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Christmas happiness Going Out! Happy days Holidays! Invites & Tryouts Reviews The Kao Kids

Awesomeness at LEGOLAND – Part 1, the Hotel

December 27, 2014

LEGOLAND Hotel Welcome

If Disneyland is the place where magic happens, then LEGOLAND is the place of awesomeness.

I must be one of the last few people from the island of Singapore to go to LEGOLAND at Iskandar Malaysia. Almost everyone I know can boast of a ‘been there, done that‘.

I’ve been biding my time, waiting for Nat to finally hit a height of at least 90 cm so he can be allowed to take some rides at the theme park and the time has finally come.

So to LEGOLAND we go! How can we not be found in a place of endless awesomeness of Lego, Lego and more Lego this holidays when I have ardent Lego fans in the house?

We checked out the LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort’s hotel, theme park and water park earlier this December, and here are the highlights (as well as the not-so-high ones, as you will read) of our short getaway by car, with three children aged 5, 4 and 2 in tow.

Presenting, Motherkao’s very own review on LEGOLAND Hotel, using the acrostics (what else?) L-E-G-O-L-A-N-D…

*drumroll, please*

Leaving Singapore for the LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort

The LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort is definitely nearer than we thought it was. It was a relatively smooth ten-minute drive the moment we set off after custom clearance at Tuas Second Link. It was easy to drive there (Tuas Checkpoint SGD3.20 using the cashcard and only one toll to pass in Malaysia at RM15, so prep your Touch ‘n’ Go card), and much more direct than we had expected. Basically, just drive till you see Nusajaya Exit 312 and follow the huge brown ‘LEGOLAND’ signs that point you to the direction of LEGOLAND.

It was that easy – drive straight all the way, exit at 312 Nusajaya, look for the brown. Totally idiot-proof.

Map from LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort Website. More directions here.

We were going to be checking in to the hotel, so we parked at the hotel carpark. It’s free-of-charge for guests and RM30 if you’re not an inhouse guest. Parking is sheltered and the carpark has ample spaces for parking (two basements), with many cars parked backside in (so I assumed it’s pretty safe, considering we were advised to park head in in Malaysia).

Exchange and Fair Trade

The Wall of Minifigs at the LEGOLAND Hotel Malaysia

Prior to making this trip, I learned about the practise of swapping LEGO minifigures (also affectionately known as minifigs, in Lego-speak) from Wacky Duo’s post. Apparently, it’s a tradition which began in LEGOLAND Florida in which a complete minifig can be exchanged or traded with any staff in the resort who has a nametag that reads’ TRADE WITH ME’ as frequent and as often as possible.

If you’ve read Wacky Duo’s experience trying to do the minifig exchange (that was in October this year), you’d have learned that it wasn’t as pleasant as they had hoped it would be. Nonetheless, I placed my confidence, albeit a little too early, on this piece of press release by LEGOLAND and told Ben (the biggest Lego fan in the house and the owner of I-don’t-know-how-many minifigs) to prepare some for making exchanges. You know how those Lego blind packs work, right? How you can end up with the same figure five times after opening five packs.

So yea, I told him to fix up all his extras, pack them in his luggage and do his swaps should he find someone he wants to trade with.

At the hotel, we waited and looked around while playing at the lobby for exchanges to take place which we could witness. Nothing. No one did any. No trading was taking place. Curious, I asked the staff at the reception if the practice of swapping minifigs was scrapped. He smiled and said it still very much was ongoing, and asked if we wanted to exchange with him.

And then the LEGO-AWESOMENESS happened. My son, at 5 years of age, mustered his courage to exchange his first minifig, and there was no turning back.

Ben exchanged his minifig for a race car dude

Unlike what Wacky Duo experienced (the staff rejecting exchanges because minfigs were glued to their tags), everyone whom we subsequently asked, spoke with or even leaned close to just to examine their minifigs shared in the excitement of the minifigs trade. A very huge improvement since October 2014.

Ben then went on to exchange his second and third, and even gave his sister the courage to exchange hers.

She likes the funky girl on this lady’s nametag – and mustered courage to ask her to trade

Sure, the lady said, and the exchange happened!

Happy to have completed the trade successfully!

And I had to join in the fun to exchange one, too. I was in LEGOLAND, for crying out loud, and I must do my part to keep this tradition alive, yes?

I liked his disco ball dude, so I exchanged my grunge guitarist; we kept the accessories cos’ the ‘Model Citizens’ (the staff at LEGOLAND Hotel) do not have accessories for their minifigs

Now, that’s some awesomeness there. We were happy owners of new minifigs, completely mixed and matched in randomness, and totally loving them.

Remember to keep the tradition alive and bring some minifigs for swapping the next time you come!

Goosebumped by some unpleasant birds at Bricks Family Restaurant

Bricks Family Restaurant

The Bricks Family Restaurant is the place where buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner are served. The LEGOLAND hotel has 249 rooms in total, so you can imagine what a feat it would be feeding all the hotel guests at breakfast.

Because breakfast time for most normal, functioning human families starts from 9am to 10am, the human traffic swells to an all-time high at this place at this peak hour. A wait of 10 minutes or more is usually expected before you get a table, which was fine by us, since the feeling of hunger can be easily forgotten by the distractions all around the entrance of the Bricks Family Restaurant, namely the soft Lego play pits and Xbox corner.

Clowning around the huge Lego sundae

Stepping on soft Lego blocks

I’m ok with waiting (but not for too long) during my holidays, really. We didn’t really wait very long anyway. 15 minutes thereabouts to me is acceptable.

But I am not ok fending off crows.

The first time we had breakfast there at this restaurant, we were seated outside.

I know crows are nobody’s fault, but it was harrowing to be eating with crows watching us, ready to attack our food the moment we were gone. And since it’s a buffet, how many times would we be gone? And the thing with crows is that they are oblivious to young children. Smaller children are hardly humans they should be fearful of, and I constantly feared for our lives having that meal. I know I’m exaggerating a bit here but you get the drift.

