Singapore Universal Studio

Some pictures to share from our trip to Singapore Universal Studio in December 2010.

It was hot! But we had fun!

Welcome To New Zealand

Not long ago, I was invited to a friend's place for lunch to welcome her teenage son to Auckland, NZ.

She is a good cook and she cooked ALL these ALL by herself!

There's fried stuffed tofu, home-made sausage roll, hash brown, stir fry vegetables, delicious roasted chicken, curry, saffron rice, salad, bee hun goreng (fried rice noodle) & apple cake and lemon yogurt cake for dessert (sorry...forgotten to take pictures)

Little J was smart enough to bring three DVDs to entertain himself. He was also happy that he got to play some computer games with his new friend, played 'connect four', 'guess who' and just hang out with him...

It was a wonderful afternoon with great food, great company and great Margarita and wine!

This was our little basket of gift representing New Zealand!

Backyard Campout

We have been talking about going camping during the school holidays...but it never happened.

Camping can be very fun and interesting. It brings back the simplicity of nature, and it is one of the things we would like little J to experience such as teaching him how to set up a tent, outdoor cooking, sleeping outdoor with a sleeping bag, planning for tv-free & computer-free activities, teach him how to respect the nature and the list goes on and on and on...

For weeks.....little J have been asking papa L to make a bond fire because he wants to grill some marshmallows just like Spongebob Square Pants & Patrick in the cartoon.

We thought it's good timing to introduce outdoor cooking to him before we head off to the real camp site...so, over the weekend, L and J went to the park nearby to collect some woods for the fire. They came back, very excited and began their big mission!

They dug hole in the bare (no flower) garden and planned how it should be done. There's discussions, planning and feedback just like adults' talk. It was just so cute to watch! LOL...

Dad bought a three person tent to add to the camping atmosphere!

Careful planning & discussions

Digging done, now..lighting up the fire..

Fire up! Grill that marshmallow...

It was such a success... we ended up grilling our dinner on the pit as well!

J was happy he grilled some marshmallows and mom and dad was happy that J was happy....

Can't wait till our next real camping trip!

Armageddon Expo - Auckland, NZ

I got FREE family tickets to the Auckland Armageddon Expo over the Labour Weekend and we went to see what the fuss was all about. Husband told me it's a big expo for:

Manga/Anime/Cartoons/Sci-Fi/Comics/Gaming stuff like that

...well, I'm not a big fan of all these gaming/technology/fantasy thingy but I tag along.

I told little J that we'll meet some cartoon characters in real life instead of watching them on TV.

He didn't quite get it but was happy to go along.

When we got in there, well... I was surprised to see a lot of stalls/booths from different companies showing their products.

There's Lego StarWars, Halloween costumes on sale, Swords, Shields, Wrestler's Mask, Manga DVDs, Japanese Cartoons, heaps and heaps of interesting stalls!

There's also people dressing up as their favourite Manga character, there's also games you could try and a small fun fair outdoor for the little ones.

 We all had a great time, yes, including me and my camera died on me few minutes into the expo! shoot!

Its great checking out new things...you'll never know what you'll see/find/like...

Fun Fair!

Who doesn't like going to the fair on a cool sunny day? Well...I do and so does J. ALL the kids do!
This is one of the fun fair we went to, over the long Labour Weekend. It was held in a school's field and entrance was FREE.

 
We ate fruits, rice crackers, chickpeas, and drank hot tea under a huge tree.

J had a go at all of the bouncy castles and all of them had loooonngg Qs. Luckily we had sun cream and hats on.

He was also brave enough to go on his FIRST pony ride! AND he liked it!

He wasn't interested in Ronald McD.

Long Q for sweet ice-cream, J had one - $3.50!!

Long Q for sugary mini donuts, J had none.

Long Q for sugary candy floss, J had none.

He also met one of his classmates, had a vanilla ice-cream and wanted so badly a candy floss which he didn't get because its just pure sugar and colouring (we're cutting off white sugar, white flour, white rice in our daily diet) so, instead we got him 'ice lollies' (not healthy too, but it gets diluted by the ice...LOL!)

No Q for sugary syrup. Check out his cute fingers!

Ice Lollies/Ice Balls/Kantong - $3.50!!!

In the end, everyone had a fun day at the fun fair...

Walkie-Talkie for the Family

I've always wanted a walkie-talkie, especially when we're out and little J and the husband wants to go to 'their' department and we ended up looking for each other and there was once I lost J in the mall and asked that they announced his name on the speaker! Definitely don't want that to happen again.

So, we bought this pair of walkie-talkie online. I've used them with J the other day when we were out at the mall and it was good. I was able to go to 'my' department and he was able to go to his without worrying about getting lost or where to find him. I feel much more comfortable being able to communicate with him.

Once a while we would checked on each other (he would say "radio check", so cute) and when it's time to go, it was easy to find him!

It is also handy at home. I can tell him "dinner's ready" or "time for homework" or "time for bath" and instead of me chasing him, he came out to me! It's also fun for him too because he feels like a policeman with the walkie-talkie.

