We were privileged to join our Muslim friends to break fast at Chatz Brasserie, PARKROYAL Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Chatz Brasserie features a variety of traditional Malaysian ‘kampung’ cuisine including popular Malay dishes and items daily with four Iftar menus on rotation.  Bubur Lambuk, a must-have at breaking of fast. Ketupat Palas Lemang Serunding Ayam and Daging At the Kerabu corner, appetise with Pasembor Berlauk with Peanut Gravy, Kerabu Pucuk Paku, Kerabu Ayam Daun Kesom and […]

As you have viewed in many of our past videos, Lil’ Chef Ayden had been using our rice cooker to cook a lot. Though the rice cooker does wonders, it takes a longer time to heat up especially when Ayden needs to saute and stir fry stuffs. Hence we decided to get a multi-cooker for him.  We got the new PHILIPS All-in-One Pressure Cooker as we read rave reviews over it online. It functions as a […]

Ayden has been attending Mandarin enrichment class for over a month now. This has totally changed our routine and I am still trying to adjust having to go to bed earlier at night so that we can wake up early for his class. This also means I now have less time to work on my blog and it kind of driving me crazy a little but it’s okay. I’ll find my way to make this work […]

We brought the boys to Sunway Lagoon last Saturday. It was a super hot day so we decided to have some cold treats in Sunway Pyramid after that. We dropped by Sangkaya kiosk which is located opposite Nando’s and Guardian.  Sangkaya is nuts about coconut and is well-known for their ice-cream with coconut milk as the foundation. One of their new release is Gula Melaka ice-cream which I am madly in love with. It has that very […]

It is the school holidays so I got both the boys to cook together. Since our Muslim friends are observing the holy month of Ramadan, the dish we’ll be sharing today is one that is popular during the fasting month – Roti John Sardin. Roti John is an omelette sandwich. Meat is usually added but we prefer to use sardine since my mom has been making it this way for us since young. This hassle […]

I grew up in Sitiawan but left to KL since college. It has been 20 years since I last stepped foot here. We were finally back in Sitiawan last Sunday. Words can’t describe how delighted I was to finally walk on the ground that shaped me to be who I am today. These two are my former classmates. I surprised one of them at his coffee shop for lunch the moment we arrived Sitiawan. The other guy is […]

Last Saturday was the beginning of the school holidays. We brought the boys to Sunway Lagoon Wildlife Park to take a walk on the wild side. Ethan also took part in the Wildlife EduHunt challenge where he has to complete 10 challenges ranging from Peek-A-Print, Mix & Match, Mystery Box, animal appearance to feeding swans, macaws and squirrels. Wildlife Encounter Schedule As we go through the Wildlife Adventure, we get to learn about the many species […]

With the mid term exam done and over with and the school holidays is here, it only means it is time to have fun, FUN and MORE fun! We officiate the two-weeks school break with popping our own popcorn. I’ve blogged about making our own popcorn some time ago but now it is time to pass the skill to the boys or rather the big brother Ethan. Homemade Popcorn Ingredients: A bowl of corn kernels […]

Both my kids love eating mushrooms. Mushrooms is also said to be good for the brain so I try to include mushrooms in their diet regularly. Today’s recipe sharing is this super simple dish of Mushroom Chicken. This quick and easy yet delicious dish is a hit with the boys and I always add extra mushrooms as they always ask for more of it. Mushroom Chicken Ingredients: 7 chicken drumsticks 5 tbs oyster sauce 2 […]

I’ve mentioned this countless times – how playground time is important for us. It is especially important during exam weeks as Ethan goes there to release stress.  We went to the playground as usual today. I got my dose of exercise too from jogging and utilizing the playground equipment such as this monkey bar: Can you see my little supporter there?  So nice to have someone cheering me on when my arms are already feeling like […]

About 3 weeks ago, someone in our family gave birth ahead of time; catching us all of guard.  As she has no other family members here in PJ except us, I cooked some confinement food for her. It was my first time cooking confinement food and I somehow simply whacked as long as got ginger except the black bean soup lah. That one has no ginger in it. I also boiled red dates and longan […]

It was just another ordinary day for us today. We were strolling at a mall in town, admiring the many bonsai around as they were having a plant exhibition at the moment.  The above bonsai grabbed my attention. My mother has that plant at home but hers is planted on the ground and shaped to be a big cute ball. So I took a picture of that and sent to my Mom via Whatsapp.  I continued […]

