Day 4 In Taipei (Photos)

Sorry, laptop was "sick" for 2 days... Finally re-formatted the harddisk and functioning again...:) I have to try to recall what happened on Day 4...haha...

Started the day at 西門町.


Then took the Metro to Sogo Department Store. Pastor Yong brought us to the top of Sogo where there was an indoor "garden" and a full view of Taipei below.

The supermarket has a strawberry store that sells "looks good" and "taste good" strawberry pastries. Look at the way Debbie was munching away...:)

We wanted to walk from Sogo to Taipei 101; but realised that it was too far this time...:p Had dinner at the foodcourt of Taipei 101. My hotplate set was huge! Denise had a Japenese udon and chicklet cutlet set. JX had fried beehoon with oyster omelete... Yummy!

Day 3 In Taipei (Photos)

Had lunch at Aubergine; a Japanese Curry restaurant recommended by Pastor Yong. The curry was very nice! You can even request for 5 different spicy level to suit your taste! Kids meal comes in a cool blue race car...:)

On our way to Taipei 101, Pastor Yong bought us his favourite pastry; taiwan sausage with ham. I was already full from the delicious lunch; but couldn't resist popping this whole thing into my mouth...

We didn't visit the 国父纪念馆. Only took a walk past the park and took some cute pictures like the one below... (taken by Pastor Yong)


Brought the kids to an indoor playground. As our camera went out of battery life, photos taken from Taipei 101 were from Val's camera.

After Taipei 101, we went to the famous 士林夜市for more eating. Ate the fried chicken, fried mushroom, oyster mee sua and drank more bubble milk tea. Not sure if I was imagining it; but the pearl seems to be more "bouncy" than those in Singapore..."p


Ate and shop at the same time. Pastor Yong's parents were amazing! We wanted to send them back to hotel to rest early. But they insisit on joining us. Aunty even told me to take my time; don't rush through when it comes to choosing clothes. In the end, she bought stuff herself as well...:)

Day 2 In Taipei (Photos)

One of the highlight of our trip was to visit New Life Church. It is truly a celebrity church...:) They invited 汤兰花to sing and share her testimony! The greatest surprise was meeting 柯俊雄 at the VIP room after service! Pastor Yong's mother was so excited! It was like meeting her "Andy Lau". She specially reminded us that we must give her this photo...:)

Lunch was at 富乡园。They served this big pot of chicken soup which you can see in front of Pastor Yong's father. It had to pre-ordered because it is supposed to be double boiled and tripled boil till the chicken "dissolve" in the soup...:) Yummy! Debbie loves the soup! She drank a lot. For those of you that read my earlier blog... You know that her nose bleed in the night. We suspect that perhaps the soup was too heaty for her body...:(

Went to 淡水after lunch. Climbed the famous 情人桥 and took many scenic shots here.

There were street baskers performing and Denise even had her portrait drawn by one of the artist. The day ended with more eating and shopping at 通化街.

Day 1 In Taipei (Photos)

Bye Bye Singapore! Debbie was having her afternoon nap. Thank God she managed to sleep for almost 3 hours throughout the 4.5 hr flight!

Denise - super excited about checking in on her own!

Arrived at Taoyuan International Airport. You can see me checking my phone for sms-es and emails... Hehe, working...


Waiting for our driver from New Life to fetch us to the airport with my happy children!

Had dinner at 通化街夜市 with the Yongs.

It was a night of eating and shopping...:)

First stop; fried chicken, fried sweet potatoe. Followed by noodle, tofu and bubble milk tea... (all Pastor Yong's recommendation)


The hotel was very nice, clean and new. There's free wireless internet connection from the room. I didn't bring my laptop, but I could assess my emails and update my blog from the Mac placed at the lobby. There's also free coffee and tea while surfing...:) On the 2nd day, found out that there was a laundry area with washing machines and dryers; washing powder provided. Got my maid to do laundry every alternate day to avoid bringing too many soiled clothes home. Hmm... Not bad huh?

Day 6 and last day in Taipei

Supposed to wake up early for BabyBoss; but we were too tired... Packed, checked out and left the hotel at 10am. Reached BabyBoss at 1030am. I went in with Denise while JX and Debbie went shopping "to kill time".

Denise was so excited! The night before we already planned which stations she wanted to visit...
- Hospital nursery room
- Airline
- Pizza parlour
- Departmental store
- Bank
- Driving center
- Convenience store
- Beauty salon

In the end, she only managed to visit 7 from 10-3pm! Show you the photos later...

With the money that she earned, she bought a packet of milk and kept the balance as souvenir...:)

After that we went back to hotel to pick up our luggage. By the time we reached the hotel, at 4pm, our kind driver from New Life was already waiting for us. We headed towards airport, bought some foodstuff as gifts for family and friends and board our plane at 710pm.