I get goosebumps having a crow or two watch me eat. I am terrified of crows. And my children too.

I don’t have any pictures of crows to show you, but please tell the Bricks Family Restaurant folks you want to sit inside rather than out if you don’t like crows too. This is where we dined when we were watched by hawk-like crows.

On our second day we were assigned indoor seats, thankfully. And that was when I could taste my food a whole lot better, even though I was also constantly worrying for the children who were outside. Anyway, since I could taste my food a little better than the day before, I am so not glad to be saying that the food didn’t taste fantastic. It was mass cooked, for sure; and I wouldn’t blame the folks either because serving up breakfast to so many people everyday during crowded school holidays season sure isn’t an easy thing (the restaurant can seat up to 465 guests). Nonetheless, it was disappointing to not get good food in Malaysia.

Because Malaysia to me has always been about good food.

**Other Hotel Facilities and the Slowly Slowly Movement**

LEGOLAND Hotel itself deserves one full day of your time to explore and to immerse yourself in.

Legoland Hotel entrance, with a fiery dragon to welcome us!

I will state from the onset that their check-in and check-out times will make a fool out of you if you’re a true LEGO fan – who would love any moment of admiring the details in Lego construction and pieces – and if you intend for your stay at the hotel to be only one night and not more.

Check-in is at 4pm and check-out is at 11am. Tell me, how to stay only for one night?

Most people that have done the hotel stay and park visits will tell you that the best way to experience the entire resort is to stay for at least two nights. I’m glad we did. We were very kindly hosted by LEGOLAND for our first night, and offered corporate rates for our second, complete with a complimentary one-day Theme Park and Water Park combo pass for the entire family.

The kiasu mother in me had grand plans to make the best of our stay. The grand plan, like what most people’s itinerary (or so I heard and read), was to hit the road by 8am, reach the hotel to leave our luggage by 9.30am and then start our theme park fun the moment the park opens its doors at 10am. When it gets too hot and we need to cool down from the heat, we’ll adjourn to the Water Park just next to the Theme Park after lunch and spend the later part of the afternoon there. When the Water Park closes at 6pm, we’ll head back to the Theme Park for the Christmas programme and lights since it closes at 8pm.

Sounds perfect? Apparently NOT.

The husband learned of this plan and gave me two very specific instructions on what NOT to do for this getaway: rush everyone around like a mad mother hen; spoil the holiday by yelling at the kids.

And then he said, judging from the flow of my very packed itinerary, I was definitely going to do both. He requested for this holiday to be as relaxing and as fun as possible, and that there be no to-do-list to check.

So out of respect for the man who’s worked so hard the whole year long, we did the “slowly slowly”. Slowly slowly get ready and wake up anytime we wanted, slowly slowly drive to Malaysia (we avoided the AYE traffic by setting off at 10am), slowly slowly leave the luggage in the concierge, and then slowly slowly head to Medini Mall (next to Theme Park) for lunch. After lunch, slowly slowly explore the shops for old school snacks and take kiddy rides for RM1.

Then slowly slowly walk back to the hotel and explore the play pits at the lobby, building, stacking, building, stacking. Slowly slowly walk around to look for minifigs to exchange, and then try our luck for an earlier than 4pm check in, which we got, at 2.30pm.

Steering the pirate ship

Pretending to be imprisoned in the dungeon

Squatting next to a Lego constructed skeleton!

Busy at the playpit

Becks at play

Big Boy at play

Weapon complete!

Super weapon complete!

And then slowly slowly walk to the themed hotel room, admiring the details on walls, carpets, furnishing, decor and elevators along our way. This slowly slowly gig turned out to be extremely relaxing, and FUN!

Slowly slowly exploring the lobby and the intricate details in every Lego piece

Cannot miss the chance to do the elevator dance in all the themed elevators with disco music and disco lights! Awesome!

Cannot miss the chance to do the elevator dance in all the themed elevators with disco music and disco lights! This one can’t be slowly slowly, cos’ the music playing was YMCA! Awesome!

After we thoroughly checked out our hotel room (next point), we headed to the hotel pool for a leisurely swim.

Photo Credit: LEGOLAND Malaysia

The pool occupies a decent, peaceful space comprising an infinity pool (1.2m) overlooking the two parks and a children’s wading pool (0.6m). The kids had a good time slowly slowly splashing water and doing their dipping rounds, and it was all together completely relaxing once again.

It’s nice to be on top of the world! Well, sort of.

Before dinner, we walked around the hotel lobby again and realised that there were many daily activities taking place. There was a Build-a-Lego themed challenge daily, and for the month of December everyday, the best construction of something Christmassy wins a prize. All you needed to do was to use the bricks in the playpits and make something to the theme of Christmas and leave it at the reception counter. At the end of the day, all entries would be judged and a winner chosen.

That night we were there, there was also a ‘Guess the Number of Bricks’ contest in which we were invited to estimate the number of Lego bricks in a jar. Ben won that, that night, and earned himself a certificate and Lego brick keychain.

137 bricks was his guess, and of course, his father helped him estimate a bit

In addition to these things happening, we also slowly slowly checked out other play areas…

Kids spacing out

The lounging corner (where we watched a cartoon of the history of LEGO)…

TV Time!

And were treated to a good time of carolling by the LEGOLAND folks…

Christmas carolling at the lobby

So much to slowly slowly do in one day!

LEGOLAND Hotel Room – We’re in a Kingdom!

Our hotel room. Ah, our hotel room! The highlight of our trip. Such details. Such awesomeness. How impressive!

Guess which theme we chose?

We stayed in a Kingdom Premium Themed Room!

The LEGOLAND Hotel has 249 themed guestrooms, following the three popular Lego lines – Pirate (think skulls and bones), Adventure (think Revenge of the Mummy) and Kingdom (think knights and armours). Each room can sleep up to 5 guests, with a king-size bed for adults, and a separate sleeping area for up to 3 kids, complete with a bunk bed, a pull-out trundle, their very own TV and a box of Duplo bricks for the young ones. The bathroom also comes equipped with a washbasin for children. What awesomeness!

