Under The SUN

I have moved.........

2008-08-05T11:34:00.003+08:00

Please kindly visit my new home www.karenyiau.com

See y'all there....... :)

"My Beautiful Myanmar" - Charity Book Project

2008-07-18T15:03:00.000+08:00

Hi Everyone!

This is a life changing book project by the Kachin (Northern Myanmar state) Refugee kids living in Malaysia. My boss' wife, Ms. Belle Lee volunteered herself at the refugee school and came up with this class project to raise funds for the Myanmar people in the aftermath of the cyclone as well as for the 2 Kachin schools which are currently only funded by individual donors. 100% of the profits will go towards the Cyclone Relief Fund & the refugee schools.

My Beautiful Myanmar contains drawings and stories from the refugee kids about why they left Myanmar, what their lives are like in Malaysia and what their hopes are for their future.

Please support this project by buying a copy (or more!) of the book as well as spreading the word about it. Also we would be very grateful to those who are willing to help us distribute the books at your businesses, among friends, your churches, clubs, etc. on consignment basis.

This high-quality 40-page color book is ONLY RM15 each. Shipping can be done via pos laju or registered mail, and cost to be borne by buyer, as I'm not taking any profit from this, all is for charity.

If you’re keen please contact me via email (yiaukaren@gmail.com) or leave your comment here. Your help is immensely appreciated!

P/S: Trust me, besides donating to help these less fortunate children, this is a good book with touching & valuable true stories that we should let our children read, and appreciate what they are having now. RM15 for a valuable lesson is definitely worth the money.

"Kids should be running to the park and not running for their lives."

My 1st Cupcakes

2008-06-13T23:24:00.000+08:00

After my sister got a new oven, I just can't wait to attempt to bake my 1st cupcakes. Here are the "results":

It doesn't look very nice but overall the taste was quite good.

My icing decoration didn't turn out too well as it was too "watery", perhaps next time I should keep it refrigerated first before I pipe it on the cupcakes. Another thing is that we do not have an electric mixer, we have to mix the ingredients manually with our hands. Not only it was tiring but we found that it was not evenly mixed and has somehow affects the appearance of the cupcakes.

Looking at how happily Dillon, my niece and nephews were eating the cupcakes, I'm sure going to have my 2nd attempt to bake again.

Ju Hu Char

2008-05-07T17:21:00.004+08:00

Ingredients:

Turnips (sengkuang), Dried cuttelfish (Ju Hu), Black mushroom, Chicken meat, Garlic

Method:

1. Shred the turnips.

2. Cut black mushroom (pre-soaked) & chicken meat into long, thin stripes.

3. Heat the wok with oil, add in some chopped garlic and fry till fragrant.

4. Throw in chicken meat, mushroom & ju hu and stir for 5 minutes, add in some water and toss for another 5 minutes.

5. Add in dark soy sauce (optional) for the desired colour, and light soy sauce to taste. Cover wok until the gravy has thickens.

6. Add in a bit of sesame oil before serving, it'll smells good.

Best served with iceberg lettuce or crunchy butterheads, or you can just eat it as it is.

P/S: It'd be great to add in some shredded carrots and the dish will have a nice combination of colours and will taste better too. :)

Eating around in Bangkok - MK Restaurant

2008-05-02T14:33:00.003+08:00

We had steamboat dinner at MK Restaurant located on the 1st floor of MBK Mall, it was fine but nothing special , I still think our homemade steamboat is the best, haha LOL.

The Seafood set comes with shrimps, scallops, cuttlefish, jellyfish, fish fillet, fish dumplings, fish balls, fish cakes & seafood tofu plus the complimentary Vegatables set & 2 omega eggs, the usual stuff like I said, nothing special, the soup base is clear soup.

Ratings:
Food - 6/10 (so so only, the chili sauce not bad though)
Ambience - 6/10 (ok, I still prefer eating steamboat in an open-air area, hehe)
Price - 5/10 (pricey to me, steambost buffet in Malaysia is much better value)
Service - 8/10 (very prompt & polite)

Eating around in Bangkok - Bobae Tower

2008-05-02T14:06:00.006+08:00

We had lunch at the food court on the 5th floor in Bobae Tower 2 before we started doing our shopping in this clothing wholesale center.

It's a typical food court environment, nothing fancy but the Thai food is nice here. Most of the crowd are the tenants, not many people travel to Bangkok would come here for shopping let alone eating here.

Stewed Duck Rice - 45baht
Fried Rice with Shrimps - 35baht
Fish Ball Noodles - 40baht
Seafood Tom Yum Soup - 60baht

Ratings:
Food - 9/10 (Good thai food & hearty portion)
Ambience - 6/10 (typical food court)
Price - 8/10 (consider quite cheap)
Service - 7/10 (good)

How to go to Bobae Tower: There is no Skytrain access, so take a cab or tuk tuk.

Eating around in Bangkok - Chatuchak

2008-05-02T13:48:00.005+08:00

After a few hours of shopping in Chatuchak weekend market, we stopped by this stall for a drink but then we were told that we "must" order food, well ok I was a bit hungry also so I just order a Kuayteow, without even knowing what they actually serve there......

I can't tell you where exactly this stall is, I can't identify my location in the Chatuchak all the time and if you have been there before, you'd know what I mean. :)

Then the Kuayteow soup with Chicken came and it taste so yummy! Then hubby also ordered another one with Noodles. It taste like the herbal soup chicken and they serve with drumstick, chicken wing tip & chicken feet (my favourite....!), quite value for money for a price of 40baht.

Ratings:
Food - 9/10 (Yummy yummy if you like herbal soup)
Ambience - 6/10 (well it's a stall by the Chatuchak street so....)
Price - 8/10 (reasonable)
Service - 7/10 (very prompt)

How to go to Chatuchak weekend market: Take the Skytrain and get down at BTS-Mo Chit (N8)

Eating around in Bangkok - The Loft

2008-05-02T11:56:00.009+08:00

The Loft is located on the 7th floor of Central World Plaza. It's a upper class food court in the shopping mall that serves a great variety of pan-Asian food.

When I was snapping this photo, I was told by the security guard that I'm not allowed to take any photos (:P):

Seafood Noodle with Thick Gravy - 65baht
Pork Noodles - 50baht
Fish Ball KuayTeow Tom Yum - 50baht
Fried Oyster - 60baht

Ratings:
Food - 8/10 (excluding the seafood noodle in thick gravy, they just pour the pre-cooked gravy on top of the noodle & the noodle is so rough)
Ambience - 8/10 (the seats near the window is always occupied!)
Price - 8/10 (reasonable for an upper class food court)
Service - 7/10 (very attentive)

How to go to Central World Plaza: Take the Skytrain and get down at BTS-Chidlom (E1)

P/S: You'll be given a pass that contains 1000baht of value. Give the pass to the stall when you order food, they will swipe it and deduct accordingly. Pay the bill at cashier when you leave the loft.

Eating around in Bangkok - Grand Palace

2008-05-02T11:46:00.004+08:00

This small shop is located on the opposite side of Grand Palace. So if you happen to visit Grand Palace, do stop by here & try the noodles soup. The taste is not bad, although the shop looks a bit run down.

Ratings:
Food - 6/10 (above average, it's clear soup & if you like spicy, add in the chili flakes, hot hot hot!)
Ambience - 4/10 (sitting outside is better, it's quite stuff inside)
Price - 7/10 (ok)
Service - 7/10 (they are Chinese, can understand English)

Eating around in Bangkok - MBK Mall

2008-05-02T11:13:00.014+08:00

I will be showcasing some of the nice food we had during our recent Bangkok trip and also the places where we dine in, this could be a food guide for the Bangkok travellers. :)

The food center on 6th floor at MBK Mall, great variety of food in a decent environment.

We spent 160baht for our lunch on the following:

Stewed Beef & Beef Balls Noodles - 50baht
Braised Pork Knuckle Rice with Pickles - 50baht
ABC - 30baht (more than 20 types of toppings to choose from)

Durian Glutinuos Rice - 30baht

Ratings:
Food - 9/10 (for pork knuckle alone I would give 10/10, hehe)
Ambience - 7/10 (typical food court)
Price - 8/10 (quite reasonably priced)
Service - 7/10 (they understands English, some are Chinese, worst case just point at the photo or the menu)

How to go to MBK Mall: Take the Skytrain and get down at BTS-National Stadium (W1)

P/S: They used coupon system (many of the food courts in Bangkok does the same) but you can refund the unused coupon within the same day.

2008-04-23T11:55:00.000+08:00

During my recent trip to Kota Kinabalu, after descending from Mt. Kinabalu, I have half a day of leisure time before my departure flight and my dad has brought me to eat some good food around KK town.

Fish Head/ Fish Paste Meehoon, Fish Paste Foochok and the special 3-tier Milk Tea at a coffeeshop at Hilltop. The soup taste real good and the fish meat is really fresh, super delicious and priced at RM 7.00 per serving, quite reasonable.

I ordered the fish paste and fish meat meehoon as I don't fancy fish head.

The bottom layer is brown sugar syrup, evaporated milk in the middle and tea on the top layer.

Tanjung Aru food center - Grilled "Pari Ayam". Priced at RM 3.00/100gm, this piece shown below cost us RM16.00, not a very big piece but the meat is very thick, grilled to the perfection and not overcooked. The sauce is very tasty, not too spicy.

Spicy Mushroom Pasta Sauce

2008-04-13T16:10:00.003+08:00

Ingredients:
Black mushroom, oyster mushroom, minced chicken, crabstick.
Sauce:
Tomatoes, ketchup, butter, garlic, shallots & dried chili flakes

Method:
1. Melt butter in the pan, add in chopped garlic & shallots, fry until fragrant.
2. Add minced chicken, followed by the mushrooms.
3. Stir fry for a minute, add in crabstick, chopped tomatoes & ketchup, with half cup of water.
4. Cook until the gravy thickens, add in dried chili flakes according to the level of spiciness preferred.

