Some Tips from our Recent Hong Kong Trip (2023)

Those of you who had been following us would know that we only recently went on a family trip to Hong Kong tio boh? Forever being the bargain hunter and advocate of "can save why not?", I think it is my duty to share some of the tips I discovered from my recent trip with you. Hence if you are going on a trip to Hong Kong soon, maybe some of these may come in handy –

This is the package you will receive. Just need to follow the instructions to claim your freebie!

Welcome Gift - As a tourist, you are entitled to a special $100HKD gift by Hong Kong Tourism Board. We arrived at Hong Kong International Airport and their booth is right after the arrival gates, cannot miss one. Go grab a gift card with a QR code inside and follow the instructions on collecting your gift. We redeemed ours for a return trip on Hong Kong Airport Express train ticket each.

---

Mobile Data – I dunno about you, but I am quite tired of having to charge portable WiFi devices liao. For my current trip, I actually relied on e-sim data that I purchased off Shopee. I get no commission one and I dunno if there are any other better ones out there. But I got mine from here, and it served me well and was the cheapest! Only $6.50 for 2GB daily for 7 days lor but take note it is data only.

---

The motel we stayed in, is machiam our HDB flats lah.

Accommodation – This one I dunno how many will dare to follow what I did lah but my accommodation was really one of the cheapest around. It is basically one of the many guesthouses / motels in Tsum Sha Tsui (specifically Mirador Mansion). I booked mine through booking.com because it allows for free cancellation. Actually you go have a look at their listing here. Photos showed the place bright and airy but when we checked in, they moved us to another motel called London motel, which looked a little spooky lah.

Just google for Hong Kong accommodation and select the cheapest. These will surely pop up. I am only trying to tell you that in my own humble opinion, that these places can still do lah. We basically only use the rooms from 11pm – 8am every day. Bring your own toiletries etc, but easily bought from the provision shops downstairs.

---

Octopus Card – This is an essential card you need, that you can use at lots of retail shops on top of transportation. There is a dedicated counter at HKIA selling these cards, as well as single / return Airport Express tickets (at a discounted rate of 4). There is a deposit of $50HKD that I was told can be refunded but only to realize that there is an admin fee for return within 3 months of issue. Cards will be inactivated if not used for 3 years. Take note of the card serial number if you can, in the event you lose it like me (dropped from a roller coaster ride).

Take MTR or Tram easily with the Octopus card.

Aiyoh navigating Hong Kong is just like getting around Singapore. All I needed was Google Map (and mobile data obviously) and you are good to go. Almost everywhere is so well connected by MTR that there was no need for any taxi ride for us, unless in a super rush for time.

---

There are rides for everyone at Ocean Park, on top of the all the animals you get to see. Including the pandas!

Amusement Parks – I must say that this is my own personal view hor, dun flame me. If there is only one park you have time for, I honestly would recommend you to Ocean Park. It is basically an Aquarium, Bird Park, Zoo and amusement park rolled into one. There was something for every one of my 5 kiddos for sure, just that we do not have enough time to visit everything. We went on a Monday and there was hardly any queues to get onto rides etc.

---

Most of our meals were taken at the random Cha Chaan Teng we stumble upon when on the move.

F&B - I feel that the food is quite expensive there these days, even for the humble Cha Chaan Teng. Especially those in the more touristy areas has prices that can be comparable to Singapore restaurants liao. But somehow their milk tea and toasts tastes really nice lah. Oh the bottled soft drinks there also costs like $12HKD up at most places but you can find provision shops selling them at $6HKD and you can bring food and drinks into the Disneyland and Ocean Park one hor. I saved myself from some heart pain by doing so because I have got 5 thirsty hippos lor.

So yeah, hope you find the above info useful for your trip to Hong Kong!

Home Entertainment - LUMOS NANO & LUMOS MOOD Projector Review

What is LUMOS MOOD Lighting Projector?

Have you ever wondered how magical it would be, to chilling under the stars before falling asleep? I did that once, over in Rawa Island over 2 decades back. One really needs to be far away from any light pollutions to be able to see the stars shining brightly in the sky. The closest we got to reliving that moment was over at an indoor glamping over at Changi Experience Studio, with artificial stars.

