Week in Peek-tures

Roundup of the week in peek-tures :)

It was Dad's 72nd birthday, yay! We had a big bash at a restaurant so he was completely chuffed at being surrounded with family and friends. Bubs loved Dad's birthday cake - owl shaped fondant cupcakes and couldn't stop nom-ing on them.

We went for Hub's favourite duck noodles in town and passed by this lemon yellow wall complete with a Reggie Lee steel artwork of how Rope Walk got its name.

Late to the game but we just discovered Osmanthus's Hong Kong Desserts Ramen Congee House at New Lane, just opposite the Sunway Hotel. It serves old school desserts like tang yuen, peanut cream and expanded its menu to include light meals like congee. A bit on the pricey side but the place is clean and parking is convenient. My 2 sillies are taking photos of the jelly with their invisible cameras ;) And Bub's Eiffel Tower car key is next to him.

Bedtime stories with Bubs is the best part for me to unwind, especially after a particularly grueling day. At times like this, wish that he'd stay small forever just so we can continue this routine. Catherine Rayner's Augustus and His Smile was a really good RM10 find at the Big Bad Wolf sale and I love the gorgeous illustrations with its bold ink work, vivid colours and a timeless tale about happiness.

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

Bubs is enamoured by the animated movie Frozen and sings along each time the radio plays Let It Go so this post came in handy at the right time. I've just discovered Tesco brand shaving foam (RM4) and we've been playing so much in the shower so he was thrilled to be painting with it.

You'll need:
Shaving foam
White glue
Glitter (optional)
Bits & bobs for decoration - I used red beans, some glittery cut outs, twigs
Coloured paper - thicker ones work best because the paint can be quite damp

I played Do You Want to Build a Snowman on Youtube for Bubs to watch as I mixed equal amounts of shaving foam and white glue together followed by a sprinkle of glitter. Okay - I'd never watched Frozen before and I thought it would be a happy song - I'd no idea it'd be that sad!

Bubs requested me to sketch the outline of a snowman on the black construction paper so he could paint within the lines. He surprised me by doing a surprisingly good job of keeping within the lines. However, the puffy paint mixture is not the easiest medium to work with and was very streaky. The paint was uneven, plus Bubs kept rubbing hard at the empty spaces with the brush that I was a little worried he might rip a hole into the paper and have a meltdown.

I helped him coat the paint on some spots so he could stick the embellishments on his snowman. I'd some Christmas-y sparkles leftover from last Xmas so he picked out some silver snowflakes, glittery triangles, mini red pom poms and really enjoyed himself decorating it.

 

Since we had enough puffy paint leftover, this time around, I helped him paint the snowman evenly which really helped when he started sticking the embellishments on. He had so much fun! Do you want to build a snowman? ;)

KL Eats

Whilst in KL, Fairy Godma gave me a looong list of dining options and I chose the one with the cutest name: Fat Spoon without knowing much about it ;) Fairy Godma and her friend were super kind enough to come pick us up for dinner.

 

Fairy Godma knows me well enough to pick a place that has a lot of cool photographic opportunities. Fat Spoon is a small, Nonya fusion eatery tucked within rows of shop houses. The whole place was just screaming "snap me!" and I happily obliged while Fairy Godma kept Bubs entertained ;)

Remember those old Singer sewing machines that Grandma used to sew on? The crafty owners turned this one into a table.

From where we were seated, I looked up and saw an array of old school kitchen accessories tied (very firmly, I hope) to a ladder which then dangled down from the ceiling.

Literally squeezing in one more shot with Fairy Godma before food is served. 

The ulam angel hair pasta and lemongrass tea were the first to be served. I'm a huge fan of nasi ulam so I was interested to see how Fat Spoon's fusion version with angel hair pasta would fare. The herbs were very fresh and the pasta added a depth to this dish as compared to the traditional bee hoon. It was a pretty huge plate and I was unable to finish this.

Hubs had the loh shee fun (claypot noodles) and Fairy Godma had the tamarind prawn pasta. As Hubs was sharing his noodles with Bubs, we requested the egg to be fully cooked but it was still served semi raw so we had to remove it to avoid Bubs from getting a bellyache. Bubs eyed the thick, dark hue of the noodles suspiciously and asked what were there? I told him those were mice tails ;) When he still looked doubtful, I started singing Three Blind Mice for him, LOL.

Fairy Godma's friend had the perut ikan rice which she kept trying to convince me to try  but I was adamant that nothing would come close to my Mum's perut ikan so I skipped it. My lychee blast is in the background and this is a must order. I loved how it was tinged with the rose sweet scent of lychees, cold and frosty and I couldn't stop sipping on it.

Having heard so many good things about the Last Polka's ice cream, I was really excited to finally be able to try it at Fat Spoon. People, the hype is true - run, don't walk. The salted gula melaka ice cream was a delight on the palate; smooth and unadulterated - Fairy Godma had to lure Bubs away so Hubs and I could fight each other for every single bite of this.

Another plus point - the bill was presented in a hard cover old school book ;) 

Fairy Godma decided that as the night was still young, she had to bring us to another dessert spot and I'm so glad she did. The Humble Pie Co. is a relatively new cafe specialising in all things sweet and by the thing we reached, it was packed full of people.