5. Serve with pastas or even rice.

Cantonese Style Rice

2008-04-12T16:28:00.002+08:00

Ingredients:
Minced chicken, mushroom, carrots, cauliflower, choy sum, egg, garlic & shallots.

Method:

1. Fry garlic & shallots until fragrant.

2. Add in minced chicken & stir fry for a while.

3. Add in mushroom, carrots, cauliflower, choy sum, and half cup of water.

4. Cover the pan and let all ingredients cooked.
5. Beat an egg (or two) and stir in to thicken the gravy, add salt & pepper to taste.

6. Serve with rice or noodles, yee mee or kuay teow.

This is one of my favourite dish because it is delicious and healthy (with more vegetables than meat), plus it is easiest to make. When I do not have much time to prepare for dinner or just simply lazy to cook many dishes (which is often the case, hehe), I will prepare this for dinner. :)

Sweet corn glutinuos rice

2008-04-12T15:17:00.001+08:00

This is a type of dessert which my Myanmar maid has made over last weekend, I don't know what is the actual name called, but it taste good.

Ingredients:

Sweet Corn, Glutinous Rice

Method:

1. Scrap off the corn from the cob, but remember to keep the corn leaves

2. Steam the corn and blend it.

3. Soak the glutinous rice well, and then add in together with the blended corn

4. Take a scoop of the corn mixture and wrap with the corn leaves.

5. Steam it for like half hour, then it's ready to serve.

There is no need to add in any sugar, and you can taste the natural sweetness of the corn that has blend in well with the glutinous rice, with the fragrant of the corn leaves.

Yoong Kie Seafood @ Gohtong Jaya

2008-04-11T11:06:00.005+08:00

I've got this email from a friend's friend and would like to share it with all, note that not a single word has been edited from the original content

Dear All............

Last week, I brought my guests to Genting Highlands. After a day 'above the clouds', we decided to have dinner at the Gohtong Jaya area on the way down.

We ordered some dishes and decided to have a steamed fish as well. So the captain recommended 'sultan fish'. The steamed fish came. HALF, and plain steamed. Good & fine.

But when the bill came, it came to over $500!! We were shocked!! We were told the fish was 1.4kg (& please bear in mind, its ONLY HALF A FISH) at RM 320 per kg! RM 420!! This was daylight robbery. We were not informed by the Captain that a kg of the Sultan fish would cost us RM 320 and there was also no signs of such pricings anywhere in the restaurant.

When we checked with the cashier, she told us, it's correct !!

Of cos, it was our mistake for not asking the price first.

Anyway, on the way back to KL, we stopped at Unique Seafood,PJ, where one can choose a live fish. The most expensive Soon Hock swimming in the tank is RM135 per kilo. Asked them about the Sultan fish, it is going for RM100 a kilo.

Will be sending this letter to the newspapers, Tourism board, etc etc; and friends, pls pass on to all on yr email list.

My 1st attempt making sushi

2008-03-24T14:13:00.000+08:00

I have always love eating Japanese food especially salmon sahimi, sushi, ebi tempura, chawanmushi and unagi kabayaki. After watching the TVB drama series Wasabi D'Amour last 2 weeks, well basically the series show many scenes of preparing various type of Japanese food and then I got so tempted to do it myself.

Then I bought this Sushi starter pack and a pack Japanese Hikari short grain rice and tried to prepare my very 1st sushi roll over the weekend.

Being the 1st time preparing sushi, I was a bit kelam-kabut and I must say that most of it didn't look as nice as I wanted it to be, but the taste was not bad though.

Here are my masterpiece:

Unagi and Omelette Maki, and Nigiri - Crabstick

Nigiri - Unagi

Chuka Kurage (seasoned jelly fish) sushi

I have learned the tips from the below sources:
1. How to make sushi rice
2. How to make sushi rolls
3. How to make Nigiri sushi

Eggs recipe for toddler

2008-03-17T11:28:00.000+08:00

I noticed that most kids love eating eggs, that includes my nephews and niece and my son Dillon too. But of course I don't give him egg everyday, the most is 4 eggs in a week.

Apart from the Steamed Egg Rolls, here are a variety of Eggs recipes he loves eating:

Steam Egg
1 - mixed with minced meat and chopped spinach/bo choy.
2 - mixed in sliced fish cake
3 - mixed with dried scallops (soaked well)

Omelette
1 - with finely chopped chives (韭菜)
2 - with minced meat & chopped onions
3 - with french beans or long beans

Scrambled Egg
1 - with chopped tomatoes & cheese
2 - with chopped tomatoes and onions

However, he doesn't really like hard boiled eggs, soft boiled eggs & fried eggs though.

Smart Kids Education Fair 2008

2008-03-15T11:52:00.000+08:00

Smart Kids Education Fair 2008 is happening this coming weekend from 21st to 23rd March 2008 at PWTC.

Lots of fun activities, games and interesting seminars for the kids and the parents too. Some who have been there find it nothing much but it really depends what you are looking for. I personally think it's more suitable for older kids or pre-schooler, nothing much for the babies & toddlers though.

I went to the one in 2006 but didn't go in 2007 as I was pregnant. If I were to go again this year, I'll be bringing only Dillon and take LRT there as early as possible, say around 10.30am to avoid the big crowd.

Visit here for more information.

Can you give them a second chance?

2008-02-20T09:44:00.003+08:00

Our Animal Inspector received a call today (Monday, 18th Feb) from a concerned woman who found a mother dog who had given birth to 10 puppies in a small depression in a field. 3 puppies had already died after being hit by passing cars. The 7 remaining pups were hot and panting, and were brought back and placed under SPCA Selangor's guardianship. The 1-month-old pups will not survive long in the shelter system where they will be exposed to bacteria and fatal viruses, but they may survive with gentle care and nurturing in your home. If you have experience fostering young puppies, and have a suitable space in your home to foster them for 4-6 weeks, please give us a call within the next 24 hours.

As they are young and need to be monitored around the clock and fed every 4-5 hours, we encourage only those with enough time on their hands to take them in. The puppies can be separated into different foster homes, preferably 2 per home. Please be aware that while there are many success stories for fostered homeless animals, many young kittens and puppies do not survive even with the best care and attention - however they still do deserve a second chance at life. If you are willing to take the chance, please contact us immediately! For more information, please call 42565312/ 42535179/ 42535312 from 9am-4pm tomorrow (Monday, 19th February) or send an e-mail to pr.spca@gmail.com

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA Selangor)

Jalan Kerja Ayer Lama, 68000 Ampang Jaya

T : 03-42565312 / 03-42535179/ 03-42535312 F : 03-42528382

E : spca@streamyx.com.my W : http://www.spca.org.my/

Pureed baby food

2008-02-18T22:14:00.010+08:00

My daughter Kaith is already 7.5 months and I've started to prepare baby food for her, as how I did for Dillon in the past.

I have started with all vegetables only and here is the recipe.

Cut carrots, potatoes into dices and cook in water until it's soft, then add in cauliflower and cook for another minute. When it turns cold, mashed it or pour all into food blender to blend well.

Portion out in small containers and keep in freezer. Thaw in fridge the night before for next day's feeding. Reheat baby food by steaming, or put the container in a bowl of hot water.

P/S: Normally I'll make a big batch of 4-5 servings for my baby's comsumption.

Online casino links

2008-02-18T18:19:00.002+08:00

A lot of people like to play casino games online nowadays and it is hard to tell which one is the best among all, not until you have signed up and experience the actual game play yourselves. But another convenient way to filter out would be to read about the online casino reviews contributed by professional team who have done thorough research and studies about the online casinos.

You’ll find detailed information about the online casinos, and also ratings in terms of security, fair play, customer support, payout speed, game play experience and so on. The ratings are based not only on editor’s opinion but also the player’s so it is reliable. You can also find support here by reading the beginners guide and useful tips if you are new to online gambling.

If you decided to sign up with any online casino after reading the review, click on the signup bonus banners on every review page which entitles you to great bonus deals.

Reunion Steamboat Dinner

2008-02-11T23:18:00.001+08:00

This year's reunion dinner I have decided to have steamboat dinner as it doesn't require a lot of time for preparation or cooking.

I've prepared a great variety of ingredients for steamboat, which includes prawns, cuttlefish, dory fillet, fresh scallops, jellyfish, pork fillet, abalone slice, dumplings, meatballs, fishballs, crabsticks, seafood tofu, fu chuk, button mushroom, fresh mushroom, golden mushroom, oyster mushroom, beancurd, seaweed, vegetables etc. As for the soup base, I used chicken carcass, plus some red dates, kei zi, yuk chuk and a little salt to taste. Of course, it is very important to have a spicy chilli sauce as condiment.

Chinese New Year shopping

2008-01-31T22:53:00.000+08:00

Have you already bought new clothes, new shoes and other Chinese New Year goods? Or do you plan to do some last minute shopping next week? I'm done with my shopping but most of the things I bought is for the kids rather than for myself.

Here are various Chinese New Year decoration in a few of the shopping malls.

Berjaya Times Square

MidValley
Sungai Wang Plaza
Ikano Power Centre

A trip to Germany

2008-01-28T10:09:00.000+08:00

The company I’m working with is owned by a German guy and he always tell us about the nice places and good food in Germany. I personally haven’t been to any country in Europe and if I have the chance, I would want to drop by Germany for a couple of days. According to my boss, it is best to book for Hotels in Germany via internet as it is easier, and the hotel rates are attractive; I can also check out the Hotels in Berlin through the same website.

Berlin’s calendar is loaded with annual fairs, festivals, concerts and parties and the best time to visit Berlin would be in April, as there will be the Festive Days where a host of concerts and operas are held over 10 days, it would definitely make the trip a fun-filled and memorable one. Apart from that, there are also other great events held in Berlin throughout the year which includes The Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival), the world’s second largest, held in February, Christopher Street Day in June (Berlin’s big gay event), August features JazzFest Berlin while in November Christmas markets are held throughout the city. Accommodation in Berlin is not a problem too as I can find a suitable Hotels in Berlin from the website, ranging from cheap stay to luxury hotels.

