January 2023 – HEALTH FREAK MOMMY

Michelin-Approved Seafood Noodles Restaurant – Hai Kah Lang

Yesterday was the 5th day of Chinese New Year and since hubs had some time in the morning, he drove us to Yulek, Cheras to sample the freshest seafood noodles at Hai Kah Lang, a Michelin-approved seafood noodles restaurant.

Hai Kah Lang was awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand 2022 recently. The judge commented, “Rest assured, only the freshest catch (mostly from northern Borneo) can make it to the table,” as the owner is also running a seafood stall opposite the street.

When we arrived at around 10-ish a.m., there was already a long queue outside the restaurant. There were chairs lined outside the corridor for waiting patrons and some patrons, like us, were standing on the road under the hot sun.

We waited for almost 30 minutes before our number (183) was called. The number that was called when we arrived was 170. Nonetheless, the restaurant’s operating system is systematic and efficient. After I had gotten a printed number on a paper, a staff came to take our order by entering the items into an iPad. The staff members were very patient and friendly, unlike some popular restaurants with rude staffers.

To sample what it has to offer, first-timers may order mixed seafood noodles or rice porridge with crab, clams, fish, squid, shrimp, and laver seaweed in a briny-sweet fish bone broth that exudes rich aromas of Chinese cooking wine. This costs RM25 a bowl.

The fresh seafood can be paired with rice porridge and a variety of noodles such as meehoon, thick meehoon, kuey teow, lou xu fun, wanton mee served in clear soup or milky soup. If you’re on a keto diet, you can omit the carbs and savor just the seafood.

Hubs, Alycia and Cass went for clear soup noodles and I opted for rice porridge. The soup looks clear with a tinge of yellow hue coming from the Chinese cooking wine and it’s naturally sweet, thanks to the essence from a variety of seafood.

Every bowl of noodles and porridge came with a generous portion of fish and shell fish, which is well worth the price of RM25 a bowl, and cheaper than other popular stalls selling seafood noodles.

The side dishes menu is very attractive and extensive ranging from fried fishcake to fish balls, braised shark lips, blanched octopus, fresh raw oysters, California oysters, tiger prawns, fresh scallops, giant clams (lala) etc. Hubs ordered fish balls, fresh oysters (blanched in clear soup) and giant clams.

Side dish of fresh oysters (fat and juicy) in clear soup.

My seafood porridge, side dish of fishballs and giant lala.

Everyone had to wait for me to do the compulsory food shots before they’re allowed to dig, though their tummies were rumbling away 😁

My seafood rice porridge. The consistency of the porridge is not the usual creamy mushy type but soft rice in soup type. Being the super small eater that I am, I could only polish off half the bowl here and doggy-bagged the rest home.

Yummy for the tummy. Generous amount of very fresh seafood, makes the long wait all worth it.

The long queue outside the restaurant when we arrived. When we left 1.5 hours later, the queue doubled.

Good choice of fresh seafood to you to pick.

Pick the exotic seafood if your wallet allows it!

Total bill was RM251.75 for 6 bowls of mixed seafood noodles, side dishes and drinks. This includes two portions of takeaway for MIL who was on her way back from Ipoh and Sherilyn who was in school. The milk tea was very thick and milky, which I liked a lot. The barley drink was thick and nice too.

This restaurant is worth a visit despite the difficulties in getting parking and traffic jam if you go during the weekends and public holidays. It’s very common to see cars double parking in the vicinity of the restaurant. We were very fortunate to have found a proper spot to park a few steps away from the restaurant. We can’t wait to come back to try more items on the menu, especially the fish head noodles, fried fish cake (the aroma of the fish cake frying in the wok was heavenly) and other fresh seafood items.

They are open daily from 8 am to 5 pm, so be sure to reach there as early as possible, to avoid standing in the long queue and under the hot sun.

Hai Kah Lang

44, Jalan Kaskas 2, Taman Cheras, 56100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: +6011-5129 9813

No. of times viewed = 1026

Chinese New Year 2023

Koong Hei Fatt Choy, peeps!

I hope everyone is enjoying the Chinese New Year holidays with your family and loved ones. And for those of you who dread CNY and can’t wait for it to be over because it’s just so frigging exhausting with non-stop cooking, cleaning up, entertaining (hello nosy and insensitive relatives!), and traveling (darn the traffic congestion), hang in there. It will soon be over.

