Bento #70 Maruko Sandwich Bento

Maruko is the main character of Japanese anime Chibi Maruko-chan.  She is lazy, disorganized and usually late for school. I love to watch this anime when I was young and it always make me laugh, looking at the way she talks which is so funny and cute. I used to be a avid manga fan before I had Jayden, my collection of manga (aka comics) do give people a shock when they enter my study room. (laughing) And actually I do still read abit of manga now when I am free. ^^

Swim Lesson Update: Its all about jumping and leaping!!!

There’s certainly a lot of jumping involve in today lesson! I quite like these 2 shots of the boys leaping into the water. ^^

Bento #69 Toot Toot Car

It was a last minute decision to make this Bento. Initially we had wanted to go to the airport to fetch Daddy, but the sudden heavy downpour make us change our plan. Again this is just a simple Bento which I just used the car bread maker mould to prepare the sandwich.

Ngee Fou Restaurant (Hakka) Ampang Yong Tou Fou

Ngee Fou Ampang Yong Tau Foo is a family-run business. From what I remembered, this place has been around for a very long time. The first time when I dine here was even before I know my hubby which was more than 20 years ago! It’s location is definitely ulu, but it’s name has surely spread, whenever I was there, it is normally packed with makan-er. But sad to say, I have not visited this place for so many years, I really miss the Yong Tau Foo here. By the way, there is is another shop further down the row in green signboard which also reads Ampang Yong Tau Foo, but I’m not sure which is better. But we decided on Ngee Fou instead of the other shop is because we had dine here countless of time and it had never disappoint me and what’s more, there seems to be much more people dinning here. ^^ But do take note that  because parking is so limited there, it's best to hit there before the peak dining hour, if not you would have a big headache trying to find a parking space.

Cook Joy Maruko Chan (aka 樱桃小丸子) Sand Bread Maker

I would just love to share this new toy of mine here. I know that to many this is considered a children toy (even my hubby think so), he was seriously looking at me and asking me is this for myself or the kids? (laughing) Frankly, I think that this “toy” is not only cool and it actually works. It is a great product for me and my boys to have fun with! ^^

Homemade Lunchie 26 July 2013

Mostly I prepared easy and simple meal for our lunch. For our lunchie today, it’s a one meal dish – Stewed Pork with mushroom, white carrots & Quail Eggs. It was a simple yet yummy dish! 

Bento #68 Mr Crabbie

Feeling lazy today, I decided to make a really super fast bento which takes me only about 15 minutes.

Chinese Home Learning

When it comes to Chinese Home Learning, I did not specifically want little boy to memorise how to write the stroke of the Chinese characters. But I did bought some book for him to practice writing though. I think his Kindy teacher did a pretty good job in this area, whenever I told him to do his writing practices, he would told me he knows how to write and added that his teacher had taught him.

What’s for Dinner? 24 July 2013

Today Dinner consists of fried egg with fishball, Chicken & Tea mushroom soup, pan fried black pomfret and Stir-Fry Potatoes with carrot & Minced pork. Seems a tad too much for just the 3 of us! (oops)

Bento #67 Echo Echo

My boys used to be a huge fan of Ben 10 Alien force, actually they still do now, especially little boy. On and off during his free time, he would dig out his old Ben 10 toys to play. Among all the Alien Characters, my little boy likes Echo Echo the most. Thus I decided to make one Echo Echo Bento for him. It wasn’t too difficult to make, except for the seaweed cutting which takes up more time.

What’s for Dinner? 23 July 2013

Dinner for tonight consists of Stir Fry Nai Bai, Honey Baked Chicken Wings, Steamed Egg and Happy Call Grilled Salmon.

