Eating Out with Kids: May 2010

1 May 2010. Day 3 in Hong Kong.

We decided to explore Lantau Island before going to the city proper. Thus the return ride on Ngong Ping 360, a 25min cable car ride up the hills to see the giantic Tian Tan Buddha.

We had thought the cable car would only open at 10am, and were we glad to have arrived there by that time. Cos the queue by the time we returned in the afternoon was VERY LONG.

I decided to forgo the >250 steps up to the base of the Buddha, so Sam & I had a biscuit & drinks break at the ice cream stall at the bottom of the steps.

After hubby came back from his climb, we went to visit the Po Lin Monastery, and after looking at the yummy vegetarian desserts displayed at one of the stalls there, decided to have our lunch at the monastery's restaurant.

The deluxe set costs HK$100 per person, and we must purchase the meal tickets before we enter the restaurant, which opened at 11:30am. Turns out the meal tickets also included free entry to the little museum halfway up the steps to the Buddha........if we had known, we would have visited the Buddha later after lunch.

Wasn't sure if the air-conditioned restaurant provided baby chairs..........I was too tired by then to check. Was simply happy Sam could fit on the adult chair & use the standard plastic bowl & plate & soup spoon.

The toilets weren't exactly clean though - hubby found out when Sam failed a last minute dash to the Gents, and I ended up having to change Sam's wet wet pants in the middle of the meal. ;P

Still, the 5 course meal was surprisingly good. The Mixed Mushroom soup was large enough to serve 4. Even Sam had no complaints, and that's from a little guy who refused to eat mushrooms.

The Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls went down well with the rice for Sam, so were the lily bulbs in the Stir-fry Mixed Vegetables. I tried my best to polish off this dish even after I was full, cos the vegetables (red & yellow peppers, asparagus, celery, peas etc) were simply too sweet & crunchy to waste.

Hubby loved the Mushrooms with Cabbage - the fresh mushrooms were meaty, though the cabbage leaves were not cut, making it rather difficult to handle. The Mock Lemon Chicken was surprisingly good. I've never actually enjoyed eating bean curd skin before, but the lemon sauce wasn't too sour, just tangy enough to make the dish enjoyable.

Service was fast. We were about the longest seating table there, thanks to slow-eating Sam. The portions for 2 are really enough for 3, we wasted so much food I feel rather guilty. I now know why a meal at the Monastery is always recommended on the HK travel itinearies, even if the prices aren't exactly cheap. But then, it wasn't expensive either. Definitely recommended.

I have been VERY lax in my blogging lately. ;P

I guess with my work to occupy my 'spare' time, I'm getting lazy with typing. Still, I wanna share my holiday experiences with all the mummies out there, especially those who're taking your kid out on a plane for that long-awaited holiday. Maybe you can plan your trip better after hearing my experiences. ;)

This post is dedicated to the plane trips we took for our holiday to Hong Kong. We had taken a package with Cathay Pacific, so on 29th April 2010, we took the 0830hrs flight CX710 from Changi Airport. It's a non-stop flight to HK, about 3.5 hrs long. Hubby's idea has always been to minimise the travel time required, so as to minimise the period of suffering. ;)

Still, I wasn't so apprehensive this time, as we had booked for a kid's meal on board, and hubby had confirmed every seat would have its own mini tv screen with multiple channels of entertainment. So I only packed a minimum of toys & activities for Sam in case he got bored of watching tv.

I had prepared nimm2 sweets for Sam to suck on, in case his ears got blocked during takeoff & landing. The hard candy with juicy fruit centres make me feel slightly less guilty when giving him sweets, since it's supposed to contain Vit C and other kinds of minerals & vitamins. It certainly worked, as sucking on the candy prevented the pressure from building up in Sam's ears during the takeoff.

In-flight entertainment started soon after takeoff. The headset was way too big for Sam - it kept slipping off his head, and I had to replace it every 10min or so. The tv screen couldn't be tilted downwards, only upwards, so Sam watched tv the whole trip with head angled up. Not very good, I know, but then I don't have much of a choice. I was rather surprised the flight was considered long-haul........but then, since that provided Dumbo instead of Kim Possible, I'm not really complaining. ;)

As usual, the kid's meal was served 1st, before the adults'. Sam's breakfast was very similar to the adults': hashbrown, omelet, yogurt, fruits, bread, and the additional cereal bar. For drinks I got him apple juice. His meal was served on a placemat of ocean creatures, and the cutlery continued the theme - curly straw with fish, coloured plastic fork, spoon & knife with seashells on the handles.

Sam took a whole hour to finish the egg & hashbrown, so engrossed was he in watching Dumbo on the kids' channel. He refused most of the fruits, the yogurt & tomato, and I ended up finishing the bread since he didn't want that either. The cereal bar I packed for later consumption.

For some reason the 2nd cartoon didn't come on after the movie Dumbo finished, so when Sam got bored with the blank screen (the other programs weren't suitable for him), I tried to put him down for nap. We raised up the arm rest so that he could lie down horizontally - head on me & legs on daddy - but kept his seatbelt on. The in-flight blanket covered him up warmly, and the little pillow provided some kind of cushion between his head & my thigh. And surprisingly, Sam did fall asleep! He must have been tired out from waking up so early to catch the morning flight. Anyway, he only woke up after the plane had landed, so the flight wasn't too bad (for both him & me) after all.

The return flight on CX711 left HK at 1615hrs. Since it was 3 May, the entertainment channels had changed. Sam didn't enjoy the Sleeping Beauty offering, but the 2nd cartoon, The Fox and The Hound, was much more to his liking.

The lunch/dinner for this leg was served with the same ocean theme cutlery. Sam's kid's meal was so much richer than the adults' version we got slightly envious, actually. In addition to the main course of fish fingers & mashed potatoes with vegetables, there was macaroni salad, some kind of coconut chocolate cake pudding, the inevitable bread, apple juice and Tim Tam chocolate biscuits.

After Sam finished every mouthful of his fish & potatoes, I allowed him the chocolate biscuits, since hubby was already eating his. The apple juice I packed for later consumption, Sam was drinking plain water with his meal, and I polished off the delicious cake pudding & bread roll. The macaroni, unfortunately, had to be wasted.

All in all, eating in the air wasn't so bad after all, since Sam quite liked the in-flight meals. I had to do all the feeding, since he was engrossed with watching tv, but as Sam was still a trifle short for the shaky foldable table, I didn't mind doing so, rather than risk overturning the whole meal.

Oh, Cathay Pacific usually have very interesting kids' packs to keep the children occupied during the journey. I forgot to take a photo of Sam's: this time round the theme is Lilo & Stitch, with all the various colouring stuff, stickers & puzzles packed neatly into a woven sling bag. The activities are actually a bit too difficult for Sam (sudoku included!), especially since he doesn't even enjoy colouring, but I guess the older kids (7 yrs onwards) would love the set. I certainly saw several kids carrying the bag when we were walking around in Hong Kong city.

Think would try flying Cathay again for our next holiday, if the budget permits!