Month: January 2013

Our Dinner – Thursday, 31 Jan 2013

I have been feeling under the weather since yesterday. Yesterday my throat and congested nose were really bad. Today, the congestion on my nose has eased a little but still unable to breathe through my nose — and I hate breathing through my mouth. I could hardly smell and taste my food. No appetite to eat anything but have been feeling very, very thirsty for the past 2 days, caused by the nose congestion and with the goo trickling into my throat.  I guess it’s nature’s way of pumping water into the body to keep fever and infection at bay.   Since I feel quite bloated drinking water and have no appetite to eat anything else, I cooked porridge and steam eggs with minced meat today.

Here’s our dinner today…

1) blanched mustard green veggie drizzled with organic Tamari sauce

2) steamed eggs with minced meat. The 3 fussy eaters loved it and walloped the plate of dish until the very last spoonful! I can never go wrong with this dish as it is everyone’s favorite.

3) porridge.   Porridge was cooked with pork ribs, minced meat, shredded roast chicken breast meat from Jason’s Grocer (overnight), carrots, dried scallops, dried oysters and seasoned with a dash of organic Tamari sauce.

I made an extra portion of steamed eggs with meat and porridge for tomorrow’s lunch.  When I steamed the eggs with meat in the big wok, I placed the Tiffian carrier mixture on the lower deck and stacked the stainless steel plate on top. When the dish was cooked, I removed the plate placed on top for our dinner just now. Then left the tiffian carrier one to cool down.  Once the porridge and steamed dish are cooled down, I’ll place  them in the fridge and tomorrow’s lunch will be gao tim!  So happy I don’t have to cook again tomorrow!  And we’ll most likely go out for dinner tomorrow since it’s a public holiday 🙂

No. of times viewed = 242

Guess Who We Chanced Upon Today?

While shopping for shoes and handbag at Aldo boutique @ Bangsar Village today, I bumped into someone with such a familiar face. At a brief glance, I thought she looked like Chui Ling but I wasn’t too sure as she was so dressed down and without any make-up. But when she smiled, aha, her trademark dimple surfaced and I was certain it was her. I asked her if she was Chui Ling and she smiled and said yes! So what else? A blogger has to do what a blogger has to do, right? LOL!  I was very tempted to send the picture to my Facebook wall right away after taking the pic, but after reading stories on kids being kidnapped when their parents posted their pix from smartphones with places check-in live floating everywhere in Facebook, I ain’t going to take the risk.

Though without a tinge of make-up, Chui-Ling still looked dazzling, though she has gained weight. She no longer has the stick figure like she used to when I first watched her movies about 10 years ago.

Who is Chui Ling?
In her earlier days, Chui Ling hosted the popular On The Beat TV programme – a weekly variety info and entertainment show. She later co-hosted the daily morning show on WAFM, a Malaysian Chinese radio station, before moving on to Astro’s MYFM 101.8 where she had a daily 5-minute segment called Chui Ling’s Drivetime Mall, which has now ended its run.

At present, she helms the 6am-10am breakfast show, Morning Boss, on Astro’s newest Chinese radio station, Melody FM103.
She is also a frequent host of Astro Wah Lai Toi programmes (the country’s satellite station’s premier Chinese channel) and annually hosts the feng shui-inspired Feng Shui Voyage and Walking the Dragons with Joey Yap. She is also well-known for the extremely popular food programmes, Recipes, with Love, Menu Please and One Day Five Meals, as well as Ladies Sdn Bhd and Tohoku Travel Blog by HK-TVB. She has two publications to her name plus iPhone apps and a web-based magazine called Chicliving, too.
Besides TV and running her own boutique media and production agency, Chui Ling is also a popular choice for emcee at numerous and various ground events ranging from product launches and annual dinners to sports commentating in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and even, Thailand.

No. of times viewed = 1863

Time Flies When You’re Too Busy

Just now I glanced at the clock and my eyes almost popped out! As I am typing this post, it is already 12:15pm and in just 5 minutes, I have to pick Cass up from school!  But but but… I have not done so many things YET and I want to complete them all before the 3 rascals are back!  And I thought that it is only about 11am coz it really does feel like it’s only 11ish am!  Why does time fly by so so fast when you are busy?!  Once Cass is back, I will have very little time to do my work as there will be lots of interruption from her. Then rascal #1 and #2 will be back by 2pm and havoc breaks out then!  I woke up at 5am today, did so much work yet i find that so much more is still not done yet!   And you know what? I have not even cooked lunch yet lol!

