Women’s Vitamins

My very first online purchase was made about 10 years ago, out of desperate means of trying to conceive and battling with severe hormonal imbalance. I had ordered some women’s vitamins from the internet after reading about how effective it was to restore my wacky hormones. After popping the first bottle, I saw some positive results. Instead of getting menses about once every 4-5 months, I was getting my menses almost every month. I ordered a few more bottles of women’s vitamins to pop and also tried Vitamin ACE to rid the sudden acne which erupted on my face, especially on the chin. While the vitamins helped to prevent the symptoms of the problems that plagued me, the root of the problem was still not discovered and treated. And my weight was eerily creeping up though I was on diet. I suspected something was seriously wrong inside me.

Towards the end of 2001, I made my first visit to a gynae, who performed an ultrasound scan of my ovaries. The diagnosis blew me away when the doctor told me that I was suffering from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and this was the reason why I only had menses about 3-4 times a year, had those big acne on my chin, was gaining weight for no reason and most critically, could not get pregnant. For those of you who are regular readers of my blogs, you would have read the sequence of events leading from that visit to this gynae, that changed my life.

Of Lunch Bags And School Canteen

Rascal #2 has an appetite as big as a horse! She eats more than rascal #1 and even me. Almost everyday, I pack 3 - 4 slices of bread with homemade kaya (coconut jam) into her lunch box and yet, she has been telling me that she is still hungry during recess. On most days, she will still buy something else from the school canteen. I suspect she is sharing her food with her buddies, hence she does not have enough food to eat, knowing this little social butterly of mine.

Here, I have packed 2 thick slices of homemade pandan chiffon cake, 3 pieces of Tiger Susu biscuits and 1 packet of chocolate flavored milk into her lunch bag. Yet, this rascal came home and told me that she was still hungry and spent RM1 to buy fried rice. RM1 fried rice? That cheap!?  I can imagine that the fried rice is heavily flavored with MSG to 'lure' kids to keep buying them. My girls love the RM1 fried rice and RM1 maggie mee (fried instant noodles) sold in their school canteen. Sometimes they buy nuggets too. And I wonder why their school is still allowing the sale of fried nuggets and sausages when I had read from the recent newspapers that the Health Ministry is banning the sale of such junks in school canteens!?

Visit to Sam Poh Tong Caves, Ipoh

I finally made it a point to bring the girls to visit Sam Poh Tong Caves during our recent trip back to Ipoh.  This place sure brought back a flood of sweet memories for me. I remember very vividly that dad would bring the whole family, including my late maternal granny to the temple in Sam Poh Tong to pray and to eat vegetarian food on the first day of CNY. This was the norm during CNY for many years and I remember how packed the place was with people during CNY.  And I remember vividly feeding the tortoises with kangkong (water spinach) at the compound inside the caves every year during CNY when I was younger. Every year too, my brothers and I would drop some coins into a Wishing Well next to the tortoise enclosure and I would make a long list of wishes. Sadly, when we were there, the Wishing Well was filled with trash and it's a shame that the maintenance of the tortoise pond area is in shambles .

Sam Poh Tong, discovered in 1912, is a Chinese Buddhist Temple within a natural limestone hill.


Sam Poh Tong Caves, Ipoh with beloved granny



The Angels watching tortoises. A small pathway inside the cave leads to a tortoise pond where feeding is allowed if you purchase some "Kangkong" vegetables at the entrance. This place brings back sweet memories of my childhood :)

Dad's 69th Birthday Dinner @ Kok Thai Restaurat, Tasek, Ipoh

Every year, we would make it a point to travel back to Ipoh to celebrate dad's birthday.  On some years, he would decide to travel to KL and celebrate his birthday with us.  This year, we had his birthday dinner at Kok Thai Restaurant in Ipoh.  We tend to pick this restaurant most of the time for birthday celebrations as it is located near my parents' and the food served is good with a reasonable price tag to it.

Our 4-Seasons dish, which is my all-time favorite restaurant dish. For most birthdays and special occasions celebrated at Kok Thai, my dad would be certain to order the 4 Seasons (Sei Yuet Fun) dish. This dish alone costs over RM200. It comprised of baked crabs with cheese, stir fried fresh scallops with asparagus and macadamia nuts, deep fried prawns coated with almond flakes and braised fish maw with baby abalone and baby siew pak choy.







