Sunday Brunches just got Bouncier at Mel’s Place Bar & Bistro

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How do you tell when an eatery will be a hit with the kids? When their eyes open wide and they start chattering excitedly even before we step into the eatery proper.

All thanks to this colourful, puffed-up structure.

Tucked away on the ever popular and busy East Coast Road food belt, Mel’s Place Bar & Bistro is a spacious venue surrounded by lush greenery, comprising of indoor and outdoor seating with a relaxing, welcoming vibe.

For lucky East Coast-dwellers, this is a great hangout spot as Mel's Place exudes a laid-back vibe, perfect settings for that late Sunday brunch with the family and friends.

Of course, there is indoor air-conditioned seating as well which makes for the perfect respite if the weather gets too hot - or if there's the irritating haze!

But if the weather is fine, I will recommend taking a seat outdoors... just so that the kids will be busy doing their thing, but still under the parents' watchful eyes.

Yes, which kid can resist these cheery bouncy castles?

Every Sunday from 11am to 3pm, Mel’s Place serves up a hearty Sunday brunch menu, together with a bouncy castle just so that parents can eat (and talk) in peace while their kids can jump and slide themselves silly.

Nothing like a good workout before tucking into brunch!

If the kids get tired of the tumble-and-rumble sort of fun, they can always try hitting balls with a stick.

Or practice throwing things on round boards.

The food menu at Mel’s Place is modern European-inspired and offers an extensive choice of bistro like dishes such as fresh seafood appetizers, finger food, pastas, pizzas, steaks and white meat such as chicken and pork. But for Sunday brunch, there is a different menu on offer and as far as Sunday brunches go, it does not get any better than a plate of Mel's Big Breakfast (S$18).

A complete breakfast platter of smoked chicken cheese sausage, sunny side up eyes, grilled tomatoes, salad, toast and bacon strips, this was the perfect start to our brunch. And it got better... for Ale especially.

You see, the Pancakes (S$14) came slapped with salted caramel, banana, strawberries and the perennial kids' fave, Nutella! The pancakes were fluffy, non-greasy and were greatly complemented with the salted caramel and nutella.

Speaking of fluffy, the Fluffy Omelette (S$14) was a stand-out winner because quite frankly, with a name like that, how can the omelette NOT be fluffy???

The monkies adore omelettes so I guess it really says something when this dish was the first of the lot to be wiped clean!

If you have a huge appetite, go for the Mel's Brunch Burger (S$20) which consists the full works of grilled chicken breast, bacon, egg, fresh onion, romaine lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise... and all sandwiched with a charcoal bun!

It was definitely more than enough to feed two hungry and growing boys. But was it good? I don't know because I did not even get the chance to sample a miserable morsel before everything was wiped clean.

I did get to try the Parma Ham & Melscun salad with Feta Cheese & Cherry Tomato Pizza ($24) though.

Who doesn’t love a thin crust pizza? The taste of the ham, cheese and salad blended very well together and I think I ended up having more than half of the pizza. *burp*

Kids Menu comes in the form of Chicken Nuggets, Chicken Pasta and Baguette with Chicken Cheese Sausage (S$8 each). And just for Sunday Brunch, one child dines FREE with every main course ordered!  

Mel's Place also features a live band performance every Friday and Saturday from 8.30pm to 11pm, so customers can chill out to the melodious sounds in the air while enjoying a drink - and catching live screenings of football matches too!

For the kids though, the bouncy castle will always remain as the main draw.

Quiet ambient and family-friendly, Mel’s Place is the perfect rustic reprieve right in the heart of the East Coast food belt where parents can take time to enjoy their Sunday brunch while the kids are kept suitably occupied.


Useful Information

Mel’s Place Bar & Bistro 
2A Kuo Chuan Avenue 426897
Tel: +65 6440 3573
Opening Hours: Mon – Thurs 4pm till 1am | Fri, Sat & PH 4pm till 2am | Sun 11am till 1am
Sunday Brunch with Bouncy Castle: 11am to 3pm every Sunday; One child dines FREE with every main course ordered.
Website: www.melsplace.com.sg
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MelsPlaceBarBistro

How The Learning Lab Helped to Improve Ash's English

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Ash has been attending his English program lessons at The Learning Lab for close to one term now and if you had read my previous post on my first impressions, you will know that he enjoys his weekly sessions... despite initially having reservations.

Of course, I was curious to find out just how fun the class session can be so that his interest remains piqued week in week out. So it was a good thing (and an eye-opening one at that!) that I was allowed to sit in briefly during one of his class sessions.

