Miscellaneous #27: October favourite

What I like about October? 

Another new Octoberfest mug to my collection! Yay! And this year it comes with a cover. How cool could it be.

And for the very 1st time, I tasted macarons. You know me, not so into sweet things so I never fancy macarons till hubby brought home 2 packs from his KL-Kuching trip.

The macarons were not in good shapes as hubby put them in his bag. Still, I adore its vibrant and lovely colours.

Even my girl complained they were too sweet and she only ate one. Hubby would sure bump into this popular sweets in Paris! Btw, he is now in Paris!

Did you know macaron was born in Venice, Italy? It was voyaged with Catherine de Medicis on her marriage to the Duke of Orlean, then later the king of France. 

Oh yes, it is Halloween night so what would you be doing tonight? Me? My girl asked me to tell a ghost story tonight so I got to think of one soon before bed time!

Source: Wikipedia

If you asked me, it has been a while since I watch scary or thrilling movie. For me, the best horror movie got to be "A nightmare on Elm Street". I still got goosebumps watching it. What is your best horror movie of all times?

Tomorrow is another new month. Goodbye October and hello November.

Healthier & Raw

Not our usual Sunday dinner. My girl has been telling her dad that she wanted a Japanese food for the past days so the daddy obliged to her request last Sunday.

Hubby wanted to get some stuff for his trip so he suggested to have dinner in Sushi King.

Jan and Jay as usual occupied the side where the conveyor belt was located and helped themselves to the moving sushi. 

Other than the meal set, we also ordered this fresh salmon platter.

I did not really like the taste of this shishamo as it was more of fishy smell although they marinated with seasoning.

This kinoko soup was very healthy. Love the generous amount of shimeiji mushrooms in the clear soup.

This tako wakame looked tasty from the menu but we did not really enjoyed it very much due to the mayo dressing on the fish. Underneath the slices of fish is the Japanese seaweed (konbu).

Last but not least, something that we seldom do as a family. A family selfie! ;)

Simple dinner

We spent our whole morning in Superbowl, Kin Orient Plaza last Saturday. Hubby's company had a friendly bowling match there so we went there to cheer them. By the time we reached home around 2pm, everyone was so tired that we knocked out as soon as we hit the beds.

In the evening, we went to this Wonderful Cafe (next to Delta Mall) for a simple dinner.

My princess had the yang chow fried rice, which we thought it was good. Not to mention the big portion of rice!

Hubby was interested to try the Hokkien fried noodle. It looked good, dark and thick. Tasted sweet from the soy sauce and I can tasted the fried noodle as they fry the noodle before add the gravy to it.

I shared this fried noodle with Jay.  It reminded me of the Maggi goreng that I had in KL.  Tasted alright. Not too salty.

I like this beef dish with onion. The meat was tender and fragrant with Chinese cooking wine.

The bill of our simple dinner plus drinks came out to be RM53. 

Be light

Given the concern over safety lately (and I believe that it happens anywhere), I have decided to go out without bags. 

I know, we ladies love our bags. And we love to bring everything along when we go out. But there are always some bad guys with bad intention to steal from you and may eventually harm you. I have been a snatch thief's victim before so I do have a phobia when ever I bring my bag out. I ever have the habit of glancing to the back or at motorcyclists when walk along the sidewalk. Sorry but I could not help being paranoid here.

Actually I started to develop the habit of not bringing my handbag (if possible) when I am out from the house by myself. Even if I do, my bag is nothing but all baby's essential stuff. If I am going out by myself, all I need is my mobile phone! And phone case is indeed a very handy accessories.

I keep few important cards in the case. And I always keep a RM50 note in case I need to get something on impulse. So no pocket? Never mind. I have my phone! Who needs pocket or bag to keep your stuff? Lol. I always travel light! 

No-frill prawn omelette

My mum cooks this dish very often at home. We simple enjoy this simple omelette. She just fry the prawns before pour in the beaten eggs to the wok.

When it comes to me, I love to experiment with new ingredients for added flavour. *wink* Talking about spoiling my mum's original recipe!

Okay, I did not totally spoil the original taste of this tasty and simple omelette but I added big onion for that onion-y scent and crunchiness.

This omelette is very easy to prepare. Very little ingredients and you can get them easily. The kids love it too!

Ingredients:

150g prawns, de-shelled and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 big onion, sliced
3 medium-sized eggs, beaten
1 tsp light soy sauce
salt to taste

Dash of pepper

Methods:

1. Heat up the pan with about 3 tbsp cooking oil.
2. Saute the big onion for few second till fragrant and turn translucent before add in prawns.
3. Stir fry for a while till prawns turn pink.
4. Whisk beaten eggs with light soy sauce. Then add to the pan.
5. Flip the omelette once bottom is brown to cook the other side.