Succulent deep fried prawns coated with almond flakes, which is one of the dishes in the 4-Season dish



Braised fish maw with fish paste, baby abalone, also one of the dishes in the 4-Season dish





Steamed white pomfret fish...



Pork Knuckle with Sea Cucumber, mushrooms and mustard green @ RM12 per bowl.




Longevity Birthday Noodles (Cheong Sau Mein) with long strands and uncut chives. The chives are deliberately not cut and meant to be long to signify long life.




There was also a very crispy and delish deep fried chicken (Sing Lei Kai) but picture was not taken as yours truly could not wait to grab the best part to devour on. Kok Thai serves very delish Sing Lei Kai too.


'Kwai Lin Koh' with Snow Frog Dessert (RM 6 per bowl)


Mirror Chocolate Cake from RT Pastry House, which we bought from KL.  Everyone loved this cake as it ain't too sweet.





Kok Thai Restaurant (Tasek) 国泰酒楼 (打昔)
37-49 Laluan Tasek Perdana, Medan Tasek Perdana, Ipoh, Perak 30010, Malaysia

We Are Back From Ipoh!

We're back in KL and here's a picture of part of the goodies from Ipoh!


8 pomeloes, 10 packs of Gunung Rapat Heong Pneah, mooncakes, fruits, 6 bottles of divine homemade  kaya which my parents made (which the girls and I are hooked on), homemade strawberry jam, perishables from the wet market,  etc, etc...



My mil and I spent the whole afternoon and evening unpacking, storing stuff, washing bathrooms and cleaning the house. The girls helped with the laundry - keeping the laundry, hanging out the laundry, folding clothes, keeping clothes and Alycia helped to clean her room. Laundry washing continues tomorrow with a few more loads!

Good Bye Pomeloesville

Our holiday is almost coming to an end. After 3 enjoyable days in my hometown and indulging in glorious Ipoh food, we are heading back to KL today, with a car loadfull of Ipoh goodies to distribute to friends and for own consumption too. My 'To Eat and To Visit List' has not been fully crossed out yet, no thanks to the horrendous human traffic at almost all the well known eateries in Ipoh. It's a norm for road traffic and human traffic to be formed in major roads and well known eateries in Ipoh during major festive holidays. After all Ipoh is the haven for good food, so long queues and traffic jam are not a surprise during such periods. I am praying that the traffic on the highway will be smooth today, with holiday makers and balik kampung makers planning their journey back home on other days this week. Once back in KL, what await me are the house chores and laundry. And I have not been exercising for 4 days already! In times like this, I wish I still have a live-in maid with us to help out.

Ishin Japanese Restaurant @ Old Klang Road

We finally managed to get a table at Ishin Japanese Restaurant for lunch, after a couple of unsuccessful trips there. Each time we were at Ishin, it was full-house and the waiting queue was long. This time, we went there a slightly over noon on a Sunday and we needn't have to wait a minute! Situated along Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur, Ishin is a fine dining Japanese restaurant that serves genuine Japanese and Kaiseki style cuisines. Ishin is touted to be the first Japanese restaurant in Malaysia to present its menu on iPads! On our table alone, there were 3 iPads for us to browse the menu.

From the moment you step through Ishin's doorway, you'll experience a warm and cozy ambience as Ishin's interior design and lighting will set the mood right to get you started on an exquisite Japanese culinary journey. 

Ishin's oval sushi counter is also one of Malaysia's biggest counters that gives you first-hand experience to witness the chefs' meal preparations and it also encourages face-to-face interaction with the chefs.

Here's what we had:

Tofu salad...





Tempura Soba set.



Unagi Make. The outer layer of green stuff is avocado. I would rate this 6/10.  This is not a patch on the one at Nihon Kai Japanese Restaurant located just a stone's throw away from Ishin. 




Cold Cha Soba for the MIL.



Sukiyaki Zen set.




Tempura Udon set.




Saba Shioyaki for moi who take low or no carb. 




Phoenix  Roll. We find this not up to par in terms of presentation and taste.



And this is our damage:




My angels choosing their lunch from the iPad!



