Hua Hin (Thailand) - Rest Detail Resort

We chose to stay at the Rest Detail hotel in Hua Hin after hearing mostly good reviews from the travellers. From Bangkok, we booked a cab through the website online (THB 4,200) for round about trip which I thought was decent. The driver was very experienced with the road and we managed to reach in about 2 hours since there's not much traffic during the weekends. Note: If you need the driver contact, just PM me directly and I will give you the details.

 

In total, we spent about 5 nights in Hua Hin and all the stays were very pleasant throughout. On hindsight, it was actually just nice for us because we really want to enjoy our trip in a slowly relaxing manner and not rush it throughout. For the others, most people would spent only a day or two, which I think is a little bit of a rush.

 

Their classic Hotel Logo

 

When we reached the hotel, we were greeted by a very pleasant frontdesk who helped us to check in. We were given a nice welcome drink while we were awaiting for the room key while roaming around the resort. Immediately, I can already feel that all my nerves and mind from work seemingly gone away and I knew this was the perfect resort to get away from the daily hustle and bustle of life. How I wish I could have stayed there forever!!! 

Such an Amazing View

Once we get the key, we were led by one of the front desk guys into our room. I don't know if it is just me but I always get this excited feeling entering into the hotel room for the first time, leaving that suspense finally awaiting to burst out. When the door was finally opened, I was almost shell shocked because this is by far the BEST hotel room I have ever entered in my life. Not only does the room has a breathtaking sea view, but they were also extremely spacious and the room was very fragrant when we came in. Immediately, my wife and son roam around the room in happiness like I do too.

 

The room we chose was the rest horizon because it came with a huge balcony and Jacuzzi which obviously we enjoyed very much. In fact, I think this is the most popular type of room and you would need to book it early in order to avoid any disappointment. Based on what we know, the room was fully booked throughout and I had to make bookings about 6 months in advance.

 

 

Overall, I think I would rate the resort as one of the best I have stayed in my life. Although they are located somewhat further away from the town area, it provides a really nice serenity and peaceful surroundings that really entices people like us who wants some family time together.

 

The breakfast has also a very wide range of menus that you can choose from, including some of the famous local thai food, boat noodle, som tum, and many others.

 

For anyone who is going hua hin, I think this is almost a no brainer not to choose this resort. My wife even tells me at the end that she hopes to stay there for longer because she just simply love the atmosphere very much. Oh well, maybe we'll go back there on another day in the future.

Cato Restaurant Review - Modern Asian Cuisine Bar

We were looking for a new place to chill and hang out, and we found a place named Cato restaurant, which is located right across the Little India Temple at South Beach Road.

Cato is a restaurant & bar which offers Modern Asian cuisine and fusion and over 60 small batched craft beers and spirits from over the world.

 

We reached earlier than our scheduled appointment so we took the chance to tour around the second level which is perfect for chilling and just listening to live music.

Bar Area

Live Music

Anyway, we proceed to order from our menu for food and drinks since we are already hungry for the food.

Garlic Fries @ $8

Garlic Fries is pretty good and in fact I think it rates amongst the best dish throughout the night. The texture was crispy and the taste of garlic is strong giving a very unique perspective for the tongue. The portion is pretty decent too for a group of 4 to share.

Crispy Squid in Thai Glazed Sauce @ $12

The squid was very delicious as well since the texture is crispy and the taste of lemon thai sauce was succinct enough. I also like that they used baby squid instead so it comes in a nice small pairs where we can fit the whole thing into the mouth straight away.

Acai Cured Salmon @ $18

Steamed Baked Pork Cheek @ $28

Tom Yum Prawn Risotto @ $24

I was expecting quite a lot from the 3 main dishes but they are only pretty average to be honest. I think I have tasted much better elsewhere with a much better value out there than this one. The portion was not only small, but they also pale in comparison in taste. I was pretty disappointed with the main dishes overall.

