iSnap The Selfie Place

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Why do we take photos? This is a question that I ask myself time and again, and the answer is always the same. I shoot just about anything under the sun but taking photos of my husband and daughter is something that I find so much joy in doing. Of course, I would want to be in the frame too and my fondest memory is when misterchewy and I lugged a tripod around during our three-week long honeymoon in Europe just so that we could capture precious moments for safekeeping. Things became different after Little misschewy came along. It was too much of a hassle, so we chucked the tripod in the store room and resorted mostly to taking selfies with our mobile phones. However, sometimes I feel that even with all the photo editing apps available, the photos taken with our mobile phones just don’t cut it.

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Imagine our excitement when we found out about this really cool place called iSnap The Selfie Place! iSnap is the first photography company in Singapore that offers professionally equipped personal studio rooms for taking photos without the need of a photographer. It kinda reminded me of the neoprint booths during my secondary school days except that iSnap is so much more sophisticated of course!

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After lunch on Sunday, we headed down to Bugis Village where iSnap is located. Wah seriously I feel so old. I can’t remember when was the last time I shopped for clothes at Bugis Village! It’s conveniently located just across Bugis MRT Station and Bugis Junction shopping mall so I still remember how to go there. Hahaha. iSnap is not difficult to find too. It’s right above Bee Cheng Hiang store, which is near the bus stop.

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iSnap has 6 individual studio rooms with a total of 24 themes. Before we went into each room, we had a preview of the backdrops using one of these computers. Basically, the six rooms are Aries, Aquarius, Capricon, Leo, Pisces and Virgo. The variety of backdrops are very fun and colorful, which is definitely suitable for people of all ages!

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Our first stop was Aries room which comes with a physical swing and a green backdrop. Doesn’t this look like a professional studio for photoshoot? The difference is that you are now your own photographer and you call take the shots. How? Very simple! Just hold the camera remote in your hand and adjust your pose by checking the huge screen in front of you. Satisfied? Simply press the remote and your shot will be captured! The good thing is that there is no limit to the number of photos taken so you can just fire away and be trigger-happy, which was exactly what happened for us because misterchewy was amused by all the candid and unglam shots of me. LOL.

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There are costumes and props but let’s not get too excited first ya! Anyway, we also didn’t want to frighten Little misschewy so we had to make her feel at home by allowing her to roam around and play with the soft toys. I’m sure iSnap has child-friendly vibes because in less than 5 minutes, Little misschewy was smiling and pointing at the swing, going “Kiki! Kiki!” Yes, she likes Hello Kitty too!

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Does this even look like a SELFIE to you? I whatsapped this photo to my mum and she instantly replied, “Photoshoot again? Where?” Hahaha. Usually for photoshoot sessions, the photographer will give you instructions on how to pose but at iSnap, we are allowed to unleash our own creativity! The hubs and I are the more conservative type, so for most of the shots, we just stand there and smile. HAHA.

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Let your imagination run wild with over 500 costumes and props! Not only do they have costumes for adults, the children costumes are crazy adorable!

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See what I mean?! LOL. I believe this is Alice in Wonderland? This Alice looks a bit blur blur hor?

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Most of the costumes are quite big for Little misschewy but customers are more than welcome to bring their own costumes and props to the studio!

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Love the range of couple wear! It’s not everyday that you get to dress like a Korean and call your hubby OPPA!!

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Room Virgo! The hubs’ horoscope! Haha. Oh in case you are wondering.. The milk bottle is not a prop! The little one was asking for her milk so we had no choice but to let her drink while we continue taking our selfies.

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Little misschewy was taking quite long to finish her milk so I told her to hold up her bottle and say, “CHEERS!” just so that we could capture a smiling shot of her.

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Haiyo.. Little misschewy’s attention span is too short. The little pumpkin was more interested in walking around the studio room! But it’s ok! The hubs and I had fun posing in our silly animal costumes!

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Moving on to Room Leo! We decided to go au naturel and by that I meant no costumes la! This is one of my favorite backdrops! It looks like some scene straight out from a fairytale.

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Holding a bunch of balloons so that we can go UP.. UP.. and AWAY!

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At the end of the day, we got to keep ALL the digital copies of the photos taken. Just remember to bring your thumbdrive along! In addition, iSnap also provides 5 4R photos FREE! Definitely saves you the hassle of having to print your favorite photos elsewhere!

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As you can see, the studio rooms are clean and spacious, which provides a very conducive environment for corporate and private events!

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Currently, there is an SG50 promotion so all personal photography packages are going for half the usual price!

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For more information on iSnap, do head over to http://www.isnap/sg or iSnap’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/iSNAP-The-Selfie-Place/781321901984024?fref=ts 🙂

The Chewys’ Family Trip to Bangkok Day 5: Victory Monument Thai Boat Noodles and Home Sweet Home!