Today Lil’ Chef Ayden cooked another Sichuan dish – Kung Pao Chicken. If you love Sichuan dishes, you may like Ayden’s previous video – Ma Po Tofu. We did not use Chinese Shaoxing rice wine in our Kung Pao Chicken though but I find it still as yummy. Ingredients: Cubed chicken fillet 3 tablespoons roasted peanuts 6 dried red chilies 3 tablespoons oil An inch fresh ginger, sliced 2 clove garlic, sliced 1 stalk scallion, cut into […]

For the third year now we celebrated Mother’s Day at Eastin Hotel Kuala Lumpur. Located less than 30 minutes drive from our house, it is one of our favourite hotels in town. At RM88nett per adult with children paying half the adults’ price, their Brunch Buffet featuring both local and international buffet spread is also one of the more affordable deals around. What I love about Eastin Hotel is they never fail to arrange interesting […]

The fasting month is fast approaching. This is the time when my favourite buah kurma or honey dates are available in abundance. We came out with this recipe back in 2015. It took us two bakings to get it right back then. Now, it is my fail proof recipe come the holy month of Ramadan. I like to bake this for my neighbours during this time of the year and am glad they love it […]

4FINGERS is a Singaporean chain of fast casual restaurants that specializes in crispy Korean style fried chicken. Headquartered in Singapore, the chain was founded in 2009 and currently has 13 stores in Singapore and Malaysia. 4Fingers Crispy Chicken has now opened at Sunway Pyramid much to our delight. We frequented their outlet in Mid Valley Megamall a couple of times but has not been able to do so now since we seldom shop at MV anymore […]

Over the weekend, Ayden cooked something that got him sweating buckets. What is it that he dished out that made him sweat? It is his first time cooking Sichuan food – Ma Po Tofu. As we all know, Sichuan cuisine is well known for their bold and fiery flavours resulting from the use of garlic and Sichuan chili peppers but that did not deter Ayden from trying. He dished out this Ma Po Tofu the ‘cheat’ […]

It has been so long since I last uploaded a video of Ethan’s drumming. Drumming has taken a back seat in his life at the moment as he has been busy with other stuffs but he still attends drumming lessons once a week. He still plays the drum every once in a while though as he’ll be sitting for Grade 6 exam next month. He gets bored when he has no performance scheduled in the […]

Eastin Hotel Kuala Lumpur welcomes the holy month of Ramadan with an array of sumptuous and delicious delights from the northern states of Malaysia to Swez Brasserie. Bringing in the favourites from Kedah, Penang, Perak, Kelantan and others, Warisan Tradisi Kampung D’Utara is a must taste medley for buka puasa this Ramadan.  Top picks such as Sup ‘Gear Box’, Ikan Bakar Kuala Kedah, Gulai Kawah Daging, Nasi Kandar, Ayam Panggang Madu Berbijan, Kari Kepala Ikan […]

Hello there! A personal matter cropped up over the weekend and we were kept busy but let’s take a break and cook something simple and delicious today. Little Ayden has a new Chef hat and apron courtesy of Uncle Kimmy. It fits perfectly and he loves it very much. Thank you Uncle Kimmy ♥ Today, Ayden will be sharing this super simple yet delicious recipe of Honey Garlic Chicken.  Ingredients: 6 chicken drumsticks 1/4 cup honey […]

This weekend has been a very busy one. We spent our Saturday at Sunway Pyramid having a great adventure with Thomas & Friends and on Sunday, we went to Main Place Mall at USJ to join the Hawaiian themed carnival.   It is a one-day carnival and we had so much fun here.  We bought game coupons to play the many games available.  The first game we tried was this super cute Pineapple Coconut Bowling game. […]

My late grandmother made the best Kueh Chang (Nyonya Rice Dumpling) no doubt about that. I remember as a kid, I looked forward excitedly to that time of the year to eat her Kueh Chang. She’ll made them by the boxes and take a bus from Melaka to where we were back then, in Lumut, Perak as my father was with the Navy.  I anticipated her arrival with great delight as I know though I […]

Thomas and Friends has invaded Sunway Pyramid and I brought the boys there today to join Thomas on his journey beyond Sodor! Here’s a video of the activities the boys participated in during their adventures with Thomas & Friends: Ethan and Ayden got to ride on Thomas around the mall.  They also went on a Space adventure.  Slide into ‘shark infested’ ocean.  Sharks are friends, not food. Now let’s tell the shark that these boys are […]

