Travel with Bangkok with kids!! :-)

I Love Bangkok!! The Land of Smiles is the favourite place for Shopping, Eating and Massage! However, I think it can still be a place to bring children with you while you enjoy shopping..

4D3N to Bangkok (BKK) with children is just nice. Let me suggest some itinerary:

Day 1:
Time of flight prefer to be at about 11am from Singapore if possible, when you reach BKK is about 12:30pm BKK time. Reach hotel about 1:30pm by taxi (At this time travelling to city central by taxi should not have any major jam). The price of taxi from airport will not exceed 450Baht. With children, it will be more convenient to take a taxi, unless your hotel is really near to the airport link station.



Novotel Platinum

There are many nice hotels in BKK famous shopping area such as Novotel Platinum, Arnoma, Glow Pratunam, etc which their location is quite convenient. I have stay in all these hotels before, for location Arnoma is the best as it is near to Big C shopping mall. The only disadvantage is Arnoma is a little bit old. Novotel Platinum is good in everything, except that they are getting more expensive. Where Glow charge reasonable price, good service & it is relatively new, location not that good but still ok.


Glow Pratunam Hotel & Room View

 I will visit the Famous Four-face Buddha and Big C shopping center as both are within walking distance. We will carry a empty bag pack to stuff our items. Big C is a large one stop department store selling almost everything from children clothing to shoes, etc. You can claim tax refund with minimum purchases of 2000 baht at Big C.

I will go to Platinum fashion mall for shopping if time permits. And of course to end the night with shopping at Pratunam night market & Foot massage.

Day 2:
You can take a taxi to Chinatown to buy local products (Famous "Lin Zhen Xiang" the packaging with a pig Cartoon picture on it taste better than the other one with same name but no Pig cartoon picture).

There is a Chinese temple (to donate coffins as a form of good deed ) at wat hualamphong near Sam Yan MRT station, is another suggestion.

Or you can visit Terminal 21 (BTS Asok) - a shopping mall with the concept of different cities in every floor. Worth 1 trip to take nice pictures as things they sell are not cheap. After visiting Terminal 21, you can go straight to Asiatique (BTS Saphan Taksin) then take the free 10minutes ferry ride from the pier to Asiatique. Asiatique operating hours only start at 5pm, ferry ride from 4:30pm onwards.


Terminal 21 -  Golden Bridge

Ferry ride View






Day 3:

I name this purely kids day! Place to go Siam Paragon. You can bring your kids to the Sea Aquarium.. in my own opinion it's better than the one in Resort World Sentosa. Why? More species to see.. including free penguin show. The kids just love it.

2nd place.. Kidzania@ Siam paragon. This place let your kids choose whatever professions he want to be.. from pilot to fireman to learning how to make sushi, coca cola, etc. In exchange for the activities, the kids will get Kidzania dollars to change for free gift at end of the day! The staffs will speak in Thai and English.

3rd place: Movie experience in Bkk, yes, it can be fun.. if you have the time, remember to stand up when they play a 5 minutes short introduce of the Thai King as a form of respect.

You can still end the day with foot massage, there are many near the hotel with free wifi. You can bring your children along, let them play your phone while waiting for you to enjoy your massage.

Day 4:
I prefer to have the flight at about 5pm Bkk time, as after 12pm check out time, you will still have  about 2 hours to do some last minute shopping at Platinum fashion mall.

In my other post, you can read on the food to eat at Bangkok http://goodnesstoshare.blogspot.sg/2013/11/goodness-to-share-nice-food-in-bkk.html
Hope you enjoy reading, can leave comments on any more places that I miss out, so I can go in future trip to Bangkok!!!

Michelin star Dim Sum - Tim Ho Wan in Singapore

This post is a rather late as I am really busy for the past few months to update my blog! Anyway, I am back now... This post is about Best Dim Sum in Singapore.. Tim Ho Wan, why best ?? The main reason is the Michelin Star they get.. This is an international food recognition award! And yes, the Michelin is referring to the famous car tyre manufacturer : Michelin. To know more about Michelin Star story and awards, please click the link -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin_Guide to find out more. An interesting article indeed.