Amused by Lego-inspired soap

But the best part – the best thing for me was the details in the room and that we had a room with a view. Everything was made to fit the theme, from the beds and the carpet to the wallpaper and even the Lego decor in the room!

Check this out, Ladies and Gents. This.
This was the view from Room 323.

Nat Kao and the Frog

The details in the children’s sleeping area

The entrance to the room

A Treasure Hunt and 4 Mystery Numbers

The highlight of our hotel stay, for my eldest son, the hugest Lego fan in the house, was the thrill that there’s a mystery box to unlock in the hotel room.

So we were told that there was a special sheet of paper to search for to get the questions for clues to unlock the mystery treasure chest. Ben jumped to work immediately, and wasted no time locating and counting the items that’s requested of him for his task.

I cheated by calling the reception for the code while he was busy at work so that I knew the code to unlock the chest before he did. Hurhurhur.

Understanding the task first

Solving the mystery of the hidden number and finding the clues

Nonetheless, the boy solved the mystery on his own, and was extremely elated to have found treasure inside the treasure chest!

Unlocking the chest

Treasure!

It was his reward indeed, but one he gladly shared with his siblings because he is such a sweetheart – a Lego Spiderman magnet, a Lego Ninjago keychain and a Lego brick keychain!

Sharing is loving!

Night time at LEGOLAND Hotel – A Beautiful Sight

I don’t know if you’ve done it. But we did. Take a slowly slowly walk in the still of the night and just soaking in the Christmas atmosphere and the idea that we’re in LEGOLAND.

The Theme Park at night

The other entrance

Giant LEGO figs!

The hotel lobby at night

The Castle at night

Awesomeness.

Di Mattoni Restaurant

We were very glad to have found decent Italian fare at this restaurant in LEGOLAND Hotel, and that very much made up for the harrowing breakfast experience with the crows. The food here at Di Mattoni was extremely delightful, and we were really happy dining here. This restaurant deserves a mention especially, because despite being a place for fine dining and all, they catered completely for the kids – word search puzzles, colouring and Lego bricks to keep them occupied, you name it – while we waited for our food. Service was excellent as were the cocktails and dishes.

The entrance of Di Mattoni Restaurant

Glorious Italian fare and deliciousness

***

There you have it, a L-E-G-O-L-A-N-D review of the LEGOLAND Hotel, with more awesomeness than we imagined. So glad we initiated our Slowly Slowly Movement the first day we were there to thoroughly enjoy food, company, and LEGO!

LEGOLAND Hotel, we’ll be back!

***

Coming up: A review of the LEGOLAND Theme Park and Water Park

Disclosure: We were hosted by the good folks at LEGOLAND Malaysia for the purpose of this review for one night at their Kingdom Premium Themed Room, and offered a corporate rate for our second night. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here, including being deluged by waves of awesomeness, are our own.

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Christmas happiness Getting all sentimental now Happy days Invites & Tryouts Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids

Capturing a moment in time this Christmas with Orange Studios

November 28, 2014

Christmas is, without a doubt, our favourite time of the year.

It’s a time for reflecting, sharing, giving and loving.

It’s a time to take stock and to give thanks.

And it’s a time to look back at how much my children have grown.

2011: Christmas with family

2011: My little Santarina Becks

2012: Keeping our tradition of getting a real fir tree!

2013: Look at the presents, and how much the kids have grown!

This year, Orange Studios invited us to capture 2014’s Christmas through pictures we would want to keep for a lifetime.

Pictures like these, to remind us that time is but fleeting and every year is a year of change that must frozen in time by photography to be kept alive in our hearts:

Oh, how quick my babies have grown!

Another year, another Christmas. Here’s to more happy times and jolly cheers!

xoxo

Just for Motherkao readers:

Orange Studios is offering a mini Christmas Photo Shoot so you will never forget this Christmas!

The following are the dates for the sessions:

Nov: 24 – 27, 30 (limited slots remaining for 30 Nov)
Dec: 2 – 4, 9 – 14

Quote [Motherkao] and for SGD180 (U.P $200) you will enjoy the following:

– a 30-minute studio Christmas photoshoot session
– all soft copy photos (8R resolution) returned with light edits

Terms and conditions:
– The above rate is for up to 4 pax. Top-up $15/pax for additional participants.
– Maximum 2 outfits.
– $30 surcharge for weekend sessions.
– Soft copy photos will be provided in a DVD, by self-collection. Top-up $4 for postage (i.e. normal mail).

Contact them at 8606 6950 or contact@orangestudios.sg for enquiries or bookings. Connect with them via Facebook for more updates!

Disclosure: We love Orange Studios, and were super stoked to be invited by them to share this offer. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here are our own.

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Everyday fun! Invites & Tryouts Product Reviews Reviews The Kao Kids

Ready, Doh, Shoot! [Review of DohVinci]

November 15, 2014

I think I say it out quite loud that anyone who gives my kids Play-Doh becomes my enemy.

I’ve nothing against dough play for kids; in fact I firmly believe that they need to knead, model and shape dough to strengthen those fingers to prepare for writing. Monkey bars do the trick too, but if that isn’t accessible, it’s always easy to prepare homemade dough and get the kids to knead away. With my kids a little older now, these days we knead dough for pizza more than we do it for play.

I digress anyway. It’s packaged, commercial Play-Doh I’m talking about that annoys me greatly – they have a funky smell and stick to your clothes and shoes and furniture. They give my children that illusion that whatever they make can be eaten with the play that’s associated with it, like ice-cream and candy making. And they also leave a sticky, gunky feeling on your hands. I tell you if you’ve tried making DIY dough at home it really wouldn’t feel the same.

