Korky the Cat at the Coronation and Overnight Oats

Dad and I bonded over a common love when I was a kid: Beano and Dandy comics and I loved the old school characters the best: Korky the Cat, Jonah. He read those when he was growing up and every now and then, my copies of the Beano and the Dandy would mysteriously disappear and end up in his room instead ;)

I found my old the Beano and the Dandy 50 Golden Years compilation the other day and seeing that it's the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth, I was tickled to find this Korky the Cat comic strip depicting her coronation 60 years ago.

The weather has been so hazy lately that I wanted something refreshing for breakfast. I've been trying to have more healthy food on the go (cutting out the nasi lemak and roti canai from the office canteen, delicious as they might be) and didn't fancy the idea of hot oats so after Googling, I found the perfect solution: overnight soaked oats in yogurt served with chilled rosemary baked pears and a sprinkling of almonds. The pears and honey added a nice flavour to plain oats and I loved the crunching into almonds.

A Weekend Stay Over

We'd a free night's stay at the E&O over the weekend so we checked ourselves in for a lil rest and relaxation. I've always a soft spot for the E&O mainly because of its old world charm.

 

Checking in was quick with a welcome cocktail and wet towel provided and we'd lunch with my family at Sarkies to celebrate my Dad's birthday. That's Dad in his trademark heavily starched blue shirt (it's so stiff, I swear it could stand on its own), Cempedak and my brother-in-law.

Flashback to the 80s: wearing a scarf print dress. I remember my Mum owning loads of scarf print tops back then; it's now come full circle that I'm a mum and I wear scarf print!

Bubs and I were fascinated with the room key. Bubs loves all keys, jangling them around in his hands, refusing to return them back. I found it cool that the E&O still has room keys instead of card slots.

The room was nicely done - loved the dark wooden floors, intricate rugs and of course, the long bath that we'd many soaks in. 

Mum and my baby brother checking the cupboard for any boogey monsters. Can I tell you again how much I loved all the dark wooden furniture?

 For any staycation, it's practically a must to explore the pool. Especially if it's a salt water pool and offers you the prettiest view of the ocean.

Hubs and Bubs put on their swim gear and made the most of their afternoon splashing around in the pool.

I lounged around, reading a book, snapping pics, but mainly feasted my eyes on the beautiful surroundings, savouring the beautiful sunshine, the warm breeze. This is the life!

Bubs thoroughly enjoyed the novelty of spending the day in somewhere new. He had so much fun exploring the room, clicking the remote control nonstop to change TV channels, flicking the lights (that were his height) on and off and brrrrrommming his little toy 4 wheel drive all over the room. He got to eat in bed, bounce and jump on the bed, soak around in the bath tub, it must have been toddler heaven for him :)

Rice Dumpling Festival

Did everyone pigged out on rice dumplings or watched any dragon boat races? I'm not the biggest fan fan of sticky rice dumplings mainly because I find them too rich and heavy to digest but I don't mind the occasional one. I always get raised eyebrows from people when I tell them that I like to eat bak zhang (meat dumplings) with a sprinkling of white sugar like how Dad taught me. There's the satisfying crunch of the sugar followed by the sweetness balancing out the saltiness of the meat and glutinous rice.

Mum-In-Law makes rice dumplings specially for Hubs because he's really picky about the stuff inside rice dumplings, he doesn't like chestnuts or tiny dried prawns and a gazillion other stuff. Fingers crossed that Bubs doesn't end up being such a fusspot with food. 

Mum always gets me thor tau zhang (peanut dumplings) instead, the sticky rice is white because it's not salted with soya sauce and there's a sweet, peanut filling inside instead.

None of my relatives make their own rice dumplings so I was fascinated when Dragon I had a mini display for rice dumplings. Bubs had a naughty glint in his eyes when he spotted the containers full of beans and rice so I'd to steer him away from them.

The durian sago cream dessert at Dragon I is the best thing ever! Hubs complained that the scent of the durian was overwhelmingly strong but I loved every single bit of it. It is so luscious and creamy.

Can you actually see Elmo against the bright red table cloth? Doesn't take much to amuse a toddler ;) 

What to do with Lemons

You could wear them ... I love how cheery this lemon yellow DVF Gap Kids t-shirt dress is! I initially wanted the blue one but my Mum said the Gap store in Singapore only had the yellow one left so she got this. She got confused at first when I asked her to go to Gap Kids to get me a dress, she was wondering why was I making Bubs wear a dress, LOL.

