Today we spent the whole day at Club Med Bintan Indonesia. We started the day with a nature walk through the thick jungle that surrounds the resort. We spotted a wild silver-leaf monkey, a centipede, and some carnivorous pitcher plants.

At lunch we let Hayden play with a few more foods. He can now pick them up and wave them around, and sometimes he will almost accidentally shove them into his mouth, but he really doesn’t seem that interested in eating and seems quite happy with his liquid diet.

We have been eating so much fresh fruit here – pineapple, watermelon, dragon fruit, snake skin fruit, guava, coconut – for every meal it’s freshly sliced and waiting for us in abundance. Hayden gummed on some coconut but didn’t seem particularly impressed.

It was a little drizzly, which meant that some activities were cancelled, a great excuse to curl up with Hayden and read our books while sipping on some cocktails. Hayden modelled the seahorse t-shirt that I painted for him the day before. Even though I chose an extra-small shirt, it is too big and he looks a little like an American footballer. Poor little bear is even too small for the Petite Club.

In some ways this place is very baby-friendly. They have plenty of high-chairs and changing stations with Johnson & Johnson products, and the buffet has a whole fridge full of pureed baby foods. We have a baby bath, a bottle warmer and steriliser in our room with more complementary baby skin care products on offer. However at 14 years old the resort is showing its age, as there are stairs everywhere and it is impossible to wheel the pram anywhere without assistance. We saw one little girl in a wheelchair, and she must be having a very difficult time getting around.

Overall we have enjoyed our time here. During monsoon season the beach and the weather are not spectacular, but it is warm and relaxing and a great excuse to spend some quality time together. Tomorrow we catch the ferry back to Singapore and the next day we fly back home.

I wandered through the local supermarket a few days ago. Firstly, I was astonished by its size – easily four times the size of our Supermarché. Secondly, it was astonishing to see the abundance of items that we pay a fortune for at the Australia Store in London. The rows of cordial (grenadine in all the flavours of the rainbow), Milo (malted powder that never properly dissolves in cold milk), Weet-Bix (vastly superior to Weetabix breakfast bricks), and the wide array of TimTam chocolate biscuits.

I bought Hayden a small jar of “my first Vegemite” to try on his first birthday. Though Adrian says that the reduced salt will detract from the true Australian experience.

There are some downsides to shopping in Australia, though. This is the extent of the foreign beer selection:

And if one takes a close look at a bottle of Stella:

It’s made by Fosters.

At Parvis de Saint-Gilles there was a delightful organic ice-cream shop called Sikou. Every day they had a different range of flavours, from carrot-orange-cinnamon to lavender to macaron to (my favourite) salted caramel. They also served savory tarts and sandwiches, buckwheat crepes, waffles, organic soft drinks and beer. Plus, they had a nappy changing station and a children’s corner.

However, they mysteriously have been closed for the past month. Perhaps the owners are on vacation, but there is no note on the door. Please re-open Sikou so that I can once again taste your glace au caramel salé

Sikou
Parvis de Saint-Gilles 31
1060 Bruxelles

Currently closed

This recipe for spéculoos is inspired by that for Belgian Spice Cookies, however I used the mixed spéculoos spice blend found in the supermarket (coriander, 40% cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg) rather than the blend suggested in the original recipe (cinnamon, ginger, cloves)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon spéculoos spice blend
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg

Give baby and bottle to husband. Combine first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Beat brown sugar and butter in large bowl until hand becomes sore. Add egg and beat until bored. Throw it all together and mix until combined. Divide dough in half. Wrap with plastic; refrigerate until your husband can take care of the baby again.

Preheat oven to 180^oC. Cover baking sheets with baking paper. Roll out 1 dough piece and cut out shapes of your choice. Choose Berlin-themed shapes if attending a Kaffee und Kuchen afternoon. Also make heart shapes for husband. Arrange cookies on prepared baking sheets. Bake until edges begin to darken, about 8 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack and cool. Leave remaining dough piece in the fridge until ready to repeat the process.

(Can be made ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week, or freeze up to 1 month.)