Lose Weight The Safe Way

Do you really think weight loss pills would successfully and safely help you lose weight? Ever since I read about the case of a Singaporean actress who lost both her kidneys after consuming a weight loss product, I never dare touch these products. She’s downright lucky that her boyfriend (who eventually married her) donated one of his kidneys to her. That’s what I call true love! Anyway, I am strongly of the view that in order to safely lose weight and keep your weight in check, you need to EXERCISE (no short cut ok!) and reduce your calories.

'New' Old Toys

Daddy had bought 2 tents (one in the shape of a yellow school bus and the other in the shape of a school) and a toy tunnel for Alycia and Sherilyn last year. When we moved to our condo a year ago, the 3 toys were moved to his office storeroom. A year on, the girls suddenly remembered that they had those toys when they saw kids crawling into a toy tunnel, which looked like theirs on Hi-5. They had badgered daddy to bring the tents and toy tunnel back and after much persuasion and reminders, daddy finally brought them home.

They had great fun playing their 'new' old toys. Sherilyn even insisted on sleeping inside her tent at night!






Camping inside their tent. Love to see their happy faces.

Never Bored Of Yee Meen

Whenever Alycia and Sherilyn see yee meen on the dining table, there will surely be happy shouts of "yay, maggie mee, yummy!" Even Baby loves eating it as the mee is crispy and tasty.



Apart from stir-frying the yee meen with meat, eggs and veggie Hokkien style (dry style), Cantonese style (i.e. with lots of thick egg gravy) is also a hit with them. In fact, Cantonese style is easier to prepare and I can cook extra portions and deep freeze them for future quicky meals.

Sherilyn's Quirks

Need I say more?


Drinking with 2 spoons when there's nothing to scoop up from the mug....



Bringing these stuff to pre-school. Whatever for girl? Inside the Princess handbag was a Barbie toy mobile phone and her Paris Hilton sunnies! I confiscated them from her school bag right before she left the house.

Dark Circles Run In The Family

I think having dark circles under the eyes runs in the family. I can’t even remember how long I’ve had them. I’ve had them since I was a teenager. No matter how much sleep I get, those stubborn dark circles just won’t budge. My mum has them too. Now, Alycia has them! Dark circles are the results of small blood vessels in the area bursting and staining the skin. I wonder what causes the blood vessels in burst. Rubbing the eyes too much?

Heinz Sun-dried Tomato Pasta With Tuna Fish

Bought this Heinz sun-dried tomato pasta with tuna fish from Babyland the other day. It's the first time I see this product by Heinz in KL.




Costs RM5.50 a jar.



Verdict : Baby loved it and I think it's because of the tomatoes (she loves tomatoes), the aromatic herbs and the tuna fish. Will definitely stock up my cabinet with these for outings and for vacations when it's not possible for me to cook for her.

Chicken Pongteh

I recently came across this chicken dish called 'ayam pongteh' or chicken pongteh, which is a Nyonya dish in a few blogs and in Facebook. Looking at the recipe, I thought it would be tasty and easy to cook. So I browsed the recipe by Gertrude who resides in the U.S. (Snippets From My Kitchen. This lady can cook and bake very well), adapted it and here's my ayam pongteh dish:



Our dinner :


Verdict : Everyone loved it, including my pernickety, food critique hubby!

Here's my recipe :
1) Half a chicken + 3 unchopped chicken drumsticks (we all found that chicken drumsticks pongteh tastes better than other parts of the chicken!)
2) 2 tablespoons of tau cheong
3) Chopped garlic and shallots
4) 2-3 medium-sized potatoes, cut into wedges
5) 5 Chinese mushrooms, cut into halves
6) 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
7) Pepper
8) Soy Sauce
9) Water

Method:
1) Marinate the chicken with a little pepper and soy sauce for several hours.
2) Brown the chopped garlic and shallots with the tau cheong paste.
3) Put in the chicken and shallow fry for at least 15-20 minutes until all the chicken pieces turn brown and smells aromatic. When you fry the chicken, you can use the spatula to press on the whole chicken drumsticks against the wok to break up the meat a little. This way, the sauce will seep deep inside. When you eat, it tastes much better, both the texture and the taste.
4) Put brown sugar and mushrooms.
5) Pour in enough water to cover the chicken and cover the wok or claypot. Let the chicken simmer for about 15 minutes.
6) Put in the potato wedges. If the water has dried up, add some more water. Test the taste and add soy sauce / sugar if necessary.
7) Simmer for another 15 minutes.
8) Dish out and serve hot.

