Katong’s little known world of desserts is quietly gaining popularity. Just when you thought the area is all about the famous 328 laksa and Katong throws out a little surprise.
Jin Yu Man Tang Dessert 金玉满堂甜品 which serves up local Chinese, HK, and Taiwan-style desserts is located at The Flow.
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After our New York trip, we took a 6.5 hour flight to San Francisco.
San Francisco, in northern California, is a hilly city on the tip of a peninsula surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. It’s known for its year-round fog, iconic Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars and colorful Victorian houses.
Our first impression of San Francisco was its cleaniness. The tram was really clean and a big contrast to NYC in which it was not crowded.
Thanks to our friends staying in California, we were recommended to take the BARTtrain to Powell Street.
So clean and fresh!
We would be staying at Axiom Hotel, which was just located above the Powell Station. It took about 2 to 3 mins walk to the hotel.
The reason we chose Axiom Hotel was it’s close proximity to the train station. The place was centralised to every tourist activities but we were cautioned that it was near to the Tenderlion neighbourhood where the streets were shady and you wouldn’t want to bump onto people you wouldn’t want to meet. Glad that there was a right soul who walked up and told us not to cross the street, else we would be venturing into the neighbourhood. Yes, the google map did fail us at times.
Cute robot to attend to our needs.
Burger King was beside our hotel.
We were glad that the cable car station was outside our hotel. During peak hour, the queue could linger till late into the night. The ticket cost $7 each.
We are going to the Fisherman’s Wharf. Fisherman’s Wharf, on the northern waterfront, is one of the city’s busiest tourist areas. Souvenir shops and stalls selling crab and clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls appear at every turn.
The streets of San Francisco was just amazing. It would take a lot of energy just to walk up the slopes and they were appearing at every junction we stopped.
Slopes again. How to survive without owning cars here?
No experience is more uniquely San Francisco than a ride on a cable car. A must-try experience here!
It’s convenient to travel here and we don’t really need to drive.
The Ross store is a great place to find cheap stuff.
Love these laundry buckets so much (only $13) but how to bring back home 😦
The crab meat and prawns were very juicy. It cost about US$70.
Spent the afternoon exploring the streets.
If In-N-Out Burger comes to Singapore, it will beat all the fast food restaurants hands down.
Our favourite pasttime. Buying a loaf of cheap bread when visiting the harbour to feed the birds.
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In one of the earlier blogs, we shared about the usefulness of SleepWiz™ eye masks which has become one of our must-bring essential items during travel especially for long distance flight to London andUnited States.
This time round, we have an opportunity to try out ErgoLush™mattress topper which has a positive effect on allevating back pain.
The first of its kind in Singapore, ErgoLush™mattress topperis a gel-infused memory foam mattress topper that does not retain heat like traditional memory foam. Small M tried and it made her such a happy girl by giving her a soft comfortable feeling akin to sleeping on a giant marshmallow, which molds into the shape of your body like a supportive cradle.
So we realised there are actually air vents promoting airflow within the memory foam to let your body remains relaxed and cool for a good night’s sleep.
ErgoLush™ provides other great benefits:
With the viscoelasticity of our memory foam, it absorbs kinetic energy from movements, so you remain blissfully asleep when your partner climbs into or out of bed.
Relieve bodily pains as it molds into a supportive cradle in the shape of your body, preventing excessive load-bearing by your hips/shoulders and diffuses this supportive pressure evenly along every square inch of your body.
Protects your existing mattress from everyday wear and tear, and cost a small fraction to replace
Direct purchase of The ErgoLush™ mattress topper can be made here. Apart from FREE shipping within Singapore, they even offer a 7-day free trial for all our customers!
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When searching for quality markets to visit in London, the name of Camden Market will inevitably appear in the most recommended places to explore. We heard there were few hundred stores here and thought it would be a nice place to have our breakfast in the morning.
We walked about 15 mins from the London Tube to reach Camden Market.
Anything that is colourful and bright will capture the kids’ attention. Camden High Street is lined with shoe stores, leather shops and vintage clothing and vintage vinyl.
Being a tourist attraction, do not expect to find cheap stuff here.
Finally reached the market!
The labyrinth of shops led us to various food vendors.
Craving for Asian food, Thai delicacies were just so yummy.
It didn’t take long before these furry friends were in front of us yearning for little treats. Bad idea to toss some crumbs, only to invite more of them to come.
Next to Camden Market lies the Stables Market. Over here, there were many boutiques and pop up shops.
Venturing into the narrow alleys was fun in itself as we browse through the apparels and home goods.
An interesting spot for photo-taking. We had a hard time waiting for the right moment to take pictures 🙂
The popular Pret A Manger sandwich chain that are scattered all over London. This time trying it and we ended up dining there for at least three times during our stay.
