Mandarin Class & Food Tasting

We were invited to 2 events both happening at Katong I12 so I thought I would kill 2 birds with 1 stone by attending both on the same day.

The first was a Chinese trial lesson at Perching Kids located on the 4th floor.

Unlimited play at their play area for their students

Although baby girl's primary caregiver (her grandmother) speaks primarily in Mandarin, for some strange reason she responds only in English even though she understands Mandarin. This led to my mum-in-law trying very hard to speak to her in English instead but as her English is not too good, she ends up speaking in a mix of both English and Mandarin, which is really not good for my girl's language development.

Hence for this reason, I thought I would try out this Chinese class to see if it would encourage baby girl to speak the language.

The teacher first starts off with gearing baby girl up in protective gear as this was more than just a Chinese lesson. 

Getting baby girl acquainted with the place

It was a Chinese lesson disguised as an art class.

Playing with paints while learning what they are in Chinese

Baby girl didn't particularly like the paint on her hands. She kept whining "Eeeww!" and only put hand prints on the paper because she wanted to get the paint off! Perhaps she is just a little OCD like her mummy *sigh*

As the teachers didn't understand her version of English, which only her mummy (for some strange reason) can understand, she had no choice but to speak to them in Mandarin. And that came very naturally in this environment where only Mandarin is being spoken. And whenever she said something in English, they will correct her and tell her to say the same thing in Mandarin, which she did eventually after much persuasion.

It must have had quite an impact on her because she spoke a little bit of Mandarin to my mum, whose first language is English.

But I think the most important thing is for ME to advance my own proficiency of the language in order to be a good role model to her! How can I expect so much from her when I'm not good in the language myself.

Time to speak more Mandarin? *laughs*

After her lesson, we proceeded onto the food tasting at Carly T's located on the 3rd floor and met up with fellow mum blogger Veraday, who was also there with her son =)

Left: The al fresco dining area at the balcony; Right: Private room 

First up on our food tasting menu was a classic Clarly T's drink and sides.

Clockwise from left: Charly T's Odysseys Red Tang drink; Macaroni & cheese side dish; 4 sides that you can choose from

The nicest thing about the macaroni and cheese side dish was that it's full of vegetables so it's 100% healthy. You can definitely eat and be guilt-free! =)

Next, we tried out Charly T's Famous Rotisserie Chicken (both the Original & Kansas City BBQ).

Rotisserie chicken with your choice of 4 sauces

The chicken was really tender and definitely passed the test of my Ultimate Food Critic: baby girl actually asked for more after the 1st bite =)

Anti-clockwise from top left: Kalua Pork; Sloppy Joe; Chicken Cordon Bleu (cut opened)

The Kalua Pork that we also tried literally melts in your mouth but my favourite has got to be the Chicken Cordon Bleu, which was dripping with my all time favourite ingredient after chocolate = cheese! =)

I would like to say we had an undisrupted time eating but that was not the case as halfway through, Her Royal Highness started to kick up a big fuss. I had to bring her outside to discipline her many times before she finally told me she wanted her pacifier and favourite pillow. Then she slumped onto her chair and refused to eat anything else. I was so embarassed but decided to ignore her tantrums and enjoy my dinner.

Her Royal Highness only finally sat up and took notice when they served the dessert. 

Magically 'awaken'

Kaiserschmarrn

Kaiserschmarrn consisted of warm and fluffy caramelized pancakes sprinkled with powdered sugar and raisins and served with French Vanilla ice cream.

Dessert to me is a very important part of any meal and this dessert was really good! It was soft and sweet but not too sweet. Both Her Highness and I loved it =)

What a nice end to a lovely day =)


Disclosure: A complimentary trial lesson was received from Perching Kids while an invitation to the food tasting was received from Carly T's. No monetary compensation was received; all opinions are my own.