Bye July, Hello August

To me, July is a long month.  No holiday and it is almost a 5-weeks month!! Nothing exciting happening in July.  It is a month full of sickness, crying and haze over here.  Everyone in the family was sick at certain times; kids having some crying moments going to school and hazy weather in Sibu from time to time.

Life is slow over here.  I am getting lazy as my due date is about 2 months away.  Everyone is doing fine and settling down well here.  The people is great and friendly over here and I make a few good friends too.  And not forgetting the good food.  Really enjoy the cheaper price of food in most places, and although we have been here for a month now, we still feel flabbergasted by the food price.  Just could not believe our eyes and ears.  *wink*

August is coming and how I love August.  A month of celebration!!!!

School holiday is in 2 weeks time and my parents and sis will be coming over to visit me during Hari Raya holiday!  Missed them!!

There are birthdays to celebrate in August too.  My birthday and my Baby Jay who is no longer a baby. He is turning 4. And  our very first birthday celebration in Sibu and maybe my MIL will come over and celebrate together. She told us she never get to celebrate Baby Jay's birthday in the past and since we are in Sibu maybe she can pay us a visit. MIL's birthday also fall in August.

So it is going to be an eventful month over here. Happy August everyone! Cheers!

Sunblock in my bag

Besides my purse, keys and handphone, I have another important stuff in my handbag when ever I go out nowadays!!  SUNBLOCK!  Yes, a necessity I discovered recently.  Since I started picking my girl from school this year, I noticed that I am getting darker.  Can see some pigmentation on both arms and hands.  And it gets worse when I moved to Sibu about a month ago.  Probably Sibu is hotter and more humid than Kuching.  Anyway it is time for me to take necessary measure against the harmful sun ray!!

I am currently using Cosway Body Sunblock SPF 50PA++.  I like it because it is not too greasy and give me enough protection against the sun.  Somemore it comes in small tube so easy to store in my small bag.  SPF 50 is sufficient for me since I only go out for about 1 hour in the afternoon sun. 

If you would like to know how much SPF you should use, here is a simple calculation!!

Calculate your recommended SPF:

■Rate yourself:

Select your skin type. The corresponding amount of time indicates how long you can stay safely in the sun before burning.

Fair skin - 10 minutes

Olive skin - 15 minutes

Dark skin - 20 minutes

■Look at the SPF on your sunscreen

Note which SPF is stated on the product labeling, eg. SPF 20

■Calculate your protection time, the amount of time you can stay outside before burning:

Multiply the sun safety time for your skin type with the SPF listed on your sunscreen.

eg. 15 minutes (for olive skin) x SPF 20 = 300 minutes (5 hours) of sun protection

Feasting in Hong Fu

Coming to Sibu is not without feasting!

On a nice Sunday evening we went to Hong Fu seafood restaurant (the shop opposite Medan Mall in Jalan Wong King Huo) for a family dinner. Invited my SIL and her hubby along. My hubby said its pork's trotter was great so we ordered a medium plate. The pork was crispy and delicious with its skin browned to perfection outside but nothing can say much about its meat. The spice did not reached the tender meat but I still enjoyed it with its sweet dip. Not a total failure.  RM36 for this dish.

We also ordered its sambal belacan midin. RM10. Very crunchy midin and super yummy belacan.  And under the staff recommendation we had its signature fried taufu with minced meat. Very appetising. My kids enjoyed the gravy very much and finished up their bowls of rice that night.

I don't know what this sea snail called but the last time I had this was in Sabah about 10 years ago. The snails in Hong Fu were very fresh and I had a lot because I enjoyed its special dipping. I believe they added fermented bean paste to the dipping. Very overwhelming taste but I still enjoyed this dish very much. Our plate of snails cost RM18.00.  At the back of the restaurant, we could see few rows of aquariums of this sea snails and other sea fishes.   

Last but not least the herbal chicken. Taste-wise it was okay.

We did not ordered crabs for dinner since my SIL does not take crabs.  We shall try its crabs next round.

Overall we enjoyed the dinner very much. The service was pronto and pronto.  It was packed on Sunday evening although we had rain that night.  The food came within 10 minutes after we ordered. See how fast they served? And the tab? Plus drink the dinner is RM110.70. Very cheap. 

Breakfast @ Cafe Cafe

We went to Breakfast Cafe cafe in the city centre this morning for brunch with a friend who came back from Kuching. I enjoyed my first time there. The taukey was friendly and kept recommending us some of his dishes. Food is slightly pricey but I think it is pretty normal for a fuision cafe. I would definitely come back but maybe once a month? Cannot afford to dine every week of course. Lol!

It has interesting decoration and set up and menu set. We seated outside, so I did not took any picture of the interior. But here is the operating hour of the cafe.