This CNY we’re staying put in KL as Sherilyn will be sitting for her SPM exam a few days after the CNY holidays and wishes to spend more time revising.

Alycia had planed to follow her grandaunt back to Ipoh by car on Thursday but on the morning of departure, she was down with food poisoning, fever and cough. She literally camped in the loo the entire night. The previous night Alycia had dinner of Moo Kata with her colleagues and must have eaten something that’s undercooked or contaminated that caused her food poisoning with persistent diarrhea. Thus, she had to cancel her trip back to Ipoh.

This CNY, there’s been quite a bit of ‘massive’ cooking by the mil for three days straight. While she enjoys all the cooking, I certainly don’t enjoy doing all the aftermath-cleaning up, especially the greasy stove, counters and floors 🤪

Our CNY Eve dinner at home. Hubby’s cousin joined us for dinner.

Home-made Yee Sang, from a seller who operates from her home in OUG. She makes pretty good Yee Sang and we have been buying from her for years.
Sherilyn learned how to prep Yee Sang two years ago during the lockdown, using a variety of healthy fruits and veggies. It’s really delish and fresh. We’re going to get her to prep it again next CNY. Sherilyn has not been cooking much lately as she’s preparing for her SPM exam.

The sea cucumbers and abalones were prepped a couple of weeks earlier. It’s a tedious and time-consuming process to rehydrate and cook the dried sea cucumbers and dried abalones. It takes days of soaking and boiling before braising with other ingredients such as pork belly, fish maw and dried scallops.

Our customary vegetarian dish on the first day of CNY.

Our meatless lunner at Alexis @ The Gardens Mall on the first day of CNY – vegetarian spaghetti, vegetarian pizza, mushroom soup with garlic toast and mushroom risotto.

Tiramisu, bitter chocolate mousse cake, pecan pie and flourless orange almond cake.

We invited some close friends over for lunch today (Chor 2) for ‘Hoi Nin Fan’ and it was another massive cooking and cleaning. I was so busy cleaning up the kitchen that I forgot to snap photos of the dishes. On the dining table were fried fish, fried prawns, steamed village chicken, lotus root soup, stir-fried snake beans, beef rendang and leftover vegetarian dish from yesterday.

I’d like to wish everyone a very prosperous year of the Rabbit. May you and your loved ones enjoy the heavenly favors of good health, wealth, and fortune all year through. Happy Chinese New Year!

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A New Years Resolution List For Children Dealing With ADHD

Children who are dealing with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder can benefit from making lists of new year’s resolutions. Parents should encourage kids to factor the symptoms of this condition into the way they frame resolutions. Coming up with resolutions that address ADHD symptoms can help children focus on achieving all of their goals. Here are a few recommendations for resolutions that range from practicing patience and developing organizational skills to trying holistic Brillia ADHD medication.

Practice Patience

Impatience is a common symptom of ADHD. Having a child or teen identify situations that make them feel restless or irritable can help them identify opportunities to practice patience in the new year. The act of making this list can remind them to focus on being patient at these times or in certain surroundings.

Exercises for building patience can also help children develop this skill. Resolutions that challenge a child or teen to wait calmly and disregard distractions or resist impulses for set periods of time can sharpen the skill of patience. Brillia for Children reviews indicate that a holistic, over-the-counter antibody treatment for ADHD that does not have the side effects of prescription stimulant ADHD medication can reinforce these efforts.

Keep a Daily Planner for Organization

Instilling the habit of using a daily planner can set a child up for success in academic and extracurricular endeavors. A child may prefer to use an analog daily planner or a planner app on a smart device. Analog planners enable a child to use colorful writing implements, while daily planner apps can be readily accessible anywhere at any time.

An analog or paper daily planner can be preferable to an app if you or your child want to limit screen time as part of practicing patience or managing other ADHD symptoms. It can be hard to beat the ease of access to a digital daily planner, even if you have to allot a set amount of time for using this and other apps.

Try a Holistic ADHD Treatment

The most effective over-the-counter treatment for ADHD works by inhibiting activity of the S-100B protein in the brain and body. This protein regulates calcium levels and plays a part in neuron communication. When the S-100B protein is overproduced or is overactive, a child, teen or adult may experience symptoms such as hyperactivity, restlessness, inability to concentrate or irritability.

