We had a fabulous degustation dinner last night at Iggy's!
For those not in the know, Iggy's is reputed to be Singapore's best fine dining restaurant and rated highly by international foodies. They have maintained their standards across some time and their prices remain fairly high. Access is not easy too, as they require reservations and are quite often fully booked.
This year Ma really wanted to try Iggy's and so, for her and Geok's birthday celebration we booked dinner there for the 6 of us. It is a standard dinner menu, available via their website, and is a degustation type of meal. Wine is separate, and they are also famous for having a superb wine list, which is expected, considering that the owner, Ignatious Chan is actually a sommelier by training and not a chef. His team of sous chefs have been in the news recently and were highly praised by the local media too.
Dinner was meant to start at 8 PM but Chris and I were late, as we put Madison to bed first. When we got there, the first surprise was that the rest of them were seated in the kitchen! Turned out that Iggy's didn't receive Geok's email reservation and we did not have a table for the night. They were fully booked but offered us the chef's table at the kitchen instead.
It was a new experience. Instead of fine linen and dim lighting, we were in the bright harsh light of the sparkling clean dining area just outside the cooking kitchen. We were promptly served by the attentive staff, who proceeded to serve us table water and fill our wine glasses with the red that Pa had already chosen, a 1998 French wine ( I forget the name ). Freshly cooked bread was offered, along with olive oil and a balsamic vinegar dipping pot. The menu was already on the table setting and the waiter soon came and asked if we had any food preferences for the night. Geok, being pregnant, needed all her dishes well cooked and he promptly went behind to check. Apparently a few dishes needed some tweaking or replacing because they were not nice well cooked.
The amuse bouche was served soon after, a gazpacho sorbet on tomato jelly. Not bad, tangy and sharp on the tongue. Thereafter, seared kanpachi slices topped with konbu and ginger was plated. It was melt on the tongue with the slightly salty konbu.
The next dish was a salad of mixed greens and flowers with truffle shavings. Light on the palate. Lots of shaved truffle which was impressive. This was quickly followed by what we immediately termed " abalone wanton mee", a capellini with abalone in chicken broth. The pasta was firm, and the abalone tender, not chewy. Slightly salty for my taste but not bad. Did taste like wontan mee though, which maybe was what inspired the dish?
Next up was a braised kurobuta pork cheek topped with a carbonara sauce. Looking somewhat like a lasagna initially, but soon revealed itself to be melt in the mouth tender piece of pork. The sauce was smooth and creamy but again, the dish tasted a little too salty to me. Maybe I'm used to less salt in my diet.
This was followed with a piece of seared ocean trout sitting atop a bed of chopped creamy violet potato. Delicate and mild, in contrast to the pork. The potato was actually purple! The fish was definitely fresh, without any fishy smells or flavour. A piece of wagyu steak covered by the finest piece of rosti was served next. The steak was cooked medium rare and juices ran when cut. The sliver of rosti was a bitter contrast to the buttery steak.
At this stage I think we were getting : 1. tired ( it was close to 1030PM !) 2. increasingly full. I suppose these meals, albeit small in quantity are actually quite rich. The last mains was a dish made from cardoons, baked with a cheese sauce and topped with more truffles. Not bad but a little too filling for the last dish.
Finally, the long awaited dish: DESSERT!
Large white plates emerged from the kitchen, and on them was a quartet of flavours: a thin slice of chocolate mascarpone cake, to be accompanied by blueberry ice cream and berry jelly. Finally, as we were instructed, to be finished with a blood orange sorbet. If followed, the experience was actually quite amazing. The flavours did complement each other and the desert tasted better than if taken separately! As a finishing touch, we were served their signature Iggy's lemon tart. Which was meant to be a surprise taken as a bite: there were bubbly bits at the end as the sugar pops crackle in your mouth!