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YOOHOO! We have finally come to our last day in Bangkok! When we booked our stay at Aloft Bangkok hotel, we didn’t know that the buffet breakfast is only for one. On the day we checked in, we were asked if we wanted to top up so that both misterchewy and I could both enjoy the breakfast. I rejected the offer because there is simply too much food to try in Bangkok, why confine ourselves to hotel breakfast everyday? Every morning, the hubs would eat a bit at the hotel since we already paid for it, while I shower Little misschewy in our room.

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So here are some photos taken by the husband, showcasing some of the breakfast food available at Aloft Bangkok hotel.

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Since our flight was around 3pm, we had a bit of time to do some last minute shopping at MBK Shopping Centre. Didn’t buy much for ourselves, just some cute magnets for our family and friends. Lunch was supposed to be at HERO Food and Gathering since it’s near our hotel but I know the hubs missed eating the Thai boat noodles that we had back in 2012 at Victory Monument. So I suggested taking a cab there instead.

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Nothing much has changed and we sat at the exact same table where we sat three years ago, this time with a big baby in my arms. LOL.

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Not sure if the photobomb was intentional but oh wells.. Haha.

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We don’t take beef so we had the Noodles Thicken Soup with Pork (THB 12). Every mouthful was SO SO SO GOOD. The broth had been thickened and made more flavorful with pork blood. Noodles were thin and springy and the pork balls were full of bite.

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It really isn’t easy eating while babywearing so you gotta be quick. Aim, kiap, and shove into mouth. LOL.

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We ate a total of 12 bowls of boat noodles. Definitely could have stomached more but we didn’t wanna go overboard with ordering.

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Rushed back to our hotel to do some last minute packing and it was time to check out! Booked a cab to the airport with the help of the GrabTaxi app.

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That’s all for our Bangkok 5D4N trip! See you again soon! 😉
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy, @misterchewy and @little_miss_chewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Family Trip to Bangkok Day Four: Art in Paradise Museum, Unicorn Cafe, Alpaca View Farm & Cuisine and Chatuchak Weekend Market

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Sawadee ka~~! I realized I made a mistake in my previous blog post. This isn’t my final update on our Bangkok trip because there’s still the last day of our trip but it’s gonna be a short and sweet concluding post, I promise! It was my birthday on our fourth day in Bangkok so needless to say, I was the Queen for the day! Lololol. We were dressed in my favorite colors, white and light blue! 😀 Here’s a quick wefie before we head out for the day! Wheeee!

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As we were early for our visit to Art in Paradise, we went for breakfast at PunThai Coffee at a shopping centre nearby.

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When in Thailand, drink Thai Iced Milk Tea! What else!

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My Kurobuta Pork rice was fragrant and slightly spicy. However, the portion was too tiny!

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Blogged about Art in Paradise museum separately because there are just too many photos to share. If you are keen, you may click here to read more about our experience!

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After endless posing for shots at Art in Paradise museum, we took a cab to Unicorn Cafe! It’s the only place that I shortlisted for my birthday cake!

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Simply love the interior of Unicorn Cafe!

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This would be the ideal sofa set for our new home! My favorite shade of blue!

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Please don’t let my photos fool you. Unicorn Cafe wasn’t empty when we visited. All tables were filled but I was lucky that there was enough time for me to snap photos when those people left their seats.

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Little misschewy actually gave the blue unicorn a peck on the mouth. Hahaha.

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My beautiful rainbow birthday cake! Almost couldn’t bear to eat it. Shared it with misterchewy and Little misschewy. Taste wise, nothing to shout about but I’m not complaining.

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Thank you misterchewy and Little misschewy for the memorable birthday celebration! 😀

Unicorn Cafe Bangkok
Sathorn Soi 8,
44/1 Sathon 8 Alley,
Silom, Bang Rak,
Bangkok 10500
(Nearest BTS: Chong Nonsi)
Tel: +66 86 397 9262

Opening Hours:
Tue to Sun
12pm – 8pm
(Closed on Mondays)

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Next, we went to Big C Supermarket opposite CentralWorld! Somehow, it feels similar to our Giant supermarket. We love shopping for snacks and bought so much for our family, colleagues, friends, and not forgetting the Nuffies! Because there were too many bags of food, we cabbed back to our hotel before going out for dinner.

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Thanks to Little misschewy’s godma’s recommendation, we specially made a trip to Alpaca View Farm and Cuisine at Ladprao. The place is situated up north, quite close to Chatukchak I would say. If you wanna head there, plan these two places within the same day yeah!

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Adorable little piglets!

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Here’s the highlight – alpacas!

