Hair-y Tales and More Pasta

Girlet is due to start Standard One in Chinese school next week, and the school regulation forbid long hair. Despite a letter from her Ballet School for exemption (as she would need to bun up her hair), I took her for a haircut today as her hair is way too long, almost to her waist. We went to a hairdresser at the nearby Hartamas Shopping Complex. I was concerned that she'll be upset, so bribed her with a hairwash. She really enjoyed that, while Babylet was busybody watching everything the hairdresser was doing. I had left Boylet to play with sand at home, and was able to spend the half an hour relaxing and reading a gossipy magazine.... *_*

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Girlet was really pleased with her haircut. Her hair looked so glossy. After Girlet's haircut, we went down to the supermarket, Mercato, to pick up some basic groceries. I promise I was not looking for any more pasta, but I found these .....

Vegetable Pasta (Rice & Corn) in Farm Animal shapes. Sorry for the flash. I took this in a hurry cos first time taking pix in supermarket, don't know whether get scolded or not. LOL! Flash on the pricetag too ....... think it's about RM 13-14.

Also found Spiderman pasta, alongside Scooby Doo and Spongebob @ RM6.30 a pack. Sometime ago, I got d'hubby to go through all the trouble to buy Spiderman pasta in US. So it looks like I'm in for a scolding.

Scoop - I bought the last pack of Pokemon pasta. Boylet should be happy with this.

We had lunch at home. After which, I left the older kids to play with Playdoh and went upstairs with Babylet for her nap. The maid was washing up in the kitchen, when there was a loud cry from Boylet. He managed to get playdoh stuck in his hair. It's not the regular playdoh, and was really sticky. OMG!! Got anyone sillier than him or not?

He got very upset when I told him I have to cut his hair, and he'll have a bald patch like Friar Tuck. So I took pity on him and tried to loosen the playdoh with oil (baby massage, not cooking). Fortunately, it worked, after a painstakingly 15 minutes with the sacrifice of only a few strands of hair. Oh boy! Am I glad the school's reopening soon. I will tell you about how the same silly boy got stuck at some rustic fly trap just three days ago next time.

This concludes 2008. Happy New Year, everyone.

What I bought in Singapore

My first purchase in Singapore was no surprise - more cute pasta *_*. Upon arrival in Singapore, my in-laws took us for a late lunch in Paragon. SIL showed me the DaPaolo Gastronomia shop where she bought the Disney Character pasta. Babylet was excited to see that the Mickey pasta was in stock, besides Princess and Pooh. So, bought the Mickey pasta and another pack of Princess pasta, this time in tricolour. BIL also bought more dinosaur pasta from Australia, so our pantry is well stocked with pasta for next year.
Went to the Hello Kitty counter at Takashimaya, and saw many bento boxes there - Hello Kitty, My Melody, Shinkansen, Twin Stars, and Cinnamoroll - mostly rectangular/oval shape. It took me a long time to decide and I finally bought this Hello Kitty box for its red colour and apple shape. Was also the cheapest there at SGD11.90. And picked up a HK belt too, just for the heck of it. *_^ The Shinkansen train is really popular in Sg. I've not seen any Shinkansen products in KL.
There were quite a number of Thomas the train bento boxes in the various shopping centres, which were not available in KL. I bought this box which comes with adjustable divider and upper tray for cutleries.

I didn't buy much things at Daiso. Went to the branch in Plaza Sg as arranged to meet IL there. As expected there was a huge Christmas crowd there, and I already owned most of the things left on the shelves. The only interesting thing I bought was these plastic crinkle cut knife (probably sold in Daiso KL). While I have a similar steel knife, was looking for one with a deeper groove. These are for cutting jelly, don't know if can cut harder things like potato or steamed carrots.

