Our Saturday - 28 April 2012

I was glued to my desktop PC the whole of yesterday to check on the Bersih 3.0 Rally updates from Facebook. My 3 nosy parkers who have eyes like an eagle saw what I was doing and kept sticking their noses and eyes behind my back. I gave them some exercises to do from workbooks but each time they saw the yellow pictures from my Facebook page, they zoomed to the PC exclaiming Oh my God!, WAH!, OH NO! and all that jazz! It does not help that my work area is just next to the dining table and that is where they are seated to do revision.

Check out what rascal #2 did after she saw pictures of her best friend wearing yellow holding placards bearing the word BERSIH from my Facebook page. She too changed into her yellow clothing, scribbled the word BERSIH on a piece of paper and colored it yellow *slap forehead*

Don't get me wrong. I am sitting in the middle of the fence, neutral to either party, but just have to post this pix as everyone had a good guffaw when we saw what this clown of the family did.

  And check out our dining table - what an eye sore and total mess!

Casa Del Cocco @ Taman Danau Desa, KL

Being a health freak who tries to eat only healthy and wholesome food and trying to train my girls to have similar preference, I scorn at food cooked with excessive oil, salt, sugar and other flavor enhancers. But due to time constraint, we have no choice but to eat out or take away food several times in a week. I so scorn at those 'chap fan' aka economical rice dishes. Just have a look at the inches of suspicious looking oil covering all the dishes while some dishes are heavily coated with flour and thick, black sauce! I'll bet after eating them for a week straight, my tonsils will flare up. I am so glad that I have finally found an eatery nestled at my neighborhood that serves really good Italian and Western food with a touch of home-cook feel and taste. I so nodded approvingly after tasting the breakfast served at Casa Del Cocco. 

When my hubs brought us to Casa Del Cocco or Coconut House for the first time 2 Saturdays ago, it was slightly over 10am and Casa Del Cocco was still devoid of customers. We were the only customers at the restaurant and I had reservations with the quality and taste of the food. But when the omelette dishes came and after the first bite, it was love at first sight! All the breakfast dishes were very low on sodium and MSG and were naturally flavored with lots of Italian herbs. I love it that the omelettes had generous amount of fresh mushrooms and herbs and were not salty at all. After a very satisfying breakfast, my foodie hubs ordered some desserts and they earned yet another nod of approval from me. The sweetness level for the Tiramisu and cakes were just perfect - not choking sweet.

We even booked a place for lunch for the next day (Sunday) so that I could snap some pix of the dishes and at the same time try their lunch menu dishes. I did not snap pix of the omelette and breakfast dishes when I was there on Saturday as I had qualms on the food presentation and quality.  Well, never judge the book by its cover!  So my hubs (who is very supportive of my blogging :) ) told me that he would bring us to the eatery again the next day to have the pix taken. 

Pix of the food that we had at Casa Del Cocco taken on both visits : 

The breakfast menu . We tried all 5 dishes on the breakfast menu and were very satisfied with every dish.

 


 Wild mushroom soup @ RM9.50 and Crostini Toscani @ RM5.50
 



Veal Pramigiana with mushrooms @ RM25 - meat is juicy, flavorful and rustic.

 



Italian sausages, root veggies & beans soup (RM7.50). This broth is nourishing  and lip smacking too.

 

Steamed Mussels - pretty good
 

Slow-roasted pork shoulder -- oven-cooked overnight with fennel seeds and herbs. Very juicy and flavorful and costs only RM22 a serving.

 


Classic Carbonara
 


Classic Calzone aka stuffed pizza or turnover, stuffed with thick gooey cheese and ham. In the background is Parma Ham and Rocket Leaves pizza. I prefer the open face pizza as the crust is thin and crispier.  The pizzas are all baked in a huge stone-like oven using wood.  At the facade of the eatery, you will not miss out on the huge stacks of wood for the oven.

 


 


 Blueberry cake, baked lemon pudding and a chocolate cake...
 



 



 

Casa Del Cocco is a must-go place for fans of Italian food and health freaks. Food served is low in sodium and MSG, almost every dish is generously flavored with Italian herbs and eating there gives you a warm feeling, both from the ambience and taste of food. Food taste and presentation get a 4-star rating from HFM with  a 2-star price tag.