One of the most frequently asked questions about a holistic, non-stimulant approach to treating ADHD symptoms is “can you take Brillia with ADHD medication?” Brillia has no contraindications with any other medications or supplements, and can be dosed up to three times a day alongside prescription ADHD medication or taken as an alternative to treatments that work by stimulating dopamine and norepinephrine production.

These pointers can help children and teens who are dealing with ADHD make and keep new year’s resolutions. If your child exhibits the symptoms of this condition, it can be worthwhile to consider these approaches. Taking a proactive approach to managing ADHD symptoms can help children achieve their goals.

No. of times viewed = 44

Cass Finally Sold Her Shopkins Collection

When she was about seven, Cass was obsessed with Shopkins. These cute little toys are a range of tiny, collectibles manufactured by Moose Toys. Based on grocery store items, each plastic figure has a recognizable face and unique name. They also have special finishes like translucent, glitter, or squishy. Shopkins were a rage with little kids back then.

Cass’ dad and I would buy her Shopkins as reward for good exam grades and during birthdays. Cass collected them for about four or five years. Then came the pandemic. During the pandemic, the girls were hooked to their laptops, busy with online classes, watched movies and played games. Life during the long lockdowns was so mundane to the point of depressive and Cass eventually forgot about her precious little babies, all kept in a box under her desk.

While decluttering her space recently, Cass rediscovered her precious gems. They were so precious to her when she was in her early primary school years. But now she had made up her mind to part with her precious Shopkins collectibles as her interest has diverted somewhere else – figure skating! She wanted to get some extra moolah to partially pay for the expensive classes as well as to save up to buy a pair of more advanced skates which cost over RM2k.

Cass took photos of her Shopkins collection and posted the items for sale at Carousell. Cass and Alycia had previously sold some novels pretty quickly at Carousell. This time, her Shopkins were snapped up very quickly too. And that’s because she sold them for a song. The entire collection cost a few hundred Ringgit and she sold them for only RM40 🤭

Cass kept a few Shopkins pieces as keepsakes to remind herself of her childhood craze. I’m surprised that she had the heart to part with something that once meant so much to her.

I still keep my collection of Sanrio items that’s over 40 years old! They include cute Sanrio stickers, pencils, writing pads, envelopes, etc. They are all originals and made in Japan. In those days, there were no made in China copycats. And the quality of these stationery items are still very good even after more than 40 years. Cass brings them out to show me once in a little while and going through these collectibles that grew with me evoke a lot of nostalgia in me. I still keep a Snoopy and Garfield wall decor that my bestie, Ju gave me when she was 13 and 14.

No. of times viewed = 46

Throwback Food Snaps

This aunty here is walking with a spring in her step 😁

Just a moment ago I bumped into my car park neighbor at the basement. We have not crossed path with each other for almost a month due to the school holidays. We greeted each other and chatted. As usual, our conversation is always on our daughters. His younger daughter is in the same high school as Cass. They were classmates two years ago and had swimming lessons together when they were 7 years old (7 years ago). While chatting, he suddenly switched the subject and commented that I never age and wonder why I look even younger now. I told him that I will turn 50 in two months and I have wrinkles on my face – if he were to scrutinize it during the day, he would have spotted those fine lines. But he was in awe and could not believe my age. In my heart, I was really flattered and already walking on air 😆

Ok, coming back to my throwback food snaps!

Year-end holidays are all about food, celebrations and merriment. The photos below were taken from 27 December 2022 through 1 January 2023.

27 December 2022 ~ Dinner at Ramen Mob, a newly opened ramen restaurant in our hood. The restaurant is owned by an ex-pilot. We had dinner at this restaurant on the day that I came back from Ipoh.

29 December 2022 ~ Brunch at Money’s Corner Food Court @ Brickfields. Our favorites from this food court are the Indian rice, pork noodles, Vietnamese food (stall owner is an ertswhile chef at a Pho Viet) and Sarawak Kolok noodles.

Clockwise from top left: Vietnamese noodle salad, curry noodles (mediocre in taste), beef pho and pork noodles.

30 December 2022 ~ Today is hubby’s 51st birthday! We had lunch at Golden Dragon City Seafood Restaurant @ Paramount Garden.
Clockwise from top left: Deep fried super crispy fish (everyone’s favorite), sauteed kailan with garlic, steamed village chicken with Bok Choy and crabmeat soup.

Clockwise from top left: Claypot braised pig’s trotters, pan-fried tiger prawns, longevity noodles and stir-fried assorted vegetables with fried cuttlefish.