YL had earlier tipped me about new Mickey Mouse products in KaiKai at Chinatown Point, and I called ahead to book some items. Must be kiasu, mah. Was quite disappointed that the stock will only arrive in January. Still I had fun going through the 2009 catalogue book and seeing the new Mickey products. (Hey, YL, saw your order on a few things *_*) Now the question is how to collect the things. Looks like another trip to Sg is required if my dearest sis or SIL couldn't pick up for me. Well, I am going back hometown in Johor for Chinese New Year.........

My purchases from KaiKai were the Pooh and Tomica multi-cutters, Tomica vege cutter and Pooh furikake case.

On the penultimate day, I 'geram' didn't shop enough as too busy entertaining kids. So put the kids to nap and headed for Takashimaya again, this time Basement (Household section?) for 1 hour shopping before dinner. Found silicone moulds in the shape of dinosaur fossils for my dinosaur lover boylet. It was sold as ice tray but can also make jelly. Can withstand temperatures of -58`F to 446`F, so can also bake??, not that I'll be doing that. They were rather price-y, enough said.

More impulse buys (still at Takashimaya)- cutters, which I had seen in NST and Marketplace but didn't buy. Why did I make the plunge this time? Well, I was in a buying mood and the things were there to be bought. Make sense? haha.... Lucky for hubby I'm no longer into LV bags. *_^

Also bought some cheap books at Lucky Plaza, t-shirts for the kids, cute stationeries & stickers. Overall, I think I showed a lot of restraint this time round. ^_^

Presents from Blogging friends

I just realised that it's the 31st of December today, and I've still got lots of backlogged posts on the kids' concert, holiday programme and stuff. Waiseh!

Anyway, we just got back on Monday after 5 days in Singapore and 2 days in Johor.


In Singapore, I met up with YL for a continuation of our Bento Swap. She is so efficient, and has posted what I got her in her blog here. And she is so lovely to get us our favourite - shaped pasta - Christmas Pasta from Muji, and Disney Cars pasta. She bought the pasta earlier on which was a good thing as they were all sold out when I was there. Lesson learnt - mustn't shop 2 days before Christmas, or after weekend / public holiday as shops like Daiso / Muji will have their cute stuff swept clean.
She also included mini Hello Kitty containers, which can be locked together or used separately. Cool! Thanks heaps, YL. Earlier on when I posted up the picture of the various egg moulds from 100 yen shop, IL (Family of 5) requested that I get her the moulds. Was glad that the Taman Desa branch stocked up the week before I went to Singapore. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get the mini Pooh Bear containers for her. Another efficient blogger, she has blogged about it here.

What I didn’t expect was for her to give me a box of bento things. So paiseh!!! See the nice box with a ribbon and a nice card - Babylet claimed it as her Christmas present. *_*There were so many things in the box. A bento box for each kid, pretty cupcake liners, long wooden fruit skewers and a 4-in-1 sandwich cutter. I had planned to buy the last item from Takashimaya, so was very happy to get it from Irene. Thank you very much.

So glad to have met up with both of you and to put a face to your blogs. Wishing you both and everybody a Happy New Year. Despite the gloomy economy, let's make 2009 a happy bento-licious year.

Bentos # 94 - Easy Christmas Bentos

I managed to squeeze in another Christmas Bento just before we went off to Singapore for a holiday last week - very easy ones with just sandwiches cutouts, and Girlet doing most of the decors. Also took a shortcut in the form of Christmas Tree Marshmallow (from Cold Storage, KL), which was a real treat for the kids, besides brightening up the bentos.

They had the bentos at home as none of the decorations could've survive a transportation farther than the one from the kitchen to the living room. *_* Here I got them to pose ala Angeleye's Darius with their thumbs up.
For Girlet's bento, she decorated the tree with edible markers (bought from Cake Connection, PJ) and candy coated chocolate sunflower seeds (from US). She is getting a quite handy at making bentos. She also requested to add in the Princess pasta which SIL had just given her. It's adorable with shapes of castle, carriage, flower, slipper, and two princess figures.

Thanks, May, for the Princess pasta. Girlet absolutely loves it. For those who don't know, it was purchase from DaPaolo Gastronomia in Paragon, Singapore at SGD 6 per pack. And thanks for the pack of Winnie the Pooh pasta too.