I had its Sarawak Laksa.  Not too bad.  Very creamy and it tasted more like laksa curry. RM7.80.

We also tried its Mee Suah. RM8.80 per bowl.  Rich with red wine.

We also ordered its Kompia with stewed pork.  RM3.80 for 3 pieces.  I don't pretty like its 5-spices and sweet taste but hubby enjoyed them very much.  I tasted one kompia only.

Wanna taste my wet kompia??

Ouch and swollen

I hurt my middle finger few days ago.  Hardly could bent and straighten it for 2 days.  Having hard time adjusting to my "handicap" but I survived.  It is better today, but slightly swollen.

Can you see the swell?  My middle finger looks bigger than other fingers. 

If you are wondering how it happened, blame myself.  Too occupied with something that I did not know what I am doing.  And I went to open the mosquito netting door to my room and twisted my middle finger on the door handle.  Such stupidity if you ask me!  *wink*

As we settle in

Phew!  It has been almost a month we moved in.  I am trying to clean and unpack in between my free times while juggling around the road, driving my kids to schools and tuition centre.  Finally most of the stuff have been unpacked and our room looks more organised.

My 2 boys of the house (hubby and Jay) are down with sickness; flu and cough.  On Sunday night, my Jay was down with fever, so he has been resting at home for 2 days.  Luckily today he did not complained on going to school after 2 days of absenteism.  Hubby took MC yesterday as he has severe flu.  So yesterday both boys are resting at home, and I have to take care of both, while picking and sending my eldest to school and tuition.

This week is her exam week.  Hopefully she would be doing fine in her exam!!

Berbuka Puasa in Roy's Corner

My SIL brought me and my 2 kids for a dinner last Thursday in Kampung Datu.  That evening hubby was not at home as he has to entertain his friends from Kuching.  So my SIL suggested that we ate out.

Suggested few places such as Uncle Dom, Permai but finally we decided for Malay food in Kampung Datu.  If you think that Kampung Datu name sounds familiar, it was out in local newspaper last month for the fire outbreak that razed 60 wooden houses and left more than 600 people homeless on 19 June.

It rained pretty heavy that night but it did not stop us from going to Kampung Datu.  Despite the darkness, I can see the burnt houses and what is left in the Malay settlement villages.  This Roy's Corner is just on one of the row of houses that opposite the affected houses.

Not many customers that night.  Maybe because of rain.  My SIL ordered its Rojak Tambi which was very delicious.  The gravy was sweet and slightly spicy and they were pretty generous with the kuih.  The kuih was very nice and crunchy.  Reminded me of the Indian rojak. 

I ordered its Nasi Lemak Special.  When it came, it looked slightly disappointing to me, but once I tasted it, it was not bad at all.  The only thing that I didn't like was the sambal.  Slightly sweet and sourish for me but I still enjoyed its fragrant pandan rice. 

We went back there on Saturday evening and this time we ordered its Sup Tulang and I tried out its Ayam Penyet.  RM8.00 each. The Ayam Penyet chilli sauce was nice and the chicken was quite big portion for me.  The meat was not too dry but I could say I tasted nicer chicken before.

My kids had fried noodle and fried rice (Nasi Goreng Cina).  You can see how big portion was the fried rice!! Nothing to shout about the fried rice. It looked plain but came with fried chicken.

Thanks to my SIL for the dinner treat that evening! 

Lesser than before

Used to have a lot of pigeons when I first came to Sibu.  But the authority caught them away and fined those who caught feeding the pigeons, so the flock is getting lesser and less imitating.  

In the past there was a bigger and fatter flock and you would have to walk in the shop corridor to avoid them flying above you.  Their poo is not hygienic to human body, I understand. 

This picture was taken on one aftenoon after my girl fed them with her leftover rice.  (oooppps!)  But pity the birds too.  They are just to get used to human feeding them that they are lazy to find their own food.   They are too dependent on us to feed them.  And from my SIL, I learnt that some shop owners still feed them but in discreet way; so they would not be caught red-handed.  *wink*

What I need now...

Is new bra and a hair cut!!!  *wink*

Find that my bra cannot fit me comfortable anymore. And my tummy is getting bigger every day till I feel my breasts are smaller.  Or maybe because my tummy and breasts are same level now that I look round all over in front.  Lol! 

And I need to trim my hair since the last time I have a hair cut is early January.  About time to get a trim before I go for my confinement. 

There are 2 pregnant ladies that I met in Sibu, who about the same due date as mine.  Both are bigger than mine!  Both looks so huge that they look like they are going to due soon!!!

I had this veggie fritters for breakfast this morning. It has a bit of squid in it too.  I love this fritters so much that I can have it twice a week. Cannot eat too much because not so healthy. But the crunchiness and tasty filling cannot keep me away from tapau-ing RM1 (4pcs) from next door coffee shop. I think I am starting to have some food craving especially salty food.

