You have reached the Parenting, Lifestyle and Travel blog of a daddy of FIVE, Steven Teo. Parenting, because that’s what I NEED to do, have a peek at my LIFE (style got or not, you decide) and our Travels via bus and MRT, plus the occasional cheap overseas trip!
Leroy visited Shaolin Temple a couple of years when he was merely a toddler. We passed by groups of student monks practicing martial arts in the big field but we did not catch any performances back then.
One day, I will be back... Leroy back then at Shaolin Temple.
Fast forward to 2016, and I finally had the opportunity to experience some authentic Shaolin Kung Fu along with Leroy, in the theatrical performance SHAOLIN 少林功夫 right here in Singapore, at Marina Bay Sands Theatre,
The Shaolin monks performed various death-defying acts, which amazed Leroy much and let to him asking "isn't it painful?" every now and then. But as it was really a theatrical performance, with acting and drama building the pace from one climax to another. he got a little impatient having to wait for the next "dangerous" act to come up.
It doesn't help that all the performers (save a few ladies / girls) were monks (botak), making it somewhat hard for him to differentiate the bad guys from the good monks! In short, it was truly a case of good (monks) triumphing over evil (emperor) with some very cool Kung Fu moves which Leroy obviously loved!
Useful Information
Performance Times (only till 31 Jul 2016):
Tuesday - Friday 7:30pm
Saturday: 2:00pm and 7:30pm
Sunday: 1:00pm and 6:00pm
It's not Metallica's "Enter Sandman" but rather, the name of a restaurant the family visited recently at Parkland Green (along East Coast Park). The newly revamped Marine Cove, which is the place where many adults now, might have had some wonderful childhood or adolescent memories biking, rollerblading, or pak-tor-ing along the beach is trending on social media, but SandBank, this gem of a place I never even knew existed in East Coast Park, till now.
Have it your way! The eggs that is!
The stuff to goes along with the Nasi.
Fancy some Carrot Cake?
I would say that the Nasi Lemak (and chilli) is pretty good!
Our Egg Benedict. Doesn't look that nice but it was really quite ok!
We went there for their buffet breakfast, and they do serve a decent variety of local delights such as Nasi Lemak with all the accompanying condiments, Pratas with as much meat as you want in your curry sauce, the Dim Sum and Paus for the cheenas in you and me, plus the usual staples such as egg station, various pastries and breakfast cereals found in international breakfast buffets. Not exactly REALLY cheap but they are having a "kids eat free"promotion now so it's totally worth it! Would have otherwise cost $9.50 per kiddo (between 4-12).
Of course, besides the food, one can soak in the great view of the beach and the sea, But what really sets this place apart (from the other restaurant / bars) is that they actually have this FREE plunge pool for kiddos just outside the restaurant. Be sure to bring along swimwear for the kiddos when you bring them here, for it would be hard to deny them of that dip after food! No worries about washing up after the swim, as there is a very clean and spacious public washroom (complete with showers) that is merely a couple of steps away. My only grouse is that the water in the pool felt quite chilly as Louie found out.
Papa,,, cold... cold...
What I really loved about the place, was that I felt surprisingly relaxed the moment we stepped into the restaurant. I felt as if I was on a vacation of sorts, and was going to get my breakfast buffet! In fact I happened to meet a friend at the restaurant, who told me that "it was like having a staycation, without even having to step into a hotel" and that basically summed up my feelings! So if you are thinking of somewhere to go on a weekend morning with the family, this might be a good choice. Ample parking lots for those who drive too.
And we ended our day of leisure, exploring East Coast Park.
For the other adults who wishes to have a nice buffet lunch (that is not too hard on the wallet) with kakis on weekdays instead, do note that they have also started a weekday lunch buffet priced at $25.90++ recently. Kids aged between 4 -12 are charged at half-price. Gather a group of 4 and you basically get 25% of the total bill too!
Useful Information
Address: 920 East Coast Parkway, #01-28/32 Parkland Green, Singapore 449875
Telephone: +65 6247 7988 (highly suggest that you make a reservation before going down!)
Operating Hours: Tue / Wed / Thu (11:30a.m. - 11p.m.) Fri / Eve of PH (11:30a.m. - 12a.m.) Sat / PH (8:30a.m. - 12a.m.)
Sun (8:30a.m. - 11p.m.)
Plunge pool will be available till 7p.m. from Tuesday - Sunday. Basically its CLOSED on Mon lah.