Food rating on HFM's food scale : 6/10
Ambience and cleanliness of restaurant on HFM's scale : 9/10

Would I go again? For this price, I will definitely gravitate towards Nihon Kai Japanese restaurant that is located just a minute's drive from Ishin. They serve tastier and more affordable Japanese food there.

Happy Call Pan Finally!

Most of my blog friends and Facebook friends have a Happy Call Pan (HCP). I have been amazed with what the HCP can cook with minimal oil splatters and wanted to online order one too but kept procrastinating until my mum bought me one when she saw them for sale at a morning market in Ipoh. When she told me about it through Skype, I was doubtful about the authenticity of the HCP. She bought it for me anyway, as a gift (thanks mummy!).  Price of  our HCP is almost the same as the price if ordered online from a website in Singapore.

The first dish that we cooked using the HCP was fried fish. My mil and I both tried our hands with the HCP and  we were both a tad lost on how to use it to fry fish LOL! We both handled the HCP as if it was our new kitchen toy!  Good MIL-DIL bonding too!  I should have gone to You Tube to watch some videos on how to use the HCP first.




That's the outcome of our fried fish.   I am just wondering why the skin wasn't as crispy as it would if pan fried using the conventional  wok or non-stick pan.  Could it be because the lid is covered, thus evaporation is formed and the evaporated water causes the skin not to be crispy?



Summary of Benefits for HappyCall Pan:

1. No more oily and messy kitchen (It does not spill) 
2. No more smoke and odour
3. Cleans easily (No more scrubbing, even better than Tefal) 
4. Cooks fast. Far Infrared (Yes! Cooking frozen food straight out of freezer!) 
5. Cook healthier food (Grilled. Less or no oil) 

My review of HCP:
While the HCP helps to keep the kitchen almost free from oil splatters, I find that the pan is too heavy to handle.  My mum got me the biggest size and I find it a tad heavy to turn the pan to the flip-side.  I had to use both my hands to carry the handle to flip the pan to the other side.  Anyway, this is just a minor down side.

What I find really troublesome is washing the pan, especially for those with a small sink in a small kitchen for condo dwellers.  Placing the HCP in the sink to wash is a challenge. As the pan opens up into a V shape, washing it is really tiring for me on our tiny sink.  As it is, the pan is already  very heavy, so turning it back and forth to wash and rinse it zaps my energy! It ain't easy to turn it back and forth to rinse away soap as the opened-up pan is wider than my sink.   The next time I wash the pan, I think I will need to climb onto a stool for better handling of the pan. And oh yes, the rubber strip surrounding the pan needs to be removed for washing too and boy was it greasy and tough to get the oil removed. For someone who absolutely hates to wash dishes (I have very dry skin and dish washing liquid exacerbates the problem), the washing part turns me off in using the pan.

For HCP buffs, do you have a better way of washing and cleaning the HCP?

I Need DHA And Gangliosides too!

As I was reading the Star newspapers in the gym while working out on the Air Walker this morning, I read an interesting ad from Anmum Essential. I read that in order for the brain to function optimally, not only does it need DHA. Our brain needs Gangliosides too. No wonder I have such a terrible memory lately as I have stopped popping on fish oil ever since I stopped breastfeeding Cassandra a year ago. I also find that I cannot think of multiple things at the same time, especially when I am tied down with too many things at the same time. If I do, I tend to have fleeting moments of ‘brief memory lost’! Is this an early symptom of dementia? I hope not. I better fix this problem before I have pre-matured dementia LOL!

I must remember to stock up on some fish oil tabs with high DHA to nourish my aging brain. Or perhaps I should just add a few teaspoons of my daughters’ Anmum Essential into my coffee every morning LOL! Well truth is, I really like the taste of Alycia and Sherilyn’s Anmum Essential milk formula. It tastes very much like the milk powder that I am currently drinking plus it has very high amount of DHA and Gangliosides which gives us the ‘brain power’!

I read that the new Anmum Essential formulation has DHA and Gangliosides levels that are even higher than other brands of GUMP. It has 80% more DHA and 25% more Gangliosides. High amount of DHA alone is not as effective in optimal brain cell function. It is only when Gangliosides is added that the amazing synergy brain cells work optimally, just like how you need Vitamin D to be present with Calcium in order for the body to absorb the calcium more effectively.

