Tag Archives: neighbourhood

Ice-Skating at The Rink

The first and only time we took Anya ice-skating was in June last year. Back then, the smallest skates at The Rink were too big for her and they didn’t have the penguin skating aid yet, so she was basically just slipping and sliding all over the place. But she’s been learning inline-skating and when Adrian took her skating last Saturday, she was much better and also a lot more confident with the skating aid to help her!

at The Rink

at The Rink

stopping to say hi

stopping to say hi

posing with her penguin skating aid

posing with her penguin skating aid

practicing on non-slippery ground

practicing on non-slippery ground

hanging on to the penguin

hanging on to the penguin

moving on her own

moving on her own

W39 Bistro & Bakery

I’m not supposed to be writing this post because the husband LOVES W39 Bistro & Bakery and doesn’t want more people to know about it. But it’s so nice to finally have a decent cafe in the West! I adore the cheery colors in W39 and the little knickknacks all over the place. There are some old-school sweets – remember Ring Pop and Push Pop? – for sale and it’s totally a blast from the past for me.

W39

W39

inside

inside

loads of yummy bread

loads of yummy bread

my brunch mates

my brunch mates

I can still remember the Push Pop jingle!

I can still remember the Push Pop jingle!

Another super big plus for me is that W39 takes reservations by email. I’m a socially-awkward penguin and I hate speaking on the phone to strangers and having to spell my name every time I try to make a reservation.

The food at W39 is great value for money. I have never seen Eggs Benedict for $9 in any other cafe I have visited. More importantly, the food is yummy. Fussy Simon didn’t have any complaints about his food. And you know how some cafes try to have local items on the menu but completely screw it up? W39’s nasi lemak is good stuff. Even the accompanying roasted chicken leg is good! (I’m not a fan of chicken, by the way.) Anya’s pancakes from the kids’ menu was a very substantial serving and even came with a drink.

his 'say cheese' face

his ‘say cheese’ face

Spink

his shirt matches the decor

happy with his coffee

happy with his coffee

hearty breakfast

Hearty Breakfast

eggs benedict

Eggs Benedict

nasi lemak

Nasi Lemak

pancakes from kids' menu

pancakes from kids’ menu

helping to cut up her pancakes

helping to cut up her pancakes

We had the salted caramel cake and Mister Chocolate cake for dessert because our server recommended them and they were both delicious. And there were many other tasty-looking cakes in the display that I must go back to eat. See you again soon, W39!

salted caramel cake

salted caramel cake

Mister Chocolate

Mister Chocolate

Kiddy Fun at The Grandstand

Adam’s birthday fell on a Monday so after work, I went to my mum’s and took him out for a day of one-on-one time, just the two of us. It’s really rare for us to be able to spend time together without Anya around. She wasn’t too happy that we were going out without her but grudgingly accepted it since she knew it was her brother’s birthday.

Kiddy Fun is great for kids around Adam’s age. The surfaces are all padded so I don’t have to worry about him banging his hand on anything. His favourite was a little room with balloons being blown all over. He went quite mad running around and grabbing them! He didn’t really want to try the moving rides at first but eventually warmed up to them and couldn’t get enough.

Kiddy Fun at The Grandstand

Kiddy Fun at The Grandstand

in the balloon room

in the balloon room

being cheeky in the ball pit

being cheeky in the ball pit

blocks galore!

blocks galore!

huge foam blocks to build with

huge foam blocks to build with

crawling around and hiding from me

crawling around and hiding from me

didn't like sitting on this

didn’t like sitting on this

he only likes the duck

he only likes the duck

wrong slide?

wrong slide?

going round and round

going round and round

in the helicopter

in the helicopter

spinning the flower

spinning the flower

After 2 solid hours of play, we headed to Pasar Bella to meet Adrian for dinner. They had a good time looking at the live seafood and sneaking up on the lobsters. It was really wonderful to be able to spend that bit of time with Adam and be able to give him our full attention. It’s not easy being the second kid (I speak from experience) so I hope to take him out alone more often!

scary lobsters

scary lobsters

full attention of both parents!

full attention of both parents!

Necessary Provisions

I used to hang out at the now defunct Henry Congressional while waiting for Anya to finish her Berries class and the people behind that cafe have set up Necessary Provisions at Eng Kong Terrace which is really near our place.

They have the most amazing iced latte consisting of cold milk poured over frozen cubes of espresso. So good. It’s the only iced latte Adrian is willing to drink without adding any gross sugar syrup. The iced dark chocolate is fantastic too, especially if you generally prefer dark chocolate over milk chocolate.

So far we’ve only managed to try some of the breakfast items (mee siam, panini with nutella and bananas, toast with cashew butter, french toast), the scones and the beef pastrami sandwich. What we’ve had so far is all very decent, but I’m dying to go back to try some of the items on their kitchen menu because I’ve seen pictures and the food looks yummy.