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Close up shot of the alpacas. Prior to this, we had never seen an real alpaca before so it was pretty exciting for us. The only alpaca I came across was the alpaca plush toy. Hahaha. Anyway, I’m not sure what these two were doing. Any idea? LOL.

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We chose to have our dinner indoors so that we could escape from the heat. For some strange reason which I can’t recall, we ordered fruit smoothies instead of beer. Haha.

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Egg omelette

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We tried the Pork Knuckle and to our surprise, it was really delicious! Damn, we should have ordered beer to go with it. It would be heavenly! The pieces of pork knuckle was crispy on the outside, yet wonderfully tender on the inside!

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Doing a taste test on the fries to determine if it’s too salty for the little one.

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Hehe Little misschewy was busy munching on her fries! She was wearing the dress that her godma Mag bought for her in Hua Hin!

Alpaca View Farm and Cuisine
11 Soi Ladprao-Wanghin 71,
Ladprao Rd,
Bangkok 10320
Tel: +66 81 406 6400

Opening Hours:
Daily
5pm – 1am

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Since the night was still young, we hailed a cab to Chatuchak to see if it really opens on Friday night! Turns out to be true!

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Not all the stalls were open though but it was quite good already I suppose.

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Only bought a few souvenirs for friends and colleagues. Didn’t buy any clothes because we didn’t see anything that we liked 🙁

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First time eating coconut ice cream! This wasn’t from the ‘legit’ stall because we couldn’t find it when we were there. I guess the stall only operates on Saturdays and Sundays. This was also quite good la!

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Little misschewy fell asleep in the midst of all our coconut ice cream excitement. Hahaha. Hope you guys enjoyed this post!
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy, @misterchewy and @little_miss_chewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Family Trip to Bangkok Day Three: Karmakamet Diner, Kidzoona & Molly Fantasy, Eat Rice & Noodles, Talad Rot Fai Srinakarin Train Market

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Hellooo everybardy! Did anyone miss me? Hehehe. We moved into our new place a few weeks ago and were extremely busy handling almost everything on our own, with some help from both our parents. We are still trying to adapt to our new lifestyle! This also explains why we went MIA for a week. Haha sorry for the lack of updates! Can finally continue sharing our Bangkok itinerary with you guys. Thanks for being so patient! 🙂

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Us on our third day in Bangkok! Every morning we would take the complimentary tuk tuk service by Aloft Bangkok hotel to Nana BTS station!

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I planned our brunch at Karmakamet Diner. The place wasn’t too hard for us to find, with the help of Google maps of course. We reached slightly before 10am and had to sit outside for a bit before being ushered to a table. Upon stepping into Karmakamet Diner, I was blown away by its rustic charm.

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The outdoor setting totally has this dreamy feel to it.

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Haha but we didn’t want to be bitten by mozzies so we chose to sit indoors. Bangkok is really not a child-friendly country. There wasn’t a single cafe or restaurant we went to that had baby chairs. Luckily I did my homework by emailing or sending messages on FB to ask the F&B establishments on my list whether they provide baby chairs. To my horror, NONE. A kind mummy friend from my March edd group lent us her orange Sack’n Seat!

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The Sack’n Seat acts like a portable high chair. Simply attach it to any chair with a backrest and your child will be securely restrained in his/her seat once the straps are fastened. Until he/she attempts to climb out of it of course.

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I chose the Poached Duck Eggs with Gravlax on Karmakamet Ratatouille (THB 290) because it sounded promising but I was disappointed by its pathetic appearance. Taste wise, it was only mediocre.

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When misterchewy’s Salmon Pattie Egg Benedict (THB 320) arrived, I immediately congratulated him on his choice. LOL. Why standard so different one?! This is like breakfast sent from heaven!

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I think misterchewy must have sensed my jealousy, so he offered me some of his egg benedict. It was seriously good that I started to push away my poached duck eggs. Hahaha.

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Huge ass cotton candy bigger than my face! Ok it’s actually called Strawberry in the Cloud (THB 390) and you have to wait at least 15 minutes if you order this. It’s super Instagram worthy and we ordered this mainly for photos 😛

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Our cotton candy came in beautiful hues of pink and blue. We were busy eating it until…

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One of the wait staff told us that there’s something underneath! LOL.

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Karmakamet Diner is like the perfect place for some portrait shots!

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After brunch, we headed to Ekamai Gateway Mall where Molly Fantasy & Kidzoona indoor playground is located. I had blogged about this separately and you may click here if you are keen to read more about it 🙂

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Lunch was at EAT Rice & Noodles, by the same boss who set up EAT (Eat All Thai). Over here, we got to savor traditional Thai food with a modern take.

