Someone Just Turned 2

Bubs turned 2 over the weekend and it seems that all those sleepless nights, midnight nappy changes, first solids have whizzed past so fast! Was it really 2 whole years ago that squirmy, red-face wailing bundle of joy entered our lives and is now a whirling tornado of non stop movement?

 He received his first card from my Mum in Singapore. Have you ever seen that many stamps on an envelope?!

We had one birthday bash at Chicago Ribs during lunch with the in-laws filled with Good Company (essential for any bash) platefuls of juicy pork ribs and cake. That's Bubs' Great Grandma - he's been learning bits of Teochew and Hokkien from her.

The moment Bubs has been most looking forward to: Cake! He has been talking non stop about his "chock-late cake". We had a 3 layered white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate whooper of a cake that pretty much left everyone in a sugar comatose.

Which kid doesn't love tearing open wrapping paper for pressies? ;) Insanely cute Chipmunk backpack from Siew that Bubs was trying to rip the Chipmunk out for a cuddle. Sis In Law gave a classic doodle board that Bubs has been having a lot of fun with, Hubs can't believe how something so old school can still be such a hit with the touchscreen generation. Fairy Godma knows that anything Sesame Street related will get Bubs instant seal of approval!

Onward to the 2nd bash with my Dad and Baby Brother at TGIF. Having 2 separate birthday celebrations meant dressing up twice ;) Wearing my new Dorothy Perkins blush/ink bonded lace dress.

And to Bubs astonishment, he got another cake after dinner, well brownies + ice cream to be exact but for someone that doesn't get much sweet treats on a regular basis, this was like all kinds of dreams come true.

Happy birthday, Bubs!

Red Bean, Green Bean, One Bean, Two Beans

I've always wanted to create my own sensory bin for Bubs after seeing so many nice ones around but wasn't too keen on the mess that would be left - think grains of rice/pasta/beans all over the living room, not to mention the sacrilege to an Asian (aiya, what a waste of food!)

I decided to start out small and in a contained space since Bubs is developing his motor skills.

Voila! The tiny inflatable pool that we got from Toys R Us was perfect for this purpose.

I filled a bowl with a combination of red and green beans (adzuki and mung beans if you want to get all technical). I put smaller bowls, plates, spoons and Bubs, of course, all together in the inflatable pool with strict instructions that the beans were to stay inside the pool.

He had so much fun! He was running his hands through the beans, grabbing fistfuls of beans, transferring them from one bowl to another.

He used spoons, smaller bowls to scoop them up and even fed some to Cookie Monster ;) At the end of the session, none of the beans were left inside any bowls at all!

We'd a tough time trying to convince him to stop playing so we could clean up the pool. After all that, we didn't waste a single bean as we washed them (thoroughly!) and cooked them into red/green bean soup for dessert that day.

Shattered Lenses, Elmo Cookies and World Breastfeeding Week

Sometimes I think I'm just a few steps away from becoming like my parents. You know when you were a kid, you'd snicker at them looking around for their glasses everywhere when it was just right in front of them?

Last night I turned the lights off ready for bed, recalling that I was looking for something but couldn't quite remember what it was ... until I heard the snapping and crunching of that something. With a sinking feeling, I turned on the lights and found what I was looking for.

My glasses :( I completely shattered the right lens though thankfully the frame is still intact.

So while waiting for the lens to be replaced and not wanting to wear contacts at home, I'm squinting at the laptop screen. I've heard that Monet painted the way he did because of his failing eyesight. I think, however, my manager would be less than impressed if I were to submit a report full of wonky Excel numbers in for him to review.

Look what I found at Cold Storage! Elmo crackers (though Bubs calls them cooookies) - they were a huge hit with him and he was so pleased at going "elmooo" "big birdddd" whenever he ate one. They had a few other varieties of Sesame Street snacks so I might stop by and get some for him.

The Adventist Hospital is a strong advocate of breastfeeding and they have the nicest lactation consultants. 2 years ago, Hubs and I were at our wits end - we'd just brought Bubs back and even though he was latching on directly, he wasn't pooping and we weren't sure if he was even getting any milk down at all. We drove to the Adventist Hospital and even though we weren't patients there, the lactation consultant was amazing. She guided us patiently, listened to all our worries even though I was a basket case at that point and gave lots of useful tips.