It gets a 9/10 rating on the HFM scale!

 

Casa Del Cocco, 18, Jalan 5/109F, Taman Danau Desa, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-7972-3288

Daily Morning Bliss

Ever since Cassandra started pre-school early this month, I have been enjoying 3.5 hours of serenity and bliss at home every morning! I wish it could be longer! It is during this time that I have the peace and presence of mind to write my online assignments. Otherwise, my train of thoughts is always interrupted by my rambunctious, screaming and demanding kids when they are around. I now have exactly 10 minutes to write 3 ads, including one on HR block coupons but I doubt I can finish them in under 10 minutes, unless I let my poor baby girl wait for me in the school. Nah, not doing that. Shall have to steal some time from here and there throughout the day to finish off my work.

First Baby vs. Third Baby

Alycia my first born is a very lucky girl. Ever since she was born, almost everything that she used and the clothes that she wore were brand new. We bought her loads of cute baby clothes and accessories, personalized baby blankets, toys, educational books and baby stuff. Fast forward 4.5 years later when Cassandra was born. I hardly bought her any new clothes as there were still an abundant of hand-me-down clothes and baby accessories from her sisters. Toys and educational books were recycled and used again. Though Cassandra did not get many new clothes and toys of her own, she is nevertheless very much loved and is the pet of the family.

Pests In One's Life

If only my life can be free from some people who are likened to head lice and leaches, I will be a much happier person. You do not want them in your life but circumstance is such that they just have to be in your life. They make my blood boil, they make me wonder why they have to make other people's life so miserable. Maybe they get high from making people's life suck and from sucking them dry? I wish there were some sort of pesticides formulated just to rid them which I can just spray to rid them off my life or easier still, just a button on a machine which I can press to zap them out from my life. I better stop now. I can go on and on ranting and raving and this will get out of hand. Just want to vent out my frustrations here as there is really no other means I can vent it out!! And I pray that God will remove this unwanted ill feeling that I am having now. It is bad for my soul and against my religion too.

Loving School

3rd week into her 1st year at pre-school, my 4YO baby girl is loving school, still. Yesterday being a Saturday, was a replacement school day for Alycia and Sherilyn. In the morning when her 2 che ches were in school, Cassandra who was home alone and being lonely kept sulking and said that it was unfair that her che ches could go to school and she had to stay home.  She kept insisting that she has to go to school too, just like her 2 che ches LOL! Towards lunch time, she asked me non-stop why her 2 che ches were taking so long to come home. When they were back from school, the house was full of laughter and chattering again, not missing out on lots of bickering and whining too, creating a pandemonium that can drive even the coolest and sanest mom up the wall.

Self-Watering Plant Pot From Ikea!

Have you ever had a major heartache upon return from a week-long holiday when you discovered that your once lively plants transformed into some severely dehydrated and shriveled shrubs that could not be revived? That is exactly what happened to the mil. Years ago, she went on an overseas holiday and when she returned, found that her favourite bonsai plant was in a severely dehydrated state. We all got some severe wigging from her for forgetting to water her plants. If you are facing problems with finding some reliable neighbors or friends to help you water your plants while you are away for a few days from your home, this self-watering plant pot from Ikea is the answer to your woes!

The self-watering insert keeps the soil moist.. The inner pot has 3 different colours; you can vary the colour that shows through the hole on the outer pot.
At only RM45 each, this innovative self-watering pot will help your beloved plants to thrive when you are away from your home for a few days. Perfect for forgetful and very busy peeps too. And perfect gift for your mom too for Mother's Day which falls on Sunday, 13 May this year :)

Garrett's Popcorns @ KLCC

Recently I read from the newspapers about the famous Garrett's popcorns from Chicago that has finally made its way to KL and was a tad excited. My girls and I are big-time fans of popcorns - caramel and buttered ones. Darn fattening and totally empty calories hor? But what the heck. A little indulgence once in a purple moon is A-OK as long as you do not overdo it. Though popcorns are high in carbs and fat, I still let myself loose once in a while and indulge in some, especially during movies. A movie is not as enjoyable without a box of popcorn to munch on eh?