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Thai Iced Milk Tea

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Minced Pork Thai Basil with Fried Rice Noodles

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Phad Thai with Fried Wonton

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Mango Sticky Rice

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Since it was still quite early, we returned to our hotel to rest and recharge before heading out again to check out Talad Rot Fai night market. We took the BTS to On Nut and hailed a cab from there. We are not sure why but many shops were not open that day, which was a pity.

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It was pouring that night! Total bummer. But we already travelled all the way there, so the three of us shared one umbrella and braved the rain.

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Spotted my favorite Thai dessert – Luk Chup! *squeals* BUY!!

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Really cheap and good! They tasted way better than the ones we bought at the Thai airport in 2012.

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Out of curiosity, we bought a box of Egg Fried Squid to try on the spot.

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OMG let me tell you that it is seriously DAMN GOOD.

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After we were done eating, we bought another box to bring back to our hotel for supper.

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It was a pretty happening day for Little misschewy! LOL. Our next post will be the final update on the last day of our BKK trip! Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Family Trip to Bangkok Day 2: Hello Kitty House, Siam Ocean World, Teddy House’s Kitchen, After You Dessert Cafe & EAT (Eat All Thai)

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From Day Two of our Bangkok trip onwards, things got more exciting because I had put in much effort in planning our itinerary to cater to all of us as a family. But first, Little misschewy needs her milk milk in the morning before we all get ready to head out for a day of adventure!

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Hahaha looks l like I spoke too soon cuz she fell asleep while we were making our way to Hello Kitty House at Siam Square One! Our Tula baby carrier has lotsa sleepy dust! 😛 We were there quite early, even before it was opened for business so we sat at one of the pink benches outside and waited patiently. In the meantime, I also passed a sleeping Little misschewy to misterchewy so that I could pose for photos however I wanted at Hello Kitty House later on. LOL.

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Hello Kitty House finally opened at 10am and we were greeted by a glum-looking male staff in pink polo tee. Some Hello Kitty related song in Japanese was playing on repeat but it was very lively and cheery. I’m not a hardcore Hello Kitty fan but the song made me feel hyper and suddenly in love with Hello Kitty. HAHAHA. The place looks so prettyyy and best of all, it was relatively empty!

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Let’s check out the upper floor!

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Hello Kitty heaven!!

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This is like the perfect place for a Hello Kitty fanatic to hold her ROM ceremony or something. Hahaha.

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Ordered cakes because they looked so pretty in their rainbow colors!

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Just look at this! Candy Cream Cheese Cake (THB 175) in my favorite pink and blue! Prior to our visit, I read reviews that the food at Hello Kitty House really cannot make it but aiya since we were there already, just try right? Eh but surprisingly the cakes didnt taste that bad leh. Or maybe my taste buds got problem. Hahaha. But Chanelle loved the cakes too!

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The Rainbow Mille Crepe (THB 175) was also irresistable! It came in shades of red, yellow, green, blue and purple! I took a tad too long to admire the cake that misterchewy asked me, “Are we going to start eating?” Lololol.

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Yes we are! But since Little misschewy woke up from her nap, let me take a photo with her first!

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Very unwilling! Okay fine..

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She wanted to eat the cakes too! And gave her stamp of approval!

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We went to the basement of Hello Kitty House where the shop and spa are located.

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Plenty of Hello Kitty merchandise here!

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After an ultra sweet breakfast at Hello Kitty House, we headed to Siam Ocean World which I had blogged about separately.

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Settled our lunch at Teddy House’s Kitchen! Besides Hello Kitty House, this is another cafe that will appeal to little kids.

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Teddy House Kitchen is filled with plenty of stuffed bears which makes the whole place look inviting.

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We decided to just order one pancake so that we would still have room for other food later on. We were the only ones in the cafe but our pancake took really long to be served. Thankfully, it tasted quite good with maple syrup and vanilla ice cream!

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Next, we went to After You Dessert Cafe! The hubs and I had heard so much about After You’s delicious shibuya honey toasts and made this cafe a must-visit on our list.

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Not surprisingly, the place was packed to the brim and we chose to sit by the window as it was the only empty space left.

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It was Shibuya Honey Toast without a doubt! The toast was crisp and had a dense and chewy interior. SO DAMN GOOD. The three of us were chomping down on this.

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We walked around for a bit at Central World before having early dinner at EAT (Eat All Thai), which was recommended by my good friend YP. EAT is all about using premium ingredients to whip up delicious Thai food.

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The only time we can eat in peace is when Little misschewy falls asleep! LOL.