If you want to find out more about Anmum Essential, you can hop over to www.anmum.com.my. You will also be able to watch the ad on Anmum Essential in most of the TV and Astro channels. The below video is the TV commercial currently being aired. So make the smart choice with DHA and Gangliosides, specially combined in Anmum Essential. Because, together, great things can happen !

 

Ginger Almond Thins From Ikea

Ikea's ginger almond thins are by far the tastiest ginger cookies I've ever tasted. I used to buy other brands of imported ginger thins and ginger biscuits but they were all too hard for my liking, as well as my kids. The ginger almond thins (Pepparkaka Mandel) from Ikea is only RM5 a pack and it's made in Sweden, really value for money, iLike!

Even my kids love em to bits! Can't wait to make my next trip to Ikea next month to replenish my stock and to get some for my dad, who likes em too.
 

An Open Sandwich For Sherilyn

I have not had the time to prepare interesting dishes for the girls ever since the helper left us about 3 weeks ago. More so for the past one week until now as I want to spend more time to do revision with Alycia who is sitting for her exam this week. When the girls' aunt and cousin from Hong Kong were here last week, revision was put aside for bonding. Now that they have left, it's time to bring the books out and I only had a few hours on Saturday and Sunday to do some quick revision with Alycia.

Several days ago, I prepared this open sandwich for Sherilyn, which took me only several minutes. It's an open sandwich with homemade bread, crunchy meat floss that the MIL bought from Taiwan and mild mayo for kids.

What made Sherilyn beaming with joy was her name written on the bread with mayo.


Sherilyn's lunch : crunchy meat floss mayo open sandwich, organic cherry tomatoes, pink grapefruit yoghurt and fresh coconut water.







Double mayo with her name on the bread - first on the bread, then on the crunchy meat floss, which is Sherilyn's favorite. 

Down And Out

The last time I was down with a bout of flu and cough was when I was still breastfeeding Cass about over a year ago.  During my 3 years of  breastfeeding Cass, I was sick many times. I think that's because I was sucked dry of all the nutrients, thus my body was deprived of nutrients and became more susceptible to sicknesses.  Ever since the maid left 2 weeks ago, I have been sleeping even later, have no time to have a power nap in the afternoon and now even have to wake up 20 minutes earlier each day to prepare the 2 older girls for school. Whenever I am lack of sleep, my body's immune system is compromised and I get bitten by flu bugs easier.  First the hubs got it, then Sherilyn, next Alycia, Cass and now me.  I lost my voice about a week ago. Today, I got the flu and my cough is really bad with thick greenish phlegm too. I was terribly exhausted and sleepy last night but I just could not sleep as my throat was irritating me so badly and I was coughing my lungs out!  If I avoid taking meds like I normally do, I am going to suffer for the next 1 week.  And I cannot afford to fall sick given the current situation with no maid and Alycia will be sitting for her exam next week. Oh God, why does it have to pour so badly when it rains?

What Makes Me Happy

What can really make me happy for the whole day is when someone rings my doorbell and hands me some homecooked food, enough to last me not only for one meal but several meals.

This is a bowl of Chinese style stir-fried spaghetti with chicken fillet, squids, baby bak choy, eggs and julienned carrot. The girls' grand-aunt who lives a few floors below ours was kind enough to help me cook and sent it to my doorstep.  I gave her all the raw ingredients and she happily whipped up a big bowl of yummy noodles that was enough to sustain us for 3 lunches. The following day, she helped me whip up a stewed chicken dish.  Now that I have no more live-in helper, using the wok or pan to do stir-frying and deep-frying is a hassle for me. I am a clean freak and who likes a spick and span kitchen that's oil-free. So engaging in frying would mean lots of washing, wiping and moping which I hate. 

On another note, my mil is finally back from Hong Kong. Now, we can all have homecooked food again :D

Alycia's Book Collection

If there's anything that can please my 8.5YO girl, it has to be books, not school books or workbooks though, but storybooks. The Geronimo Stilton fever is almost coming to a sizzling end now. Instead, Diary of A Whimpy Kid and Ronald Dahl books are slowly making their way into her book shelves.

Her latest interest is Science Spy, a kids' magazine on interesting Science topics which can be purchased from Cold Storage and other major book stores.

