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Memorable taste of the US March 5, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , add a comment

phohoa1

It only takes a moment to remind you of an experience.  And sometimes it takes a meal to bring back sweet memories.

It’s not exactly like the phố we had in the US, but it is a branch of one of the restaurants we used to frequent while we were there.  And while the menu might be slightly different, the taste is vaguely familiar.

It felt good.  And comfortable.

And my Ethan boy even said, “Wow…just like in the US!”

phohoa2

Why I need a new Washer March 3, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home , comments closed

washer

My current washer, though it does its job well washing my laundry, has been going floozy these few weeks.

Anyone has any experience with a washer and dryer in one?  Is that better than a separate dryer?  Because of space constraints, I would prefer the former, but I would love some honest opinions.

Absolutely RED with ONG February 23, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate, The Fairer Sex , comments closed

We are more than a week through the new Lunar New Year of the Tiger.  How has it treated you?

For me it has been a hot hot hot New Year.  I’ve been eating non-stop: cookies, drinks, bak-kwa….and now I am nursing an irritating dry cough.

redlips 

But I did enjoy the Chinese New Year holidays.  For a change, I chose to put on RED lipstick.  I am never one to wear lipstick, and when I do, it is of a shade that is subtle or very close to my lip color.  This year, I opted to usher in the “ONG” with RED lipstick, and red nailpolish.

…and you know what?  I discovered that with red lipstick, it cuts down my makeup time by about 10 minutes!  This is because I don’t need to put on a whole lot of eyeshadow and blush.  I want all the attention on my red lips, so the eyes just gets a simple eyeliner treatment, very light eyeshadow, and I just use my Georgia face powder for a light touch of peach on the face.  So putting on RED lipstick is definitely a great tip for mommies with kids :)

I stayed up till 2:30a.m. last night… February 8, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , comments closed

… because of these doggies…

 

A sweet start for Saturday February 5, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , comments closed

 

Saturday mornings always taste better when we start it off with a freshly homemade batch of pancakes.

…and don’t forget the maple syrup!

Hunting down the bedspread February 1, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home , comments closed

 

What started out as a plan to get a new set of bedsheets and quilt cover from Gurney Plaza in less than half an hour turned into an adventure that ate up a huge portion of our day instead.

After looking at all the quilt cover designs in Aussino, only one design was okayed by both hubby and me.  And after we felt the difference between cotton, polyester cotton and cotton sateen, we knew we definitely had to get that design in cotton sateen.  Could not imagine NOT sleeping on it, ever.  It was just perfect.  Matched our curtains, our walls, our personality…

Unfortunately though, they didn’t have it in KING size…. bummer.   And after a phone call, we discovered only the branch in Sunway Carnival Mall on the mainland had it.

Deciding to go and get it that day itself, with the “It’s now or never” attitude, we set out.  Not knowing that we would eventually end up in the *wrong* mall.  No GPS and wrong directions from someone led us to Aeon Seberang Prai instead.

We finally reached Sunway Carnival Mall and got what we wanted.  And even managed to put in an entry for a contest the mall was running.

Wow…the things we would do just to get the coveted quilt cover.  At least there’s an interesting story behind it. :)

Dishing out the cuttlefish January 21, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , comments closed

 

Let’s face it.  If I even have the remote-est chance of hosting a Chinese New Year reunion dinner in my home in the future, I had better learn how to cook Jiu Hoo Char, a very popular palatable Hokkien delicacy, that is never missing from any Hokkien household during Chinese New Year reunion dinner.  The fried cuttlefish dish that has shreds of carrot and turnip in it, is both visually appealing and tasty too, especially when wrapped with fresh lettuce leaves

Lately, hubby has been asking (more like *daring*) me to see if I can create this favorite dish.  It looked simple enough, although I have never cooked it before.  I had been forewarned that the preparation time would be way more tedious than the cooking itself.

So yesterday, I decided to give it a shot.  I had grated the carrots and turnip (bangkuang) the night before, so that saved me a lot of time.  I soaked the dried cuttlefish (jiu hoo) in balsamic vinegar for about 20 minutes before squeezing it dry.  And just as Hannah drifted off for her afternoon siesta, I quickly prepared the dish.

Not bad for a novice like myself, I would say.  Hubby gave his approval for it.

And when I was busy taking a picture of the dish, Ethan asked, “Mommy, you bought this?” :)

That certainly made my day. 

CUTEST BABY OF THE PLANET 2009 – FINALIST January 19, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Hannah , comments closed

 

Woohooo!!!  My little Hannah has been shortlisted as one of the 20 finalists for the Cutest Baby of the Planet 2009 contest.

So what does she have to do as a finalist, you ask?  Nothing, except be cute and look adorable at all times…not too difficult for her, I would say!

But it’s the Mommy who has a list of things to complete now. :)  

Mom Bloggers Planet, the contest organizer has come up with a few *challenges* for us to perform, and all in a matter of just THREE days!  Hehe…hope I ace those challenges :)

What is the meaning of your baby’s name?