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Salted Chaiya Egg

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Phad Thai

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Crab Meat Fried Rice

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Tom Yum Goong

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We stopped by Erawan Shine to offer our prayers before heading back to our hotel and calling it a day!
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Family Trip to Bangkok Day One: Aloft Bangkok Sukhumvit 11 & Sukhumvit Soi 38 Street Food

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Hellooo chewys! I wanted to blog about our Bangkok trip earlier while it was still fresh in my mind but unfortunately, the bombing took place at Erawan Shrine shortly after we got back and I thought it wasn’t such an appropriate time to share our travelogue so I decided to delay it for a bit. As I had mentioned briefly in my previous posts, this trip’s agenda was to celebrate our 5th dating anniversary as well as my birthday! I never had a birthday trip before so I was rather excited even though I had been to BKK a few times. Hehehe 😛

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We booked an afternoon flight so that it wouldn’t be so rushed for us. With a little one around, be prepared to spend at least twice the amount of time than you normally would. We used to take about an hour at least before we could head out of the house but now we need to wake up extra early to start preparing! I’m also quite paranoid when it comes to packing because baby’s stuff are usually necessities. If I could say so myself, I think I almost brought the whole house to BKK. LOL XD

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Much love to Changi Recommends for lending us one of their overseas Wi-Fi router. The Changi Recommends booths are located in all 3 terminals and are open 24/7. It was very convenient for us as we only had to pick up the Wi-Fi device after checking in our luggages. That saves us on delivery charges! Upon your return, simply return the device by dropping it off at the Changi Recommends booth at your arrival terminal. Now that’s hassle-free! The last thing you would want is to fret over the collection and returning of your Wi-Fi device, so I’m really glad that Changi Airport Group established this subsidiary in 2012 to save travellers all the unnecessary trouble while providing affordable internet access to keep us connected during our trips.

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A shot with Little misschewy’s favorite durian before we wave goodbye to my in-laws!

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Our third family trip this year! We travelled to Phuket in January and Hong Kong in March 🙂

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A wefie before take off! I’m not sure if the monkey face by Little misschewy was intentional but I’m posting it up anyway!

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I don’t know about you but I love plane food! Somehow, plane food makes me really happyyy! This was some fish spaghetti and it was quite good!

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But we couldn’t really eat in peace with an active toddler who refuses to stay in her seat.

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The hubs Tula-ed her and walked up and down the aisle a couple of times and she finally conked out. Zzz.. I think misterchewy looked sleepy too. Hey, nobody said parenthood would be easy 😉

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Sawadee ka~ Welcome to the Land of Smiles! 😀

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We were desperately trying to hire a cab using the Grab Taxi app but to no avail. I guess the airport is too huge and the drivers ended up waiting elsewhere even though I had typed out the exact location where we were standing. Some drivers called but there was a communication breakdown and we were like argh ok nevermind forget it. Wasted my overseas call money! Lol. In the end, we decided to try our luck and went downstairs. Ahlamak! Should have just come here earlier la! Just get a printout from the machine and there will be a taxi car plate number stated on it. Plenty of taxi drivers waiting there!

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A few hours without Internet connectivity made me feel uneasy so I switched on our Wi-Fi router as soon as we touched down. The hubs benefited from this as well since the router is able to connect up to 8 devices simultaneously. If it wasn’t for this router, I couldn’t have posted so many photos during our trip on my Instagram and Facebook page 😛

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Because of the traffic jam, it took us almost an hour to reach our choice of accommodation, Aloft Bangkok Sukhumvit 11, which is one of the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) properties. Hotel accommodation in Bangkok is fairly affordable across the board. We went ahead with Aloft because we could earn Starpoints and the hotel rates were really attractive. Plus, the hotel is located quite near Nana BTS Station, which is a pretty centralized location.

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Aloft Hotel also provides complimentary tuk tuk service to and from Nana BTS station.

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Aloft hotel has this very cool and artsy fartsy vibe which I think most youngsters would appreciate. Lol.

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Our Aloft Room spans about 30 to 33 square meters – plenty of space for Little misschewy to roam around even with a playpen in the room. I love the layout of the room and also the idea of waking up to a nice view of the city upon waking up.

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Our ultra-comfortable platform bed was topped with plush bedding.

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The bathroom is also very spacious. There is a sliding door to separate the walk-in shower from the vanity sink.

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In case you are wondering, that’s a bottle sterilizer which we requested from the hotel.

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The floor can be very slippery for toddlers so please request for a baby bath tub!

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The view from our room.

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Hahaha failed wefie with the bubs because she just didn’t want to sit still on my lap even for 3 seconds.

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I actually planned to go to HERO Food & Gathering for dinner but misterchewy, being a fuddy duddy, was more keen to check out Sukhumvit Soi 38. I mean most guys should be quite thrilled to be eating in a restaurant full of Marvel superheroes right? So Sukhumvit Soi 38 it was. We took a cab and it was a huge mistake because the jam was horrendous. Should have taken the BTS instead.

