December 15, 2014

Enjoy Reunion Dinner at Gu Ma Jia

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Reviews CNY menu, Food Review

GU Ma Jia Chinese Restaurant

Last week the kids and I were invited for a super early Chinese New Year reunion dinner food tasting. We haven’t yet decided on how we will be celebrating Chinese New Year come 2015 but it was was great to know that having our CNY dinner there is a plausible option.

The kids with fellow blogger Amie of Mamamie Thots and her kids.

It took me quite a while to find the place as it was peak hour and I was not used to the one way roads in that area. We were lucky to find a road side parking lot in and adjacent road and made it to the restaurant in time.

Tiger girl posing for the camera

The kids had to wait quite awhile for the other invited guest to arrive. They occupied themselves drawing and coming up with their own stories to accompany the pictures.

We were served a mixture of the new dishes which were created for their 5th Anniversary and the upcoming Chinese New Year.

Egg Beehoon with Lala

This dish was a real hit with the kids. They love the yummy bee hoon. In fact this was the ONLY dish that Tiger girl and Doggie boy ate besides the ice-cream that they were served for dessert. ( My kids are great noodle fans)

Tofu Soup with peanuts. $28

The adults seated at the table were more adventurous and tried nearly all the dishes that were served. I tried this tofu soup and it was really yummy.

Herbal Chicken Soup

I preferred drinking this chicken soup compared to the tofu soup. The herbs used in the soup wasn’t too overpowering and it tasted really rich.

Homemade Yam Ring with Kyoto Pork Ribs $30

This was the only dish that Monkey boy tried besides the bee hoon. I loved it too as the Pork rib was really juicy and delectable. The Pork Rib wasn’t hard and it was easy to chew.

Hot plate satay cuttlefish $18

This was another dish which I enjoyed eating. The slices of cuttlefish tasted really springy and chewy when I tasted them. The satay sauce used in this dish gave it the correct amount of spiciness.

Drunken prawns

This dish looked really appetizing and would certainly be a treat for any prawn lover. Unfortunately I’m not into prawns so I gave this dish a miss.

Lotus Leaf Rice

This is a traditional dish that is served during Chinese New Year which has gluttonous rice within the lotus leaf.

XO Prawn Noodles

This was another dished which I passed on due to the prawns. I asked Monkey boy if he would like to try the noodle soup but he too declined as it appeared to be a bit to spicy for his liking.

Claypot Pork in Sesame Oil

This dish was quite refreshing to me. The pork was really tender and fragrant. It reminded me of the dishes I had during confinement with Tiger girl 4 years ago.

In all it was a rather enjoyable dinner for us and there were certain dishes which I certainly wouldn’t mind ordering again the next time I visit Gu Mah Jia.

Current Promotion at Gu Ma Jia for Chinese New Year 2015

Have your pick of their $488. $588 or $888 set meals or from their wide Ala-carte dishes this coming 2015 for your Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner.

The special dishes are available from 5th February 2015 to 5 March 2015 so you can schedule your reunion celebration anytime within those dates.

45 Tai Thong Crescent Singapore 347866

Tel: 62852023

Open Daily 11am to 3pm, 5.30pm to 10pm

Disclaimer: We were invited for a food tasting sessions of their new dishes which will be available come CNY 2015. All opinions are 100% my own.

November 30, 2014

Chilling out at Parkland Green

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Reviews Food Trail, Food/Services, laser tag venue, parkland green, sandbank east coast

The selection of food we tasted at Sandbank

The excellent selection of food we tasted at Sandbank

Parkland Green at East Coast Park is the place to dine if you are out on the weekend. Recently revamped this stretch along East Coast Park houses a mix of dining and retail outlets for families.

Last Friday the kids and I were invited to try out the food at the dining establishments and have a round playing laser tag. The kids were thrilled that they would get a chance to play laser tag as they haven’t tried the game before.

Some of the restaurants/shops we visited

Having tried all the establishments at Parkland Green here are my recommendations.

My Picks

(For Alfresco Dining)

This restaurant really takes the cake for service and quality of food. Sandbank is the first restaurant that I have seen which has a 15 metre plunge pool within it’s premise. The concept of “cooling-off” and having a tasty meal really appeals to me. (The pools were still under construction when we were there so we weren’t able to test it out.)