Bento #66 Funny Bunny

Does LINE Bubble sounds familiar? It’s actually a Shooting Puzzle Game that I really enjoy playing on my phone!!!! Even my boys play togather with me sometimes. (laughing) Whenever they heard the bunny screaming “Pinaaaaaa”, they will come running to me, that’s because they know I am playing this game, they love to see me play, not that I am specially very good in this game but just that I am a little tad better in playing compare to them. (^0^)

Just look at the below picture of the characters in the game, aren't they CUTE! If you lose the game, all of them will CRY!!!! (AHAHAHA)

Well back to the Bento; Today Bento consists of peanut butter bread for the face; ham sandwich for the ears; I also make a ham flower and lastly apple cubes for snack. Javier love ham, thus he wanted me to include a lot of ham in the Bento. ^^

My little boy is sick.

Little boy is down with fever on Sunday night. Actually he was already not feeling well when he went for his swimming lesson. But careless me did not realize it until we came back from our dinner that night. Luckily his fever was not very high, as D is away for his business trip, and having to lug 2 boys to the clinic late at night is quite a challenge when I can’t drive (sob), and most of the clinic is close on Sunday! So after taking his fever medicine, little boy says he wants to sleep already.

I am glad to see that he is much better the next day, but I decided to let him rest at home for one day although his fever has already gone down. Of course, he was super duper happy to stay at home with me! 

I cook a simple porridge lunch for him since his appetite wasn’t too good and I thought something light would be easier for him to stomach.

Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffé

Saizeriya is a Japanese chain of casual, low-priced Italian Restaurants. We decided to give this place a try after reading some good comments about this place. Actually previously in Guangzhou, I had wanted to try out Saizeriya, but there were just too many food choices there and in the end I gave this place a miss. Another reason for me deciding to pop by here is that Jayden loves Pizza, he is actually a big fan of Pizza Hut,  so I reckon he would be very interested to dine here too.

What’s for Dinner 19 July 2013?

Our dinner for tonight consists of stewed Pork Ribs (if you are unable to figure out which one it is, it’s the plate of charcoal at the top left, fried ikan kuning, Stir-fry french beans with carrots and scramble egg (again???).

Happy Racial Harmony Day!!! (^0^)

In conjunction to Racial Harmony Day today, I make a HRD related Bento for little boy. As usual, he is always happy and looking forward to the Bento that I prepared for him.

It was a simple Bento, which I got the idea from here. but as I have mentioned earlier, I hate decorating with seaweed as my seaweed cutting skill sucks. (oops) but other than that, it was a pretty easy one.

The Burnt Toast

This is written by Jayden for his individual writing in class few days ago. I am glad to see that he is getting better in his writing, at least the flow of the story is linked now. And his handwriting has improved a lot!!!!

Bento #64 Three Little Pigs

Took a break on Wednesday as I went for my checkup, Bento making resume today! Little boy had wanted me to make the Minion Bento again, but I was feeling a tad tired as the Minion required more seaweed decoration and more cutting which I am really lousy at. So I decided to make these piggies instead, it was so much simpler.

6th month into my pregnancy

This week officially marks my sixth month of pregnancy. I guess my protruding tummy is beginning to make its appearance. Just last month, anyone who saw me never suspect that I was preggy and many just assumed that I had put on weight. Oh by the way, I have gain a whopping 8kg up to this stage (sob sob). But these 2 weeks, I have had many friends who saw me quite surprised to know that I am pregnant. Often when people see me, I can often hear these two comments: "Your tummy is so big!" or "Your tummy is so small!" I really don’t know how to answer, as it all depends on what type of clothes that I am wearing, so I will just smile and say nothing. (^-^)

My Fried Rice

This is my homemade fried rice which my boys love a lot. Actually fried rice is easy to cook, but just a few tips to keep in mind.

Tip 1: Use previously chilled leftover rice
To get the perfect fried rice, it is better to use yesterday left over rice as it is less starchy because it has dry out a bit in the refrigerator. Sometimes if I do not have any leftover rice, I will cook the rice and let it cool down for around 1 hour before I fried it.  The heat of the pan and the seasoning like soy sauce will re-steam leftover rice. Using freshly cooked, hot rice, the end results will be too much moisture in the rice and the fried rice will be sticky and lumpy.