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We found it strange that there were only a few stalls there. Little did we know that Sukhumvit Soi 38 was closing down and most stalls had relocated elsewhere.

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We walked all the way to the end and started with the wanton noodle stall. This was not bad but the slices of char siew were pretty good stuff.

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The phad thai was so damn good that we had to resist ordering another plate in order to save space to try other food.

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We saw this stall selling sticks of meat and seafood. Basically, you pick out the sticks that you want and someone will barbecue the food for you. We tabao-ed some back for our supper.

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Wanted to try more food but the little one was cranky already. Settled our dessert before heading back to our hotel.

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The mango sticky rice was amazing! Very sweet and juicy mangoes and the glutinous rice was wonderfully soft and chewy.

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That’s all for our first day in Bangkok! Keep a lookout for day two!
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

4th Wedding Anniversary Marina Mandarin Staycation Review

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Happy 4th wedding anniversary to us! We celebrated the special occasion in advance by taking a day off work for a staycation at Marina Mandarin hotel last Friday. The husband and I didn’t have any concrete plans until I chanced upon Marina Mandarin’s flash deal on their Facebook page, promoting 50% off their usual room rates which was impossible to resist! Booked a room without having to think twice! 😛

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We haphazardly threw in some clothes and other stuff into our mini luggage before leaving our house that morning. Reached Marina Mandarin around 1.30pm and there was already a queue at the check in counter. The check in procedure also took up quite a bit of our time.

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We were given a room on the 16th floor which is pretty high! It was great because the room I booked promises a view of Marina Bay. Actually, Premier rooms are all located on higher floors of the hotel.

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TADAH!! Our Premier Marina Bay View room was incredibly spacious and I appreciate it especially when Little misschewy is with us. She has more room to walk around and explore without bumping or knocking into hard surfaces. Of course, the bed looked way too comfy to her too 😉

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Our well-appointed Premier room exudes contemporary elegance, with modern furnishings that feature a combination of glass and rich fabrics. I was so tempted to just put everything down and jump into bed.

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From a blogger’s perspective, the executive desk and ergonomic chair provide a comfortable and organized area for you to work on your laptop or tablet. Hehe.

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The marble-clad bathroom was super spacious, featuring a deep-soaking marble bathtub as well as a separate glass-enclosed shower.

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Everything you need is within reach!

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Housekeeping finally sent the baby cot to our room and it’s a great way to ‘confine’ the little one so that we don’t have to chase her around. Haha.

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Time for milk!

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We went round to explore the hotel and were intrigued by these bird cages that we saw.

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There are a handful of dining options at Marina Mandarin, namely Aquamarine, Peach Blossoms, Atrium Lounge, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Cafe Mocha. I have been to Aquamarine with my colleagues and their buffet dinner is pretty good!

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One of the things that we like about Marina Mandarin is that it is linked to Marina Square, making it extremely convenient for hotel guests.

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The little one fell asleep in the carrier while we were deciding what to have for lunch. We then went to Teppei Syokudo at Millenia Walk for our favorite kaisendon!

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And also hazelnut chocolate honey toast at Dazzling Cafe!

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Went back to our room to rest and freshen up before heading out again for dinner. Kiddy ride for Little misschewy to reward her for behaving well. Lol.

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I had actually made reservations at Bread Street Kitchen but subsequently cancelled it after reading not so good reviews. In the end, we settled for Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant at Capitol Piazza! It wasn’t such a good idea because we were still full from our lunch and it’s tough to order Chinese dishes for sharing when there are only two people. We ordered half a roast duck with two bowls of plain rice.

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By the end of the dinner, I was bursting at the seams. Haha.

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Obviously the hubs is a bad influence because he suggested that we go for round two right after Little misschewy fell asleep.

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Admired the beautiful night view of Marina Bay from our balcony before we slept.

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The hotel gave us a complimentary chocolate cake to celebrate the special occasion but I forgot to take a photo of it. The little girl loved it and kept asking for more!

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Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Family Trip to Hong Kong Day Three

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As opposed to Australian Dairy Company which had been featured in my previous post, I was quite keen to try Capital Cafe at Wan Chai! This place also seems very popular and has garnered more positive reviews online.

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We arrived pretty early and got a table almost immediately.

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Scrambled eggs with black truffle! It was a pretty generous amount of black truffle shavings and the scrambled eggs were very creamy! It’s seriously damn good la.

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We also ordered the Condensed Milk Bun which was very sweet but we like!

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Next up we went for dim sum at two Michelin star Sun Tung Lok at Miramar Shopping Centre. We were not that hungry so we only ordered a few dishes to share.

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Spent some time shopping at Harbour City! Seriously all the super atas brands are there!

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At Toys R Us!

