the Shangri-La Group, being the first "standalone dining establishment outside of a hotel setting", quoting from the restaurant's page on the Jewel Changi Airport website. You can read more from Shangri-La's announcement here as well.

The restaurant consists of three themed areas: DINING, MRKT and BAR.

DINING provides a more exclusive dining experience, where you can opt for private rooms.

MRKT serves up casual dishes if you are looking for something less exorbitant.

BAR is the bar area where one can enjoy some Asian-infused cocktails, as well as Chinese tapas.

We were quite eager to try some Chinese cuisine from the famed hotel group. We chose a table right in the middle, ensuring we could have a good view of everything in the restaurant. Near the entrance, there was the open kitchen area, separated by a panel of glass. This gives customers a good view of the master chefs cooking up a storm before their eyes.

The entrance to Shang Social.

The 18-seater Shang Social Bar area.

The dining area has a good view of the chefs conjuring up amazing dishes.

There was quite a good variety of dishes to choose from the MRKT menu. Something caught Momo Dear's eyes - Rice with BBQ Honey Pork Belly & Pan-Fried Egg. That name itself may not raise an eyebrow, but the Chinese name of the dish 黯然销魂饭 may ring a bell for fans of Stephen Chow, as it was featured in his movie, The God of Cookery 食神. The dish consisted of rice with succulent BBQ honey pork belly cooked to perfection, accompanied by xiaobaicai and a beautiful pan-fried egg. The dish sure looked appetizing based on the bright colours that were presented. However the portion was regrettably too little. Guess it was not designed to be eaten alone.

Rice with BBQ Honey Pork Belly & Pan-Fried Egg 黯然销魂饭

We also ordered the Traditional Shanghai Xiao Long Bao 传统上海小笼包, which came steaming hot. Had to be careful to let it cool to the right temperature before biting into its soup-filled interior. We both felt their XLBs tasted pretty normal, but one could tell that the chefs who made these XLBs were very skilful as there was a lot of soup in them.

Traditional Shanghai Xiao Long Bao 传统上海小笼包

Another main dish we ordered was the Stewed E-Fu Noodle with Shimeji Mushroom & Dried Sole Fish 甫鱼松菇干烧伊面. We would almost certainly order E-Fu noodles from Chinese restaurants whenever they have it. The noodles were of the right texture and contained Shimeji mushrooms. Dried sole fish also added to add a touch of fragrance. The only down side was that the dish tasted kinda bland and super oily. Would have been better if there was more seasoning with much lesser oil.

Stewed E-Fu Noodle with Shimeji Mushroom & Dried Sole Fish 甫鱼松菇干烧伊面

Last item we ordered for our lunch was the Signature Pan-Fried Bun with Pork 招牌生煎包. At a glance they look like little woolen caps, don't they? They may be picture-worthy, but we both felt that the buns were not to our liking. There was not enough fragrance to it I guess.

Signature Pan-Fried Bun with Pork 招牌生煎包

Overall we expected better from Shangri-La and we would prefer some other Chinese restaurants out there. Perhaps their other items could be better? Well, maybe we would give Shang Social a second chance some day.

Read More

Parenthood: Pigeon Successful Breastfeeding Seminar Review

Ever since Momo Dear started breastfeeding our baby Ryan, she started to search online for information and chanced upon this seminar organized by Pigeon on 7 July. 

We had to leave at 9:15am in order to reach before 10:30am to receive the special gift but Momo Dear had to breastfeed baby Ryan and as such, we left around 9:30am, arrived at 10:40am and missed the chance to collect the special gift! Momo Dear was so sad that she didn't get the special gift as they seemed to be very useful items! They were a full size clothes detergent and silicon table mat! She could certainly foresee baby Ryan using the table mat!

We didn't know breakfast was provided and I must mention the Chocolate Muffin was delicious!

The talk started relatively on time, with Sister Kang sharing tips on breastfeeding. After that was lunch at around 12:40pm and it was a delicious spread as well. 

Talk resumed at 1:40pm with Dr Colin Theng sharing on common baby skin issues and ended with Sister Kang's session on baby care (bathing and massage).

We learnt a lot during the session and it's helpful for both expectant mothers and new mothers! As for new mothers, Pigeon was very thoughtful and arranged a diaper changing and nursing room! Momo Dear has decided to go for it again during her next pregnancy. She's determined to get the special gift next time round!

Goodie Bag from Pigeon (given out after the event)

To our surprise, we received this from Pigeon around 2 weeks after the event via normal mail. 

It's a tracker device, cool!

Read More

Parenthood: Book Depository Review

Momo Dear decided to get more flash cards for Baby Ryan.

She chance upon this great website with free delivery worldwide! Book Depository.

She placed the order on 4 June, paid and it was dispatched from UK on 7 June. As per their website, will reach Singapore within 5-9 business days, meaning latest will reach us by 21 June  as 15 June is a public holiday.

But we only received the first book on 28 June and Momo Dear started to get worried. She checked online and realised it's normal to have longer waiting time and most people said they received the books when they almost forgot about it. Lol! True indeed, we received the second and third books on 7 July!

Despite the long delivery time, highly recommended as it's cheaper than local stores and each of the items were very well packaged. They even gave a free bookmark.

Bubble wrap inside, for flashcards

A book for counting 1, 2, 3.

Slight dent at the bottom.

A book for learning the alphabet.