Babylet had plain white bread. I gave the Santa a bit of texture with the hat, moustache and beard. Girlet chose to put a wink on Santa. Babylet is actually rather fearful of Santa (as was Girlet when she was 2), so she was happy that she can eat up Santa. Silly girl!
Boylet's bento was the easiest as he requested for a snowman. Decided to give the snowman a bowtie to smarten him up ala Arlene's style.

And to Shoppingmum, who asked about the small star cutouts, this was the puncher I used. Not sure of the brand, but got it from the stationery section of Parkson. Have also seen it in Jusco.

Bentos # 93 - Christmas Bentos

I finally got around to making Christmas Bentos for the kids.

I've been busy checking out shoppingmom's blog with her beautiful Christmas bentos. Copied lots from her blog, as I don't have any original idea.... hehe.... Love her tutorial on shaping sausages and carrots, as seen in various Japanese blogs. I swapped the sausages with porkball, which of course didn't turn out as nice. The edges are not as sharp because of the difference in texture. But beats a plain porkball anyday. And if you're particular about the nitrite content in sausages, this may be an alternative to consider.


Girlet's bento has a supposedly winter Hello Kitty. Planned to add more details, but the snowman took up too much time, as the filament stick kept unraveling. Sheesh! Anyone can tell that I'm not very patient with meticulous details.

Boylet's bento has a Christmas tree and snowmen. Girlet decorated the tree by herself and seeing how pleased she is, I left it as it is. She had fun punching all the nori too, with a little help with the HK puncher.

Both kids cleaned their bentos and Girlet in fact asked for another onigiri, so I made a round one with seaweed for her. And both also had a lot more grapes. So happy they are regaining their appetite.

In case I don't get a chance later, here's wishing everybody a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

What we've been up to this hols

Since the school hols began, we've been very busy going out. Went to two movies (without Babylet). First was Madagascar 2. Definitely not as good as Madagascar 1, but the kids really enjoyed the nonsensical show anyway. The second show was Bolt in 3D. Girlet, the dog lover, loved this show, but boylet was more interested in playing with the 3D glasses. *_*


Boylet and Girlet also went to the puppet show, Aesop's Fables, which they thoroughly enjoyed. On the feedback card, Girlet wrote: I love the Moral the dog the best because it is very funny and cute. Both of them look so skinny in this pic, huh? That's because they've been having lots of fast food (collecting Madagascar toys at McD's), until all 3 kids had sore throat and fever for one whole week the previous week. In this pic, Babylet saw the camera and automatically tried to smile. But ended up with a pained expression instead. Poor baby..... Thank God, Babylet didn't get any more bald patches, and there are baby hair growing at the existing bald patch.

The kids recovered in time for a round of birthday parties, two of them at the Jungle Gym/ Roller Blading Rink in BSC.

Of the parties had the theme of Madagascar, and the kids dressed up as the various animals. Girlet went as Melmon the Giraffe and Boylet the talking Monkey. Boylet is totally enamoured with the cake. The birthday boy and his numerous cousins are all dressed to the nines with animal costumes and painted faces. Very cool! Boylet now wants a Madagascar birthday party too.

Girlet loves the roller blading rink. She started out very cautiously, staying very near the walls. although she had been roller skating at home. Her friends who are more outgoing just zoomed their way, even those first time there. It's just her personality, very kiasi. At the second time there, she gained confidence and picked up some speed. Hopefully, she'll be able to let loose and zoom around the next time.

Bentos # 92 - Inarizushi

I found tofu pouch /aburaage at a Korean supermarket in Sri Hartamas at 50% discount. It has only 1+ week left until expiry date. But still a good deal, so bought two packets, the other for my sis, Biblo. Those who follow her blog would know this happened beginning of the month, and I'm only posting now. Anyway, the Korean tofu pouches taste the same as Japanese. The only difference is the shape - these are cut diagonally into triangles, unlike the Japanese ones, which are rectangles.

