My loot from H&M!

So.
I went a little crazy in H&M yesterday.
Ok. Maybe 'a little' is an understatement.
I went a LOT crazy.
But things are soooooo cheap there!
I couldn't resist!
And best thing about it all was that I used my own savings.
So I'm guilt free!

All these shopping in preparation for our little family trip to the UK in October.




I got Renee 6 round neck long-sleeved tops and 2 turtleneck long-sleeved ones...




...a pair of dark purple jeans, a grey one and grey sweat pants,




....a Hello Kitty scarf (which I KNEW she would love!), a beanie and 3 pairs of thick wool leggings.




Dylan got this black winter jacket with full wool inner lining for only 1299baht!




....a bright yellow hoodie (I couldn't resist getting him something bright although the husband wasn't very amused by it),




....and 2 pairs of jeans, black and bright blue and a scarf.

Everything cost me less than 8000baht in total.

How NOT to go crazy?

Fried Ikan Kembong

Over the weekend, hubby went to the wet market and came back with 2 pieces of ikan kembong.

I asked him what he wanted me to do with it. He said "Just cook only la".

Right. Ok.

So here's my version of the "Just cook only la" ikan kembong.

Ingredients:

- ikan kembong (I only had 2pcs but u can add more if u want)
- 2 tbsp turmeric powder
- salt
- 1 tsp diced garlic
- 5-6 slices of ginger
- 20-30 petai (or more if u prefer) (halved)
- chili padi (sliced)
- lime

Method:

- wash and clean the fish. Pat dry with paper towel. Marinate with turmeric powder and a dash of salt.




- heat up oil in the pan and fry the fish until both sides are crispy. Remove and set aside.




- using the same pan, throw in the ginger, garlic, petai and chili padi and stir-fry until fragrant and petai is cooked thoroughly.




- pour it on top of the fish, squeeze the lime over it and serve hot.

Super easy, and super yummy.

Mini pork burgers in plum sauce

I miss my oven!

But because we're staying in a small service apartment here in Bangkok, we don't have the luxury of having a big kitchen, therefore no space for an oven.

So. Hubby got me the next best thing! The Happy Call Pan!

I LOVE IT.

I use it to bake, grill, steam, fry, stir-fry, deep-fry AND I even use it to bake cupcakes, cakes and cookies! It's as good as one can get by without an oven.

Since we got it, I've been experimenting with different types of cooking, turning my little family into Guinea pigs haha!

Last night, I made mini pork burgers in plum sauce. It was a hit!

Ingredients:
- 250g minced pork
- 1 cucumber (deseeded and sliced)
- 1 carrot (sliced)
- 1 tspn diced garlic
- 1 tspn Tsiao Hsing wine

Sauce (mix together in a small bowl):
- 3 tbsp sour plum sauce/paste
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp water

Marinade:
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- salt & pepper

Method:

1. Marinade the pork and leave in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

2. Using a teaspoon, scoop the pork onto palms and roll it into a ball before gently flattening it into a mini burger shape. Then place it on the pan (do not need to heat up pan). Repeat this with rest of the pork until pan is filled with the mini burgers.




3. Turn the pan to medium heat. Flip the burgers over when one side is done to cook the other side.




4. Once cooked, set aside.

5. Using the same pan, add in the diced garlic and stir-fry until slightly browned. No need to add oil as there will be natural oil from the pork.

6. Add in the cucumbers and carrots, stir-fry for a few minutes and then add in the pork burgers. Stir fry for another minute or so.

7. Add in the sauce mixture, add in the Tsiao Hsing wine, and give it a quick stir and turn off the heat.




8. Serve with warm white rice (my hubby had it with bread too).

A small taste of freedom

Today.
I went out without the kids.
For 3 whole hours.
Not to have my usual rush in - touch up roots color - rush back routine.
But to spend quality time SHOPPING & GOSSIPING with one of my favorite girlfriends of all time!

First time since we moved here that I actually left the kids at home to go out shopping.

Of course it also helped with the fact that it was a public hol in Thailand today (Queen's birthday and Thai Mother's Day) so hubby was home to jaga the anaks.




3 hours may not be much.
But it was A LOT to me.
I had a great time catching up with one of my bestest buddy, and it also helped to keep my sanity under control.