Luckily there is still a pot of porridge in the fridge. I cooked it yesterday and will just reheat it for #2 and #3.  As for my fussy pot Alycia who hates porridge, there are still some kau chi (watercress+minced meat+prawn dumplings) in the freezer that my mil made just before she flew to HK.  That’s Alycia’s favorite and I had asked the mil to prepare some for situations like today’s.

Porridge with roast pork, sweet potatoes, carrots and dried shell fish. The veggie is coconut flower veggie, which is organically grown by a farmer from Seremban and very costly. I get my organic veggie supply from her twice a week.  The porridge is so sweet and so tasty… I wonder why Alycia does not fancy porridge?!

Gotta pick Cass up now. Happy weekend everyone.   Alycia and Sherilyn have school (replacement) tomorrow, so it’s just going to be another long busy day for us.

No. of times viewed = 284

Finding A Home Tutor At Your Finger Tips

Remember a few months back I wrote about this great online home tuition website in Malaysia? And you know what? I actually found a tuition teacher from this website to tutor BM to my 2 older girls! Ah, the amazing power of the internet! You can buy and get everything and anything from the internet!  Just to go off-track a little… I even found an amazing supplement for Cass 3 years ago from the internet, that will help prevent and treat UTI attacks.  But I had to purchase this supplement from the UK.  And now I have UTI sufferers and kidney reflux patients emailing me all the time asking me where to purchase this supplement. Recently, a local celebrity emailed me to inquire about this supplement for his wife.

Oh, let’s get back on track and talk about home tuition. This awesome online home tuition website is now expanding to the Singapore tuition industry to cater for Singaporean teachers and Singapore students. The website has now been upgraded to help a tuition teacher get more prospective students.

Hometuitionjob.sg is very user friendly for both tuition teachers and parents looking for a tuition teacher. You can search by location, search by ‘Find A Tutor’ or search by ‘Find A Job’ if you are the tuition teacher wanting to register. If such a fussy tiger mummy like me can find a tuition teacher for my girls from hometuitionjob.com, I am pretty sure you can too. And I am very sure that many of you are looking for a good tuition teacher who could provide tutoring service to your kids at the comfort of your own home.  Do check out the links given earlier to find the tutor of your choice now!

No. of times viewed = 463

Shopping Through Skype!

The girls’ tai koo ma Skyped them from Hong Kong yesterday. She was at the shopping mall and wanted to get them each a pair of ballet flats.  I think she Skyped from her iPad and the girls were super excited and happy to be able to choose their shoes via Skype. It’s shopping in Hong Kong without being there lol!  They can’t wait for mah mah to return from Hong Kong this month end as there will be loads of gifts awaiting them!


Thank you koo ma for the pretty shoes!

No. of times viewed = 359

Olive Baby Products From New Zealand

I received a box of surprise from the courier delivery guy last week. I was not expecting any stock from my suppliers, so what could be inside the box?! I could not wait to find out! I quickly ripped open the box and surprise awaited me… I saw a couple of exclusive Olive Baby products!

I had seen the Olive Baby range of products at Skin Topic at Pavillion last month and they looked very impressive to me. Olive Baby range of skin care products are all natural and gentle for a baby’s skin. All of the products contain extra virgin olive oil from Simunovich Olive Estate in Auckland, New Zealand.

Olive oil has been used for centuries in the Mediterranean as a beauty treatment and an overall remedy for the skin.

Here are the goodies that I received:

Love this olive oil baby massage oil. I apply it on Cass’ hair and skin after each shower. The remaining oil that’s on my hand, I rub it on my hair and legs too lol! The olive oil lessens the frizzle on my hair.

Olive baby massage oil moisturises your infant’s skin and helps to protect it from dryness. The luxurious blend of almond oil, jojoba oil and extra virgin olive oil has been carefully chosen for its hydrating and, nourishing properties. To a baby, touch is talk. So pamper your precious baby with the best skin care products that contain no harsh chemicals.

Ingredients: Prunus dulcis (Almond) Oil, Olea europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Calendula officinalis Flower Extract

Love the Olive Baby body and hair wash too. Just one or two squeezes of shampoo is enough to cleanse Cass’ hair and body. The scent is mild and pleasing.

The Olive Baby Body & Hair Wash has a mild formula which will cleanse, moisturise and condition your infant’s skin and hair. Containing a nutrient-rich, hydrating blend of natural ingredients, this gentle all-over body and hair wash is suitable for daily use. It is mild, pH balanced and does not contain SLS, the carcinogenic ingredient found in most shampoos and body cleansers.