Amusement parks all over the world needs to keep refreshing its attractions once in a while, so as to keep goers happy and satisfied. Although I do not know about you, but once my kiddos find a certain ride interesting, they would go on and on and on without wanting to stop. It is really us, as parents who feel short-changed, after having paid the full price into any amusement parks, only to have the kiddos explore that few rides or attractions.
LEGOLAND Malaysia is no different, and Leroy and Stacci were invited over to recently to find out more about their latest LEGO NINJAGO the Ride. I guess I was pretty excited as well and admit that I didn't really read THAT much into the invite and only knowing it was about the new NINJAGO ride. So I merely told them that we were going to try out some new stuff over in LEGOLAND when they asked why we were going in.
Getting into their warrior characters!
We reached there a couple of hours before the media event and that meant a couple of hours of fun at the amusement park for the kids of course! They cannot help but get onto the rides, be it on land or water. However the sun was out in its full glory and even the kiddos enthusiasm got a little subdued by the heat. Having said that, I do notice that the park had made a fair bit of improvement since the last time we were there. Some of the rides, such as LEGO City Airport got covered up and that is really awesome coz those seats used to get really heated up under the mid-day sun. I also noticed a few big fans installed throughout the park to provide the welcomed breeze.
Judging from the shadow of the blades, you can roughly know how big the fans were!
The kiddos were already pretty exhausted by all the play just before the event started, but perked up a little when they knew it was time to get to the place of the new ride. We followed the well-positioned signs and reached the site without a hitch, except that we weren't expecting a construction site. Then I re-read the invite and went "ohhhh", it was only a bricklaying ceremony for the coming new ride! I sure had some explaining to do!
We had lunch at Market Restaurant, a respite from the heat.
The Lamb Shank is pretty good! And the potato mash is awesome!
Who can refuse a big bowl of Ice Kachang in this weather?
And if there happens to be kids around, the staff may bring out some bricks and engage them in some building activities.
And they even got a LEGOLAND Malaysia mug for completing their building task!
The LEGO chicken they were supposed to replicate.
Nevertheless during the event, we were shown how this revolutionary ride would be like. LEGOLAND theme parks are actually the first to adopt the Maestro™ hand gesture technology that enables guests to control the outcome of their adventure through the power of their hands without the use of any hand-held device. No devices required, just your hands! There will also be elements of heat, smoke and wind to elevate the experience of the riders as they pursue the training and continue their battles against the evil forces by blasting animated fireballs, lightning, shockwaves and ice with their hands (gestures). I can almost imagine Leroy throwing out fireballs as I type this.
Leroy walking into the "new world"!
Some activities for the little kiddos!
Cute ninja that I would love to carry back...
Ninja Kai performed for everyone before the VIPs laid the bricks in the ceremony.
The official brick-laying ceremony with the kiddo ambassador!
This NINJAGO Ride in Malaysia, will be the third in the world after the opening of the same ride in Billund, Denmark earlier this year, followed by the California Resort in April to much fanfare. LEGOLAND Malaysia, in its commitment to keep its attractions up to date, is pumping in an estimated RM $40million to be the first to bring this ride to Asia, and this obviously benefits us, the neighbours in the south.
Stacci can't wait to be back again to experience the cutting-edge technology promised!
Now I only need to placate the kiddos and have them wait patiently till Nov and hope that we can make it back to EXPERIENCE it ourselves! I know it will be a blast! Check out the video below and watch till the end for a preview of the ride!
Giveaway
Be amongst the first to get to try out the ride in November this year, before the rest of the public even gets close! We are proud to partner with LEGOLAND Malaysia to bring some friends along for the exclusive preview come November 2016!
Complete all the steps required in the Rafflecopter below and two families will be chosen to go on this extraordinary family trip to the theme park (preview date to be confirmed)! Do not worry if you have many children (like me), because the prize is meant for a family unit (consisting of 2 parents or 1 parent + guardian, plus unlimited number of children*). Why? Because LEGOLAND Malaysia loves children!
*E.g. If you have 4 kiddos like me, you get to bring the entire family of 6 (parents + kiddos) to the park for free! The more the merrier, but proof of relationship must be produced.
This giveaway will run from now till 2359hrs on 31 Aug 2016. Winners will be notified of the actual date of visit closer to the date.
While we were there, we also caught the NINJAGO Live Show for the first time. I was initially expecting performers to be dressed in the LEGO suits but it turned out to be puppeteers controlling LEGO NINJAGO characters that were around a meter tall. An immersive and delightful show for the whole family indeed.
