The Hurried Child, Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon by David Elkind

Title: The Hurried Child, Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon

Author: David Elkind

ISBN: 0-201-03967-2

It is really interesting to read something written in year 1981 yet still and very relevant to our parenting style in this day. The book made me reflect upon my parenting style and I am aware I’m “guilty as charged”. I blame the society we are in, to rush children to grow up, assume responsibilities without being given a choice to enjoy childhood, the here and now of their childhood.

One particular paragraph that struck a chord in me is below:

I personally do not like battery operated toys (no hard feelings for anyone who have bought them before for my precious). They do not just leave little no space for child's imagination, they are not environmental friendly either. You'll need to replace the batteries with new ones or charge the rechargeable batteries, otherwise the toys would be DEAD.

At any time, I would prefer any of the below, anytime, if not on excursion. Below are some of his work with various  materials.

Blocks

Crayons

Paints

Mini Teacup

Mini furniture

Pipes

Sand

Playdoh!

Sticker Scenes!

RamenPlay @ Breadtalk IHQ in Paya Lebar iPark

Date patronised: 26th Jun'13 (near lunch time)

No. of people: 3

Spent: about S$45

Paya Lebar iPark is becoming the upcoming business park it seems.

Situated just near my office, it was impressive to watch the construction progress of the building. Initially we were guessing which company it belongs to. Slowly, it revealed itself. Finally in early Jun'13, it officially opened. If you read the news, it cost $64.1 million for the BreadTalk IHQ.

BreadTalk group didn't fail to amaze me from the diversification. From Breadtalk to RamenPlay to Food Republic to ToastBox to DinTaiFung. They also have carpark available for visitors (first hour free parking - offer till 31st Jul). On the second floor, still under construction, would be Cherie Hearts, UOB and medical hall. At least these were the visible brand names now. From their website there'll be 7-11 too. Wow..

I'm amazed they have very good sight. They have dine-in for brands under their group, they earn from car park, and certainly from rental to other brand. That is a superbly good investment.



Photo from the news




Had a chance to take a look on a Friday evening after work - Breadtalk




RamenPlay




The grand entrance to RamenPlay - I am very curious of the reason, feng shui?
(Behind Ramen Play is Din Tai Fung)




Toast Box and Food Republic




The alfresco




I didn't notice in other RamenPlay before (or perhaps coz I didn't intend to blog about it then, I didn't notice)




The chili paste didn't look appetising but once you took some, you wouldn't stop. The initial taste, SPICY, but then the fragrance just stayed in your mouth when you swallow. Super concoction I should say, not just me alone, but with my colleagues too.




Shoyu Ramen for my colleagues




Cha-shu Double Soup Ramen for myself - superb soup
but I had to add chili oil to make it spicy, I prefer my ramen spicy.




Yaki Gyoza to share - not as crispy as I thought it would be




Crispy Dango - Really crispy and piping hot! Yummy!




Yaki Dango - was a bit sick of the meaty taste
as this was the last I took during the meal

 I have to mention that customer service was good in this RamenPlay. I saw a lady service crew touched a lamp post (part of the interior design) mounted slanted on the wall and told customers to mind their head. Awww..

Except for ToastBox I believe all other restaurants were full house by the time we were done with our lunch. And it was pouring. I can certainly imagine the crowd if it was not.

Address: 30 Tai Seng Street 534013 (Across Tai Seng MRT Station, besides Sakae Sushi building)
Website: http://www.breadtalk.com/mall/ (you may refer to the website for tenants coming up, carpark rate etc)
Tel: 6444 5258
Opening hours: 11am to 9.30pm (for RamenPlay)

Book Depository.. Excellent customer service!

If you are book lovers, you probably know Book Depository where you can buy books online and they provide free delivery worldwide.

I personally quite like to online shopping with them, the prices are reasonable, and the responses have been prompt and good. Delivery is free, so I do not have to do extra calculation (as the currency is in USD). Sometimes though, NoQAsia offers better price for certain books esp Kumon books and their currency is in SGD. But NoQAsia charges delivery and GST, you'll have to do your calculations and comparisons.

