Night Safari And The Return Of Halloween Horrors
Labels: home life, out and about
Friday, October 16, 2009
At the behest of Sonny-boy, we went to the Night Safari last night. We've been many times so I didn't bring my camera along, hence the lack of photos. Besides, flash photography is prohibited as it upsets the animals. It is bad enough we gawk and point at them but to blind them as well ...
We had, quite literally, a screaming good time. We didn't know it was the Return of Halloween Horrors special all of October and the main foyer was crowded. There were long snaking queues for tickets and it was some twenty minutes before we got ours. No matter because while waiting, there was much to look at in the form of ghouls, ghosts and assorted scary fairy tale gone wrong creatures. My favourite was Cinderella who walked around sweet as can be with a bloody gown and her glass slipper embedded into her right temple. That sort of humour. My other favourite was the Tin Man (from The Wizard of Oz) whose red squishy looking heart swung about with only a thread of vein holding it all together.
Also in the main foyer was a Tribal Dance performance. and we were just in time for the fire-eating portion of it. We hovered somewhere round the corner near the front so Sonny-boy could get a good view. He was enthralled. But what really made his eyes pop was seeing Dad being led up on stage as the token guest star of the show. Hubs was very sporting, going along and even adding his own improvisations which drew laughter from the crowd. Sonny-boy was so proud of his Dad. When it was over, we both clapped and cheered enthusiastically.
So that was a good start to the evening.
We boarded our Train of Terror which took us around the various exhibits and ended up with the climatic Gate to Neverland. This was where the fun really began. All manner of scary creatures and displays were scattered along the road. Some stood there, some popped up from no where and went more than boo. Oh, never make eye contact with any of them. I made the mistake of doing that with a butcher who was hacking up a woman on a stone slab. I caught his eye and he ran from across 20m of grass lunging, hand in the air brandishing his chopper making a beeline for me! There was an empty seat next to mine and he hopped onto the tram. I screamed and leapt all over Sonny-boy and Hubs, practically climbing on top of their laps. The other passengers were just as animated and loud. The rest of the ride was just like that and it was good scary fun. For some reason, the last carriage of the tram (where we had the good fortune of sitting) was always a target and that made us a rowdy bunch.
After the ride, with noodles for legs, we went on to the walking trail of The Bridge of No Return. We thought it wouldn't be so bad after the tram ride but no, it had it's own shriek-worthy bits too. I was so high-strung towards the end of the walk that when a fellow visitor accidentally bumped me at the elbow I screamed like a alaughtered pig. Which made her scream too, the poor girl. Then we both stopped, apologized and laughed.
We lingered about the park for a while more nursing our refreshments. I had my bottled water, Sonny-boy his two big scoops of Ben & Jerry's and Hubs a can of Tiger Beer at the hair-raising price of S$12 a pop.
After that, the big people decided it was quite enough and promised the little person we'll come back and do the animal show the next time.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 10:43 pm
Burp!
Labels: home life, out and about
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Last night, we, with Hubs' parents and Eldest Brother in tow, went to a Mexican restaurant in the town center. On Tuesdays, Danas has an "All You Can Eat Sparerib Special" on the menu which was what all of us ordered.
The spareribs, with portions huge enough to warrant a wooden chopping (cute idea!) as individual serving platters, were lightly crisp and extremely flavourful on the outside and succulent on the inside. Lekker!
With the exception of yours truly, everyone went for seconds and I do believe, even thirds. I live amongst carnivores!
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 5:02 am
Nearby The Tree
Labels: Beijing, out and about
Monday, April 21, 2008
Last Saturday, the three of us went for a spot of shopping at the Silk Market. Hubs wanted to see if he could score some PC games and I wanted a coin scarf for my belly-dancing lessons. I can't tell you how many times I've kicked myself for not packing the one I bought from Turkey last year. In terms of the quantity of coins sewn on it (the more the better), it was the Real Deal. Ack!
Anyhow, on this day, Hubs was unlucky in his persuit of PC games. The stores had Playstation, Nintendo, Wii, PSP but no computer games. I, on the other hand, found a nice (enough) scarf in red chiffon and gold coins.