Our sampling plate.

BBQ Baby Back Ribs $26

This was absolutely yummy. The succulent ribs just melted in my mouth when I ate them

Juicy Charcoal Grilled Cola-marinated Chicken Wings (6pcs) $14

I’m not really a fan of chicken wings but eating the juicy wing on the sampling plate made me crave for more. It was THAT good!!

Hawaiian Pizza at $25

Monkey boy really loved eating this pizza. Cajun prawns and jalapeno peppers made it spicy but it wasn’t overpowering. It tasted different from the traditional Hawaiian pizza and it certainly whet his appetite as he happily helped himself to his siblings’ shares as they don’t eat spicy foods.

I personally loved the fusion of flavours of the pizza and this is certainly a dish which I would order if I were to visit Sandbank again with the kids.

The spread at St Marc Bakery & Bar

( For Brunch or Tea)

St. Marc Bar and Bakery

This is the place to go for afternoon treat or brunch. They have one of the yummiest Chocoro. The flaky croissant filled with dark chocolate is really mouth watering.

A close up of the chocoros- Eating one is certainly not enough!!

The chocoro makes for a great light afternoon tea snack together with tea or coffee.

Monkey boy eating their Spaghetti Carbonara

The boys weren’t very hungry as we had been sampling food at the different outlet and I didn’t expect them to be able to eat any more.

I was surprised when I saw both boys gobbling up a plate of Spaghetti Carbonara each when it was served to our table. It must have tasted really good as they finished their plates without letting me sample any of it. Monkey boy said that the Carbonara was the best that he had ever tasted.

Little Fuji- Waffle with ice-cream

Doggie boy really “attacked” the soft serve ice-cream on the waffle when it was served. I had to momentarily removed the dish from his radius before I could cut it into smaller pieces for all to savor.

Monkey boy and Tiger girl playing with the toys at St Marc

If you have restless kids like mine dining at St Marcs will not be an issue. There are toys available at the restaurant to keep young kids occupied. The kids took a dump truck and the bead sorter toy to our table to play with while waiting for the food to be served.

(For your sporting needs)

Hyper Sports

The kids were attracted to the colorful skateboards and helmets when we entered the shop. They explored the shop on their own and were happy to browse around. They tried out some of the skateboards and scooters that were on sale.

The interior of the shop

There were so many things that the kids were interested in and wanted for me to purchase for them as Christmas presents.

Flipbelt

Being practical, I decided on a flipbelt for myself instead. This belt would certainly come in handy when I travel with them or when we are out exercising in the park. The kids already had skateboards and scooters at home so they did not need additional sets.

( For a fun time)

Tag Team

Tiger girl and me

This was certainly the highlight of the afternoon. The kids couldn’t wait to play laser tag at Tag Team. We had the opportunity to experience two 15 minutes missions at each arena and loved it.

Monkey boy being showed how the gun works

The boys went off with the other boys in the group while tiger girl and me went to play with the girls. We were split into two different groups so that we could try out the different arenas at the same time. The boys tried out the indoor – mystery room while we tried out the outdoor arena on our first attempt.

Each player was loaded up with a laser gun and sensors and lead to their bases before the game started.

My little fighter- Tiger girl

Even though the gun was nearly as big as her Tiger girl handled it like a pro. She happily charged around shooting the players in the opposite team when the signal GO was given.

Tiger girl and me inside the Mystery Room

It was an unbalanced fight from the start as we were outnumbered 5 to 3 during our 2nd mission. However we rose up to the challenge and squashed our opponents flat as we won the mission with a final score of 26: 20!! It proved that resilience and determination pays off and I was really proud of our achievement.

I personally preferred the indoor arena as compared to the outdoor one as the guns were lighter and being in air-con we did not sweat as much as during our 1st session. The boys too preferred playing in the mystery room as compared to the other arena.

We would certainly be back again for another round of laser tag this school holidays.

Parkland Green

20 East Coast Parkway Singapore 449875.

Disclaimer: We were invited by NParks to check out the restaurants and other businesses on a Friday afternoon. All opinions are 100% my own.