Reagan's 4 Years old Birthday House Party

In a twinkle of an eye, our darling first-born son Rboy, the miraculous 29weeker premature baby, is going to turn 4 ! This is the first party we planned together as a team. Well, in another words he instructed me what he wants for his birthday and I just fulfil his requests (yup some sort of teamwork here...)

1. Birthday Cake
"Chocolate! Chocolate!" always the same answer if you ask what kind of cake Rboy wants. My boy is crazily obsessed with chocolates (which kid isn't) and to him, all cakes have to be in chocolate flavour, otherwise it don't deserve to even be a cake. We talked about the design of the cake, and his expected answer was "choo choo train! like this one!" He dangled his newly bought Mickey Mouse train carriage toy in my face. My initial idea was to get a nice classic old-school chocolate cake and then placed his toy train on top of the cake as the decoration. Good idea right?
 My first choice was Lana chocolate cake, but it seems that they have already disappeared to another dimension. It was so damn difficult to reach them. After calling them for days, they finally picked up my phone but was extremely inflexible and refused to take my order because it wasn't Tuesday (because Tuesday is their only orders-taking day. Not stated anywhere on their website either. WTH.). They wanted me to call back to try again the week after. When the following week came, I gave up after they refused to pick up my call for 5 continuous days.
In the end I checked out another bakery called NaNa Bake Jelly & Cake (good recommendation from a friend), which ended up as my choice. I sent them a photo of my son's toy train and they promised to create something similar to it...with chocolate fillings of course.

The transaction was smooth, price was reasonable, home delivery was punctual and the texture and fillings of the cake were good. The guests were impressed with the cake and my boys love it...and that's what matters the most.

NaNa Bake Jelly & Cake
Price: $160 (2kg) for the above train cake.

2. Kids play area
We were contemplating between sandplay or water play area for the kids to have fun first while waiting for all guests to arrive. So glad that Rboy chose the latter because it made cleaning up so much easier than sand. The day before the party, I visited Daiso and Toy R Us to grab some water toys and threw them into the ground pool we set up. Needless to say, it attracted all the kids to the pool immediately once they reach the venue.

 

 

Ocean Snapset Pool - Toy R Us - $34.90
Water toys - Daiso/Toy R Us - $2-$10

3.Entertainment
Reagan requested for a clown or a magician for his birthday party. I thought a clown is "scarier" for young children (I had a fear of clowns when I was a kid. All thanks to the movie Poltergeist.) Rboy associated magicians as people who do tricks and have the ability to pull rabbits out of their hat. Therefore I went in search online for magicians who can do shows catered to younger kids 3-5 years old. That's when I came across Sherman Tang from The Magic Empire.
Sherman doesn't pull out rabbits from his hat, but he has two kick-ass puppets that made Rboy and his friends laugh so hard. It was the highlights of the birthday party and probably most of the kids' first exposure to a magic show. I knew the show was a success because the day after the party, a few of the parents texted me that their kids were still talking to them excitedly about the magic show they watched at Reagan's birthday party.

 

 

Sherman Tang from TheMagicEmpire

Price: $199 nett for basic package -40minutes

 

4.Food

I don't like the idea of splurging on a catered buffet with full set up that can range from $600 onwards. Therefore I opted for the mini buffet set instead, which means the food are delivered in aluminium trays without any tables and chairs set up, but I get to save at least half the price. I've totally forgotten to take some photos of the food and before I realised, most of them were finished. I've really hungry guests that day. Anyway I ordered from the website Foodline, spent some time reading on the reviews and made CurryPot as my choice. Everything went smoothly, the food arrived 25 minutes earlier than the stated timing and I received good feedbacks for the veg and their famous curry dish.

 

CurryPot

9 dishes for 20 pax + home delivery - $308

 

Overall, the biggest benefit of organising this birthday party is the opportunity for Rboy to experience and learn to be a good host for his friends. Before the party begins, I told Rboy that it is compulsory for him to greet every guests who arrive, receive the presents himself and thank each of them personally. I'm not going to do it on his behalf because he is already 4, old enough to learn how to do so himself. And after his party ends, he has to go to every friend to thank them for coming to his birthday party. If he does a good job following the instructions well, he will be allowed another birthday party next year.