CLASSIC AND CONTEMPORARY FLAVORS FOR THE BREAKING OF FAST WITH AN ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT TROPICAL FRUIT FIESTA AT RENAISSANCE KUALA LUMPUR HOTEL Starting from 27 May 2017, diners can engulf their senses with a feast of more than 100 dishes including Malaysian classics enjoyed during the fasting season. Not only that, be spoilt with an all-you-can-eat tropical fruit fiesta and durian, the king of fruits (subject to seasonal availability) at the ‘urban tropical oasis’. The breaking of […]

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of carotenes. We need carotenes as our body converts it into Vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for good eye vision and healthy skin; especially beneficial for school-going children. I try to include sweet potatoes into the boys’ diet as often as possible. Sometimes they eat it steamed on its own but at times when we have more time to spare, I’ll prepare this delicious Sweet Potato in Gula Melaka drink for […]

We took advantage of the long weekend to make a quick trip back to Malacca to visit my parents. We went back on Sunday as Saturday was a busy day for us. Traffic was smooth and we arrived about 2pm. While having lunch, my mom informed me that she will be going over to my uncle’s (mom’s elder brother) house (a stone’s throw away) for a BBQ dinner.  I promptly Whatsapp my uncle to ask […]

If you have been following our progress, you’ll know that Ayden has been to the dentist numerous times as his teeth are very fragile and chips off easily. He had filling done on his teeth a couple of times but some eventually dropped off.  Last weeked we were at the dentist again.  This time Ayden needed to get only one filling done, thank goodness for that.  Since Ayden was done rather quickly, the Daddy took advantage […]

I remember fondly back in those days when I was still living with my parents, my mom would cook vegetarian dishes every 1st and 15th of the month. I am not too sure the reason behind it as I was still in school back then and it was not a norm for me to question her choice of dishes.  Eating less meat can reap big health and environmental benefits but my family are not vegetarians, […]

Little Chef Ayden is back with this very simple recipe we learned from my mom. She often prepares this at home but instead of using pork ribs as she always does, we used chicken.  Steamed Chicken with Minced Bean Paste aka Taucu Ingredients: 6 Chicken Drumstick 5 Cloves Garlic (pounded) 1 Red Chili (pounded) 1 inch ginger (pounded) 1 tbs salted minced bean paste (taucu) Method: 1) Pound garlic, ginger and chili. 2) Add the pounded […]

I received an invitation on Friday night to bring Ayden over for an audition for a local Kids Talk Show today. They were scouting for kids aged 3 to 8 years old. I believe it will be a good experience for Ayden as he has never attended an audition before so I agree to it. I am also eager to see Ayden’s reaction to all these.  Today, we woke up as usual, got dressed and […]

My family loves cheesecake a lot but we’ve never baked one ourselves as we don’t have an oven. We came across a rice cooker cheesecake recipe online recently and got excited to try it out. The only problem is, the recipe from Dingo Food is not in English and when I clicked on the translated version, it requires the use of FOUR DOGS! I reckon it will be such a hassle to catch 4 dogs. Moreover, […]

This year, The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur stirs up a diverse range of delicacies at its casual dining outlet, Charcoal for the breaking of fast buffet. From 26 May to 24 June 2017, The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur takes the gratification once again to chaperone families and friends who are planning get-togethers during this blissful season with their delightful smorgasbord, ‘Menikmati Aneka Judah di Saujana’, commencing conjointly with the first day of the observance. This […]

Being home-schooled, one of the activities I frequently do with Ayden at home is painting. Painting provides endless benefits to children. Even myself as an adult find painting therapeutic. Here are some of the benefits of painting for children: Hand-Eye Coordination – This is a very important skill at their age; to be able to coordinate their hand movements at par with their vision. It may sound easy to us but for young children, practice makes […]

We revisited one of our favourite pork joint, Skippys Pizza at Damansara Uptown today. Skippys Pizza The Real Pork Pizza Co. Address: 33, Jalan SS 21/56b, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Phone: +60 3-7733 0255 * Archive pic taken during my visit last year. Read about it here. The first thing I noticed is they removed the glass panel that was previously there last year. When I asked the staff why is this so, he […]

Today Lil’ Chef Ayden will be cooking Dhal Curry. Dhal Curry has always been the boys’ favourite whenever we eat Roti Canai so today I thought, why not guide him to cook it himself? The heat level of Dhal Curry can be adjusted according to your preference. If your kid can’t tolerate spicy stuffs, then go low on the chili or you may omit it altogether. Dhal is simply the Indian word for lentils. I […]

This is a delayed post of the recent week-long school holidays. I only got the time to blog about it today as I wasn’t feeling well the past week.  Kids these days are very lucky. Malls in major cities especially the Klang Valley will always have some fun activities for them during the school holidays and these activities are usually complimentary.  After we got back from Penang, we brought the kids to 1 Utama to enjoy […]

