Mama-about-Town: Marimekko, The Capella Singapore and Brunch at Bloom

Hi Mamas,

This past week we were in Singapore and then Bangkok with my daughter… Singapore was blissfully easy to travel to with a little one in tow. We stayed at The Capella on Sentosa, which I worried might be a little far from the action, but it turned out to be the perfect balance of a resort hotel right next to the city and about as kid-friendly as you could possibly imagine. Our daughter ate most of her meals at The Knolls restaurant by the pool, where her dishes ordered from the kids menu were lovingly prepared and super-fresh (when will more hotels learn that we care just as much about what our kids eat as we eat?) and service was friendly and helpful. We organized a baby-sitter through the hotel for two evenings to allow us to hit the town, though we were back in the room and tucked up in bed by 10.30pm each night!

I highly recommend brunch at P.S. Cafe in Dempsey Hill (above) for dining en famille, and of course, you can’t go to Singapore without taking the kiddos to the zoo. We got this close to kangaroos, parrots, hippos and elephants! We were recommended by friends to get there right at opening time (8.30am – hurray!) and it was definitely worth it to beat the heat.

Our Bangkok trip was a little less successful, involving an accident combining a toddler and a sun-lounger that I’d rather draw a veil over, and which had us booked on the next trip back to Hong Kong… Stat!

In terms of new openings and things going on back in the 852, I was excited to head to the new Marimekko store in Causeway Bay to check out the Finnish brand’s first Hong Kong flagship. You can’t miss the outside of it with colourful flowers splashed all over, and the inside is no less of a ray of sunshine. I was a smidge disappointed with the children’s offerings (for older kids only), but the homewares make fab gifts and there were definitely a few summer dresses for mama that would turn heads with their gorgeous prints. Definitely worth a visit. Find the store at Marimekko Hong Kong, G/F, 42 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, 2203 4218.

We also went to check out Lily & Bloom‘s new Sunday brunch offering, including their new kid’s menu… The picture above is of their mac ‘n’ cheese, which my daughter pronounced “yummy” and couldn’t get enough of. As kids under 4 years eat for free, it can even be a bit of a bargain to feed the fam. We’d never really considered Bloom as a brunch destination as it’s such a night-time place, but turns out with the light streaming in through the windows, fun tunes playing and great food (a contender for the best burger in Hong Kong?) it’s a bit of a winner. We’ll have a full Tiny Bites review coming up soon, but in the meantime, here are the deets: Lily & Bloom, 5/F & 6/F LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, 2810 6166.

Until next time mamas!

xxx