Online community

2008-01-24T23:35:00.000+08:00

There are a lot of online casinos that provides different game play and it is not easy to decided which one has the best features before we sign up. This is when we'll need to find some reviews on the online casinos and read the comments from other players.

Casino Haste has been very successful in online casino community and you can find exceptional online casinos reviews, online casino forum and tips for online gambling here. The players who joined in the community and provides reviews and tips are highly professional casino players who expert both in offshore and online casinos. Furthermore, these information and findings are being cosely monitored by a team of professional staff in-house.

So for those who like to play online casino gambling, pay a visit to the hottest online casino community and you'll sure be able to gain some useful information that would make your online game play more interesting.

Slots

2008-01-21T16:40:00.000+08:00

Instead of going to the casinos, many people nowadays will opt for playing at online casinos as it is exciting and fun, but minus the hassle of traveling. For those who love betting games online, try to pay a visit to Privbetting.com which offers not only online slots but also some free casino games. Apart from that, you will also find reliable and original reviews of online casinos where you can read on and find out which one is the best in terms of game play, bonuses and other factors, this really helps players to save a lot of time in making the right decision before signing up.

Exclusive free online slots machine bonuses are also available on the website where you can play for real at online casinos. So wait no more, check out the website Privbetting.com and start playing the exciting games at the top rated online casinos today!

No electricity!

2008-01-17T11:14:00.000+08:00

When I got home after work yesterday around 8.00pm, I found that the electricity supply was interrupted and my maid told me that this was since 2pm in the afternoon. The first thing that cross my mind was - my EBM (expressed breast milk). How am I going to store it when the fridge has no power supply? Luckily I still have my cooler bag, which can hold my EBM temporarily but if the power doesn't resume in the next few hours, it will be spoiled and I have to throw them away..... :(

I was wondering what took the TNB people so long to repair the problem and I asked hubby to call up to check, then we know why - no one in the neighbourhood has called to report the case at all!! I guess everybody must be thinking that "someone" would have called and thus they just do nothing but wait & see only. (typical bad malaysian attitude!)

After hubby made the call, the TNB people came & manage to resume the electricity supply around 12am. Fortunately my EBM is still cold and I quickly transfer them back into the fridge.

If only somebody has called TNB to report when it happened, all of us won't have to suffer for such long hours!

Bad credit offers

2008-01-16T14:36:00.000+08:00

Nowadays, it is very common that the people would either have credit cards or loans, be it auto loan, housing loan or personal loan, or all that I’ve mentioned. There are just too many commitments and if one doesn’t plan their budget wisely, it is very easy to drag themselves down into a bad credit status.

But even if you have a poor credit ratings, bad credit loans would provide a solution for you. You will find a lot of bad credit offers available and you’ll sure be able to find one that suits your need, regardless of a bad credit history.If you are looking to repair your bad credit , there are some top credit repair and debt relief services available for people with poor credit ratings too. You can learn on how to improve your credit score and even get a free online debt assessment to help to understand your own financial status better.

Pharmacy online

2008-01-16T14:15:00.000+08:00

Buying at online shops has become more and more popular nowadays because it is fast, easy and hassle free. Even pharmacy is now available online where you can choose from a wide selection of prescription drugs and the best thing is it opens 24 hours everyday so you can visit the pharmacy anytime you want.

All you need is the access to the pharmacy online, browse through the product list and select the drugs you need and make payment using a wide range of credit cards, the products will then be courier out the next day. Without driving out to the neighbourhood drugstore ourselves, we will have the products delivered to our doorstep.

Apart from that, free online medical consultation by a licensed U.S. physician is also available for those who are not sure what type of drugs they should be taking. It also minimize the embarrassment as prescriptions are always confidential.

Cash advance for festive season

2008-01-14T10:05:00.000+08:00

Right after the holiday season in December, another festive season - Chinese New Year is just around the corner and many people have started preparing for it, which includes shopping for new apparels, decoration items, gift hamper and other Chinese New Year goodies.

However, most people wouldn't receive their pay check till end of the month and it could be a bit too rush to shop by then and the malls are sure going to be very packed. At times like this, payday loans could be a good solution where it provides people with cash in advance for emergency use.

It is quick and easy to apply for the payday loans as we can submit our application online without having to go to the individual money lender. The application will then be evaluated and if it meets the approval criteria, the loan will be approved and within the next business day and money will be deposited to our designated account. The repayment options are also flexible depending on our preference and affordability. When we get our next pay check, we can repay the loan immediately by then.

Care homes

2008-01-10T23:04:00.000+08:00

Some people might not like the idea of sending the elderly to care homes because they think the elderly should be staying with their family and the children are suppose to look after them.

But I think it is not a bad thing at all if everyone in the household is working and nobody is accompanying the elderly most of the time, leaving the elderly at home alone is somehow dangerous too, especially when the elderly is not in a good health condition.

Nowadays the care homes are well equipped and have various facilities for the elderly. There are also qualified caregivers to take care of the elderly at the care homes. Aside from getting the appropriate treatment, the elderly can also mix around with other of similar age group and hence promote a healthy social life to them as well. Family members can always pay a visit or bring the elderly out if there is any occasion.

Bijou Mont Kiara

2008-01-05T08:42:00.000+08:00

We had a dinner gathering at this place called Bijou in Mont Kiara on last Saturday, 29th Dec. We have 5 families, consisting 10 adults & 9 kids in the party and I have specially made a request to arrange a table closest to their outdoor playground.

Our table

The tables at outdoor

The playground area is not very big but since it is a confined area, kids can run around freely & safely while playing on the slide & swing.

The outdoor playground

The ambiance is cozy and the food is good. I have ordered a Spaghetti with tiger prawns and breadcrumbs while my husband had the Game hen consomme (chicken drumstick), both taste good. Their main course are reasonable priced within the range of RM25 - RM45; drinks are at RM10 each on average. They also have a special menu for kids and serve food like fish & chips, pasta, meatballs & mash potato, priced around RM16 each.

Overall, I would say this is a good dining place for couple, and also for family with kids. However there are a lot of steps leading in to the restaurant and to the playground so for those who has a baby stroller, it might not be ideal. I must also make a mention that the staff are friendly and services are prompt, which has made my dining experience a pleasure one.

Red Box Plus @ Pavilion

2008-01-02T14:15:00.001+08:00

On the 31st Dec 07, we went to the Red Box Plus karaoke in Pavilion KL for New Year countdown celebration. The place is almost fully booked despite of its expensive package, well, not that really expensive compare to what you'll be charged to get the similar kind of entertainment & fun if you celebrate elsewhere.

We took the package which inclusive of buffet dinner, 3 bottles of hard liquor (Chivas Regal or VSOP), 15 mixers, and usage of the karaoke room from 8pm up to 4am!! The package cost RM 1540++ and the maximum guests we can have is 15 persons, which means each person are to pay around RM 118.

Since we are a big group, we get to have a huge room with an attached restroom. The room was comfortable, the cordless mic were great (well, everything new is great I guess), service was prompt as well. The only that that I'm not satisfied would be the food, it's a pretty lousy buffet I would say but since it's a compulsory thing included in the package, I can't complain much can I?

We stayed there until the place closed at 4am and we all had fun singing until everyone of us lost our voice, hahaha, what a great way to welcome the New Year!

Braised chicken with Fungus

2007-12-25T00:12:00.000+08:00

Braised chicken with Fungus 云耳金针菜焖鸡

Ingredients:
Chicken thigh, fungus (dried) 云耳, day lily (dried) 金针菜, garlic

Method:
1. Cut the whole chicken thigh into pieces of desired size, marinade with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce & sesame oil.
2. Prepare the fungus & day lily (soaked with warm water for half an hour, fungus cut or tear into smaller piece, day lily to remove the tip & tie a knot in center)
3. Fried crushed garlic till fragrant, add in the marinated chicken pieces, fried for a while and add in the fungus &
4. Add in water and cover the wok, let the chicken cook for a few minutes.
5. Add in some "Shao Xing" cooking wine (绍兴酒) to enhance the taste, however, this is optional.
6. Thicken the gravy by adding corn flour & water mixture（勾芡）& it's done.

Beancurd with Minced Meat

2007-12-24T00:09:00.000+08:00

Beancurd with Minced Meat 肉碎豆腐

Ingredients:
Fried beancurd (square shapes), minced meat, chinese mushroom, long beans, shallots, beancurd paste 豆瓣酱

Method:
1. Shallow fry the beancurd and then put aside.
2. Heat the oil & fry chopped shallots until fragrant, add in minced meat, followed by mushroom & long beans that are cut into small dices.
3. Add in some water and season with beancurd paste & dark soy sauce.
4. Add some corn flour mixed with water to thicken the gravy(勾芡) if needed.
5. Pour the mixture over the fried beancurd & serve.

Remarks: If you dislike beancurd paste, replace it with light soy sauce will do.

Tang Yuan 汤圆

2007-12-22T23:45:00.000+08:00

Today is the Winter Solstice Festival or Dōngzhì Festival (冬至) and we had glutinous rice ball, tang yuan (汤圆) as dessert after dinner.

We have prepared the syrup with Gula Melaka (also known as palm sugar) instead of castor sugar, pandan leaves is also put in when cooking the syrup to add the fragrant. We then boil the plain tang yuan and eat together with the syrup.

Christmas @ Pavilion

2007-12-18T18:20:00.000+08:00

The theme at Pavilion KL is white Christmas and the decor is simple, elegant & nice. However, it might not fascinate the kids though.... Here are some photos to share with you.

