Rice Option in Dim Sum Meals

Had lunch again (see previous experience) at Crystal Jade Palace, and this time, hubby was in the mood for a dim-sum-only meal. Sam as usual polished off 3 whole shrimp dumplings (虾饺), but I wanted to get some carbohydrates into him, so I repeated my usual 'trick': mix the fillings of a dumpling with some rice.

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The chives dumpling (韭菜饺) of Crystal Jade Palace are pretty good, so I ordered a bowl of white rice & mixed some of it with the fillings of the chives dumpling. This has the added advantage of getting some vegetables (the chives) into Sam, in addition to the minced pork & prawns.

It was a waste of the dumpling wrapping, but which Chinese mother would feel assured with her son eating only prawns for lunch???? Anyway, this shortcut saves me the trouble of mincing up the meat/prawn, and the dish is steamed, so it's not too oily........better than ordering fried rice, I thought! ;P

Entertaining Kids in the Paragon

There's not much free outdoor activities to keep my Sam entertained here in the heart of Orchard Rd. Especially right now, with the building of the Ion right behind the apartment, the planting of NEWater pipes in the road in front of the apartment, and the expansion of the pedestrain walkways of Orchard Road itself (previously the stretch in front of Ngee Ann City, now shifted opposite in front of Paragon), the whole area is a mess of construction din & dust contributing to the usual slightly dusty city roads.

But still, it's not supposed to be good for the kid to spend all his time indoors, so today I thought I'll let him vent his energies outside for a little while. Started Sam off running down the slopey walkway between Wisma Atria & Ngee Ann City, where he saw a lizard sunbathing. Then, walking along Orchard Rd he gazed interestingly at the water fountain in front Ngee Ann City & consented to a pose with the Christmas decorations:

After 15 min, both Sam & I were sweating, so I hustled him into Paragon. This is becoming one of my fav shopping centres for lunch, not because of its good variety of restaurants, but for the availability of child-friendly facilities.

The free children's playground (2 ~ 6 yrs) on level 5 must be the answer to lots of mummies' prayers. At 11.20 am on a Wednesday morning it was quite popular, Sam having to jostle through the tunnel & to wait for his turn at the slides.

From 11.30 am onwards, the crowd of children started to thin, as the mothers begin to move into the just-opened restaurants for the early lunch. I, too, wanted my food before the office crowds set in, but Sam refused to go till he played pretend in one of the musical cars.

By 12 noon, I managed to get Sam into my fav soba restaurant, Shimbashi Soba. After my previous experience, this time I ordered a cold soba for my Hana Syokado set (S$28.80). I had thought 'cold soba' = 'zaru soba', but no, the soba was chilled & served already dipped in broth, with wakame seaweed & tenkasu (bits of deep-fried tempura batter). It was so much better than the hot version, very chewy & fragrant. Sam had several helpings in his baby set, I was glad I paid the extra $5 for a larger serving of noodles.

Was glad we made it to the restaurant early, a queue started forming from 12:30pm! After the very filling lunch (the Hana Syokado set included 5 slices sashimi, 3 pcs sushi, chicken katsu, agedashi tofu, deep fried soft shell crab, 4 pcs tempura besides the noodles), we left the restaurant and literally walked into another children's fav outside the Spageddies.

I don't know the proper name of the technology. It seems to make use of the shadows thrown by the kid on the projected image & triggers a specific response, eg. bouncing the basketball, turning corn into popcorn, or Sam's favourite - overturning & chasing cars.

Like the playground, I noticed other mothers letting their children play here, while they waited for their tables at one of the many restaurants in Basement 1. The only unfavourable thing about this video game is its location - being right in the centre of the passageway, many a unwary adults nearly stumbled into the playing children, or stumbled trying to avoid them!

Shimbashi Soba
290 Orchard Road
#B1-41, Paragon
Tel: 6735-9882
Opens 11:30 am to 10 pm.

Fancy Children's Bento Box in Aji Tei

Friend MJ reminded me there's a Japanese dessert place right inside Takashimaya, so decided to have my brunch there today & calm myself down with some desserts, after the terrible morning with sticky Sam.

Turns out Aji Tei is a more up-market version of Ajisen. There's a wider selection of dishes available, and the dessert menu is extensive, but the ramen is still the same base as that in Ajisen.