You could use them for the best brunch ever ... Rye toast with avocados, poached eggs and wasabi mayo. This has to be one of the quickest and healthiest brunch I've ever made.

Ingredients:
Lemon juice
Wasabi paste
Plain yogurt/cream
Avocado
Pepper
Toast

1. Poach eggs - this is the trickiest bit and mine were a total failure! 
2. Cut avocado in chunks, squeeze a dash of lemon & add pepper
3. Mix lemon juice, wasabi paste and yogurt (or if you're feeling decadent - cream)
4. Serve the eggs with wasabi mayo and arrange avocados on top of toast
5. Tuck in!

DIY Water Table & Daddy's Day Lunch

I tried making Bubs a water table after seeing a few DIY posts online, the concept seemed relatively simple, just a container of water set on a low surface and a couple of strainers/ladles/floating toys.

I couldn't find a low, flat container or tray so I got the next best thing: a RM39 inflatable mini pool from Toys R Us and for some extra fun, a RM5 bag of colourful plastic balls from Daiso. It was a breeze to set up by placing it on top of an Ikea kids table out on the balcony and throwing in a handful of ladles and empty containers. The water table was a little too high for Bubs and he kept having to stand on tip toe to reach it. Apart from scooping up the water to pour over the potted plants and fishing out a few balls, he didn't want to play with it.

Which brings me to Plan B. Put the inflatable pool in the shower and let him play in it with all the toys. Now this he had a ball with (pun intended)!

We celebrated Father's Day with my family with a buffet lunch at Cititel. Cempedak and my brother are so addicted to their gadgets. I thought my Mum's dove gray beaded top was fantastic.

I wore my MNG tweed sleeveless tulip dress (fully lined!) that I got for a bargain 50% off. It's still available on the sales racks the last time I saw.

Bubs checking out his reflection at the Cititel lobby and clearly liking what he sees. He does this hilarious pirouette like bouncy dance.

I went a bit overboard at Tesco - currently loving their balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil for a dip with bread. I've also included their flatbread with a wedge of cheese and some dried fruit for the dreaded 3pm week day office munchies.

The recent haze has been awful with our allergies acting up. Hubs and I are sneezing non stop and Bubs has gotten his eczema back again despite us using Moogoo wash religiously on him, daily vacuuming (thanks Hubs!) and special detergent for our washing machine. Hubs begs me to let him apply cortisone cream over the patch of rashes that Bubs scratches so badly that he leaves marks on his skin. I have mixed feelings over steroids for his eczema treatment :( I keep telling him that cortisone cream only masks the symptoms but it's no use unless we can fix the root cause, which we've no idea what it is but I blame the hazy weather and heat wave for it. I've resorted to applying Tesco Finest Tuscan extra virgin oil after his shower to moisturise the skin. It smells so yummy that I'm so tempted to get some bread to mop up the excess oil to eat!

How to Apply Fake Eyelashes, A Lunch Date and More Elmo

There are 2 school of thoughts when it comes to fake eyelashes: those that know how to apply it themselves and those that don't. Follow my steps for a quick and easy guide.

Step 1: Gather your materials.

Eye Putti recommended by Sue.  It's really meant to be a double eyelid adhesive, comes complete with a scary looking (yet pink!) mini pitchfork meant for creating a fold above your eye.

Other good-to-have tools but not essentials are mascara, eyelash curler and eyeliner.  You use these to try to camouflage your natural eyelashes so they blend seamlessly in with the fakes ones. I just realised all of my eye makeup stuff in this picture are Japanese: Deja Vu Fiberwig mascara, Sheseido curler and Majolica Majorca eyeliner.

Step 2: Yell for Hubs and persuade him to help stick on the fake eyelashes :D I'm a complete klutz so he always (grudgingly) helps me stick them on.

I met up with Shian for a belated birthday afternoon tea. Unfortunately no pics as we were too busy eating, chatting and window shopping! Shian, I'm so sorry I broke your water tumbler :( I promise I'll get you a new one for your birthday.