Child Safety Harness

Cass is like an overly excited puppy let off the leash when we bring her shopping. Many times, I was unable to keep all 3 of them within my radar, especially no. 2 and no. 3. After reading news of kids being abducted and never to be found again (which is getting very rampant lately), I am not taking any chances. Moreover, we do not have a helper anymore to help keep an eye and hold the hands of the girls. Thus, I have to be extra vigilant myself. So I got her one of those child safety harnesses that I sell from my online store and put it on Cass whenever we go shopping now. The sight of my 4YO daughter in a 'dog leash' (like what many people would term it) drew many stares, some had a shocked expression on their faces and some would just laugh. But who cares. Safety comes first. The thought of losing my child is terribly fearful and the pain suffered by the parents of losing a child is unimaginable.

Throes Of Motherhood - Maidless

Ever since the helper left us a week ago, life has been even crazier for me. To begin with, I did not even have enough time to get sufficient sleep even before the helper left. Now that she's left, it's worse. On most days, I can only find the time to do work that requires thinking at night, when the girls are asleep and when there's absolute silence and serenity at home. But I can only afford an hour or two. Much as I would like to continue working on the PC, but my eyes and brain would just shut me off. The only thing that I want is the BED! But there are washed laundry to be hung, a sink full of oily dishes to be washed, rubbish to be thrown in the refuse room and a house to tidy up.  Though I hate doing it, I nevertheless enjoy the absolute silence whilst hanging the laundry. I also get to enjoy the night view of KLCC and KL Towers whilst doing this much hated chore.

Glorious Durians!

The husband's friend gave us some supposedly 5-star 'kunyit' durian from some old durian trees last week. By the time the durians reached our house, it was way past 9pm and by the time the husband was free to open up the durians, it was almost midnight. The aroma of the durian was really tempting and I was really tempted to try some but I turned down the husband's invitation to sample them as I was drop dead tired and sleepy and only wanted to go to bed.  Moreover I do not eat anything after 8pm but I finally succumbed to his continuous invitation and the killer aroma of the durians. So what the heck, I told myself just one seed, then another, and then another and finally, I think I walloped about 5-6 seeds of durians with thick, sweet and bitter flesh ! It's been ages since I last had durians as midnight supper and it was indeed satisfying. And I have already lost all the weight I had piled up during this durian season these few days, after our helper went back for good. Now, I have achieved my pre-Cassandra weight once again at 44kg, tee hee hee....




For those of you who are residing overseas and are a lover of durians, sorry if this post made you salivate. I know how expensive durians are overseas and you get only frozen ones haha! Oops, sorry!

Food Delivery

This is the 2nd time I am trying out daily food delivery for our dinner.  The first time was done last year, also when my mil was away. It lasted only for a month as I could not stand the dishes heavily coated with sauces and burnt wok residue.  This time, I am ordering from Tammy Food Delivery.  Sadly, the dishes did not meet my low expectations as well.  What I do not like is that all the dishes are also cooked heavily in salty and thick, gooey sauces.

The chicken meat given for the past 2 days have was very tough. I noticed that the way the caterer cooked the meat dishes is that the meat and fish (Dory fish used) are all deep fried until the meat turns really tough. Even my fork cannot poke through the chicken breast meat at times.  Then, the different types of sauces like sweet and sour sauce, oyster sauce, Thai sauce, etc will be used to mix with the deep fried meat, creating a different name for each dish.




Deep fried chicken coated with some oyster sauce and mixed veggie, Japanese tofu in thick oyster sauce and sweet and sour deep fried Dory fish coated with a layer of thick batter. 




My kids ain't that used to the heavy sauces for the dishes and I have to put a bowl of hot water for them to wash the dishes before they eat.

For 2 days straight, the Dory fish dish went into the bin. We all did not like the heavy coating of batter on the Dory fish. Last night, the veggie dish had to be binned too.  While the portion is really large for 4 pax, taste wise, it still does not pass my very low expectation.  But I guess I will have to continue as I really cannot find the time to cook right now.  I hardly have the time to sit down. Any free time will be used to guide the kids in their homework and school work and yes, to sleep.

I am almost surrendering without a live-in helper and it is only the 3rd day. Even the hubs feels the same and he has been consoling me that the new maid will come soon. Yea yea, new maid from where?   Anyway, I hope that given time to adjust to the new routine, I will be able to spring back into my top form again.

The good side to being maidless is : I have lost weight haha!!