I’ve actually *answered* this question before but it was done in my kids’ blog.  So I’m just gonna copy and paste the answer here now.

When we found out we were gonna have a baby girl, we had already pretty much decided on the name Hannah.  I have loved the name Hannah since I was a schoolgirl, and it was only apt that I name my daughter as such.  We definitely wanted a Biblical name and one that is meaningful both for us and for her.  And we also wanted a name that’s not too common.  That’s why we chose Hannah, which means Favored (or Favored by God), or Grace.    In Biblical context, Hannah was one of the wives of Elkanah, and she was blessed with six children, one of whom was Samuel, the glorious warrior and judge of Israel.

With the Christened name decided, it was time for the harder part: deciding on a Chinese name. 

Thanks to the internet, while we were in the US, I contacted a friend of mine in Penang to ask her hubby to help me ascertain a good number of strokes for Hannah’s Chinese name, based on her birth year, surname and also Mommy and Daddy’s birth year.  This friend of mine was also the one who helped calculate the number of strokes suitable for Ethan’s Chinese name. 

She then came back with the results, which stated that based on Pete’s surname, Chua (蔡Cài), there were 4 stroke combinations that would be a good match for the 2nd and 3rd Chinese character for Hannah’s name:

So off to the drawing board we went.  Referring to some Chinese name books we had brought along, we wanted a name that had the water radical or water element in it.  I used the internet to list out the various combinations that would sound good and mean good, meeting all the criteria we had set out, and then we gave the list to another friend of ours in Santa Clara to help us decide or recommend.  After a few tweaks here and there, we arrived at a name that we all thought would be perfect for our baby girl.

We chose the name Xi Ling (Xǐ Ling:  禧泠), which is a combination of 17 + 8 strokes.  Xǐ (禧) meant Joy and Ling (泠), which also contained the water radical, carried the meaning “sound of the water flowing“; and together, Xi Ling (Xǐ Ling: 禧泠) means Joy Overflowing, which Hannah is living up to really well, seeing what a happy little baby she is! :)

So Hannah’s full name is Hannah Chua Xi Ling (蔡 禧 泠 ~ Cài Xǐ Ling), carrying the meaning of Favored by God and Full of Grace, with Overflowing Joy.  Isn’t that a pretty name for a pretty baby? :)

What is ONE of the most memorable moment about your baby since she/he was born until now?

There are many memorable moments for Hannah, but I would say that the one that takes the cake was the very first time she called me Mommy.  It was more like “Mameh!” but still….it would be something I would remember for all time.

Short positive TESTIMONIAL about MomBloggersPlanet

Although I just stumbled on MomBloggersPlanet just a few weeks back, I can tell that it is a very good portal for all parents.  The articles are mostly personal opinions from parents and provide a good sharing platform for not just moms but also dads out there.  Somehow, it is very reassuring to find other people going through the same experience as you are, and you know it’s a great site when you find yourself going, “Hmmmm….yeah, that’s true” and nodding along as you read through.

Definitely a must-visit site for new parents, parents-to-be and also for parents who profess to be experts (because we all learn something new everyday!)

Lil’ Hannah’s shortlisted! January 14, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Hannah , comments closed

 

A lovely surprise greeted me this morning when I visited the Mom Bloggers Planet blog.

Our little Hannah has been shortlisted as one of the 20 finalists for the Cutest Baby of the Planet Contest 2009!  Woohooo!!!!!

The organizer says that there will be some tasks to be performed next week, but I am not sure what yet.  Nevertheless, I am very proud of my little angel.

Please don’t pinch her cheeks, okay? :)

The really ultimate carrot cake January 13, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , comments closed

 

At the mere mention of carrot cake, most Penangites would verily point you to a certain famous bakery here (whose name I will not mention).  I have tasted the carrot cake there before, and while I do enjoy its moist-NESS and taste overall, there is just something missing from it.  I just didn’t know what.

And then just last year, I tasted the Carrot Brownie from another *secret* shop in Penang, and it was served with delicious cream cheese frosting.  Now if you know me well enough, you’ll know that I will melt faster than butter in a pan if you give me anything with cream cheese in it.  The brownie was very good, but because of it being a brownie, it lacked a little in terms of moist-NESS.

So when I stumbled on the Ultimate Carrot Cake recipe, I decided to give it a try to see how ultimate ULTIMATE really was.  Besides, it was a failproof way to get my toddler to eat carrots! :)

And it doesn’t just contain walnuts; the cake is jampacked with walnuts, raisins and pineapples too!

The whole process of making and baking the cake (including prep time) took me about 2 hours, minus the time taken to make the cream cheese frosting.  I baked the cake in the morning and allowed it to cool down.  I only made the cream cheese frosting at night after the kids had gone to bed.

For my first attempt at something I would call a HEALTHY cake, it was very moist, just the way I like it; PLUS the frosting complemented the cake in the best way possible.  Ethan only wanted the frosting part, but I managed to sneak in the cake for him too!  I have leftover frosting in the fridge too, so that might *encourage* him to eat more!

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and so I was certainly very pleased when hubby declared it was VERY good. :)