I made some for d'hubby's morning break, stuffed with rice mixed with Korean seaweed; with some dumplings and fishpaste/filament ball. See the empty space in the middle? That was reserved for edamame, only d'hubby couldn't wait another minute for me to take them out from the pot and dry them. He didn't say anything, but turned on his car engine (which is very loud). So I hastily snapped a pic and send it off. Of course with no sauce, but that just serves him right for being so rude! *_*

The kids had the same for lunch, complete with the edamame.
As for me, I had a big brunch of nasi lemak with sotong and kerang after the annoying incident. Felt much better after that... *_*

Bento # 85 - # 91 - Adult bentos for morning break

Since the kids had been eating out or having takeaways, I decided to pack bento for d'hubby instead. He prefers to lunch with colleagues, so these bentos were for his morning break. These bentos went back 1 month ago. I was contemplating not to post this as the bentos were rather boring. But thought my dear sis, Biblo, needed some encouragement to post her bentos which are also not of the kawaii category.

Bento #85 - just simple ham, cheese & lettuce sandwich, swiss roll and Kueh Bahulu.

Bento # 86 - futomaki, unagi maki, curry puff (from Ikea which has less and less fillings), a small piece of brownie and packet soju from the Bento party organised by Bentopet and Emily. Thanks! Those came in handy as I don't think d'hubby will be impressed by cutesy container... hehe..Bento # 87 - Mixed herb pita bread with french garlic ham, lettuce & capsicum, with flower & roll from sandwich ham and cheddar cheese.
The blue bento box is actually a Mickey Mouse box, which d'hubby said didn't suit his image..... haha. So I tried this round black box below for Bento #88. Looked good. In reality, after I took the photo, I couldn't fit the upper container (with fruits) on top of the lower container although the later wasn't filled to the brim. The upper container takes up almost 1/3 of the bottom container's space. I had to rearrange the items to accommodate that. So it's actually pretty small. No wonder my sis had to bring two of these boxes for lunch.

Bento # 89 - Bakchang (made by a SIL's grandmother) cut into half to fit in the box, garnished with capsicum & lettuce, mini mandarin oranges and honeydew.

Bento # 90 - chicken curry puff, longan, peanut angku kueh, and mini mandarins.

Bento # 91 - charsiew pau, siumai, prawn wrap, edamame, grapes and mini mandarin.
So my dear sis, I've posted my boring bentos. Now your turn!! No more excuse that your bento is boring.

Fantastic Four

Blessed Mom and Angeline passed me this tag some time ago. Shame on me for taking so long to do it.... ^_^



Four places I go over and over:-
-Solaris Mont Kiara for kids' classes, various cafe and Cold Storage;
-Toys'R'Us during this hols for free entertainment;
-BookRental shop in Desa Sri Hartamas for my reading fix;
-Mysoju.com for a daily dose of Korean/Taiwan drama.


Four people who email me regularly:-
-My eldest sis (passing on jokes etc, only she got the email address wrong and my hubby who gets a copy at his office email will tell me about it);
-My hubby (more jokes);
-hubby's aunt in Sg (religious / inspirational messages and updates on grandchildren);
-spammers.


Four of my favorite places to eat:-
-Japanese restaurant in Renaissance Hotel for all-you-can-eat buffet on Saturdays;
-Delicious at Bangsar Village;
-Ming Room at BSC for yummy dimsum;
-Any place with good Nasi Lemak


Four places I’d rather be:-
-In Tokyo, buying Bento Accessories;
-In Brisbane, enjoying the holiday Blessed Mom & Family just had ^_*;
-In Paris, because I've not been there and would love to sit at a cafe sipping coffee *hint, hint to d'hubby*;
-In Singapore, for Christmas..... oh wait... I'll be there next week.... *_* ..... I love over-commercialised Christmas, better than oh-so-boring all-shops-are closed Christmas in Western countries.


