Megumi @ Upper East Coast Road

Decided to walk over to Megumi for a quick Jap dinner over the weekend. It was hot hot hot, and everyone was tired.


We ordered this UFO maki to share. It was a crispy seafood roll, according to the description on the menu. This was very well received indeed. The crispy seafood roll inside was clearly fried upon order, it was warm and crispy and it was delicious paired with the rice and ebiko. Thumbs up for this one. We ordered it recently when we went there again. It was very well received by all!


My favourite california roll was good, but overshadowed by the excellent UFO maki. We also devoured this in a jiffy, nevertheless.


Cutie ordered a california handroll, which he adorably calls a sushi cone. He couldnt wait for me to snap a pic... see, his fingers are reaching for his handroll already!


My order of sumi udon. I wanted cold noodles, given the sweltering weather. And I saw this interesting charcoal wheat noodles on the menu and gave it a try. It was smooth and nice, didnt taste like charcoal! I hear it has some cleansing properties, so give it try if you are game for some gut cleansing! See the little quail's egg in the corner? I wasnt sure whether I am supposed to add it to the dip, or crack it over the noodles or what.


The server recommended asahki sashimi, I believe it was called. It was a whole fish, sliced up. I found it a tad warm, I like it slightly colder and the pieces stuck together as though it was sliced with a blunt knife. Didn't really like this one. It cost $35.





Here is Cutie, all ready to eat. He usually eats his dinner earlier, but these days, he is going through a growth spurt, so having a 2nd dinner is usual for him.


Sweetie is doing some gymnastics before dinner. Haha.

School Carnival at Fort Canning

Cutie's pre-school held a carnival at fort canning for charity. So we bought tickets to support the charity and headed there on Saturday morning.


Driving Game, using a magnet to direct the metal car.


Ball Throwing game.


He looks cool with sunglasses, I think.


Drumming game...


Picking balls...


Riding the little car...


saying hi to a teacher from his school...

Cutie also brought home some balloons for himself and his sister. His is a balloon sword, and he liked it so much, he brought it with him to the bath.


He also requested a balloon flower for his sister, which I thought was very sweet.


Yes, Sweetie likes her balloon too.

All in all, a great weekend!

Marusui Japanese fish Market @ B2 Vivocity

had an inpromptu lunch with CT, since we were both working late, and by the time i stepped out of my little office, I could only see her around. Everyone else had already gone out for lunch.

Suggested that new fish market place at Vivocity basement, opposite Giant supermarket. Its a little place with only a few tables, so if you can't get a seat, you might need to tarpow back to the office.

The sashimi and sushi is displayed in front of you like at the japanese supermarkets.. You choose what you like, then pay at the cashier. The chefs will slice up the sashimi for you.


CT patiently queuing to pay while I chope the seats!


Our sashimi selection! All fresh and nice. Came on a friday, which was delivery day! How lucky!


I like california rolls... Like all the ingredients and the happy orange colour. Started liking since my pregnancy days when I couldnt eat raw foods, but still wanted sushi.


This was on offer, alaskan crab on rice for SGD5.80 instead of the usual SGD12.80, so we got one to share. Yes, the crab was sweet. Then we saw a gentleman eat the entire crab leg. Turns out, that only costs $8! We should have got one! It looked quite nice.

Peramakan @ Keppel Club

I really should get a membership at Keppel Club. I am here so often! I came here for friday lunch with some girls. And we had a great time.

The last time I came, I honestly didn't find the food that fabulous. Perhaps we ordered the wrong things.

This time however, everything was fantastic. Particularly the company! :)


Assam Udang Nanas(Tangy assam prawns with pineapple) - very appetising and delicious. The gravy was tasty and tangy and really excited the tastebuds.


Spicy Gravy Chicken (Ayam Rendang) - this was tasty and the chicken was tender.


Grilled squid (Sotong Bakar) - my favourite! It was delicious! The squid was perfectly tender, right texture, fragrantly grilled. The sauce covering it was slightly spicy and very yummy.

We also shared otah and sambal kang kong, but i was too busy eating to take any photos.


Our shared dessert of apom balik - fluffy pancakes with warm banana syrup. The pancakes were warm and soft and delicious. The banana syrup was not too sweet and had real chunks of banana. We also each ordered a durian chendol... I forgot to take a photo of it, but its in the group photo below. It was delicious and although it tasted very rich, it didn't feel rich, it felt most refreshing.


Looking forward to the next one, girls!

Dian Xiao Er @ Vivocity

Went for lunch with DB at Vivocity.