Big White "Christmas Tree"

Viewing from upstairs

Spicy "Ma Po" beancurd

2007-12-17T12:19:00.000+08:00

Spicy "Ma Po" beancurd 香辣麻婆豆腐

Ingredients:
Beancurd, Spicy beancurd paste 辣豆瓣酱, Long beans, Minced pork.

Method:
1. Cut beancurd into cubes, and long beans into thin bits.
2. Fry the minced pork with spicy beancurd paste till fragrant, add in long beans.
3. Add in a bowl of water, followed by the beancurd cubes, cover and let it cook.
4. Add a pinch of sugar to taste and it's ready to serve.
5. If it's too watery, add some corn flour mixed with water to thicken the gravy(勾芡)

Braised pork ribs with beancurd paste

2007-12-15T12:08:00.000+08:00

Braised pork ribs with beancurd paste 豆瓣酱焖排骨

Ingredients:
Pork ribs, Beancurd skin ("fu chok" 腐竹), Potato, Beancurd Paste.

Method:
1. Marinade the pork ribs with 2 table spoon of beancurd paste.
2. Cut 1 potato into small cubes.
3. Heat the oil, fry some crushed garlic till fragrant, add in the marinated pork ribs & potato cubes, fry for a while.
4. Add in water and cover, turn to medium fire and let it cook.
5. When it's almost done, add in some "fu chok", add pinch of sugar to taste
6. Add some corn flour mixed with water to thicken the gravy (勾芡)& it's ready to serve.

La Bodega Deli

2007-12-11T15:52:00.000+08:00

Christmas is just around the corner, is anyone planning for a Christmas dinner gathering or party? I guess food preparation is the most hectic part and & La Bodega Deli would like to help out with your gastronomic needs for the occasion.

Roast turkey, cheese platters, oysters, chocolates, Christmas pudding, fruit cake, champagnes…... the list just goes on.

Click here for our La Bodega Deli Christmas Shopping List for 2007.

It is highly recommended that an early order is placed as some items are limited.

Get ready for the party! :)

Christmas at One U

2007-12-06T23:18:00.000+08:00

I'm on leave today as it's my son Dillon's 2nd birthday and we went to One Utama shopping mall to spend the day.

Although it's weekday but due to school holiday, it is still quite crowded. I have heard that the Christmas decor there is very nice this year and true enough, it is attractive, esp. to kids, Dillon was so happy seeing the big toy soldier & the disney castle.

At Old Wing

At New Wing

Dinner, dinner, dinner....!!!

2007-12-03T11:47:00.000+08:00

In the last quarter of 2007, I have received 4 wedding invitations and so far I’ve already attended 3:

1. Cousin’s wedding banquet on 21st Oct (Sat) at Sunway Lagoon Hotel Function Room.
2. Colleague Soon’s banquet on 18th Nov (Sun) at Unique Fisherman Restaurant, Cheras.
3. Ex-classmate Emily’s wedding banquet on 1st Dec (Sat) at Damansara Palace, Kota Damansara.

I have really enjoyed the wedding dinners because I get to meet a lot of friends and relatives that I have lost touch for quite sometime, it is good to catch up with them and mingle around. I must say that I am also very impressed with the good food served at these 3 restaurants.

The next and also the last wedding banquet that I’m going to attend would be my friend’s wedding on this Sunday (9th Dec) at Tai Thong Restaurant, Cheras; after which it’d be my company’s annual dinner on the following Friday, 14th Dec (Fri) at Saffron, One Bangsar, and probably a Christmas dinner gathering on 22nd Dec (Sat) with friends and kids.

Looks like my weekends are all busy till end of year, now tell me how am I going to resist myself for not over eating huh? :P

Breast pumps

2007-11-29T10:46:00.000+08:00

This is not a sponsored post. The below opinions and comparisons are made based on my own experience and it is not related to any advertising campaign and I am absolutely not against any companies/products mentioned below.

There are many types of breast pump of different brands available in the market ranging from below a hundred to few hundred, and I would say it is worth to invest in a good breast pump.

I have used both Avent Isis and Medela Harmony pump before, both are manual pump and both are good. But if you want me to choose one that I prefer more, it’d be the Medela Harmony and here are my reasons:

1)Medela Harmony has let-down mode that simulates baby’s initial rapid suckling to initiate faster milk flow later when we switch to expression mode.
2)It has soft, flexible breast shield that massages the breast & areola. I find that Avent Isis breast shield is not as comfy.
3)Easier assembly and cleaning — fewer parts than other manual pumps including the Avent Isis (I think it has 9 parts)
4)Compatible with most standard baby bottles, so you can attach bottle of any size to collect the milk. Unlike the Avent Isis which we can only attach with the wide neck storage bottle.

No. 4 is essential to me because the Avent Isis comes with a 4oz wide neck storage bottle but I pump 7oz each time, so I have to stop pumping when the bottle is full, pour out the milk to another bottle and continue pumping, it’s really a hassle especially when I pump in the office. I know I can buy a bigger Avent bottle but it is pricey and how many I need to buy right? With Medela Harmony, I just attached any standard bottle (any brand) of 8oz size and I can pump without any “interruption”.

I prefer a manual pump than electric pump, though the electric ones could pump in a shorter time and won’t tired our hands, but I still prefer to do it in manual way, where I get to control the pace myself, I feel more humanly touch. :-)

Milk supply - Part 2

2007-11-28T14:30:00.000+08:00

So of you might have heard or tried on this recipe, which is said to be able to boost up our milk supply. Well I've tried it a couple of times and it helps. This soupd is also good to consume during confinement too.

Papaya Soup with Pork Ribs 青木瓜排骨汤

Green Papaya 青木瓜
Pork Ribs* 排骨
Red Dates 红枣
Kei Zi 杞子

Method:
1. Wash the exterior of the green papaya clean, remove seed but leave the skin intact. Cut into pieces.
2. Boil the pork ribs, together with green papaya pieces red dates & kei zi for about 2 hours and it's ready to be served.
3. You may add a little salt to taste if you desired.

Note:
It must be green papaya.
The papaya skin must remain intact for cooking this soup.
* For those who doesn't consume pork, can replace with fish bone or chicken carcass.

Milk supply - Part 1

2007-11-27T12:00:00.000+08:00

I've talked to many mums and I realised that one of the major concern for nursing mums would be on milk supply. Some won't have the milk flow during the first few days or week, esp. the first time mum. It's often frustrated and upset when no matter how hard we try to pump, we can only get very little milk, I was in the situation before and hence I do feel the pain.

I'm lucky that my milk flow was established starting the 2nd week and I managed to breastfeed my son for 8 months and now still breastfeeding my daughter who is turning 5 months old next week.

The most important thing to maintain the milk flow is to let baby latch on whenever possible, it helps to stimulate our body to produce more milk. Try to pump on regular basis if can't feed direct, in order to maintain the supply. Apart from that, make sure we drink enough fluid, be it water or soup.

Read here and here for more details on how to increase/maintain milk supply.

Food sterilizer

2007-11-26T03:05:00.000+08:00

Have you heard of food sterilizer or ozonizer? I've heard about it but didn't bother to get one, until my son Dillon has started to take table food, I became more concern about the quality of food that we eat.
It was then my brother pass me this ozonizer he no longer need to use, because he is now a vegetarian and he only eats organic vegetables. How lucky I am, it saves me a couple of hundreds as I know one ozoniser easily cost around seven to eight hundred.

This is one of the ozonizer I saw at the Health Fair last week, it comes with 3 years warranty and cost RM 880!!
The ozonizer can sterilise the meat & vegetables, eliminates residual of pesticides and hence keeping the freshness longer. As I only go to market once a week and thus it is vital to keep the freshness of food as long as possible. Normally I will wash the meat clean and put in the ozonizer for 30 minutes, then only I'll portion them into individual food bag and keep in the freezer for one week consumption.

1st time making enzymes

2007-11-25T02:45:00.000+08:00

These are the 2 types of enzymes I've made during the "DIY Enzymes" seminar on Saturday.

The one on the left is called Beet root Xiwu Enzyme Vinegar, it helps to nourish & promote blood circulation, esp. benefit those having anemia or fatigue problem.

The other one is Maitake Enzyme Vinegar, it helps to regulate blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride & phospholipids. Maitake is a type of fungus, which contains high level of beta-glucan that helps to boost immune system.

The fermentation process takes about 2 weeks before the enzyme can be consumed, so I left these 2 containers at a dry cool place now and will observe the process.

DIY Enzymes

2007-11-25T02:31:00.000+08:00

I came to know about "DIY Enzymes" through a newspaper article and I've also read about it in some websites & blogs.

Enzymes can help our body in many ways, hence promoting a stronger immune system and healthier body. As I've always has the passion in DIY (just like I DIY baby food), I've attended the seminar on "DIY Enzymes" at PWTC on Saturday.

In the seminar, I have learned about the basic ways to DIY enzymes and also the correct way to consume enzymes. I've also bought the recipe book so that I could make the different types of enzymes not only for myself but also for my family, each individual would have a different need of enzymes.

I will share my progress in making enzymes and some recipes too in this blog soon.

I reached 100th post finally

2007-11-23T11:08:00.001+08:00

I have just realised today that I have already reached my 100th post in this blog, bravo to myself!

I must admit that I post in this blog much lesser compare to the other, which has already got 183 post by now. But anyway, I will try to update this blog more often :)

If you have visited this blog before, you may noticed that I've changed the template because some said that it is very hard to read my post in the previous template which is a dark background.

So here it now my blog in a brand new look starting today, hope you like it. :)

Shu Uemura's SALE

2007-11-17T01:53:00.000+08:00

This might be the time to shop for some cosmetic items for yourself for the upcoming parties & dinners during the festive seasons.

Here is the Shu Uemura Family & Friend's sale that you have been waiting for:

Date: 27th November 2007 (Tuesday)
Time: 10.00am - 3.00pm (only 5 hours!)
Venue: SHU ATELIER, LOREAL OFFICE Level 13A, (14th Floor)
Uptown 2, Damansara Utama, PJ.