You can also cook using pork and call it Babi Pongteh or Pork Pongteh. It tastes just as good. Use half-fat, half-lean pork.

Sherilyn Oh Sherilyn!

Sherilyn loves to do things that no one else does. She loves trying out things that she has never done before, just out of curiousity and sometimes out of mischief. That's why she always makes me blow my top when she causes big messes and lands herself in trouble and pain... but at the same time, makes me chuckle and sometimes ROTFL!

Here's one of her antics - using 2 spoons to eat pine nuts... by scooping the nuts from one spoon to another!

Kek sei ngor but made me chuckle too! This girl always makes me angry and laugh at the same time *shakes head*

There will be more posts on Sherilyn's antics coming up soon in both my blogs, so stay tuned!

Visitors

We had visitors to our house 2 days ago. Can you recognize them?



For once, Baby wasn't shy or afraid of them. She would normally be afraid of strangers but not this time. She extended her hand to Philip boy and wanted to make friends with him. That was so cute. But Philip boy was very cranky and clung on to his mummy, Rachel like a koala bear. BTW, he calls his mummy "mum" and laughs very cheekily. When I played a Barney VCD on TV, Philip boy loosened up a little, warmed up, started to giggle and wasn't afraid to play with his 3 little new friends anymore. Baby kept tugging at Rachel's leg and each time Rachel carried her, Philip boy got jealous and whined and wanted his mum to carry him too! We had a great time chatting. Thanks Rachel for the cakes!

Kids Nap The Wierdest Ways

These pix were taken on our way home, after lunch at A Little Dim Sum Place last week:


My 2 monkeys were so exhausted that they dozed off in the car, something which they often do after a day's outing, especially on a hot afternoon.



Up from slumberland, looking dazed and dreamy....

How Often Do You Change Your Cell Phone?

The hubs changes his cell phone very often, perhaps as often as he changes/buys his wardrobe. Me, I change my cell phone only when it konks out beyond repair. When I saw one of my friends checking out her phone book and pictures in her sleek and android smart phone the other day, I was green with envy! That cell phone even has cool Samsung Rogue accessories. That cell phone of hers easily costs a few thousand bucks! But a housewife like me doesn’t really need such a high-end cell phone, do I? I seldom go out alone and my cell phone is only for emergency usages. But when I return to the workforce, I’ll definitely get myself the cool Samsung Rogue cell phone complete with Rogue accessories. How often do you change your cell phone?

Little Dim Sum Place @ PJ SS2

We went to this little eatery called Little Dim Sum Place in PJ SS2 for lunch last week. This unassuming little eatery serves really good dim sum and you would not believe how reasonable the items are priced. Here's what we had:

Ramen with deep fried pork ribs ...



Loh Mai Kai and deep fried taro balls (woo kok) ...




One of the bestest egg tart I've ever tasted!

Vietnamese Fried Rice - very yummy. Love the generous amount of crispy deep fried 'ngan yee jai' (baby anchovies) all over the fried rice.



Fried loh bak koa (radish) - very well done. It's one of the 'cleanest' loh bak koa I'd ever tasted as there were no 'wok loh' or black burnt residual from the wok on the radish. It was also not salty or taste as if it's laden with MSG.


