Thursday, April 30, 2015

Quickfix : Steamed Sea Bass

For those of you who have been ordering online from Songfish to hit that minimal purchase and get a free delivery to your place, it is pretty good to check out their stores at times. Mister was in the area to help with the purchasing of cod fish cubes and he spotted packs of really good size sea bass freshly vacuumed at just $6 ! This can feed about 2-3  adults, 1 child and 1 baby. The best part is, what ought to be removed from the fish has been removed and cleanly washed.


One of the simplest way you can cook a fish, in less than 15 mins. Rinsed the fish and rubbed with a little salt. Then I cut some ginger slices and placed it under the fish and in between the slit where the liver and intestines are contained to rid the fishy smell.

Second attempt with minced garlic and chai po

I steamed it for about 10 mins and topped with fried ginger shreds and spring onions. Drizzle soy sauce and sesame oil before serving. Easy ? 
,


The second attempt, I steamed the sea bass using minced garlic and chai poh. I pan fried both until golden brown ,


and topped it onto the fish before steaming. To save time , I used Ikea Garlic Press for "mincing" the garlic. It was quite well received by my mister.


 Some other quickfix for the busy mamas :

Seafood :
Lobster Lettuce Wrap
Salt and Pepper Cod Fish Fillet
Sliced Fish Soup

Meat :
Mini Pork Chops
Pan fried Pork Ribs with black bean soy sauce paste
Yakiniku Don
Wagyu Beef Steaks

Chicken :
Steam Chix with Chicken Essence

 Vegetables :
Easy Broccoli Dishes
French Beans with Olive Vegetables
Kailan with mushrooms

Egg:
Otah omelette

If you have been reading our posts, do follow us on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for future updates !

Disclaimer : This is #notasponsored post by Song Fish. Just sharing another deal that we have found.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Camping Theme Mini Photoshoot Session

Am sure you have come across Chinese New Year or Christmas themed mini photoshoot sessions offered in the market. Now how about a cosy camping themed studio photoshoot with your family ?
 
 
 
From 4 - 10 May 2015 (Mon to Sun), Orange Studios is offering camping themed studio photoshoot sessions for you !!
 
Xav's eye lit up when I told him, let's go camping at Orange Studios ! Coincidently, I have signed him up for a 3D2N holiday camp for the coming June holidays, this camping theme photoshoot session came in just nice to give him a feel of the camping fun!
 
These are a few favourites shortlisted from the lot.
 
 
 
 
 
Of course it would be more fun with the company of Vera !
 
 
 
 

  
For just $280, you will enjoy all of the following:
 
(a) 25 minutes camping themed studio photoshoot session for siblings/family for up to 4 pax
(b) all *web resolution digital files (approx 20-25 images) on a USB flash drive
(c) three 4R professional prints

Additional family members at $15/pax.
 
* web resolution digital files are not printable, but are perfect for sharing online e.g. Facebook and Instagram with your relatives and friends
 
Top-up option: additional $100 for upgrade to 5R resolution digital files

Something for all Xavvy-licious readers & followers, simply quote XAVVY-LICIOUS to enjoy a discount while you make the booking ! You pay $250 instead for the above. 

 
The following are our experience with Orange Studios.
 
Available hours (by appointment only): 
4 - 8 May (Mon to Fri) 11.00 am to 5.00 pm
9 May (Sat) 10.00 - 5.00 pm
10 May (Sun) 9.30 am - 12.00 pm

Email :  contact@orangestudios.sg for more information and bookings.
 
Terms and conditions:
- full payment (non-refundable) is required for booking confirmation to secure your preferred timeslot
- products are by self collection; additional $10 for delivery

 

If you have been reading our posts, do follow us on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for future updates !

Disclaimer : This is a sponsored review by Orange Studios. No monetary compensation is involved.






 

 



 



 

 



 





 





Gu Ma Jia celebrates 5th Anniversary with the launch of new dishes

27 November 2014 marked the 5th anniversary for  姑妈家 (Gu Ma Jia), which is famous for their freshest selection of ingredients that are hand picked and quality checked by Gu Ma. Most importantly, these delectable home-cooked dishes have no added MSG and less oil was used, working align with the restaurant's take on serving authentic home-cooked food.

We were served with Gu Ma Jia's homemade fruity enzyme drink shortly upon our arrival while waiting for the food tasting session to commence. If you can take slightly sourish drinks, you might love the enzyme drink that comes along with some jelly bits.

Fruity Enzyme Dink, $4.80

To celebrate the 5th Anniversary,  姑妈家 (Gu Ma Jia) has launched some new dishes. If you have read my review from the previous food tasting session, the sweet and savoury Kyoto Pork Ribs was a hit with the old and young !

This time, the new dish is served with a combination with their handmade yam ring which is crispy on the outside, creamy and soft on the inside. It's the best of both worlds for the yam ring lovers, this is not to be missed ! The duo complements each other well.

Homemade Yam Ring with Kyoto Pork Ribs, $30

Typical Ubin Lala Bee Hoon, is light yet tasty. The freshness of the fresh clams brought out the sweetness of the broth.