31 December 2022 ~ New Year’s Eve dinner at Seng Kee Kitchen, our favorite neighborhood ‘tai chow’ restaurant.

1 January 2023 ~ Our first meal of the new year was at VCR Stacks @ 163 Retail Park, Mont Kiara. Our primary reason for going to this shopping mall is because of Cass. Her doting dad brought her to the the mall for her to practise ice-skating. After dropping her off at the Blue Ice skating rink at 163 Retail Park, we walked across to the Shoplex Plaza to have brunch.

We had three types of toasties – beef, cheese and mushroom.

Cass’ doting dad bought takeaway pizza for her to enjoy it at home. We also got some takeaway food from QingHeGu 청학골 Korean BBQ Restaurant, a Chinese Korean restaurant @ 163 Retail Park.

Blue Ice skating rink @ 163 Retail Park – the smallest skating rink compared with the Blue Ice Snow Park @ Pavillion Bukit Jalil and Sunway Pyramid Ice @ Sunway Pyramid.

Whenever Cass is at the skating rink, she forgets about being hungry and everything else in the world. The ice is her world. Figure skating is her world… for now. And she says it will be her love forever 😁.

No. of times viewed = 41

Thursday, 5 January 2023 ~ Unfortunate Day

Today has been a star-crossed eventful day.

The started out well until around 11 a.m. I was at Kimchitiam (one of our favorite Korean restaurants) with Cass and waiting for our food to arrive. While waiting for our food, I played with my phone.

Then came a Whatsapp message from my mum in our family chat group. She informed us that her trip to Sabah with papa that night had to be cancelled as she had a bad fall and broke several bones in her hand and shoulder. I was shocked to read the message. I tried calling mum and papa on their mobile phones but they went unanswered. My worst fear was she had to undergo a surgery to fix the fractures.

This photo of my mum’s bent fractured wrist shattered my heart.

I lost my appetite after reading the message from my mum. When the food arrived, I ate very little. I had some marinated spinach, kimchi and pinched some Bibimbap from Cass. I only ate a few forkfuls of japchae that I ordered for myself and had it doggy-bagged home.

While chewing the spinach, I suddenly bit into a bunch of sand! And then I felt a pang and a sharp sensitive feeling in my right bottom back tooth. It felt like the top part of the enamel was scraped off by the hard sand and the nerves were exposed! 😱 I could feel with my tongue that the top part of that tooth was gone.

Double whammy!!

After lunch, Cass and I hurriedly walked home as I had to fetch Sherilyn back from school. We deliberately walked to the plaza to have lunch to soak in some sun. Today is the last day of school holidays for Cass and tomorrow will be her first day in Junior 3 (Form 3).

After trying to call my parents like 100 times but in vain, mum finally sent another Whatsapp message to the chat group to update us on her condition.

This is her message:

Doctor advised not to travel. There are 3 broken bones on the wrist and one fracture on the shoulder. The orthopedic surgeon pulled the bones back to straighten the bent and misplaced bones. Now in fibreglass cast, will take 2-3 months to heal.

In a cast. Mum can still muster up a smile despite a throbbing hand, swollen cheek and lips. I felt better after seeing her smile.

Praise the Lord that no surgery was necessary🙏 I pray that mum will never have another fall. She had had several bad falls over the last two years.

Now back to my tooth. I was too lazy to go out again to the dentist and thought that I could hang on until tomorrow morning but each time I ate something, the chipped tooth hurt. I called up the dentist’s office and the dental assistant told me that I could come pronto. So I zoomed off to the dentist to get my tooth fixed.

The dentist told me that he only needed one layer of patching on my tooth. Thank God the damage to my tooth was only superficial.

Since I was already on the dental chair, I told the dentist to perform scaling on my teeth as well. I’ve not gone to the dentist for at least 4 years. I always try to evade going to the dentist as I have low pain tolerance and hate the feeling of lockjaw each time I open my mouth wide for Mr Dentist 🤐 🥴. I hate the feeling of the draining tube in my mouth and metal clanging in my teeth.

Total damage to my wallet was RM210 (RM90 for tooth patching and RM120 for scaling).

Back home, everyone asked me why didn’t I complain to the boss of the Korean restaurant about the sand and the damage it caused to my tooth. The answer is I wasn’t in a mood to complain about anything and I had to hurry home to fetch Sherilyn back from school. Moreover the boss (a Korean dude) had walked out of his shop.