ALL MAKE UP & SKINCARE ITEMS AT 50% AND MORE!! (Cash & Credit Cards accepted)

Friday's Humuor - Telephone Bill

2007-11-16T16:49:00.000+08:00

The phone bill was exceptionally high and the man of the house called a family meeting...

*Dad:* People this is unacceptable. You have to limit the use of the phone. I do not use this phone; I use the one at the office.
*Mum:* Same here, I hardly use this home telephone as I use my work telephone.
*Son:* Me too, I never use the home phone. I always use my company mobile.
*Maid:* So what is the problem here? We all use our work telephones.

Have a happy weekend! :)

Everyone can own an online shop

2007-11-16T16:08:00.000+08:00

To set up a retail business involves a lot of resources especially if we need to rent or buy a shop lot and to hire employee. Therefore to minimize the overheads, many people would opt to have an online shop to start their retail business.

Things had never been easier with Ashop Commerce, even if you only have fair knowledge about internet and online business, setting up an online shop now is just a click away and it is hassle free.

The hosted shopping cart software by Ashop Commerce is not just user friendly but also affordable. Other than that, it provides full technical support and customer service to help you to set up, to run and maintain your online business. You will also get a customize shop design and have the personalized look that you need.

You can now sign up for the 10-days free trial to experience all the advanced features for yourself.

My Crazy Eight

2007-11-15T13:28:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I kena tagged, maybe coz people reckon that I don't do the tag timely.... hahaha. Anyway, thanks to Judy for passing me this tag.

8 THINGS I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT
1)Reading.
2)Spending quality time with my family.
3)Planning activities, parties & gatherings.
4)Live a healthy lifestyle (i.e. eat well, sleep well & be happy).
5)Doing Yoga (which I just started recently).
6)Sharing experience & info on motherhood & baby care with other mummies.
7)Breastfeeding & preparing food for my kids.
8)Last but not least, Blogging :)

8 THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE
1)Travel to as many places as I could.
2)Eat the food that I haven't tried before.
3)Take a family portrait with my parents & siblings.
4)Take a family portrait with hubby & my kids.
5)Tell my parents & siblings how much I love them.
6)Write a letter to my kids of what I wanted to say to them.
7)Spend all the time I could have with my hubby & kids.
8)Sign up to pledge my organs & tissues.

8 THINGS I SAY OFTEN
1)Ok
2)Huh? What?
3)Never mind.
4)Don't worry.
4)Please
5)Sorry
6)Thanks
7)No no (to my son)
8)Dear (calling my hubby)

8 I’VE RECENTLY READ (seldom have luxury time to read book leh...)
1)Baby & Toddler food recipe book
2)Crayon Sin Chan comic book
3)Mother & Baby magazine
4)Content Asia magazine
5)Bedtime story book for Dillon
6)Bedtime story book for Kaith
7)Oxford dictionary (haha, this one consider not?)
8)IKEA catalogue, Tesco brochures (hahaha these are my favourite reading materials):P

8 SONGS THAT I COULD LISTEN TO OVER AND OVER
Hard to decide, there are too many songs I like. Skipping this.

8 THINGS THAT ATTRACT ME TO MY BEST FRIENDS
1)Sense of humour
2)Good listener
3)Friendly
4)Easygoing
5)Caring
6)Helpful

Ok la 6 is good enough, more than that I'll be perfect liao..... hahaha LOL :)

8 THINGS I’VE LEARNED THIS PAST YEAR
1)Blogging.
2)Writing paid post in my blog.
3)Manage my time for a baby & a toddler.
4)Found a balance between work time & family time.
5)Learn to sing many nursery rhymes (hehe)
6)Spend thrift on baby stuff
7)Yoga (just started anyway)
8)To be a MC for wedding reception

Reviews of Online Casinos

2007-11-06T22:10:00.000+08:00

There are a few thousand online casinos out there for gambling online and it's really not easy to know which is the best in terms of games offered, features, bonus structures and graphics before we try them out. To cut off the hassle and save time, it's better for us to read the online casino reviews first before we signup.

I personally find that the online reviews are comprehensive because it provides ratings on game experience and bonuses offered by each online casino. I think these are important factors that most people would look into to decide which casino is best for online gambling. Furthermore, each review provides the reasons to play that is straight forward and easy to understand. I also like the screenshot provided in each review page which enable me to get a sneak preview of that particular online casino.

What's more, the review website has offered signup bonus banners on every review page where some of these bonuses are even greater than what the online casinos offer directly, to me this is just too good to be true.

My pupppy - Whisky

2007-10-31T17:33:00.000+08:00

I can see you but you can't see my eyes......

Her name is Whisky. She is a mix-breed puppy given by my hubby to me when first started dating back in 1999. That's why I have known my hubby for 8 years and so as Whisky, I had her for 8 years already.

She came to my house since she was a 2 weeks old baby. I named her Whisky because my hubby & I first met during clubbing and my favourite drink was Whisky on-the-rock at that time, so it's sort a remembrance on how we knew each other. :P

Anyway she remains at my mum's place after I got married because I'm staying with in-laws and it's not convenient for me to bring Whisky over with me.

She is 8 years old already and I think it's quite an old age for a dog. She has fell sick quite often nowadays. Although I'm prepared that she will leave us one day but when the time comes, I think I'll be really sad and will cry too.

2nd honeymoon trip

2007-10-25T11:17:00.000+08:00

I got married to my husband in 2002 and next year would be our 6th year anniversary. I’m hoping that we could go for a honeymoon trip again and my dream place to be would be Paris, France. Paris has always been a romantic city to visit so I’m sure this would be the perfect destination for honeymooners or couples like us.

The first place I would want to go would be Eiffel Tower, not only that we can tour around and take great pictures there, we could also arrange our dinner there, just imagine, a dinner for 2 on Eiffel Tower with breath-taking scenery look out over the Seine and the Trocadero, what a great experience that could be.

I would also plan to take the river cruise in the evening on the river Seine where we will sail under all the famous illuminated bridges of Paris, it would be a very romantic moment for us both.

Another place that I would want to explore is the Louvre Museum. It’d be the best that we book a guided tour that will be centered around the three world famous works: the Venus de Milo, the Victory of Samothrace and the Mona Lisa.

If possible, I'm hoping that we could depart to our dream vacation early next year.

Online Store

2007-10-24T16:36:00.000+08:00

During my confinement when I was at home, I was helping my friend, Lilian to sell some of her boutique's clothes and accessories on ebay and the response I fetched was quite well. I got some commission from my friend in the end. I can see that many people have accepted the idea of shopping online nowadays and it has become more and more popular, so I suggested to Lilian that she should set up an online store as well.

I told her about Ashop commerce which provides hosted shopping cart software. This is the easiest way for merchants to set up an online store even for those who are not Internet savvy. The shopping cart software is user friendly and has lots of features such as inventory, payment options, sales analysis which can help in the business. The merchants can also customize the layout and design of the store to their liking. What more? Now they are offering 10 days free trial and I would think this is a great opportunity to all who is thinking to start up online business.

If I happen to become a stay home mother in future, I would want to become Lilian’s business partner too!

Wedding Bloom -- again

2007-10-19T10:44:00.000+08:00

In less than 3 months time we'll be entering 2008 and just when I thought I would not have anymore weddings to attend, I've received 4 invitations recently.

They are:
Oct 21 - Ian (hubby's cousin)
Nov 18 - Soon (my colleague)
Dec 1 - Siew Chee (my ex-classmate)
Dec 9 - Tan & Vivian (friends)

Adding this up with the invitations I've got earlier this year, that makes up a total of 10 wedding invitations in 2007!!

Golden pig year - a year of wedding bloom & baby bloom, haha LOL

Get a Portable DVD Player!

2007-10-18T17:28:00.000+08:00

I’m currently working in a sports marketing company where we sells sports program to the broadcast stations in Asia. In most cases, the buyers would need to see the preview of the programs before they consider of buying the program from us. Therefore a portable DVD player is an important gadget for the sales people in my company.

They will usually bring along the program catalogue, DVD screeners and this portable 10 inch DVD player whenever they go for sales meeting, it is so convenient as the size of the DVD player is compact and it’s easy to carry around. Its High quality 10.4 inch LCD video monitor provides comfort viewing and the sleek design is attractive too. It is especially handy when it comes to traveling oversea for meeting, we can just upload the previews into a USB flash stick and won’t even need to carry the DVD screeners at all.

Which stroller to buy?

2007-10-18T11:42:00.000+08:00

A friend of mine just gave birth to her 1st child last month and since I'm already a mother of 2, she came to ask my opinion on which stroller she should buy for her baby boy as she is planning to bring him out to the mall after his full moon next month.

Well every parent would have their own preference when choosing a stroller, be it the brand, the design, the durability or the budget. Therefore, I told my friend that it is best for her to read about the stroller reviews before buying. Getting to know about the pros and cons about all different types & brands of stroller before making a decision is essential.

Shopping Tips

2007-10-08T17:20:00.000+08:00

Thanks Lovelymummy for this tag. It'll be useful for all of us to know about the shopping tips & get ready for the sale! :)

~ Start copy ~

It’s very simple. When you receive this tag, copy the whole list and add your own shopping tip to the bottom and pass it on.

1. Wear comfy clothing when you’re shopping. You don’t wanna fuss with too many laces and buttons when you’re trying clothes on. http://rinnah-marketplace.blogspot.com/

2. Choose stores offering some kind of reward program, e.g. purchase points, rebates or store coupons. Knowing how the program works and when to use them will save you a lot of money in the long run. http://kakishopping.giddytigers.com/

3. When buying pants or jeans, try to try them on with a pair of heels so you know its the right length. If you don’t and wear it with heels later, you might find that it hangs at an awkward length. http://www.all-aboutshopping.com/

4. We are always lure to buy the latest lipstick colour in town. Before you respond to magazine’s review and recommendation, make sure you try on the colour and walk around for a while before deciding to purchase it. Lipstick colour looks different when it’s absorbed on the lips and lightings can alter the way you look too. This will avoid buying a lipstick that doesn’t look so great on you afterall http://www.dorisgoshopping.com/

5. Don’t buy bras just before your period! I have big boobs just before period and the boobs deflated after my period, making the bra looks ‘unfull-filled’ Same thing with buying shoes in the evening. Your feet are bigger in the evening. Women Only!

