Syzygyland

Weather: Cloudy
Mood: Relax

On the website, this restaurant was being written as the “Best New Weekend Place for Families in Pudong”. Out of curiosity, I decided to check it out even prior to weekend. Thus on Monday, when my hubby and I needed to attend to some official matters, I suggested having lunch at Syzygyland.

On entering Syzygyland, I was amazed by the size of the restaurant. It is very spacious with quite many tables which I think can easily cater to a hundred patrons. Perhaps it is a new establishment; therefore, although it is lunch hours, the restaurant wasn’t crowded. I also noticed that most of the patrons were foreigners.

There is set meal menu (change weekly) offered during lunch time at prices 38, 48 and 68 RMB respectively. All set meals include soup and free-flow of bread. The difference in the price range is selection of sandwich, pasta and meat course. Both my hubby and I ordered the 48 RMB set lunch. He chose to have the seafood fettuccine while I chose to have the chicken feta pasta. Both dishes were delicious, and though the proportion was big, we finished up all our food.

Since we hold the enjoy privilege card, we got to enjoy desserts which were cheese cake and chocolate cake. ~yummy~

Oh yes! I almost forget to mention about the service in Syzygyland. With a group of attentive and warm waiters and waitresses, we left the restaurant with a satisfied smile.

Now, I am only looking forward to visiting Syzygyland again for their weekend brunch. I was told by a waitress that they have professional supervision from The Child Academy from 10am-4pm during weekends.

Syzygyland’s website is not ready yet, so you might want to note it is opened from 10am to 10am and the address is as follows:
OuterPudong Land
German Centre
1/F 88 Keyuan Lu, Pudong
(along Longdong Dadao)
Tel: +8621 28986115

Quote from Gal, "I don't want old school, I want new school."

.... my gal has recently been transferred to an International School.

Shanghai Children Museum

Weather: Drizzling
Mood: Tired (Having Flu)

As my hubby and I were busy with the renovation of our new apartment, the children have been "stuck" at home for the last couple of weekends. Therefore, we decided to bring the kids out on Saturday. Since the weather was mostly rainy, we thought an indoor excursion was more appropriate. Thus, we chose to venture a new place of interest, the Shanghai Children Museum.

The museum is located in Puxi, at Song Yuan Road, very near to Gubei. Upon reaching the museum, the children were all excited as the building structure looks colorful and futuristic. The admission cost is affordable, at 20RMB per person, regardless of kid or adult.

The museum consists of 2 floors divided into the following: Nautical Hall, Space Hall, Moon Hall and 2 Informational Halls. On the 2nd floor is the Shanghai Discovery Children Museum, which was relocated here from Yang Qu Road on 23-September-2006. This is interactive exploration exhibit "room" suitable for children from ages 2 to 7. And it is in this Shanghai Discovery Children Museum that my children enjoyed themselves most.

Overall, the 3-hour visit to the museum is an enjoyable one. Although some exhibits in the museum were out of order, but it had not hindered our children from enjoying the rest of the functioning exhibits. When the children were asked if they liked to visit again, both shouted "YES!" without hesitation. :)

NOTE: Click on the links to visit the museum website for more info.


Quote from Boy, "A lot of boys like Ivan, but Ivan only likes to play with me."
........ Ivan is my Boy's classmates from school.

International or Local?

Weather: Cloudy
Mood: Thoughtful

Should we send our children to international schools, or get them accustomed to the local educational system? This question has been haunting my hubby and me ever since we have relocated to Shanghai.

We went around the city to check out the international schools and we found that the fees charged are ridiculously high. The average annual fee for a student is about 160,000RMB or US$21,000. We are referring to school fees, excluding miscellaneous expenditures, for students in the level from Nursery to Primary 3. And although the school fees are expensive, the more reputable ones have long waiting list of students waiting to get a placement.

In the end, my husband and I decided to send our children to a reputable local private school. However, after more than a year, when my boy is of age to enter Primary education, the question came back to haunt us again as the current local school that our children are studying in stopped at Kindergarten level. So... should we let our boy continue to study in a local school, or move him to an international school? Personally, I prefer to let him continue in a local school since the Chinese curriculum is a lot tougher. I am thinking that if my boy can cope with the local educational system, I believe he can cope anywhere else. But my boy pleaded for us to send him to an English-speaking school instead. I guess having spoken English at home since young, he is more comfortable to study in English.

As liberal parents, we decided to give in to our boy's request. Ultimately, we needed our children to enjoy their learning years. We registered our children in an international school which we find creditable. My girl was lucky and she was offered a place in Nursery quite soon. My boy is still on the waiting list to be placed in Level 1.

Hopefully by putting my children into International Schools, we are making a right decision.

Quote from Gal, "Okay.... Okay.... I know... I know...."

..... whenever I give her advices.......

Home Sweet Home

Weather: Rainy
Mood: Occupied

We finally got our own apartment in Shanghai. We reckon it is better to own an apartment than to negotiate the rental terms every year. The apartment we purchased consisted of 3 bed-rooms, 2 bathrooms, living room and kitchen. In terms of floor-area, it is smaller than the apartment we own in Singapore, however, considering the expensive property prices in Shanghai, we are happy with what we got.

We have already engaged a contractor to renovate the apartment. According to plan, we should be able to move in by May. For the size of our apartment, it should take a shorter time to renovate if not because we need to factor in the Lunar New Year festival in Febuary. During this festive period, the locals, which includes the renovators, will be going back to their home town for celebration. And since money has been spent to journey home, they would usually stay for 2 weeks to a month.

I have been very excited about the renovation... in order to generate renovation ideas, I've been reading up books and magazines. Since we have a controlled budget on the renovation, I intend to look up locally produced materials for the house. Anything imported into China would cost a bomb. However, locally produced stuff often has quality issues, therefore, I have to do a little bit of research in order to choose something reliable.

Since rennovation is at it's innitial stage, I have nothing really much to share at the moment. Meanwhile, you'll see me often in furniture shops with books, papers and tape measures, penning down prices and measurements of potential furnitures.

I'm hopeful that at the end of the day, I can help to create a haven in Shanghai for our family.

Quote from Boy, "I don't want to wear the jacket inside, it makes me look fat."

My boy is so vain that he be cold than to look fat by wearing too much. *sigh*

A Peaceful 2007

Weather: Cloudy
Mood: Relax

It has been drizzling since the start of 2007 in Shanghai. The Chinese believe that water is good, since water represents wealth. Thus, I hope 2007 will be a year filled with prosperity, peace and love for all.

The festive weekend was relaxing for the family. As it was raining on and off, we didn't plan any outdoor activities for the kids, especially since both of my darlings were having flu and cough that couldn't be stopped. And to prevent boredom from the kids, we made sure they were occupied with arts and crafts, board games and lots of television programs. I also helped to reinforce the holiday mood by cooking up scrumptious meals. Although my choosy kids were not so enthusiastic with my gastronomic creations, my hubby showed credit by cleaning up my prawn soup noodles and stewed pork ribs beehoon. :)

Back to this New Year, I foresee myself to be preoccupied with some personal events. Therefore, I'll probably be spending less time online. However, I would try to keep up with my blog at least once a week since writing has always been a pleasurable pastime for me. For those who are interested to catch up with my goings-on in Shanghai, do make it a point to visit weekly.

Meanwhile, Best of Wishes for All in 2007. ;)

Quote from Boy, "Why everyday must go to school?"