When we were at KLCC recently, I was bursting with excitement when I saw the newly opened Garrett's popcorn at the entrance of the escalator. I quickly joined in the long bee-line to get myself a bag of popcorns too. But my eyes almost popped out from the socket when I saw the price! The smallest bag of Cheese Corn is RM16 and the smallest bag of Caramel Crisp with almonds is over RM20 (can't remember the exact price). But I still got 2 flavours - a small bag of Cheese Corn and a small bag of Caramel Crisp with almonds to justify my long wait and so that I would have something to write about in this blog!

Verdict : Cheese Corn kernels were not crunchy -- the texture was a tad rubbery and tasted like they were exposed to air and not fresh. It was also too salty for kids plus the cheese powder left some strong yellow stains on our fingers. However, they were very cheesy and pretty tasty. If only they could perfect the texture of the popcorns so that they would POP in your mouth, then it would deserve a better rating.

Caramel Crisp with almonds is crunchy and everyone loved it. But for weight watchers and diabetics, this is  strictly a big no-no as it's pretty sweet. Corns are naturally high in carbs too.

Would I buy them again? Maybe no as I think it's overly priced.

Garrett Popcorn Shops® – Suria KLCC,
Lot C151, Concourse Floor, Suria KLCC Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 KL

S.Wine Cafe Deli @ Ben’s Independent Grocer (Publika)

Nothing starts our day better than tucking into a nice and filling American breakfast with a cuppa good coffee. I like Latte, shared with hubs. That American breakfast normally doubles up as lunch too :) But of course we do not indulge in such luxurious breakfast very often. Too frequent a rich breakfast ain't good for the waistline and pocket. My foodie hubs loves to bring us to new places to try out American breakfast. He gets deep satisfaction from enjoying a meal of good food with his family. The latest eating place that he brought us to was S.Wine Cafe at Publika, Solaris Dutamas. Going through the menu got us all outrageously excited with our tummies growling uncontrollably.

Here's what we enjoyed and for you to drool on hehe...

Love this bowl of baked beans cooked with minced pork and topped with a poached egg. That slice of toasted multi-grain bread spread with fresh avocado went very well with the bowl of meaty tomato dip.







This waffle with crispy Western siew yoke and strawberries is simply divine, albeit I find the Angmo style siew yoke too salty.




Egg Benedict for hubs' aunt...




Porky burger...



Another lip-smacking breakfast dish - french toast with crispy bacon strips, love the decadent french toast and for once, a bread dish was not enough to be shared...







For fans of porky dishes, S.Wine is the place to attack the swines! After a good meal, you can shop for more swine and wine products at the supermarket :)


Add:
S.Wine Cafe Deli @ Ben’s Independent Grocer,
Publika, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur.
Open through 10pm,
starting 11am weekdays
& 9am weekends

Next Melinda Looi In The Making

Will my princess wannabe be the next Melinda Looi in the making? Well, I do hope so hehe... here's Sherilyn designing some clothes with some left over cloth. She had spent so much time and thought into how best to cut the cloth and then decorated the dress with some glittery stickers and a sash made from paper!




She hates doing Math and poring in her school books is the last thing she ever wants to do. Spelling, ejaan and ting xie will bore her to sleep and will drive me insane testing her. But when it comes to singing, dancing and designing clothes and stuff, she can spend the whole day in it. It is mind-bogging how she cannot recognize simple words that she had learned in pre-school but can memorize the lyrics of songs oh so well. Hmmm, this girl is interesting. I should work on bringing out the artistic side in her and capitalize on it!

Cassandra is 4 Today!

My ballerina-wannabe is 4 years old today! How time flies!!! Though my baby girl went through a very traumatic first 14 months of her life, I am glad that all is behind her now and that she cannot remember a thing about what she and I had gone through. Only those pictures of her in hospitals and her with IV catheters attached to her hand and feet most of the months of the first 13 months of her life are left to be told to her but going through those old albums is something I least want to do. I only want to have happy memories with my baby girl.

I wish that God will bestow upon Cassandra good health always and will never let her go through anymore pain and surgery. Happy birthday baby girl. Everyone loves you very, very much!