I ordered an Oxford dictionary to be sent to my helper's daughters in Philippines, on the 26th Apr'13 through Book Depository. As usual, they sent confirmation almost immediately. On 1st May'13 they informed me that the dictionary has been dispatched.

Last Sat (15th Jun'13), I asked my helper if her daughters recevied the parcel, she replied not yet. I wrote to Book Depository and got a reply from them the same day that they were sorry that my order has not yet arrived and that they confirmed it was dispatched on 1st May'13. They asked if the address (they stated it again) was correct and asked that we checked with the local post office. If still have not received, to contact them again.

Upon checking, I replied them 2 days later that we really did not receive. They thanked me for confirming, and asked if I would like to have free replacement or refund in full. I opted to have the refund as I can't be sure if a free replacement would reach them. I do not want to take a risk (though it's a small one).

The next day, I received their email as below:

For privacy, I've changed my name and the order number to XXXX, but can you see how many times they apologise in that note? And how much was my order? It was only a U$12.01 order! Well, it could be a template they used, but the idea is, this note = excellent customer service!

I'll definitely commend this effort. Some words on customer service:

It is the SERVICE we are not obliged to give that people VALUE the most

Giving customers A LITTLE MORE than they expect is a good way to get back A LOT MORE than you would expect

Customer service is not a DEPARTMENT, it's an ATTITUDE

Now, as I did not dare to take the risk to re-send a free replacement, I would have to buy a dictionary in Popular to be mailed to them. I'm happy to do it nevertheless, I'm a happy customer.

Ambush @ Junction 8, Bishan

Date patronised: 20th Jun'13 (late morning)
No. of people: 2
Spent: S$25 (for 2 set lunch)

We were actually looking for Poulet when we came across Ambush stating "Fast Casual European Dining". To be honest, European dining could be anything but fast. Pizza is, fast. Oh well, I can argue till the cow come home.. Singapore needs everything fast fast!

Anyway, we decided to give this place a try. Although I've taken probably millions of photos of the food I eat, I'm still not quite used to taking photo of a restaurant as a whole. Well, I know I probably should have taken the main signboard, the overall ambience, food and all, but really, I'm improvising, improving by the day. I am very worried though, that people might get unhappy if they saw me taking photos, not of them, but they thought I was? Arggh.. think too much, but Asians aren't all that camera friendly, really.

There was a lady service crew (thought she looked like a Filipino) approaching when we stepped in, and I gestured table for 2. She shrugged and gave me an expression I couldn't figure, so I said "we are free to sit anywhere we want right?" as there was only one customer there. And she gave me another face.



It was almost empty when we arrived at 11-ish

I chose to sit at a corner, the crew came to us to pass us the set lunch menu. They do have ala-carte menu in a very cute newspaper form, but I didn't take photo of that. Next time, I promise (if there is).

She looked really unhappy with us when we gestured that we were ready to order. Just as she was about to walk away to fetch our soups, my friend suggested to her to smile more as she look prettier if she smiles. She kinda ignored my friend's remark with another face. I swear I could see she was on the verge of breaking down when she came back with our soups. Bad day, we concluded, but customer service staffs should know better than to portray emotions (negative ones) on their face, towards their customers.

Then the floor service was taken over by an Indian guy (his name tag "Charlie") who came to us and asked if we needed water. Then I casually asked if his colleague was not feeling well. He then joked about they could give medicine too if we were feeling unwell etc. This is what we called excellent customer service, really.

Oh ya, they offer complimentary soup and drink from 11am to 5pm.


Cream Corn Soup - BAD! it was too bland and chewy for me, the residue somehow made me feel it was blended and dumped into the bowl - portion was big though (I wish the portion was smaller as the soup was really not nice - we had to put them aside). Later on, you would realise I finished up the soup, as I guess that probably was my main course.