Papaya Dessert

Apple Cider

Overall, I think I paid around $180 in total for 4 person. It's a very expensive meal because we ordered a few drinks but I think the main dish doesn't come cheap either. But the most important part was that I was left disappointed with some of the dish and it did not fill my stomach when I left the restaurant. Heck, I even had to go across Chinatown to buy some carrot cake home!!!

 

The restaurants did have some promotions ongoing with specific UOB credit cards and AMEX platinum but too bad I don't have those cards.

What Vitamins Do You and Your Children Take?‏

When I was younger, I wasn’t a big fan of supplement, also known as Vitamin. I remembered my dad asking me to swallow a few tablets of supplement and I absolutely hate it because it feels like a medicine. I was eating regularly like a normal person so I don’t think supplement is a necessity.

 

As I grew older, and getting exposed more to the vicious air conditioner in my daily cubicle in the office, my health and anti-body started to get weaker. I would at times get chill in my body (air-con was blowing straight to me, urghh) and sneeze a few times, but I wasn’t sure if this was a preview before I catch a cold.

 

Now, I started taking one vitamin on each alternate day and have them rotated between the two. I felt my inner body much stronger to fight against the daily cough and flus all around the buses, mrt and office. Of course, I wasn’t keen of using supplements permanently to depend on it, and the intake subscription was very minor that I think it’s not harmful to the body. Still, I was at times sceptical about how certain vitamins can be helpful, especially since I read the article about how one famous scientist, Linus Pauling have promoted vitamin C as a cure for all numerous ailments on a regular basis. Maybe someone in the industry could advised me better on this.

 

Sambucol

 

This is a great product which I’ve recently started taking, and the same goes for my kid.

 

The supplement is made from natural black elderberries which has twice the natural antioxidant capacity of blueberries and more than 50% the antioxidant capability of cranberries. For your information, antioxidants support the immune system by helping neutralise the harmful effect of free radicals.

 

 

 

 

Their taste is pleasantly sweet so children would naturally love it.

 

The supplements have very extensive well received reviews which you can read at Amazon or iherb forums.

 

 

       GNC Vitamin C (500g)

 

This is the other supplement that I am taking on alternate days.

 

 

 

 

 

They are not anything special, other than the fact that it helps to boost the immune system through timed release of the vitamins throughout the day.

 

If I happen to consume a lot of natural oranges or lemons during the day, then I would naturally avoid taking this.

 

Nordic Fish Oil

 

This is one which my son really likes and everytime I gave it to him, he savours it with joy and his intelligence seems to increase by a mile.

 

 

 

 

This version of Nordic’s Emulsion contains cod liver, which is rich in Vitamin A & D and is a rich source of essential fatty acids (Omega 3), EPA and DHA. It helps to build the body’s natural resistance to infections and brain health.

 

Chances are if your son is already consuming plenty of proteins from the fish he ate in his meals, then this is not a necessity. But again, I think it can serve a purposeful need for supplement, especially those with certain deficiencies.

 

 

While I understand that these supplements are not mandatory, I am curious to hear what kind of supplements do you or your children take. Please let me know and maybe we’ll chance upon a great product.

 

 

 

Guksu Restaurant Review & Cool De Sac Playtime

Suntec City mall has become one of our favourite malls these days because of the proximity to where we live and the complete facilities and areas to what we are looking for in a mall. We were looking to find a restaurant that were near the playground where we were planning to bring our kid, and managed to stomp by this korean restaurant which looks interesting.

The food selection was rather interesting and so we chose a hotpot bowl to share for 2 person, along with with a very delicious looking famous Korean chicken which I requested for them to mix between the soya and spicy.

Side dishes were also available and diners can take as much as they want themselves. There were not many selections other than a few vegetables and kimchi but it was okay.

When the main dishes came, we quickly fed to the hotpot ourselves to try. It came out that the portion was big enough to share for even 3 person and the taste were rather not bad as compared to the other hotpot I have eaten at other korean restaurant. We were also being served a white rice for two even though the hotpot already have some noodles inside. It was so filling.