So boy am I glad that Hasbro has finally heard the criticisms from this fussy mother and thought of something ingenious, and on top of that, divorce it with pretend-food-play and associate it with craft.

Enter DohVinci.

Bright colours to inspire the inner artist

This is a clever product that amalgamates Play-Doh, 3D creative design and the concept of crafting which comes in deco pop tubes that fit into a styling tool similar to a squirt gun.

Ready, aim, shoot

So technically, you don’t need to handle dough with your hands and fingers (read: no funky smell, stains, feel and stickiness) and you can doodle with something safe unlike the professionals who do it with plastic.

The Kao kids were invited for a crafting session at Food for Thought at the Botanic Gardens last weekend to experience what it was like crafting with DohVinci. If you know my kids well, the word “dough” stirs up extreme emotions of excitement and exhilaration, simply because they know that it’s something that sometimes annoys me which I keep away from them. And the thought of being able to touch it, feel it and smell it at someplace else not our home makes them really eager and happy.

It’s the same feeling on my end too, if the mess is not mine to clean.

So last Saturday, they were found at a huge table squirting, squirting, squirting away. They were invited to be DohVinci Designers, and although we all know it’s all tongue-in-cheek with Da Vinci, it was quite regrettable that no one acknowledged that.

Hey, it would have been great if the kids were given some information of how diversely talented this Italian man was (painter, sculptor, architect, writer, engineer, mathematician, geologist…), and why his name was even borrowed for this product. Afterall, this great person that ever lived was described as having a “feverishly inventive imagination”. Just saying.

The organisers even gave the kids a red beret to get them into the artist mood

My DohVinci Designers

Anyway. The designers got to work, and were rather engaged.

Artists at work. Do not disturb. Squirt, squirt, squirt.

I have to say that stylus was made for an older child with muscle strength in his arms and fingers. It was almost impossible for Nat and Becks to be using it.

Nonetheless, the kids had fun changing colours and going creative designing their own Christmas trees, embellishing them with sequins, buttons and glitter. Guess who ended up being the extended hands of Little Miss, since she couldn’t be squirting the DohVinci herself.

Becks getting busy

It felt like I was frosting cupcakes, and well, it was good practice for me.

Practising swirls

The little designers were presented with certificates after the session, and were left to savour that moment of pride of having designed something unique – their very own masterpiece.

Ben and his masterpiece

“I’m a DohVinci Designer!”

DohVinci is now available at Toys ‘R’ Us and all major departmental stores. Check out the DohVinci website for more details of their various products, like the vanity kit and easel set.

***

So what happens after the craft session is over? Want to know?

My kids squirt Play-Doh from the DohVinci stylus gun and play with Play-Doh using their hands.

How can Play-Doh not be touched with hands, these kids ask

And so they got busy again squirting worms and rolling eggs

There’s just no stopping them. It was too inviting.

And although we did return home with dough stuck on our clothes and shoes (sigh), I was glad the mess was not created in our home.

Disclosure: We were invited to the Designer Workshop organised by DohVinci Hasbro. No monetary compensation was received for this post. All opinions here about Play-Doh are mine, including all the remnants and bits we’ve amassed over the years from people who gave them to us. For the record, no one is my enemy yet. Friend-friend, still, k, friends?

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(Self) Examination Happy days Invites & Tryouts

I did 5 km in 50 minutes, and I’ll do it again in a heartbeat

November 10, 2014

You’ll never, ever hear me say this before 9 November 2014.

But today, post Great Eastern Women’s Run, I’ll tell you that I’ll run 5 km all over again.

The day has finally come and the moment I’ve signed myself up for has arrived. Prior to 9 November, I’ve had an awesome time being in the #RunToLiveGreat Programme as an influencer, working out once a month with non-runners like myself to prepare for the big day. For my personal training, I’ve only jogged around my estate when the weather permitted once a month as well, and that usually meant doing 1 km in 20 minutes.

S-L-O-W, I know.

You’re talking about someone who doesn’t like running. This same person would clock 32 minutes for 2.4 km in her NAPFA test in JC and fail that miserably.

But like I shared in a previous post, after much prodding and encouragement, I’ve decided to do something for my health and fitness this year.

So yesterday, in the cool of the morning (after heavy showers that fell upon our land), despite being down with a cold and a bad throat (down after three weeks of overnighters for work), I ran my first ever 5 km at the GEWR 2014.

What a lovely morning it was, yesterday

And what a wonderful feeling it was, and still is.

It was a wonderful feeling to be amidst a sea of red – amidst a sea of women wearing the red, fiery race tee. Having people around you helps to keep you motivated. Having motivated people who’s charged with adrenaline around you keeps you even more encouraged. You don’t warm up alone; you don’t run alone; you don’t wave your hands up in the air and cheer alone. You are with people. With people like you. And that makes it all together so inspiring.

It was a wonderful feeling to start the race being next to my mother. Who is 62 this year. She is an inspiration, I tell you – being 6 decades old and running the first 3 km, then brisk walking the last 2 km. She finished the race 1 minute later than me. And I am 33.

This is my mother, who is probably fitter than me

It was a wonderful feeling to experience what it’s like to accomplish something your mind sets out to do. Halfway through the race at the 2-km mark I thought I saw a quote by the kerbside that read, “Your body achieves what your mind sets out to do” and I was pumped. Before the race, I’d told myself I would start walking at the 3-km mark because I was afterall, unwell, but after reading that quote I never could convince myself to give up or start walking. I wanted so badly to focus all my energies to finish the race jogging it – all 5 kilometres of it – and finishing it well.

I proved to myself that the power of focus is powerful indeed. And if I could do this running, I could do this for anything.

That’s why I would do this again in a heartbeat.

To experience this exhilaration all over again.

My #RunToLiveGreat buddy and me – she did 21 km, I did 5!

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Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Reviews

A cut (and colour) to stay cool – Review of SOHO by X’pect

September 15, 2014

Is it me, or is it the time of the year where the heat and humidity is getting way too unbearable?