So when they organised the annual World Breastfeeding Week recently, Hubs, Bubs and I were more than happy to show up to extend our support. There were so many families with young children and also stalls dedicated to babywearing, breast pumps, breastfeeding peer groups. I totally loved the buzz there!

Penang Favourites: Balik Pulau Laksa and 888 Hokkien Mee

You can take the girl out from Penang but you can never take Penang out from the girl ;) I LOVE Penang food with all my heart and nothing comes close to my personal favourites: assam laksa and Hokkien mee.

Let me get this straight - there is only one type of Penang Hokkien mee: rice noodles and egg noodles topped with meat garnishing, a boiled egg, bean sprouts and kangkung served in a prawn soup base. None of that stir fried noodles and just because the noodle is yellow, it doesn't automatically make that dish Hokkien noodles.

One of the best Hokkien mee in Penang is the 888 Hokkien Mee at Presgrave Street or better known as Sah Tiau Lor (3rd Road). It has been so popular that they opened a second franchise at Bayan Baru, opposite Sunshine Square.

Business is brisk even though finding parking there is a complete nightmare, especially during rush hour traffic. They start selling from 5.30pm until midnight, making it a popular haunt for late nighters looking for a hot, steaming bowl of noodles and are closed on Thursdays.

The soup is fantabulous! Sweet and rich with a heavy prawn-pork base, you can opt to top up with extras such as fish balls, siew bak and even pork ribs for a more filling meal.

The Balik Pulau assam laksa is a hidden gem tucked away in a little, nondescript coffee shop. Look closer a little and you'll notice all the tables are full of customers eating with great gusto bowlfuls of the delicious noodles.

For a laksa fan like me, this has to be the holy grail of laksas! Again, when I say assam laksa, I mean rice noodles soaked in a strong, tamarind-spiked fish soup garnished with fresh pineapple, cucumber, onions, lettuce, mint and banana flowers.

What makes this stall extra special is that in addition to assam laksa, it also offers the lesser known siam laksa which is creamier with coconut milk added. It is sweeter and milder. Since I couldn't decide between the two equally yummy choices, I just saved the hassle by eating two bowls ;)

Happy Merdeka!

Happy National Day to everyone! Has everyone been enjoying this long weekend?

To avoid the dreaded day-before-long-weekend traffic jams, our boss let us go back earlier to work from home. In between juggling reports and replying mails since Hubs was at MIL's place with Bubs, I whipped up this garlic thyme roast chicken.

It looks a lot more complicated than it actually is. Because I like to Live Dangerously, butter was used. Liberally.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, stuff garlic, butter and fresh thyme under the skin. Sprinkle more garlic, thyme over the chicken and for more artery clogging goodness, add butter over the chicken. Trust me on this one.

And because I didn't want to blog up Bub's baby arteries, for the sweet potato coins, I used olive oil Sweet potato is my latest obsession and easy as chips (pun intended) to prepare. I peel them and slice then as thinly as I can get them to be. At first I tried using a veggie peeler to slice them but got fed up so went back to hacking them with a knife.

Pop them into the oven while I get back to more work.

After a while, the whole place smelt heavenly and just when Hubs and Bubs got back, I smugly served them this. To quote a certain furry red monster, ta-daaaa!

I did my duty to boost the retail economy by getting this pair of shoes. Being on a Strict Budget, I contemplated over them for a few days, decided that these were a Necessity and promptly bought them.

Did anyone in Penang go to the Big Bad Wolf book sale at Times Square? There were books galore and surprisingly, not as crowded as I expected it to be, or maybe we were just early. Spotted many childrens' classics (Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, anyone?), whole collections of Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, popular fiction like Lisa See and Sophie Kinsella to cookbooks by Gordon Ramsey and Nigella Lawson, it was all an eclectic mix.

I ended up lugging back these. I am crazy over picture books and keep telling Hubs that these are for Bubs but I'm usually the one curled up in bed, reading them and oooh-ing and ahhh-ing over the illustrations. Of all the bargains I got, I was the proudest of the Wonderful World of Dr. Seuss collection, marked down from RM500 to RM199 with an additional 10% off for members, score! I didn't grow up with Dr. Seuss but look forward to introducing these to Bubs when he's a little bigger.

Last day for the Big Bad Wolf book sale is tomorrow - opens from 10am to 10pm at Times Square Penang. Be prepared for lotsa bargains ;)