Tim Ho Wan - a Michelin star restaurant, is the food really delicious?  When it is first open, the queue in Singapore can take up to 3 hours... now the queue is at most 15 minutes. I order their big 4 heavenly king - Bake bun with BBQ pork, vermicelli roll with pig's liver, pan fried tulip cake and steamed egg cake. I like the bake bun with BBQ pork, the rest normal.. The baked bun is really nice, crispy on the outside and soft chewy BBQ pork inside. BEST! Really a MUST TRY!

The rest of the items to me is normal, so I would not write too much on them. If you are thinking of only buying the bake bun with BBQ pork by "take away", this restaurant do not cater for "take away". What you have to do is sit inside the restaurant and order whatever items you want including "take away" item and ask them for boxes and plastic bags to pack the items in yourself and "take away". In this way, they charge services charges too for the "take away".

Bake bun with BBQ Pork (Must Try)

 

Outlet locations:

68 Orchard Road #01-29A
Plaza Singapura
Singapore 238839
Opening Hours:
10.00am – 10.00pm (Monday  – Friday)
09.00am – 10.00pm (Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday)
Strictly no reservations; sorry for any inconvenience caused. We would encourage full attendance for all dine-in(s).

450 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #02-02
ERA Centre Toa Payoh
Singapore 319394
Opening Hours:
10.00am – 9.00pm (With effect from 1st November 2013) (Monday – Sunday & Public Holiday)
Strictly no reservations; sorry for any inconvenience caused. We would encourage full attendance for all dine-in(s).

You may click the link to visit their website: http://www.timhowan.com/

Canton Paradise

I like Paradise Group concept of different variety and value for money resturants concept. In this post, I will talk about Canton Paradise - a concept on the "taste of Hong Kong".

I tried the Wanton noodles... still ok, and my favourite Xiao Long Bao... the Xiao Long Bao taste the same as in Paradise Dynasty. As this restaurant concept is more like Hong Kong Dim Sum style, thus the Xiao Long Bao is so much lesser in quantities than the one in Paradise Dynasty so you can order more variety of different Dim Sum. However, I still prefer to have my Xiao Long Bao in Paradise Dynasty.

I also tried their crispy beancurd prawn roll...not bad, and their Fried roast pork bun... taste good.

Xiao Long Bao

                

More informations on their outlets locations:



Fried Crispy Prawn Beancurd Roll

Canton Paradise at I12 Katong

112 East Coast Road
#B1-15, I12 Katong
Singapore 428802

Canton Paradise at JCube
2 Jurong East Central 1
#02-09, JCube
Singapore 609731
Canton Paradise at Compass Point
Sengkang Square
#03-19/20, Compass Point
Singapore 545078
Canton Paradise at The Star Vista
1 Vista Exchange Green
#B1-45/46, The Star Vista
Singapore 138617

 


Fried Roast Pork Bun

Classic Italian Cruisine - Parco Caffe @ Raeburn Park

Parco Caffe @ Raeburn Park is located behind the formal Tanjong Pagar railway station. This Italian Resturant have a nice and pleasant park ambience, ideal for couples celebrating their special occassions such as anniversary and birthday etc. The food and services are also good. Picture tells a thousand words... here are some pictures!!



 

 

   

Parco Fritto Misto - Deep fried crispy squid, *yummy*

 


Pizza Parco



   

        Tagliatelle Sull' Anatra - "Duck pasta"

To find out more about Parco Caffe, you may visit their website at: www.parcocaffe.com.sg

 

Best Xiao Long Bao in Singapore

Original Favour Xiao Long Bao

I love Xiao Long Bao.. I will try out various resturants Xiao Long Bao, such as Din Tai Feng and Cystal Jade. To me, the best Xiao Long Bao is from Paradise Dynasty! Although, there have 8 favours types of Xiao Long Bao such as original, ginseng, foie gras, black truffles, crab roe, cheese, garlic and Szechuan; Original is still my favourite. I will surely order the Original Xiao Long Bao whenever I visit Pradise Dynasty.