On the whole, this was an enjoyable family trip! Travelling with our maid was money well-spent! She really helped us with carrying our bags and most importantly in taking care of the children...:) We came back with pleasant memories of Taiwan; already missing the food when we were on the plane! Time to lose some weight now...:p

Day 5 In Taipei

Yup! We were already back on Thursday night...:) We knocked out for the last 2 nights in Taipei; too tired to blog... So here is the late "report"...:)

Woke up on Day 5; JX went to Ed with Val while I brought the kids to Toy R Us at New York New York. Bought myself a new swimwear...hehe... Then bought MacDonalds before heading to Ed's salon opp Sogo.

Have you seen JX's new hairstyle? Ed was so detailed when it comes to cutting and colouring! He does not use a shaver... He cut JX's "slope" using only his scissors. And he coloured JX's hair in 3 colours!!! Awesome!

After that we were supposed to go to 五分埔 for more shopping but along the way we saw a huge poster hanging outside 京华城. It was BabyBoss (www.babyboss.tw). It's actually a huge mock up city for children role-playing! We requested to stop there instead. It turned out to be better than shopping at 五分埔!

As the place was closing at 6pm, we decided to purchase the ticket for the following day. It turned out to be the highlight for Denise's trip to Taiwan! (Post photos later)

After dinner, we dropped the kids and maid at the hotel. JX and I went to 通化街夜市 for more shopping and eating; this time without the kids! We ate more food and bought more stuff...:) The kids were playing at the hotel lobby when we finally went back. They were so excited to see us...:) Promsied Denise to wake up early so that we can start early at BabyBoss.

Day 4 In Taipei

We overslept this morning!!! Supposed to visit the Zoo but when Pastor Yong called us at 10am, we were ALL still sleeping... We actually slept through the alarm at 8am...:p Must be all the night-shopping at Shilin the night before...:)

By the time we got ready to leave, it was lunch time. We decided to head towards Xi Men Ting (西門町) instead. It was another episode of walking and eating... Met up with Pastor Yong and family for lunch at 顶呱呱 and then took the Metro to Sogo Department Store. It was again another round of "food-tasting"... Hahah... Will post the pictures of the food that were highly recommended by the "King of Gourmet"!

After that Pastor Yong and family went back to hotel to rest, while we continued our walking and shopping. Then we took a cab to Taipei 101. Almost did a major damage to my wallet... Phew! Had to exercise self-control...:p Had lunch at the food court; had huge portion of Taiwanese and Japanese food... Post pictures when I come back...

After dinner, walked to New York New York, but it closed at 930pm. Decided to head back to hotel for an early night. We had a pleasant surprise! Pastor Yong bought us "liang mian" and meatballs for supper... Yummy!!!

JX and Val going to Ed to do their hair tomorrow... Be ready for a surprise when they come back!

Day 3 In Taipei

After breakfast at the hotel, we went to Sogo for a walk. Pastor Yong introduced us to more food at the basement. Then we had Japanese food at Aubergine which serves very nice (what else will you expect from Pastor Yong) Japanese curry...:) Sorry guys, pictures later...

After lunch, we walked from Sogo to Taipei 101. It was a very nice walk. Even though it was noon and the sun was out; the weather was superb! We were not perspiring at all... There was even a gentle breeze that followed us. We cut across National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall ( 国父纪念馆) to get to Taipei 101. Met Pastor Wayne for Coldstone ice-cream (another of Pastor Yong's recommendation) New York New York shopping centre.

From there, we went up Taipei 101. Breath-taking view of Taipei from level 89 and outdoor observatory at level 91... It is amazing how men can design such a tall building ... Reminds me of the Tower of Babel...

Had dinner at 度小月; a noodle restaurant recommended by Pastor Yong (again!). Guess who we saw? Elva Hsiao (萧亚轩)! Sigh, too bad our camera went dead... Was so tempted to approach her for a picture...

After dinner, we went to Shilin night market... Oh man, what a crowd! Shopping, eating, shopping and more eating... With our kids in tow, we walked till 11pm and there were still streets that we did not cover...

Anyway, 3 more days to go in Taiwan. Bringing the kids to the zoo tomorrow!

Day 2 In Taipei

Attended New Life Church. It was a great service! Felt very at home here...:) The order of the service was very casual and light-hearted. Pastor Abraham Ku shared on becoming a new creation in Christ. He got a few leaders and staff to share on how they become a new creation. The whole sermon was conducted in a "talk-show" style.


Then we had an awesome lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Pastor Yong, "King of Gourmet" made reservation and ordered food the day before. When we reached the restaurant, the food was served!

Then we went to Dan Shui (淡水) and of course, we visited the Lovers Bridge (情人桥). It was a nice seaview...:) After a nice, windy walk, we went back to Tong Hua night market for another round of shopping and eating...:p

Super tiring day... A lot of walking!

Day 1 in Taipei

Quick update! Post photos later...