And if you need proof on how toddlers are easily entertained, all you need is a ball point pen and a steady hand. Hubs sketched out Elmo on Bubs's leg which delighted him to no end. He even bent over to kiss Elmo good night during bedtime.

Cousin J's Love Bird Wedding

My cousin J had her wedding dinner reception last weekend and it was fun catching up with the rest of my Mum's family, to see how my other cousins are doing and letting them see how grown up Bubs is. It was a beautiful reception with Chinese - Indian elements mixed in.

I wore my Dorothy Perkins feather border dress with gold strappy stilettos and gold dangly earrings. Don't hate me but ........ I bought the 3" stilettos the moment I found out I was expecting Bubs, excited to be pregnant but devastated at the thought of having to give up heels pretty soon, I got these and wore them them non stop for about a month or so before my tummy got too big for me to balance comfortably on them ;)

My cousin J and the groom, K. When it came to Bubs's turn to shake hands with them, he developed a sudden case of stage fright and refused to go up to them. I told him a little white lie and said they'd be giving him Elmo. 

This is my Aunt D (a stunner in her saree) and her 2 little Ts. It was mind boggling when she told me that based on Chinese hierarchy, if she's my aunt, the 2 Ts are my cousins ... so that would make them (at the very tender age of 4 and 2 respectively) Bubs's aunt and uncle! 

How cute are these love birds salt and pepper shakers? I noticed a lot of kids playing with them the whole night.

And the peacock themed cake was beautiful.

The very happy couple. My cousin J's saree was amazing (sorry for the lousy shot), it had the most amazing embroidery and gold, glitzy stuff sewn all over it.

There was plenty of food, music and dances. Now and then, little groups of people would get up from their tables and dance to the music. A family friend sang after giving a speech. 

This is my Baby Brother, I keep calling him that even though he's all grown up now because there's a huge age gap between us and no matter how old he gets, I still see him as a  chubby cheeked toddler running around. Bubs can't get his name right so he calls him "Unken Kin".

And a pic of our little family :)

Dinner Sightings and Bubs in a Tub

Dinner at the Pearl Island club is always fun for Bubs because there's a lot of empty space for him to run around and interesting stuff.

We saw this lipstick red vintage car parked at the front.No idea what model it is but the girly girl in me thought it'd be incredibly cool if there was a lipstick in a matching shade ;)

Lovebirds hanging outside the restaurant. Bubs was so fascinated with them and kept saying "bird". He kept saying "fei ya" (fly) so I felt a bit bad explaining that they were in a cage and couldn't fly.

Rub a dub dub, Bubs in a tub, LOL. He has recently decided that it'd be fun to fill a giant bucket with lots of bubbles and soak in it.

Morganfield's at Gurney Paragon

Morganfield's at Gurney Paragon is its first branch in Penang and offers lots of porky goodness. As with most newly opened restaurants/cafes here, reservations are recommended. We went on a Friday evening and looked longingly at the air-conditioned interior but was told that it was fully booked with seating only available outside.

It was surprisingly fun sitting outside though. The tables and chairs were all rustic and mismatched, giving it a casual feel. We could feel what's left of the sea breeze and with the water fountain rustling  behind the bushy potted hedges, you could close your eyes and imagine that you're seated next to the Mississippi. I might not feel that way if it's pelting rain heavily or a broiling sizzler of a day ;)

Kids dine free with every full paying adult only on weekends and public holidays. I don't quite like restaurants that charge RM1 for water but that's just me.  

Parents of fidgeting children: fear not! You get a kids menu that has puzzles with a colouring pencil that will keep the little ones occupied for a while.

If that doesn't work, Gurney Paragon has a nice, spacious walkway just right next to the restaurant where they can run around. Bubs eyed the water and seemed tempted to go wading in it. I don't blame him, it did look really inviting with the shallow, cool water and round stones inside.

 The lemonade was a nice, fizzy thirst quencher.

We had mixed feelings about the club salad. The pork bacon gave it a lovely flavour but the rest was of it required a lot of dressing.

It is impossible to visit a pork ribs joint and leave without trying pork ribs. We went with a half slab spicy pork ribs and it was a-maaa-ziiiiing! Some parts were just literally falling off the bone and I thought the chilli flakes added the right amount of kick. Hubs on the other hand was gasping for water and said it'd be even nicer if they provided additional sauce at the side for those that like gravy with their ribs.