We love bananas. It is one of our favourite local fruits. Banana is KING when it comes to nutrition. It is power-packed with essential vitamins and minerals such as potassium, calcium and many more. Potassium helps to maintain a healthy balance of fluids in the body and as an electrolyte, potassium stimulates nerves and muscles throughout our body. I eat banana everyday before going for my evening jog. Last week, it rained almost every evening deterring us from […]

DYNASTY RESTAURANT at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel that used to serve non-halal delicacies has recently been converted into a Pork-Free restaurant. It is now serving delectable pork-free and Muslim friendly Chinese dishes with emphasis on Cantonese cuisine creatively put together by award-winning Executive Sous Chef Kok Chee Kin. DYNASTY RESTAURANT Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel Corner of Jalan Sultan Ismail & Jalan Ampang 50450 Kuala Lumpur t: 603-2162 2233 f: 603-2163 1122 We were privileged to be invited […]

During the school holidays, Ethan managed to spend some time in the kitchen. I guided him to cook this famous Peranakan dish, Ayam Pongteh.  Ingredients:  6 Chicken Drumsticks 2 Potatoes 4 Chinese Mushrooms 2 Tablespoon Tauchu 1 Teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce 2 Teaspoon Gula Melaka 5 Shallots (Pounded) 5 Cloves Garlic (Pounded) Method: 1) Pound shallots and garlic 2) Slice mushrooms 3) Heat oil in wok 4) Fry garlic, onion and tauchu  5) Once fragrant, add in […]

During the recent school holidays, we made a trip up to Penang. One of the reason we went up is to visit the new Jurassic Research Center at The TOP, KOMTAR. The boys love it there as they got to see their favourite dinosaurs come ‘alive’. Imagine seeing dinosaurs in your books up close and roaring in front of you. That was what they got during our visit there. You can read all about it […]

I’ve shared this super simple yet extremely delicious moist chocolate cake recipe back in 2015. This cake requires no mixer and bakes perfectly in the rice cooker. During the recent school holidays, I got the boys to bake this favourite cake of theirs themselves. Ingredients: 180g Salted Butter 180g Brown Sugar 100ml Full Cream Milk (I used Fresh Milk instead) 2 Eggs (lightly beaten) 100g Self-Raising Flour 1/2 tsp Baking Soda 50g Cocoa Powder Method: 1) Add […]

We love Penang. It is only 4 hours drive away from Kuala Lumpur hence it is easily our favourite choice for a short getaway whenever we need a boost of some Vitamin Sea and nice, sandy beaches. We usually stay at Batu Feringgi whenever we go up to Penang as the boys love to spend time playing by the beach. It is no different this school holidays with Golden Sands Resort by Shangri-La being our […]

The weather is pretty hot these days. It is better to not eat too much ‘heaty’ food so I got Ayden to steam egg for dinner. It is pretty easy to prepare this dish. Ingredients needed: Egg Chicken Stock Pepper Sesame Oil Spring Onion Fried Onion Water Method: 1) Break an egg into a bowl 2) Whisk the egg 3) Add chicken stock 4) Add water and mix 5) Sieve the egg 6) Add pepper […]

Now that we are back in KL, it is time to go mall hopping to check out the holiday activities installed for children. Our first stop is at Sunway Pyramid for the Hot Wheels® roadshow. Hot Wheels® has collaborated with Mega Bloks® to launch two brand new Hot Wheels® Track Builder track sets featuring bricks. The boys during a session with “The Engineer” as he shared how to build our own epic stunts with the […]

Penang has long been enticing visitors with its beautiful coasts and scrumptious cuisines. This beautiful island welcomes modernity yet at the same time preserves its traditions and old world charm. I remember visiting KOMTAR, the tallest building in Penang when I was little. It has been THAT long ago. Last weekend I found myself back, this time at The TOP, KOMTAR with the boys to visit Jurassic Research Center, one of the latest attractions here. The TOP @ KOMTAR […]

It has been over a month after Chinese New Year and we still have leftover chicken floss. How? Make our favourite French Toast with Chicken Floss of course. The boys always look forward for me to make them this treat after every Chinese New Year but I am not going to make it for them this year because they are going to make it themselves  Ingredients : 1) Chicken Floss 2) Egg 3) Bread 4) […]

At this stage of my life, I spend so much time raising the kids, we hardly get to catch up with friends. Our friends are also mostly busy with either work or their family that if we don’t make the effort, we will never get to meet-up. Last weekend, we decided to surprise our good friend; the person you don’t always see but is very much involved in my blog. He is the one who manages […]