Compliments of the chef: Ma and Geok had a mini birthday dessert consisting of : 2 candles stuck on a cube of toast, vanilla ice cream ( that obviously had fresh vanilla in it ), strawberry shortcake ( in a shotglass) and a crispy pistachio biscuit.
It was already slightly after 11PM when we were finally done! A 3 hour feast for the tongue and stomach. Would we go back? I think the conclusion was : yes. But probably with a menu change. To try another experience that Iggy's could offer. Chris even said it was better than Tetsuya's in Sydney. I think pretty much on par. Service was better at Iggy's though.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
My walking girl!
The time has arrived....my baby is walking!
Well... technically she is still trying to walk, but is now able to take 4 steps unaided.She stands unassisted quite well now, only that she has to gain more confidence in doing it regularly. Madison still prefers to be held by both hands while she walks, and it is something that happens from the time she opens her eyes every morning!
I think this has been going on for about a week already now....
Her babbling is starting to make more sense to us now, and even sounds close to the English language as we know it. She can point to familiar things now,and her favourites are: crane,bird, bus, balloon and ball.At least what I can remember!
Madison seems to enjoy going out alot more these days and I have started taking her out regularly swimming at our pool or at the club and to the sandpit at the Botanic Gardens ( Jacob Ballas Gardens). We spend quite an enjoyable hour there digging in the sand, then going over to the water fountains to splash around with other kids. Oh, and we have found the Palawan beach at Sentosa to be a great place as well, only that it takes a longer time to get to.
Our routine seems to have evolved over the past 2 months, ever since I started to wean her onto solids. Her naps have been simplified to 2, one in the morning around 9AM and one in the afternoon at around 130 to 2PM. The transition wasn't too bad, although she took some time to get the idea of sleeping longer in the afternoons. Breastfeeding has been cut to 3 or 4 feeds a day and the occasional bottle with her meals. She seems ok so far, although I think all mothers always worry about their precious bubs starving!
Time really flies and soon Geok will have her newborn and things start all over again...
At this stage I really cannot imagine doing this all over again, just when life for me has started again and I am enjoying my little girl!
Well... technically she is still trying to walk, but is now able to take 4 steps unaided.She stands unassisted quite well now, only that she has to gain more confidence in doing it regularly. Madison still prefers to be held by both hands while she walks, and it is something that happens from the time she opens her eyes every morning!
I think this has been going on for about a week already now....
Her babbling is starting to make more sense to us now, and even sounds close to the English language as we know it. She can point to familiar things now,and her favourites are: crane,bird, bus, balloon and ball.At least what I can remember!
Madison seems to enjoy going out alot more these days and I have started taking her out regularly swimming at our pool or at the club and to the sandpit at the Botanic Gardens ( Jacob Ballas Gardens). We spend quite an enjoyable hour there digging in the sand, then going over to the water fountains to splash around with other kids. Oh, and we have found the Palawan beach at Sentosa to be a great place as well, only that it takes a longer time to get to.
Our routine seems to have evolved over the past 2 months, ever since I started to wean her onto solids. Her naps have been simplified to 2, one in the morning around 9AM and one in the afternoon at around 130 to 2PM. The transition wasn't too bad, although she took some time to get the idea of sleeping longer in the afternoons. Breastfeeding has been cut to 3 or 4 feeds a day and the occasional bottle with her meals. She seems ok so far, although I think all mothers always worry about their precious bubs starving!
Time really flies and soon Geok will have her newborn and things start all over again...
At this stage I really cannot imagine doing this all over again, just when life for me has started again and I am enjoying my little girl!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Ergo carrier
I cannot believe there isn't any shop in Singapore selling the Ergo Carrier!
I wouldn't even be writing about this if the silly baby Bjorn hadn't suddenly gone missing. I left it one evening at the Novena house and for some really spooky reason it just vanished! Along with my gym bag and some gear. Really annoying.