Let’s Bake

“Let’s bake” activity is a yearly event in Jayden’s school. I still remember he baked moon cake last year and brought back his first ever self made goodies for us to eat. He was really looking forward to this activity and kept telling us what he is going to bake today. He came back Today looking so proud and full of satisfaction as he brought back these choco cornflakes that he bake in school for us to try. It really taste wonderful and I told him so, he was so happy to hear that we love the snack he had made.

Homecooked dinner 16 July 2013

What’s for our dinner? ^^

We had Stir-fry Kang Kong, Carrot & Corn Soup with fishball, Scramble egg with cai po, Pan fried fish and Stir-fry Chicken with Ginger and Scallion.

Bento #63 Despicable Me 2 Minions

The craze for these cute little Minions is all over Singapore now, my boys were no exceptional! Ever since we watch the Despicable Me 2 last Sunday, my boys are going crazy over them. But frankly, I enjoyed the show so much too, that I was laughing so loudly in the cinema along with my boys. Since then we would search it on YouTube and watch their trailer or songs and laugh ourselves silly over it again.

My little boy bug me everyday to do a Minion Bento for him, but I was a tad lazy and decided to postpone as long as my boy would let me. But seeing his sad face yesterday when he saw the Bento wasn’t a Minion one, I promised myself I would try my very best to make one for him today. I was a happy mummy when I saw how his face lit up when he saw the Bento today and he even told me to make one for him again tomorrow.

Homecooked Dinner 15 July 2013

Our homecooked dinner for tonight. Nothing fanciful and its simple to prepare. Frankly I am a not a really good cook who can whipped up fantastic dishes. But I am glad that D and the boys likes my cooking especially D who is totally not fussy when it comes to food. He is those type I cooked what he eats what!!!! ^^

Bento #62 I Love U

A mother’s Love for the her kids is never ending, my bond with JJ just gets stronger as the days goes by. My life is already filled with them and I really cannot imagine life without them anymore.

My little sweet boy sure how knows how to remind me of his Love for me everyday!!!! He would tell me everyday that he loves me ALOT and ALOT!!  And not only that he would send me kisses throughout the day and plant wet kisses on my whole face and hands everyday. (laughing) He sure knows how to make me happy and laugh. Occasionally he would tell me that he wants to marry me in future, and get kinda mad when I tell him ‘Not possible already’ because I already married his Papa…(^_^). Small kids can be so cute sometimes! But I do hope that his love for me will continue until I grow old~~~

West Co’Z Café

Just want to share one of my favourite dine-out place whenever I am at West Coast Plaza . West Co'z Café is a halal family cafe, serving mixtures of local Thai Zi Char delights at affordable prices. We had dine there countless of time because it serves really delicious Zi char type dishes and what’s more it’s very value-for money. Most importantly it really suits our JJ’s taste buds and they really enjoys the food there.

Picnic @ Botanic Garden

We decided to change our initial plan to catch a movie to picnic at Botanic Garden when my brother’s sister rang us and tell us her plan. I love family gathering and feel it’s a great chance for bonding and for my kids to play with Bermes. Bermes is at the age now where he love playing with other kids, so of course he was super-ly happy to see the two big gorgor today.

Kids Canvas Painting

I bought this canvas kit a few months back and forgot all about it. Until I was finding some stuffs in the room and saw this. As I know that Javier really love anything that do with paint and mess, he will sure be happy to know see what I had dug out for him today.

Homecooked Dinner 12 July 2013

Dinner for tonight consists of pan fried Salmon, Tamago Maki and Miso Soup for the boys whereas for us, we have Japanese Curry rice.

Bento #61 TGIF

Yeah… Weekend is finally here!!! I love weekends because it’s my off day too! Well, that’s doesn’t mean I do not need to look after the boys on these 2 days, but just that I give myself a break and doesn’t cook or do housework on these days. (smiling sheepishly)

Bye Guangzhou!