Flight was smooth! Debbie literally slept through the entire flight...:) We met up with Pastor Yong and family. Went for dinner at the Dong Hua night market... Nooddle, meatballs, milk tea... Yummy!

Halfway through walking down the street, Debbie's nose started to bleed...:( Not sure why and how... Maybe heaty... The blood just flowed... Anyway, after some wiping and JX cradling her in his arms; the bleeding stopped! Made an early exit back to hotel... But thank God, as usual, both the kids were jumping and playing in the room...:)

Nice and clean hotel... Check it out at http://www.dandyhotel.com.tw/

Visiting New Life Church on Sunday! One of the highlight of this trip...

Debbie's 1st Pair Of Crocs

Debbie received her 1st pair of Crocs 2 weeks ago from Uncle Wai and Aunty Siew Ying. It's her 2 years old birthday present from them! Tonight in CG, she received a pair of Jibbitz from Aunty Steph. They looked perfect on her red Mary Jane...:) Thank you, uncle and aunties for loving my children...:)

Dinner @ Turf City

Ever since we shifted to Dover, we have become more "adventurous" in our choice of dining venue. Decided to go to Turf City on Monday. Dined at Chong Pang BBQ & Steamboat Buffet...:p





The spread was yummy! But we smelled so "BBQ-ed" after dinner... The best part was that we could still do our grocery shopping at Giant after dinner...:) A little exercise to burn off the food... haha...:)

Swimming @ Night

One of the family activity that we added into our lifestyle after we shifted to Dover was swimming...:) The kids were all ready to go on Wednesday night!

The water in the pool is warm at night. It feels comfortable just soaking in the jacuzzi pool! But the next morning, Debbie woke up with a fever... Sigh, what a price to pay...:( Must pray that she gets well for our Taiwan trip this Saturday!

Cold Storage Kids Run 2009

Anyone wants to take over Denise's place for the Cold Storage Kids Run 2009, held this Sunday, 24 May @ The Padang?

We registered her for the Sunshine Orange Chase (Gals: 5-6 years old), 700m Fun Run. Reporting time is 8.45am. 1 parent has to run with the child at all times.

Registration was overwhelming, full and closed already.

We planned a last minute overseas trip, thus have to give the race a miss. For more information of the race, click here (http://www.kidsrun.com.sg/RaceDay.aspx)

Thus if you are interested or know of anyone with a daughter aged 5 or 6 who may be interested, do email me at dawnlpc@hotmail.com

Ladies Day Out WithOUT The Kids

Met the mummies in the morning for Dim Sum at Mouth Kitchen on Sunday morning!



Left our kids behind and decided to "pamper" ourselves with shopping and coffee after that. After coffee, more shopping at Robinson... But of course, we were still shopping for the kids. Haha... Even though we didn't bring them out, we joked that we brought them out in our hearts! :p

What a day! Certainly doing this again...:)

Caelyn's 6th Birthday Party

Denise attended classmate, Caelyn's birthday on Saturday. It was a Winx Club themed party! Everything was Winx Club; ranging from the party plates, cups, napkins to the birthday cake. You can imagine the girls requesting for their favourite characters during the cake-cutting! I mean, why would you want to eat your favourite character?...:p Caelyn's grandmother even made her a beautiful princess agar-agar...:)

However, the best part had to be the water-play after the party. The parents had to agree that we all leave at the same time so that the children will go home. We literally had to "shout our lungs out" to get them out of the pool...:) And the mission was to leave before 3.30pm; before the water sprinkler come on in the children's pool...

Wedding @ Au Jardin

Attended an outdoor wedding at Au Jardin last Friday. It was a small but super-heartwarming and cosy affair...:) We were invited for a lunch reception after that. What an experience! We even had to ask the waiter how to consume the appetizer...:p

Nice table setting

Smoked beef tendon, grilled white asparagus, comte

Fungi juice (which is actually, mushroom soup), truffle, parma ham, hazelnut emulsion

Roasted spring lamb leg with lamb ragout (the best I've tasted so far!)

Some sweet dessert; the dark chocolate was simply yummy!

Carrot sorbet, carrot cake crumple, clementine granite

Denise's Favorite - Sun Ho

Denise loves Sun Ho...:) I recently joined Sun's fan page on Facebook so that Denise can view her latest videos and photos. Do join me to get the latest updates on Sun Ho! www.sun-ho.com/fanpage

Family Day At East Coast Park

Brought the children to DD & JX Family Outing at East Coast Park today. It was a hot but windy Sunday. It was an excellent weather for a day out at the beach. Thank God for the tentage that we put up.

Even though the crowd were mainly adults, when it came to game time, the enthusiasm was fantastic! Look at the way the guys were gearing up for the Watermelon Eating Competition. Of course, the picture at the side was only Isaiah and JX cutting the watermelons, in preparation for the game :p

The children were not left out too. They had a fun time building sand castle under a nearby shade.

Managed to catch some shots of Denise...:)

And Debbie had her fair share of fun with the sand too...:)