Anyway, the baby Bjorn was started to really hurt my back so I hadn't been using it that frequently anymore. Just that nowadays our dear girl is really wriggly and not co-operative when we are out in the malls so I had been contemplating getting another carrier so that I can manage her on my own.
Seems the Ergo gets pretty good reviews apart from the fact it doesnt allow her to face outwards... although that might be an issue too...
I wouldn't even be writing about this if the silly baby Bjorn hadn't suddenly gone missing. I left it one evening at the Novena house and for some really spooky reason it just vanished! Along with my gym bag and some gear. Really annoying.
Anyway, the baby Bjorn was started to really hurt my back so I hadn't been using it that frequently anymore. Just that nowadays our dear girl is really wriggly and not co-operative when we are out in the malls so I had been contemplating getting another carrier so that I can manage her on my own.
Seems the Ergo gets pretty good reviews apart from the fact it doesnt allow her to face outwards... although that might be an issue too...
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Gong Xi Fa Cai
Madison's first Chinese New Year...
As you can imagine, I'd been thinking and sort of dreading this occasion for awhile, mainly because of the bad first trip that we had to Melbourne when she was 1 month old and EVERYONE fell sick.
We were booked to fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia via Silkair to visit relatives, both on Chris' and my side. After much discussion, we had decided to stay at a serviced apartment, rather than a hotel, for more space. Chris had spent some time online and finally the Ascott apartments, close to KLCC were picked. We chose the largest 3 room apartment to fit my parents, Chai, Geok and the 3 of us.
After much planning, we finally got onto the plane and I managed to latch her on while taking off quite successfully. I was quite surprised that Madison stayed on my lap the entire trip. Thankfully it was rather short and in a blink of an eye ( 40 minutes or so) it was time to land. We got her sucking on her favourite ice cubes coming down. The 6 of us spent the trip entertaining her.
The rest of the day was spent in settling in. Madison had a field day crawling and cruising around the entire large carpeted apartment(3101) , with many adult playmates to keep her occupied. Dinner was at KLCC, where we met Jeremy and ate at Bong Seng, a fusion Vietnamese restaurant. Madison was quite well behaved, and ate her dinner like a champ! Chris and I were exhausted after dinner and we settled her down for bed at around 9Pm. The first night was quite nerve wrecking for me though, not having slept in the same room as her since she was ill, and not since she was 1 month old! And of course she woke at 2 AM and seeing us in the same room, refused to sleep for another hour afterward!Finally after much rocking and walking she crashed... in our bed, nonetheless! Needless to say, none of us got much sleep that night.
Day 2 started early and Madison soon woke everyone up in the apartment. We all marched down to the 22nd floor for breakfast at the sky lounge, where a sumptous Continental buffet was served. I had brought some yoghurt from the supermarket the night before, just in case Madison had nothing to eat. It was an unfounded fear of course and Madison was well served by the breakfast buffet. She made a royal mess of our table at the cafe, but still managed to charm the entire staff at the cafe!
After brekky we visited 7th Aunt at home. An uncle was visiting from Toronto as well. Pa and Ma went out for lunch with the relatives while Madison napped at home. We had Korean takeaway courtesy of Wei Yee, who'd been volunteered to pick 8th Aunt up from the bus station. She and Kay Shin were arriving in the afternoon from Johor Bahru. Madison had quite a stranger shock when she woke and met everybody, who of course all wanted a piece of her! Quite a few tears were shed. After a while though she got used to everyone and was soon up to her usual walkabout in the house.
Prior to dinner, Chris and I checked in at the Boulevard hotel at Mid Valley. We were supposed to meet his relatives for dinner at Amarin Thai and thinking that dinner would end late, I didn't want to have to make the journey back to KLCC afterwards with a cranky baby. It turned out to be the best decision ever, as Madison was exhausted from an early day spent running around, meeting so many new people and multiple long car rides. By 830PM she was fussy and difficult to control, so I called it quits and went back to our room first while Chris finished dinner with his relatives. They were in the midst of making speeches in turn so I was glad to escape as well.