 

And yes, he is granted another party next year :)

 



Travelling with kids to Batam - Montigo resort

At 45minutes ferry ride away from our sunny island Singapore, our Sunshine boys were warmly welcomed by Montigo resort, a luxurious seafront villa in Batam.

 

The first beautiful sight that greeted us once we entered our living room is the glistening blue water at our balcony.

 

Before I could stop them, they boys sprinted their way to the inviting pool and began their water fight. BabyK's giggles were unstoppable even after I've just reprimanded them for getting themselves wet.

 

It didn't take long for the boys to jump into their swimwear and hit the water again.

 

From our private pool, we can get a good view of the glowing horizon and the captivating beach during sunset.

The kids' great grandma and great aunt were invited to join us on this trip, so I was really thankful to them for helping me with my little monkeys.

 

The living area is decently spacious and immaculate. It comes with a useful attached kitchen stove and microwave. On the first night, we made full use of it by baking sweet potato, corns cobs, buns and even cooking dumplings! Thanks to the boys' great grandma and great aunt who brought along so much food for the kiddos. They have this perception that Batam is a deserted island and decided to bring along an entire "provision shop".

 

The 2nd level is where the master bedroom and guestrooms are. I love the refined-furnished bedroom because it has really good amble space for me and the kids to mess up...

 And the attached bathroom that comes with a luxurious ceramic bathtub.

 

On the highest floor is an open-air attic suitable for parties/ functions or a place to set up a nice bbq dinner. It was scorching hot when we came up, so it didn't take long for us to make our way back down again.

 

 

Overall the resort is decently neat and well-kept. There is still signs of wear and tear around the house though, but obvious only if you really go around inspecting every corners like Sherlocks. I do noticed rust and some yellowish stains on the floor tiles and furniture.  

I live with two active boys and a china man, so those little defects don't bother me much.. In fact if anything in my house is still in working condition, I feel blessed haha.

 

 Below is their public pool for all guests to be used but strictly forbidden for children (as stated from the sign) haha! Totally understand...a quiet pool for adults to hide away from noisy kids.(how I wish I've this in my house). Anyway it was perfectly fine for the boys as they were already contented with the private pool in our balcony.

 

Most of the beach resort stays don't offer decent breakfast, but the one at Montigo goes way above our expectation. .They do make effort to serve GOOD proper breakfast.

With 6 live stations, they won in terms of the quality and variety. I remembered having fishball noodle and even Chinese mutton soup on one of the days...and that's for breakfast!

The condiments below are mainly to complement their porridge, certainly an effort to try suit every guests' kind of tastebuds.

 

The kids were informed that there was a kids club nearby...and so needless to say, we headed there immediately after breakfast. With a water-play area, a kick-ass slide, a ballpit and a whole level of toys, it's a great place to keep the kiddos busy while the adults can have some "me-time"...which means a good time to fiddle with our phones without distraction.

 

 

Timetable of the daily kids programme organised by the Kids Club.

 

On our 2nd night, Hubs arranged to set up the BBQ dinner right next to our pool. BabyK as usual, is always the first one at the eating table haha.

 

Table was nicely set up for us  and the best part is...we do not need to do the BBQ-ing job!

 

Service at Montigo is excellent. The staffs there are a bunch of passionate people eager to go all the way out to impress their guests.
And let me tell you why I felt this way. That morning while I was at the café selecting my bbq orders for our dinner at our own unit, I couldnt find any suitable soup dish on the menu for the kids. Thus I just brushed it off and told Hubs that the boys will just make do without soup today . However I was unsure if they overheard our conversation or the staff brought it up to the chef, because coincidentally that evening, the chef arrived with a complimentary bowl of piping hot corn soup. It was not in the menu, but he had specially prepared it just for the kiddos! I was truly touched by this nice gesture.

 

Next, the chef and his assistant even offer free "baby-sitting" service for us !Well actually after completing the BBQ and serving us like royalty, they helped to entertain my kids so the adults can engaged in their own conversation and fully enjoy our dinner in peace.
 

Best of all, my cheeky and active boys really love their new playmates!

Service that goes an extra mile. They really made our BBQ night an extreme pleasant one, and my boys had a great time indeed, thank you!

 

The next morning, weather was perfect, so we explored the jetty and took more photos there.

High tide vs low tide.
 