Baby chair: a plain sturdy low back wooden affair.

Kids' menu: There're 3 kids' sets available. Set A is the rice & prawn served on an aeroplane-shaped dish, same as the one in Ajisen. Set C is curry rice served in a soccer ball-shaped bento box. Since Sam doesn't take much spicy food that is out of the question.

Set B (S$6.80) is the ramen & prawn set (similar to the Ajisen version), but with 1 more prawn & half of a hard-boiled egg, served prettily in a Japanese doll-shaped bento box!

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I haven't seen such pretty bento boxes since my fav Jap restaurant in KL!

For drinks, hubby wanted Sam to drink something more 'healthy', so ordered the nearest possible candidate - Macha Milk ($3.80). Turns out the taste of the condensed milk is too strong, hardly can taste the macha. Sam didn't like it, never took a 2nd sip.

Kids' utensils: I asked for a small fork for Sam to eat his prawns with, since they only served a plastic Chinese soup spoon with the kid's set, and chopsticks when we were 1st seated. The waitress brought along a plastic bowl too, fortunately, else I think Sam would have overturned the ramen bowl in his attempts to drink soup with the spoon.

My mood only improved slightly after the meal, cos the dessert I got, Warabi Kinako (S$5.80), was a disappointment. I miss the fresh ones I bought from the Japanese food fairs (abt the same price too!) in Isetan KLCC when we were still living in KL! I wonder where else can I get good warabi mochi here in Singapore............wonder if the tonkatsu restaurant in Liang Court I ate in 4 yrs ago is still open, if memory serves me correctly the warabi there was acceptable...............


Aji Tei (Japanese Cuisine & Dessert House)
391 Orchard Road
#B202 Takashimaya Department Store
(right inside Takashimaya, past the last cashier of Cold Storage)
Tel: 6333-8110

How to Keep the Toddler Seated Longer

Here are the tactics I've resorted to when trying to get Sam to stay in his seat for a longer period when we dine out:

1. Eat somewhere that provides a baby chair!!! Sam has gotten used to the high chair, & the safety belt keeps him strapped in, so he can't get away on his own even if he wants to.

2. Avoid lunch & dinner peak hours, so that I can choose a table with a view to keep the toddler entertained, eg. facing the tv, fish tanks, view of the road with plenty of moving vehicles. If your toddler is easily distracted by certain views (eg. my Sam will clamour to join other kids walking pass the restaurant entrance), then you can at least choose tables that would not provide the distraction.

3. Delay putting Sam in the chair till the food arrives. Many a times did I place my orders with Sam on my lap, & I only put him in when the food is served. This reduces the amount of time he spends in the chair (sometimes even the 5 min delay is welcome), so he is more likely to last till we finish the meal. If hubby is with us, we sometimes take turns to place our orders, while the other half keeps Sam entertained at the fish tank/shopping mall.

4. Provide Sam with his fav toys - cars. I usually let Sam play with 2 ~ 4 toy cars while we wait for the food to be served. Sometimes he'll end up playing with them throughout the meal, other times he'll put the toys aside to self feed.

I suppose tactics 3 & 4 aren't exactly good habits. All I have in defense is that desparate mothers resort to desparate measures. ;P Unless anyone has better tactics to share????

Seating a Child in a Coffee Shop

I seldom like to bring Sam to eat in coffee shops or hawker centres, one of the reasons being there's no baby chairs in these eating places, and it's so stressful just to get him to stay seated. I most definitely won't be in a mood to take photos to blog about the occasion!!!!

Today's lunch was an exception, partly cos my in-laws were with me, so I could order my food in peace, partly cos Sam was in a good mood today & finished all his noodles & kwey without much prompting. So I managed this photo near the end of his meal:


This is the typical way to seat children in Singapore's coffee shops - stack up the chairs (they're usually these plastic stackable ones, for ease of storage at closing time) in twos or threes (depending on child's age & height), then the child is placed in the oversized "baby chair".

As there's no safety seat belt, much effort is taken to keeping the child seated properly in the chairs. Fortunately for me, Sam is used to being placed up high for meals close to the table, so he didn't attempt to climb down the chair. My efforts were spent on keeping his buttock on the chair, and not to squat or stand on it!

