www.MyWiseWife.com

Elephant Parade Singapore | First in Asia

2012-02-04T13:00:00Z

First Elephant Parade in Asia

Learning never stops, I had just found out the Elephant Parade that I witnessed in Singapore end of last year was the first one in Asia. The elephant parade that I am referring to is neither the elephant parade lyrics nor the elephant parade tab. I am seriously talking about a herd over 100 elephants that occupied residence in neighborhoods and landmarks over the Lion City!

Initiated for noble cause, the Elephant Parade is an open air exhibition of painted elephant sculptures to promote conservation awareness of Asian's elephant. Run from November 2011 through January 2012 in Singapore, our Christmas vacation in the capital was a bonus when we joined the elephant aficionados, feasting the pretty jobs of the genius artists. When I visited my cousin during Chinese New Year, she told me that she had missed the elephant fever in Singapore. Without hesitant, I replied, "You can see them soon, the elephants are everywhere!". Then only I knew that the Elephant Parade was held not forever. Most of them had been moved, some had found a new owner and a new home!

Elephant Parade at Vivo City Mall

From over a hundred elephants that swarmed this Asian's metropolitan, more than a dozen of them were nested at Vivo City Mall's sky park, adjacent to Food Republic Food Court at Level 3. Showcased in all kind of acrobatic stunts and colorful 'skin', the elephant parade took place in rain or shine. Besides elephant fans, avid photographers were also around, armed with sophisticated gears and multiple lenses. For sure, they had crushed over these colorful elephants that then I thought only kids would fall in love with!

Pastry Store in Penang | Ming Xiang Tai @ Suntech Tower Bayan Baru

2012-01-29T13:00:00Z

Hunting for freshly baked siew bao and scrumptious tarts from pastry store in Penang? Then, you are hitting the right page. Right here I am going to take you to tour a newly established pastry store in Bayan Baru Penang. The name of Ming Xiang Tai is no stranger to the pastry aficionado in Penang. Located in the bustling street, Ming Xiang Tai is a the home to hand made pastries initiated back in 1970s. One of their signature pastries is Trishaw Egg Tart whereby during the good old days, these delectable snacks were ferried and sold on trishaw, thus gives its name.

Ming Xiang Tai Pastry Store: The Best from The Past

Being one of the most hunted pastry stores in Penang, Ming Xing Tai presents Penang's confectionery favorites of savory and sweet variety from siew bao, egg tarts, chicken pie, yam puff, wife biscuit, wutaro yaki, salted egg pastry to wedding cookies. Not many people know that this pastry store is the best kept secret in Penang. Trays and trays of Ming Xiang Tai's pastries are served right out of the oven but they are quickly gone in no time.

Fun Things To Do With Kids in Singapore | Jacob Ballas Children s Garden

2012-01-21T13:00:00Z

Fun Things to Do with Kids

If you are wondering where to find fun things to do with kids in Singapore, look no further, head straight to Jacob Ballas Children's Garden! Not too far from Orchard Road on the north lies a children's paradise that is the first children's park in Asia. Dedicated to all the children in Singapore, Jacob Ballas Children's Garden is a great outdoor play area for kids. Getting there is a breeze these days. Driving is certainly the most convenience mode to reach Jacob Ballas Children's Garden from door to door especially you are going with babies or tot-aged kids. Hopping on MRT and alight at Botanic Gardens station (CC 19) is an equally great choice with bigger kids or tween. A short stroll from the Botanic Gardens' gate, passing Eco Lake leads one to a small paved road to Jacob Ballas Children's Garden from behind, thus you may not see the facade right away.

A great outdoor play area for kids in Singapore, I was amazed with the thoughts and effort placed in to create such a lovely playground. Despite taking a smaller land compares to Singapore Botanic Gardens, Jacob Ballas Children's Garden is compact with dozens of fun stuff for kids to explore. Plants and trees are labeled with green butterfly signs, explaining their roles in our ecosystem and how they help the environment. Aside from the lawns, sandy areas and playgrounds, there is a paved loop circling the gardens, with plenty lines branching to each of learning through play area.

Singapore Botanic Gardens | Great Outdoor Playground for Kids

2012-01-16T13:00:00Z

Singapore Botanic Gardens Outdoor Playground

Singapore Botanic Gardens is certainly one of the best outdoor playground to take kids to visit in Asia! Safe, clean, quiet, massive, well-maintained and educational, these are not the only adjectives to describe that you made a great choice. If you are planning for a family outing to Singapore Botanic Gardens for the first time, finding out how to get there is perhaps one of things to do before embarking into the nature. Ask friends, ask locals or seek online information.

Singapore Botanic Gardens MRT - Alight at CC19

Depending on your need and budget, there are a number of ways to reach Singapore Botanic Gardens. For visitors that stay near the MRT stations, hop on the train is the most convenience and economical transportation that take one right to the new gate of Singapore Botanic Gardens. Look out for CC19, that's the MRT station code for Botanic Gardens on Circle Line. The station is also wheels friendly with lift service provided from train platform.