I don’t know about your household, but we’re chalking up quite a hefty utility bill every month switching on the air-conditioning every night. And using up a whole lot of water showering at least three times a day.

So I thought I’d do my bit to cut down on the water bills by getting my locks chopped.

Long hair = more water. Short hair = less water. Right?

I was recently invited to review the hair services and treatment offered by X’pect Group. X’pect Group is a leading group of hair salons with 16 years of experience in the industry, and 5 outlets in Singapore, with its 6th salon opening in a few months. I’ve been told they’ve won over 70 local and international awards combined, and styles MediaCorp artistes, and most recently, the Radio DJs at the Radio Awards.

Awards and accolades aside, let’s get me some haircut, I say. It’s way too hot to keep hair long in this mad weather. So I made arrangements to be away from the children one afternoon, and headed down to Square 2 for a makeover at X’pect Group’s SOHO. Mama needs a haircut, I told the Kao kids, much to Becks’ dismay. She wanted me to be in the Frozen hair braiding craze with her but I told her I was more fried than frozen in this heat.

I arrived, sat down and told Damien, my very experienced stylist that (a) the weather’s too hot, (b) I’m dropping way too much hair, (c) I’d love a look that doesn’t make my hair too flat (I have got very, very fine hair), and (d) he could do whatever he wanted.

So these were his recommendations: (a) if it’s too hot, I should get a hair cut, (b) the reason why my hair is falling off is because my scalp is too oily and I should stop using moisturising shampoo, (c) in order not to have too flat a look, I shouldn’t have my hair cut too short, and (d) if he could do whatever he wanted, he’d give me a highlight of ash green with an ash brown base to brighten my face.

Yes, to all, I say.

And so I got a cut…

Goodbye long hair, it’s too hot to keep you

It’s being chopped…

…OFF!

Not too short though, which I am happy with

This is just fine!

A colour…

All the previous colouring has faded, and so now, for a new coat!

And because I complained that my scalp felt a little too itchy from the colouring, I got treated to a really wonderful pampering session – a scalp massage!

No pictures here, cos I had wanted to enjoy the massage and catch my 40 winks.

And the end product was…

Chic and cool, methinks

WALA!

Side profile

Back profile

I felt light, refreshed, and cool, and walked out of SOHO with a spring in my step.

The proof of a good haircut, to me, is not the new look you have on the day itself. It’s the day after. If you woke up and saw yourself in the mirror the next day after your haircut and still like it, you’ve got a stylist for keeps.

Me and the new hair cut, the morning after

There, I am one happy person.

Thank you, SOHO by X’pect for making this happen. Now I feel cool, in every sense of the word!

With Evon who gave me the best scalp massage ever, and Damien, who envisoned and executed this style specially for me

I’m still able to join my little girl in her Frozen craze, alright, with this short hair. I’m singing ‘Let It Go’ with a new perspective. I’m glad I had my hair cut and am totally loving this length. Anything to stay cool this hot and humid season!

More details:

You can get a haircut at X’pect Group salons (the one I went to was SOHO at Square 2 at Novena) starting from SGD40 and highlights starting from SGD75. More information on their rates here. X’pect Group’s studios and salons are located at Orchard International Building, Sunset Way, Liang Court, Square 2 and East Coast. There’s going to be one for Westenders at Hillview opening soon too!

For more details on X’pect Group, connect with them on Facebook or check out their website here.

Disclosure: I was invited to review the service at X’pect Group and given a cut, colour and scalp treatment. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions here are my own.

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Ben Kao Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Nat Kao Reviews The Kao Kids

Turtle mania descends at City Square Mall!

September 7, 2014

I’ll be the first to admit I was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan when I was nine. I carried a TMNT school bag to school and I loved Leonardo most. He was the leader of the turtle pack, and so, very cool. I watched the TV series and was totally familiar with how they became mutant ninjas. You could quiz me about their sensei Splinter, ask me who’s April, Casey Jones, Shredder and Karai, and I could tell you all and more, while other girls were into Polly Pocket, My Little Pony and Care Bears. I grew up watching He-Man, TMNT and Hulk Hogan.

I must have been an odd girl, I know.

Fast forward 24 years. The turtles are back in my kids’ lives.

Sometime, somewhere, somehow, they catch snippets of the animated series on Nickelodeon, see posters of them in malls and find related merchandise at Toys R Us. I tell them sometimes about Leo, Raph, Mikey and Donnie, and their adventures with the baddie Shredder from memory but because childhood memories are a hazy thing, I decided it’s better to bring them to meet ’em.

We were invited to catch Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello in action at City Square Mall’s Live Show yesterday as part of their ‘Total Turtle Takeover’ this September holidays. And boy, boy, boy, was it totally exciting.

See my boys? They came prepared.

Raphael and Leonardo Wannabes

They watched in awe…

Heroes in a half-shell!

Someone was watching intently

And learnt a couple of ninja moves from the turtles.

Each dude showed us some good action moves with their weapons – the katana, the nunchakus, the sai, and the bo staff – and got the children to train as junior ninjas by imitating their actions.

Learning to use the nunchakus

And now, some sword moves from Ninja Nat

Cowabunga.

The only thing missing was a good pizza pig-out after all the action, which I would have loved to watch.

This was one of the better live shows we’ve caught, because the boys were so, so stoked. The turtles were funny, as usual, the action moves were great, and Ben and Nat got some exercising done.

And then went on stage to meet their heroes some more.

When we got up, Mikey said out loud on stage, “Hey, Leo and Raph. You’ve each got a fan comin’!”

We are all such big fans (ok, maybe except the little girl)!

We are all such big fans (ok, maybe except for the little girl)!

Totally awesome.

More details:

Catch the turtles live in action daily from 6 to 14 September at City Square Mall’s Level 1 Atrium, Mon – Fri at 2pm & 7pm; Sat & Sun at 1pm, 4pm & 7pm.