Nifty little projector, that comes along with a remote control.

Now guess what? I can recreate almost the same feel right in our own bedroom with just a LUMOS MOOD projector that cost under $100. You can play around with the different settings such as the colours, brightness, movement and play soothing music over the speaker via Bluetooth. It definitely feels interstellar!

Never thought that such a small device would be able to project over such a big area of space!

The kiddos were absolutely in love with the projector, especially our youngest Starri who demands for us to turn it on just prior to her sleeping time. To prevent any overheating over 2 hours, it would be wise to set a timing using the controller to prevent you from falling asleep “under the stars” with the device on!

LUMOS MOOD - Plug & Play

It only took us 5mins to open the box, connect the type-C USB cable, plug it into the power source and turn the device on with the pressing of a single button. Totally idiot-proof and even my Louie was able to operate it totally on his own! You can control the basic functions via the buttons on the device or use the remote control for more options. Connecting my mobile to the device was also a breeze and it even syncs patterns to my selected music.

One can literally sleep under the stars, or even the galaxy for that matter!

Hahaha the only funny thing was that my phone was once connected to the device unintentionally while I was using my mobile when the kids turned it on. I thought my phone speakers went dead as the sound from my mobile was played in the room where the kids and the device were in, without me knowing, instead of through my mobile.

This is a short throw only. It can project to an even larger space lor! 

LUMOS NANO Portable Projector

I have been wondering to myself why one should buy a bulky television these days, when one is either on their mobile devices or projecting screens onto walls? I for one had tried a projector and felt that it would totally replace my 70inch plasma TV, especially when it is just as smart, but with the added advantage of compactness that allows me to keep it when not in use.

This is even more incredible. Look at how small the projector is!!!

There is sure portability in a projector, as compared to a TV but I have never thought that I would be able to bring one out as conveniently as a LUMOS NANO that weighs only 400g! It has its own internal rechargeable battery on top of its already ridiculously small size, and the Dolby Audio speakers works great as well! In fact, I think it is smaller than some humidifiers we see in the market lor!

So small, and with its internal rechargeable battery, you can bring it anywhere you like lor!

With its Android 9.0 operating system and Netflix and YouTube preloaded, one only needs to connect the device to Wifi and it is good to go and ready to entertain the kiddos throughout the school holidays lor! For Leroy who likes to show off his gaming skills to his siblings, he can even project his mobile screen via its Air Screen app.

LUMOS NANO - Pro and Cons?

With the ability to project the image onto a plain wall within your usual HDB room, and even onto the ceiling if you lack the wall space, this nifty device would be totally awesome for you to watch a movie or for kids to catch YouTube videos. I would think that using this would be better than the kids straining their eyes on their tablets or mobile devices. You can connect via Bluetooth, or through the HDMI cable provided.

Now Leroy can show off his skills in Mobile Legends to Louie, on the big screen and without him breathing behind his neck as he tries to sneak a peek!

I am seriously no expert at video or image resolution etc, but I can very honestly tell you that the projected images were not as clear as my big-ass expensive projector at long distances and under normal light conditions. However, it still projects very clear images under low/no light situations with its Premium DLP Display Technology at 1,500 lumens. And also then again, this little thingy is only one-fifth the price point of the one I was using previously, so there is really nothing to complain about. The kids noticed no differences in sharpness at all and were all happily using it lor!

Should you get LUMOS MOOD and/or LUMOS NANO

LUMOS MOOD vs LUMOS NANO

Ok so these are basically two totally different types of projectors that I am writing about in this one review. If you feel you or your kids would appreciate the feel of inter galactic travel along with your choice of soothing music, go ahead and get the affordable LUMOS MOOD that could possibly lull you and the kiddos into the mood for relaxation and sleep. Costs $99 with 1-year local warranty and you can get it directly here.

Then with regards to the LUMOS NANO, I personally feel that this device is very worth its price point at $599, given the device’s many uses and portability. You can basically bring the NANO anywhere and play anything anytime you want lor. And these are quality products from our very own local SG company, surely can #SupportLocal too!