Yue Mai (fish balls), har kau (prawn dumpling), flat rice noodles, char siew pau, fried fish balls and my favorite lai yau pau with piping hot duck's egg custard oozing out! This wai sek fei por chomped down both the lai yau pau :S



Siew Mai


For 3 adults and 2 kids lunching, the bill came up to only RM76, which is pretty affordable. Most of the dim sum items were priced between RM3 - RM5, with some items costing more. I will definitely pester the hubs to bring us to this dim sum place again, very soon!

Here's the address and telephone number:
A Little Dim Sum Place
12 Jalan SS2/83
47300 PJ

Tel : 03-7873 1876

Baby Feeding Herself

Baby enjoys feeding herself. These days, she would sulk and turn her head to her side on most days and go on a hunger strike if she's not given a bowl and spoon to feed herself! She wants to eat like her 2 jie jies! But when she eats on her own, my goodness, this clean freak in me would freak out when I see her flinging her food onto the floor, her high chair, brushing her hair with her food covered spoon and food everywhere, eeeeks! But I have to start letting her learn to feed herself, she has to learn, she must learn to feed herself coz I want to eat in peace during meal times and I want no another Sherilyn who still wants me to feed her!


See how happy she is here, with her bowl inside her bib, feeding herself and mess everywhere for mummy to clean up! And Baby will bathe again after all her meals!

With A Heavy Heart

With a heavy heart, I am giving my bag of not-so-old clothes away. These are my pre-Baby C clothes, most of them were my office suits, office dresses, some party dresses and even a couple of tuxedo shirts! The bag of old clothes has been sitting at my hubby’s office storeroom for the past 1 year. He has been pestering me to give them away but I thought I could still wear them soon but I guess it is wishful thinking. It’s going to be really difficult to shed 3 more kgs to reach my pre Baby-C weight of 43kg so that I can fit into them. Well, maybe in a year’s time I can do that but the fashion will be outdated by then. So yes, I am giving my old clothes away tomorrow, to a blogger friend!

Braised Pork Ribs With Pumpkin

Braised pork ribs with pumpkin is another easy to cook and very tasty dish which goes well with rice or even noodles.

I cooked this in a wok. It would be better if this is cooked in a claypot.

Ingredients:
1) Pork ribs
2) 1/2 a medium sized pumpkin, cut into wedges (Japanese pumpkins taste better and have a better texture)
3) Organic miso paste or you can also use tau cheong. I used organic miso paste, about 2 tablespoons.
4) Soy sauce
5) Pepper
6) Chinese cooking wine (Tsiao Heng Chau)
7) About 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
8) Minced garlic

Method:
1) Marinate the pork ribs with a little soy sauce, chinese cooking wine and pepper for a couple of hours or longer.
2) Brown the minced garlic and miso paste or tau cheong for about 5 minutes.
3) Add in the pork ribs. Shallow fry with enough oil for about 15-20 minutes until they turn brown. Add in the brown sugar.
4) Pour in about 20 ounces of water (or water enough to cover all the pork ribs) and cover the wok. Let the pork ribs simmer in low fire for about 1 - 1.5 hours, then add in the pumpkin wedges.




5) Let the pumpkin and pork ribs cook for another half an hour or until the meat is soft and tender. Toss and turn occasionally. Add more water if the water is beginning to dry up.

6) Dish out and serve while it's piping hot!

My Very, Very Vain Vain-Pot

My little vain pot is super duper vain. Several weeks ago, she ransacked my drawer and fished out my new bling bling headband with 'diamond-studded' hearts. She just wore it without asking my permission. When I asked her why she took my headband without first asking me, she said she wanted to borrow it for a litte while only. That 'a little while' soon turned into hours, then days, then weeks!

She said it looks like a princess' tiara and she's besotted with it. She's wearing the headband at home, to school and for outings. Now, the headband has changed ownership! It's now hers!!

This vainpot sure has good taste. When this headband is worn on her head, she will specifically pull a handful strands of hair on the right side so that it touches her right eyebrow and temple! Sometimes she will pull a handful strands of hair across her face... to get that sexy look *rolls eyeballs*

Does anyone have such a vain 4.5 year old daughter too?

Random Pix Of My Angels

Baby with her doting Alycia jie jie....



