Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way
Not long ago, I blogged about our fun sightseeing trip to Palma and now I share our trip in more detail! This was a family trip that we had planned a year ahead. It did take us awhile to decide the location but once we did, my sister found a villa that could fit all 11 of us at a reasonable price. Best of all, we could cancel anytime without any costs.
When you think of dream holidays before kids, it probably looked slightly different to a dream holiday now with kids. For us, before kids, a dream holiday would have been a long haul destination to a paradise island with beautifully clear, sandy beaches and relaxing while sipping cocktails. Now, with kids, we’re happy to have any holiday where we can keep the kids entertained.
However, there’s no need to give up on that dream holiday even with kids as there are some fabulous villas and vacations that will tick all the boxes. For example, the luxury beach house in Turks and Caicos can sleep 8 of you and would provide all of you the holiday of a lifetime! The exotic, paradise setting coupled with plenty to do will sure keep all of you entertained and create memories for life.
To celebrate the launch of The Great Oreo Cookie Quest (an on-pack competition and interactive cookie quest), we were invited to create a family fun-filled “cookie quest”. We chose to go on a fun sightseeing trip in Majorca! Thanks to Oreo and BritMums for this opportunity!
When you visit Osaka, you may wish to pay a visit to Universal Studios Osaka! It is easily accessed by their local transport and very clearly signalled from the train station.
Japan is foodie heaven, from fresh sushi to cotton soft cheesecake and from matcha ice cream to cotton pancakes. I am not a big fan of sushi (I’m not keen on raw fish) but I am a huge fan of their desserts! I know it’s a bit silly to not try their fresh sushi products from their sushi chef! The best places to eat sushi are the sushi restaurants near the fish market in Tokyo.
Anyway, this trip is all about desserts and their yummy Wagyu beef! I am a big sweet tooth and had researched extensively to try out their delicious desserts! These are the few desserts I had tried during my trip in Osaka!
The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum is an interactive museum dedicated to instant noodles and Cup Noodles, as well as its creator and founder, Momofuku Ando. They open daily except Tuesdays. Do plan well before you travel. It was very easy to access by train and is within walking distance from the train station to the museum. We took the express train and reached there in 20 minutes time from the main station, Umeda station.
One of our highlights for our Osaka trip besides checking out the Pokémon centre, was to experience Japanese culture, in particular, learning samurai. I found out about this class while researching for things to do in Osaka and was so pleased that we tried a lesson!
One of the things to do with children in Osaka has to be a visit to the Pokémon Center! Both of my children love Pokémon and this was their top thing to do when we planned our holiday in Japan. This center, in fact, is a department store selling all the Pokémon items like soft toys, trading cards, shoes, clothing and many more. Just remember to bring lots of money if you’ve got big fans of Pokémon as it can get very expensive!
Kids Stop is an interactive centre designed for children aged 18 months to 8 years old by exposing them to science in their formative years. This was our first time visiting this place which is located next to the science centre. It is well worth going if you are also visiting the science centre. There are two types of admission fees: Singapore/PR or Foreign. I do think their fees are quite ridiculous especially if you are foreigner. The whole place is well designed with hands-on activities and programmes but the whole place is quite small and confined with not much seating areas for adults and there are two different opening times.
Let ’em Play is an indoor obstacle course and Augmented Reality climbing hub located in the West of Singapore. It is suitable for both adults and children. We travelled there by car and managed to park quite easily as there are a lot of car parks available on a Sunday afternoon. It is located at Tradehub21 (around industrial buildings) surrounded by furniture shops, restaurants, fast food, offices and many more. Their nearest MRT is Clementi station.
One of my favourite places to visit whenever I go back to Singapore is Chinatown. This place is crammed with a varied mix of past and modern sights, from temples, family-run goldsmiths and medicinal halls next to bars, restaurants and shops. It is also a great time and place to visit during Chinese New Year, especially as the dingy alleys will be packed with street hawkers, New Year’s snacks and live Chinese New Year celebration performers.
It is not often that I will visit tourist attractions when I go back to Singapore for a holiday. I have “been there and done that” through my teenage years and early adulthood so the precious time I have in Singapore is usually spent catching up with friends and family. However, during this latest trip, I decided to take the children to Merlion Park, to visit the famous Merlion statue.
Tampines Hub is a newly opened first-ever integrated community and lifestyle hub that offers a comprehensive and diverse range of services, programmes and facilities. We got there by car on a weekday where it was less busy. You can also take the MRT – Tampines station or the bus. It is very convenient to get there. This hub has a variety of sports facilities, a brand new regional library, countless community club programmes and amenities, arts programmes and facilities, a hawker centre, retail shops and many more user-friendly features. One of the facilities that we tried was the Clip n Climb by HomeTeamNS at level 3.
Octopus Hideout is a brand new underwater attraction that will mesmerise visitors at Birmingham’s National Sea Life Centre. It features Beverley the giant pacific octopus named after local singing sensation, Beverley Knight! She is a true master of disguise who can blend into her surroundings with her camouflage skills and squeeze into spaces as small as the head of the needle. In fact, she did hide so well that we couldn’t see her and her friends! Did you know that octopus have three hearts and blue blood? There are a lot of interesting facts that we learnt by visiting on this occasion.
This half term is the Mad Science Week at National Forest Adventure Farm. As well as this fabulous event, they offer lots of exciting indoor fun, outdoor adventure and farm animals. They are located in Burton upon Trent, within an hour’s drive from Stafford, Stoke, Nottingham, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Leicester etc. There is plenty of free parking plus disabled parking right at their entrance.