A water sports centre is just situated nearby but it didn't arouse enough interest for us to explore there.

 

 Other activities tat we did there:

1) Shopping at Nagoya mall, which was quite a distance from our resort (around 45 minutes taxi ride). We had A&W for lunch and stocked up quite a few cheap toiletries from the supermarket there.

2) While daddy took the kids to the pool, I brought the kiddos' great grandma for a pampering footspa at their in-house Spa and Massage centre and she loves it.

3) During the night, there were a few rounds of fireworks display and the excited kids managed to get a good view from the balcony.

 

 Everything was smooth and perfect right from our first day to the last .The only issue we encountered was the army of mozzies commandos that charged in at night, especially the living room and balcony area. Luckily I did my research before we came and was aware of this problem from the reviews I read online. Therefore I smartly prepared myself with 6 packs of mosquito patches (stick on my kiddos 24 hrs around the clock), 2 bottles of homemade repellents and my own aroma diffuser to safe guard all my people.

 

 Overall, kids had a wonderful time and the adults were contented with our short getaway at Montigo. In fact on our last day when we were making our way back to the ferry terminal, Rboy was whining to go back to our resort.

 

He just cant get enough of fun...haha

Travelling with kids to Taiwan 2016 (PART 2) - Spiderman & Pirates theme rooms at Sato Castle

Continue from (Part 1)...

I fancy everything with themes...eg themed parties, themed desserts, themed cafes, themed hotels, themed costumes etc...

It just bring out that childhood fantasy in you, and certainly brings every photo to life.

Sato castle is a theme hotel located at Jiannan road MRT station, 15 minutes drive from Shilin Market and 5 minutes walk from a couple of shopping malls. The hotel offers 51 different theme rooms which are categorised into King, Queen and Castle. All rooms come with a spa bathroom and a jaccuzi. The differences between the categories are probably the size of the room and the different unique themes.

Hubs had been eyeing the Spiderman theme room (Queen category) from Sato castle for quite a while, and he finally arranged for us to spend the last two nights of our Taiwan trip there. Since each theme only comes in one room, the hotel cannot guarantee that you may get the room you requested. Therefore your best bet is....booking your stay on a weekday during the non-peak season, or to inform them during your booking.

After booking the hotel directly from their website, Hubs emailed them to request for the Spiderman room, and on the following night, he requested to switch to another theme, Pirates and Carribean. That means we get to explore two different theme rooms over our two nights stay there. On the week of our arrival, he made another phone call to remind and make sure that our requested rooms were confirmed.

As described by the name, Sato is really similar to a real castle with flaming towers, knights amours and draw-bridge that made the kids go "wah wah ..."

We kept the Spiderman room a surprise from our boys and only let them know that we were going to spend a night at a castle. This already got Rboy shaking in excitement!

It didn't take long for them to recognize the familiar red spider logo that greeted us once we opened the door.

Spiderman Theme room

 

 As usual, the boys aimed for the super comfy bed. The first place that I check out when entering a hotel room is always the bathroom. And the bathroom of Sato Castle blew me away! A sauna, a steam room, a rainforest shower bed, a television, good sound system and a jaccuzi huge enough to fit a family of 4....all these in our own private bathroom! Too awesome or what? It just give you good excuses to stay long in the "toilet" !

How nice to enjoy a hot tub under the watchful eyes of Spiderman.

This tub fits a family of 4 perfectly!

The toilet, sauna and steamroom lined in a row

They offer a very good range of toiletries, from lotions to comb, shaver and even sanitary pads!

Pirates Theme room

 

Since we booked two nights at Sato castle, we requested to change to another theme on the second night. Pirates and adventure theme is certainly every kid's childhood fantasy! Is there a boy who doesn't love to have a bed on a pirate ship?!

 

The giant octopus tentacles leave lots to their imagination. Honestly the boys were a little intimidated by the tentacles, the hanging skull head and skeleton..oops!

Rboy immediately asked if we can return to the Spiderman room haha! It really took them a while to "warm up" to their new living space for the night. And it helps after hubs pretended to be the octopus's ally by swimming up the bed to grab the boys' legs, while I took the role as the boys' captain and instructed them to steer the ship away or hide under the comforter. The boys had a real blast with our crazy pretend play and got settled well in their room in no time.