Paradise Dynasty is located at ION Orchard, you will always need to wait for at least 20 to 30 minutes as they do not accept reservations. Guess it is really popular and in demand that they open 2 branches at Lot 1 and Causeway Point and name them Paradise Dynasty2. The branches only offer 4 favours types of xiao Long Bao, thus if you want to try all the 8 favours types, you got to visit Paradise Dynasty at ION Orchard.






Another favourite - Spicy La Mian

Zha Jiang La Mian







Below are the address of Paradise Dynasty locations:


Fried La Mian

Paradise Dynasty at ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn
#04-12A ION Orchard
Singapore 238801

Paradise Dynasty 2 at Lot One
21 Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4,
Lot One Shoppers’ Mall #03-02B,
Singapore 689812

Paradise Dynasty 2 at Causeway Point
1 Woodlands Square,
Causeway Point, #05-16/17/18,
Singapore 738099



To find out more about other nice and good food, you may see my other posts - Best Ba Kut Teh in Singapore



Best Bak Kut Teh in Singapore

December is the usual raining seasons in Singapore.. One of the best food to have during raining seasons will be Ba Ku Teh.

My favourite place for Ba Ku Teh in Singapore is "Ng ah Sio Ba Ku Teh" at Rangoon Rd (near Farrer Park MRT Station). What is so great about this Ba Ku Teh.. I like the soup, 'peppering-spicy' enough and the meat is not too stiff so just right. This Ba Kut Teh at Rangoon is not only famous in Singapore. It is a place where many famous people overseas will visits whenever they come to Singapore, such as Taiwan President Ma Ying Jeou, famous Hong Kong and local Artists.

Now, they have open few branches such as Marina Bay Sands and Tanjong Katong Rd, but I still prefer to visit their main branch at Rangoon Rd. you may find more about them at their website at: www.ngahsiobkt.com


 Branches:
208 Rangoon Road, Hong Building,Singapore 2185453
Tel :62914537
Operating Hours:
Tuesday to Sundays: 7am – 10pm. Closed on Mondays

Marina Bay Sands, 2 Bayfront Avenue,#B2-50, Stall 11, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore 018972
Operating Hours:
10am to 11pm daily


Any Ba Kut Teh lovers out there, free feel to comments and share other places in Singapore for the nice Ba Ku Teh.. Cheers!

Holiday at Genting Highland Resort !!

Model of Genting Highland Resort

I just went for a 3days 2nights trip to Genting Highland Resort. The weather was perfect, average temperature at about 16 to 21 degrees, cool enough. I think 3 days 2 nights is just right for a relax getaway. Those who love to try their luck can visit their casino, the Starworld casino just have a new extension.
For kids, there is an outdoor Theme park and an indoor Theme park ( Although some portion of the indoor theme park is undergoing some renovation so not much to play) for them to choose from. There is also an archade, but seems like most of the games are spoilt...

I took the cable car ride, the scenery is great, viewing from the top down. Enjoy my cable car ride.. :).Bought some local products there.




Of course, I will try the food there!! Try the Hainan Restaurant, the fish & Chips is nice!! The Hainanese Chicken Chop is also not bad, portion is generous. I personally feel that the food in Genting is not cheap... about the same with prices in Singapore restaurants.




Fish & Chips

Hainanese Chiken Chop



BBQ chicken

Fish&Chips

 I also went to Modestos restaurant, try the fish & Chip too... Taste good too. The BBQ chicken is not that good.. I think is a bit overcooked which makes it a bit to hard to chew.

 

Overall,enjoy myself in this short getaway trip... I am sure I will visit Genting again in the near future, you may refer to their official website - www.rwgenting.com for more informations.

Any Genting fanatic out there, please leave comments to share on any other Goodness to share in Genting!!