I like lunching with him... he is fun to talk to.. And he isnt so self absorbed like other youngsters who only talk about themselves or their own angsty issues... He can discuss current affairs, he has intelligent views, and he is concerned enough to ask about me and the kids.

We went ala carte... and chose our faves.


The fried rice (SGD9) here is good. Each grain of rice is tasty and redolent with the fragrance of wok hei. I also like their fried vermicelli.. also has the same wok hei which comes from an experienced hand.




The crocodile soup with almonds (SGD6) used to be more expensive, now all the soups are 6. This was tasty and nice. DM says its too heaty though, should have avoided in these recent times of extreme hot weather.


A close up of the soup. We discovered this wormy things... and were told that these were cordyceps! Sure or not? I know that cordyceps are super expensive! They were crunchy but tasteless. Certainly no herbal taste. The meat tasted alright, not too tough, but certainly not tender either. DB says it tastes like pork.



The signature herbal roast duck - everyone loves it. It is fragrant and tender and delicious.


I can pick up peanuts with my chopsticks! IeatIshootIpost was recently blogging about the right way to hold chopsticks... how do I fare eh?


And, the main reason why I come here. The power chili sauce. Goes well with everything and really has the spicy kick.


Drinks from Queen and Mangosteen. Refreshing. I really needed a break, it has been a crazy week.


Best chocolate ice cream, cutest spoon and takeaway box.


Retail therapy - as I said, it was a crazy week. So, bought clothes for cutie from Club Marc - they are really expensive in the States (just try buying online!) but in its vivo outlet, it seems that they are having perpetual closing down sales.


Bought myself a pretty watch too.

Kome Japanese Dining @ Keppel Club

DH and I wanted to have a quick sushi and sashimi lunch before our movie date - State of Play at Vivocity Gold Class!

So we headed to Kome Japanese Dining. I come here for lunch pretty frequently, because they have pretty good, value-for-money bento set lunches. think sashimi, chawanmushi, mentaiko cod, tempura, with a salad starter and a fruit dessert for only SGD22.90. Usually I add a scoop of sesame ice cream if I am not too stuffed.

Chef Lawrence Chia is the brother of Ronnie Chia (Tatsuya) so I think they both employ the same marketing tactics - good and fresh sashimi at reasonable, value-for-money prices.

So this is our current favourite restaurant..

We went for an omakase sashimi and sushi lunch. Although if you are on a budget, they have a very reasonable ala carte buffet lunch for SGD38pp.


Our sashimi platter - includes toro and botan ebi. All delicious. Melted in my mouth.


We loved all the sushi that we were served - toro, uni, ikura, aburi hotate with mentaiko, aburi salmon belly with savoury garlic sauce. I was too busy oohing and ahing over the delicious morsels to take any photos at first... but when this seared foie gras on white tuna sushi arrived, i had to take a photo. It was simply divine.


See, DH and I are totally happy!

We then made our way to the GV Gold Class cinema to catch our screening of State of Play. I thought the movie was so-so... but I loved the whole experience of Gold Class. The comfortable reclining arm chairs, the wide array of hot food available, the proper cutlery, silver ware and glassware, the proper service. I felt pampered. We ordered wines (1 red, 1 white), a cheese platter and nachos with dips. It was decadent.

So I really enjoyed our movie date and so did DH. It was very extravagant, but luxuriously so.


The kids are just too funny these days.. Look at Sweetie's expression! "Mom, who's that guy next to me?"


And check this one out.. it totally cracks me up - "Am I pretty, mom?"


Then, we brought the kids swimming over the weekend. It was too hot, and so I capitulated and went swimming with them.



It was Sweetie's first visit to the pool! And yes, she sure enjoyed it! It was great fun seeing how she just kicked and splashed and squealed in delight.


Cutie found some friends straightaway. He is a very sociable kid.


Borrowed their water gun and aimed it right at me.


I just love bonding with my kids - and swimming on hot and sunny days is one of the best ways of doing just that!

7 ate Nine @ #01-36 Esplanade Mall

The good news is, DH finally finished his exams (and he did really really well too)! The bad news is,he has to start work at a new hospital immediately after he finished his exams. No time for a break at all. I originally thought we could do a staycation at Sentosa, but nope, it was not possible.

Oh well, he promised that we would still try to spend time together.

We went to watch a movie yesterday after work. But we promised his mom that we would still go back for dinner. So it was a rather rushed kinda thing. And since we met after work, we went in separate cars, and left separately. Didn't feel at all like a date! Told DH that it didn't count as one.