We are going to share a Peranakan Nyonya dish today. It is a popular soup dish called Ayam Masak ‘O’.  One of the quickest and easiest soup to prepare, it is easily a favourite among children as well as adults with its soupy gravy, soft potatoes and flavorful chicken with lots of ginger. Though we use ginger to cook this, it is not gingery hot but rather just nice to complement the whole thing. Best […]

The other day when there were only me and Ayden at home, I saw a cockroach in the toilet. You know me, I freak out each time I see cockroaches. They are my worse nightmare.  Seeing that there is no one to help us, I told Ayden to stay out and used aerosol to spray it dead.  The cockroach did not die instantly though. It laid down on the floor with its legs kicking in […]

Sweet potato has many health benefits. They are an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene). Our body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A. We need vitamin A for healthy skin and good eye health and vision hence it is an excellent food choice for growing kids. As sweet potato is naturally sweet, it is delicious eaten on its own. It is extremely easy to cook sweet potato. All we need to do is […]

Little Ayden is getting really comfortable with our rice cooker these days. He uses it to bake cakes and recently cooked a chicken dish in it. I saw how easy it was to cook using the rice cooker and decided to let him try cooking Chicken Stew in it. There is a whole lot of ingredients required to cook this Chicken Stew but these are mostly basic stuffs that you’ll usually have ready in your kitchen on […]

This is the story Ayden and I have been reading last week – The Hare and the Tortoise in Bahasa Malaysia. He learned many new words through this story such as mengejek, mengajak, berlumba dan laju.  Here is the video of Ayden summarizing the story for us. Hope you’ll enjoy it. Ayden @ 3Y5M Let me also share this video of Ayden summarizing the story of The Grasshopper and Ants in Bahasa Malaysia (in case you missed […]

Children today are exposed to robotics very early in their lives. Robots are aplenty amongst us. Even vacuum cleaners are robots these days. Besides these robots that children encounter every day, there are countless courses easily available for kids to learn the basics of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science among others. Ethan loves robotics. He has shown a keen interest in robots from a very young age so we let him explore further […]

After all the cooking videos I did for Ayden, I think it is only fair to have one for Ethan too. That boy has been so occupied with school, homework, co-coriculum and more that I hardly have time to speak to him on weekdays  Just a blink of an eye, Ethan is already 9 going to be 10 this year. He is growing up fast before my very eyes so I better take more pictures […]

A recent conversation I had with an acquaintance had her saying this to me, “You are lucky to not grow sideways after having kids”. I beg to differ. LUCK has nothing to do with me growing sideways or not.  I put on over 20kg during each of my pregnancies. Being only 4’9″, the additional 20kg was really taxing on me. Closer to the end of my pregnancy, I waddled around like a penguin as I […]

A couple of weeks ago my mom and I did a live Peranakan cooking demo at The Straits Hotel and Suites, Melaka. One of the dish we cooked is Ayam Satay Buah Keras. Today, Ayden cooked the same dish at home but instead of using the wok, he used the rice cooker because he is too young to be handling a wok and a gas stove. If you wish to try cooking this dish, do […]

We all look forward to weekends, don’t we? After all the hard work during the weekdays, it is a much sought after break to chill, unwind and recharge over the weekends with some good food and music.  Music affects us directly. We react differently to different types of music; upbeat songs make us excited while slower songs may make us sad. However, studies have shown that Jazz relieves stress. Jazz’s soothing melody helps us relax yet at […]

Ayden is 3 years 5 months. He is still not attending any preschool at the moment so it is entirely my responsibility to keep up with his total development. Children pick up a new language best below 6 years of age so I take this opportunity to teach Ayden an extra language besides English. I teach him to speak in Bahasa Malaysia. I wish I can teach him Mandarin but that is totally an alien language […]

The Straits Hotel and Suites Melaka is having Peranakan Buffet Dinner every Friday and Saturday from 20 January to 11 March 2017.  When I got invited by the hotel to do a LIVE cooking demo featuring Peranakan dishes, I knew I should get my mom, the true blue Peranakan Nyonya to do this with me as she is the master chef of our family  The hotel’s promotional poster. These are the lovely family members and […]

Today we are making something really simple because we used store-bought items  Let’s call it a cheat-day as I am a bit lazy to prepare them from scratch. Nevertheless, it still gets a double thumbs-up from Lil Ayden as shown below: What is it that he made that excites him so much? Watch this video: It is also his first tutorial in BM  Ayden @ 3Y5M