First Couple Trip to Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur & KLCC

It was easier to go on couple-only trips when we only had one kid. The awesome Mum-in-law (and the late father-in-law)  had no problems taking care of just one.

The hubby and I had travelled without our girl to Phuket and Brunei in 2010, Taipei in 2011, Bangkok in 2012, Hokkaido in 2012 and Seoul in 2013. Hokkaido was the most memorable, as it was just the two of us joining a tour group. Fellow tour-mates thought we were on our honeymoon! *laughs*

Ever since we had our boy, we have never travelled without our kids any more. We always have to bring along at least one kid with us because the Mum-in-law wouldn't be able to handle two kids under 5 years old alone.

Don't get me wrong, it was and still is a privilege for us to still be able to travel even with two kids.

However, our focus was always on the kids, so much so that the hubby and I started to neglect each other. Now that the kids are old enough to feed and clean themselves and therefore are easier for the Mum-in-law to handle on her own, the hubby and I decided that it was time to go on our first couple trip (3D2N in KL) since having our boy so that we can reconnect.

First couple trip since 2012!!! So excited for the alone time to reconnect 😍 #madpsychmum #madpsychmumtravels #justus #nokids #kualalumpur #madselfcare

A post shared by Madeline Heng (@madpsychmum) on Jan 25, 2018 at 7:55pm PST

We got so much love and support from everyone, especially fellow parents, who knew what a luxury this was to us!

We flew by Singapore Airlines to Kuala Lumpur International Airport and took a taxi to our hotel.

STAY

We stayed at the Horizon Club at Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur. 

Horizon Club

They were having a good deal for their club rooms so we booked the Horizon Club Executive King (with Breakfast and Afternoon Tea) at S$254 per room per night via Agoda.

Very big and comfy bed that I did not have to squeeze with my kids! 

Lounge chair by the window

View of the city from our window

TV and wardrobe area

Bathroom with bathtub and the usual Shangri-La toiletries

Wardrobe with iron, bathrobe and even an umbrella.
The umbrella proved extremely useful whenever it rained in KL!

Needless to say that we enjoyed our stay at Shangri-La! The hospitality and comfortable room made it a real retreat for us indeed! 😊


FOOD

Breakfast

We had breakfast every morning at the Horizon Club.

Horizon Club

Enjoying the #HorizonClub at @shangrilakl. Super awesome service and food and just a 10-minute walk away from #KLCC. Feeling very pampered 🤗🤩 #madpsychmum #madpsychmumtravels #eveningcanepes #petronastowers #kualalumpur #shangrilakl #shangrila #goldencircle #coupletime #nokids

A post shared by Madeline Heng (@madpsychmum) on Jan 26, 2018 at 8:06pm PST

On top of the usual buffet of the usual breakfast food, we liked that they also offered made-to-order food items such as Roti Canai, Nonya Laksa and eggs done just the way you like it.

Omelette and roti canai

Eggs benedict
(OK but not as good as those we had at Loch Ness Inn in Scotland!) 

Nonya laksa

We ate so much for breakfast that we usually skipped lunch! 😋


Lunch 

The only time that we had to eat lunch was on the first day that we arrived (no buffet breakfast in the morning you see! *laughs*). We were too lazy to explore other eateries and decided to try Shangri-La's own restaurant at the ground floor. Most of the patrons opted for buffet but we decided to go with ala carte as we prefer quality over quantity.

Having lunch at Lemon Garden

Can't remember what this dish was called but it was so good!

Ordered their signature burger, which was so sinful!!

We enjoyed both dishes! So yummy!


Afternoon Tea

As Horizon Club guests, we were also entitled to afternoon tea served from 3-6pm daily.

We got to choose from a wide selection of snacks and pastries!

My selection, with a mix of different desserts that I love!

There's free flow of wine for the hubby and free flow of desserts for me. What's not to love? *laughs*


Dinner

The hubby Googled for popular eateries located nearby in search of our dinner and found BBQ Nights, just a 5-minute walk away.

BBQ Nights
(Address: Jalan Perak, 50450 Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

I think this was the fish and prawn platter. Very yummy!