The shelf chockful of enticing desserts beckoned us not to leave without trying one ... or two ... or heck, the more the merrier :D Their signature dish is the banoffee (banana toffee) pie but they had something even better that night - the duffee (yes, you read that right - durian toffee) pie.

Our delectable choices for the night: the duffee, the cheesecake and the chocolate mousse. The duffee was easily the best with its strong, durian taste complemented by the buttery, crumbly base. Just looking at the photo is making me long for it again. Fairy Godma, hint, hint please? The cheesecake is perfect for people that love the velvety soft texture of the cake without the biscuit base. Simplicity at its best, no? For a tiny little teacup, the chocolate mousse was superbly rich and very satisfying.

The Humble Pie Co

11, Jalan 17/45, Section 17, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Tel: 03-7932-1793

Stars

My father-in-law's funeral was on Father's Day.

As we lined up in front of the coffin to pay our last respects to him, there were tears in our eyes over how cruel sometimes Fate can be. I felt especially guilty that he happily called us while we were in KL to say that he bought durians for his beloved Bubs - before we could go collect them, Bub's Gong Gong passed away from a sudden heart attack.

Bubs doesn't understand much about what happened, he knows that "Gong Gong died, he's in heaven with God". It seems ironic that Bub's Gong Gong was the one that taught him how to say "see you tomorrow!" when he was learning how to talk and now, Bubs won't be able to say it to him.

I told Bubs a bedtime story.

Once upon a time, there was a Gong Gong and a little boy. The Gong Gong loved his grandson very much and would often buy him treats. Everyday, the little boy would say "see you tomorrow!" and the Gong Gong will prepare his favourite buns and fruits for him the next day. 

One day, the Gong Gong's heart stopped working, simply because he cared and loved too much all his life and his heart had was too full. The little boy was devastated because he couldn't see and play with his Gong Gong again. When he was sobbing with his head on the pillow that night, he heard a voice, telling him to go look out the window. When the little boy drew open the curtains, he saw stars lighting up the dark, velvet sky and among them, was one that twinkled especially bright for him. 

KL Part I

We headed down to KL during the recent long weekend and I was so looking forward to a long awaited catch up with friends and their children. Unfortunately Hubs caught a cold ... then he generously spread it to poor Bubs who promptly ran up a fever (thank goodness for that small bottle of paracetamol we brought along) and by the end of the trip when both of them were nearly recovered, it was my turn to fall ill. I felt so crummy, I even turned down a last minute shopping trip :( That was how tired we were all feeling!

We ended up having to cancel most of our meet ups but managed to squeeze in Fairy Godma who was intent on seeing Bubs, come bugs or high water. We rested in the hotel most of the time and went out for a few quick meals and mini trips.

Bubs went "ohhhhh" and a look of sheet delight lit up his face when he spotted Optimus Prime and Bumblebee at Mid Valley Mall. I was awestruck at how huge they were and when Hubs reminded me that the ones in the movie were even larger, I shuddered a little, wondering what would happen if they suddenly came to life and destroyed everything within sight ... hokayyy, time for me to take my meds again!

I was excited to find this freshly pressed pomegranate juice stand at Cold Storage and though I choked at the price tag of RM18, I figured we could all need the extra vitamin C considering we were all feeling so blah. It was an eye opener - incredibly tart with a slight tinge of bitterness but very invigorating. Hubs refused to even take a sip as he swore he could sniff the astringent scent from far away but I wheedled Bubs into taking a gulp.

After hearing about how good Ipuddo Ramen is and how Penangites are eagerly awaiting the opening of its first outlet in Penang, we decided to give it a go at the Gardens outlet.

The first to arrive was the braised pork belly in a steamed bun (RM7). I initially dismissed it as a char siew pao wannabe but had to literally eat my words - the soft, pieces of pork were tender, well marinated and was a delight with the soft, fluffy bun. 

The ramens come in 3 choices of broths: original Tonkotsu, special miso blend and spicy Karaka miso. Hubs opted for the classic white Tonkotsu and I opted for the miso blend with garlic oil. You are further allowed to customise how well you soft the noodles cooked: soft normal, hard and very hard. Add ons are available in the form of poached eggs, extra pork belly, seaweed  and a wide range.

Hubs commented that the original broth (RM26) was slightly bland though Bubs and I enjoyed the Akamaru Shinaji broth. You can customise the taste with the assortment of spice shakers provided at the table: sesame seeds, pepper and chilli flakes. Bubs was happily nom-ing on a piece of seaweed and insisted that he could help me grind the white sesame seeds at the same time - this kid is going to be a multi tasker in life! 

We added on another bowl of sake mentai rice - grilled minced salmon and cod roe with rice (RM11) and this is the ultimate comfort food: it was rich, gooey and was very filling after a few bites.

