Following my earlier post on the bakers who make beautiful 3D cakes, I had an encounter with one of them.
I had not mentioned in my post then. What happened was I went down to their Joo Chiat shop on a Wednesday public holiday noon, only to find it closed with a sign saying something like "Out for setup, back at 5pm". My hubby, baby and I hung around the area till 5.10pm, went back to the place, and it was still closed. We left for our early dinner.
That Saturday noon, we headed back there again. This time, it was opened but the lady who was there seemed alittle perplexed i should show up without an appointment. I told her I just want to drop by to look at some designs, and she disappeared backroom only to appear with an invoice book to take my order. I asked her about the designs and was told it's all on the website.
Bottom line is , it wasnt a pleasant experience at all. In fact, I felt i had wasted my time venturing to that part of Singapore just to see if I can get a cake from her. Yes, I probably should have emailed or called or something. I'm the type that likes to get into the action, and I had a few questions on the designs and the serving, so I followed my desire! Well that doesnt always turn out well....
Later that Saturday, I emailed the owner to feedback on the service as I believe she deserves to know if she's putting her time and time on her home business of sorts and letting some young girl squander her business with bad customer service.
Owner's reply was very professional and distant. She nicely asked that I arrange for an appointment between 10am to 7pm from Mon to Thurs. I replied that it would be tough for me to make that timing given my work hours, and at her invitation described some cake concepts (very simple ones actually) that I would like to consider. That on was 25th Nov Monday.
On Fri or Sat, I finally received an email reply from her. It states that she is not available on the date I needed.
I was really quite apalled by the time it took for her to revert on her unavailability. I wrote to say that I'm puzzled why she would need 5 days to check her diary of orders. Her reply - "I replied to your email immediately I read them today, no chance to read my mails for quite as many orders to be completed and things to organize."
??? !!!
Apart from the poor grammar, I am even more appalled that she should think 5 days delay is acceptable if she replies immediately after she reads the emails. It doesnt seem to trouble her that she has read her business email only 5 days after I had sent.
She must be really happy about doing that Mediacorp event and probably plans that to be her strategy for business growth next year.
I'm just glad there are other cheaper, more responsive, and nice creators of 3D cakes beside her. So she's out from my list perpetually.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Kid's Entertainment
Alright, so if you've a bunch of kids on a weekend afternoon and you want them to be entertained so that their parent - your friends - can be entertained by means of relief, what do you do?
Engage someone, a clown or a magician, to do the job. Yes I say job because it's no joke entertaining kids. Don't talk about their wide range of interests (yes they have r-a-n-g-e, like us adults), there's the age gaps, the gender, and oh my, just the sheer energy required to keep 1 child engaged, not to mention a dozen.
If you would sit through Okto channel on a typical weekday noon, you would have watch a handful of half hour kids programs ranging from cartoons with content, cartoons with silly content, silly make-believe dinosaurs that talks, teach and sing, a bunch of adolescents singing and prancing, and so on. Not to name names, but in my humble Mummy opinion, only Hi-5 is worth the time. Even I enjoy the song and dance routines.
So here's the thing about live kids entertainment: I have a hunch that it's not easy to find entertainers worth your hard earned Mummy money. I have not had a chance to engage any, but from my internet surf, I can mention 3 that I will try if and when I get to organise 3 parties.
They are - I stress - not exhaustive and a matter of personal opinion. Mummy to mummy sharing that this is.
1. Sweetheart the clown - www.partywithsweetheart.com
I am engaging her cos she is simply the first clown I know as a person to be a clown as her occupation, and thereby the longest serving clown I know personally. If she's not good she wouldn't have lasted so long. My best friend once engaged her to entertain the kids at her wedding, and Sweetheart did not disappoint. She had the children trailing after her like pipe piper in God-knows-what-they-doing. Off duty, I spoke to her briefly and she came across as pretty professional.
Sweetheart charges $250 for a half hour show, and includes balloon sculpture in her acts.
2. Professor Popcorn - www.funengineerz.com.sg
I only had to drop an enquiry and I got a warm and ready response with the info I needed hte very next day. Kudos to Prof for being so on-the-ball! Responsiveness seems to be a vanishing value nowadays in one-man businesses so when others take this as "probably very free", I take this as professional.