School exam is next week.  My girl must be stressed as me, but she has been to tuition for a week and she has been given revision and mock tests throughout the week.  Luckily she passed in all the tests in the tuition centre.  A way to prepare her for the coming exam.  Soon the kids will be having their school holiday.....I cannot wait for that to come.  Lol!



My Miscellaneous Picture #5: On my feet

Since pregnant I have been wearing comfortable footwear.  I enjoy wearing ballet flats and sandals.  This is what I am currently wearing.

I bought this in Kuching before I flew to Sibu.  Only RM19.90.  I could not resist it because of its front bow; they are cute.

For special occasions or dinners, I will wear this low wedge shoes

I bought this black heels for Chinese New Year but I did not wear it because I found out I were 2 months pregnant by CNY, so the heels has been in the shoe cabinet since then.  Maybe I can wear it for next year's CNY??  *wink*



Weekend Menu #51: More puffs from Kuching and Fried Chicken Wings

Hubby came back with 100 assortment of sio pau, yam puffs and curry puffs from Kuching last Saturday. So we have been eating them for breakfast for 2 days.  Of course we sorted and gave away most to hubby's relatives in Sibu and only take few of the 3 puffs for ourselves. 

The oval shaped puff is curry puff, rough oval is yam while underneath them is round sio pau.

When I run out of idea of what to prepare for dinner, I would resort to fried chicken wings.  Simple, delicious and surely finished up in few minutes time!!  *wink*

This is a very simple recipe from My Wok Life that I enjoyed and always fry in my kitchen for my family.  I always choose the less meaty chicken wings for frying.  Well, we enjoy the skins more than the meat when it comes to fried chicken wings.  Just marinate the chicken wings in the morning and by evening, the chicken wings are ready to be fried.

Ingredients:

8 chicken wings, cut at joints
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Shao Xing Wine
1 cube of Maggi chicken stock
Cornflour for coating

Methods:

1. Marinate the chicken wings with oyster sauce, Shao Xing Wine and chicken stocks in a bowl.
2. Keep in fridge for at least 6 hours
3. When ready for frying, coat the chicken wings with cornflour. 
4. When oil is hot enough, fry the chicken wings in batch till golden brown.
5. Drain in kitchen towel and serve.

p/s you can add few dashes of pepper during marination.

Beautiful park in the city

We were at the city centre this morning. Saw the beautiful trees with colourful flowers in the Wisma Sanyan Park. Just could not help but stop and take photos of the trees. lol.

The informative stone in the park.

So and so after 2 weeks

Even now after 2 weeks of moving here, I am still not done with the unpacking.  Trying not to move things much while pregnant, or I will definitely get yelled for doing so.  Hubby is busy with his new office and he has been travelling the whole week this week.  On Tuesday he gone to Sarikei to visit a branch and then flew back to Kuching for 3 days for branch orientation. He will be back this evening.  While he is gone, my SIL and her hubby came to stay with us and keep us company.

 

First week was a tough week.  My eldest was sick; she was down with cough, flu and fever but after 2 days of medication, she has recovered.  My boy was having his school blue; did not want to go to school every day.  I myself also not feeling well, with sore throat and flu.  The room's air con was freezing although we adjusted the swing and temperature higher.  Talking about old air con model, the room air con is very efficient!!

 

I went for my monthly pre-natal check up on Monday.  Gaining another 2kg and my weight is 58kg now.  I was heavier going into my other pregnancies, so everyone was commenting that this round, I did not gain much weight. 

I have learnt to drive around Sibu.  Mostly every morning I would be spending time with my SIL in her shop and then afternoon went to pick my daughter from school.  Afternoon, we will stay at home and then cook for dinner before picking my son from kindergarden.  He has been in the afternoon care starting this week.  He is doing fine although almost every morning he will cry a bit when reached his kindergarden.   Since this Wednesday, he has not cry and have gone to school without any drama.

 
I also managed to catch up with my cousin who has been residing in Sibu since married.  She is a teacher in one of the primary schools here.  It has been more than 10 years since we met.

Today I am starting my first tuition lesson to a Primary 5 boy.  English tuition for 2 hours in afternoon.  The parents prefer one-to-one basis for their son, so I am offering my service to them. 

Sorry if I do not have much time blogging or blog hopping to your blogs.  Do not have access at home.  Only able to online when I go to my SIL's shop or at night with my iPad.  :)  Till then, have a great weekend, guys! 

Longan or Rambutan?

They called it Longan but it tastes more like rambutan to me. I never seen a longan that big before.

The shell is hard that you cannot peel it but need to knock lightly using a small hammer. The flesh is sweet like rambutan but shell looks like longan. So what it is by the way?