We found ourselves at Oxford Street, a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is the Ochard Road of Singapore and jam-packed with people everywhere we went.
Where you can find the sleek lines of Apple’s products here.
Hamleys is the oldest and largest toy shop in the world and one of the world’s best-known retailers of toys. With Christmas round the corner, they were showcasing all performance to bring in the crowds.
The streets were awashed with buskers singing or playing musical instruments.
Finally we had the opportunity to take a photo here at the main Oxford street.
As night fell, we were treated to a magnificent Christmas lights extravaganza with a dazzling array of fairy lights and decorations. Everyone was soaked in the joyous mood, holiday spirit of London.
London underground station Marble Arch, Bond Street & Oxford Circus, Central Line, Zone 1
At Oxford Circus station you can also use Bakerloo Line and Victoria Line.
Next, we explored the Harrods. This is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London. It is owned by the state of Qatar and no wonder everything here was so, so expensive!
Our favourite section was the food halls on the ground floor which were the most popular departments at Harrods. This is where you can find a wide range of fine delicacies is offered in 4 huge halls.
Although items were way too expensive, the effects of Brexit weren’t felt at all. The mall was filled with so many shoppers that one would not see any spirit of recession.
To get here, look out for London underground station Knightsbridge, Piccadilly Line, Zone 1.
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A visit to London is never complete without sighting the Big Ben. Well, we knew that London’s Big Ben has stop chiming as it is undergoing major renovations from now till 2021. But still, it is a mandatory stop for every tourist.
A brief walk down appears the Westminster Abbey, London church that is the site of coronations and other ceremonies of national significance. It stands just west of the Houses of Parliament in the Greater London borough of Westminster.
We did not enter though as sunset was nearing and we had a fair bit of itinerary to cover for the day.
Caught the view ofLondon Eye from the other side of the river. London is fairly concentrated and there are many visitors at these major attractions. When taking pictures or pausing by, it is best to find a ‘safer’ spot as you never know when pickpockets will appear.
It was an never ending stroll to Hyde Park to immerse ourselves in the christmas market and amusement park. Stopping by along the way of interesting sights.
St James’s Park includes The Mall and Horse Guards Parade, and is surrounded by landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Whitehall.. It is a beautiful place to take a breather and for kids to get up close and personal with nature and creatures.
Big and Small M are growing up and akin to their peers, they are thrilled to achieve the insta-worthy shots.
The animals were so tamed, making the experience so surreal. When did we see birds and squrriels coming up to you for treats in Singapore?
The key takeaway for us about Buckingham Palace is that it is recognised around the world as the focus of national and royal celebrations as well as the backdrop to the regular Changing the Guard ceremony.
The Buckingham Palace flower beds, also known as the Memorial Gardens, were created in 1901 as part of Sir Aston Webb’s overall design for a memorial to Queen Victoria after her death that year.
Situated in London’s Hyde Park, which spreads over 630 acres in the centre of the capital, entry to the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is free. It is located in close proximity to London underground tube stations including Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch and Green Park.
We did a lot of walking just to reach here and did not go away disappointed. This place was really, really huge and it would be wise to remember prominent spots in case you get lost.
The weather wasn’t that cold but the firepit did add to the christmas atmosphere.
The kids were just like “WOW” everywhere we went and they did had their share of fun in riding the roller-coaster. On a fair note, while the park was huge many of the entertainment and rides were actually replicates.
Visiting this free-to-enter event in winter, you will have lots of fun and you can do many activities there, including ice skating, ice bar, circus shows, an observation wheel and a traditional German Christmas market. Check out this place when you drop by London during winter.
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To pride itself as a reliable online florist that promises full refunds for all orders that arrive late is certainly a special florist that every customer should be amazed of. FARM Florist, a subsidiary of Masons Home Decor, takes pride in offering the highest quality flowers with afforable rates.
Their website – https://farmflorist.com/– is easy to navigate and explore. What really stands out are the friendly features that allow customers to sort by their choices and filter the price ceilings when shopping online. Thumbs up!
Over at FARM Florist, there are so many assortments of flowers that you can shop at ease on all occasions. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, giving flowers is a timeless romantic gesture that bounds to wow your other half.
FARM Florist has the knowledge and experience to ensure your flowers deliver on time and have you receiving the most gorgeous flowers that you have seen.
You may not be the first but you certainly won’t be the last. Bookmark FARM Florist and browse through the beautiful hand bouquets. Your best memories are created here 🙂
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This is our first trip to London and we were told that it is an extremely expensive city for vacation. All this while, we thought it wouldn’t be possible until we discover some London hacks that made our trip a reality.
For once, we realised apart from travelling with the usual prominent airlines there are actually options to travel with budget airline to London for an affordable price of $1.1K in total for 2 adults / 2 childs (one way) – Norwegian airline.