Spent the whole afternoon trolling Platinum Mall.
Ended the day with dinner at Asiatique together with her boyfriend, my husband and the anaks.

Missing Jamie already.
Looking forward to the next time we reunite.

The Bittergourd Challenge

I love my greens.
Ever since I was a little girl, mummy always told me that I was more of a herbivore than a carnivore. So throw any type of vegetables at me and I'm a happy girl.
But...don't throw me a bittergourd.
I've tried for years to get acquainted with the taste of it. But cannot la. It's so bitter. How people can eat it I also don't know.
I've tried it in yong tau foo. Blek!
I've tried it stir-fried with chicken. Blek!
I've tried it with soup. Blek!
So 2 weeks ago, a friend of mine challenged me to whip up a simple bittergourd dish, simply fried with diced garlic, shallots and eggs. She gave me a tip - to make it less bitter, soak it in salt for more than half an hour before slicing it up.




So I accepted that challenge.
I even soaked the gourd in salt water for more than an hour. Soak longer means less bitter mah, no meh?
In the end, SK ended up eating the dish more than me. I ate up all the eggs though. It was still too bitter for me. I did manage to force down about 5 slices and then I couldn't go on.
So, I failed the challenge this round.
But, it doesn't mean I've given up though. Was told that I should have sliced the gourd up thinner. The thinner it's sliced, the less bitter.
Ok. Next round, I shall try thinner slices AND I'll soak them in salt for half a day!
I WILL learn to eat them!

Happy Breastfeeding Week!

(breastfeeding Dylan in the picture above. Ya. He's under the poncho. Was only 1 month plus then).

This is my story on my breastfeeding journey.

I breastfed Renee for 2.5 years, until I got pregnant with Dylan and was advised to stop because it wasn't safe for the fetus. She's turning 5 yrs soon.

Dylan will be turning 2 this Nov and he's still on breastmilk. I plan to go on for as long as I can, or until I get pregnant again haha.

Both my bf-ing experiences are very different. With Renee, it was smooth all the way and the only hiccup was when I had a very serious case of blocked duct in my left boob which resulted in the doctor having to pierce a needle through my nipple to clear the blocked duct.

In short, there was a lot of blood, a WHOLE lot of pain, a lot of tears and a whole lot of "I'm sorry"'s from the doctor. Not something I would wish to go through again.

This time with Dylan however, my problem is a little different. There's no pain. No blocked duct. But there is a SIGNIFICANT difference in my boob size!

And by that, I mean my left boob is A cup and my right is a C cup. Yes. Kill me please.

Dylan seems to have a preference for my right boob so I tend to feed him more from there. Which resulted in my right boob producing more milk and my left one deflated like shit.

Sigh. Not something anyone would like to have. Been googling and doing a lot of researches on how to "even them out". I would have to suffer engorgement from the right boob and try my best not to feed him as often from that side and I'll have to feed him from my smaller boob twice as often compared to before. I've been doing that the past 2 days, and will keep on doing it until, well, things are leveled up.

Breastfeeding is NOT easy.

But it's the best thing a mummy can provide for her baby.

If I were given a chance to do it all over again, I would. Without a doubt.

Happy Breastfeeding Week!

Reactivating my blog (I hope!)

It's almost 2am in Bangkok but I can't seem to drift off to sleep, which is quite surprising actually, cos I've been awake since 9am this morning and was out at the play gym the whole afternoon with the kids, running and chasing them around, bouncing on trampolines and whizzing down slides, so I SHOULD be totally knocked out by now, but nope, terkebil-kebil here right now.

And so, I have decided that I shall TRY to reactivate my blog. Let's see where it goes from here.




Today, I built a giraffe out of block pieces (or whatever u call these stuff),




...watched Renee color pictures after pictures after pictures of weird looking mushrooms and houses,




...and paid 40baht to go on a Merry-Go-Round where Dylan started screaming the minute the ride started so I had to carry him throughout,




...and Renee was allowed to pick out a "princess dress" to wear so she could 'belong' in the whole princess-riding-horse theme of the ride.

(Yup, she wore the dress over her t-shirt n leggings so it looks weird but it's okay cos she's happy).

Looking forward to having her go back to school next week, and to London in October. Can't wait!