All that walking and haggling - one has to bargain and bargain hard at the Silk Market - left us hungry and we scooted off in a taxi to the Sanlitun area to a cafe cum restaurant called Nearby The Tree. It is so named because it is situated near a very large tree. I don't know if it's the Belgium sense of humour at play here, but because it is owned by a Belgium man, the menu had all sorts of familiar goodies like Duvel beer, cheeses, sausages and waffles.
We plonked our tired bodies on the plush sofas for drinks first before heading onto the dining area for lunch.
Hubs ordered a cheese platter from the appetizer section to start with. We thought it a bit strange as cheese is normally considered a dessert but no matter, it was delish anyway with all that dried fruit and excellent bread accompanying it.
I had a seafood chowder, with bread swiped off Hubs' cheese platter.
For the mains, Sonny-boy had a casserole thingy going with three types of cheeses and penne pasta. It was tummy curdling rich but good, if you like your cheese.
Hubs chose a steak with red wine sauce and some pasta and oven baked tomatoes on the side. He is not such a big fan of tomatoes and those big mommas scared the daylights out of him. I was only too happy to relieve him of them. They were good, by the ways, with the thin crusty top of cheese gratin on them.
And me -
Ricotta and spinach stuffed tortellini tossed in a spicy Arrabiata sauce. 
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 10:37 pm
Anniversary Date - Part Two
Labels: Beijing, home life, out and about
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Dinner time!
As mentioned earlier, we capped off our anniversary tour with a Japanese teppanyaki meal. For the life of me, I can't remember the name of the restaurant now. What I do remember, was the first time we went there. One of the entrance wall was plastered with awards and accolades from here to the Netherlands (well, we can't say China, can we, seeing as how we're here) and we wondered if we had to pay awarding-winning prices as well. We didn't and they really did merit all those certificates. The food was indeed lekker.
Anyhow, for the evening...
... we started with Egg Custard and Caviar.
And not unlike the Kinder Egg, it held a surprise as well - pan-fried Goose Liver. 
Sashimi. The chef was not shy with portions, something raw fish loving Hubs and I appreciated.
Squid Salad served on Sea Shell from the starter/salad buffet table. Yes, you can take as many as you want. I had double. *blush* And there were other delectable nibblies too.
Chef at work. For tonight, we ordered platters of steaks and lamb. Being curious... 
...we also ordered the ridiculously over-priced Snow Dragon Steak. Curiosity doesn't just kill a cat, it bleeds the wallet too. But in all fairness, it was superb. The little slivers of meat was so soft and tender, one doesn't need teeth for this. 
WHOOOOSH!!! Just not ours though. Our big fire show came when I was busy gnawing at my rib-eye steak. Sonny-boy was most impressed and gave a little ovation. This pleased the chef to no end. Perhaps that was why he received extra lamb meat while mum and dad were stuck with the fatty bits.
House Maki which consists of bananas and 3 kinds of radish. It looks weird and sounds even worse. I almost didn't want to try it but I thought, what the hey, I'll spit it out if it's awful. It was so 'awful' I polished the whole plate off by myself. And just for that, I skipped dessert. I had to. You get to a point in your life when you can't have your cake and eat it too. Not when it threatens to go near further than your hips and thighs.
And that was how we spent our anniversary.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 1:19 am
Anniversary Date - Part One
Labels: Beijing, home life, out and about
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Nine years get you the following itinery on Anniversary Day at Cookalot: Climb walls and defy gravity until you (okay, me) vomit and almost pass out, wake the dead, visit sacrificial temples and tuck into a scrumptious teppanyaki meal at the end of the day.
We hired a private driver and started out at 8am. He was smartly dressed, polite and knowledgable, the car was spacious and plush. We were happy. Halfway to our first destination, I whipped out breakfast I prepared just before leaving. Assorted croissant filled cheese, nutella and marmalade; bananas, cereal bars and juices exchanged hands coupled with warnings gentle reminders to Sonny-boy pertaining crumbs.
So this is how the day went.