Time passes so fast when I am enjoying. I am really sad that I am leaving this place after having enjoyed the carefree life for those few days when I am there, but another part of me really misses the boys a lot, and wanted to zoom straight back home to see them! I still remembered that when I am on the plane to Guangzhou, I was feeling a tad nostalgic, having hundred of thoughts zooming through my mind….that I shouldn’t have agreed to come go to the trip without JJ, that I am being cruel for dumping them at home. And I so so so so miss them already~~~

ok…(Ahem) back to my GZ trip, I enjoyed this trip a lot, and this trip has certainly change my opinion of China. I left GZ bringing back with me a very good impression of the place; clean, good and affordable food, nice scenic spots and not forgetting the great shopping area! If I have the chance or the time, I would certainly want to go there again. (laughing)

Bento #60 Sandwich Sushi

Today I make a really simple Bento for little boy which took about 15 minutes. Though it was nothing fanciful, my boy love it still and he even ask me how I prepared the rolled sandwich.

Homecooked Dinner 10 July 2013

It’s homecooked food again!

Today we had fried chicken wings (which my boys likes a lot), steamed fish in Cantonese style, stir fried pickled mustard and peanut with black bean soup for our dinner.

Guangzhou Trip (Day 04) ~ Canton Tower

The Canton Tower (also know as Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower), the landmark of Guangzhou City, is one of the world's most spectacular buildings. It serves not only as a popular tourist destination but also as an intensive facility for radio and television transmission. What’s more, it changes colors every 5 seconds. Sometimes it’s a solid color like red, blue, or green and then sometimes it’s rainbow-colored.

Bento #59 Monster University

I was trying to make Mike in the Monster University. I certainly think my sandwich looks like a monster but hmmm.. but it seems that it doesn’t look really like Mike? Though the show is already in the cinema few weeks ago, we haven’t brought the boys to watch it yet, they have been bugging me to bring them to watch the show this Saturday. Thus that give me the idea to do a Monster Bento for little boy today.

Guangzhou Trip (Day 04)~ Shangxiajiulu Pedestrian Street 上下九路商业步行街

We had our lunch at Real Kungfu again, mainly because I really miss the 酸菜鲁肉饭. Though it is the second time that I eat it, I still find it so yummy and fulfilling. As I am typing this post, I realised I really miss this food so much. (I think I need to find the recipe and try to make one for myself soon.)

D had the fried bee hoon which tasted quite normal. I ordered the boiled milk dessert, having heard that it is quite a popular dish in Guangzhou. But I guessed I try this dessert in the wrong place.

Homemade Steamboat!

Not again!!!!! It seems like steamboat is a common meal in our home. To me eating steamboat at home is always fun. I liked having steamboat. It’s simple, tasty and great for varieties (We can choose whatever ingredients we like). I had this craving for steamboat suddenly, but would prefer a homemade one. (I wasn’t sure where to find a good one and also lazy to go out at night)  

So, to have a good steamboat, soup base is pretty important, Normally I would make soup using pork ribs, carrots, corns and dried scallop. Do not underestimate these few ingredients, it can really create a super, sweet yummy soup base!

Bento #58 Choo Choo Train

I bought a new packet of Thomas & Friends shape Pasta and couldn’t wait to do a Bento for little boy today. So probably you can guess today Bento theme will be Train! ^^  I am not sure whether you can see that train that I am trying to make using the hotdog. ( I know it doesn’t really look like one, I will need to try harder next time) (laughing) And to make the train more interesting, I added two panda (pick) on the train. Well, I was trying to add in the word “Choo” word in the Bento too, but I did not notice that the ‘CH’ had drop off leaving the ‘OO’ on top of the vegetables when I took these pictures. I was too lazy to re-took the pictures again, so there goes my “CHOO” without the ‘CH’.