The Olive Baby range retails from RM65 to RM92 and is available exclusively at:

theSkintopic, Level 5, P5.12.00, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Tel: 03-21429988
theSkintopic, Lower Ground Floor, Lot LGC01, Subang Parade Mall, Tel: 03-56382988

Olive & Tebe counters at Metrojaya Mid Valley, Metrojaya Bukit Bintang,
Metrojaya The Curve & Parkson Sunway Pyramid

Poppies Sibu, No. 13 Island Road, Sibu, Sarawak, Tel: 084-318722

Poppies Kuching, Lot 111, First Floor, The Spring Shopping Mall, Jalan Simpang Tiga, Kuching, Sarawak, Tel: 082-236553

Poppies Bintulu, G/F, No. 6, Lot 7227, Medan Sentral Commercial Centre,
Jalan Tanjong Kidurong, Bintulu Sarawak, Tel: 086-319722

For more information, visit http://www.olivetebe.com.my/

No. of times viewed = 673

Red Wine, Garlic and Onion Roast Chicken for Dinner – 21 Jan 2013

Here’s the fuss-free, sweat-free and easy to prep dinner that I dished out yesterday.

Roast chicken drumsticks (chopped into bite size) with garlic, onion, tomato and red bell pepper.  In the morning, I marinated the chicken  with HP sauce,  soy sauce, Manuka honey, pepper, mixed herbs and some left over red wine in the fridge. Don’t worry, my kids were still sober after their dinner of red wine roast chicken lol!

Blanched organic baby okra and ‘night flower’ veggie, drizzled with Japanese Goma sauce.

No. of times viewed = 390

Lunch Today – 21 Jan 2013

For the kids’ lunch today, I was undecided whether to cook green tea noodles with the new sauce that I had bought from Isetan or mushroom pasta.  Since the punnet of button mushrooms had been sitting in the fridge for over 1 week already, I thought I should just use it before they turn black. Fresh button mushrooms are darn costly, so I ain’t going to waste them.  So I cooked fresh mushroom pasta with roast chicken today.  This time, I substituted whipping cream with evaporated milk. One of my regular readers from Canada gave me the great tip of using evaporated milk to replace whipping cream.  And the pasta today tastes just as delish as whipping cream cooked pastas!  And the price of evaporated milk is almost 3 times cheaper than that of whipping cream!  Thanks heaps for this tip Chris!

Fresh button mushroom linguine with shredded roast chicken meat (I bought an extra piece of roast Terriyaki  chicken whole leg from AEON yesterday).

Tonight, I am going to roast chicken for the girls and I know my girls will be very pleased to know that when they come home from school la later   ♥

What’s in your menu for lunch and dinner today?

No. of times viewed = 199

Cassandra’s First Swimming Lesson

At 4 years 9 months, my baby girl finally attended her first swimming lesson. She did pretty well, was very excited and was totally not afraid of the water. She’s a born water baby 🙂

The very first practice that the swimming instructor taught her was to submerge her head in the water in the baby pool, which she did pretty well.

Next, she was brought to the adults’ pool and taught to float and submerge her head in her water. She can’t wait to attend her next swimming lesson!

No. of times viewed = 633

Our Saturday – 19 Jan 2013

There is a carnival organized by our condo committee members today for the residents to mingle with one another.  Alycia and Sherilyn took part in the treasure hunt at the big pool just now and as I am typing this post, they are now having a shower before we go down to have a party at the pool-side.

Alycia (in orange, yellow swimsuit) and Sherilyn (in pink grey swimsuit) moments before they dived into the pool in search of treasure…. but they found no treasure. Well, actually Alycia picked up a coin but it slipped away from her hand o_O  The pool is too wide and the coins were too few and scattered. Moreover, Alycia and Sherilyn ain’t very good swimmers, thus their failure in getting any coins.  With weekly swimming lessons recently resumed, Alycia vowed to get some treasure next year and also to take part in the swimming competition.

Cass helping herself to popcorns while waiting for all the swimming events to finish.

Cass and Sherilyn with their Japanese friend, Hidomi.

Happy weekend everyone! 🙂

No. of times viewed = 148

Dinner – 18 Jan 2013

Here’s another 1-plate dish that I dished up for dinner yesterday.

Steamed pomfret fish (tau tai chong) with mushrooms and red dates (I always use these 2 ingredients to expel the fishy odor if I steam the fish), tomato, organic Japanese pumpkin wedges and I threw in a piece of lap cheong (Chinese sausage) as I was craving to have it last night *sinful*!

It would have tasted better with fried garlic oil but I had no time to peel and chop the garlic and fry them. Hate oil splatters too.

Also microwaved some organic baby ladies fingers with the leftover minced meat with mushroom sauce that I prepared yesterday for noodles.