Later in the evening, I sent a Whatsapp message to the Korean restaurant owner to tell him what happened. Our family has known the owner for almost 10 years as we’re his regular customers. He was very apologetic and told me that my next meal there would be on him. My main intention of telling the owner wasn’t to get a free meal but to let him know so that this unfortunate incident would not happen again to other customers. His staff are all foreign workers and they must be reminded about rinsing veggies thoroughly for their customers’ safety. After this unpleasant experience, I don’t think I will ever eat their marinated spinach appetizer again. I am now paranoid over spinach! Actually this ain’t the first time I’d chewed on sand in my spinach dish.

No. of times viewed = 54

Tips On How To Spend Quality Time with Your Family

As a freelance work-from-home mum, I struggle to balance family time with my work commitments, house chores, chauffeuring duties, and other activities. Many mums and dads face this issue, which can be one of the most challenging aspects of parenting. It gets even more challenging as your kids get older. This year my eldest daughter will be turning 20, my middle child 18, and the youngest 15. Ever since my eldest daughter started college and is now at university, we hardly ever have a complete headcount at the dining table, in the car, or in outings.

Quality time is one of the best ways to show your family you care without having to break the bank or create elaborate shows of affection. Here are four of my top favorite ways to spend quality time with my family.

1. Cook a meal together.

This is one of my favorite ways to bond and spend quality time with my girls. We cook a meal together. It can be a simple dish or a new recipe. The time spent in the kitchen – prepping ingredients, chatting, joking, and making fun of each other is priceless.

2. Have a movie night at home together.

This is another favorite activity that my girls and I enjoy doing together during the holidays. We like watching Netflix or YouTube at home on our smart TV.

Recently, I saw my friend’s social media posting on her brand new INLAB Senz smart home cinema projector, which was a big hit with everyone at home – from the youngest to the oldest. She mentioned that the home cinema experience was so real that it blew her mind away. They don’t even need to go to the cinema anymore!

What is INLAB Senz?

INLAB Senz Projector is a smart LED projector equipped with Android OS. Similar to a smart TV, INLAB Senz projects natively 1080P (supports up to 4K) videos/images effortlessly. It consumes less power than a TV albeit the sharpness, clarity, and brightness are superb.

The INLAB Senz can be optimal ranging from 100-120 inches and costs less than RM1k.

With the Android OS built-in (setting takes a few minutes), one can access all the popular TV applications like Netflix, YouTube, Disney Hotstar+, and over 100 more applications with a tap of a button. These applications can be installed onto the INLAB Senz from the Play Store Application.

3. Exercise together.

Keeping fit, slim, and healthy together is a fantastic family activity that everyone should try. There are endless ways to exercise together from brisk walking at your neighborhood park to jogging, swimming, working out at the gym, hiking, cycling, and the list goes on and on. After a good workout, you and your family can have a drink or a meal together.

4. Have board game nights.

Board game nights with their grandparents were my daughters’ favorite activity when they were younger. There’s just so much guffaw and excitement at the table where all of them were gathered. Board games are an excellent way to connect with someone or to break the ice with newfound friends. Board games and card games are still the best methods for our girls to warm up with our friends’ children during get-togethers. Plus, it’s technology-free and keeps us away from our gadgets for a moment.

There are many ways to spend quality time with your loved ones. Find one that suits your lifestyle and make the effort to connect with your family. I strongly believe that a close and good relationship with your children starts from day one and requires a lot of effort from the parent.

I’m now a tad tempted to get an INLAB Senz smart home cinema projector for our family’s movie nights! It’s now selling at a discounted price of RM989.90 (original price is RM2,899) and you’ll get an extra RM30 discount with voucher code INLA30 when you check out from the INLAB website. It’s still way cheaper than getting a 45-inch smart TV, which is priced at approximately RM2k plus. The INLAB Senz can be optimal ranging from 100-120 inches but costs less than RM1k.

If you’re planning to purchase this product from Lazada, do click on this link to collect a RM30 voucher.

For more information or to order, you can head over to the following sites:

Official Website – https://inlab.com.my/products/inlab-senz

Official Shopee – https://shope.ee/8zVy4WmnFZ

Official Lazada – https://s.lazada.com.my/s.fjRBK

No. of times viewed = 27