Singapore, lah!

I have been waiting all summer for our trip to Singapore!

Where We Stayed - Royal Plaza on Scotts (http://www.royalplaza.com.sg/) 

We were choosing between Marina Bay Sands and a Resorts World Hotel in Sentosa, but we decided to go with Royal Plaza because of it’s convenient location - a hop, skip and a jump to Orchard Road’s shopping malls (where I assumed I would be spending most of my time). It was also a stone’s throw away from the Orchard MRT station, which was perfect since I was told that getting a cab during rush hour would be close to impossible.

Being a java junkie, I was excited to see a 24 hour Starbucks right outside our hotel(Starbucks Pacific Plaza, #9 Scotts Road), but was beyond thrilled to find a Nespresso machine (http://www.nespresso.com/) with unlimited espresso in our hotel room! (I’m very easy to please!)

Where We Ate

Our first meal was at Todai Restaurant at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (http://www.todaisingapore.com/) We love eating at Todai because of their overflowing supply of ginormous snow crab. 

While we tried kaya toast and soft boiled eggs for breakfast, our boys were clamoring for a McDonald’s Big Breakfast the very next day. (Sometimes all it takes to keep them pacified are those Golden Arches! No judging!)

Of course we had to eat at Din Tai Fung at the Raffles City Shopping Centre. The boys wolfed down the Xiao Long Bao so fast, it’s a wonder no one burned their tongue.

I would have to say my favorite meal in Singapore was at the Newton Food Centre hawker’s market. The food centre was promoted by the Singapore Tourism Board as a tourist attraction for sampling Singaporean cuisine, so it is a bit of a tourist trap - but the satay and the barbeque crab was so good i forgot to take pictures!

Where We Went

My three boys could care less about shopping - unless they’re hitting the huge Toys ‘R Us at Vivio City, so Universal Studios was the main attraction for us. I also couldn’t wait to get to the park since the last time we were at a Universal I was pregnant and couldn’t ride anything fun.

Our timing couldn’t have been more OFF though since the park lines were beyond loooooong. Our wait per attraction averaged 45-110 minutes. Not fun at all, especially in the Singapore heat! But the boys had fun regardless, and I was secretly thankful for the long lines since after seeing the Battlestar Galactica roller coaster I decided that I didn’t need to ride anything “fun” anymore.

There was much more to see and do, but 4 days and 3 nights with 3 boys and a grandma (my mom will kill me for pointing the finger at her) is just too little time and too much chaos.  I guess our next trip to Singapore has to be when the weather is cooler (not by much, I’m told) and when we have more time.

My Best Buy

While I so did not get my shopping on in Singapore, my favorite buy is Garrett Gourmet Popcorn’s (http://www.garrettpopcorn.com/) jumbo bag of Chicago Mix. This has been on Oprah’s list of favorite things every year, and you guys know I love all things Oprah!A delectably sinful mix of cheese and caramel (yes, you read that right!) popcorn that becomes a party in your mouth! (I dedicate my weight gain to Bolso Buddy Kimmy Coseteng-Flaviano for her must-try suggestion ;p)

Ok, looking back on this entry I see that my longest comments are always about the food. And while I’m not too hot about the term “foodie” -  what can I say?! Some people eat to live, I obviously LIVE TO EAT!!! - KGG