The chocolate lava cake was the highlight of the night. I'd heard a lot of good reviews about it but was skeptical, how good could this be? I gingerly sank my fork into the soft cake, dip the warm bits into the oozing chocolate sauce and dabbed some vanilla ice cream onto it before taking a bite. WOW! The very rich flavor of the cake went really well with the hot, chocolaty sauce and the coldness of the ice cream. This is something I'd definitely go back again for. Bubs and I were fighting each other for more of the cake.

Daiso Haul

Remember my FCUK stripey dress that I got from Asos? In a bid to prove to Hubs that it's an Investment Piece and not a one hit wonder, I am trying to find different ways to wear it.

I wore it this time as a top with a forest green asymmetrical skirt and magenta stripey heels. I played  mix and match with Bubs with his striped tee.

The beauty world is split into 2 groups: those that adore a bright red lipstick and those that loathe it. I am a passionate fan of red lippie. Remember the MAC Russian Red I got for free? It looks less intimidating and more casual when I used fingers to dab on the colour like a stain instead of using it straight from the stick.

There is something bewitching about Daiso. You walk in, meaning to just have a quick browse, pick up a few items and go "Wow, I didn't know I needed this" and marvel at how the Japanese are practically giving it away for just RM5. Before you know it, you leave the store clutching your bargains, wondering "how on earth did I end up getting all this?" 

Isn't this display full of Japanese Caramel Corn at Daiso enticing? Hubs had to pull me away from it.

I present you all the RM5 marvels of Daiso: vacuum seal bags to store old clothes, a battery-powered lint/pill remover and an iPod/iPhone USB charger. Of all the stuff we got, we were really skeptical of the charger but decided that for just RM5, it was worth a try. We'd to eat our words when we saw the iPod charging with this little beauty!

The vacuum seal bags were put to good use. I sorted out Bubs's old clothes that he'd outgrown. These brought back so many memories. Was he ever really that teeny tiny? The blue, red & white stripey onesie was from Aussie Godma and I thought the crab onesie was sooo cute as I picked it out.

The yellow duckie onesie was Bubs's first home coming outfit. The Grobag swaddle (absolute lifesaver, I'm now a convert!) was our one and only swaddle and each time we'd to wash it, we were terrified so Mum-in-Law made copies of it by just tracing the outline onto cloth and hemmed the edges. Furry Peter Rabbit blankey that was a gift from a colleague in Sydney. Sheep appliqued Dreambag that was put to months of good use after Bubs outgrew the swaddle.

I was a little scared the bag might burst or something when Hubs used the vacuum to compress it. I'd gotten more expensive bags that burst because we overstuffed them so I didn't had high hopes for a RM5 one. To our surprise, the bag did its job without (literally) bursting under pressure. All of Bubs's baby clothes are now kept flatly and neatly.

Cempedak and Tutti Fruitti

It's school holidays in Singapore which means that my nephew, Cempedak, is back in Penang. We've been calling him Cempedak ever since he was a baby because once he wouldn't crying and my Dad got so frustrated, he yelled "stop crying, you little cempedak!" and the name just stuck.

Bubs is slightly in awe of his much older cousin. He follows him around like a second shadow but doesn't dare approach him directly. When he thinks Cempedak isn't watching, Bubs would swiftly play with something that Cempedak has discarded. I found the hero worship to be amusing, LOL.

Hubs and I toyed again with the whole let's-try-being-parents-of-2 by bringing both boys out for frozen yogurt. This time it was much more manageable because Cempedak is 9 while Bubs is now close to 2. I guess the moral of the story is to have a larger age gap? Time will tell ;) It was Cempedak's first time at a frozen yogurt outlet and he went nuts there when he realized you could mix and match any flavour and play with the varieties of toppings!