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Afternoon tea at Intercontinental Hong Kong! They don’t accept reservations but we managed to get a table. Be there extra early if you want a table that gives you unobstructed view of the harbour! It’s really lovely! This is the Afternoon Tea Set for Two that we had. About SGD$130 to $140. We don’t usually spend money like this back in Singapore but since we are travelling, must enjoy right!

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We saved a couple of scones for Little misschewy because she loves them.

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We wanted to try Star Cafe and thanks to the help we found online, all we had to do was to look out for this neon signboard that says Dadol Hotel.

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Walk straight ahead and take the stairs down.

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I tried the Tomato noodles with pork chop. The tomato gravy was a bit watered down but the taste was still quite robust. This proved to be quite a comforting bowl nevertheless! Highly recommended!

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That’s all for Day 3! Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Family Trip to Hong Kong Day Two

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Little misschewy’s birthday coincided with the second day of our Hong Kong trip and we had planned an entire day of non-stop eating! Headed to Jordon first thing in the morning!

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I wasn’t too keen on breakfast at Australian Dairy Company because I read reviews that this place is quite overrated but the hubs mentioned it’s on his must-try list. Ok la must give and take in a relationship 😛

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We stared at the menu for a few minutes without knowing what to order. LOL. In the end we looked around and ordered whatever others were having.

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Macaroni with ham was mediocre.

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We also ordered the Steamed Egg Pudding and Steamed Milk Pudding which Chanelle loved.

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As we were going to have dim sum in less than a couple of hour’s time, we decided to walk to International Commerce Centre. It was a damn long walk and I think we took at least 20 to 30 minutes to get there. Really no joke because I was babywearing Chanelle and felt like my lower back was gonna break. Haha.

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Chanelle needs her breakfast too so off to the nursing room we went!

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We were so impressed by the nursing rooms in Hong Kong. They have almost everything in there! Weighing scale, high chair, wet wipes, bottle warmer etc.

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Clean and comfortable nursing room.

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Tin Lung Heen is a two Michelin-star restaurant located on the 102nd level of The Ritz Carlton.

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The view. Too bad it was rather hazy that day!

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Roasted Crispy Suckling Pig (HK$308)

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Deep-fried turnip cake with X.O. chilli sauce (HK$88)

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Steamed golden shrimp dumpling with bamboo shoot and asparagus (HK$88)

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Steamed barbecued Iberian pork buns (HK$88)

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Soup dumpling with fish maw in superior stock (HK$112)

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Petit fours were served and I really liked the osmanthus jelly!

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It was a really wonderful dining experience at Tin Lung Heen and everyone should try the dim sum there when they visit Hong Kong!

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After lunch, we went to a few shopping malls.

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Took a break by having desserts at the popular Hui Lau Shan but it was so so.

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I posted a photo on my FB page and a reader commented, “I just returned from HKG too. You gotta try the Kai Kee (at Tsim Sha Tsui) deep fried head of fish balls and deep fried cuttlefish balls. SUPER GOOD.” And so, we did just that. Problem was, we found TWO Kai Kee restaurants and none of them sold deep fried balls! It was kinda awkward and we randomly settled for toasted bun with condensed milk and iced milk tea.

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Shortly after that, we passed by Wah Kee Snacks just 200m down and I thought maybe this is the one! The reader probably got the name wrong and it should be Wah Kee instead of Kai Kee. Plus Wah Kee Snacks specialize in a wide assortment of deep fried balls!

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We tried the squid balls and prawn balls which were coated with some delicious spicy sauce which is their secret recipe. SO DAMN GOOD! We even went back after dinner to buy some back for supper! Hahaha.

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But guess what? The reader said it’s not this. LOLOL. But nvm, we discovered a gem!

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Another Instagram follower suggested that we try the peking duck at Spring Deer Restaurant, also at Tsim Sha Tsui. The restaurant had a pretty old school feel. As we were still feeling quite full, we only ordered Peking Duck (HK$300) to share.

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The hubs looked around us and declared we should have a bottle of Tsingtao beer to go with our duck meat! >_< DSCF6486

Super shiok!

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We bought a small sweet potato cake for Chanelle from the bakery below our hotel and we sang a birthday song for her. Hope she had an enjoyable time!
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Family Trip to Hong Kong Day One

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PHEW! I managed to get everything else out of the way so that I can focus on blogging about our second trip of 2015! Back in mid March, The Chewys flew to Hong Kong for a 5D4N stay which was planned as Chanelle’s first birthday trip! Come to think of it, it was also a way to reward misterchewy and I for surviving our first year of parenthood. LOL. Of course, parenthood is not without its ups and downs, and we couldn’t have done it without the help of our family members, who have been very helpful and forthcoming. We truly appreciate it! Ok back to the story. I have been toying with the idea of a birthday trip for the little one for quite some time but was put off by the exorbitant prices probably because her birthday falls in the same week as the March school holidays. Yeah but in the end, we went ahead with the plan because we wanted some time to ourselves!