Journey to London
Norwegian airline offers a direct flight from Singapore to London without any stopovers. To ensure further comfort, inflight entertainment are available. Ear phones were not provided.
The inflight meals were simple and nothing fanciful.
As we booked the flight early, we managed to get the best seats which gave us more room.
The 14-hour flight was surprising smooth without any turbulence and we arrived at London Gatwick airport by 5:40am.
If you are travelling to London Zone 1 or 2, we would recommend you not to take the express train which cost about $20 per adult. Our travel from Gatwick to Islington/Highbury was horrid as we needed to change platforms during the morning peak hours.
Towing 4 big luggages with us up and down the subway stairs without elevators and waiting for multiple trains before squeezing in was no joke. The weather was about 10 degrees but we were already perspiring. We would recommend booking the airport transfer (Blackberry cars) instead as the price was almost the same with no hidden charges.
The train ride brought us to the Victoria station where we would need to buy Oyster cards to travel in the London Underground, or the “Tube”. In simple terms, this is a version of our MRT. London is segmented by 9 zones with the touristy areas being in Zone 1 and 2.
The morning crowd at Victoria station were beginning to build up.
We had our breakfast here before continuing our journey to the Airbnb.
This was already the third train ride. We were tired.
Finally arrived at Highbury & Islington station.
But not before taking a 5 min bus ride and another 2 min walk to our Airbnb apartment. For all the hassle, it would be wiser to take Blackberry cars next time.
Covent Gardens
Covent Gardens is one of the ultimate Instagram spots in London. An iconic area with thriving street arts, we heard that it is usually crowded with tourists. However, it was not that bad.
The streets were easy to explore and it was not uncommon to take a pause every now and then to soak ourselves in the historic architectures. Covent Garden is a popular tourist spot such that Din Tai Fung has recently established an outlet here.
Something similar we have seen back home.
The locals love coffee so much and very often cafes would be packed with people. The scent of fresh coffee permeated the cafe and we couldn’t help but to order a cup.
Address: 13 Floral St, London WC2E 9DH, UK
Leicester Square / Piccadilly Circus
As Covent Garden is located centrally, it is near to Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. Google maps may not be reliable. Having these street directories made it easier for us to find our way around.
Not a fan of shopping but food tasting was our theme during this trip. Unlike the States, Christmas markets are common throughout Europe and UK.
Didn’t stay too long in the Christmas markets as some strangers kept looking at our belongings. We decided to leave and go into M&Ms World for safety reasons.
Address: 1 Leicester Square, London WC2H 7DE, UK
Have you been to M&M’s World? It is situated directly opposite Leicester Square Christmas Markets.
The bright, colorful storefront would inevitably draw anyone in. The staff were friendly and helpful, even if you are not buying anything.
Abbreviation familiar to a tween.
Address: Leicester Square, 1 Swiss Ct, London W1D 6AP, United Kingdom
London Chinatown is close to Leicester Square. The nearest underground stations to Chinatownare Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. Bus available are 14 / 24 / 27 / 29 / 134 / 168 / C2.
Eat all you can for $10.50.
We dined here over the next 2 days as the price was cheaper compared to other restaurants. Some restaurants open till 3am.
Address: 10 Wardour St, London W1D 6BZ, UK
Our jet-leg started to kick in. One final stop at Trafalgar Square before we ended the day. The attraction here is surrounded by museums, galleries, cultural spaces and historic buildings.
Trafalgar Square is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, a British naval victory in the Napoleonic Wars with France and Spain that took place on 21 October 1805 off the coast of Cape Trafalgar.
Address: Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN, UK
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With travelling up to a total of 48 hours on economy seats, seeking comfort during these long haul flights is a priority. The Fly LegsUp Flight Hammock provides the answer as the ultimate travel companion for adults and children.
Photo Credit: Fly LegsUp
The hammock enables Small M to elevate her feet and legs into different positions, supported by comfortable inflatable pillows. Experimenting it for the first time, it greatly made her flight more comfortable.
Fly LegsUp Flight Hammock is washable, folds compact, and weighs less than 500g. Its versatile design accommodates for the differences in kids and airline seats. This is a travel essential to be ticked in your itinerary.
Lilliewoods Social
I12 Katong Mall
112 East Coast Road
#01-24
Singapore 428802
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Our overseas trips have been much dependent on buying SIM cards at airport terminals or tapping into free wifi connection at hotels or cafes. In our recent travel to UK and the States, we decided to rent a portable WiFi router from Traveler Wifi to give it a try for the first time and after trying it out, we are very impressed and will definitely tick it as a travel essential in the future.