For those who are wondering, we went to watch Terminator Salvation. I thought it was rather nice - the boys were goodlooking, very ruggedly so. They all had very nice straight and shiny teeth (I Like!). In an environment where fuel, food, clothes are all scarce... it's quite a wonder that the girls in the show all seem to have easy access to rose/coral lipstick though. Lol. I dont know if it's because I am now too old... it just seems that all the movies that I have watched appear to have a rehash of the same old themes - messiah theme (he came to save the world / he sacrificed himself in the end), machines take over the world for the humans' greater good theme, falling in love with the "supposed" enemy theme.

So today we had lunch!

I asked him what he felt like eating, and gave him a few recommendations - Japanese (Kome), Italian (Bonta), French (Gunther's) or tapas-style bites (7atenine)... unfortunately, he chose 7atenine! I was rather hoping to go somewhere new (he hasn't tried any of the above, but I have tried Kome and 7atenine).

Still, I do think that 7 ate nine is good value for money, and fun to eat.


I am happy, because he came to pick me up, and he was ON TIME. Applause please!

Most of the stuff I tried today were different from what I had previously, except for 3 items - the tomato cheese tart (which DH also liked), the stuffed beef on hot stone (DH thought it was interesting) and the truffle risotto (which DH also liked). I guess these items are firm favourites. Anyhow, they were good, so we ordered repeats of the tart and the risotto.


Duck Rillette with caviar. It was quite tasty, with an interesting contrast in flavours and textures. I like rillette and I like caviar. Somehow, together, it should have been a good match, but maybe just a tad salty.


Chicken Caesar Salad - it was nice, but the chicken tasted salty, more like chicken ham. Otherwise I thought it was pretty good.


Soft shell crab - a crowd pleaser. Crispy and tasty. But not unique.


This was a winner - Goat's cheese ravioli in crab bisque. Loved the texture of the ravioli (smooth and silken), loved the tasty cheese encased within, loved the crab bisque, which was flavourful and delicious. We of course ordered a repeat of this one too.


Carnivorous DH must have his meats, so the above was one of his favourites. Braised Veal with polenta. Their polenta is creamy and tasty. The last time I had the polenta here, it was also very well received. The veal was tender and full of the gelatinous tendony bits, which we liked. We ordered a repeat of this one.


This is roasted beef flank with enoki mushrooms. This was very nice and although not super tender, it was quite tasty. We also ordered a repeat of this one.


Our array of desserts. We were stuffed by the time desserts arrived, to be honest. They all looked very pretty. On the spoons were a mango sorbet, then a chocolate truffle ball on a stick with a sweet earl grey jelly, and then a brownie with vanilla ice cream.


DH spent quite a fair bit of his time playing with his phone though! He can't seem to stop texting at the table! So, I shall tell him that this date doesn't quite count either. He shall have to take me out again!! haha.

Brotzeit, #01-?? Vivocity and Tung Lok Classics, Chinese Swimming Club at Amber Road

Went to Brotzeit for lunch today. It a German pub, run by Paulaner Brauhaus I believe. They do seem to have a wide array of drinks. Foodwise, it seemed pretty limited. There weren't many things that tempted me on the menu. Eventually we shared a sausage platter (SGD32) and ordered a potato salad (SGD5.80). He had a original lager (SGD10.90) and I had a Mango Wiessbier (a beer mixer of white beer and mango juice, SGD8.90). I enjoyed our lunch very much..


It was enjoyable conversation, with refreshing insights. He is very mature, very smart... yet also very nice and warm. He looks cool, but now I see that he actually has very grounded and traditional values. He was trying to convince me of the sanctity of marriage. He actually firmly believes in the doctrine of marriage... and the erosion of family values is a phenomenon that worries him. How quaint, and sweet.


Tung Lok Signatures



We went to Tung Lok Classics at Chinese Swimming Club for dinner over the weekend. The restaurant was well reviewed in the local papers in the past week, resulting obviously in a large crowd of people descending on the place. It wasn't equipped to take the crowd, and there was no sitting area for a comfortable wait.

To appease us, they sent a complimentary juice desssert, served in an extravagant display of shaved ice.


Cutie liked the juice, I think he had 2!

No matter. The kids had fun though.


Cutie and Daddy.


Me and Sweetie.


Cutie doing his own thing.


Sweetie doing her own thing.


Bought a new camera - a Canon Ixus. Love the functions, and the various cool and nifty things like automatic macros function, nice sleek design etc.