Four TV shows I could watch over and over:-
Can only think of one - Friends, my all time favourite which I'm still watching on Astro 10 years on. I may watch certain episodes of some Korean/Taiwanese drama a few times... but doubt I'll still watch them for the next 10 years.


Four people I think will respond:-
-Biblo
-Emily
-Kel
-Arlene

Fancy Sushi for dinner

I was bowled over by Kel's fancy sushi here. And she has very kindly translated the tutorial she got from a Mandarin website to English. Thanks again Kel!

When I showed the pic to the kids to show them what they'll be having for dinner, Boylet wasn't keen on the flower. So I googled and managed to find one with a boat instead here.

And my product... not too good, looked more like a flagpole than a boat... haha. But I give myself a pass for a first attempt *thick skin ^_^*. The flag was ebikko mixed with rice with a filament stick in the middle, and the pole and 'boat' was egg. My eldest sis, took one look and said "What for!" What a party pooper.

That's what the kids had for dinner: fancy sushi, ebikko/filament stick maki, baby octopus gunkanmaki, seaweed/tofu soup and fruits - watermelon, rockmelon and honeydew.
Of course, Babylet came running when she saw the camera. And here she is with her current favourite pose.

Hand-me-downs

Periodically, I would look through Girlet's and Boylets outgrown clothings to either give away or let Babylet use. I found this pair of beaded slippers that Girlet used to wear.


Babylet tried on the slippers, and I told her, "wah, your new shoes are so pretty". Babylet was very proud and walked around the house with it, beaming away, like this.

Then came Girlet, who took a look at the slippers and said "Those are my old shoes". Immediately, Babylet's expression changed to this.

She took off the slippers and said "I want MeiMei's new shoes". Oopsie! Kids can be so vain even at the age of 27 months. By the way, I took the angry expression pic after the incident just for this post, and vain Babylet is ever ready to pose for the camera. She can turn on her glaring look very well, huh?

Bento # 84 - Stomping Elephants

This bento was from two weeks ago. As it was the last bento for Girlet to bring to Kindergarten, I thought to make a themed bento which she has always enjoyed. I looked at my bento stuff and having found some elephant mould, cutter and sauce container, decided to make a elephant themed bento. This took some planning as I had to make elephant shaped chicken nuggets ahead (see previous post).

Top : Jelly, Elephant container with tomato sauce, edamame and filament stick on elephant picks

Bottom : Elephant nugget, elephant onigiri, with carrots separating them, and coral lettuce to make it look like a jungle. And of course elephant fork and spoon too.

I tried to make the eye and ear for the nugget too, but the seaweed would not adhere as the nugget were not smooth. Couldn't think of how to improve the looks of the elephant nugget, any thoughts?

Baked Chicken Nuggets

Oh my, time has flown. I made this two weeks ago. I don't usually follow recipes exactly. Just put bits together according to what I have on hand or thought interesting. For this, I combined the recipes from allrecipes, here and youtube, forgot link.

I used chicken breast meat, because too lazy to debone the drumstick. However, I did pound (or whatever the correct word is) on the breast meat to tenderize it. Then I used metal cookie cutters to mark the outline (weren't sharp enough to cut through the meat) and cut with kitchen scissors. The leftover bits were left as strips and cooked the same way. (Not pictured here cos not pretty *_*)

I mixed plain flour with powdered parmesan cheese and pepper. Then put the flour mixture, beaten egg and crushed cornflakes onto their respective plates, arranging them in an assembly line. First the meat was rolled in the flour mixture, then dipped into egg, and covered with the crushed cornflakes. Then baked in the oven at 190*C for 15 minutes. And the results were healthful, crunchy chicken nuggets. The meat was tender but a tad dry. But the crunchiness made up for it.

The older kids had a few pieces each. Fussy babylet came to admire the results but refused to try. She ended up with milk for dinner again. She's already 27 months - old enough for "If you don't eat dinner, you can jolly well starve" routine yet?

Another question. Besides dinosaur nuggets from NTUC on my Singapore shopping list, what other nuggets to add?