Shake hands and get a photo with the ninja dudes at the Meet & Greet session after the show by redeeming an exclusive Meet & Greet pass with a minimum spending of $50 (with a maximum of 3 same-day combined receipts). 50 passes will be given out 1 hour prior to each show, strictly on a first-come first-served basis.

There’s also a host of TMNT activities at the mall this September, which includes some colouring fun and Turtle TV Nights! Check out details here.

Disclosure: We were invited to the Live Show and given a media pass for the Meet and Greet. The boys were also given a goodie bag packed with Turtle Power. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here are mine.

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Ben Kao Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Reviews

The Force is here, across the Causeway: LEGO Star Wars Miniland at LEGOLAND Malaysia

September 6, 2014

Before my LEGO obsessed firstborn had the Legends of Chima open up to him, he plunged head in into the World of Star Wars first.

Thanks to his father’s influence, he grew curious about the weird inhabitants of all the different characters living in the various planets in Star Wars, and even earned his own keep to buy this book – which he ploughs through religiously – from a secondhand bookshop.

Ben sharing a moment with Nat, explaining the characters of Star Wars from his Visual Dictionary

I am not a big fan, and have only watched Episode VI on big screen, and so my knowledge of Star Wars is limited to only Darth Vader (and the ‘wa si lin lao pei’ Hokkien jokes), Anakin Skywalker and Natalie Portman. Oops, is she some Queen Padme of some strange planet called Naboo. Always can’t control myself when I say ‘Naboo’ out loud.

But this boy, he knows so much more. He hasn’t watched every single episode, but he’s sure learned a lot from the extremely hilarious LEGO Star Wars Cartoon series. Which is great because he doesn’t think the baddies are scary; they are always portrayed as losers in the cartoon, and he gets to enjoy slapstick humour as a child appreciating what could otherwise have been complicated story plots and developments in an epic film series predominantly meant for adults.

So imagine how very stoked he was when he scored an invitation to preview the Star Wars™ Miniland Model Display at LEGOLAND Malaysia.

It’s not something that happens every day; and this boy from Singapore skipped kindergarten for a day to be one of the two littlest invited guests to turn up at the media preview of this attraction, which is the first of its kind in Asia.

Just look at the beaming five-year-old when he got to LEGOLAND Malaysia. So much happiness.

Hanging out outside the Miniland Model Display before the official launch

Absolutely no qualms making friends with Darth Maul.

“At last we shall reveal ourselves!”

Or the Jedi Master of High Council, Mace ‘Uncle’ Windu.

Young Jedi Wannabe with the Master

But the boy was actually looking high and low for a picture with Count Dooku. Hurhurhur. He just thinks his name is too funny.

The LEGO Star Wars Miniland Model Display is housed in an octagon building with a floor of 900m² that have been divided into 8 areas – 6 for each Episode of Star Wars, with the 7th featuring a scene from the animated film, ‘The Clone Wars’, and the 8th featuring an amazing array of retail products, read: all LEGO Star Wars merchandise.

Outside the LEGO Star Wars Miniland where we also met some young Jedi knights and storm troopers

The place, besides being a welcoming respite from the heat (air-con!!!), is a place that’s guaranteed to make you drop your jaws. And make you drop it 8 times.

And scream “WOW!” like what Ben did walking through the Miniland.

We took a chronological walk through the Star Wars timeline and had fun pressing the interactive buttons that activated animatronics within each scene.

Episode 1: The Phantom Menace – The Battle of Naboo

Episode II: Attack of the Clones – Geonosis
Ben having an intense conversation with the Star Wars Miniland Guide

Here, the battle between Count Dooku’s droid army and the Grand Army of the Republic

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – the planets of Kashyyyk and Mustafar

Episode IV: A New Hope - looking at the Tatooine and Han Solo's famous Starship, the Millenium Falcom, which takes 40 seconds to take off and land!

Episode IV: A New Hope – looking at the Tatooine and Han Solo’s famous Starship, the Millenium Falcon, which takes 40 seconds to take off and land!

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back – taking refuge in icy planet, Hoth

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi – Battle of Endor

Star Wars: The Clone Wars on the planet of Christophsis

With more LEGO-modelled Star Wars characters

Add to the whole experience, retail therapy!

8,000 man hours. Over 1.5 million bricks. For this entire experience that will make any Star Wars fan hyperventilate.

More details:

The LEGO Star Wars Miniland Model Display opens its doors on 6th September 2014 (today!). Entry to the Star Wars Miniland is free and included in the admission ticket.

Throughout the month of September, various LEGO Star Wars activities have been lined up to commemorate LEGOLAND Malysia’s second anniversary. These include:

a free entry promotion for children dressed up as their favourite Star Wars characters (from 6 – 30 Sept)
special birthday fireworks on 15 Sept at the Resort starting at 8pm
characters ‘Meet & Greet’ sessions at The Beginning (Theme Park) and Hotel Lobby (LEGOLAND Hotel) from 6 Sept onwards

Check out more exciting activities here if you’re planning to head down to LEGOLAND Malaysia this September holidays!

Disclsoure: Ben and I were invited to preview the LEGO Star Wars Miniland Model Display. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here are own. We endured tired jaws to bring you this jaw-dropping awesomeness. You’re welcome.

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Everyday fun! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Milestones and growing up Reviews The Kao Kids

Going on a plastic fast, and playing with traditional toys

September 2, 2014

It’s not every day you get invited to a toy store and go behind the scenes to learn how it operates.

Excited kids pretending to buy this and that

Cashier Ben at your service – how much is the white tiger in the window?

Cashier Becks tells you everything is free ! (hurhurhur)

Cashier Nat only accepts cash

It’s not every day you get invited to a toy store and get a glimpse at some of the most exquisite toys it imports and sells.

An impressive range of traditional educational toys that develop cognitive skills, 3D imagination and logical deduction

Petitcollin dolls: phthalate free, vintage handmade collectibles with handsewn clothes (I’m a doll-lover myself, so this cabinet was fascinating for the girl in me – oh the details on their faces!)