6. If you're planning to buy heels, avoid wearing sports shoes or covered shoes. You'll spend more time removing and putting them back on everytime you try on a new pair of heels. Sasha's TagsnSuch

7. Always request for a new piece on items like cloth, bag or shoe to avoid in getting them in condition like broken, loose, stain or loose parts with many tried from different people. If you like the piece very much happen to be last pair then you got to check really carefully. Lemonjude - Memoirs.:*CRoSs mY hEARt*:.

8. Remember keep the receipts for what you have bought for few days. You can change the size, colours or other stuffs if you feel it's not suitable for you after back home. Lovelymummy

9. It's better to wear skin colour underwear when intended to shop for clothing because it show the best result when we try on White colour clothing, coz we'll be able to judge if the material is too transparent or not. Mummy Yiau

~ End copy ~

Blog for Money

2007-10-08T14:32:00.000+08:00

I started writing blog since 6 months ago because I love writing and wanted to share stories about my kid, my pregnancy & etc. I normally blog during weekends when I’m off, and it really keeps me entertained. Then later I found out that apart from writing the usual post, we can even get paid to blog. For those who would like to earn some extra pocket money while blogging, especially the SAHM (stay-at-home-mum) or retiree, Smorty is there to offer the opportunities.

Smorty is a service connecting advertisers with bloggers. Advertisers can pay bloggers to write opinion posts with links back to the advertisers site. All we need to do is to submit our blog(s) for approval and after that we can start writing opinions/comments on the opportunities listed in Smorty; once our post is approved for publish we’ll get the pay, simple as that. Perhaps the greatest challenge is we have to be creative to produce some good posts.

So if any of you would like to earn some extra pocket money, do take a look at the opportunities offered by Smorty.

FIVE things

2007-09-26T10:30:00.001+08:00

Got this tag from Ruth a while back, finally I'm doing it now, better be late than not doing it loh hor? hehe :)

INSTRUCTIONS:Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so:
Rinnah, Giddy Tiger, Leah, Kiasumum, LemomJude, Sasha, Chanelwong, Ruth, KarenYiau

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was 18 years old "pok pok cui" then, guess I was busy hanging out with boy friends? hehe
What were you doing 1 year ago?
I was planning for 2nd baby (then I was conceived in the following month)
Five snacks you enjoy.
Potato Chips, Cheese Rings, Caramel Popcorn, Dairy Milk Chocolate, Cucur Udang (sigh.... still talking about gaining back my pre-pregnancy weight?:P)
Five songs that you know all the lyrics to..
ABC song, Rock-A-Bye-Baby, Bla Bla Black Sheep, Happy birthday song & Doraemon theme song in cantonese (muahaha, how come all children songs ar?)
Five things you would do if you were a millionaire
Donate/help the less fortunate people
Pay off all my debts & loans
Buy a house with garden & swimming pool
Go for family holiday
Invest some portion for future use.
Five bad habits
short temper, no patience, moody, lazy & talk too loud LOL
Five favourite toys
Personal Computer, Desktop, Laptop, PC & Notebook (hahahaha)
Five things you like doing
Sleeping, Shopping, Eating, Cooking, Chit Chatting (Gossiping)
Five things you would never wear again
School Uniform, Bridal Gown, Maternity Top, Maternity Pants, Maternity Dress (sudah close shop mah....)

Why I Blog?

2007-09-20T11:56:00.000+08:00

Got this tag from Kiasumum long long (x5) time ago and now that I have a little bit of free time at work (shhhh.... don't tell my boss), I better get my "homework" done to minus my guilt, LOL

The reasons I blog are:
1. I love to write & kepoh around. :P
2. To keep track of my kids progress & share their photos on the blog.
3. To share recipes, experience, stories etc etc etc........
4. Blogging is a bridge for me to communicate with other parents/friends out there.
5. The bloggers world is so much of fun!! & informative too.

Well, I'm not passing the baton since it has been quite a while & I think most people would have done it already. :)

Marriage - Part III

2007-09-13T09:55:00.000+08:00

A man has six children and is very proud of his achievement. He is so proud of himself, that he starts calling his wife," Mother of Six" in spite of her objections.

One night, they go to a party. The man decides that it IS time to go homeand wants to find out if his wife is ready to leave as well. He shouts at the top of his voice, "Shall we go home Mother of Six?"

His wife, irritated by her husband's lack of discretion, shouts right back, "Any time you're ready, Father of Four."

Marriage - Part II

2007-09-11T10:05:00.000+08:00

Husband and wife had a bitter quarrel on the day of their 40th wedding anniversary!

The husband yells, "When you die, I'm getting you a headstone that reads,
'Here Lies My Wife -- Cold As Ever'!"

"Yeah?" she replies. "When you die, I'm getting you a headstone that reads,
'Here Lies My Husband -- Stiff At Last'!"

Dog Catching Competiton

2007-09-07T10:43:00.000+08:00

I cannot believe that in this day and age, members civilized society can be capable of thinking up something so utterly inane. Whether you like dogs or not, the principal of such an act is beyond my comprehension of what is sane and what is absurd. If you feel the same way and would like to be a voice of dissent, if merely for an outlet for your outrage, please do sign the petition

I can’t believe the picture that accompanied the Sin Chew article… see below. This isn’t a joke, it’s real and it’s happening in Selayang. The article below is excerpted from friends at Notes from Venus and if you want a more credible source, The Star also features the story.

Marriage - Part I

2007-09-04T15:50:00.000+08:00

Typical macho man married typical good-looking lady, and after the wedding, he laid down the following rules:

"I'll be home when I want, if I want and at what time I want -- and I don't expect any hassle from you.

I expect a great dinner to be on the table unless I tell you that I won't be home for dinner.

I'll go hunting, fishing, boozing, and card-playing when I want with my old buddies, and don't you give me a hard time about it.

Those are my rules. Any comments?"

His new bride said:

"No, that's fine with me. Just understand that there will be sex here at seven o'clock every night...whether you're here or not."

Sweet & Sour Pork Ribs

2007-08-29T22:38:00.000+08:00

Ingredients:
Pork ribs, tomato, big onion, ketchup, chili sauce, seasoned flour.

Method:
1. Coat pork ribs with seasoned flour and then deep fry.
2. Heat wok with a little oil, fry the sliced big onion until fragrant, add in tomato wedges. (add in cucumber, pineapple & capsicum dices as well if you have them)
3. Add 3 table spoon of ketchup & 1 table spoon of chili sauce & a little bit of water, stir fry the mixture.
4. Add in the deep fried pork ribs, stir well & it's ready to serve.

Alternatives:
Instead of pork ribs, I've also prepared similar dish with fish fillet (I used Dory fish fillet) and minced pork & chicken meat ball, which I find more suitable for children, Dillon just love it! :)

Badminton event

2007-08-21T00:05:00.000+08:00

The Badminton World Championship 2007 was held at Bukit Jalil Putra Stadium last week between 13th - 19th Aug. My hubby & I have always like to watch badminton match and we were there on Wed & Fri evening & Sat (Semi finals) & Sun (Finals).

Since I've got the invitation pass from my company, we were able to grab good seats to watch the matches. We were sitting very close to the badminton court together with the China badminton squads. Frankly speaking, I've never watch a match in such a close distance. This is the view from where we sit, see how packed the stadium is!

We were sitting among the China players

Although it's an upset that none of our Malaysian players made it to the final; overall we have enjoyed watching all the matches throughout this event, it was a great experience to a world class sports event.

Yummy Curry Laksa

2007-08-17T23:47:00.000+08:00

Ingredients:
Curry Laksa Paste, Chicken Meat, Bean Sprouts, Mint Leaves, Potatoes, Tau Pok & a bit of Coconut Milk (Santan)

1. Boil the chicken meat, bean sprouts & potato cubes, set aside.
2. Add curry paste to 6 bowls of water & bring to boil, put the tau pok in.
3. Add a bit of coconut milk when done.
4. Serve with noodles/meehoon & other ingredients.

P/S: I strongly recommend the "Tean's Gourmet" curry laksa paste as it is really tasty.

RATATOUILLE - Charity screening

2007-07-26T22:49:00.000+08:00

A non profit organisation "Protect & Save the Children" (P.S. The Children) are raising funds to support their operations. The organisation primarily focusing on educating children on how to protect themselves in the prevention of child sexual abuse.

They need funds to pay for administrative and daily operational expenses. As such they are organising a Charity Movie Screening of the Disney animated movie - RATATOUILLE.

It will be on Sunday, 12th August 2007 at 10:30AM. For public, cost per ticket is RM30.00. Corporate organisations can sponsor RM1,000 for 10 tickets. A tax-exempted receipt will be issued. Please pass the words around.

Warehouse Clearance

2007-07-23T15:26:00.000+08:00

Fragrance SALE!! Up to 80% discount!

Date: 28th & 29th July 2007 (Sat & Sun)
Time: 10am - 5.30pm
Location: See flyer below

Chicken in Yellow Wine

2007-07-16T15:59:00.000+08:00

Ingredients:
Kampung chicken, sesame oil, yellow wine, ginger wine, bentong ginger & wood ear.

Method:
1. Blanch the shredded wood ear, drained & put aside.
2. Stir fry the shredded ginger with sesame oil until fragrant, add in wood ear.
3. Add in chicken pieces & stir fry for a little while, add some water, covered & cook well.
4. When the chicken is cooked, add in yellow wine & ginger wine (the proportion I used is 1 bottle of yellow wine with 1/3 bottle of ginger wine)
5. Add in some castor sugar (or just fine sugar) to taste if necessary.
6. If you prefer, add in a little bit of hard liquor (eg. brandy) to the dish.