This is what Cassandra loves to do everyday - doning on her fairy skirt and pretending to be a ballerina.



Sherilyn che che, the ballet teacher wannabe. It is surely entertaining when the both of them get together to dance and sing.

Sinful Week Of Cake Indulgence

Remember my earlier post on my mil's bakes and makes? I mentioned that I will 'place my order' with my mil for my favorite pandan chiffon cake? Well, she did bake a very yummy pandan chiffon cake for us the next day :D It was so delish that the cake was walloped in just 1 day and she made another one a week later. I had placed order for it again and she shall bake it next week :D

Here's my mil's bakes and makes last week:

Japanese milk buns...





Pandan chiffon cake. I had forgotten to snap a pic of the cake while it was still in the cake mould, we were all too excited to wallop the cake!





Soft cream cheese cake...




Last week, there was also my favorite Tiramisu cake from Alexis Bistro, which my hubs bought for my birthday.




Now you know why I have to force myself out from bed every morning to jog and to work out in the gym eh! If laziness takes over me, I can be rest assured of getting flabs and fats in every part of my body from head to toe in a matter of just 1 month of glorious sinning!

Cassandra's 3rd Day Of Pre-School

Cassandra is very much influenced by her 2 older sisters in practically everything that they do or say. Thus she started to talk at a very young age (around 9 months) and speaks pretty well at a young age. It's good if she mimics the good traits but the bad ones like screaming, whining, throwing tantrums and dilly dallying, now these are a tad challenging for me to unlearn her.

Check out the 'treasures' that I unearthed from Cassandra's school bag on her third day of school yesterday. She had wanted to put bring these things to school but I stopped her just in time before we left the house. Again, no prize for guessing who she learned this from eh?


2 same cardigans (but different size), 1 deck of Toy Story cards, some Disney stamps and Sherilyn's old flash cards and books from that kindy hahahahaha!!!

Cassandra's 2nd Day Of Pre-School

Today is my baby girl's 2nd day of attending pre-school. She is coping very well. This morning, she had to don on her PE attire to practice field marching. The kindy's annual sports day will be held in early May. Yep, I can't believe that my once frail and sickly baby girl will be doing marching and taking part in her school's sports event!

When I talked to her class teacher, she reported to me that Cassandra is coping very well and can follow everything that's being taught. I was really stunned when she showed me the current reading book that the 4YOs are being taught to read now. There were 5-6 lines of sentences on each page and I think that the level is for kids aged 6YOs at least. The teacher then pointed out to me the kids in Cass' class who could read that book. Gosh, I wonder if my baby girl will be able to cope, given that I hardly ever have the time to teach her how to read.

Something that I look forward to everyday - walking my baby girl to and back from school...

Maid Stories Again

That woman is driving me nuts!! She hogs the bathroom everyday for half an hour to forty five minutes twice a day and reads our newspapers and magazines while in the throne. This I do not mind as reading is a good hobby to have. What I cannot stand is that she dirties the toilet seat with her black fingers (from the newspapers ink) and does not clean up the stains. At times, she dirties the toilet seat and floor with poop and blood too! In the past, I cleaned up her after her mess when I cannot stand the filth and cannot wait for her to come and clean it up when I have to use the bathroom. After many times, my temper hit the roof. Enough is enough and I told her off.

A week ago, she dropped the new FHM magazine that we bought onto the wet bathroom floor but did not bother to dry the magazine. Half the book of pages are now glued to one another. When I tried to separate the pages, they tore apart as they were still wet. The magazine is now torn and tattered and I don't feel like touching it anymore for I have no idea what the source of the liquid that is binding the pages now. I thought it was my hubs who wet the magazine, thus did not bother to ask him. This morning, my hubs asked me angrily if I had dropped the magazine onto the wet floor and did not bother to dry it up. When he asked me this, I knew instantly who the culprit was. I feel like strangling her now!! This is but just a fraction of her bad habits and attitude that we have to bear with everyday. Thank goodness her days with us are numbered. When she leaves, my life needs a major adjustment and this is going to take place very, very soon..hopefully it will be for the better, for me, my kids and everyone else.