 

My friend's Fountain Grape Drink and my Iced-Tea (sugar syrup to add to our taste)

 

Our mains: Baby Scallop Fish Roe Cream Sauce (my friend finished 3/4 and I didn't finish even half)

   Reflecting back, it was my bad for not reading the description as it was "CREAM SAUCE", the photo on the menu was a dry one, I assumed, presumed a little too quickly that it was AGLIO OLIO. So you can imagine my disappointment. Anyway, this meal served as another confirmation that I DO NOT LIKE cream sauce spaghetti, they are too rich for me.


The roe was super crunchy though - thank goodness



Around 12+, the place started to fill with office staffs. It was officially lunch time.

If I were to patronise again, I would probably choose to try their sausages (recommended by my friend and some blogs) and some other things. That's when the cream sauce taste all gone from my taste buds..

Address: Junction 8, Bishan Place (#02-19/20/27)

Website: Unknown

Tel: +65 63533960

Casuarina Curry @ Macpherson

Date patronised: 15th Jun'13 (am)
No. of people: 2 adults, 1 child

Spent: about S$17.90 (dine-in: 2 plain, 1 egg, 1 mushroom cheese prata, 2 teh tarik, 1 mutton curry; takeaway: 2 plain, 1 egg prata)

Although I meant to sound like I wanted to eat prata for supper last Friday evening, I somewhow managed to bite my lips, and decided prata for breakfast the next morning wouldn't hurt.

I was thinking hard of where to get good prata (read, really good dhal/daal/dal aka gravy that you dip prata with). I had this weirdest craving for dhal when I was pregnant with my son. I could go as far as ringing the bus bell when I saw a sign stated "North Indian.. Prata.. Dhal..", and get off the next stop just so I could satisfy my cravings. My bro had to buy from JB and brought some nice dhal for me.

Somehow, Malaysia has nicer dhal in many places. It was really difficul to find really nice ones in Singapore. They are usually too diluted, like WATER. Not to mention, many places do not offer dhal at all, they offer either fish curry or mutton curry. I certainly do not mind the latter, but not the former as they are sourish, usually.

Not that I don't care how the prata turns out as long as the dhal is nice, but I'm quite certain my preference tied to the dhal instead of the prata. Hmmm.. prata that gives flour and butter taste would be best.

And so I thought of Casuarina Curry, the prata house hubby brought me during courtship (which was in Thomson). Vaguely remember that was where he brought me to when I touched down from an Europe trip. I remember seeing Casuarina Curry along Macpherson Road, so I searched for the address and off we went on our little taste buds tickle.

We misjudged to turn into the lane just beside the main road, so we had to make a big turn before turning in correctly. If you are familiar with Macpherson Road, you know there's an infamous Yong Tau Fu stall at the corner, and UOB in between the row. That's where Casuarina Curry is.

Parking was kinda painful. It's along the one way lane, and most homes place cones along the side of the road to prevent cars parking in front of their house. Understandable, isn't it? If you're lucky, you could drive further up and find yourself a space, otherwise, you may have to make another round.. it's a way one ticket, dude!

The place was rather empty when we arrived. But filled with a few table of customers during the entire meal. The staff was very helpful, he offered chicken masala, mutton curry etc as sides.



From the outside



Small place compared to Thomson branch - daily special on the board



Our order - before I asked for dhal, I really thought they would serve dhal as gravy



My mushroom cheese prata



Mutton curry



Verdict from little boy - it was actually 2 thumbs up - he enjoyed the crispy sides of the pratas and enjoyed the teh tarik



Address: 187 Macpherson Road (beside UOB Bank)

Website: http://www.casuarinacurry.com/ (if you want to know what's on their menu before making your way there, they published online too)

Remarks:

Catering is available from 12pm to 10pm everyday

Catering Hotline: 9272 0550 / 8157 9707

Catering Menu: Here

Sato Castle Motel, in Taipei

Date of stay: 10th Jun 2013
Duration: 2 nights
Booking agent: Agoda
Paid: S$229.82 (we redeemed Agoda points of U$25, original price S$260.62)
Wifi: Free
Breakfast: Local

Going there:

We took E-go from Misty Villa in CingJing to Taichung High Speed Railway (HSR) and transfer to Taipei HSR Station and then got a cab to send us to the hotel.