The second night was strange. Madison was tired so she was difficult to settle, crying and refusing the breast as well. After a little while of holding and hugging she finally settled and we put her cot in the corridor where she could not see us. She slept pretty well during the night, and even though she woke a few times in the wee hours, it was strange she didn't cry but just settled after some time of rattling the cot rails and standing( I could hear her! ). I slept better not seeing her directly in front of me too.
The next day we went down to the poolside and took a dip after breakfast. Breakfast was even better at the Boulevard Hotel and an even larger spread was served. Madison shared an omelette with us, followed by some fruit. Chris tried a jar of applesauce but our little gourmand refused any after a taste! I have never been able to get her to take either jar foods or any baby cereal that came in a box! Personally I am still amazed when I see babies taking food from jars or rice cereals. I don't know how the parents actually convince them to take it so well!
Later that morning, we went over to Uncle Cheng Wui's home to visit, where she met the entire Pui family. We spent the entire afternoon there, treated to a Malaysian lunch, after which Madison was entertaining Chris' relatives in turn. She had so many photographs taken I started to worry what the flash would do to her eyesight!
By late afternoon we were just waiting for Aunt Saw Kian and Boon Pin to arrive so that we could take a family photograph. I was terribly bored but it was the right thing to do, as Chris' mum really wanted that photograph to be taken. Honestly I would have rather been shopping at Mid Valley, Malaysia's largest mall ( apparently!) as it was recently completed and the shops were all ON SALE!
By the evening I was exhausted but we still had one last dinner appointment with my relatives at the Gardens Hotel restaurant buffet. By the time we got there Madison was starving so I got started on dinner for her, even though no one else was there yet. Turned out to be the right decision! The other people were lost just trying to get to and park at Mid Valley Shopping Centre! Everyone was late and I was glad that we had fed Madison by the time dinner actually started.
Of course dinner didn't end before my poor girl became tired and since I didn't want a repeat of the night before I just threw the towel in and put her to sleep in the sarong at the hotel. Turned out to be a good idea anyway.. by the time we were ready to go, got the car and said goodbye to the relatives it was way past her bedtime. Then we still had the drive back to the Ascott apartments in town. And of course after I had settled her in bed she was up and sobbing again. This time we kind of let her CIO and she settled after a good 30 minutes or so. Chris and I decided to camp on the living room floor so that we could at least sleep!
Daylight came none the quicker and it was the end of the trip. The flight back was not too bad, although the entire plane seemed to be filled with kids! Sounded like a nursery class all the way home. I pitied the other people who were on the plane without kids!
I think the entire trip was quite an experience, never had nothing to do, unlike most of our past CNY trips where we were bored stiff sitting in relatives homess. Although we could have done with more sleep. And I learned that we need to get bigger hotel rooms from now on if we wanted to sleep. Or put her in the kitchen!
Happy new year to all!
As you can imagine, I'd been thinking and sort of dreading this occasion for awhile, mainly because of the bad first trip that we had to Melbourne when she was 1 month old and EVERYONE fell sick.
We were booked to fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia via Silkair to visit relatives, both on Chris' and my side. After much discussion, we had decided to stay at a serviced apartment, rather than a hotel, for more space. Chris had spent some time online and finally the Ascott apartments, close to KLCC were picked. We chose the largest 3 room apartment to fit my parents, Chai, Geok and the 3 of us.
After much planning, we finally got onto the plane and I managed to latch her on while taking off quite successfully. I was quite surprised that Madison stayed on my lap the entire trip. Thankfully it was rather short and in a blink of an eye ( 40 minutes or so) it was time to land. We got her sucking on her favourite ice cubes coming down. The 6 of us spent the trip entertaining her.
