Meeningfully

Whenever we are at JEM, we will always drop by Provence Bakery to pick up some cheese buns... the ones with a chewy centre. So when I showed the pictures and recipe from MummyMoo's blogpost, he brought me to Phoon Huat almost immediately to get a mini muffin mould so I could bake this on demand. So bake I did. It's really simple, and all you need to do mix all the ingredients, blend, pour then bake. Lining up all the ingredients Brazilian Cheese Buns Adapted from: MummyMoo Ingredients: 1 large egg 1/3 cup olive oil 2/3 cup milk 170 grams Tapioca flour 50 grams cheddar cheese 50 grams parmesan cheese This recipe yields a softer bun texture, with a soft crust. Somewhat different to what you can find at Provence. I prefer a crisper crust, and I think the recipe from The Kitchn   will do the trick, although it requires more effort. Method: 1. Preheat oven to 200 deg C. 2. Place all ingredients into a blender. Blend till combined, and until batter

This post is almost 3 months late, but better late than never yah? It was a lazy Saturday morning, and we wanted to have a leisurely brunch with the boy. We decided to explore The Grandstand  after reading so much about it on other mummies' blogs. Pasar Bella plus all the kiddy related outlets were good enough reasons to make us interested.  The Treehouse Cafe is located on the fround floor of The Grandstand and had a 2 storey play area. It seemed perfect for a slow meal while J busies himself at the play area, or so we thought.  The play area was rather bare to be honest, with toys and books nicely placed on kiddy chairs and shelves. I would say what they have there is sufficient to entertain perhaps 3 to 4 kids? I guess if there isn't many customers, it would be fine. There were a 3 kids that day. J being the youngest was shoved and told not to touch the toys. So, we took J to the upper deck only to have the kids follow closely behind. No surprise that they s

The recent work trip to Shanghai gave me the opportunity to stay at two different hotel establishments. My colleagues and I arrived in Shanghai just before midnight , so we planned to settle at some hotel near the airport for the night instead of going all the way into town. Moreover, the first night was supposed to be paid out of our own pockets, so a cheaper option just for a night's rest was a great idea. If you google, there are quite a few hotels claiming to by Shanghai Pudong Airport hotels. However, most require you to either take a 5 to 15 minutes shuttle service or cab ride to the hotel. We picked The QUBE Hotel Pudong . Maybe because it was in the middle of the night, and we left at 10am the next day hence we did not explore outside very much.  I felt that there wasn't much to see or do around the area. There's a shopping centre right next door though with quite a bit of eateries as well as McDonalds. So, at least it's not entirely ulu... if you k

It's valentine's day today, and this day holds a special meaning to Hubs and me. 11 years ago, we got together over kway teow soup and iced milo. Not the most romantic valentine's day, but because it was all so simple, it sort of shaped how our relationship was going to be like in the future. I don't remember being taken out for expensive dinners or being romanced under the stars. We buy gifts for each other, not for special occasions like today, but just because we feel like it.  It is precisely this simplicity that makes me appreciate this special man in my life. Trust and communication defines this relationship. All these years, I never needed to second guess what he was thinking about. Yes, I have thrown tantrums, made fuss over the littlest things. I still do really.  But this man tolerates my nonsense all because of the simple reason that he loves me. (Ok lah... although i sometimes don't trust him with the boy... but that's perhaps another stor

Delegation requires a certain level of trust between the delegator and "delegatee". I always try to delegate at work as it is the most efficient way to get things done. While not always in the manner I'd like it to be, I accept that there's no perfection anyway. That took me quite a few years to come to terms with and I advocate it to all my colleagues and friends when they whine about how much work they have. Unfortunately, when it comes to matters at home, it is hard to practise what I preach. The fact that J did not come into our lives easy, it is only natural that I want to protect him with all my might. A little too much sometimes (excessive most times actually!). From the time he entered my life, I have been his sole caregiver (other than the lovely teachers from his school). I insisted that I am around J whenever possible. Most times, I rather rush to pick J up from school than bother anyone else in the family to do the job, even if it makes my life a l

Before  kids, I dreamt of decorating the nursery with cute little animals, lots of stuffed toys , dreamy looking cot sheets and a fun play corner. Only problem was, there's no room to convert into a nursery. And, that is one of the reasons why I had the motivation to move out of our matrimonial home. Yes, I am superficial that way and I love all things pretty. But, the main reason for wanting a separate room for the boy was because I've always wanted him to be independent from as young as possible. Sure, I enjoy co-sleeping. And to be honest, I missed him when we took the decision to move him to his own room a few weeks back. I still do. While he sleeps in his own cot in our room and only finds his way onto our bed in the middle of the night, I get the jitters just knowing that he is not at a "turn-of-the-body" away. Here's what we did to prepare the  boy (and ourselves ) for the move: 1) We got ourselves a video baby monitor. We wanted t