Tutti Fruitti has the best chocolate frozen yogurt that tastes almost like real chocolate ice cream. You can tell which is my chocoholic choice, complete with Milo balls and a chocolate wafer. Cempedak's choice was such a typical kid's choice! Lychee with lots of colourful gummy bears and chocolate buttons. He was on a sugar buzz after all that candy ... sucks to be my Mum that has to make sure he's in bed at his usual bedtime that night ;)

Bubs was also bouncing off the walls with all the frozen yogurt. He popped on his sunnies that he found after rummaging through my bag, waved his hands and danced through the shop. Only a kid could get away with moves like Mick Jagger at 9pm in a public place :)

Kolo Mee at Carpenter Street in Penang

I've always heard friends raving about how good kolo mee from Sarawak is to the extent that they actually smuggle, yes, you read that correctly, smuggle it back on the plane. I was really excited when my team mates suggested we have kolo mee at Carpenter Street (the name of the restaurant in Penang, not to be confused with the actual Carpenter Street in Sarawak).

Teh C Peng (3 layered tea) originated from Sarawak, I think, so we ordered this. If you think about it, this is a very delicious way of learning about density - gula melaka (the heaviest) sank to the bottom, followed by the middle layer of condensed milk and the least dense of all was the tea. To be honest, the tea was a bit too watery for my liking but then again, I like my drinks to be kau so don't take my word for it.

Simon gave a thumbs up for his fried kolo mee which he requested an upsize from the normal portion.

Carpenter Street offers 3 varieties of kolo mee: original, char siew oil and dark soya sauce. My team mates told me it tastes even better with sambal so I requested a small dish of it. I eagerly took a bite ... Heyyyyy ... wait a moment, isn't this wan than mee? They were quick to assure me that it's totally different.

Shir had the Sarawak laksa and the garnishings are separate in this picture because she's a vegetarian. I knew that laksa found in everywhere except Penang has coconut milk but what I didn't expect was that it tasted (again, only to me) exactly like curry mee *blushes*

Foods and drinks are decently priced. I've heard from numerous sources that this is the to go restaurant whenever Sarawakians and Sabahans are home sick for Foo Chow food in Penang.

Goodies and Lunch at Italiannies

If I'm going to break my shopping ban, I might as well do it with in style ;) Met up with Glam Girl for a much needed girly window shopping which ended up becoming a splurge session.

If you need proof why I call her glamourous, look at this: lime green fitted tunic, white capris, gold strappy heels and a colourful beaded clutch.

Hubs said I looked like I rolled out of bed wearing pyjamas - he doesn't understand my current obsession for stripes ;)

Hubs was nice enough to take Bubs for a walk while Glam Girl and I started shopping  boosting the retail economy and chatted non stop about things. We then met up with Hubs and Bubs at Italiannies for a carb-ladden lunch. We were staggering from the amount and portions of the dishes there.

Complimentary herb and white bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. So simple yet sooo yummy.

The Sicilian Chicken salad was a winner! There were generous pieces of grapes and mango cubes tossed into the mixture and it was such a refreshing addition. We'd to dig out most of the mangoes for Bubs though who insisted on only eating them.

We never fail to order a pizza and pasta there - mainly because I'm boring that way and I love my comfort food, LOL. The peperoni pizza, meatballs spaghetti and Bubs's spaghetti bolognese was pretty good. I've had a few misses previously when they over salted the pasta sauce but this round's version was nicely done. I also like that the kids free meals are served in decent portions and doesn't taste like it came out from a box.

As for my shopping haul ...

I've a couple of wedding invitations so figured it'd be alright to spend on a pair of MAC false eyelashes. These look weird in the picture because I got the makeup artist to fit and trim them for me as the lashes are usually too long. Considering the fact I don't wear falsies a lot, I didn't want to get Duo eyelash glue (RM40) at MAC - my previous tube became all yucky from disuse. Sue (thank you, Hun!) told me that she was using Eye Putti (RM30) from Sasa so I got a bottle to try. Glam Girl and I were a little confused at first because the label on the box said it's for creating a double fold eyelid but Sue assured me that you could use it for falsies too.

Don't you just love Back 2 MAC? I traded 6 empties for Russian Red. Yes, I'm a bright red lippie kinda gal.

I lusted after the Dorothy Perkins border feather prom dress when I saw it on the website. The trouble with the tiny lil Dorothy Perkins store that we have in Penang is that they often don't have a lot of the stuff seen online so to say that I was thrilled to see it in store was an understatement. It doesn't help that Glam Girl was such an enabler(!!!) so I tried to justify to myself that at least I'll be able to wear this for my cousin J's wedding next weekend. 