Hunt for food in Pedada

Our food and shopping adventure continued on Sunday morning.  Everyone woke up late on Sunday morning and by the time everyone was ready it was almost 10am.  I don't usually cook breakfast on Sunday so it is a dine-out every Sunday morning.  *wink*

My SIL recommended us to try out the food stalls in Chopsticks in Jalan Pedada, so we paid it a visit on Sunday.  The chicken rice is highly recommended and true enough, the roasted chicken and roasted pork rice was delicious.  Oooopppps!  Sorry,  forget to take picture of the rice, because my hubby and girl were too hungry and cannot wait for me to take picture of their chicken rice.  The chilli sauce dipping also not bad.  I tried few slices of roasted chicken and roasted pork; they were delicious.  Not too dry.  Even hubby who doesn't like roasted chicken also commented that the rice was delicious. 

I ordered kueh chap.  Luckily it was not disappointing because I like the scented soup and its tender kueh.  For me who doesnt like strong herb soup, this kueh chap tasted great. 

After our hearty breakfast, we went to Delta Mall which is a block away from Chopsticks.  We went to Popular Book Store to hunt for my girl's book list but it was not available there.  Since we were there, we have a walk around the mall.  Hubby bought a pair of tracksuit from Lea Centre.  He has been very hardworking and wake up early to go for a walk and jog every morning after sending the girl to school.

While he was busy in Lea Centre, me and kids stopped by this snack kiosk for some food.  As usual my model girl always ready to pose for picture, so I could not help but take her pictures.

She was patiently waiting for her peanut butter waffle to be ready.  Finally she can enjoy her waffle after one week of not eating it!  Lol!

Assortment of sushi for take away.

Different Takoyaki for customers' selection



Noticed all the food is priced at RM2.80 (except waffle).  I bought a cup of sweet corn, 1 peanut butter waffle, 1 pack of cuttle fish takoyaki and 6 packs of sushi, and it costs me RM22.10!  After our grocery and food shopping in the Marketplace, we had our light lunch from this snack kiosk in my SIL's shop. 

Our Saturday breakfast in town

We went to a Muslim cafe opposite Wisma Sanyan for breakfast last Saturday.  Hubby wanted to eat Mee Sapi so he brought us to this cafe.  We woke up early on Saturday and decided to drive to the city centre for food and then pay hubby's grandparents a visit and going to bookstore.

This corner coffee shop was packed although it rained on Saturday and we managed to find a table among the crowds.  Hubby and my boy ate Mee Sapi while me and my girl had roti telur.

We also order 2 pieces of yue cha kueh while waiting for our food.  Big yue tiaw, but to my surprise, it was very yummy.  Usually the one that I had in Kuching is very oily but this yue tiaw is not that oily at all.  By the time my roti telur arrived, I were already half full from the yue tiaw. 



I like its warm teh tarik.  Will go there again as there were other Muslim food that I would like to try.  :)

Weekend Menu #50: Simple Steamed Frogs

We wake up pretty early today because my girl has a parent-teacher day in school. A chance to meet up with her class teacher.

It has been raining in Sibu since last night and the rain continue till late afternoon. We arrived at the school around 7am and after a chat with her teacher and collecting list of activity books we went to a Muslim cafe (opposite Wisma Sanyan) for breakfast. Shall post on that later.

After breakfast we visited hubby's grandparents and spent 2 hours plus there. After lunch at grandparents' house, we went to Rejang bookstore to purchase books. Because we wake up early today everyone agreed on going home for afternoon nap. We slept like logs then.

I cooked dinner in the evening. My SIL and her hubby joined us for dinner. My MIL kept some frogs in the freezer and keep on reminding me to cook them. So I cooked a batch tonight.

I used to eat frogs when I was small. I like Batu Lintang ginger and soy sauce frog dish. It has been a long time since I dined in Batu Lintang, Kuching. As for my frog I shall follow my MIL's recipe of steaming them.

Just de-skin the frogs and cut into small size. Add a bit of water, some sliced ginger and salt  steam for 15-20 minutes undet medium heat. My kids can finish the soup without much coaxing after I telling them you can jump and be strong like froggies. Lol.

What I see in Sibu

 We went to Food and Fun Fair on Tuesday evening. Reminded me of Kuching Fair. Although it rained there were many people at the Sibu Fair.

 Have a walk around the city centre surrounded by tall buildings such as Wisma Sanyan and below building.

The landmark of the City of Swan.

My Miscellaneous Picture #4: Purple Diary from home

Assortment of orchids and leaves picked by both kids from baby sitter's house.  I think one thing that the kids missed is picking fresh flowers from her garden.

 

 

Love this beautiful flower that my boy plucked for me from the garden 

 

 

One of my must-have hair accessories 

 

 

My newest handbag; a gift from my sis who bought from Indonesia

 

 Easy to store and when you keep your stuff in the bag, you will see how unique is the flowery design on the bag.