We also tried Madam Kwan's at Suria KLCC on the last day of our 3-day trip.

Madam Kwan's

The restaurant specialises in Malaysian cuisine and we quite liked the nasi lemak and laksa that we ordered.


ENTERTAINMENT

Swimming

The pool at Shangri-La KL
(everyone was basking in the sun, no one actually swims...)

With the KL Tower in the background

The water was freezing cold!!! We didn't stay top long here!


Shopping

We spent most of our time shopping at Lot 10, Sungei Wang Plaza and Suria KLCC.

Lot 10 Shopping Mall

View of the Petronas Twin Towers at KLCC at night!

Colourful water fountain musical show every night at Suria KLCC

It was so awesome to be able to shop without kids nagging in the background, "Are we done yet? Can we go to the playground?" We could go anywhere we liked and do whatever we wanted for a change! 😁


Movie

The hubby and I also caught Thor: Ragnarok at the TGV Cinemas at Suria KLCC.

TGV Cinemas

We got tickets to show which was shown in a cinema with special bean bag seats!

Relaxing in our couple bean bag seats
(they only sell tickets in twos)

We had such a relaxing weekend away! So grateful for the opportunity! We'll definitely go on another couple trip once the boy is in Primary School!

Wore matching T-shirts to commemorate the trip! 😁

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Visit MADPSYCHMUM TRAVELS for other posts on Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

as well as other travel itineraries!

You can also follow my travel adventures on Instagram via the hashtag #madpsychmumtravels! =)

Finding The One

Infographics have been taking the world by storm, with more and more people learning to convey complicated information to their audiences in simple, visual formats.

As part of my work as a researcher, I'm constantly challenged to come up with better and more efficient ways of presenting our research findings. Thought I will kill 2 birds with 1 stone and practice my skills on Piktochart by coming up with infographics for this blog! *grin*

Introducing my first ever infographic on a very important topic that I've had long conversations about with a number of friends, who always ask me how I knew the hubby was the one at just 23 years old (the age I said yes to the hubby's marriage proposal).

How do you know that the person that you're dating is The One you should be marrying?

Summary of a Sermon by Rick Warren
(Listen to the whole sermon here)

So should you have conversations with your girlfriend/boyfriend about whether to have kids or not? How the money is being kept/spent? Whose parents to live with?

The answer is a yes!

Sometimes these can be deal breakers for certain people so being truthful and upfront about it can save you a lot of heartbreaks in future. For instance, if one really wants kids and the other refuses, how can that marriage work? More often than not, it can't.

Think and choose carefully.. =)


P.S: Look out for more infographics coming your way! I enjoyed coming up with this so much, I'll be developing a whole new blog series using it! Watch this space =)

Celebrating 5 Years of Marriage

Five years. Sounds like a short time but felt really long to me.

Our wedding photo shoot in JB, which we only spent $2200!

Included an outdoor photo shoot at Kota Tinggi

We were actually inside the water :)

On the actual day of our wedding banquet
(I think the hubby was still a little high from all the alcohol)

I've learnt over the course of these five years that as long as he doesn't push my buttons and I don't push his (and believe me, we know exactly which button to push), we will get along just fine.

What buttons, you ask?

Mine:
#1: Hurt my children
#2: Insult my parents
#3: Accuse me of something that I didn't do
#4: Let me witness you bullying someone weaker than you
#5: Disturbing me when I'm in deep sleep

His:
#1: "Sorry I'm LATE!" (I've improved on this over time =P)
#2: "Sorry sir, you'll have to wait!" (when he has already waited for a long time)
#3: Accusing him of something he didn't do (and even if he did, should not use tone of accusation)
#4: Continuing to argue when he is already fuming (let him cool down before bringing the topic up again)
#5: Sarcasm (if you know me, I'm the master at this. Had to learn how to tone it down.. =P)

Don't push it (no matter how tempted we are) and we avoid killing each other *laughs*

Yes, we kept the Mickey & Minnie from our wedding car (see previous photo)
You'll be surprised but it was the hubby, and not I, that had wanted to keep them =P

Here's to many more years to come! =)

P.S: Check out our Facebook page and enjoy the festivities with Baby Boy! =)

Love Signs

They say opposites attract. That is so true for us.

