yum! pandan muffins

One of my top 10 favorite things about living in Asia has to be pandan. i love the green stuff and so do the kiddies. i have been buying pandan cakes and pandan muffins, pandan toasts and other goodies, but then i decided that i better make the small green cakes myself. has to be better, knowing what's in there, plus bibs absolutely loves baking - well as long as her hands are kept clean!

we have made them a couple of times, but i wasn't completely satisfied, i think i have nailed it this time, so i'll share the recipe!

pandan muffin recipe

3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup sugar
2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp pandan extract (or 6 fresh leaves soaked in the water and then strained)

mix the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and the salt. in another ball mix the egg, coconut milk, pandan extract, water and oil. add half the wet to the dry and mix, then add the rest till you get a nice and smooth matter - do not mix too much or your muffins end up being very heavy. cook 20-25 mins @ 180c. 

Playdate at Lollipop's

Last week-end we met up with a few mummies and kiddies at Lollipop's in Seminyak. It is an indoor/outdoor playground with lots of activities for the small and bigger kids. Bibs (3yrs old) had a tremendous time, Bobsy (13 months) had a good time because he just gets on with stuff, but if you only have a small one, I don't really think that's the place to go.

Lollipop's is located on Sunset Road, on the last stretch before you drive into Seminyak. It is quite big so you can't really miss it and I think most taxi drivers know it anyway.

so what can the kiddies do... there are trampolines, slides, a smaller toddler area, fishing, climbing and a quite big outdoor wet area. This is the kind of place to take your children to use some energy! The parents can have a drink and a little something to eat in the cafe. There is a no food/drinks-from-the-outside policy, but they don't sell milk which is a bit of a problem if you have a huge milk drinker like I do; fortunately there is a small convenience store next door where it is possible to get some.

the indoor area...

Bobsy exploring the area

Bungee jumping for over 5s

The cafe is located inside, so it is possible to kind of keep an eye on the children as they fool around. They have a selection of drinks - coffee, shakes, juices - and also a quite extensive food menu with Indonesian favorites and western options available as well. prices range from 8.5k for a bottle of water and the food around 30k. 

The cafe

Outdoors... there is this little fishing area - Bibs here walks around trying to catch a little goldfish. Now I don't think the fish like it very much, but the kids obviously love it. You get to keep the fishies if you want - we decided to release ours.

What more outside. around the pond there is a climbing frame, they have helmets and other security stuff so the bigger children can climb in all safety.

and finally, the wet area - a very shallow area where the children can run around, under showers of water and other features. Then some slides and other fun things. Be aware! the buckets fill with water and they empty quite violently - we got soaking wet!

So how much does it cost? you can find all about their membership on the website. On non schooldays it costs 110k for over 2 year olds and on schooldays it's 90k; between 1 and 2 is 50k and parents/guardians is always 25k. under ones get in for free. I find the price okay if you decide on staying the whole day, but I wouldn't go there just for a couple of hours. Oh! and you need socks for the kids and parents get these very fancy (euh not!) flip flops...

an afternoon at Bali Zoo

i always find zoos controversial. for some it is out of question to see an animal in a cage - for others it's educational and a way to preserve endangered species. i am in the second lot. i really like zoos. of course animals should be happy and well taken care of and yes, some zoos are better than others...

i found Bali zoo to be nice and the animals seemed well looked after - there are even a few small ones (a wallaby with a baby in the pocket, or the white tigers with a small cub). 

Wallaby with baby in the pocket

White Tiger family

i also learned something on our little trip. i don't know why i thought that bears only lived in colder climates, but no they also live in warmer ones. the sun bear, an endangered species and the smallest type of bear, lives also in Indonesia (Borneo and Sumatra). 

the gardens are lovely, it is stroller friendly, and the park is small enough for little ones to walk by themselves the whole way. Bibs, our 3 year old, had a fantastic afternoon, a part for the fact that we missed the elephant ride because it got too late! she got an ice cream though, so that saved the day!

they have a couple of bird shows everyday (11 and 3 i think). it is quite good and at the end you can take a picture with a small lion. i think it's tummy must be very full to just lay there. this is standard everywhere in Bali. i think they think that tourists love those kind of pictures! don't know what to think, don't really like that an animal is used that way! then i have had pics taken with birds for exemple, so what's the difference... i don't know. 

there s also an educational show, that we didn't see, i think it runs 12pm and 4pm, and then the elephant ride - with 3 different trails. 

there are different entrance fares available, most options come with lunch in one of the restaurants (looking at the lions or at the elephants), but simple entries to the zoo exist as well. 

finally, you need to meet Jacky, the Orangutan. It was his birthday the day we were there and somehow I think he knew it! it definitely looked like he was waiting for a couple of presents to come his way!

i don't think the zoo is a great day out for adults alone, but with small children it is a nice thing to do while visiting Bali, if you have had enough beach, surf & sip and are looking for a quieter break during the holidays.

some more pictures of the area...

