family bonding time Archives - Page 4 of 6

Simple baking with the kids – New York Cheesecake

I have found a great recipe for New York Cheesecake on allrecipes.com!

The texture is creamy and the kids totally love it! The reviews on this recipe actually rated it as THE BEST NEW YORK CHEESECAKE. I am not an expert in judging cheesecakes but seems like it is indeed very popular. I have baked 2 times so far with the same recipe. The second time was baked for Master 3’s 3rd birthday and we decorated and drew a car for him!

Previously, I had made many No-baked cheesecakes as I did not have an oven back then. No-baked cheesecakes taste yummy too, but I find the cheese taste in no-baked version much heavier than baked ones. You can find out more on my Yogurt cheesecake recipe here, which is also a favourite with my children.

Recipe for Baked New York Cheesecake (modified by me, if you want the original recipe, please click here)

Ingredients Continue reading “Simple baking with the kids – New York Cheesecake”

Village Hotel Changi Staycation – Play and Stay Fun

Our first Staycation probably starts with our wedding night at Ritz Carlton hotel 11 years ago. From then on, we went back to the same hotel almost every year as we love its hospitality and the luxurious room and also the place is a reminisce of our special Big day. In between, we did check out Marriott Hotel, Royal Plaza on Scotts Hotel, Marina Bay Sands, and Festive Hotel. On most times, we chose staycation as an alternative to travelling out of Singapore and did mostly impromptu arrangements. I hardly blog about staycation unless it is family friendly. So as you can guess, how this post came about. We were invited by Far East Hospitality to try out the “Play and Stay” package at Village Hotel Changi and upon hearing what the package had in store for us, I knew we would be having a fun time as a family of 5.

What does the “Play and Stay” Package include?

2 days 1 night stay in Village Hotel Changi
Buffet breakfast
Complimentary bowling or
Complimentary 1 hour cycling
Complimentary Koi Feeding
Complimentary Hop-on Hop-Off City Tour
2 hotel pools to have a dip in – Infinity pool and the Creek pool
Free wireless

Price? My last check on the website shows SGD170 for a Superior Room 2 Single Bed and SGD190 for a Deluxe Room King Bed! Pretty good deal for all the fun we had!

The STAY

The Rooms

We had 2 adjoining rooms with a door in between. Continue reading “Village Hotel Changi Staycation – Play and Stay Fun”

Singapore Botanic Gardens – National Orchid Garden

Our Singapore very own Botanic Gardens is declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site!

This good news was announced on 4 July 2015 and totally came just in time as a special memorable gift to Singapore’s Jubilee Celebration for her 50th birthday!

Singapore, this little red dot on the world map, which could hardly be seen, has come so far and there is no other tropical botanic garden on the Unesco Heritage list, making this the first! I can’t contain my joy and pride 🙂 I love you Singapore!
Continue reading “Singapore Botanic Gardens – National Orchid Garden”

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve – A Living Classroom

My gal (I am going to call her Missy 10) and my boy (Master 8) ‘s school principal once called upon all parents to bring the children outdoors regularly. In fact, with the Ministry of Education initiative of “Leave no child inside”, I am going to aim to bring the children to nature places every weekend. With outdoor walks and play, we can bring the family closer, feel the endorphins surge = happy, give the children and also the adult some “childhood” plus being outdoors can keep myopia in check!

So, last weekend, we decided to visit Sungei Buloh for the very first time.

We invited the grandparents along. No doubt with the grandparents always come lots of joy because they always share lots of their childhood experience and knowledge with the grandchildren who greatly enjoy their company.

Sungei Buloh has 2 entrances and 2 main carparks, about 1 km away from each other.

One enters to the Wetland Centre nearer to Mangrove Trail and the other leads to the Visitor Centre to the Coastal Trail and Forest Trail. Continue reading “Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve – A Living Classroom”

Children’s Seasons 2015 @ National Museum

June holidays are here! One of our most anticipated activities for our kids for this holidays is the annually held Children’s Seasons. This year, the theme is still Masak Masak, built on childhood games, but with totally different games to play.

To understand and appreciate how the Children’s Seasons are put together, you need to know the artists’ introduction of their installations. This year, there are 10 installations by six local and four international artists to feature familiar childhood games and interactive exhibits. Remember to read the introduction near each installation.

Spoiler-alert! I will share some fun exhibits and games that my kids enjoy. Oh, just a note that Masak Masak is suitable for kids 4-7yo although I would think my 3 yo-to-be toddler did enjoy himself and my 10 yo gal is beginning to appreciate the art too.

This oldie round swing greeted us at the big lawn outside National Museum.

Spectrum of Paper by Mademoiselle Maurice Continue reading “Children’s Seasons 2015 @ National Museum”