**This is the yellow wine I used, bought from a chinese medical hall, not those home made ones as I find this is sweeter & tastier.

Pig Trotter in Vinegar

2007-07-16T15:55:00.000+08:00

Ingredients:
Pig trotter, vinegar, bentong ginger, gula melaka

Method:
1. Boil the bentong ginger with vinegar for about 15 - 20 minutes.
2. Blanch the pig trotter, drained & put aside.
3. When the ginger & vinegar is ready, put in the pig trotter, covered & cook well.
4. Add in gula melaka to taste.

**The black vinegar we used here are bought from Singapore, my aunt said can't find it here. If using other brands, the taste will not be as good.

Transformers

2007-07-02T20:31:00.000+08:00

I've been watching quite a number of movies in the cinema in recent months, almost every weekend. Movies like the Spiderman 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Shrek 3, Fantastic Four II were all on my list.

Last Saturday, I managed to go for Transformers at GSC Cheras Leisure Mall with hubby & friends; before this, I keep telling my baby not to come out first as I have been expecting to watch this movie in cinema. LOL. Anyway, I've truly enjoyed the movie throughout, it was action packed and not to mentioned that the special effects of the robots are just great.

If you haven't watch the Transformers, by all means go watch it in the cinema, it's worth paying RM10 for such a movie.

MAS Tickets 50 hours online SALE!!

2007-06-19T18:14:00.000+08:00

I hope this is helpful info if you’re planning for a local trip or ASEAN trip. (Bangkok, Cebu, Phnom Penh, Phuket, Jakarta)

Malaysia Airlines Online Sale at http://www.malaysiaairlines.com for tickets within Malaysia & ASEAN for RM1 and RM10!

This 'Open House' ticket offer is only valid for 50 hours from 9am 20th June (tomorrow!) up till 11am 22nd June'07!

Traveling period September 2007 (check schedule at website) and please read the terms & conditions as well.

OnceLittleToo's 1st Annual Discount Promotion

2007-06-19T10:40:00.000+08:00

OnceLittleToo's 1st Annual Discount PROMOTION!!!

Happens only in JUNE!!!

So, here's a yearly treat for all OLT customers:

BUY 1 : GET it @ 5% OFF!
BUY 2 : GET 2nd item @ 10% OFF!
BUY 3 : GET 3rd & following items @ 15% OFF! &amp;amp;amp;amp; above! (T&C applies)

GRAB THE CUTE PIECES OF BABY/CHILDREN WEARS NOW,
KEEP IT FOR RAYA or BIRTHDAYS, as this comes ONCE a year!

L’OREAL CPD WAREHOUSE SALE

2007-06-19T10:28:00.000+08:00

The L’OREAL CPD WAREHOUSE SALE is back!!!

Date: 21 & 22 June 2007 (Thurs & Fri)
Time: 9.30 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Venue: Dataran Hamodal (2nd floor)
No.4 Jalan Bersatu 13/4, Sect 13, PJ
(behind Colgate Palmolive – see map below)

Hypnobirthing®

2007-06-15T11:17:00.000+08:00

Have you heard of Hypnobirthing®?

"HypnoBirthing® teaches you, along with your birthing companion, the art and joy of experiencing birth in a more comfortable manner. You will learn how to call upon your body’s own natural epidural and thus lessen or even eliminate discomfort and the need for medication." Read more

There will be free talks given by Selina Chew - First Certified HypnoBirthing® Childbirth Educator in Malaysia on 24th June 2007 (Sunday) in MPH Mid Valley & 1st July 2007 (Sunday) at MPH One Utama.

I'll be attending the one in Mid Valley on 24th June (hopefully I haven't pop at that time) with my friends so if you are interested to join, please contact Selina Chew to RSVP your seat.

Something not to be missed.......

2007-06-14T13:42:00.000+08:00

I've received an invitation yesterday to the above screening, I would like to go but I'm too lazy to travel. Anyway, anyone of you interested can call Michele to RSVP.

National Geographic is organizing a free screening of their new production:

“The Miracle Of Life in the Womb – Twins, Triplets & Quads”

In the Womb: Twins, Triplets, and Quads follows the stories of three expectant mothers from conception to birth and travel inside the womb to see the tiny fetuses begin to interact with each other - pushing, kicking and even what looks like playing and kissing.

Experience this wonderful documentary in the cinema........FOC

Date: Sunday, 17th June 2007
Time: 11 am (registration), 11.30 (screening)
Show duration: about one hour
Venue: Cineleisure Damansara
Free Admission

For RSVP, please contact
Michele Mahendra
Michele@arciscommunications.com
H/P 012 316 5670

For those who is interested in the show but is unable to attend the screening, catch it on National Geographic Channel on the 24th June 2007 (Sunday) at 9 pm.

I believe this would be a great show, so don't miss it! :)

My favourite flowers

2007-06-13T10:43:00.001+08:00

Got this tag from Cheryl really long long time ago, luckily I still remember to do it before I pop, otherwise it will never be done..... :P

My favourite flowers would be Lily, both Calla Lily & Longi Lily. Calla Lily was also the hand bouquet on my wedding day (you can see in my wed pic on the sidebar).

Meaning of:
Calla Lily: Beauty
Long Lily: Pure, Modest

Name: Lilium candidum was the most significant flower symbol for Christians and suggested purity. As a symbol of purity associated with virgins it became known as the Madonna Lily.

Trivia: Lilies have been cultivated for over 3000 years. Feng Shui believers hold the lily as an emblem of summer and abundance; to the Chinese, lily means "Forever in love".

*Note: You can check out the meaning of your favourite flower here

Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant

2007-06-11T13:56:00.001+08:00

It was my birthday on 7th June (Thu) and hubby & I had dinner at this nice Japanese Restaurant called Rakuzen, located in the Hartamas Shopping Center.

I had lunches here before & I like the ambiance & food served, and the price for the set lunch is quite reasonable, for example you can get a Unagi Kabayaki or Beef/Chicken Teriyaki set that comes with chawanmushi, miso soup, rice, salad & fruits at RM28 only.

For dinner that night, hubby ordered a typical Chicken Teriyaki set (RM28) & I ordered a Sashimi & Tempura set (RM45); the sashimi was so fresh & the portion is definitely value for money.

I had this Bento (RM68) & shared it with my colleague for lunch, it doesn't come with rice but you can order separately. It's nice & value for money.

Quick meal - Rice with Egg

2007-06-04T11:12:00.000+08:00

My maid was off yesterday and I'm so lazy to cook dinner. So for a lazy mum like me, hehe, here is what I prepared for Dillon at dinner.

Rice with egg (aka Dan "lou" Fan)
1. Cook rice with just enough water to cover in a small pot, covered & cook over low heat.
2. Keep checking the water level & stir the rice so that it won't stick to the pot.
3. When rice is almost done, stir in minced chicken (or pork/beef) meat, covered for a while.
4. Add in one whole egg & stir well.
5. Add in a bit of soy sauce or salt to taste according to your preference.

Too bad I forgot to take the picture as Dillon was too hungry already at that time. :)

New Gym in town

2007-05-31T18:20:00.000+08:00

This is not a sponsored post, it's just something great that I wanted to share with all, esp. those who wants to enroll themselves into a healthier life or just want to shed off some pounds.

Studio W, Kota Damansara's first all women fitness studio. It's where women have fun while they work out together.

Sign up for FREE CLASSES during their Open Day. Check out the website at StudioW.com. my

Soups & other table food

2007-05-31T17:38:00.000+08:00

Dillon has started on rice at about 14 months old, where he showed dislikes towards porridge. He would normally have rice with soups and the soup ingredients (like potatoes, carrots, chicken or pork meat, old cucumber etc), sometimes also with scrambled eggs, fried fish etc.

We would prepare soup on alternate days and on days that we don't have soup, he will have his rice with steam eggs, steam fish/meat/chicken, potatoes with meat in gravy etc.

Click here for the soups recipes.

Anchovies Powder

2007-05-29T16:20:00.000+08:00

Method 1

1. Buy the clean anchovies (without head & dirt), wash & drain well.
2. Evenly spread out on a plate & put in the microwave.
3. Set on “High Temperature” for about 2 minutes, then check if the anchovies has turned golden brown; if not then baked for another 2 minutes. (adjust the timing accordingly)
4. The anchovies is “done” when it turn golden brown & crispy.

Method 2 (If you do not have a microwave at home)

1. Wash & drain the anchovies.
2. Heat up the anchovies in non-stick pan, keep stirring so that the heat is evenly spread.
3. Continue until the anchovies turn golden brown & crispy.

*You may add a little bit of oil for frying if you want to.
*I personally never try Method 2 and I think using the microwave is the fastest & easiest method.

Final Step: Blend the crispy anchovies until it becomes powder form, keep in airtight container & it can last for weeks. Just ensure the spoon is dry & clean when scooping out the anchovies powder for cooking. It’s ok to either store at room temperature or in the fridge.

It can be used for soup when preparing noodles for baby, or even add into the porridge for greater taste.

Meesua Soup

2007-05-29T14:02:00.000+08:00

When Dillon was around 10 months plus, he started to show dislike to pureed food & cereals; he wanted something more chewy and thus I've introduced the following food to him.

Meesua Soup
1. Break the meesua into shorter lengths.
2. Put minced chicken meat or pork or fish paste into adequate amount of water.
3. Add in meesua, & chopped spinach or bo choy, even tofu cubes.
4. Add in anchovies powder, stir well & it's ready to served.

*Other variants include Pan Mee, Soy Mee, KuayTeow, Loh Shi Fun, which need to be cut into smaller pieces for babies who can't chew well yet.
*You may replace the meat/fish paste with eggs, for babies below age 1, use only egg white.
*For older babies, you may flavour the soup with a pinch of salt, or a bit of soy sauce instead of anchovies powder.
*You can also prepare the anchovies stock beforehand if you don't have anchovies powder.