Vilac, the oldest toymaker in France: they’ve been making traditional wooden toys in a factory set in the Jura Mountains and their wide range of handmade toys include building blocks, wooden cars, planes, and automobiles, tea sets and musical instruments all handcrafted using high-quality wood and a unique lacquer formula

More charming collections displayed all around the store

It’s not every day you enter a toy store and find that practically nothing there calls for your concern – with regards to toxic materials and hazards – because you know, as a mom, you raise your eyebrows when wooden toys have labels that read ‘Made in China’. Almost every toy there is either Swiss-made, German-made, French-made and at the very least, handmade.

Pizza-making and animal farm play that’s safe for little hands

It’s not every day you get to play with the lightest modelling compound in the world, and shape things with a dough so fluffy and soft, and never dries out.

Ladies and Gents, this is Bubber, the award-winning, lightest modelling compound on earth!

And it’s not every day you get to walk home with toys from the store with compliments from the store itself. Just look at these beaming children.

Happy kids to receive presents specially handpicked for them

And for many days, these toys kept the Kao kids going on their plastic “fast”. Yep, you heard that right, these kids’ mother decided that they’ve been touching plastic way too much, and issued them a challenge of finding creative ways to play with their new wooden toys.

So besides going fishing, using the xylophone for every pretend-play royal proclamation of Princess Becks’ arrival, and assigning animals to their barns to the tune of ‘Old MacDonald’s’, the Kao kids have got the texture of wood incorporated in their play, which is a good change from their usual sensory experiences with plastic toys.

Ben’s going to fish, Nat owns a barn, and Becks get a xylophone that the boys would have to play for her when her royal highness deems it fit!

Play time!

A whole new dimension of fun to be remembered for a long time!

~~~

Zero2Six is a toy store launched in 2010 by a concerned mother with a single vision – to bring in award winning traditional toys that are unique, educational, eco-friendly and fun for children in an age where digital products are increasingly encroaching into a child’s playtime and development.

Zero2Six toys are sourced from premium toymakers in Europe and USA that have passed the highest safety standard tests worldwide and made with the finest natural materials. They are exceptional in quality and educational value, and made by some of the world’s oldest toymakers in the world who still believe that a handmade toy is a craft and not a commercialised product.

Zero2Six can be found at Katong I12, Mandarin Gallery and Jem. Connect with them via FB at their FB Page here.

~~~

Disclosure: We’ve been invited by Zero2Six for a behind-the-scene toystore experience. The toys in this post have been specially handpicked and sponsored by them. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here are our own.

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Fatherkao loves... Food, glorious food! Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Reviews The Kao Kids

Stealthy, steady success for a 40th birthday bash – Part 2

August 20, 2014

So the husband turned 40 earlier this August, and was given total VIP treatment by me, the kids and the good people at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport.

And because Changi Airport, particularly Terminal 3, is our family’s favouritest place in this country, it was especially special for us to be celebrating Fatherkao’s birthday there, staycating at one of the ‘World’s Top Ten Airport Hotels’.

From my stealth liaising a month before the birthday surprise to the day we checked out, my family was warmly hosted at Crowne Plaza. The Marketing Manager was fully attentive to the needs of our family of five as she arranged for us to check into the 36-square-metres Deluxe Twin Club Room with an extra rollaway bed so we could all sleep comfortably. And when she learned that the entire staycation would be a surprise birthday celebration for Fatherkao, she gamely offered to place a cake in the room so I didn’t have to run around the airport with kids in tow to hunt for one prior to checking in.

The Crowne Plaza Deluxe Twin Room: two little people are getting comfortable!

Checking out the room, and lazing on the rollaway bed

The glass panelled bathroom! And so we thought we'd be in full view of everyone when we shower, until we found blinds!

The glass panelled bathroom! And so we thought we’d be in full view of everyone when we shower, until we found the blinds!

I did nothing but turn up, check in, blow the balloons and light the candles with the kids to create some party atmosphere for the birthday boy.

This was special delivery, arranged by the Marketing Manager, who thought it’d be nice to have a cake at check in. The Lobby Lounge has one of the best cake selections, in my opinion. Because this cake was absolute heaven.

We were also given exclusive Club Lounge Access, and there, the kids got juice, the adults had coffee, and we all spent a lovely afternoon together after the cake-cutting, watching Fatherkao teach Ben how to play a game a chess.

Ready to lounge!

First, some chess. Then, some juice!

The Club Lounge at Crowne Plaza Hotel Changi Airport was such a respite. At the lounge, we could look out and see the bustling city traffic on one side and a calming rainforest pool view on the other. The best part of it was, we had the place largely to ourselves.

City view from the Club window

Pool view from the Club window

We checked out the pool after we were done with our lounging, and I must say, I haven’t seen so much open space for a while in concrete jungle Singapore.

A pool with a view when you look out and up

I’ve never swam in a pool like this, amidst lush greenery and wooden sun decks. It was like being in an island resort while in a city. I loved the space I could look out to, and the planes I could look up at. The kids enjoyed exploring the pool in their floats, although the water was extremely cold and being in it made our teeth chatter so much we had to head to the bathtub in the room immediately after for a warm soak.

I think the kids had the most fun being in the bathtub in full view of us looking in from the room on our beds. Give these kids warm water any time. They haven’t learned to swim yet so they’d much prefer the safety of the tub.

Before dinner we headed to the Club Lounge again, which was on the same floor as our room and the pool – and oh how so convenient to just pop by whenever we wanted – to enjoy evening cocktails, mocktails and canapés. I loved that at 5.30pm when we were there, there was absolutely no one (the hotel folks say the tourists usually head out to town and weekends are quieter than weekdays). We had the entire lounge to ourselves, and were given such royal treatment, getting served drinks of our choice, snacks and then getting our photos taken.

Oh the spread of canapes! This was like dinner for me!