Durians for Birthdays?

I actually quite like durians, and would often stop to look see whenever I see them stacked up high at the fruit stores during the season. But I would never buy them by the kilo, as I am always scared of getting "chopped carrot head". I would however be tempted once in a while, to get their pre-packed ones whenever they decide to slash prices during the closing hours. That is definitely a hit and miss for me because I am no connoisseur, but with pricing at 3 for $10 type, no complains lah.

Seems like there is only one person left in my family who likes durians and would happily eat them with me. The rest seems to not mind, but would also not like lor. And the person is none other than my firstborn, Steffi, whom also just celebrated her 14th birthday last weekend! Time really flies. She was just an infant in my arms but has blossomed into a teenager now. A birthday cake is of course a must and we had an indulgence this time round thanks to The Durian Bakery. 

Her delicious choc cake filled with durian pulp and the awesome Dark Choco MSW Mousse!

So we had the very 'gelat' Dark Chocolate Fudge Drip Cake with Mao Shan Wang Core which was totally relished by the birthday girl and myself lah. Chocolate and durian do complement each other lor. But that's not all we had, as they not only have cakes, but also sells a variety of durian patisseries as well! And if you cannot make up your mind, you can get their Signature Durian Dessert Box and try them all!

Just look at all the durian goodness!

Ok I am not exaggerating. The huge-ass puffs are the biggest I have even tried and chockful of delicious pulp!

Definitely a great experience for durian lovers, without the need to unhusk or the messiness, and it definitely tastes like 100% durian flesh in my cakes and bakes. Thank you The Durian Bakery, for sending all these goodies over on Steffi's birthday!

Pineapple Tarts Singapore

Wow Chinese New Year is just around the corner and I am starting to have the craving to snack on all the wonderful titbits already! There are lots of different types of CNY goodies in the market already, with new ones being added yearly as well. Just Pineapple tarts alone, I am sure the variety and flavors boggles you right?

Wow... look at the assortment of flavors! 

We had the great pleasure of trying out the assortment of Pineapple tarts from Pineapple Tarts Singapore, and their CNY goodies are supposedly 100% homemade, handmade and award-winning hor, mai siao siao! Oh despite the name, they do carry a wide range of other CNY goodies.

You get a nice paper bag to fit your 8 bottles when you get the Mega Premium Pineapple Tarts Bundle. 

I have tested all the different flavors for your already and I must say that they did well to blend stuff like Mala and even Truffle into the tarts that they still tasted pretty awesome. Cheese and Salted Egg are quite common these days but Mala was a first for me. Imagine spicy Pineapple tarts? Really never expected such a combination but tasted awesome!

Here are the Cheese, Mala and Truffle Charcoal! The black one sure looks premium with the brush of gold. Tastes great with that hint of truffle too!

Price aside, my honest opinion of the Pineapple tart, regardless of the flavors, are that all of them are melt-in-your mouth, delicious bite-sized goodies that you would want to pop in your mouth one after another. I am serious about that but you must practice self control lah, otherwise sure sore throat! Go order and grab yours from https://pineappletarts.sg/ now. 

They also have the Traditional Nyonya Pineapple Tarts as well!

A Night At The Airport 2D1N Family Camp

What do you say to a family camping trip deep in the forest, amidst the wonderful sound of mother nature, with the crickets’ chirps lulling you to sleep and waking up to the sound of birds calling? I do not know about you but it sure sounded great to me, especially when it is air-conditioned and confirmed mosquito-free!

Look how at home the Si Ginna is!

That was exactly what we did last week over in the Night At The Airport 2D1N Family Camp which I attended with the 4 older kiddos. We started the day early, with a visit to the team from the Airport Emergency Service Experience. Awesome fun learning how to save casualties, put out fires, get into cool vehicles and listen to real-life sharing by the team as well!

Learning more about the airport’s first responders!

Kiddos and adults can all try out some of the suits for photos!

We got to check out all the cool vehicles as well!