I have seen Prof Popcorn perform his magic tricks from outside a function room, and I must say the kids are engaged. Perhaps it is the occasion when I bumped into him while he was rushing to the function room that made me see the stern side of him....
Prof Popcorn does a 1 hr show including balloon sculture and a few other add ons as well, for $300.
3. Magic Empire - www.themagicempire.com
I only serve this dude's website and watched his promotional videos on Youtube. He has 5 personas that involve largely ventriloquism. All seem funny except for the clown one - Billy Bonkers - which seemed funniest, and not surprisingly, more expensive.
Besides Billy Bonkers' fees that costs $349, the other 4 personas charge $299 for an hour's show including balloon sculpture.
I hope to discover more kids entertainers who genuinely enjoy what they do and love kids. Really, it's hard to tell these because I always thought I'm a kids-disliker. ;)
Kudos to all of them in the industry. I certainly am unable to entertain children who are not mine day in day out. Even my own child - whom I deeply love believe me - I can probably do it for only like...a day?! These entertainers deserve the *applause*.
Engage someone, a clown or a magician, to do the job. Yes I say job because it's no joke entertaining kids. Don't talk about their wide range of interests (yes they have r-a-n-g-e, like us adults), there's the age gaps, the gender, and oh my, just the sheer energy required to keep 1 child engaged, not to mention a dozen.
If you would sit through Okto channel on a typical weekday noon, you would have watch a handful of half hour kids programs ranging from cartoons with content, cartoons with silly content, silly make-believe dinosaurs that talks, teach and sing, a bunch of adolescents singing and prancing, and so on. Not to name names, but in my humble Mummy opinion, only Hi-5 is worth the time. Even I enjoy the song and dance routines.
So here's the thing about live kids entertainment: I have a hunch that it's not easy to find entertainers worth your hard earned Mummy money. I have not had a chance to engage any, but from my internet surf, I can mention 3 that I will try if and when I get to organise 3 parties.
They are - I stress - not exhaustive and a matter of personal opinion. Mummy to mummy sharing that this is.
1. Sweetheart the clown - www.partywithsweetheart.com
I am engaging her cos she is simply the first clown I know as a person to be a clown as her occupation, and thereby the longest serving clown I know personally. If she's not good she wouldn't have lasted so long. My best friend once engaged her to entertain the kids at her wedding, and Sweetheart did not disappoint. She had the children trailing after her like pipe piper in God-knows-what-they-doing. Off duty, I spoke to her briefly and she came across as pretty professional.
Sweetheart charges $250 for a half hour show, and includes balloon sculpture in her acts.
2. Professor Popcorn - www.funengineerz.com.sg
I only had to drop an enquiry and I got a warm and ready response with the info I needed hte very next day. Kudos to Prof for being so on-the-ball! Responsiveness seems to be a vanishing value nowadays in one-man businesses so when others take this as "probably very free", I take this as professional.
I have seen Prof Popcorn perform his magic tricks from outside a function room, and I must say the kids are engaged. Perhaps it is the occasion when I bumped into him while he was rushing to the function room that made me see the stern side of him....
Prof Popcorn does a 1 hr show including balloon sculture and a few other add ons as well, for $300.
3. Magic Empire - www.themagicempire.com
I only serve this dude's website and watched his promotional videos on Youtube. He has 5 personas that involve largely ventriloquism. All seem funny except for the clown one - Billy Bonkers - which seemed funniest, and not surprisingly, more expensive.
Besides Billy Bonkers' fees that costs $349, the other 4 personas charge $299 for an hour's show including balloon sculpture.
I hope to discover more kids entertainers who genuinely enjoy what they do and love kids. Really, it's hard to tell these because I always thought I'm a kids-disliker. ;)
Kudos to all of them in the industry. I certainly am unable to entertain children who are not mine day in day out. Even my own child - whom I deeply love believe me - I can probably do it for only like...a day?! These entertainers deserve the *applause*.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Birthday cakes for 1st birthday
My baby is celebrating his first birthday next month, and I'm the most excited person!
Basically my hubby just leaves everything to me. So, I'm packing my own party favours, ordering cakes for hte 2 days of celebration, and arranging for entertainment on 2nd day where there'll be many kids.