The rest of the day was spent in settling in. Madison had a field day crawling and cruising around the entire large carpeted apartment(3101) , with many adult playmates to keep her occupied. Dinner was at KLCC, where we met Jeremy and ate at Bong Seng, a fusion Vietnamese restaurant. Madison was quite well behaved, and ate her dinner like a champ! Chris and I were exhausted after dinner and we settled her down for bed at around 9Pm. The first night was quite nerve wrecking for me though, not having slept in the same room as her since she was ill, and not since she was 1 month old! And of course she woke at 2 AM and seeing us in the same room, refused to sleep for another hour afterward!Finally after much rocking and walking she crashed... in our bed, nonetheless! Needless to say, none of us got much sleep that night.
Day 2 started early and Madison soon woke everyone up in the apartment. We all marched down to the 22nd floor for breakfast at the sky lounge, where a sumptous Continental buffet was served. I had brought some yoghurt from the supermarket the night before, just in case Madison had nothing to eat. It was an unfounded fear of course and Madison was well served by the breakfast buffet. She made a royal mess of our table at the cafe, but still managed to charm the entire staff at the cafe!
After brekky we visited 7th Aunt at home. An uncle was visiting from Toronto as well. Pa and Ma went out for lunch with the relatives while Madison napped at home. We had Korean takeaway courtesy of Wei Yee, who'd been volunteered to pick 8th Aunt up from the bus station. She and Kay Shin were arriving in the afternoon from Johor Bahru. Madison had quite a stranger shock when she woke and met everybody, who of course all wanted a piece of her! Quite a few tears were shed. After a while though she got used to everyone and was soon up to her usual walkabout in the house.
Prior to dinner, Chris and I checked in at the Boulevard hotel at Mid Valley. We were supposed to meet his relatives for dinner at Amarin Thai and thinking that dinner would end late, I didn't want to have to make the journey back to KLCC afterwards with a cranky baby. It turned out to be the best decision ever, as Madison was exhausted from an early day spent running around, meeting so many new people and multiple long car rides. By 830PM she was fussy and difficult to control, so I called it quits and went back to our room first while Chris finished dinner with his relatives. They were in the midst of making speeches in turn so I was glad to escape as well.
The second night was strange. Madison was tired so she was difficult to settle, crying and refusing the breast as well. After a little while of holding and hugging she finally settled and we put her cot in the corridor where she could not see us. She slept pretty well during the night, and even though she woke a few times in the wee hours, it was strange she didn't cry but just settled after some time of rattling the cot rails and standing( I could hear her! ). I slept better not seeing her directly in front of me too.
The next day we went down to the poolside and took a dip after breakfast. Breakfast was even better at the Boulevard Hotel and an even larger spread was served. Madison shared an omelette with us, followed by some fruit. Chris tried a jar of applesauce but our little gourmand refused any after a taste! I have never been able to get her to take either jar foods or any baby cereal that came in a box! Personally I am still amazed when I see babies taking food from jars or rice cereals. I don't know how the parents actually convince them to take it so well!
Later that morning, we went over to Uncle Cheng Wui's home to visit, where she met the entire Pui family. We spent the entire afternoon there, treated to a Malaysian lunch, after which Madison was entertaining Chris' relatives in turn. She had so many photographs taken I started to worry what the flash would do to her eyesight!
By late afternoon we were just waiting for Aunt Saw Kian and Boon Pin to arrive so that we could take a family photograph. I was terribly bored but it was the right thing to do, as Chris' mum really wanted that photograph to be taken. Honestly I would have rather been shopping at Mid Valley, Malaysia's largest mall ( apparently!) as it was recently completed and the shops were all ON SALE!
By the evening I was exhausted but we still had one last dinner appointment with my relatives at the Gardens Hotel restaurant buffet. By the time we got there Madison was starving so I got started on dinner for her, even though no one else was there yet. Turned out to be the right decision! The other people were lost just trying to get to and park at Mid Valley Shopping Centre! Everyone was late and I was glad that we had fed Madison by the time dinner actually started.