The Hotel:

I was fascinated by the different themes in the hotel when I booked it. Usual check-in time is 10pm, but on Agoda, it was 6pm. I thought 10pm is crazy.

When we arrived at the entrance, it was about 5pm. A lady staff approached us from the carpark entrance. To our dismay, she took care of our luggage from there, and so I asked if there was no reception? She replied that the carpark entrance was the reception and she would take care of our luggage till we went back at 6pm. We were puzzled.. no reception for such a posh looking hotel?

Sato Castle from afar

At night

The car park entrance

The pathetic yet so posh looking "reception"

When you step out of the lift to the floor your room is situated, you'll see quite a dark area. Each room has a car porch. Upon our arrival, most of the rooms' shutters were down.

That's our room!

The car porch, do you see the opened door, that's the door to our room, the shutter could be brought down

When we entered our room, we were wowed. I was wowed by the decoration, and the Castle like room.


The Royal highness bed



Really posh looking



LCD TV from the bed

 The control panel on the bedside table - to create ambience you wish

The ceiling above the bed

I was even more wowed by the huge jacuzzi tub with LCD screen to play TV / Music / Radio and could play with the lightings to create ambience you wish, yes, another control panel! The bathroom also served as the steam-room aka sauna room.  



Huge jacuzzi tub!

Romantic

The dressing table

With a small LCD screen embedded in the mirror to show you all the themes available in Sato Castle, all of them are "WOW"



Complete toiletries - with facial cleansing milk, lotion, even panty liner! How's that!

  

Shower cum steam room



The mini garden at the back



The one minus point about the room, if you're travelling with young children is the steps.. from the bedroom to the bathroom, from the bed to the landing.

In general, we were really satisfied with the suite ;-) If only we were on honeymoon.

Well recommended for honeymooners!

Footnote: On a sidenote, our Taiwanese friend shared with us that car/garrage-hotel/motedl (read hotels with car porch, driveway all the way to your room) is getting really popular in Taiwan. It is very convenient for rendezvous affair (you know what I mean, boss-and-secretary-into-a-hotel type of relationship.. oops!). That is why you'll find all kind of weird check-in (2200 or 0001 hours kind) timing and super reasonable price. It's alarming that these hotels are growing like mushrooms, and they are very posh with very reasonable price! Guess us, the travelers get to gain from these eh? Hmm.. he recommended Wego Hotel, it's 6-7 STARS, I can't remember. You may want to consider them.. hehe!

Attractions Nearby:

The hotel is situated in Zhongshan District. Just a shy 10mins walk in front of Sato Castle, you could find Miramar Entertainment Park (cum shopping). In there are middle to higher class brands. Opposite Miramar would be a

Miramar from afar in the day

Miramar in the night

Opposite Miramar

On the right side from Sato Castle would be a Carrefour with a Daiso and some shops.

Generally you'll find Sato Castle very convenient. It is also a shy 10 mins walk to the Jiannan Metro Station.

This metro lines would bring you all the way to Taipei Zoo too

For more details:

Website: http://www.sato-castle.com/

Address: No. 75, Jìngyè 2nd Rd, Zhongshan District  Taipei City, Taiwan 1046

Tel: +886285027585

All about our Taiwan trip:
Part 1: Taiwan: Taichung (6~7 Jun'13)
Part 2: Taiwan: Sun Moon Lake (7~8 Jun'13)
Part 3: Taiwan: CingJing (8~10 Jun'13)
Part 4: Taiwan: Taipei (10~12 Jun'13)