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We flew with Singapore Airlines and the airfare alone cost us about $1.2K. We did feel the pinch of course, with our home renovation underway and all. But it’s ok. Let’s enjoy first! Hahaha. Catching our flight early in the morning!

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Happy Chewys on the plane! Can you spot Little misschewy’s first tooth sprouting at the bottom? XD

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I think we booked our tickets in January, right after returning from our trip to Phuket, and hence we managed to secure the bassinet seats. The bassinet failed to serve us well because Chanelle only slept like 5 minutes in it and she was wide awake throughout the flight. The husband and I didn’t get to watch Penguins of Madagascar. Boohoo.

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It was an energy zapping 4-hour journey for us! Hahaha.

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After touching down at Hong Kong International Airport and collecting our luggages, we couldn’t be more relieved to meet our driver who was patiently waiting for us, holding up a placard with my name on it. He promptly took over our luggages and led us to our vehicle.

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Really lucky and grateful to have Blacklane sponsoring our airport transfer both ways! Blacklane provides professional ground transportation at the lowest rates in over 180 cities all over the world. The steps to booking your ride is extremely simple. Via Blacklane’s website or app, enter the following details: Pickup and Dropoff locations OR the number of hours you wish to book the a car and driver for and your desired pick up time. After which, you get to select the car class which best suits your needs and budget! We selected the Business Class vehicle which allows a maximum capacity of 3 passengers and 2 luggages.

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After booking, I received two emails. The first email was to acknowledge my booking and the second email was sent as soon as a suitable driver had been assigned to handle my ride request. When I switched on my mobile phone at the airport, I received email and SMS updates informing me that our car is on its way, and a second one as soon as our driver has arrived at the pickup location. It was a very pleasant feeling to be reassured a few times, knowing that you have got a reliable driver waiting to pick you up!

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Bottled water to keep us hydrated throughout the 30-minute ride.

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Loving the Mercedes E-Class!

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Gotta thank Hotel Jen Hong Kong for the complimentary two nights and special rates for the remaining two! We really love the convenient location of the hotel. Hong Kong University MTR station is a mere 3-minute walk from the hotel! We stayed at Kowloon the previous few times we visited Hong Kong separately. This was our first time staying at Hong Kong Island but it wasn’t a hassle at all when we wanted to get to Kowloon. Also, Hotel Jen provides complimentary shuttle service to certain areas at various timings throughout the day.

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We were thrilled to check into this lovely Club Harbour View room which offered us a panoramic view of Victoria Harbour. At 24sqm in size, our room was reasonably spacious for the 3 of us.

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Our room came with free WiFi, full sized Executive writing desk, cable television, movie channels, electronic safe, steam iron and ironing board, amongst many other amenities.

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We were impressed by the smart en-suite bathroom with walk-in shower! Also, the toiletries provided by Hotel Jen were adequate.

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As usual, Little misschewy had the honor of testing the comfy bed.

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Cheeky girl grabbed her pants and tried to escape after I changed her diaper. Haha.

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We were famished but it was too early for dinner. Afternoon tea at Mandarin Oriental’s Clipper Lounge it was!

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Not wanting to ruin the dinner plans we had in mind, we ordered the Afternoon Tea for One (HK$278 + 10%) to share.

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Plain and raisin scones!

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Devon clotted cream and rose petal jam. Both were so goooood!

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The afternoon tea items were great but I found the service somewhat aloof. Well, I can still close one eye. Hahaha.

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Actually this trip was mainly an eat and eat and eat trip! I must warn my readers first. LOL. Within the next two hours, we settled our dinner at Tsui Wah Restaurant at Central (Wellington branch). They have quite a few branches all over Hong Kong.

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Iced Milk Tea.

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Hainanese Chicken Rice was surprisingly delicious!

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The best time to eat in a cramped cafe or restaurant is when the baby is asleep.

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Pork cutlet burger which was tender and oily in a good way!

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When communicating with the reservation team via email, I told them we probably wouldn’t need the baby cot as Little misschewy co-sleeps with us. However we changed our mind after checking in. Having a baby cot is the best way to contain her so that she doesn’t fall off the bed if we are not looking. And the baby cot is so cute!

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“Let me out if not this bunny is gonna get hurt real bad!”

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Surprise birthday cake specially arranged by the hotel! Chanelle’s birthday wasn’t until the next day but it was a really nice and sweet gesture!

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We have come to the end of our post on our first day in Hong Kong! Stay tuned for more!
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