Shame! Shame on you Ace Hardware Indonesia!

let me tell you what happened as I visited one of the ace hardware stores in Bali today.

my friend had told me that they had received a toy I had been looking for for my little boy and today I decided to make the trip. 

i get to the store, after a while i also manage to find what i came for. gIve it to my son to try, he loves it, doesn't want to leave it alone. great! my bonus of the day: 20% off the nearly 315k. son happy, mummy happy! except I don't stay happy very long. 

i get a sales rep who tells me it's the last one and comes back with the item and the price tag. Well half the price tag, the 20% off tag has disappeared. i ask him where is it gone? well it was a mistake. sorry, not really my problem, I reply! and he really tries to talk himself out of it - which only annoys me more. then he says, that the member of staff is new, i reply then he is obviously not ready to be by himself. and then it comes: well the staff member will have to pay! i was shocked. i think i didn't understand well, but no... even if the guys english wasn't very good, he got that across. YES! if an employee at ace hardware makes a mistake he pays for it! i cannot take money from a kid who makes a mistake, i will not take his money. so i made my way to the cashier and pay full price for my son to be happy. and then i thought i can't leave this alone. i go to customer service and ask for the manager. very nice lady came and listened to me. she could only say that i had understood well and that is ace hardware's policy. she checked my story out - the item had been on sales till the 4th september and the tag hadn't been taken off. she then told me that she would take it off her salary. what is this? i don't ask for charity! i know she means well and I am not offended she proposed it but i don't want her money either. so because of ace hardware's unfair, idiotic, i-can't-find-a-word-for-it policy and me being a normal human, with a heart, i cannot have my consumer's right respected or protected. 

i know others probably would think, tough for the kid, he will learn. but no! it's so wrong. i could just see it happen in France, the unions could milk that one - and for once i would agree with them. poor kid. this kind of policy is from another time, a time where employees were not respected or trusted. a time where employers did what they wanted to. 

shame, shame on you ace hardware Indonesia! 

lunch @ Waroeng Bonita, Seminyak

not far from home, there is a warung, with a lovely garden and some very good food. a warung (or waroeng) is a family owned business like a restaurant, a cafe or a small shop. 

the food was really yummy, the service slow - it wasn't busy, but i suspect it's because they do make a lot from scratch when ordered. so they are kind of excused.

 

to the food... the mie goreng had this awesome taste of hot wok, which is almost impossible to get at home! the Indonesian chicken curry was mild and the potatoes were melting in the mouth - the kiddies loved it. Bobs and i had fried fish, it was succulent! all for idr 230k and worth every penny, or rupiah i should say.

Bob's fried fish

sweet and sour fried fish

mie goreng

indonesian chicken curry 

"monkey wants to eat my foot!"

we took a small day trip to Ubud last week and of course we went to the monkey forest to feed some monkeys. Bobs had promised Bibs and she was excited about the project... and yes one of the monkeys tried to eat Bibs' foot - well not really he was trying to get hold of the banana she didn't want to let go. the thing is they can be a little bit persistent, those small creatures.

Entrance to the site

the monkey forest of Padangtegal is a sacred Balinese Hindu site. you can read about the temples and the forest on the official website, but this I feel is a charming summary...

"A Balinese temple is more than just a collection of pagodas and pavilions. The area enclosed by temple walls and the forest area surrounding it is sacred. These temples and the forest are essential for renewing contact with the spiritual world. The activities associated with these areas are essential in maintaining harmony between humans, nature and the cosmos. Not only are ancestral spirits and gods given offerings and prayers, but also the spirits of trees and statues in the Monkey Forest are given offerings and prayers by the Pemangku and local villagers". (http://www.monkeyforestubud.com/forest.html) 

the forest is beautiful and very nice to walk around in. there are 115 different species of trees and something like 300 small monkeys running around everywhere looking for some yummy bananas.

entrance fee to the site is 20'000IDR and then you buy the bananas extra to feed the small macaques. you can also buy bananas outside and bring them.

and they love those bananas... they even find them if you are hiding them in your bag! so don't be surprised if a monkey comes running and suddenly jumps on you. be careful though some of them can be a little too excited about the prospect of yet another banana. they are very happy to climb on you and sit one your shoulders or head if you hold a banana in the air.

at the bottom of some stairs, there is a small temple, a little pond and soothing atmosphere.

way down to the pond and the temple...

  

there is also another temple, that unfortunately we did not get to see. the visit of this sanctuary is a must do while in Ubud. i don't know if there is a good/bad time to go, we were around 11am and it was not particularly busy. i think it is entertaining for all... you have animals, nature, culture - all together in one place. 

wonder what he is thinking!