The Alchemy mandarin shampoo was my belated birthday gift from Glam Girl *squeals with glee* I'm a huge fan of their shampoos and was upset when Sasa stopped carrying them so she got me a huge bottle when she was on holiday. Thanks for a great time together and my present, can't wait to see you the next time, Glam Girl! 

Asos Arrives and Marmite Spaghetti

We've been having a crapola of a week with one mishap after another (driving around without air con in 30 degrees Celsius weather in traffic jams because the car's air con went bust, Bubs's mouth injury, borrowing Dad's car because the car was at the workshop and then accidentally drowning his car's remote in the washing machine ... to say the least)

Sooooo ....... I was totally over the moon when my Asos order finally arrived in the mailbox *woots* It's a French Connection rosehip/unicorn (sounds so much better than plain ol' maroon and white, doesn't it? :p) stripey T-shirt dress on sale. 

Kids of the 70s and 80s would remember growing up with Bovril (for those that eat beef) and Marmite. Usually our parents would mix it into hot rice porridge for that extra flavour, so there's a certain comfort along with nostalgia that comes with that salty, yeasty dark coloured paste. 

I was intrigued by this Nigella recipe that promised quick and easy comfort food with only 4 basic ingredients: Marmite, butter, spaghetti and cheese.

Sorry Antipodeans, Vegemite costs more than double so I went with Marmite instead. Interesting fact: Marmite and Bovril are stocked at the nutrition supplement section of Tesco.

Marmite spaghetti in a nutshell:

1. Cook spaghetti in salted water
2. In a separate small pot, melt a small amount of butter
3.  Mix a teaspoon (or more!) Marmite into the melted butter
4. Add in a bit of the pasta water to the Marmite butter mixture
5. Drain spaghetti and toss everything together
6. Serve with grated cheese

The verdict? Me likeyyyyy ... incredibly fast and simple and ooooh so good!

Hubs refused to touch it ("I'm not a Marmite kinda guy") and Bubs cautiously took a mouth but found it far too salty.

I finished the whole portion happily. Mmm ... Marmite :)

Frenulum of lip

frenulum of lip - a median fold of mucous membrane connecting the inside of each lip to the corresponding gum.

And we learnt this new word because …?

Bubs and Hubs were roughhousing as usual. Bubs was asking for his “kee kee kok” (piggyback) and when Hubs dropped him onto the bed, Bubs started crying furiously, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Sad to say (and I feel incredibly guilty now), my first thought was that Bubs was being overly dramatic until we saw blood oozing out from his mouth. His face was all scrunched up and red from all the wailing and my heart sank.

I’d nightmares of his teeth being knocked back into his gums (which was what happened to my friend’s child previously) but all his teeth were fine and his gums weren’t bleeding. Where on earth was all the blood coming from? Hubs gingerly peeled back Bubs’s upper lip and I nearly fainted, not from the blood that was trickling out but from the little torn line that connects the lip to his gum.

Hubs consoled Bubs and I ran to get a wet cloth wrapped around ice cubes to staunch the bleeding and we were debating rushing to the ER. The bleeding was slowing down and Bubs was distracted by playing with my mobile phone. I kept telling Hubs doesn’t every body part play an important function and if that little line is torn, what if means that he’ll never speak again! We looked at Bubs who was now occupied scrolling through my phone.

Hubs: “Say banana”

Bubs: “Ah-na-na”

Hubs: ”Say strawberry”

Bubs: ”Ah-po-chi”

Hubs asked what was that little line called so we could at least call the hospital to check if it’s serious. I was stumped and typed in “little line in upper lip” into Google.

Thank you, Google! I didn’t dare look at all the pictures of torn lip frenulum  which was super gross and  asked Hubs to look at the pictures to make sure that it was the correct thing.

I called both the ER and an ENT surgeon to ask if a torn lip frenulum was anything serious and was told as long as the bleeding stopped, it would be fine and if we were still concerned, we could bring him in anyway.

Still unconvinced, we played Dr. Google and checked online. *blushes* It turns out that it’s really common in children, especially toddlers learning to walk and tripping and once the bleeding stops, it’s okay.

As for Bubs?

The next morning, I asked him, “where does it hurt?”

He looked puzzled, then pointed to the mossie bite on his leg.

All's well, ends well!