Oatmeal with Milk/Bananas

2007-05-29T12:21:00.000+08:00

As an alternative to baby rice cereal, I also feed oatmeal to Dillon.
The oat I used is Quaker's Rolled Oats, it's better to start baby on Rolled Oats than instant or quick cooked oatmeal, find out why here.

Oatmeal with Milk
1. Cook 2-3 table spoon of rolled oats in adequate amount of water for about 15 minutes, keep stirring so that it won't stick to the pot.
2. Add in 2 scoops (or more) of formula milk powder & turn off heat immediately.
3. Blend or puree the mixture until a smooth consistency is achieved.

Oatmeal with Bananas
Same as above. Just add in slices of banana before the formula milk powder. Blend or puree the mixture & serve warm.

Fruits Combo

2007-05-29T11:52:00.000+08:00

Fruits Combos
- mix these combos into plain Yogurt or Cereal or just mix 'em and serve!
- same method as how we prepare the applesauce, except that bananas need no cooking at all.

Apples and Carrots
Pears and Bananas
Peaches and Bananas
Applesauce & Banana
Apples and Plums
Apples and Pears
Pears, Peaches and Apples
Pears, Plums and Apples

*Let baby first try out & taste on each single fruit puree before introducing fruits combo to them.

Fresh Fruits Yogurt

2007-05-28T23:58:00.000+08:00

Mango Yogurt
1. Peel & puree the mango until the proper consistency is achieved.
2. Scoop out half cup (one cup is 150g) of plain yogurt with a clean spoon, put into baby's serving bowl.
3. Mix in adequate amount of mango puree & it's ready to serve.

*May substitute with Apples & Pears, Apples & Plum, Papaya, Kiwi; but Dillon's favourite are still Mango & Kiwi yogurt.
*Keep the balance half cup of yogurt back in fridge, ideally to be consumed within the next day.
*Buy the cup yogurt that comes with plastic cap for easier storage.

*Do not warm the yogurt for serving, if you are concern about baby taking cold yogurt, scoop out the yogurt & mix with fruit puree before you start feeding a meal to baby, cover & leave it at room temperature. By the time baby finishes the meal (about half hour), the yogurt is just nice to be served.

Yogurt for babies

2007-05-28T23:50:00.000+08:00

I introduced yogurt to Dillon when he was around 8 months old. It may be introduced as early as 7 months old but the typical age recommendation is 8 months old, depending on your baby’s pediatrician and your baby’s propensity to allergies. Read the Yogurt Tips article if you have doubt.

Yogurt is a great way for baby to get calcium and the “bacteria” in yogurt that is so good for our digestive systems. Yogurt is also a great way for baby to get the fat that is so highly needed during baby’s first year.

Dillon has been fine since I fed him yogurt, just that after taking yogurt, he tends to have more bowel movement (not stomach discomfort) on that day, which is perfectly normal. Having said that, it might help baby who experience constipation problem too.

However, I think it should be fed moderately to baby, normally I would only feed yogurt twice a week at most to Dillon.

Scrambled Egg & Egg Toast

2007-05-28T23:34:00.000+08:00

The following recipes are using whole eggs hence are suitable for babies above a year old.

Scrambled Egg
1. In a microwaveable container, whisk an egg with 1 tbsp (15 ml) formula milk or water.
2. Cover with plastic wrap leaving a small steam vent.
3. Microwave on HIGH (100% power) for 45 to 60 seconds, stirring twice during cooking. Let stand, covered, for 1 minute.
4. If desired, add grated cheese, chopped vegetables (tomatoes would be a good choice) or meat before cooking.

*You may also use a non-stick frying pan to prepare the dish, with a little bit of butter or oil.

French Toast
1. In a shallow bowl, beat 2 eggs with 1/2 cup (125 ml) of formula milk.
2. Dip 4 slices of bread, one at a time, into egg mixture.
3. Melt 1 tbsp butter over medium heat. Place dipped bread in and shallow-fry until golden, turn and cook other side.
4. To serve, cut into small pieces, makes good finger food for the babies.

*You may substitute formula milk with plain white sugar for older babies if desired.

Eggs for Babies

2007-05-28T16:12:00.000+08:00

Egg yolk is a nutrient-rich food that can be added to baby’s diet at the same time as meat and other meat alternatives. Egg white however, should be added when baby is 12 months & above, because egg white has a higher tendency of causing allergy to baby below a year old. Ensure that your baby enjoys eggs that are well-cooked as the immune system continues to develop at this stage of life. Read more about the allergy here.

Add cooked egg yolk to baby’s diet gradually. Hard cook the egg yolk, then mash and mix with a little breast milk or infant formula. If baby doesn’t like this texture, mix the raw yolk with a little breast milk or infant formula and cook in the microwave.Do not add salt, sugar, butter or margarine to the egg yolk. Let your baby enjoy the natural flavours of single foods. When baby has accepted the cooked egg yolk, try stirring it into other foods baby likes, such as cereal, pureed meat or vegetables or try sprinkling hard-cooked egg yolk over mashed potatoes.

Pasta with Tomato sauce

2007-05-28T15:55:00.000+08:00

Pasta with Tomato sauce
1. Cook pasta (spaghetti or fettuccine etc) according to package directions & drain well.
2. Melt butter, stir-fry minced meat (chicken, pork or beef), chopped or sliced button mushroom (fresh or canned).
3. Add in tomato paste & chopped fresh tomatoes.
4. Add in cheese at last & stir thoroughly.
5. Pour on the pasta or toss the pasts in the sauce & serve.

*Break the pasta into shorter lengths before cooking (easier) so that you don't have to worry if baby can't chew or digest well.
*Stir-fry chopped garlic with the sauce for more fragrant if your baby can take it.
*For a simpler version (lazy version, hehe), just use the bottled/canned paste sauce. :)

Mac-n-Cheese with Macaroni

2007-05-28T15:15:00.000+08:00

Mac-n-Cheese with Macaroni
1. Cook macaroni according to package directions & drain well.
2. Melt cheeses (Cheddars and other stronger cheeses may be used according to baby’s age/taste preferences) and stir thoroughly while cooking.
3. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of formula milk when cheeses are melted and stir thoroughly
4. As baby gets older and eats more table foods, you can also add meats and veggies as well – these additional chunkier foods will enable easier pick-up for tiny fingers

Pasta Rings

2007-05-28T15:03:00.000+08:00

Pasta Rings
1. Cook ditalini (small round rings of pasta, easy to pick up for 10 months and older) pasta according to package directions
2. Drain pasta well
3. Place pasta in a bowl and toss with butter and grated cheeses, cubed cooked veggies, cubed cooked meats or whatever your imagination & baby’s age/taste desires.
4. Serve in bowl or on baby tray.

*Can always substitute with any other shaped pasta. :)

Applesauce & Baked Apples

2007-05-28T14:48:00.000+08:00

Some might think that it is not necessary at all to cook fruits but to me, I did (except for certain fruits like banana, papaya, honeydew, kiwi & mango, which doesn't need cooking) until Dillon turns 10 months plus, then I only feed him raw fruits. If you have doubt, read more about cooking fruits here.

Applesauce/ Pureed apples
1. Peel, core and cut apple into slices/chunks
2. Place slices or chunks into a pan with just enough water to slightly cover apples
3. Boil/steam until tender;
4. Reserve any remained water to use for blending & thinning out the apples
5. Puree the apples with the remained water.

*You may feed as it is or add in to plain rice cereal, baby would love the natural sweetness.
*You may add in pear or plum to make a combo, taste great too.
*You can cook more and divide into 2 or 3 portion, stored in individual container & freeze it. Thaw & warm up a bit before serving.

Baked Apples
1. Core apple and leave peel on
2. Place a wee bit of butter (if baby is ready for or has had dairy) on the inside of the cored apple (sprinkle a bit of cinnamon in the apple if your desire and if baby is ready for or has had cinnamon)
3. Place in a pan with just enough water to slightly cover apples – about an inch of water
4. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 mins or until tender; check on the water level.
5. Once baked, either cut apple into little bits and serve as a finger food or mash as directed above in the Applesauce recipe.

Chicken & Potato Chowder

2007-05-28T14:31:00.000+08:00

Here is a similar dish to the mashed potato, suitable for baby 8-9 months old & above.

Chicken & Potato Chowder
Ingredients:
Diced and cooked boneless breast or ground chicken
Cubed and cooked potato
Shredded mild cheddar or american cheese
1/4 cup formula milk
2 tsp butter
Infant cereal

1) Mix chicken, potato, milk, and butter in a small saucepan.
2) Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
3) Stir in cheese. Add infant cereal by tablespoons until you get your desired thickness.
4) Mash or puree to desired consistency. Cool before serving.

Mashed Potato Combo

2007-05-28T14:24:00.000+08:00

Ok this would be the 1st recipe I'm going to share in this blog. Since there are many different baby food recipes for babies at different age, I thought I'll start with my son Dillon's favourite solid food.

This is suitable for baby from 6 months & above.

Mashed Potato Combo
Ingredients:
Potato, Carrots (or Pumpkin), Broccoli (or Cauliflower), Lean Chicken Meat.

1. Cook everything in adequate amount of water.
2. Blend the mixture together with the remained cooking water to the consistency desired when cooked.
3. No need flavouring.

*Remove the meat if baby is under 9 months old or you just don't wish to feed baby with it. Read more about when to start feeding meat here.
*You can cook more and divide into 2 or 3 portion, stored in individual container & freeze it. Thaw in the fridge a night before use & warm up again before feeding.
*Add in cheese when feeding if desired. Cheese may be introduced as early as 8 months providing there are no dairy allergies. Read more about cheese here.

* You may just prepare plain mashed potato only but I find it taste much better when combined with other vegetables or meat.