The kiddos learning how to properly put out a fire with the extinguisher! 

It was then followed by an exclusive tour of their Changi Nursery, which although is just beside the runway, is still quite a long coach ride away. And it is there where the kiddos get to build their own “green wall” with moss in the workshop to bring back and adults can buy back beautiful potted fauna as well! 

Kids get to enjoy building the "green wall" but adults can also pay to join in!

So this is where the sunflowers in the airport come from, and we even got some seeds to try planting too!

Awesome spot for some vacay-feeling photos!

Well, it can get pretty hot so one must drink up!

Learning about the Bougainvillea ‘Changi Airport’ that was recently discovered! Learn more here!

Then come the best part of all, as the kiddos get to attend a design-thinking workshop where they get to stretch their creativity while us adults get to relax in Changi Lounge for 2 hours! Woohoo! We also had access to bathing facilities within the lounge before getting into Changi Experience Studio for exclusive playtime from 8pm onwards as only campers had access to the place!

In their design-thinking workshop!

The only time when one can roam around in pajamas!

They had the whole place to themselves lor! So fun, but so tiring for adults!

We were allocated the area in the Garden of Harmony and our tents were already set up for us when we were refreshing ourselves. Kidding you not, my kiddos were super excited when shown the camp and we had so much fun playing games under the (artificial) stars without any worries about the weather! 

We are already missing this campsite. Really feels like being in the jungle but with all the creature comfort. 

Many had asked us what to look out for and the necessities to bring along. I think the chance of parents overpacking is quite high. If you ask me, just portable charger for your mobile (bring along power plug as you might get lucky), a change of clothing, towels, toothbrush and toothpaste will do lah. 

Please do note that we were only issued a "sleeping cushion" hor and they had recommended sleeping bags. We brought along but also never use in the end because we can sleep anyhow and anywhere lah. 

In any case, bring along your sense of fun and adventure, and treasure the precious family-bonding time! You can find out more information and also do your online booking of the camp over here - https://www.changiairport.com/en/changifestivevillage/stay/a-night-at-the-airport.html.

Tip: You can use your SingapoRediscovers Vouchers for this program. Book first before end of the year and utilize it before 31 Mar 22!

Christmas Tree Review

Less than a month before Christmas, but have you gotten your Christmas tree yet? If you are hoping to be in time to get it up, I would seriously advise against pinning all your hopes in your shipping from China. Or you might end up like us, with our Halloween costumes arriving way after October.

Our Granfeur 7ft Christmas Tree Bundle came packed like this (without the puppy).

Hence if you are looking at ordering one for THIS Christmas, your best bet would be getting the tree from companies with ready stock. We just got our Granfeur 7ft Christmas Tree from Pine Concept and I must say that the quality of their artificial Christmas trees is really not bad! Their prices ranges from $39.90 - $249.90 and I can guarantee it is much better than the cheaper trees we ordered before from other sites lor.

The branches were individually wrapped as well.

Look how bushy the individual branches looked after unwrapping!

You can consider getting their Christmas Tree Bundles which included Christmas ornaments such as basic baubles, tree toppers and lights, if you do not already have them and want to save the hassle. You will also save quite a fair bit of $$$ by getting them in a bundle rather than individually. But given their low price point, do take note that these are really the very basic plasticky stuff. Still looks good in photos lah!

Tada! Fixed it up in less than an hour!

There are pros and cons with having a real tree and a really life-like fake tree lah. But I feel a good quality fake one is so much more economical lor. So what are you still waiting? Still waiting for Christmas ah? Go get your now!

This post is a review collaboration between The "Perfect" Father & Pine Concept but all photos and views belongs solely ours. 

Staycation at SG Hotel on Wheels

[Media Invite]

It has been a very long time since we slept in anywhere else other than our bedroom, where we, 2 adults + 5 children + our Maltipoo bunk in together! So naturally we were all really excited when we were booked for a one-night stay over at the latest talk of the town, the SGHotelonWheels recently. So to the East we travelled! 