The session would see the students - the class is capped to about 10 students by the way, which is optimal for class interaction - attempt a practice test paper which included the dreaded cloze passage. Or least that was what I truly dreaded when I was in Primary School and somehow, those genes must have gotten passed along to Ash now and he is now the one who fears it as well!

I know what you are thinking: how interesting can practising a test paper be??? Yes, that was what I thought so too... until Ash's teacher, Miss Siow, played a YouTube video clip in class before the students attempted the cloze passage.

Videos always offer a highly more entertaining way to supplement the teaching materials in class so it was no surprise that the students were more receptive to picking up new words and phrases after viewing the video.

In this case, the video was about farmers in Mozambique, South Africa, who train huge rats, or HeroRATs, to sniff out unexploded landmines in order to save lives and limbs. Even I found it to be extremely fascinating!

I now understand why one of The Learning Lab's strengths lies in its holistic curriculum. Designed to follow MOE requirements closely, yet purposefully pitched 20-30% higher to give students a confident head start in school, the unique curriculum is developed by an internal team of 30 people as current topics are sourced from established publications to equip children with up-to-date knowledge.

But the best curriculum can count for nothing if its teachers are not up to mark... especially if they are the type who induces boredom and sleep among the students. Which is why The Learning Lab prides itself on selecting only the brightest and most passionate teachers, who receive a minimum 200 hours of training and are mentored by senior teachers.

As the students were put through the practice test, Miss Siow reminded the class that they each have one lifeline to ask her should they require help for any question. Even then, she did not spoonfeed them any answers but instead patiently worked through the questions with each student.

And of course, every bit of encouragement from your teacher helps too.

Ash's main weakness in the English subject has always been Comprehension and Composition so I was glad that a main chunk of the English program at The Learning Lab was devoted to these 2 aspects.

As you can see, there IS a systematic way to answering Comprehension questions competently... which to be honest, will just be another typical puking blood session for me if I were to be the one trying to teach him at home.

Ditto for Composition too.

I love how Ash has been taught the various ways to set a particular scene in his essay by remembering to use his 5 senses. Even better, the students all keep an exercise book where they are encouraged to jot down descriptive phrases and idioms that can be used in their compositions.

But perhaps the most blatant way in gauging whether the English program at The Learning Lab had benefited Ash is through his composition test at Term 3 in school. He scored 15 marks out of 20... and his score for his Mid-year exam in Term 2? 12 out of 20.

To me, that is a remarkable improvement given that he has long seen composition-writing as an activity that has the same excitement as watching grass grow.

His attitude towards essay writing has improved and he does seem more confident in using more phrases in his compositions.

So maybe he can take over the writing of this blog soon? Heh.



Useful Information

The Learning Lab Branches
UE Square: Level 3, 81 Clemenceau Avenue
Tampines Point: Level 3, 2 Tampines Central 6 Singapore 529483
Bedok Point: Level 4, 799 New Upper Changi Road
HomeTeamNS Bukit Batok Clubhouse: Level 2, 2 Bukit Batok West Avenue 7
Westgate: 3 Gateway Drive, Level 4
United Square: Level 3, 101 Thomson Road
Mountbatten Square: Level 1, 229 Mountbatten Road
Rochester Mall: Level 2, 33 Rochester Drive

Visit www.thelearninglab.com.sg for more information on its programs.

Mid-Autumn Festival @ Gardens by the Bay 2015 (with Map of Lantern Displays!)

That time of the year is here again, where mooncakes and lanterns (some with jarring techno music!) take centrestage. Of course, what is Mid-Autumn Festival without spending time with the family and judging from the past two years' celebrations in Singapore, no place does it better than Gardens by the Bay.

From now until 10 November 2015, step into the Flower Dome and go on a journey to the Far East, where more than 10,000 Chrysanthemums in a myriad of colours are in full bloom. Long admired for its beauty, the Chrysanthemum is a symbolic feature in traditional Chinese art to depict the autumn season.

Unusual varieties such as Spider Chrysanthemums and Pompon Chrysanthemums first cultivated in ancient China and Japan are on display, against the scenic landscape dotted with a moon gate and teahouse, maple trees, and bonsai plants more than 100 years old.

In one of the rare occasions where visitors will be able to walk through the Flower Field, we entered through the Moon Gate and found ourselves transported to a crisp Mid-Autumn day in a traditional Chinese garden!

Safe to say that all of us - including the SengkangBabies - loved the riot of colours and the scent of fresh flowers in the air then!

Did you know that local seniors (aged 60 and above) enjoy free entry into two conservatories until the end of this year?