Perhaps, at this rate, I'll soon be able to eat at my fav hawker centres with Sam soon and actually enjoy the food..............

Ajisen Ramen's Kids Set B

Went to eat Ajisen Ramen in Ngee Ann City again (see 1st visit) this afternoon, since Sam wanted noodles & I didn't, and the place makes for a quick lunch.

Kids' menu: Tried the Kids Set B this time, so Sam got a small bowl of ramen all to himself, which he devoured half. He also finished the 2 fried prawns & half the cup of iced lemon tea which came with the set (S$6.80).

So I could eat my Kaisen Hokkaido Don (S$13.80), which was a bit of a disappointment. I guess at that price I shouldn't be too picky of the quantity & quality of the seafood. I ended up finishing the slice of char siew & the half of hard boiled egg in Sam's ramen to go with the remaining rice.

Baby chair: Sam remained captivated by the designs on the baby chair - kept trying to 'take' the train & car designs on it!

Kids' utensils: As Sam couldn't possibly eat directly from the bowl of ramen, I asked for a small plastic bowl, having in mind the usual black round bowl used to serve the miso soup. Instead, came a cartoon melamine bowl with alphabets around the rim. But the metal fork & spoon are still adult sized, so it was a trifle messy when he slurps the spoonful of noodles himself.

Ajisen Ramen - Ngee Ann City

Takashimaya Department Store

B210-2 (Basement 2)

Tel: 67324873

1st Encounter at the Sushi Tei Bar Counter

Wanted to have a 'quick' dinner without having to wait for food, so thought of going to the Sushi Tei in Ngee Ann City to have some sushi from the sushi belt.

At 7 pm on a Monday evening the place was nearly full already. I had wanted a table near the window so that Sam could look out at the taxi queue, but the waitress explained the baby chair at the side of the table would block the corridor, so I bravely accepted a seat at the bar counter, the 1st time I'm sitting there with Sam.

Entertainment: Fortuately, my gamble paid off. ;) Sam was excited to see the plates of food pass before him continuously, and spent half the dinner commenting on them.

Baby chair: the white Ikea plastic version that's the fave of many restaurants. One thing I like about the bar counter here, the table height is just nice for both me on the bar stool & Sam in the baby chair. I've seen another sushi belt restaurant that has such a high bar counter, Sam wouldn't have been able to reach the table, which was one reason why I've never dared to try the sushi counter with him before.

Kids' utensils: The waitress very promptly provided the plastic bowl, fork & spoon without me asking for them, and also included a nice short straw with the plastic cup filled with water. Sam loved the bowl which featured a bear kicking a soccer ball at the bottom.

Kids' menu: One advantage of sitting at the bar counter is that Sam could choose what interests him, and fortunately he was in the mood to listen to my "no, that's not nice to eat" should he point to the raw fish sushi or the too-chewy-for-him octopus & jellyfish. Before he was seated, he was already excitedly asking repeatedly non-stop for the 'beans' - edamame, which he finished 1/3 of the bowl (S$3.80). He didn't eat more of his usual fav, cos he found another - big fish roe.

He had mistaken it to be another type of beans (probably cos of the ball shape), and after I fed him some with the sushi rice (Sam still doesn't know how to eat the seaweed wrapping the sushi), he loved the way the fish roe melts in his mouth. All in all, he ate a total of 5 pcs of the big fish roe sushi (S$4.50 for 2 pcs per plate), a record for him in sushi restaurants.


Sushi Tei (Ngee Ann City)
391 Orchard Road
#02-13 Ngee Ann City (next to taxi stand)
Tel: 6737-8878

Magadesca 2 in McDonald's

No breakfast provided in the service on weekends, so this morning we went to the McDonald's in Bugis Junction before heading to the Goddess of Mercy temple near there.

Baby chair: a Ronald McDonald red sturdy chair.

Kids' menu: there's only 1 option for Happy Meal at breakfast time - hotcakes. Since Sam didn't appreciate it, I ended up eating the 2 hotcakes. Sam ate his usual hashbrown (part of Daddy's Big Breakfast Meal) & orange juice.