Check out Baby who's being monkeyed out by her 2 jie jies, muahahahaha!

Lunch at Fong Lye Taiwanese Restaurant @ Hartamas

Each time we are at Gardens @ Mid Valley and want to eat at Fong Lye Taiwanese Restaurant, the restaurant would be packed and patrons would be seen making a beeline outside the restaurant. I finally got to lunch at Fong Lye last week - at their Hartamas outlet. They have a newly renovated outlet at Jalan Imbi too. I love their dishes, which are all very tasty and full of flavors.

Here's what we had:

Appetizer - deep fried tofu with big onions, red chillies, sugar and vinegar. Nice!


Steamed Kampung Chicken with shredded ginger and sauce.


Braised mushrooms, Japanese tofu, fish maw and sweet peas in a claypot on flame. Love the fish maw.


Stir-fried chopped up chives (kau choy far in Cantonese) with minced pork, taucheong and some red chillies. Nice but a little salty if eaten without rice.


Stir-fried noodles with chicken.


Stir-fried lala in Chinese wine and Chinese basil leaves. Nice!



Deep fried prawns with mayo sauce and sesame seeds. I like this best!


Sam Pei Jee or chicken with ginger and Chinese wine with Chinese basil leaves. A very aromatic and flavorful chicken dish. Nice! My mil can cook a very tasty Sam Pei Jee dish too.


Phai Kuat Wong (deep fried pork ribs) with tomato sauce, red and green bell peppers and big onions. Tasty!


French beans with minced pork. Too salty for my liking coz I eat no rice.




Stir-fried pig's big intestines with ham choy (preserved salty veggie) and chillies. Though I don't like to eat animals' internal organs, I have to say that this dish is tasty.



At the end of our meal, we were served chilled lime juice on the house, which was really refreshing. Baby loves the sweet and sour juice, kept giving a forefinger's up (thumbs up) sign and kept asking for more!

Lunch At Canton-I @ Gardens, Mid Valley

We had lunch at Canton-I Restaurant @ Gardens again last week when we went there for shopping. Here's what we had:


Roast duck and char siew combo, seafood fried rice (with fresh scallops and big prawns), custard bun and har kau (prawn dumpling)...



Buns with custard and duck's egg yolk filling - sinfully delicious and lip-smacking. I love licking the thick rich yellow filling that will ooze out when the bun is torn into half.

The mar cee with black sesame seed filling coated with ground peanuts was also very addictive!




Refreshing dragon fruit juice but too sweet for my liking.


Fish paste porridge - very soothing on the throat and tummy. Tastes good too. I love the texture of the smooth blended porridge and the bouncy fish balls made of fish paste.


Siew Mai with big crunchy prawns - very tasty.

When you are at Mid Valley, there are several Chinese restaurants serving almost similar food - namely Canton-I, Dragon I and Din Tai Fung. They are all our favorite eating places at Mid Valley.

2 Terrors At Home

Looks like Terror #3 is one-upping Terror #2. 2 days ago, Baby Terror inadvertently slammed the drawer on Terror #2's finger and it was yet another excruciating moment for this accident-prone rascal. The accident happened right in front of my eyes, inches away from me and it happened so fast I could not stop Baby from slamming the drawer. Exactly 3 years ago, Sherilyn broke her left thumb when it got squashed by a steel door. But all these accidents do not seem to deter her a wee bit and she's ever bold and samseng, choke full of energy and ideas.

Sher putting an ice cube on her dented and bruised finger....




Baby Terror, with the hand cane, which is one of her favorite items. She even helps me beat Terror #2 with the cane when her jie jie is naughty!

See the 1-seater c0uch - I had to turn it backwards so that Baby Terror cannot climb up but I underestimated her intelligence and prowess. She found it even more exciting as she could dive onto the 1-seater couch from the 3-seater couch *wipes sweat from forehead*

Baby Terror in action....

Another nose-diving moment. I now have to line the floor with cushions to cushion off the fall, just in case Baby falls.