Benefits of using Walkie-Talkie:

• Instant communication (texting takes too much time when you're not fast enough, like me..)
• No call/texting charges
• License free
• Useful for talking to more than one person at a time (planing on getting another one so L can go to 'his' department too LOL)

Every family with children should invest in a pair or two of Walkie-Talkie.
(they're good for outdoor activities too!!)

Homemade Won Ton

Won Ton can be very delicious and fat-free when it is homemade and not deep fried. We all enjoy Won Ton and J can have ten (10) of them at one go!
Since it's been almost a year we haven't made Won Ton, L decided to put in some time to fold Won Ton with little J and dad.

My men at work!

Ingredient (no measurement, all estimated according to the amount wanted)

• 1 packet Won Ton Pastry (we bought 'Choice' brand from Asian store - 100 sheets)
• Minced chicken (chicken breast without skin)
• Prawns (roughly cut)
• Spring onions
• Cabbage (thinly cut, a handful)
• Minced ginger (very important)
• Stir in two eggs

Marinate with oyster sauce, pepper, mushroom stock powder (or salt if you prefer), sesame oil

For dipping sauce:

• Julienne fresh ginger (cut in thin strips)
• Vinegar
• sesame oil

In a separate bowl, put in light soya sauce (kikoman will do), Chinese vinegar, little oyster sauce, pepper, olive oil and sesame oil (these are all according to our taste) add chilli sauce if you want it spicy.

Bring water to rolling boil in a big pot, put in folded Won Ton. Remove them when they floats up. Transfer to the separated bowl mentioned above (the one with sauce) 
Stir them around, sprinkle with left over spring onions and fried onions (if you have) and serve while its hot!

Yummy!

L showing little J how its done.

Take a Won Ton sheet, place a teaspoon of filling in the middle, rub small amount of water around the sheet to let it stick together when folded.

Fold to a triangle shape or to whatever shape you fancy!

Boiled and mixed with sauce, ready to eat. Doesn't look nice in the picture, but trust me, its so yummy I can have 20 of them!!

It Runs in the Family...

J started wearing glasses on the 18th August 2010 (age 5).
He's doing fine so far. No complains, no battle and haven't misplace it yet! LOL...

I advised his form teacher few days before hand and ask that she makes sure the other kids don't laugh at him or say silly things that will discourage him from wearing.

Other ways to help:

• I talked to J about wearing glasses. I let him know that its okay to wear glasses and that he looks cool (it helps that both L and I are wearing glasses too)
• Showed him how to wipe the lenses, how to put on and remove his glasses  
• It helps that his favourite cartoon like Scooby-Doo character Velma wears glasses, Chicken Little and Harry Potter.
• I also tell him to keep them in his case when he's out playing with friends, but put them back on when he's back in class.

Before Heading Back to Auckland...

After lunch at Coromandel Town, we drove another 3 km North to the Driving Creek Railway & Potteries.

We took the one hour return train ride built by Barry Brickell - owner, developer, conservationist, engineer and artist. I have to say, it was a long ride as J was getting a bit restless but luckily there's a short stop at the 'Eyefull Tower' where we can see The Hauraki Gulf and Islands.

The double-decker track. It was an educational and fun trip. I was surprised that a lot of people turned up even though it was raining.

We reached Auckland at about 7pm that day. It's nice to be home and the first thing dad and J did was to feed their fishes! Poor fishes, got nothing to eat while we were having a feast. LOL!

380 Driving Creek Road,
Coromandel.
07-866 8703

Lunch @ Coromandel Town

After a nice soak at The Lost Spring, we headed North to Coromandel Town. There, we had our lunch. As usual, we didn't know where to eat, what to eat. So, we walked around the town. Coromandel is a really small town and we found just the place to eat. 'Coromandel Takeaways'

When I was looking through the menu board, one of the name struck me. 'Da Whopper Burger'. I remember seeing this name on the TV something to do with Burger King not happy with them using the name Whopper but the communities didn't want to change the whole name and mentioned Da Whopper Burger is the best burger. So, we gave it a try.

Dad ordered Fish n Chips (yeah...alot of fish n chips this trip..) The batter wasn't too oily, the fish was fresh and the chips was salt-less (L always order salt-less chips for J) and they provide small sachets of salt on the counter for you to put your own salt which I think is a good thing to eat less salt. I've never come across any fast-food outlet like that.

Husband ordered Da Whopper Burger with double beef patty, bacon, mushroom, egg & cheese - $10.50 and he said it's alright. I took a bite too and I think it was tasty (I don't usually eat beef burger, I usually order either chicken or fish)

Behind is J eating his (super unhealthy) fried sausage with chips and cinnamon donut as dessert. We should have ordered the kid's burger meal...but oh well...there's always another trip. LOL...

I had the Maddie Burger with real chicken schnitzel, ham, cheese & pineapple - $9.- and I tell you...it's the BEST chicken burger I've ever eaten!! I liked the crispy chicken schnitzel and the pineapple in it makes the taste unique and slightly sweet.

I'll drive there again (when I have the time) and this time I'm going to try the Trent Burger.
Yummy! I miss the burger already...LOL

Coromandel Takeaways
124 Wharf Road
Coromandel
07-866 8438