And just for the Mid-Autumn Festival, EVERY CHILD (3-12) who brings along a lantern will enjoy FREE admission to both conservatories too! The promotion is valid from now until 4 October 2015, 5pm to 9pm daily and visitors will have to redeem the admission ticket at the ticketing booth, between 5pm to 8pm  in order to enjoy this offer.



And what's a Mid-Autumn Festival without some lanterns? Especially if they are gigantic ones!

If you want to soak in the Mid-Autumn festivities but only have time to visit ONE event, the Mid-Autumn Festival @ The Gardens 2015 will be it. And the best part? It is ALL FREE for everyone!

Compared to the previous two years, I felt this year's edition is a little smaller in terms of scale. But the lanterns are no less colourful or vibrant though; in fact they do look more intricate and fun this year! And the good news for families is most of the lanterns are concentrated at the Supertree Grove area, which equates to less walking for younger kids.

You can either choose to start at the Visitor Centre of Gardens by the Bay, or at the Supertree Grove where the main action is taking place.

Seventeen different sets, comprising of 300 lanterns in total, will be on display at various locations. See the different spaces around the Gardens come to life with a kaleidoscope of light and colour, as the lanterns light up with a dazzling display of elaborately handcrafted lantern sets that celebrate the natural world.

One of the more majestic and towering lanterns this year has got to be the story of Chang-Er lantern display at the Golden Garden (near the Visitor Centre).

 

Look out also for 50 goat-shaped lanterns painted by members of the public in a lantern-decorating competition sponsored by Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple. These can be found near the entrance of the Flower Dome.

As we made our way to the Supertree Grove, there was no chance we could have missed the eye-catching life-sized giraffes and zebras lanterns.

Love how the lanterns are made to blend in with the natural environment of the Gardens!

An annual favourite of the monkies is the Chinese Zodiac display, which is next to the sheltered pathway enroute to the Supertree Grove.

As the monkies scrambled to locate their individual zodiac animals, it turns out that everyone also had the same idea.

The main highlight belonged to the magnificent Dinosaur lanterns display at the heart of Supertree Grove, where towering and majestic dinosaurs (some can even move!) up to 25m long dot the grass field.

Be sure to located the other lanterns around the Grove as well, including those depicting Racial Harmony themes and even more animals like lions, tigers, jaguars and elephants!

Feeling famished after all the walking? Stop by the Food Street at the Supertree Grove, with more than 30 stalls offering a variety of food choices from local mainstays like kueh tutu, muah chee and vadai, to new favourites like fried Oreos and kebabs.

For even more spectacular lanterns, head to the Dragonfly Bridge.

Here, we walked through Arches of Sea Animals - very pretty and colourful, which I think will appeal most to kiddos!

Personally, I have always loved the huge floating lantern displays on the lakes and this year's lanterns did not disappoint.

The majestic water lantern displays on Dragonfly Lake featured Dragon Boats and an enormous Sea Palace. These lanterns are located close to the link bridge from Marina Bay Sands.

Do indulge in the free nightly performances at the Supertree Grove put up by local music and cultural arts groups such as the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Dance Theatre, Nam Hwa Opera and Dicapella Dizi Ensemble too. Malay dance group Azpirasi and Indian classical dance group Apsaras Arts will add a multicultural element to the performances. For more information on the performances, click HERE.

For a night out of fun with the family (hopefully, it's haze-free!), the Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns at Gardens by the Bay will more than suffice. Best of all, it is all FREE!

But do hurry though as the lanterns will only be up until next weekend (4 October 2015)!

*PSSST, there will be FIREWORKS on 3 October 2015 at 8pm, Supertree Grove too!

Useful Information

Mid-Autumn Floral Display @ Flower Dome: Celebration of Chrysanthemums
Now until 10 Nov 2015; 9am - 9pm daily
*Admission charges to the Flower Dome applies.
*From 25 September to 4 October 2015, 5pm to 9pm daily, every child who brings along a lantern will enjoy free admission to both conservatories.
*In celebration of SG50, local seniors (aged 60 and above) can enjoy free entry into two conservatories. Accompanying caregivers of seniors can also enjoy 50% discount into two conservatories. Valid from 1 June to 31 December 2015.
For promotion details, visit HERE.

Mid-Autumn Festival @ Gardens by the Bay 2015
Now until 4 Oct 2015; 7pm - 11pm daily
FREE admission
*More details HERE.

Cultural Performances
25 Sep - 4 Oct | 7pm, pm & 9pm | Supertree Grove

Food Street
25 Sep - 4 Oct | 6pm - 11pm (Weekdays) and 4pm - 11pm (Weekends) | Supertree Grove

UFM 100.3 - 14th Birthday Bash
3 Oct | 5pm - 6pm | Supertree Grove