Of course dinner didn't end before my poor girl became tired and since I didn't want a repeat of the night before I just threw the towel in and put her to sleep in the sarong at the hotel. Turned out to be a good idea anyway.. by the time we were ready to go, got the car and said goodbye to the relatives it was way past her bedtime. Then we still had the drive back to the Ascott apartments in town. And of course after I had settled her in bed she was up and sobbing again. This time we kind of let her CIO and she settled after a good 30 minutes or so. Chris and I decided to camp on the living room floor so that we could at least sleep!
Daylight came none the quicker and it was the end of the trip. The flight back was not too bad, although the entire plane seemed to be filled with kids! Sounded like a nursery class all the way home. I pitied the other people who were on the plane without kids!
I think the entire trip was quite an experience, never had nothing to do, unlike most of our past CNY trips where we were bored stiff sitting in relatives homess. Although we could have done with more sleep. And I learned that we need to get bigger hotel rooms from now on if we wanted to sleep. Or put her in the kitchen!
Happy new year to all!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Beach day!
Today we visited Sentosa's Palawan beach for the first time with Madison.
Actually I don't really know why we haven't been earlier.. it's a really nice beach with family friendly facilities and best of all, its really quite clean and nice!
It was quite a spur of the moment decision. We'd been to the Botanical Gardens in the early morning after Madison woke and had breakfast at Casa Verde. The Botanic Gardens was surprisingly busy for such an early hour, but we managed to get a carpark and did a quickie around the gardens, visiting the lake, eco gardens and then to the cafe for brekkie. Madison as usual was wanting to walk by the time we got to the cafe, so we let her cruise around for a little while. Breakfast was French toast with drinks. Of course, as usual, she refused to take any expressed milk!
After her morning nap, we packed everyone up and made our way to Sentosa. Traffic was smooth and there were heaps of carparks at the beach carpark. We were relatively early at around 1030am, so the sun was not too hot yet. We managed to get a shady spot under a tree where we put out our beach towel and mat. I went and bought Madison a pail and shovel set, but she was only interested in shovelling with the spoon I'd also brought from home! What a waste of $$$!
Anyway.. she had fun in the sand, which was great as previously she had refused to have anything to do with sand, the first 2 times we put her down on sand! Once at the Botanic garden's Jacob Balast grounds and the second at the East Coast Park. Then out of the blue today, she suddenly stood by herself unaided for a good 2-3 seconds while we were just sitting there on the beach! All of us were caught off guard!
Madison still seems rather afraid of the seawater, with the waves sloshing around over the sand. She protested when put for a longer period standing at the edge of the water at the beach.
Palawan beach has a water bath area for kids that has a few water jets that periodically shoot out water. The water temperature seemed freezing to me, but Madison insisted on going into the pool and splashing around! Her diaper got soaking wet of course and she was still playing in the water!
Close to lunch time the sun became increasingly hot so it was time for a quick shower and change. After that, we wandered over to Koufu ( the beach in Singapore has a FOOD COURT! ) and picked up several items that we all could eat. Not all the stalls were open but we were fortunate that the roast meats one was, so we could get minced pork congee, roast chicken and duck, some vegetable as well as a claypot chicken rice. I think lunch tasted great to Madison and we had no trouble feeding her for a change! We ended the meal with some ice desserts, and Madison got to sample some too.
After lunch we decided to walk across the rope bridge to check out the southern most tip of the island. I think Madison was tired at that stage so was getting excruciatingly fussy and wanting to walk all over the place. We lasted a good half hour after lunch, by which time she was starting to cry and protest over everything. That signalled the end of the beach trip for her...
It's been great with the new Honda stream that we've just got, heaps more space for ALL of Madison's things, and more comfortable for us all when we go out. The expensive jogger gets used more now just because its so much easier to take in and out. Shopping is less stressful as there is more boot space to put the groceries.