Took this photo in the car, and see how well it turned out!

Cutie

Generally, he has been a good boy, he is learning to accept criticism, and we are learning to do it in a more gentle manner. He can be quite embarrassed if we scold him in public or in front of others. If we are insensitive to his feelings, he will manifest his feelings of hurt pride and/or embarrassment by talking louder, in this pseudo macho bravado - "If Daddy scolds me again, I will cut him with the scissors! Lalala..." He says it loud enough for the people around to hear... I think it's so that he can manage his fragile male ego from being told off. Is this a guy thing?


Due to the extreme heat conditions here in Sunny Singapore, we have been eating ice cream a lot. Here he is, eating vanilla ice cream. His favourite flavours are green tea and vanilla.



Cutie also copes with the heat by taking frequent baths. He loves to have lots of bubbles in the tub, and if I take away the bathsoap, he will use shampoo, handsoap and anything else that is available. SIGH. How to scold him, when he is so delighted?

Sweetie

Our little princess. Wearing a tiara.


Sweetie is very good at posing for the camera... it's an instinctive girly thing maybe... she will turn to the camera and smile!

Sweetie is 10 months now. Very sweet and observant and friendly.

You know, I am very proud of my 2 little ones, they are growing rapidly! I find such joy in playing with them, reading to them, going for walks or just watching them.


I find that Cutie is a very good big brother, albeit a little rough from time to time... He takes time to play with Sweetie, does silly things to entertain her and make her laugh... Here is the video evidence of the above! I wasn't sure if my approach was right... you know, at first, when I decided to spend more time with Cutie after Sweetie arrived. Some experienced moms, and most books, suggested that it was important to spend more time with the elder sibling, because the elder sibling would be very aware of the new addition, and would be particularly sensitive to the intrusion and/or change. The baby would however be blissfully oblivious. So I adhered to this rule... resulting in me spending more time with Cutie than Sweetie.

The good thing of course, is that Cutie never felt threatened or abandoned. So he loves Sweetie and is always sharing things with her and playing with her. Nevertheless, I worried about this approach, I obssessed that Sweetie might not be close to me. The fears were of course unfounded. Sweetie still prefers me over any other caregiver. But now that she is older, she is more vocal in her demands for my attention as well. Fortunately, now that we are all pretty settled into the new family structure, the fact that I am now paying more attention to Sweetie does not change Cutie's attitude towards her. He is still the caring and loving big brother. I hope the way I dealt with this situation had helped, in a way. I think different kids respond differently so I dont know if my approach would be appropriate for everyone, but I think it did work well for me.

7ate9 @ Esplanade Mall #01-36

Finally, after several rounds of rescheduling, the girls managed to meet up for lunch! The last time we met was the French Kitchen lunch that PC hosted, which was in February!

I miss PC so very much, ever since she left for greener pastures, but I am happy that she is happy.

Anyway I am glad we 3 girls had lunch again together. PL had good news to share and I was so happy for her too. I hosted lunch this time and we went to 7ate9, where they are having a lunch unlimited promotion for SGD37++ (including free flow juices, soft drinks, coffee and tea). It was truly an enjoyable lunch, girl talk and great food.

The food is served tapas-style, and you can ask for repeats of anything that you particularly enjoyed.

I found the food light and nice, presentation was interesting and service was warm and polite. I had read some bad reviews online about the unaccommodating service, about taking photos etc. However, when I was there, I noticed the staff didn't prohibit photos, and they even helped to arrange the plates nicely if you want to take a photo.

Some of our favourites are below:



This was the first dish to arrive - tomato tart. It was served on a crisp parmesan cheese biscuit, held together by a white creamy cheese and topped with arugula leaves. Sinful, I bet, but utterly delicious. We asked for a repeat of this one!


This was a mousse of sorts, topped with caviar. Although it looked rich, it actually tasted quite light and healthy. Not bad but not superb.


This was tuna topped with sea urchin mousse (if I recall correctly). It was alright. I found the fish a little chewy, but it was nevertheless very fresh.


This was a visually stunning dish! We girls oohed and ahhed when it arrived. It was prawn and squid balls I think, served with a dip of wasabi mayo? It looked amazing, and tasted equally amazing. Can't go wrong with well-fried seafood balls, I imagine. These were light and crisp and fun to eat.


Beef on a hot stone. I think it was meant to be eaten slightly raw, because the stone wasn't really hot enough to cook the think slices of beef. It was an interesting concept though. We all enjoyed this.