Entertainment: Since last week, McDonald's have been giving out Magadesca 2 figurines with the purchase of every Happy Meal. I thought Sam would find the animal toys interesting, but since his 'penguin' & 'monkey' doesn't do much except mutter some words when moved, he ended up banging the figurines on the table trying to trigger the speech function. He lost interest in the figurines after a short 15 min & asked for his toy cars again.

Kids' utensils: Everything is plastic at the fast food chain, in the event that you actually use any cutlery.

Service: I wish the Bugis Junction outlet is more prompt in clearing the tables & keeping the baby chairs clean at 9.30 am in the morning. I didn't have to do all the cleaning myself at the neighbourhood outlet of Pioneer Mall last week.

The Red Flower in Tonkichi Takashimaya

It's been 3 years since I last ate in Tonkichi Takashimaya, and tonight finally got a chance to go back there for dinner with my friend MJ, one of only 2 friends of mine whom Sam took an instant liking to.

Baby chair: Sam took a liking to the bright yellow cushioned chair, and kept turning back to point to the red flower design. Luckily safety belt was working fine, even though the cushion was torn in 2 places.

Entertainment: None from the restaurant. Sam was kept docile with his X'mas present of a fine red fire engine from MJ for a full 15 min. Then he broke the rescue ladder in his attempt to lower it! The poor toy only lasted 45 min from unwrapping to permanent damage, breaking all records for MJ's cousins & friends' children! What a terror Sam is!!!

Kids' menu: The restaurant has 1 kid's menu (S$9.50) - flavoured rice rolls with deep fried breaded prawn, crab stick & chicken, edamame & a Yakult. Sam as usual devoured the prawn, and this time he discovered the joys of dipping his food into tartar sauce. I had to remove the dip after he started exploring and spooned the sauce all over his rice though.

The edamame got the usual warm cry of "beans", but this time Sam didn't finish his fav snack, cos he had spread wasabi (intended for my zaru soba) over the beans. I also had to remove the wedge of lemon (meant for the fried foods) & the cherry tomato in the salad when Sam started poking it with his fork. By the end of the meal, I've removed the entire plate from Sam's reach to prevent him playing with the fresh, sweet cabbage!

Sam loved the yuzi gelato (+$3.50 to upgrade dessert of set meal), and I ended up having to 'fight' for the last spoonful of my fav Jap ice-cream. I was already too full from my greedy order of ala-carte deep-fried oysters (S$19) and the set meal of zaru soba, agedashi tofu, deep-fried pork, fish & prawn (S$27, for limited period only), but as most women know, desserts go to a different stomach, eh? ;P

Kids' utensils: A plastic cup of water was served for Sam (ours was the restaurant's standard houji-cha) upon our seating at the table. A child-size metal fork & spoon accompanied the fancy plate the kids' meal was served.

Service: Not much to complain about, except for the seemingly long time it took for the bill to arrive.

I was contemplating if it would have been worth it to buy the membership card (S$65 for 1 yr new membership with $120 worth of vouchers & discounts for all Pokka Food outlets), but since the waitress didn't make any effort to promote it, & I couldn't really gauge the benefits properly with Sam around, I just let it be. Anyone found the membership worthwhile???

Tonkichi Takashimaya

391 Orchard Road

#04-24 Ngee Ann City
Tel: 6735-7522

Noodles & Dumplings of Ding Tai Feng

Dear Mum helped looked after Sam this afternoon so I could have a haircut, and we ended up snacking in Ding Tai Feng (鼎泰丰), Wisma Atria's branch.

Baby chair: the grey & sturdy Rubbermaid version.

Kids' utensils: A cute plastic bowl & a plastic cup full of water with a bendy straw were provided without me asking, which was gratifying. But I wished they've gotten a smaller set of plastic utensils - the transparent tablespoon isn't really suitable for Sam to self-feed.

Entertainment: Nil.

Kids' menu: I ordered the appetiser, pickled lotus root (酸甜藕片, S$2.50), in an attempt to get Sam to eat some kind of vegie. He willingly ate 1 entire piece, but was more interested in the steamed prawn & pork dumpling (虾肉蒸饺, S$7 for 6 pcs), which was easily the best dish we ordered this time.