I did wonder to myself on how our family of 7 would fare in a 40ft container but then again, we are so used to squeezing into small hotel / apartment rooms whenever we travel, that I think we would have absolutely no problem at all! In any case, we were booked into 2 containers, a 20-footer Retro Mambo and 40-footer Pop Art SHOWrooms for our staycation lor so all was good! Children above 12 are considered adults and there is a maximum capacity of 4A1C, 3A2C, 2A3C, or 1A4C for the 40-footer and 2A1C for the 20-footer SHOWrooms.

Front porch of our 40-footer SHOWroom.

We were ushered to our rooms upon the standard check-in at their front desk and it was really quite an experience to check into a container room lah. The small porch at the front with the fake grass turf, fake tree and beach chairs was a nice touch, adding to the vacay feel. No keys to hold too, because the room is secured with an electronic lock and you just need to key in your 4-digit password to unlock the door. The older kiddos were also free to go anywhere on their own after getting the hang of it.

This is our 20-footer SHOWroom.

Looks like your typical hotel room layout.

Very bright and cheerful!

Toilet and bathroom with rain shower.

Ok I shall address the cons first. The one biggie for us, would have to be the cost of the SHOWrooms, which ranges from $188 for a 20-footer on a weekday up to $358 for a 40-footer on a weekend (I checked from the website), may not be cheap for us lah! However, this is obviously not a problem for many, because the SHOWrooms were already fully-booked on many days liao, so you better hurry if you wanna try this unique experience! There are only 10 such rooms available and NTUC Members do get $30 off per night as well. 

Quite a lot of goodies!

Another thing that's missed (I cheapo lah), would have to be the inclusive hotel breakfasts. Even though we always sleep in late and miss our intercontinental breakfasts, it somehow still feels more complete with breakfast thrown in hor? But the rooms do come with quite a few free gifts from the sponsors lah, such as facial mask + ampoule from Allureskins Potions, disinfectant spray from Efil, corn snack from SHNACK, E.A mask + Bion spray from Ecom and even Vitamin-C tablets from Holistic Way.

A fully-functional kitchenette I would say in our 40-footer.

Very spacious toilet / bathroom too!

The booking of the containers does not come with any meals but our 40-footer does have a rather well-equipment kitchenette, with utensils and all. And the best thing would be Don Don Donki just within a short walking distance away to pack all our meals! There are of course lots of other eateries located at Downtown East and you will never go hungry for sure.

Kiddos enjoying their snacks while watching Netflix in our 40-footer. Protected by a giant ECOM 030+ air purifier too!

Your kiddos like the pool? But there's no swimming pool at the carpark lah. However all guest do get complimentary tickets to Wild Wild Wet nearby, which is a great thing IF you are booked over the weekend as the park is only open from Fridays - Sundays. Otherwise you can always utilize your tickets on another day lor which gives you more time to enjoy the comfort of the SHOWrooms lol.

Pardon the mess. But this is the view from our 40-footer bedroom.

There are your usual hairdryers and even an LED face mask for your beauty rest!

I would have honestly preferred waking up to nature, perhaps really just by the beach or in some forested area if I were to stay in the "portable" container SHOWroom again. But it is not as easy as plonking the container anywhere lah, considering the sanitation and utilities required. Plus, I would like to be able to buy all the food and stuff whenever I need lah. As of now, some fringe activities one get to try out after waking up in the carpark, would be complimentary bike rentals and discounted art classes by Fara Design Art Studio.

So was it still fun and enjoyable for us? Well according the the kiddos and wife, it was an overwhelming YES! The kiddos enjoyed the stay and loved how awesome our SHOWrooms looked and the wife even remarked that with Don Don Donki it felt as if we were in Japan, where we would just walk over to the nearest convenience store for our meal / snack fix whenever we felt like it! 

As for me, it was truly an unique experience, sleeping in the carpark while feeling as if I was on a cruise, but yet free to get onto land at any time. With the many fun amenities and F&B options over at Downtown East, a stay here can really be D’Ultimate XCape lor! With all the sanitizers and air-purifiers, I think it may even be cleaner than my house.

Go check them out at https://sghotelonwheels.com/ before end of Mar 22!