Fairy Godma provided us with Groupon tickets so we went to KLCC Aquaria on a public holida: BIG mistake. It was so crowded and packed, everyone was jostling for space :( Plus since friends warned me about what a long walk the convention centre was from the shopping mall where we parked, we brought along our Ergo carrier. I was so paranoid about losing Bubs in the crowd so the Ergo came in very handy as I could always feel him strapped securely to my back. Not to mention, with Bubs now at 16kg, carting him around for 2 hours helped me burned off calories so I could feel less guilty about nom-ing more ;)

The touch and feel pool was hands down - pun intended - my favourite part of the aquarium. You could reach into the waters and gently touch the marine life as long as you don't lift them out from the water, though Bubs refused to put his hand into the water. I felt really squeamish when I touched the sea cucumber, it was jelly soft and I quickly let go.

The travelator inside the sea tunnel was the highlight - except Bubs saw this humongous shark with 3, yes, count them, rows of sharp teeth swimming above us and started freaking out. We'd to show him that we were safely protected by a glass cage (I'd to quell paranoid thoughts about what to do if the glass broke) before he calmed down. Even then, he was holding on really tight to us. I guess it's a good thing he couldn't read yet, the sign stated that the creatures inside are actually 30% bigger than what they appear to be ;)

We were lucky enough to spot 2 divers inside: one was feeding the fishes with a bucket of, well, chopped up fishes, and the other was carrying out maintenance work. Bubs was staring at them in fascination and at that point, I realised the 30% smaller scale was real because the divers did look tiny inside the tank.

If you asked Bubs what was the best bit about KL, I think he's still a little dazed by the fact that he met one of his favourite superheroes: Batman at Pavillion mall. We didn't even realise there was a meet and greet session with Batman, he just appeared out of nowhere, walked up to Bubs (who was wearing his Superman tee) and patted his shoulder. The look on Bub's face was priceless! His eyes went as wide as saucers and he kept staring at Batman in disbelief. To whoever it was in the Batman suit that day, thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts for making a little boy very happy :)

After all the calories I burned, it was time to reward myself with a little treat from Delectable. They have a cafe at the Gardens so it was a nice treat to just kick back and smell the (yellow) roses while enjoying a tiny treat.

Spot Bubs

Hubs went into the bedroom one evening and momentarily panicked because he was 100% sure that Bubs was in the bedroom but he couldn't find him. "Bubs, where are you?" he called out, looking around.

Then he heard a little giggle and out of the corner of his eye, spotted a tiny movement.

Can you spot where the cheeky monekey is hidding ? ;) Talk about camouflage! He was so chuffed he managed to fool his daddy for a while.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's the most wonderful time of the year ... where roadside stalls are set up with rows and rows of spiky fruits and the wonderful aroma wafting around in the air. When discussions go on and on about the best varieties, the prices and location. And how Hubs would sigh each time I let out a very content *burrrrrp*.

In case you haven't guessed it already, I'm a HUGE durian fan :D So I was squealing with joy when my team arranged a trip to a durian orchard at Balik Pulau.

This is the owner's house at Balik Pulau - it's the traditional kind of structure that is made entirely from wood and is so bright and airy.

They also have a mini farm with hen houses, geese, some kind of fish in a murky pond and I was walking about, enthusiastically taking photos ... until I saw a Mr. Long dangling from a tree. Crikey! The owners were so nonchalant about it so I quietly went back to the porch and refused to move close to any shrubbery after that.

Lunch is served; I think we had cheh pui (green skin), hor loh (gourd) and susu (milk). The owner gave us complimentary glasses of chilled nutmeg juice and they were a nice accompaniment to the bitter sweet creaminess of the durians. We sat for a while in silence, savouring the delicious, pungent taste, the fresh air, the sun shining down: it was such a blissful moment.

The durians were really fresh plus a lot cheaper than the prices in town so we ended up carting sacks of them back home. Can't wait for the next team building!

Salt, Ice and Art

Following on the success of our salt, ice and string activity, we added an element of art to it.

You'll need:
Salt
A dropper
A block of ice (I froze mine in a bowl overnight)
Water colours (I used diluted food colouring)
Tray (optional, to contain the mess)

We started out with our supplies gathered. Bubs then sprinkled some salt over the ice block.

Sprinkling more to melt the ice.

When there are enough cracks in the ice, he experimented with using an eye dropped to drip colours over them.

The effect was surprisingly pretty and reminded me of tiny rivulets trickling down.

I made him stop for a while to take a photo of this "ice crater". We talked about arctic animals, how we imagined they'd live in the cold.

He ended this little arty experiment by dumping all of the colours on top on the ice and revelled in splashing the icy water around. Thank goodness for the tray ;)

Frock Love

A round up of all the frocks I've been lovin' for the past couple of weeks. Yes, this is another shameless declaration of my love for Dorothy Perkins.

The neoprene pencil dress reminds me of Clover Canyon's style though in a more affordable version plus conservative print of pink blooms on a dove grey background.

The box pleat dress is fast becoming one of my daily staples as an alternative to coloured jeans. The fit and flare cut is flattering plus it doesn't constrict my movements - essential when you've to run behind a lightning quick Bubs. I like how Chinese porcelain-like this blue paisley pattern is.

And in this navy floral print on loan by my cousin Jean. I loved the dress on her but by the time the store had a 20% discount, the dress was sold out so she loaned this to me. Yay for generous cousins!