GREAT WALL OF CHINA
Words fail me. It was awe inspiring and grand and made me feel proud to be Chinese, if only ethnically. And they were not kidding about climbing it. You really do climb. Not walk, not stroll but honest to goodness climb. At some parts, the wall was so steep and the steps so high, I had to hang on to the railing or the steps itself for some leverage. I cringed at having to touch the steps (people were spitting left, right and center of me) but I was desperate. Better dirty hands than a sore rear end or worse, from tumbling down.
Dutchess Wutchess had a great fall,
All the Emperor's horses and all the Emperor's men,
Could not put Dutchess Wutchess' pride back together again.
Anyhow, I digress.
The Wall should come with a health warning. No, really. It should warn people who are medically unfit, elderly, have a fear of heights and motion sickness to think twice before attempting the climb. You get such a work-out on the lungs and legs.
We were almost at the end of our first leg to the second tower, when I suddenly felt dizzy. I put it down to the steep incline. So I stopped to center myself. I looked back. Big Mistake. I am not only the queen of motion sickness, I suffer from heights as well. I had no idea we were so high. I began to feel really sick and clung onto the Wall for dear life. My stomach churned and I began retching. I had my mouth covered and leaned over the Wall just in case breakfast wanted to make a re-appearance. Hubs and Sonny-boy who were way ahead of me, came back down and asked if I was okay. I got sick some more, which kind of answered the question. Then I felt faint and thought I was going to pass out. I took tiny sips of water and breathed deeply. Better. When I finally recovered, Hubs, in loving fashion wanted to know if for once we could visit any historical site without me vomitting all over it. He was alluding to Pompeii but hey, I was three months gone and had morning sickness. If a pregnant woman needs to hurl, she needs to hurl, 2000 years of historical value nothwithstanding.
We climbed up a couple more towers but I surrendered at the last two. It was much too high for the already high-strung me. I told Hubs and Sonny-boy I would meet them at a certain tower halfway down the bottom. Hubs was rather doubtful but I assured him I would be okay, now take my camera and get some pics from up there.
When they were done, we got off the wall and explored the surrounding areas. There were shops and stalls aplenty and we picked up a few items. We are after all tourists.
THE MING TOMBS
We made a pit stop for lunch here just before entering the grounds proper. We made it a simple and light affair bearing in mind what was in store for dinner that evening.
While the place was beautiful and serene, we didn't find it that captivating. The only sights of interest was the museum which housed relics from the enearthed tombs and going into Dingling Tomb, the underground palace of Emperor Wanli and his two Empresses, Xiao Duan and Xiao Jing. That was quite a sight. The ancient emperors knew how to live in style. They also knew how to go in similar fashion.
Sonny-boy (all excited): Really?! Where?! Where?!
Me: Here - sit on one of these stools and there's your elephant ride.
Sonny-boy wails: MUMMMMEEEEEE!!!!!
THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
This is a must-see if you're ever in Beijing. It is just a 10 minute drive from the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The Temple is where the Emperor would offer up sacrificies to Heaven to ensure a good harvest for the year. This is very important as you don't want millions of your loyal subjects starving. It would be bad for business. I'm just saying.
Travel blogging is not one of my forte so here are more photos to do the talking for me.
Well, take away my squeaky toy and super-size me! Everything in there was huge.
Dinner will be served shortly.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 10:25 pm
Turkey - A Spot Of Local Shopping
Labels: out and about
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Midweek during our lazy holiday, we managed to garner enough strength to venture into the local shopping district of Belek. We waived off the option of taxis. Instead, we chose to take the more interesting but kidney shattering mode of transport in the form of a train. I used the term loosely as it was a big open air metal container with attached seats, pulled along by a farm tractor. It was completely surreal, especially when we were chugging along the main highway with various vehicles zooming by. The son thought it was a hoot and wanted to bring the contraption home. He then insisted we were all farm animals and had to pick one. Hubs was a horse, sonny-boy was a pig and mum was a cow. Next he wanted us to sound like our respective animals. That's when I put my foot down. I'm not moo-ing in public! So I told him this cow was busy chewing grass and it's rude to moo with your mouth full.
*****
The town itself is very small and not very modern. There wasn't much activity going on either. I attribute it to the scorching late morning heat and only mad tourists like us would be out and about. The weather was 40o and I reached camel status by drinking more than 2 litres of water per day.