Love the place and it would be great if they could invest in a few baby chairs and maybe some unbreakable plates and cutlery for the little ones so I can eat in peace without worrying that one of the kids is going to drag a plate to the floor!

love the colour scheme

love the colour scheme

some of the yummy baked goods I remember from Henry Congressional

some of the yummy baked goods I remember from Henry Congressional

the kids

the kids

waiting for food

waiting for food

best iced latte

best iced latte

milk + coffee = bliss

milk + coffee = bliss

iced dark chocolate

iced dark chocolate

babyccino

babyccino

drinking his babyccino with a straw

drinking his babyccino with a straw

toast with cashew butter

toast with cashew butter

mee siam

mee siam

weird and wonderful

weird and wonderful

impromptu dance

impromptu dance

my mad family

my mad family

vintage ride-along car outside

vintage ride-along car outside

PasarBella Preview

We headed to The Grandstand on Saturday for the PasarBella soft launch and met up with Ling Siew’s family there. While Anya and Nathan were busy checking out the bouncy castle that had been set up for kids, we wandered about looking for food. There were quite a few attractions for kids last weekend – a juggler, balloon sculpting, face-painting and glitter tattoos – and the atmosphere was quite festive.

Food Glorious Food

Food Glorious Food

juggler

juggler

balloon sculptor

balloon sculptor

showing off his sword to Noah

showing off his sword to Noah

getting a glitter tattoo

getting a glitter tattoo

getting a butterfly on her arm

getting a butterfly on her arm

We tried a few things that we liked, and some that were not particularly spectacular. There is good coffee to be had from Dutch Colony Coffee Co. and I enjoyed the crepes from Le Patio. There was a weekend trader, Uncle G’s, selling the most amazing crispy roast pork that was so delicious we had two portions. The hot dog from Huber’s Deli was good but we were pretty stuffed by the time we ordered it!

Dutch Colony & Co - good coffee!

Dutch Colony Coffee Co. – good coffee!

I like their crepes

I like their crepes

huge pan of paella

huge pan of paella

attacking a waffle

attacking a waffle

having a drink

having a drink

if I had four kids

if I had four kids

hot dog

hot dog

very yummy roast pork!

very yummy roast pork!

just look at it!

just look at it!

There’s quite a variety of traders at PasarBella and it would a few visits to check the place out thoroughly. I’m a bit concerned about the lack of seats though and I wonder if that would deter customers. It’d be a pity if there’s so much good food to be had but nowhere to sit down and enjoy it. There are some traders that seem to be out of the way of the general flow of traffic so I wonder if they would be able to sustain business.

I think PasarBella is worth checking out and we should be making a trip down again soon, especially since it’s near our place. Until next time!

seafood

seafood

something fishy

something fishy

huge tuna

huge tuna

organic fruit and vegetables

organic fruit and vegetables

cheap melons

cheap melons

fruits

fruits

more organic stuff

more organic stuff

Bella Bakery

Bella Bakery

Bitesize Monster

Bitesize Monster

Great Beer Experiment

Great Beer Experiment

Pixie Dust

Pixie Dust

taking a quick nap?

taking a quick nap?

Strangely Yours

Strangely Yours

Poika & Tytar

Poika & Tytar

Pantry Magic

Pantry Magic

feeling crabby?

feeling crabby?

Little Diner

We had to attend a birthday party two Sundays ago so we decided to have brunch with Adrian’s parents (instead of lunch) and pack the kids home for a nap. We went to Little Diner along Bt Timah Rd just before Sixth Ave and had a very good brunch.

Little Diner

Little Diner

inside

inside

they were expecting us

they were expecting us

the kids

the kids

drawing for nai nai

drawing for nai nai

coffee from Toby's Estate

coffee from Toby’s Estate

Eggs Ben

Eggs Ben

EPIC breakfast platter

EPIC breakfast platter

red velvet pancakes

red velvet pancakes

he has food in his hair!

he has food in his hair!

I like that Little Diner is near our place and that it takes reservations. The servers were also very attentive. It is quite a kid-friendly place with little magna doodle-type boards for the kids to scribble on while waiting for the food. The food was also very decent. I really liked the taste and texture of the red velvet pancakes and the others were pleased with their brunch items as well. I ordered some bacon on the side for my pancakes and they were done perfectly!

When Billy Grows Up

So the other day I was wandering around Serene Centre thinking about getting a foot massage when I stumbled upon this little gem of a shop: When Billy Grows Up. I stepped in and spent so much time browsing and looking at all the charming things for sale that I had no time left for a foot massage!

When Billy Grows Up is a treasure trove of whimsical children’s clothing and accessories, most of which are from Australia. There are lots of little bits and bobs that I haven’t really seen anywhere else in Singapore. Definitely worth a trip down to this happy shop even if you don’t usually go to that area.

When Billy Grows Up

When Billy Grows Up

map pendant necklaces

map pendant necklaces

necklaces that are safe for babies to chew on

necklaces that are safe for babies to chew on

amber teething necklaces

amber teething necklaces

wooden earrings

wooden earrings

colourful hair ties

colourful hair ties

books

books

story character dolls

story character dolls

take a happy pill!

take a happy pill!

LEGO figure crayons

LEGO figure crayons

I need one of these for my bike

I need one of these for my bike

loads of pretty clothes

loads of pretty clothes

love that cat face shirt

love that cat face shirt

Adrian loves freckle pops

Adrian loves freckle pops

When Billy Grows Up is at #02-15 Serene Centre (beside Cluny Court). They are open from 10am to 3pm from Monday to Friday, 10am to 7pm on Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sunday.