He shares my bed

This picture explains all!

My little lover. He has been sleeping in the same bed with me since he was a month plus and since then he had never wanted to go back to his own cot. 

I know that I should not encourage him because sleeping in the same bed may cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SID). But who could resist having this cutie not to snug and share bed with me?

Hubby is always travelling most of the times and the bed is big for me to sleep alone. The other kids have their own beds. So you could understand that it is easier to have the little one to sleep with me without me going up and about his cot and bed.

People said that boys are always closer to mums and this is true for me. Jay for instance, started to sleep on our bed when he was about 1 year old. Since then he was reluctant to go and sleep in his baby cot. However as he reached 3 or 4 years old, he loved to sleep with the sister and started to sleep in his own bed.

Jamie, like the brother, is very clingy and protective of me. He would not want his dad to sleep close to me and whenever the other kids give me a hug, he will come and hug me too. So, I nicknamed him "my little lover". 

Now after a year sleeping together, I would need to get him sleep in his own bed soon. I do not mind him sleeping with me once a while but I think hubby and I need a little privacy sometimes. 

Fun and informative expo for parents

Wish I am in Kuching now so I could attend this fun expo and join in the fun. 

However for those who stays in Kuching, do not miss this Parenting Expo in Boulevard Shopping Mall starting today till Sunday. More than 80 booths on display, parenting talks and sharing by experts and celebrity mums as well as stage activities will be held for 3 days. And interesting games and lucky draws for everyone, including your babies. 

Check out the schedules below.

Savour the fisherman's catch

The first time we were here was back in August 2013 when we were celebrating my birthday.

We were here on Tuesday evening for a dinner as hubby was craving for umai after the Kapit trip. Lol. 

Everyone was hungry so we had an early dinner around 530pm. We parked our car near the wharf and just cross the road to reach this Fisherman's Restaurant.

So while waiting for our food, we had the super delicious and crispy Mukah keropok. Went well with their special chilli vinegar dipping.

For the kids, we ordered an onion omelette.

I love its paku santan, which was one of my recommended dishes here. It was very fragrant with the coconut milk and dried shrimp. 

There came our catch of the day! Umai, the Melanau delicacy of raw fishes. It was very fresh, super appetizing with mix of sour, spicy and sweet all in a bite.

We also had its grilled lamb racks. It was very good with the 2 dippings; minced garlic and mint sauce. They gave us 4 big slabs of lamb, which was tender and juicy.

This was how I ate my lamb. One part with mint sauce and another with the minced garlic. 

After we were full, we went to the night market which was just across the road. Just look look, see see since I never walked there before.

And true enough, I found the roasted pigs' heads in the market. You can basically find any parts of the animal over here. Rather disgusting I know. Not a common sight in most night markets in Malaysia. I know I never see this in Kuching night market. 

After a round of walk, we walked back to our car which was parked in front of the wharf. And we got to see the "tongkang" (boats) docked there.

Here we go, again

Read somewhere in one of Suituapui's posts on this tomato kuaw tiaw in Good Happiness Restaurant, so last Sunday when we were here for dim sum, I ordered this dish.

It was really good. A very big portion although we asked for 1 person portion. The tomato sauce was not too sweet yet too sour. Just nice. And it had many ingredients in that big plate!

This deep-fried fish skin was our first time and it was nice. It did look like soft shell crab when it came. And tasted like it too. Went well with the dipping.

Hubby wanted to taste the lo mai kai. It was alright, according to him. I did not taste it as I were enjoying other dim sum like this deep fried prawns rolls.

We had other dim sum like steamed pork ribs, har kau and this steamed paus.

That  day we were there before 9am and by the time we finished our breakfast, it was almost 10! Gosh! This was not a delightful meal as we waited so long for our food. Almost lost our patience as those waiters and waitresses were in daze and confused. I think something was wrong with their system and queues or they had a new captain that day! Simply unacceptable.

On Monday

Hubby was called to go back to Kapit for a family affair yesterday so he took the earlier express out at 530am. Of course he slept in the 3 hours ride. By the time he reached Kapit, it was over 8am and he sent me pictures of the wharf.

It was still early then otherwise the wharf would be bustling with people and activities.

He did send many pictures back. One of them was this intriguing old wooden Chinese house. It belongs to a relative. I always love to look at old wooden houses since I were young. Not much of these in Kuching now. But there are still some to be seen in Sibu!