There's alot of stuff to share when it comes to all things pertaining to birthday celebrations. I'll just start with the birthday cakes. These are the bakers worth considering in order of "greatness", and money aside:
1. Christy - www.cforcupcakes.com
One of her specialties is making a part of the cake rotate (check out her vids) although I rather the music is more modern. She'll share her story behind each cake, which makes it meaningful and "intelligent" - thought went into the design so its more personal, and not just another design.
Her fondant craft is very good, and you can see lots of effort went into the process of designing and making the fondant cakes. Designs are one of the most original.
I especially like the Journey to One cake for the thought that went behind it, the journey to baby's 1 year birthday is peppered with many fears and joys for first time parents.
For the Journey to One cake for 20+ pax, she quoted $258.
2. Cheryl Shuen - www.cherylshuen.com
She is pretty recognised in this fondant cakes arena. Her website has loads of designs she made, which are pretty, colourful and well crafted. After searching through so many bakers' fondant cakes, I realise there can be a big gap in terms of fondant craft skill. Cheryl and Christy are 2 of the best, in my opinion.
Cheryl does both fondant and fresh cream cakes, although the latter is more limited in terms of design. She has a shop in Joo Chiat and you should make an appointment with her on Mon-Thurs 10am-7pm for a discussion. Dont try going there unannounced - like what I did - because both trips were unfruitful.
I do have a feeling that she's very busy - she takes 1 day to reply to your emails.
Cheryl's cakes are one of the most expensive. Based on her website, a fondant cake for 20 pax starts from $300. Further customisation like making a pair of cartoon characters cost another $150! *gasp* Her cupcakes are also very expensive. Sometimes I imagine I can have a whole pack of chicken rice for the price of 1 cupcake!
3. Bee Leng - http://bees-cake.blogspot.com
Bee Leng's craft is not too bad, but I'm more impressed by the 2-in-1 cake which has her fondant cake on the upper tier and cupcakes with similar theme on the lower tier.
She's very slow in replying however. I had to wait about 2 days for each reply.
She charges $80 per kg of fondant cake, with additional charges for customised figurines. Her mini size cupcake is between $1.40 to $8 depending on design.
4. Pine Garden - www.pgcake.com
Welcome to the fresh cream & budget baker at a humble neighbourhood location of AMK Ave 10. When I first went to Pine Garden, I noted there's a steady stream of people ordering birthday cakes. It was only afterward that I realise it's because PG offers tasty cream cakes and not-too-bad designs at affordable prices. For the first day of celebration, i ordered a 2kg, 2-tier Sesame St theme cake and it was $36 per kg plus a $28 additional charge for design.
Given that the cakes tastes good (unlike fondant cakes that are butter cream), this is value for money if you do not need a win-hands-down design.
That's all that I would recommend actually. There are a whole host of other bakers but I found they are either too expensive for the quality of their design or they skill is not up to mark. There are mummies who show a picture of a design they want (like castle design - veyr popular with girls) and ask a neighbourhood bakery to bake it. Of course the price is cheaper but I can see the difference in skill.
Aside from my research, I found myself musing over how expensive a children's cake can be nowadays....My hubby totally disagreed with my wanting to order Christy's cake, he says it's too expensive. But there are mummies who would spend that money.
I'm still exploring options for the 2nd day cake so will update if i find any other gems.
Basically my hubby just leaves everything to me. So, I'm packing my own party favours, ordering cakes for hte 2 days of celebration, and arranging for entertainment on 2nd day where there'll be many kids.
There's alot of stuff to share when it comes to all things pertaining to birthday celebrations. I'll just start with the birthday cakes. These are the bakers worth considering in order of "greatness", and money aside:
1. Christy - www.cforcupcakes.com
One of her specialties is making a part of the cake rotate (check out her vids) although I rather the music is more modern. She'll share her story behind each cake, which makes it meaningful and "intelligent" - thought went into the design so its more personal, and not just another design.
Her fondant craft is very good, and you can see lots of effort went into the process of designing and making the fondant cakes. Designs are one of the most original.
I especially like the Journey to One cake for the thought that went behind it, the journey to baby's 1 year birthday is peppered with many fears and joys for first time parents.
For the Journey to One cake for 20+ pax, she quoted $258.