Sentosa is also undergoing much change, most of all with the upcoming Integrated Resorts due anytime soon. Entry is now via electronic payment using the car IU.
I think we should be visiting the Palawan beach more often now! Next trip she will be dressed in her swim gear!
Actually I don't really know why we haven't been earlier.. it's a really nice beach with family friendly facilities and best of all, its really quite clean and nice!
It was quite a spur of the moment decision. We'd been to the Botanical Gardens in the early morning after Madison woke and had breakfast at Casa Verde. The Botanic Gardens was surprisingly busy for such an early hour, but we managed to get a carpark and did a quickie around the gardens, visiting the lake, eco gardens and then to the cafe for brekkie. Madison as usual was wanting to walk by the time we got to the cafe, so we let her cruise around for a little while. Breakfast was French toast with drinks. Of course, as usual, she refused to take any expressed milk!
After her morning nap, we packed everyone up and made our way to Sentosa. Traffic was smooth and there were heaps of carparks at the beach carpark. We were relatively early at around 1030am, so the sun was not too hot yet. We managed to get a shady spot under a tree where we put out our beach towel and mat. I went and bought Madison a pail and shovel set, but she was only interested in shovelling with the spoon I'd also brought from home! What a waste of $$$!
Anyway.. she had fun in the sand, which was great as previously she had refused to have anything to do with sand, the first 2 times we put her down on sand! Once at the Botanic garden's Jacob Balast grounds and the second at the East Coast Park. Then out of the blue today, she suddenly stood by herself unaided for a good 2-3 seconds while we were just sitting there on the beach! All of us were caught off guard!
Madison still seems rather afraid of the seawater, with the waves sloshing around over the sand. She protested when put for a longer period standing at the edge of the water at the beach.
Palawan beach has a water bath area for kids that has a few water jets that periodically shoot out water. The water temperature seemed freezing to me, but Madison insisted on going into the pool and splashing around! Her diaper got soaking wet of course and she was still playing in the water!
Close to lunch time the sun became increasingly hot so it was time for a quick shower and change. After that, we wandered over to Koufu ( the beach in Singapore has a FOOD COURT! ) and picked up several items that we all could eat. Not all the stalls were open but we were fortunate that the roast meats one was, so we could get minced pork congee, roast chicken and duck, some vegetable as well as a claypot chicken rice. I think lunch tasted great to Madison and we had no trouble feeding her for a change! We ended the meal with some ice desserts, and Madison got to sample some too.
After lunch we decided to walk across the rope bridge to check out the southern most tip of the island. I think Madison was tired at that stage so was getting excruciatingly fussy and wanting to walk all over the place. We lasted a good half hour after lunch, by which time she was starting to cry and protest over everything. That signalled the end of the beach trip for her...
It's been great with the new Honda stream that we've just got, heaps more space for ALL of Madison's things, and more comfortable for us all when we go out. The expensive jogger gets used more now just because its so much easier to take in and out. Shopping is less stressful as there is more boot space to put the groceries.
Sentosa is also undergoing much change, most of all with the upcoming Integrated Resorts due anytime soon. Entry is now via electronic payment using the car IU.
I think we should be visiting the Palawan beach more often now! Next trip she will be dressed in her swim gear!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Package from Amazon!
Just thought I had to share this pic with everyone!
Our express parcel from Amazon.com! Courtesy of Daddy Christopher Chui....
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Fifth January 2009
Chris and I have been married 8 years this day!
This year we celebrate our anniversary with Madison, although she doesn't yet have a clue about these things.
Another landmark this year... Madison sprouted her first tooth! The fine jagged edges were just palpable above her gum line. Actually it was Nancy who first noticed it. I don't know if her current bout of diarrhoea is related to it or just gastroenteritis, but boy, is she grouchy and her sleep is disturbed.