This is more well cooked beef, served on a plate. It was a little chewy, but otherwise enjoyable. The tart and refreshing cooked apple on the side was fantastic though!


Ahh.. the well-reviewed risotto. I was told that the risotto here is quite a highlight. And it was good. This was the truffle risotto. Wow. It was really fantastically fragrant, with sliced truffle and mashed black truffle. We had a repeat order of this.


This was the an interesting satay skewer of macaron, raspberry jelly and cake. pretty good. I recall the jelly being surprisingly tart, in a good way.


The chocolate cake was well-received, which girl doesnt like chocolate?

We all agreed that this was the best dessert of all - banana mousse. Not too sweet, very fragrant and light and smooth.

Next one is on PL, she's going to take us to the White Rabbit!

McDonalds @ Kallang, Sakuraya @ South Bouna Vista Shopping Centre

Birthday Party for Lea at McD's
Lea is 6! She is our neighbour's youngest daughter, and she has 2 sisters, Lyn (aged 10) and Liz (aged 7). They are all lovely polite and well-mannered girls, who are kind and generous. I really adore them.

Lea is, I think, Cutie's first ever girlfriend. He likes her a lot and always enjoys going to her house. When he was younger, he would stand at the window and call out to her: "Lea, Lea, are you at home?"

They kindly invited Cutie to Lea's birthday Party at Kallang McDonalds! And of course Cutie had a great time.


Birthday cake was lovely. He sure enjoyed the cake, the food and the games.


He of course had to take a photo with his first girlfriend.


Yep, if Cutie were a little bit taller, they would have made a great couple! Haha.


Him and the other girls at the party.


Sakuraya Japanese Fish Market
I have never even heard of this place, but decided to check it out after a colleague mentioned that this was a pretty good place for cheap sashimi. Then I realised it sort of a well-kept secret, because this place filled up quite quickly on a weekday afternoon. This is a rather deserted location, near pasir panjang village (towards the haw par villa end).


Our selection of sashimi (which you choose from a counter and then they slice up and serve to you). Wow, I think we really ate a whole week's quota of sashimi. The nicest was the swordfish. It was firm and fresh. The salmon was also good, sweet, fresh and oily in a good way. The scallop was huge huh.. very fresh also.. it was sweet and yums.


We ordered uni sushi for $8 for 2. It would have cost easily $7 each at other places. The toro was $14 for 2, but we didn't go for that.


This grilled spicy salmon belly was SGD6. It was recommended dish on a website, but i found it a little dry.


We all ordered our own staple, and I had this. It was quite nice, but the rice was a little under-par. Not sweet, not sticky, not really a good accompaniment to the fresh salmon roe.

Verdict: come here for fresh and cheap sashimi, but that's about it.

Mothers Day Pressies
MOTHERS' DAY!! First time Cutie is really celebrating it with me. Usually Cutie's dad would buy a gift or plan something on behalf of Cutie. Cutie would be oblivious. Not this year though, because Cutie's dad is busy with something until the end of this month. And because, Cutie now 3 years old! He is very adept at art and craft and therefore has made the following pressies for me. I am thrilled to bits!



Bookmarks that he made for me at Por Por's house. One says "Mummy I love you" and the other says "Happy Mothers' Day!". It has stickers of a bus and a car and he says that he wants to buy them for me when he grows up.


These paper flowers in a yakult bottle, he made at school for me. Aren't they lovely? Beats any flower you get at the florist, any day. Exclusively hand-made by Cutie, and one of a kind.


On the left, bookmark with hearts made with Chinese teacher in school. On the right, a red styrofoam heart that Cutie made at Sunday school.


Cutie also made konnyaku jelly with mango and kiwi. Mine was a heart-shaped one. He proudly presents it to me on Friday. I praised him and told him to teach me how to make jelly next time... he says: "cannot, because must cut fruits with a knife, and I am afraid you will cut your hand. Only I can cut fruits with a knife because I am very careful."

One thing I am very grateful to Por Por is, she really is a hands-on grandma who allows Cutie to explore and try things under her careful supervision. She allows Cutie to explore, and do things like cut, and bake, but under her watchful eye so that he doesnt get hurt. Cutie actually enjoys the freedom, and he learns so well through this hands-on experience.


Doing a taste-test before giving it to me. -_-"


Present from sweet DS, a Mommies' Calendar with inspiring tales and verses to keep me grounded and grateful for life's blessings. Thanks DS!


So, to sum up, I really really love being a mom. Especially to these 2 darlings - Cutie and Sweetie.

:)