Had thought Sam would appreciate the hand-made noodles (元盅鸡面, S$10.80), but the noodles were too dry if eaten without the soup, & the chicken soup wasn't exactly delicious, so Mum & I finished most of the bowl ourselves.

Service: call me lazy, but I've gotten used to paying for my meals at my table. Any parent dining alone with an active toddler will agree, it's no joke trying to hold on to the child & the bill & your wallet/purse & the cash/credit card and to wait in line at the cashier in a crowded restaurant. After all, I've already paid the 10% service charge, haven't I? Luckily this time, my mum was with me, & it was a weekday during off-peak hours, so the payment at the cashier went smoothly. But I wouldn't want to go back there alone with Sam during dinner time!


鼎泰丰 Ding Tai Feng
Wisma Atria #02-48
Tel: 6732-1383
Opens 11 am (10 am on weekends & public holidays) to 10 pm.
No reservations accepted.

Private Room of Imperial Treasure Teochew Cuisine

Wanted a Chinese lunch, so decided to try out the Imperial Treasure Teochew Cuisine opposite the Crystal Jade Palace. Was initially a bit displeased that they asked if we could finish our lunch in 1 hour, then we realised they were giving us a small private room (sits 5) that has a reservation later, hence the request.

Fortunately, the dishes we ordered were served fast, so we had no problem finishing our 3 main courses, 1 dim-sum & 1 dessert in an hour, which was quite an achievement for us too, considering the unpredictable habits of Sam!

Baby chair: the same wooden & yellow plastic cushioned Winnie the Pooh chair as in Crystal Jade Palace, complete with the 5 point harness belt.

Kids' utensils: the same cartoon character bowl (but no cup) and small metal fork & spoon as Crystal Jade Palace. If I didn't know better, I would have thought the 2 restaurants belonged to the same chain!

Entertainment: Nil. In fact, being in a private room, there was nothing to distract Sam at all except for the toy cars I prepared.

Kids' menu: Nil. Sam was so hungry he actually ate the rather sour pickled vegetables served as appetiser! He loved the marinated goose (卤鹅, S$16) - which was sliced thinly, not too salty & not tough at all to chew - kept asking for more 'meat, meat'.

He likes the recommended water chestnut drink (马蹄水, S$2) too, since it was not too sweet, but he only ate 1 mouthful of the very delicious pea shoot fried with garlic (蒜茸豆苗, $16). The silly boy, it's not often you can get such sweet big-leafed HK pea shoot, ok!

By the end of lunch Sam was too tired to try the smooth & not-too-sweet mashed taro with ginko nuts (福果芋泥, S$4), but he perked up at the sight of the tray of 4 small cups of 功夫茶 (strong chinese tea) served at the end (beginning) of the meal. I let him try a sip: surprisingly he didn't find it too bitter, so, I allowed him a 2nd sip. ;)

Service: I don't know what to say. She's a good waitress, as far as me as an adult is concerned. But if she's good enough to offer to help put Sam in the baby chair, you would have thought she would be sensible enough not to place the cup of hot water chestnut drink in front of Sam.


Imperial Treasure Teochew Cuisine 御宝阁潮州酒家
391 Orchard Road
Ngee Ann City #04-20A/21
Tel: 6736-2118

Back at Shimbashi Soba

After 3.5 yrs I finally get to eat at one of my fav Jap restaurants again:

Shimbashi Soba
#B1-41, Paragon
290 Orchard Road
Tel: 67359882

I managed to beat the lunchtime crowd, & hence the waitress was able to arrange a table for me & Sam in a corner, without me worrying abt the hordes of customers later.

Baby chair: The waitress was good, asked if I needed a baby chair at the point of me requesting for a table. The Ikea chair didn't have its safety belt though, Sam spent some time looking for it!

Kids' utensils: Like the service, since they presented the full baby set - plastic bowl & cup (half filled with water & a straw), small metal spoon & fork - without me even asking for it!

Entertainment: Nil.

Kids' menu: They have kid's size portions available, so I ordered a S$6.80 Tanuki (soba in soup with fried batter) for Sam.

The portion is only slightly smaller than the usual serving, and Sam turns out not to like the soup, so the whole bowl was wasted. I should have gotten him his fav zaru soba (cold soba) instead!

