The Tan family is always busy – Jacky is the financial controller of Raffles Beijing Hotel, and whenever he finds has a moment to spare, he spends time with his wife Sally and their two children, Denise (8) and Tyler (6). Dad does like to indulge in some alone time though, and some extra hours of sleep when the kids will let him. Jacky and his family took a moment out of their hectic schedules to share some of their family favorites with us.
Favorite Restaurant
We like the seafood buffet at East 33 in Raffles Beijing Hotel. It’s very nice, fresh, and we love the lobster.
Kids Clothing
We go to Shin Kong Place or China World shopping mall for nice clothes. If we’re not looking for a brand, we go to Yashow.
Weekend Activity
I like golfing at the Beijing International Golf Club in Shunyi – a lot of my old friends go there. For the kids, we go swimming at Water World. Also, our son likes to play Wii, or we go horse riding.
Day Trip
We like amusement parks like Happy Valley. Sometimes we go head out to Shunyi because there are lots of activities for the kids and room for them to move around.
Favorite Treat
Ice cream or chocolate!
Best Place to Play Outdoors
Chaoyang Park – there’s so much space for the kids to have fun and run around in; there’s also a lot of activities for them to do. If we had to go indoors, Fundazzle is also good.
Best Place to Take Out of Town Guests
If they’ve never been to Beijing before, we take them to the Great Wall (but definitely not Badaling), the Forbidden City, and Houhai for the nightlife.
New Discovery
For us, it’s Xiu. Xiu has a great atmosphere at night. For the kids, it’s horse riding at the Wangfangting Equestrian Club near the South Fifth Ring Road.
Date Night
Somewhere with nice music where we can relax and let our hair down. Houhai is nice and romantic.
Photographed by Mishka Family Photography. Want to share your Beijing favorites? E-mail editor@beijing-kids.com.