The Ultraman Party

I was trying to explain what Ultraman is to an Australian and he was confused. I think I didn't do a good job because I totally didn't get the idea of Ultraman as a child - I was more into Jem, She-Ra and good ol' Barbie ;) My Baby Brother, on the other hand, was bonkers about Ultraman when he was growing up and would watch the tapes over and over again.

Nat, my friend Kelly's 3 year old, absolutely loves Ultraman and gets his dad to tells him Ultraman stories. For his birthday, his parents threw him an Ultraman themed party!

Every little boy's dream come true - Ultraman cupcakes AND goodie bags. Can I tell you how good the frosting on the cupcakes were? Not that I ate the entire frosting, which would be realllllly sugary and terrible for me, right? *shifty eyes*

Will you just take a look at how insanely cute the baby Ultraman cake is?

If you need further proof, look at all the kids were crowding around it, taking sneak peeks and trying to get as close as possible to it without the grownups warning them about smudging the cream frosting.

The big kids brought along their big toys to play with. Hi Hubs!

Balloons and little kids are always a win-win situation. The helium filled balloons kept getting stuck in the air vents and I was tired of having to jump to pull it down for Bubs so I just tied the string around his belt loop. He was so annoyed by it and kept trying to pull it off him but my knot was pretty tight so he went around everywhere with a balloon floating on top of him ;)

The birthday boy cutting his cake. All the kids were having so much fun with the balloons, each other and hyped up on sugar. Me thinks if you could harness all their energy, you would probably be able to power up a generator for a small town.

Happy Birthday Nathan! Thanks so much for having us and Bubs definitely had the time of his life there.

A Mid Week Dinner Date

Usually the first thing I want to do after work on week days is to head home and just chill. I realised that I was getting stuck in a rut and what we needed was a mid week dinner date! Even though technically Bub would be tagging along with us on our date but given that he's a pretty easy going companion and shows enthusiasm over everything ("Bus! *claps* "Stairs!" *more clapping*), it would still be a fun date ;)

The idea was for us to go to Mum-In-law's place, pick up Bubs and have dinner at a place where the food is toddler friendly and passes my neurotic health freak mummy standards.

It was pouring cats, dogs, wombats and other creatures by the time we left the office. The rain was so heavy with gusts of strong wind that our umbrella was useless. 

Which was probably the wrong day to wear a white cotton skirt with china blue print. When we were walking across the car park against the pelting rain, I took a look down at my skirt and holy cripes! The whole thing was not only just soaked through, it was transparent. I couldn't wait to get into the car.

As usual, whenever there is a storm in Penang, all the roads become congested and Hubs gets all grumpy. It took us a while before we got to O'Briens which has just opened opposite Queensbay. I love a good sandwich and was previously raving about O'Briens when we were in KL so I was ecstatic when they finally opened a branch here.

 The gourmet sandwiches aren't exactly cheap (around RM15 for a plate) but there are a myriad of fresh ingredients ranging from varieties of cheese, pesto, sun dried tomatoes and even ciabatta bread. I think the foodie in me was in gourmet heaven trying to narrow down a choice.

We had the swiss tuna melt, sun dried tomatoes ciabatta and a Peach Blush smoothie (RM12). In case you're wondering, those are Bubs's fingers as he grabbed the potato crisps and stuffed them into his mouth before I shouted a horrified nooooo. We ended up eating the rest of the crisps to stop him from pinching any more.

The sandwiches were really good and since we'd to share them with a picky toddler that decided he didn't like them at first, only to demand "more!" when they were all gone, we ordered more ;) I think the manager was surprised with our ginormous appetites when he asked us if we wanted to takeaway the additional sandwiches and we said no thanks.

The club sandwich and chicken cheddar shambo (the bread is supposed to be in the shape of an Irish shamrock) were delish though Bubs made sure his sandwich was lettuce free.

For their opening launch in Penang, a few of their popular sandwiches are priced at RM10 for a limited period of time. Hubs was shaking his head, astounded that we spent RM52 on just sandwiches but they were pretty yummy. Free wifi is available :)

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 ;)