Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour

One of the highlights of our UK trip was visiting the Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio in Watford which is 1 hour away from London. Tickets have to be pre-booked and the excitement of the tour starts at the entrance. For Potter fans this is a must do.

This tour takes about 3 hours and the sets are the actual sets used in the movie. We were first ushered into the grand dining hall with a sumptious spread of food (models of course).

Harry Potter's Bed in Hogwarts

Handpainted

We saw special effects used in the movie, costumes etc.You get to have hands on try at using the magic wands and practicing your spells.  You can also try the green room where you wear a cloak and try out the broomstick. They superimpose the picture and you see yourself flying to Hogwarts and town. You can

get a set of photos and a thumb drive.

There are outdoor sets - where you get to ride the motorbike and drink butter beer. It tasted quite nice. You get to see the three tier Knight bus.

We walked down the town set which was cool as they show how the footprints in the snow was created. It was really a magical experience for the kids and us.

Model of Hogwarts

Shanghai Food Trail

Compared to our first trip to Shanghai 9 years ago, we had excellent food recommendations this trip. We were delighted with the food which was done well and fresh.

Ye Shanghai - we chanced upon this restaurant and decided to have dinner there. The decor was excellent and we sat on the second floor and there was a lady and a musician entertaining us with old chinese songs. The food we had were quite healthy and tasty.

We went to Lao Ji Shi twice for dinner. Every dish we ordered was really good. The best was the hairy crab which was in season and the crab meat vermicelli. The spring onion cod fish head was excellent too.

Crab meat vermicelli sheet - yums

In season - hairy crab - nicely done!

full of flavour - cod fish head deep fried with spring onions

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Jelly fish with wild veg

Yummy pork ribs

Fish was nice

dessert pancake

We also had a whole peking duck to ourselves at this famous branch of Beijing restaurant.

Bones for porridge

Shanghai Markets - Dongtai Antique Market and Bird and Insect Market

We visited the Dongtai Rd Antique Market which is located near our hotel at Frasers Residence in Shanghai. We were there around 10 am and the shop owners were about to start business. They were paddling old watches, snuff bottles, giant brushes, antique tins and quaint looking model cars. Unfortunately, we couldn't wait for all the shops to open but continue to walk down to the birds and insect market.

This market was an eye opener. We saw vendors selling cicadas in containers - apparently the sounds made by the cicadas are soothing to some and people buy them for their sound. We saw vendors selling crickets and found out they used the crickets to "fight" and gamble. There were shops selling birds and different insects.

Checking out the product

cicadas

Desert Adventures

C has been to the Middle East on several occasions for work and has been trying to interest the family to go. After our initial plans to go to Jordan fell through due to some political unrest there, we decided to spend some time in Dubai enroute to Europe.

Dubai in December is pretty cool around 18C. We visited the beach and ducked for cover when it rained. It's quite nice to see families out enjoying the water. We went to the gold souq and the spices souq. The spices souq is quite an eye opener.

The highlight of Dubai trip was the Desert Adventures. We booked a private tour and a 4 wheel drive came to pick us up. We travelled for some time before reaching the desert. 

The desert was beautiful.  The driver then took us to sand bashing, revving up to the sand dunes and sliding down. Very fun! This is very commercialised in Dubai and C said it was more thrilling in the desert in Jordan when he did it.

The next stop was to the camp where there was a big area set up for dinner. Before dinner, the kids took a ATV vehicle and ride around the desert and we went for a camel ride. Dinner was buffet style and we sat on cushions and watched belly dancer, turkish dancer and eating middle eastern fare. The weather was cool and we dine under the stars. It was a memorable day!

20th Wedding Anniversary Dinner at Catalunya

Catalunya is situated at The Fullerton Pavillion, a stand alone pavillon with a rooftop for private parties and wondeful view of Marina Bay.

The decor of the place is nice though the tables are quite close together. The vibes on entering the restaurant is lively, a happening place. We were ushered to our table and offered ice water (no checking if we want sparkling or still :)).  There's a deck you can walk out to to enjoy the lovely sunset.

We ordered 4 tapas and 2 mains with a drink each. My drink Santigo was refreshing - limey with a touch of chilli. C had a beer.

It put me in a good mood to enjoy the food. The tapas came - pa amb tomaquet (toast with olive oil and tomato - $10) - bread was crispy and light. The croquetas Jamon was really good (4 pieces for $15). We had the crispy paella ($16) which is paello cooked in saffron until crispy and eat with fish broth. The presentation was cool as the broth was poured from a pot. The last tapas was Chorizo Yestrellados ($18) which is very rich with egg, chorizo and potatoes. The first bite was great but subsequent bites were too rich for me. My favourite was the croquetas de jamon.

Our mains were baby lamb ribs ($55) and snapper ($45) with medley of vegetables with romesco sauce. The lamb was really good with the sauce. The snapper was not overcooked and goes nicely with the lemon puree and sauce.

We were given a treat of the light and laser show at 8 pm at the Marina Bay.

We were too stuffed to have desserts and I had a lovely anniversary dinner.

Lovely drink

Pa amb tomaquet $10

Croquettas de Jamon ($15)

Chorizo Yestrellasdos ($18)

Crispy Paella ($16)

Snapper $45

Lamb Ribs $55