Oh the spread of canapés! This was like dinner for us already!

We sneaked out while the littlest was napping to have some snacks and drinks

I had a mocktail, he had a Singapore Sling!

Can you tell? The birthday boy was one happy camper, and was savouring every minute of his 40th birthday.

Later in the evening, we were hosted by Azur, the award-winning restaurant at Level 2 in Crowne Plaza for Fatherkao’s birthday dinner, and had some of his closest buds join us for more celebration over food, wine and laughs. At the restaurant, we talked and laughed over a good buffet spread of Eastern and Western cuisines – something which we haven’t done so with our friends for a while.

And what an even more pleasant surprise to find that there was yet another surprise for the birthday boy with yet another birthday song and cake.

Everyone's really making sure the birthday boy realises he is 40!

Everyone’s really making sure somebody realises he is 40!

Fatherkao was more than happy to be eating cake again. Not before he tried to clean off the zero in the ‘40‘ which was piped on his plate.

So he cleaned off the zero, and wished he was 4 instead

Still in denial, this man.

After dinner, the men continued with more wine and talk, while their wives and kids lazed in the cosy hotel room. Nothing would have pleased my husband more than this: to be able to enjoy good wine with his buddies whom he has known for decades and to cheers to more good years ahead.

The best things in life: food, friends and family

Someone once said, “Men are like wine – some turn to vinegar but the best improve with age.” I certainly married someone that’s turning into fine wine at 40.

You’re not old, dear. You’re just mature.

——-

Thank you, everyone that came to make Fatherkao’s day, and Crowne Plaza Hotel Changi Airport, for your hospitality and impeccable service. You’ve made this birthday really special and have set the standard for all the other staycations to come, because Fatherkao says it’s the best one he’s had so far. We’ve done A LOT of staycations since 2004, and if he says so, you’re truly something!

——–

Disclosure: Crowne Plaza Hotel Changi Airport sponsored our 2D1N staycation-and-birthday-celebration for Fatherkao, and hosted us at Azur for dinner. We had exclusive access to the Crowne Plaza Club, and had our breakfast there the next day as well. I did not receive any monetary compensation, and this post was a result of the wonderful experience we’ve had celebrating a milestone and being pampered silly. This may be the most unlikely place to consider having a staycation, but I tell you – the SPACE you get! Being away from the crowd and having such exclusivity is totally worth it, if you’re someone like me who is tired of too many malls, too many people and too much noise.

This was our breakfast at the Club Lounge – we had the place all to ourselves on a beautiful Sunday morning

The entrance to Crowne Plaza

More details:

Crowne Plaza is connected to Changi Airport’s Terminal 3 via a seamless, air-conditioned link bridge that gives you easy access to the shops and F&B outlets that operate round-the-clock.

A 2D1N stay in a deluxe room on a weekend starts from SGD263 and includes breakfast. The deluxe rooms feature an ergonomic workspace, comfortable beds, ensuite bathroom with separate rainshower and bathtub, and free WiFi connection.

Overnight parking is available at the airport for SGD20.

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Fatherkao loves... Going Out! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Reviews The Kao Kids

Stealthy, steady success for a 40th birthday bash – Part 1

August 19, 2014

I’ve known this man for 14 years, and ever since he became my husband 10 years ago, I have never kept a secret from him.

Not until I had to plan a birthday surprise for him this year.

Fatherkao was getting all pensive and in a totally reflective state about turning 40 (and the worst hit came when he received the letter for Eldershield, hurhurhur), and I’d thought that a birthday party was in order to turn turning 40 into an occasion to celebrate.

I started a secret whatsapp chat with all his buddies (who incidentally have also turned 40 a few years ago) and amidst jokes that they would all be getting him Salonpas Pain Relief Patches for his birthday present, they all agreed to come and spend the day with him because there was nothing he would appreciate more than good company and wine. I changed the passcode to my phone and operated completely by stealth to liaise with the wonderful folks at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport who were so extremely kind and generous to host us for a staycation and dinner. I packed everything for the stay, including his, only on that morning of the staycation day itself (while Fatherkao was out) and told him that I’ll be whisking him away for a holiday – and so he had to meet me and the kids at the airport.

Our plan that day was to check into the hotel room before meeting him, prep the room with balloons, and take him there to surprise him with cake.

I knew he knew the impossibility of me taking him away for a holiday by plane even though his birthday fell on a Saturday, and I was sure he even suspected that we were heading for a staycation, but I was glad he played along any way when I asked him to meet me at T3. He loves the airport, and since Terminal 3 has always been our favourite place to hang out as a family he had nary a grumble when I told him we’ve missed the plane and lunch at Pasta Mania would be his birthday treat instead.

And then when lunch was over, I told him we would be heading to the hotel lounge at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport for desserts (the first time I lied so blatantly in front of the kids who have already checked in with me way before lunch, blew up balloons and prepped the place). The kids and I were doing our best to keep the secret of a staycation in, although the excitement was already building up to such a level we could hardly contain it! Fatherkao kept asking the kids what was going to happen, and they were so game to play along by telling him it’s all a secret.

Until I gave the secret away. Unknowingly.

We walked past Bata at B2 on our way to Crowne Plaza and Becks asked when I was getting her the pair of princess shoes she’s been wanting to buy, and I said, “Tomorrow, k? Let’s buy it tomorrow.”

Fatherkao turned to me, and asked with a grin, “So… staycation, right? Cos’ tomorrow we’re coming back here to buy shoes.”

BUSTED.

Still, with the secret out, we managed to give him a really pleasant surprise by bringing him to the hotel room, getting him to walk in with his eyes closed, and having the loveliest raspberry and chocolate mousse cake ever together – oh, the decadence!

Despite my slip, it was still a big surprise for the big boy who blew out four big candles on his big four-o.

The secret’s out, you’re 40, happy birthday, my love!

———

More about our awesome birthday celebration and staycation at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport in Part 2 here, and why this staycation has set the standard for all the others to come.

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