Next come the mix soya and spicy chicken which we ordered separately. The spicy chicken was a tad too spicy for me and I prefer the version by nene chicken and 4 fingers though the soya version was very good and comparable to the 4 fingers chicken I've previously classed as number one. In the end, we were too filling and couldn't have finished all the meals so we decide to pack the chicken home.

When I proceed to ask one of the waiter to take away the chicken, he mentioned that they would charge $1 for the takeaway. Even though the amount isn't significant, it's a little put off knowing that the restaurant can't even absorb the packaging cost. I've heard other similar reviews who were disappointed at this too so perhaps the management can consider next time.

Overall, we spent about $70 (including GST and Service Charge) for the two main dishes and I must be the first to say that it doesn't come cheap. Overall, I would give a rating of 7 out of 10 and there are other more affordable restaurants to choose from especially for dollar fussy eaters.

 

 

"Cool De Sac" Review

 

This is the second time we’ve been to Cool De Sac, an indoor playground for kids which is located on the 2^nd floor of Suntec City near the Korean food we ate (more on it below). Suntec City mall has become one of our favourite malls these days because of the proximity to where we live and the complete facilities and areas to what we are looking for in a mall.

 

I actually like this more than Pollywogs because it has a wider range of facilities that segregate the different age of kids to play with. From the entrance, you can quickly see on the left that there is a jungle-alike areas where older kids can roam, run and climb around. If you are bringing younger kids to the area, do make sure that you watch them closely because there are lots of other kids around and they might clash when running into each other. That’s what happens to my son where he got knocked by older kids, leaving some bruises on his cheek.

 

In the center of the areas, there are drawing and lego activities for kids who want to showcase their creativity. Baby O loved playing this at home, so it is natural that he go straight to the area the moment he spotted them.

 

On the other end is the toddler’s area, where babies and smaller toddlers can roam and run around freely without fear of being knocked down by the bigger brothers and sisters. There are lots of toys to choose from and a small pool of ball areas where he can soak himself drowned with the balls. There’s a reason why kids love balls!!!

 

Overall, it was a fun session and the kid love the place. It is also very reasonably priced at $13 for the weekends and parents are allowed to come in for free. The only thing to take note is both parents and kids need to wear socks in order to get in otherwise you will have to purchase it onsite. Will definitely be back again next time to bring baby O socialise with the other kids.

 

 

My Purpose of Starting This Blog and About Me

This will be my first inception post on this newly created blog on the "Leisure With Daddy B" which will generally document our family journey towards spending quality time together. It will also cover a wide range of topics related to leisure such as food and product reviews, traveling, parenting, budgeting and many more which I enjoyed doing on a frequent basis.

 

The purpose of documenting this is to share the moments I treasure with the family on a different dimensional scale at each point in time. Looking at these from the future, I hope to bring inspiration to the families and readers out there and prove that happiness can be simple and achieved easily, albeit effort required to be done to pull everyone together out of the busy schedule.
 

 

 

 

Some introduction about myself too. I am a happily married husband and a daddy to my son which I adore him very much. I worked as an Accountant for my profession but I've pretty much figured out the things I wanted to focus on in my life. I'm not talking about giving up my corporate role or financial ignorant altogether but rather have them sorted out early in my life so that I can enjoy the fruits of the labor for the rest of my life. Currently, I run a separate blog mainly on personal finance and investing at foreverfinancialfreedom.blogspot.com where I have been writing for more than 5 years now (and going) about achieving financial independence early in our lives. Should you be interested in such topics, you may want to refer to the blog where I often update things that are related to money management.

 

I hope to interact with a lot more bloggers and readers who share the same purpose in life with me. At the end of the day, it is about finding the right mix between joy and idle, and I hope this blog will contribute positively to those who needs them.