We covered the town in 20 minutes flat and then retraced our steps to a store that sold scarves and belly dancing apparel. I wanted a coin scarf for my belly-dancing as the extra weight would help in the gyrations. The choice was mind boggling but I finally settled on a black and silver one. 
I also couldn't resist this: 
A beautiful cashmere shawl - perfect as a winter scarf or an indoor wrap. 
It's rather stunning in real life. I love how the red offsets the softly opulent gold threads. There are three panels - gold, red, gold. Too much gold? Just flip it over for panels of red, gold, red then. The jaquard weave is completely reversible. I've since been washed the shawl and as an added bonus, it's retained the softness and shimmer.
The other thing I picked up was Apple Tea, a Turkish teacup set and lokum. Mustn't forget the lokum or Turkish Delight. I bought 2 boxes - in rose and honey flavour. If you don't have a sweet tooth, don't even think of trying one. My tooth is as sweet as they come and I can only manage a small morsel with a strong cup of tea. Even then, I feel the sugar gnawing at the tooth enamel.
So, that was all I bought. Hubs wanted to know if I was ill from the sun because of my lack of spending activity but I really didn't see anything else I wanted. I'm not one to shop for the sake of shopping. You know how it is on holiday - you go quite mad at the stores thinking you'd never get a chance to return again and end up with white elephants.
Toch?
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 6:42 am
Turkish Pancakes
Labels: out and about, small bites
Between 11am - 4pm everyday, a lady will set up her pancake station in a nook under the jungle gym which is some 20m from the pool we'd take permanent residency in. It's a local specialty and you have a choice of four fillings: goat's cheese, spinach, potato and sugar. Or you can have it plain. It tastes like prata without the heavy ghee and is lekker! I would scoff down at least three every afternoon, mostly with spinach or sugar. The local goat's cheese was delicious too but only in small doses because of the distinct after taste. I don't know what these yummy snacks are called so if anyone can help me....
Anyway, these were hugely popular with the other wildlife guests as well and there would be a perpetual queue by her little niche. I normally hate queues but didn't mind standing in this one. It gave me the opportunity to study the process. A live cooking demonstration if you will.
Here are some pics I took of the Pancake Lady:
A note about the stick: I wanted to borrow it from her to jab at the queue cutters. Argh! Get in line like everyone else, you know? 
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 5:59 am
Turkey
Labels: home life, out and about
Sunday, August 05, 2007
It's been almost a month since we've been to Turkey and back but it's only now that I've got the chance to really sit down and write a little about it.
There's not too much to say actually only because all we did was laze about by the pool or beach all day. You practically had to scrape us off our deck chairs. The most tiring activities we engaged in were the few laps in the pool and jostling around with the other guests during meal times which were served buffet style.
Which brings me to the next topic: The Other Guests.
Where do I even start?
90% of the guests were Russian, followed by Germans and to make up the last few 1-2%, The Rest Of Europe. I was the only Asian, let alone Singaporean there so you can imagine the minor stir (in the form of polite, curious looks to outright blatant stares) yours truly incurred. That's fine, I've been living with that for years.
What really took me by surprise and later got on my nerves, were the dagger like stares the other young women, say - late teens to twentysomethings? - were throwing me. At first I was confused and then a sense of déjà vu hit me. The last time I recieved such dirty looks from other females was more than 10 years ago, when I was a singleton on a night about town in the discos and pubs. As anyone who's been through the single scene, you'd know how competitive it can be.
Anyway, when I finally realised what was happening, the next time I got glared at bitchily, I returned the favour and a little extra as well - a shake of the head and a good dose of rolling eyes. For crying out loud, I'm a married woman with a 7 year old son! I pointed it out to Hubs and he very kindly told me to take it as a compliment. I suppose. Still, it's not nice. Especially when you're on holiday. After a couple of returned stares later, I gave up altogether. You can't do something mean without being or feeling mean in the first place and I am not that person. Besides, I'm at a phase in my life where such petty grieviences were beneath me.