2. Cheryl Shuen - www.cherylshuen.com
She is pretty recognised in this fondant cakes arena. Her website has loads of designs she made, which are pretty, colourful and well crafted. After searching through so many bakers' fondant cakes, I realise there can be a big gap in terms of fondant craft skill. Cheryl and Christy are 2 of the best, in my opinion.
Cheryl does both fondant and fresh cream cakes, although the latter is more limited in terms of design. She has a shop in Joo Chiat and you should make an appointment with her on Mon-Thurs 10am-7pm for a discussion. Dont try going there unannounced - like what I did - because both trips were unfruitful.
I do have a feeling that she's very busy - she takes 1 day to reply to your emails.
Cheryl's cakes are one of the most expensive. Based on her website, a fondant cake for 20 pax starts from $300. Further customisation like making a pair of cartoon characters cost another $150! *gasp* Her cupcakes are also very expensive. Sometimes I imagine I can have a whole pack of chicken rice for the price of 1 cupcake!
3. Bee Leng - http://bees-cake.blogspot.com
Bee Leng's craft is not too bad, but I'm more impressed by the 2-in-1 cake which has her fondant cake on the upper tier and cupcakes with similar theme on the lower tier.
She's very slow in replying however. I had to wait about 2 days for each reply.
She charges $80 per kg of fondant cake, with additional charges for customised figurines. Her mini size cupcake is between $1.40 to $8 depending on design.
4. Pine Garden - www.pgcake.com
Welcome to the fresh cream & budget baker at a humble neighbourhood location of AMK Ave 10. When I first went to Pine Garden, I noted there's a steady stream of people ordering birthday cakes. It was only afterward that I realise it's because PG offers tasty cream cakes and not-too-bad designs at affordable prices. For the first day of celebration, i ordered a 2kg, 2-tier Sesame St theme cake and it was $36 per kg plus a $28 additional charge for design.
Given that the cakes tastes good (unlike fondant cakes that are butter cream), this is value for money if you do not need a win-hands-down design.
That's all that I would recommend actually. There are a whole host of other bakers but I found they are either too expensive for the quality of their design or they skill is not up to mark. There are mummies who show a picture of a design they want (like castle design - veyr popular with girls) and ask a neighbourhood bakery to bake it. Of course the price is cheaper but I can see the difference in skill.
Aside from my research, I found myself musing over how expensive a children's cake can be nowadays....My hubby totally disagreed with my wanting to order Christy's cake, he says it's too expensive. But there are mummies who would spend that money.
I'm still exploring options for the 2nd day cake so will update if i find any other gems.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
My 1st Entry
I created this blog because I realise there's sooo much info out there for every new mum to discover.
From the first realisation of pregnancy to every nitty gritty of our children's growth, we make choices on where, when, what, who and how...or nots.
My boy is coming to 1 year old soon, and I'm still finding the journey very interesting.... In fact, I realise I am enjoying the research and the changes I have to face with my child's growth and with it, his changes. It kinda fits in with my character inclinations to research in detail where's the best places to get a 3D birthday cake, what are the need-to-send-to classes, why-this-place-is-good, etc.
Since there are always new mums and I will definitely have a 2nd child (& probably forget all my "research" for my first), I decided to blog out the stuff that fun mummyhood can be made of.
Yes mummyhood can be alot of fun to go through, it's like a new project every other week for me to figure out. Of course, nothing beats the raw kick of smelling and holding my little miracle, and knowing he's mine. :)
From the first realisation of pregnancy to every nitty gritty of our children's growth, we make choices on where, when, what, who and how...or nots.
My boy is coming to 1 year old soon, and I'm still finding the journey very interesting.... In fact, I realise I am enjoying the research and the changes I have to face with my child's growth and with it, his changes. It kinda fits in with my character inclinations to research in detail where's the best places to get a 3D birthday cake, what are the need-to-send-to classes, why-this-place-is-good, etc.
Since there are always new mums and I will definitely have a 2nd child (& probably forget all my "research" for my first), I decided to blog out the stuff that fun mummyhood can be made of.
Yes mummyhood can be alot of fun to go through, it's like a new project every other week for me to figure out. Of course, nothing beats the raw kick of smelling and holding my little miracle, and knowing he's mine. :)
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