 

Satisfied with their cosy pirate ship bed

 

The little pant-less pirate wannabe

The pirates' stash hidden here

 

 The inviting jacuzzi

To compare, I would personally prefer the Spiderman theme room for the kids to this Pirates theme room.

Reasons being: 1)Spider man room is way more spacious for the kids to run around. Due to the unique design of the pirates ship, the room was rather cramp. 2)The pirates theme interior design is a little scary for younger kids. They may not be comfortable having the skeleton skull on the wall watching them when they sleep. 3)Hazardous steps , corners and gaps that may cause younger kids to trip and fall over or get stuck (pic below).I've to constantly watch over the boys and stop them from climbing all over the boat. And we discovered an uncovered pipe which would turn burning hot if the steam room is being used. Had to make sure that the child doesn't go near it in since it was not even well-protected at all.

Holes and gaps between the boat and the wall and the exposed hot pipe at the corner bottom of the toilet, which may not be very safe for younger children.

 

To sum it all, if you are bringing younger kids along, I would strongly recommend the Spiderman room than the Pirates room. Of course there are still so many other different themes to explore and you may find one that's even more fun than ours!

 

Useful Tips for Family with Kids checking into Sato Castle:

1) Check in timing is quite late at 6pm and they are pretty strict on that. Still you can leave your luggage with them and walk to the nearby malls (5-7 minutes walk) to dine or shop first while waiting for your room to be ready. Or bring the kids for a ride on the giant Ferris wheel at Miramar mall (also walking distance). We took quite a few nice family photo together in our ferris cabin.

 

2) Sato castle is also considered as a love motel in Taipei , therefore free adult (PORN) movies channels are available in their normal television programme. So it's advisable to keep the remote control away from the kids.

 

3) Not all themes are suitable for children. Do your research first and have an idea on the theme you want, then try your luck by requesting. Inform them that you have young children with you , so even if the theme you requested is unavailable, they will at least assigned you to another kids appropriate  room.

 

3) National Taiwan Science Education centre is just a 10 minutes taxi ride away from the hotel. It is similar to our Singapore Science centre and on certain period they do showcase a few very interesting exhibitions , 3D theatre shows or kids-related events. These are constantly updated from their website. However do avoid visiting during Taipei's school holiday, the crowd is ridiculous! We visited the "Upside Down House" exhibition there but the crowd was too much for us, so we left in less than half an hour.
There is an outdoor children theme park next to this science centre but because of the drizzle that day, we chose to explore their National Science Centre instead.

 

Almost suffocated inside. Warning: Do not visit during their school holiday period!

 

During the last two days, we explored Shilin night market by taking the train situated right next to Sato castle. We have to switch trains twice and the whole journey took around 45 minutes for us to reach Shilin. I would suggest taking a cab instead which is more convenient, travelling time is only around 15 minutes to reach and the fares are reasonable. Walking down the market with a toddler and a baby leave me with no hands to take much photos there. It was drizzling a little and we have to battle with the crowd inside Shilin market as well. However my adventurous boys had fun stalls-hopping with us under the drizzle, tasting all the food that they've never tried before...such as the deep fried milk and the stinky beancurb!

 

We spent our following day at Ximenting...more food and shopping again! Everytime we come to Taipei, we never fail to join the queue for the famous Ah Zhong mian Xian. Take note that there are no seats or eating space in the shop. We are supposed to have our mian Xian standing along the street.

 

(The mianxian from the Shilin outlets in Singapore is a total crap)

 

Ta-dah~ Found the stall!

 

Slurping this during the cold weather is simply heavenly~

 

There are many family-friendly KTV outlets in Ximenting...cheap and good...enough said. We thought it would be a good idea to get a room for ourselves to sing , at the same time let the boys rest , have some drinks and snacks or they can nap on the couch if they want to.

 

 It didn't take long for them to wake up and took control over the mic.Our idol...BabyK!

This is finally the end of our 5 days 4 nights easy peasy Taipei trip with our sunshine boys . I hope the information given has been helpful in planning one with your kiddos too.

Here is PART 1 , the first 2 days of our Taiwan trip where we had our farm stay at Flying Cow Ranch. Click HERE if you've missed it.

Looking forward to more memories with our sunshine boys in the year 2016! Ta-ta!