Then there were the waiters and assorted male hotel staff. They were such terrible flirts! From the coy to the outright-unless-you-are-dead-you-didn't-know-you're-being-hit-on. The first two days were bearable, lame and cheesy even but by the third day, I just about had it. I felt really harrassed. I mean, I just wanted to get a drink or a towel without being made goo-goo eyes at or flirty small talk. Again I repeat, I'm a married woman and a mother of a 7 year old son, for crying out loud! Catch me when I was single but not freaking now. Married I tell you, married!
Before you assume I'm vain enough to think it was only me getting the attention, it wasn't. No, Turkey is a democratic society so every other young woman who looked half decent in a bikini got hit on as well. The only difference was, they (the girls) were lapping it up.
I wasn't the only unhappy one where this issue was concerned. Hubs got annoyed too. No, not because of me, he knows I'm a big girl and can handle myself. But rather, he had to wait extra long in queues for his drinks while the bartender flirted with women ahead of him in line. And even then, the quality of drinks were noticeably different. When I went to get him a double whisky cola, you could most certainly taste the whisky. When he went to fetch his own, a fly couldn't even get high on the stuff. I offered to lend him one of my bikinis - "You need one of these before they even look at you around here." He snorted.
My last gripe on The Other Guests, namely, The Russians. Please note that I'm not a racist and I'm only commenting on the ones we had the misfortune to meet at the hotel. Now, Cesar's Temple is a nice 5 star resort, on the upper end of the list if you will, in terms of pricing and what not. So, at the risk of sounding like a snob, you kind of expect a certain type of guest, wouldn't you? Well, the Russians we came across were armed to the gills with US Dollars but what they forgot to pack with them were basic manners and graciousness. It's like their civic mindedness went on holiday too. I won't go into details but the adage where it says money can't buy class and manners? All true. Hubs and I went through different stages of shock, disbelief and then plain annoyance.
That aside, I really did enjoy myself. And so did the two men. They spent alot of quality time together in the pool and the waterslides. This is the first holiday whereby Hubs and I didn't have to keep a constant eagle eye out on the son near a pool. He's been taking swimming lessons for the past year and can swim fairly well now. However, the over-protective mum in me made him wear armbands. Just In Case And All That. We got him some rocking Shrek ones so he didn't mind at all.
The resort itself was just as advertised on the website. Even though it was peak season, it was sprawling enough not to feel too cramped or too crowded. The views of the sea were breathtaking. Another thing to note was the management's effort to keep everything thing in line with the Roman theme. There was a small, proper amphitheatre with stone steps for seats where a nightly revue would take place. We went once but it was all in Russian so we gave up on that idea. Instead, we spent the evenings at the outdoor bar playing Uno instead.
As for the food - I have mixed feelings about it. It wasn't the best but we already expected it, being peak season and all. It was done buffet style but what made it bearable was the choice of outdoor seating. So there we were, facing the Mediterranean Sea every evening, enjoying the breathtaking sunset while having dinner.
The hotel offers her guests a choice of alternative set menu dining at the other in house restaurants. This we had to do of course and we particularly enjoyed the Ottoman restaurant with it's delicious Turkish cuisine. Our son didn't care too much for the spicy food but Hubs and I enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the hummus and bread and almost wanted to lick the plate clean. *blush*
So, would we visit Turkey again? Yes, in a heartbeat. Afterall, this was our second time. The first was a couple of years ago and it was a different part of the Turkish Riviera. But this particular hotel? No. It's not as if the resort is lousy, in fact, it's actually rather comfortable and has good facilities. It's just lacking that X-factor. The last time we felt the same way about a hotel was during a holiday to St. Raphael, on the French Riviera. Again, it was a super fine hotel with a fantastic golf course, pool, apartment-like rooms complete with kitchenette etc. However, we didn't get that holiday feeling, the X-factor. We never fail to get that in Spain or Italy. But all in all, this has been a good holiday for the three of us as we got to spend loads of time as a family. That is the most important thing.
Hubs and I are already making plans to return to one of the Canary Islands soon. Lanzarote perhaps? Or we may do a rightabout turn and scare Beau Lotus by plonking ourselves on her front porch in Modena and eat expensive pizza. Haha. Who knows?
S, you've been duly warned. *evil cackle*
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 6:19 pm