Hard cover envelope for board book

A book to learn about animals.

Free bookmark

We were quite surprised at the small size, almost like the size of Momo Dear's hand.

Read More

Parenthood: NLB Goodie Bag

Today Momo Dear went out for a while to settle some stuff and decided to drop by NLB @ Our Tampines Hub on her way back home to apply for a library card for BabyJ. First time going out after confinement feels weird. It wasn't a great deal walking around Tampines Central and back home pre-pregnancy but this one short walk felt so tiring that she had to take a bus back home. Her body seems so weak and fragile.

Going back to the main story, it's easy to apply for a library card for your newborn. Simply bring his/her birth cert to any NLB and inform the staff. Borrow any 6 books and show the staff the loan receipt and they will hand you this goodie bag.

It's pretty good! There's a height chart, 3 board books, a booklet on rhymes and nursery songs that you can sing and play with your baby and a CD-ROM and a book to teach you on how to sing / play / read to your baby.

It's certainly a must get for new parents! 

Read More

Foodie Review: Yomoda Soba - Japan Food Town @ Wisma Atria

Although the Japan Food Town opened since last year and we have contemplated eating there a few times, it was only on this day that we decided to patronize one of the restaurants there. We found the items on the menu very tantalising and decided to give this restaurant a try. They had plenty of combinations for their menu, but of course as its name suggests, soba is their specialty. We definitely had to try their soba. And being lovers of Japanese curry rice, I ordered the curry rice and soba set while Momo Dear, being a fan of tempura, ordered the tempura and soba set.

The food soon arrived and as expected of Japanese cuisine, it came displayed so attractive you will either wanna gobble it up quickly or you would not bear to eat it. The curry was not the usual Japanese curry. It contained a hint of sourness, like Indian curry. There were two pieces of chicken in the curry gravy with a generous serving of rice. The soba was smooth and springy, with the soup having a tinge of yuzu as they had placed a few strands of dried yuzu on top of the soba. The set came with some side dishes as well which completed the whole meal.

Dear's tempura and soba set surprisingly did not come with the side dishes. I therefore enquired on the missing side dishes. The staff very willingly asked whether we wanted the side dishes and could check with the chef to give it to us complimentary. Eventually he came back with the side dishes all on the house. Nice! The tempura were pretty okay. Dear enjoyed it as much as I did with my curry set.

A combination of soba and curry rice. Which one to start eating?

This is not your normal Japanese curry. More like Indian curry.

The springy soba with a tinge of yuzu.

Momo Dear ordered a tempura set.

The menu can be found on the wall.

She seems so satisfied with what she ordered.

Looks like a very popular place.

It was a pleasant dining experience. Certainly a nice place to enjoy some authentic soba noodles at affordable prices. The other restaurants within Japan Food Town could probably burn a huge hole in your pocket but not Yomoda Soba.
 

Yomoda Soba @ Japan Food Town, Wisma Atria

Address: 4F Wisma Atria, 435 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238877

Website: http://www.japanfoodtown.sg/stores/yomoda-soba/

Operating Time: Daily 11:30～22:00 (last order 21:30)

Tel: 6262 3467

Read More

Travel Blog: Taiwan Trip Preparations - Taiwan Tourism Board Singapore Office

Anyone traveling to Taiwan should and must visit the Taiwan Tourism Board Singapore Office before they depart for the beautiful island. Why is that so? For the kiasu Singaporean, there are plenty of freebies to redeem. The types of freebies change once in a while, so do call their office and enquire on what freebie you would be getting before you go down to their office. However, the redemption of freebies is only applicable to those doing free and easy. From what we understand, the freebies are usually bus vouchers or discounted tickets for entry to theme parks. Specific supporting documents are required to be presented for the redemption of freebies, please check with the Taiwan Tourism Board Singapore Office before going down as they may change their requirements.

During our last two trips to Taiwan in 2015 and 2016, we redeemed free one-way bus vouchers, which saved us NT$115, which was about S$5 per pax. And for both trips, we were also given discounted tickets to the Window On China Theme Park (小人国). Definitely worth a trip down to Raffles Place to pick up these freebies, since the office is so centrally located right in the middle of CBD at Chevron House.

Who doesn't like freebies?

Well, if you're not into freebies and just want maps, brochures and information, there are plenty of those for the whole of Taiwan, or by region. It certainly is a good place to start if you're headless as to how to prepare for a free and easy tour to Taiwan. Sometimes you might even find free keychains, souvenirs and other interesting items at the office. Yes, souvenirs even before you are in Taiwan! So, let's go! What are you waiting for?

Taiwan Tourism Board Singapore Office
Website: http://www.taiwantourismsg.com/
Operating Hours: Mondays to Fridays, 9am to 5pm, excluding weekends and public holidays
Address: Chevron House #10-01, 30 Raffles Place, S(048622)
Tel: 6223-6546
Email Address: tbrocsin@singnet.com.sg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TTBSIN/

Tip: Visit their Facebook page before going down to their office to find out the latest freebies they are giving away.



How to get to Taiwan Tourism Board Singapore Office?

Take an MRT train to Raffles Place station.
Take either Exit A or B and you will see Chevron House on your left or right.
Take the very prominent long escalator up to the security counter and exchange for a pass.
The security guards will direct you to the leftmost gantry to enter.
Take the lift up to the 10th floor.
You've reached TTB Singapore Office!

Read More