I'm the enthusiastic and over-the-top personality while the hubby's more chillax and cool. I love to talk non-stop while the hubby talks only when required. I speak my mind all the time while the hubby only shares his true thoughts with people close to him. I love to take slow walks while he likes to walk as if a hungry tiger is on his heel (we had to adjust our pace to accommodate each other after we got together)!

Nine years ago on 7 September, I said yes to be his girlfriend. Four years ago on 2 May, I said yes to be his wife. From the time we were together till now, he had always known what I wanted before I said it.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked me one day when we were having dinner at a nearby hawker centre in the good old days when we were poor and a date meant taking the bus and eating cheap hawker food.

"I don't know. I feel like eating something but I don't know what I want to eat," I replied. (I can see you rolling your eyes!) I know, decisiveness was never my strong trait!

The then-boyfriend-now-hubby just shrugged, walked away and came back with the sugar cane juice I was craving for! =)

When I was pregnant with Baby Boy, the baby (ok fine, me..) suddenly had a really strong craving for tasty durian. And what do you know? When I got home, the durian was sitting on the table waiting for me. It's like he can read my mind! *laughs*

Of course later my buddy at work tells me that it's not difficult to read my mind because it's always out there and open for everyone to read!

Anyway..

The only thing I asked God for at 18 years old was for Him to give me a husband and children. Not career. Not money. Family :)

And God gave me a husband who really gets me. We both want the same things and have the same goals. Although he's not a typical romantic (he's really practical!), he always sensitive to my (really strong) hints whenever I need him to do something special :)

To the father of my 2 beautiful babies, you have made my dream of a complete family come true! I love that we now celebrate Valentine's Day (and Lunar Valentine's Day) changing diapers, breastfeeding and controlling a very active toddler in the restaurant where others are having romantic dinners. Our dinner may not be romantic but it's just the way I wanted it! Love you deep :D

 Happy Valentine's Day! 

Linking Up With:

  

Our 4th Anniversary at Equinox

The hubby surprised me with a bouquet of flowers delivered to me at work to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary on the day after Labour Day. Thereafter he came to pick me up and brought me to Swissotel, The Stanford for our romantic dinner.

Equinox

Located at the 70th floor of Swissotel, Equinox Restaurant is the highest restaurant in Singapore boasting of amazing views of key iconic structures in Singapore such as the Esplanade, Singapore Flyer, Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands.

Fine dining at the highest restaurant in Singapore

The hubby told me that you had to top up $20 more just for a table next to the window but we both thought that it was fully worth it for the experience =)

Champagne for him and mocktail for me
(The bouquet was just too cute so it had to be in the background of everything! *laughs*)

Taking pictures of us together with the hubby's new S4 while waiting for the food

As the sun began to set and the sky turned dark (literally), our tasty appetiser finally arrived!

Appetiser: Quail meat roll with cabbage

Up next were our sides that went with our gigantic main dish of the best and most expensive beef steak we had ever tasted since our Kobe beef directly flown in from Kobe during our trip to Hokkaido last year.

Left to right: Black pepper sauce to drizzle on the steak, potato gratin with cheese, seasonal vegetable with mushrooms

Mains: Black angus beef sliced into 6 pieces, 3 for each of us

Despite its hefty price tag, the beef was one of the best we had ever tasted (and believe me, we have tasted a lot!). The meat was tender, juicy and literally melts in your mouth. Each bite oozes with so much flavour that even though we were so full (each piece was really thick), we kept eating as it was simply too delicious to stop!

After meal we ordered dessert and was pleasantly surprised with a complimentary cake from the restaurant to celebrate our anniversary! So sweet of them =)

Happy Anniversary cake

Dessert: Hazelnut parfait with cherries soaked in brandy

Both the cake and our dessert were equally delicious but tried as we might, we really couldn't finish them! Alcoholic fanatics like the hubby would probably prefer the parfait as it contained some brandy, which went really well with the chocolate and hazelnut.