These are the top 5 reasons why you should be using Traveler Wifi:
#1 – Hassle Free with Worldwide Connection
Traveling across different continents require us to purchase multiple SIM cards which can be a hassle as it could only be tagged to a mobile device. With Traveler Wifi, it offers secured global coverage which support 4G networks. We are looking for hassle free and plug-and-play connection. All we need to do is to switch on the wifi router and it can automatically be detected in the network after keying in the password provided.
#2 – Long Battery Duration
We were told that Travel Wifi router offers up to 15 hours of connectivity. Based on our experience during the trip, it could easily last 13 hours without a single charge (with 3 mobile devices connected) before we returned to the hotel which we will change to hotel’s wifi. The pocket router could also be charged from a powerbank when we are on the go.
#3 – Cost Savings
The wifi router can connect up to 5 smart devices at the same time! It offers unlimited data with fair-use policy. If daily data usage exceeds 500 MB, router speed will slow down but can still connect and use. Data usage count is reset on daily basis. This provides cost savings when comparing to purchasing a SIM card which can only connect to 1 smart device and not forgeting you may need to figure out how to activate the SIM card.
#4 – Multiple Service Counters to Collect
To make collection easier, Traveler Wifi has different service counters conveniently located at the following locations:
Service Counters Islandwide:
(NO reservation required; customers can rent Wifi Routers directly at any of the retail service counters)
People’s Park Centre, 101 Upper Cross Street #08-19 (Incredible Odyssey: 11am-6pm; Sat & Sun – Closed, Public Holiday – Closed).
[you may message 91065688 before coming to Chinatown service counter]
Lavender
322 Lavender Street (Gap Year Hostel: Daily 8am-8pm)
[Please note only for Singapore WiFi routers rental/return at Lavender service counter]
#5 – Happy Memories
Big & Small M were probably the biggest beneficiaries of this trip. With Traveler Wifi router, they were allowed to use our mobile phones during the long road trips to keep themselves occupied.
We drove from San Francisco – Silicon Valley – Big Sur – Solvang – Santa Monica – Las Vegas – Los Angeles which we will blog about the journeys later so stay tune. These would not be possible without the wifi router which was certainly a life saver as it provided us with google map directions during the long, long and long drive.
And we went places before hitting the books after the holidays.
From London Bridge and Tower Bridge.
To New York – Statue of Liberty.
To San Francisco – Golden Gate Bridge.
To Silicon Valley – Googleplex.
To Las Vegas – Bonnie Springs Ranch.
And Los Angeles – Hollywood Boulevard.
Enough said. First time using wifi router and we were convinced of it’s convenience. Planning your upcoming trip soon and need a wifi router? Do not forget to check out Traveler Wifi!
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The mega indoor theme park franchise from Finland SuperPark has finally landed in Suntec City, occupying a huge 40,000 sqft. What we remember about Finland was that it’s the homeland of Santa Claus when we visited.
Yup, never did we imagine that it produce such awesome all-in-one indoor activity park for the little ones!
AN INDOOR PARK FOR EVERYONE
Go ahead and call it a “bad idea” for SuperPark to open here. Every family with kiddos passing by would pause and before curiosity kicks in, you bet their little ones would be pulling the parents to the registration counter. Click herefor more ticket prices.
Image Credit: SuperPark Singapore (Regular Ticket – Monday to Friday Only. Exclude weekends & Public Holidays)
FREE LOCKERS
The newly opened SuperPark is clean, neat and fun. Paid visitors are entitled to free usage of the lockers.
As digitalisation transformed the way we work and live, it’s a nice touch to see opening of the lockers by scanning of QR code.
OVER 20 EXCITING ACTIVITES!
Your kids will be forgiven not to sit still and causing a rampage here. The double-storey 40,000 square foot play space features over 20 exciting adrenaline pumping games including tube slide, indoor flying fox, and a trampoline zone.
Resting area for parents and tired kids.
The pedal car racing track in Adventure Area.
For the baseball fans. Step into the batting cage to practice your swing!
Superhoop, Street Basketball, Superbowling or Superball you name it. You can play them again and again.
Be the next Messi or Ronaldo in the making and try your best to beat the Robokeeper.
Frisbee.
They called this as the Augmented Climbing Wall. Not your average indoor rock-climbing wall. This wall has integrated digital aspects with different kinds of games to increase the challenge.
Flying Fox – hold on tight and slide from one end of the wire track to the other.
The Trampoline Platform is an all-time favourite. How high can you bounce?
Tube Slide – fun to play but what is not fun is having to pull the tube up the hill by yourself.
For the adventurous and energetic, venture into the explorer area and relive your childhood!
ADDRESS
3 Temasek Boulevard
Suntec City Tower 1, #02-477 (North Wing)
Singapore 038989
OPENING HOURS
Monday – Friday, 10am – 9pm
Sat, Sun, Public and School Holidays, 9am – 9pm
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