Cass washing the chicken meat with hot water before putting it into her mouth.

Jaded On The Job

I am getting a really comfy massage to nurse my bad backache from my portable OTO massage chair as I am typing this post. The clock shows 12 noon. I have not prepared lunch and have some household chores to do. In 20 minutes, I have to pick up Cass from pre-school. But it feels so darn comfy I just do not feel like moving my butt. But heck, I have to force myself up from this super duper comfy massage chair and start to march into the war zone. Each day my march into the war zone begins at 12:30pm and ends at around 9:30pm. Since yesterday, the war zone has been unbearable, leaving my back battered and whole body achy. After 10 years of having a live-in maid, it ain't easy to do everything myself again, on top of my online work. The household chores are still bearable, it's the kids who are not. They sure know how to take advantage of the situation and will lax in their homework when the tiger is busy with work. I need to holler and nag till my voice turns hoarse. I am really tired and just wonder why they lack the drive and initiative to study if I am not at the table to watch guard them.

Impending Water Rationing In Klang Valley!

The most dreaded news by me finally made headlines in the newspapers today. For those of you who had gone through the 3 months of hardcore water rationing in 1998, you will know what I mean. But there is still a glimmer of hope that in the event of a confirmed water rationing exercise to be carried out, it will only be for several hours in a day instead of a cut every other day. Living in a condo where space is limited, it will be a challenge trying to fit the huge containers of water into the bathroom and kitchen. How many containers can we place inside our unit?  We need at least 2-3 huge containers of water to bathe and can only limit our bath time to once a day instead of the 2-3 luxurious showers a day during this hot and humid season. On my part, I have started to instil in my 3 girls the importance of not wasting water and the terrible inconvenience should a water rationing happen. My daughters have a tendency to let the water run from the tap whilst brushing teeth, despite umpteen reminders from me not to and taking their own sweet time having a long shower in the bathroom.

 I have also started to cut down usage of water and to recycle water in our household through:

1) Always have a small pail / basin in our sink to collect 'not so dirty' water after we wash our hands and rinse cups, plates and cutlery with the clean water from the tap. The recycled water will be transferred to another bigger pail in the bathroom, to be used for flushing the toilets and washing the bathrooms.

2) Filtered dirty water flowed out from the second outlet of our Panasonic Alkaline Water Purifier is now stored in a pail, for washing dishes and flushing toilets. In the past, the filtered dirty water will just flow onto the sink and into the drains.

3) Place a small pail inside the shower area. I have taught my girls to put the pail next to them and to rinse their body and hair as close as possible to the pail, so that the shower water can be collected in the pail. The recycled water from the pail can be used to flush the toilet.

4) Instead of a 1.5-hour washing machine cycle, I have since 2 weeks ago changed the mode to a 30-minute cycle, so that lesser water is used and electricity can be saved too.

5) No more washing of the balcony until there is no more water rationing. We just have to bear with the dust and dirt. We can always sweep instead of wash. Just have to close 2 eyes to dirt and imagine we are living in the 'kampung' !

6) Instead of flushing the toilet after every pee, I make my 3 girls pee one after another, followed by me and then I dump the pail of recycled water into the throne! Half a pail of water for 4 pees LOL!! Pressing on the flush button is now only reserved for big business!

7) Cut down on rinsing the cup with water before each use. How dirty can the cup be right?

8) In the event of a water rationing, I will have to resort to using disposable paper plates for meals. I know that this is not environmental friendly but heck, when there is not a trickle of water from the tap, you need to find alternatives and measures that will not add more stress to your bag of stress. And this is only temporary until God decides to let the skies shower.

9) I can only exercise on the days when there is water flowing from the tap. There will be no luxury to bathe twice a day on the days when the taps are dry. So I can only take a shower at night, just before bed. Again, think kampung-style living! LOL!

10) Use wet wipes to replace water for cleaning.


Please add to my list of measures to cut down on water usage if you have any good ones. It will be good for everyone who reads this post.



Pray tell that the water rationing exercise will be cancelled and that some better alternatives for the Rakyat will be in place by the government. Water is a necessity and cutting its supply will cause severe inconvenience to families with kids.


 

 Filtered dirty water from the water purifier second outlet is now collected in a small pail, the water of which will be used to flush toilets.