The Aeroplane of Ajisen Ramen

Hubby got back home before I went out to buy dinner yesterday, so we ended up dining out in Ngee Ann City's

Ajisen (味千拉面)
Takashimaya Department Store
B210-2 (Basement 2)
Tel: 67324873

Baby chair: I usually don't like this metal & plastic cushion baby chair, but the patterns on this one is new to me & looks rather cute with all the different vehicles.

Most importantly, the safety harness is in good condition, so Sam could sit close to our table. This was necessary as the eating place was quite cramped, no space for the baby chair's small white table top! Thanks to the sensible waitress who enquired abt our need for the baby chair & made the arrangements while we waited at the entrance!

Kids' menu: There are 2 kids' menu available, I chose the set A, cos thought the aeroplane plate was rather cute. Thus I learnt the disadvantages of such plate designs for someone as young as Sam:

1. Sam kept wanting to play with the 'aeroplane', pushing the plate around on the table. How to explain to him that it's not a toy but just a plate???

2. The flat surface makes it very easy for all the food to spill over, making it a definite no-no for Sam to self-feed.

On retrospect, I should have order the set B: ramen with deep fried prawns. The food is still as sinful (hubby disapproves of kids' menu in general cos they usually contain only fried foods) but at least I won't have to deal with the aeroplane plate.

Kids' utensils: For a place that has specially designed kids' menu, it's so silly the waiters presented adult-sized spoon & fork with the kids' set! I can only assume they don't have any teaspoons or equivalent, since they already took the trouble to serve the fork & spoon instead of the usual chopsticks.

Entertainment: Nil.

Tung Lok Signatures, So White!

Had dinner at Tung Lok Signatures in VivoCity, cos hubby's sis had discount voucher for the restaurant. I was so surprised at the crowds in VivoCity; a yr ago when the place was new, it was so empty! Now, we had to jostle at every escalator........but with so many different eating places there, I definitely want to go back again!

Baby chair: the white plastic Ikea version, which Sam is starting to outgrow.

Kids' utensils: a white plastic plate with small metal fork & spoon. Really admire how the restaurant got everything white!

Entertainment: Nil.

Kids' menu: Nil. Sam as usual polished off much of the braised peanuts appetiser, but he didn't eat much of the broccoli & beancurd.......guess the excitement of meeting his cousins again distracted him from his food.


Tung Lok Signatures
VivoCity, #01-57
Tel: 6376-9555

Crystal Jade Palace At Last!

We've never managed to have our Sunday dim-sum at Ngee Ann City's Crystal Jade Palace, cos usually by the time we arrive there at 12 noon, the place is jam-packed with a mile-long queue. This time, since we're staying within walking distance to the shopping mall, hubby wanted to have his 1st good meal back in Singapore at the elusive Palace, which we managed to do so at 11.15am.

Entertainment: Sam was attracted by the tanks of live seafood at the entrance to the restaurant, so hubby went to order the dim-sum while Sam pointed out the prawns & fishes to me.

Baby chair: I love the wooden chair with Winnie the Pooh plastic cushions - so cute, and it matches the deco too!

Kids' utensils: The plastic bowl & cup also have prints of bears. Too bad the small metallic fork & spoon didn't. ;)

Kids' menu: Nil. Sam was in a 'prawn' mood again - ate 3 entire "har gau" (prawn dumpling) by himself (after I cut up the fillings of course).


Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant
391 Orchard Road
Ngee Ann City #04-19
Tel: 67352388
No reservations allowed.

Children's Playground in KLIA Departure Hall

We left Malaysia yesterday at noon, and as usual, spent the time after check-in at the children's play area at the Departure Hall (near rows 1 ~ 2).

So of course we ended up eating at KFC, which is just next to the play area.

Baby chair: the metal & red plastic seat standard in all KFC outlets.

Kids' utensils: Nil. But since the fast food chain serves plastic utensils, it doesn't really matter.

Kids' menu: I like to order the Chicky Meal for Sam, partly because the toys offered are so much better than those in Singapore. In fact, I only managed to entice Sam away from the playground with the free toy - a bike!

After the play area stint Sam was hungry enough to eat 2 of the chicken nuggets of his Meal, in addition to the mashed potato & some of the iced Milo, which he seldom drinks. I suppose hunger really improves the appetite...........