Dishes all steamed yet  I had no complaints from the kids, bliss!

No. of times viewed = 256

Cass and Sherilyn

Cass is going to turn 5 years old soon but she is still very much a baby in my eyes and yes, she’s always going to be my baby. The youngest is always treated like a baby and called Baby till they are old, agree?  I still call my youngest brother Baby, though he is already 36YO this year.  Though I had weaned Cass off my boobies when she was 3 years old, she is still pretty obsessed with those boobies. Can’t let her see them, else… haha!  She still loves her ‘baby’, which is her baby lamb soft toy with stuffed beans and yesterday, she brought her ‘baby’ out when we brought #2 to ballet class.

Cass is very protective over her second sister as she knows that Sherilyn is very daring, bold and fearless. Whenever we are out in the mall and if we lose sight of Sherilyn, she will panic and ask me where her ‘er jie’ (2nd sister) is. She is always helping me keep an eye of her ‘er jie’.


Best friends forever… Though they fight all the time, they care for each other pretty much too.

No. of times viewed = 180

Easy Peasy One-Pot Homecooked Dish

Here is our dinner for tonight, which I have already prepared at 4:40pm, as rascal #2 has ballet at 6:30pm.  For time-challenged WFHMs, there will be lots of one-pot meals without stir-frying, shallow or deep frying. The lesser washing and oil splatters the better… and the food is healthier too.

Steamed chicken drumsticks in tong kwai herbs, red dates and a dash of salt.  10 minutes before the flame was turned off, I added the brocolli florets.  Easy peasy ya?

No. of times viewed = 317

Salad Maniac

Lately, I am into fixing salads for the kids.  Since I have no more help from the maid and mil, I have to find the simplest ways in food preparation in the shortest time possible.  So yeah, I am hooked on salads as salads do not need peeling and chopping of garlic/onion and no wok or oil splatters are involved.  Most of my salads involve vegetables that are parboiled as I still think young kids should not be eating too much raw veggie, especially if the veggie is non-organic.  Apart from using organic butterhead lettuce, I normally blanch brocolli, cauliflower, french beans, mustard green and ladies fingers.  Then I throw in some Japanese cucumbers, organic cherry tomatoes, avocados, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, apples, pears, over-night roast chicken and hard boiled eggs.  These are all wholesome and healthy stuff and full of fibre.

Here are some of the salads that I prepared recently…

Butterhead lettuce salad with over-night smoked chicken from Han Room restaurant, cherry tomatoes, avocado, Japanese cucumber, pumpkin seeds and hard boiled egg.  Since no one wanted to touch the breast meat during our dinner at Han Room on hubby’s birthday, I asked for the chicken breast meat to be packed back for salad!

Eggs are something that I try to include in the kids’ meals everyday as eggs are chokefull of nutrients. I normally use free-range chicken eggs.

I used Goma dressing, bought from Isetan.  Goma dressing is sesame seed salad dressing from Japan and is very flavorful. The kids and I love it!  Ain’t cheap though, at RM20 for a small bottle that can only last us 9-10 times and used very sparingly since it’s not cheap, call me el cheapo haha!

Ingredients of Goma Dressing. This dressing goes very well with blanched mustard green, ladies fingers and other green leafy veggie.

Brocolli and seeds (sunflower seeds and pistachios) salad with green pears, apples, cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs and Goma dressing

And a very simple one -organic french bean salad with Japanese cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs and mayo as dressing.

French bean-avocado salad with chicken bolognaise spaghetti on Sunday.

In case you are wondering whether salad is all I feed my kids, of course not la… the salad is to replace the usual stir-fry veggie dish.  I still have a meat dish (chicken, pork or fish) and a soup for the kids for dinner 😉

No. of times viewed = 635

I Hate Short Hair!

Cass’ hair had grown pretty long. Since her hair is thick, I find it very troublesome to maintain it as I wash her hair twice a day. So yesterday, I brought her to the hair saloon to have her hair chopped off. The length is now almost touching the shoulder.  After the hair cut, Cass has been complaining non-stop that she hated her hair being short! She kept staring at the mirror whilst grumbling…

This morning…

Cass — mummy, I hate short hair. I really hate short hair. Oohhhhh, I look ridiculous in short hair!!

Me — (burst out LOL!)  NO, you look like a princess in short hair, so pretty!

Cass — I hate short hair. I want to have long hair again. I hate short hair, I hate short hair!! Oohhhh, I look awful in short hair!!

Now tell me, does my cutie pie look ridiculous and awful in short hair?

No. of times viewed = 729

HEALTH FREAK MOMMY