All in all, although each dish took a while to serve to us as I suspect they made every dish from scratch upon ordering, the awesome food and beautiful views fully made up for it. The service was also very good as the waiter was very knowledgeable and responsive to our needs.

We had such an enjoyable dinner, definitely one that I will never forget =)

 Happy 4th Anniversary to Us!! 

With many more to come!

Marriage, It Takes Two

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?

When I got married and went to live with my husband and in-laws at their house, we've got a lot of decisions to make. No matter whether it is for the wedding, the furnishings for our room (and you know how particular I am right? *laughs*) or my pregnancy, the hubby and I had a lot of opinions on it.

No longer can you decide anything on your own. You've got to consider the other's opinion. And it got even more complicated when our baby girl came along.

"Shall we buy this pink Maclaren? It's so cute!" I told the hubby one day when we were shopping for a stroller.

"Don't want lah.. Ferrari nicer." he replied.

Our disagreement went on for a while. I wanted the umbrella Maclaren stroller while he wanted the full-sized Ferrari stroller (which I complained was too big!). We eventually came to a compromise and bought the umbrella Ferrari stroller, which was selling at a discounted price.

It's often not easy to come to a mutually agreed compromise but it is truly the key to making decisions together. It's sometimes easier (and less time consuming!) to just agree with the other for agreement's sake but that's not healthy for any relationship.

Marriage takes two.

Two to agree, two to love, and two to walk on this journey called life forever.. hand in hand =)

Lifebuoy understands the importance of strong marriages.

Disclosure: This is Part 4 of a series of sponsored stories on behalf of Lifebuoy Singapore. All opinions & text are my own.

Relationship is Spelt T.I.M.E

In this day and age, what's more valuable than gold is time.

Tick tock, tick tock..

We usually either exchange our time for money or our money for time.

As a full-time working mother, most of my time is spent at work and sleeping, leaving me with little time to bond with my family. Hence whatever time I have during the weekends, the hubby and I try to spend it with my girl.

There are typically 4 activities that will bond people together (I'm sure you will agree ^.^):

#1: Food
Food is the centerpiece of every gathering among friends and family. There is never a shortage of good food especially in Food Paradise Singapore. It has become our national hobby!

People often say that in a marriage, there must be a common interest that bonds husband and wife together. When asked what our common interest is, I always reply, "Food! What else?"

Celebrating my birthday

We look forward to our dinners together every weekend because that's when we can spend time discussing about the latest happenings, talk about our future and savour tasty dishes.

And since my girl is a well-known foodie herself, she joins in the fun with us =)

Celebrating Girlee's birthday

For me at least, there is no better way to bond than over food! Don't you agree? *laughs*

#2: Play
With children around, it's always about play. So the big question is, where can we go to have the most fun for the least amount of money?

Water Playground at IMM

Public playgrounds of course! =)

There are so many free playgrounds in Singapore, we are totally spoilt for choice. After a fun day at the playground, baby girl falls into a deep sleep and we get some quiet time to do our thing, not to mention get a good workout at the same time. Win-win =)

#3: Shopping
With more than 80 child-friendly malls in Singapore with available baby care rooms, you can have fun shopping while also ensuring that the needs of your baby or toddler are met.

"I carry mummy's bag!"

Lucky for me, I love to shop and so does my little girl! =)

#4: Places of Interest
When life gets boring but you have a limited budget, an easy way to have an awesome family outing is to visit places of interest in Singapore! Pretend to be a tourist for a day and you'll be surprised how much fun you can have in your own homeland.

We brought our girl to visit the Singapore Zoo, Sentosa, Universal Studios Singapore, Singapore Botanical Gardens and there are plans in motion to bring her to the Jurong Bird Park next. So looking forward to it =)

When was the last time you truly spent quality time with your family?
What does your family bond over?

Lifebuoy understands the importance of family bonding.

Disclosure: This is Part 3 of a series of sponsored stories on behalf of Lifebuoy Singapore. All opinions & text are my own.