Chris took me by surprise this year... he bought me a pair of beautiful diamond and pearl earrings from Tiffany's ! Of course the surprise factor was then subsequently spoilt a little by his dear old mum, who promptly told me when, where and how he bought it, then went on to ask if I got him a gift too, and whether he was upset he didn't get one from me! Which hubby is expected to be upset over not getting an anniversary gift??!!!!
Anyway.. putting that aside... we didn't really do anything romantic but we did manage to go out for dinner at the mezza9, leaving Nancy to babysit Madison after I put her down for the night. Surprisingly she did not create a fuss that night and slept pretty well throughout. But that was the night of the 4th, last night was a whole different story!
Chris' mum also bought us some orchids from the Botanical gardens as a gift to the both of us on our anniversary. And of course Madison helped herself to one of the blooms already this morning when she spied them on our balcony planter boxes!
For dinner, I had the grilled Tiger prawns while Chris had the grilled organic pork Chops, and we shared an oak leaf salad with gorgonzola cheese. The mains were well done, tastfully seasoned and cooked. For dessert we shared a tasting plate, which came with a chocolate banana crepe, apple tarte tartin and an unusual Red bean mango green tea sandwhich topped with a scoop of raspberry sorbet and green tea ice cream. The crepe was the nicest of the three, but the filling was neither cooked nor warm, which was a pity. I think there was no competition to the desserts we'd previously had at the Cliff at Sentosa's Beaufort hotel.
Still, I had a great night out, got to dress up with some jewelry and all... bit of a treat, really! But most of all, I spent it with a great guy, my soul mate and friend, and hopefully with some tender care and nurturing,my partner for life. We've had our ups and downs like any relationship, but everytime we make the effort to pull through them I think we get stronger. Madison is adding another dimension to our partnership, and the challenges she gives us, forces us to re-examine our relationship time and time again!
This year we celebrate our anniversary with Madison, although she doesn't yet have a clue about these things.
Another landmark this year... Madison sprouted her first tooth! The fine jagged edges were just palpable above her gum line. Actually it was Nancy who first noticed it. I don't know if her current bout of diarrhoea is related to it or just gastroenteritis, but boy, is she grouchy and her sleep is disturbed.
Chris took me by surprise this year... he bought me a pair of beautiful diamond and pearl earrings from Tiffany's ! Of course the surprise factor was then subsequently spoilt a little by his dear old mum, who promptly told me when, where and how he bought it, then went on to ask if I got him a gift too, and whether he was upset he didn't get one from me! Which hubby is expected to be upset over not getting an anniversary gift??!!!!
Anyway.. putting that aside... we didn't really do anything romantic but we did manage to go out for dinner at the mezza9, leaving Nancy to babysit Madison after I put her down for the night. Surprisingly she did not create a fuss that night and slept pretty well throughout. But that was the night of the 4th, last night was a whole different story!
Chris' mum also bought us some orchids from the Botanical gardens as a gift to the both of us on our anniversary. And of course Madison helped herself to one of the blooms already this morning when she spied them on our balcony planter boxes!
For dinner, I had the grilled Tiger prawns while Chris had the grilled organic pork Chops, and we shared an oak leaf salad with gorgonzola cheese. The mains were well done, tastfully seasoned and cooked. For dessert we shared a tasting plate, which came with a chocolate banana crepe, apple tarte tartin and an unusual Red bean mango green tea sandwhich topped with a scoop of raspberry sorbet and green tea ice cream. The crepe was the nicest of the three, but the filling was neither cooked nor warm, which was a pity. I think there was no competition to the desserts we'd previously had at the Cliff at Sentosa's Beaufort hotel.
Still, I had a great night out, got to dress up with some jewelry and all... bit of a treat, really! But most of all, I spent it with a great guy, my soul mate and friend, and hopefully with some tender care and nurturing,my partner for life. We've had our ups and downs like any relationship, but everytime we make the effort to pull through them I think we get stronger. Madison is adding another dimension to our partnership, and the challenges she gives us, forces us to re-examine our relationship time and time again!
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