Hubby supposed to just go and back in a day but he could not make to the last express yesterday so he spent a night in my in-laws' house. As of this post, I am actually waiting for my princess to finish her school so we can go and pick him from Sibu wharf. ^^

By the way, Jan's application for school transfer has been approved and we received our copy yesterday. The school helped us to submit to the local education department and they were even kind enough to send copies to the Padawan education department and primary school in Kuching. Save me a lot of times! 

We had heavy downpour yesterday afternoon. Nothing unusual but not seldom we got to see rainbows after the pours. However we got a chance to see one yesterday! And the kids were telling stories about rainbows at the back of the car when we spotted it. 

Look at my youngest! He is a writer, I told my hubby. Loves to hold pencil. If he could get hold of one, he will never let it go. He is going to be 14 months old in 3 weeks time. 

Home of good food (and dogs!)

Booked this place a week in advance. Heard from others that they served nice pizza so I brought along my sil and kids on Thursday night to try it out myself.

Contact numbers for reservation

Found their information from the internet but not much reviews from those who tried it.

It was not hard to find the place. We found it correctly at first turning.

Map of the home-based business

Just look for the "Husky for sales" stickers on cars parked in front of the semi-D house. 

The owners have so many Huskies around. And the friendly owner even shown us his pups and dogs. These 2 adorable pups are only a week old. And they are for sale!

Mostly  huskies but he has other breeds of dogs too. Like this dog, forgot to ask the owner the breed name. I think it is Chow Chow. He was just like a guard dog, stayed there watching over us.

Surprisingly all the dogs were very tame and quiet when we were there. The only time we heard them barked was when we were standing at the gate. After that all were quiet and mind their own business around the house or cages. The dogs were well trained and clean. My sil who is a dog lover could not help but pat and carry the pups. She nearly bought one!

Okay, the mouth-watering part is here. But firstly, let me introduce the owner cum chef, Josef in his kitchenette.

Cheesy pizza

I ordered 3 dishes that night. First one was its ham, capsicum and baby corn pizza. Our pizza was out from the oven and ready in 10 minutes time.

Never tasted baby corns in a pizza before but trust me, it was tasty. The pizza was good. I love the thin crust, the fragrant cheese that he used. My kids were enjoying it too. My girl helped herself to few slices. 

Lovely seasoned lamb chops!

Next was this super juicy and tender lamb chops. We enjoyed this very much too. The meat was well seasoned and the garlicky brown sauce was great as well. I think he added the oil from all the grilling to the sauce to have such tasty gravy.

Medium-cooked beef cutlet

Last but not least was this medium cooked T-bone steak. I seldom eat beef but I have to recommend this steak to you. It was delicious. It came in a big piece but I requested to be cut into smaller bite pieces for our conveniences. I like it medium cooked as I would not want it to be bloody red and raw. It came with a pepper sauce which was great too. Nothing goes wrong combining beef with peppery sauce.

Loved the baked potatoes too!

It was an enjoyable evening. The lady owner, a local was very friendly and we had a good time chatting with her while her hubby was busy in the kitchen preparing pizzas for take-away.

If anyone looking for a good Western cuisine, this private enclosure is a good choice. They have a table set up in their compound so a reservation is necessary. And of course they cater to take-away too. 

Big fat plates!

Did not know where to bring my kids for dinner one night but after discussing and bribing my kids, I finally decided to come back here for dinner. In case you are wondering, both kids wanted chicken rice but I were not in mood for it. So the mummy won in coin tossing and decided on where to eat. Lol!

We have been here 2 months ago and since then, we did not go back. However I read from a friend's fb a week ago on how good was its nasi lemak so I were tempted to try. I always have a soft spot for nasi lemak. ;)

So here was our order that day....

I had its black jelly with mixed fruits. Not too sweet although I believe they used coconut milk and the only fruits I could see were watermelon and honey dew.

Next our starter arrived! Sausage bun for RM6.90. The kids enjoyed it. Just hot dog stuffed bread that coated in crumbs but a great snack for children.

Alright! This is a bomb! The taste is alright; nothing to shout about. I believe they did not use much MSG in the cooking so it was neither salty or too tasty. But what really shocked me was the portion! HUGE! This fried rice with sliced chicken (RM7.90) was worth ordering. Enough to feed 2 adults! Liked the fluffy rice grain that did not clump at all.

There! The dish that I have been coming for! Their nasi lemak special! Looked good, right?

They have a whole fried chicken wings, a sausage, 1 whole hard-boiled egg sliced into quarters, salted peanuts, sambal and a salted fish! I know not many places served salted fish in their nasi lemak. So this is a bonus for me! I like salted fish in my nasi lemak!

Verdict? Priced at RM8.90, this dish is value for money! I can taste the coconut milk in the rice. Sambal was good but I would like it to be more spicy.

There you are! Our big fat dinner!