Guangzhou Trip 24~28 June 2012 (Day 03) Guangzhou Book Center

Basically today is going to be a day of books and food for me. That’s because I would be going to one of the biggest book center in Guangzhou. That is to say that place offers a huge variety of books, thus I am planning to soak myself in the sea of books for at least half a day there. I love books, be it shopping for myself or the boys.

Javier’s 1st Swimming Lesson

I have always feel that this little boy love water a lot and truly a brave one who present no fear when comes to dipping his head, jumping into the water or holding his breadth for a long time inside the water! I had wanted to let him start learning swimming as soon as the coach is willing to accept him. The one criteria that this coach is very firm is that the kid’s must be able to stand in the medium pool with his face above the water level. Finally my boy is eligible thus I quickly inform the coach to secure a place for him in the next new class (this coach is so popular that his class get filled up very quickly and not only that … with many kids in waitlist too). I like this coach, mainly because he is very patient with every kids, he was especially nice to Jayden when he started his swim lesson 1 year plus ago, knowing that he has a fear in water. Till now, he still talk to him gently and be very patient with him. Really thumbs up for this coach!!!


My boys seems to be the youngest among the group, but age doesn’t matter at all…. He was a very brave and confident boy today. 

Bento #57 Simple Pizza

We did a simple Bento for snack today. It was really simple and the boys got a chance to make their own simple Pizza Bento. Well, all I did was to prepare the ingredients for them, and the rest was up to them to “play”! ^^

Lapbook on Angry Bird–Cont’d

This is the remaining Lapbook activities that we did  for the Angry Bird Theme which consists of Spotting the difference.

Bento #56 SpongeBob Squarepants

I have been wanting to do a SpongeBob Squarepants Bento for Javier for the longest time. He used to love SpongeBob very much, but slowly with the many new characters coming out, he started to lose interest in it. Until recently, he borrowed a book from the library and his love for it started again. He likes me to read this book to him every night before he sleeps.

Guangzhou Trip 24~28 June 2013 (Day 02)

It was not a superb weather to start the day with.. with grey grey sky and rain. (I was praying in my heart that the rain would stop later) We need to woke up early as D need to be in the office early.  I hate to eat alone so I would rather wake up early too and dine with D instead. When we reach the restaurant, it was still early with only a few diners. 

Homecooked Dinner 4 July 2013

Our  homecooked dinner for today. It was easy and fast to prepared these dishes. ^^ (oops except for the stewed pork ribs which took a bit longer)

Bento #54 Ninjago

My boys are crazy about Ninjago now, be it toys, clothes, TV show or cards!!!!  So what could be a better bento to make than this. When I told little boy that I am going to make a Ninjago Sandwich for him, he was so happy!!!! ^^

Today Bento consists of cheese sandwich with seaweed for the eyes, watermelon cubes, quail eggs and dairy milk chocolates (specially reminded by Javier to add in)

Guangzhou Trip 24~28 June 2013 (Day 01)

We wasted no time upon landing in Guangzhou Airport, we took a cab to our hotel, we met a really friendly taxi uncle who chit chat with us and introducing a few tourist spots to us. Finally we reached our hotel after around a 45 minutes journey. Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel is located right in the heart of Tianhe central business district. In addition, it is located just next to Tee Mall; the most popular shopping mall in the city, built above the metro station; 体育西路 (Line 1). Guangzhou is nothing like the stuffs which I heard or read about, it is a very clean place and transportation is very convenient.  

Fun and Mess with Paints

We did some craft after our Maths Learning. He was really looking forward to it as he really do so so so love playing with paints. I think this vegetable stamps really look lovely (abit like rose maybe), these are the scraps which I have gotten from yesterday dinner preparation after I chop off the bottom part of the Xiao Bai Cai.  I couldn’t bear to throw it away and thought it would be nice to use it to do paint stamping art.

Learning Multiplication

I decided to do some Maths learning with Javier since he isn’t going to school today. We explore Multiplication, he has memorized up to x6 time table currently. I wanted him to learn the theory behind the time table instead of blindly memorizing it.