Established in 1859 as a research and educational hub, Singapore Botanic Gardens has plenty to offer for everyone every day. An amazing park, this soul healing place is perfect for naturalists and children. Visitors fall in love with the tropical Eden, the home to an enormous variety of shrubs, ferns, herbs and trees. Steep in history, the treasures in the Singapore Botanic Gardens are well-preserved and acknowledged with plates dictating information of each, great for self-exploratory tour within this Singapore's so-called national park.

Ipoh Tourist Attractions | Perak Cave Temple @ Perak Tong

2012-01-10T13:00:00Z

If one wonders what made the list in the Ipoh tourist attractions, Perak Tong or limestone cave temple is certainly one of them. Sprinkled all over the former mining valley, there are more than a dozen of Chinese cave temples in Ipoh. Of all shapes and sizes, these caves are the home to the growing stalactites and stalagmites making them natural treasure and hence in the collection of places to visit in Malaysia.

Residing at the foothill of Gunung Tasik, Perak Cave Temple or Perak Tong (Tong means cavern in Chinese/Mandarin lingo) is one of the most visited cave temples in Ipoh. If one drives along Jalan Kuala Kangsar, Perak Cave Temple is easily spotted, the red painted concrete arch by the main road itself. Alternatively, lock this coordinate (4.644546,101.098841) into your GPS. Private vehicles are allowed to be parked within the temple's premise and it is not hard to get a lot as tourists come and go within a couple hours.

May Tip Thai Restaurant @ Bukit Mertajam | Delicious Siamese Food

2012-01-04T13:00:00Z

Thai cuisine is never an alien flavor in Penang, but walking into an authentic Thai restaurant perhaps need a bit of help from Lady Luck.

A family lunch date brought us to May Tip Thai Restaurant in Taman Mutiara, Bukit Mertajam. Tucked away in a strip of commercial block behind the bustling main road, May Tip is a not much different compares to a typical Chinese restaurant except for the rectangular shape of their charcoal tables. The atmosphere here is much caters to family crowd.

Singapore Food @ Vivo City | Food Republic - Hawker Fare

2011-12-30T13:00:00Z

Dotting the island, hawker food is one of the must try if you ever been to Singapore. Established from the street food variety, hawker food features the history and stories behind the eating culture in Singapore. If you are wary to sample the hawker food from the locals' favorite, then head on to food courts that reside in the shopping malls.

Food Republic is one of the decent places to try Singaporeans' palate. If you ever step into Food Republic in Vivo City Mall, you would feel as if you have stepped back into time. Precisely, it brings one into an old Chinese town street lit up with red lanterns where food is prepared right in front of you as you order.

Homemade Egg Drop Soup | Grey Mushroom and Vegetables Savory Broth

2011-12-24T13:00:00Z

Since my little one started on solid, my fridge is always loaded with at least a handful variety of fresh vegetables each week. He is too young to finish everything within a week or two, so his parents are kind enough to help him :)

With so much fresh vegetables, one of the quick solution to get a bit of everything is making them in soup! I love soup but I always find most recipes use stock to begin with. I prefer to start everything from scratch. And some soup method demands long cooking hours but I do not have the luxury of doing that.

Longing for something warm and wholesome to fill my tummy, I decided to create a savory broth. With grey mushroom, egg and some vegetables, the plus of this homemade broth is it can be served in less than 30 minutes!

Tambun Lost World | Water Fun Park and Hot Spring @ Ipoh (Part 3)

2011-12-21T13:00:00Z

When the best time to hit into water park of Lost World in Tambun? With a perpetual summer in Ipoh, any day is a great to visit except Tuesday. I heard they are closed unless during Malaysian school holidays. This article is Part 3 of our trilogy series - Lord of the Limestone! Read Part 1 and Part 2, if you wish to check how we get lost in the animal kingdoms, mining valley and cavern :)

Great news for fairy angels, many huts are erected circling the water parks. We were lucky to occupy a reserved shade because of our number or perhaps a group booking for Family Day.

Do I have sufficient time for every little corner in a day (from 10am to 6pm)? Be assured you have, as long as you plan it out. We took about an hour and half explored all the dry parks (Part 2) includes spending relatively longer at Petting Zoo, Tin Valley and Team Building Park.

After lunch, we jumped into water. Compare to the water parks in Sunway Lagoon and Bukit Merah, the chance of getting lost here is highly unlikely. You get wet as much as you are at any water park though. A total of four mains in the wet adventure, featuring a wave pool, a stretch of kiddo exploratory bay,
a few twist and turns of tube raiders plus freaky river float and hot springs.

Lost World of Tambun - Petting Zoo, Needle Limestone, Tiger and Tin Valleys (Part 2)

2011-12-18T13:00:00Z

Welcome back! As promised, this is the Part 2 of our pioneer mission in Lost World of Tambun. To follow from beginning, Read Lord of The Limestone Part 1 and how did we end up there :)

Did we find our way in the park? Well, not really! The signposts are placed minimal. Don't you know you are in Lost World? The best way out is to get lost in the limestone gardens! Just to reach bathroom, I asked two people in two separate occasions.

Armed with the artist impression map of Lost World, we made up our mind to tackle the dry parks first before jumping into water. Some people chose the opposite option and that perhaps better since the bathroom tends to be more crowded in the evening. On the second note, once you hit the pools with kids, I doubt they want to go anywhere else!