Ubin Lala Bee Hoon - $18

Gu Ma grew up with this traditional dish, a comfort food for all. It took 6 hours to boil and bring out the wholesome goodness of the soup with Chinese ham, salted fish head, pork ribs, peanuts and fresh bean curd.

Gu Ma Traditional Beancurd Soup - $28

XO prawn noodles, you need not add any other seasoning like curry powder to spice it up. If you are dining there, this is one dish that is not be missed as well. Do away with the white rice and go for this ! The noodles were cooked using their homemade superior XO sauce, plus the sweetness of the prawn meat, I guaranteed that you will not stop at just one serving. I wiped out my bowl cleaned, including the soup.

XO Sauce Prawn Noodles - $28

I love anything that is cooked with salted egg yolk and not to mention CRABS ! That is on my #1 top favourite ! You might caught me licking off the sauce from the shells and fingers. It's finger licking good and I love how the meat is not sticking to the shells, in terms of freshness, I have no doubts about it.

Salted Egg Yolk Crab (Seasonal Price)

Kids love this and I love this too ! The joints were crispy and tasty on the outside yet tender on the inside. Xav actually requested for more. I'm surprised as he hardly asked for a second serving.


Shrimp Paste Chicken Mid Joint - $15
Crispy Brinjal - $12/ $18
\
Yuan Yang Kai Lan - $12/ $18/ $24

To complete the dinner, desserts were served. Check them out.

Gu Ma's Dessert - $4

Black Glutinous Rice which is also known as Pulau Hitam, this warm dessert comes with a scoop of ice cream and it was not overly sweet. Pardon the melted ice cream. =P

Black Glutinous Rice with Ice Cream - $3.80

Yes I was filled to the brim but it did not hindered me from trying out the desserts.  Refreshing mango pudding but chawannmushi lookalike ?
 
Mango Pudding (Not on menu yet)

Xav tried to burst the mango pops.


Fruit Enzyme Jelly is a must try but warning ahead, leave some space before you wolfed down this dessert. I was really, really full after finishing this serving. Pretty refreshing when you eat it chill.

Fruity Enzyme Jelly - $5.80
 
Now what's next ? From 1st May 2015 to 17th May 2015,  Gu Ma Jia ( 姑妈家)'s Exclusive Mother's Day set menu will be available to pamper the Mothers ! If your mums love crabs, there is a 10% off for all mouth watering crab dishes. Ala carte menu is available as well.

Mother's Day Promotion set ($388)  :
- Cold Dish Platter
-Auntie's Signature Traditional Bean Curd Soup
- Assam Snapper
- Superior Saucce Prawns
- Yam Ring Pork Ribs
- Fortune Chicken
- Brocolli with Sea Cucumber Chinese Mushroom
- Beancurd Sheet Dessert with Ginko

Every order of  Gu Ma Jia ( 姑妈家)'s Exclusive Mother's Day set menu or a minimum spending of  $350 nett on the ala carte menu, comes with a Leifheit Columbus Insulated Jug (1 litre) free gift, worth $55, while stock last.

Do call in early to make reservation if you are planning to have a nice meal for Mother's Day at  Gu Ma Jia ( 姑妈家).


Isa, Xav and Xi En with Gu Ma

For more information, you can go to http://www.gumajia.com.sg/

Location :
Gu Ma Jia Food Pot ( 姑妈家 )
45, Tai Thong Crescent
Senette Estate
Singapore 347886
Tel : 62855602

Getting There:
By train : Nearest MRT is Potong Pasir
By buses : 8, 61, 64, 65, 66, 90, 125, 151, 154  
By car : Free parking after 5pm but it does seem a little challenging to find a parking lot during the peak hours. However,  there are parking lots available outside the private houses. Take a little walk before and after the meal does sound like not too bad an idea. 

If you have been reading our posts, do follow us on Facebook , Instagram & Twitter for future updates !

Disclaimer: We were invited by AT Marketing Consultancy for food tasting session at 姑妈家 (Gu Ma Jia). No monetary compensation is involved. All opinions are of my own.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Day In A Life : My Typical Friday


One year ago, I shared my thoughts as a FTWM (Full Time Working Mum). Today, I share with you my typical kind of Friday for me as a SAHM (Stay at Home Mum).

Before Xav started official school, it makes no difference whether if it is a school day, a weekend or public holiday.  He is an early riser as trained by his daily routine since young. We have no chance to sleep in, he will wake up at 7am on the dot or earlier at times.

Now that term two of school had started, I have to confess that I am still struggling to get out of my bed. No, not at 7 am but at 5.30 am. He has requested for Bento boxes for his recess on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Then again, at times if Vera or myself is unwell, I will skip this.

So this is my typical  Friday :

- 5.30 am to 6.45 am : Ready for school - From prepping his brekkie, bento boxes, a quick run through to make sure his school bag is properly packed and pencils sharpened and off to school he goes. If I am lucky and fast enough in my 200 metres dash to catch that bus, I would be back home by 7.15am.

- 7.30 am to 9 am : The never ending washing - While waiting for Missy Vera to wake (usually at 7.30 am), the washing begins. The laundry would be washed either in the morning or in the night, depending on the volume. Am seriously thankful to my mister who insisted in getting a dryer when I first objected to it. Yes it does makes me lazier because I don't need to hang the laundry piece by piece. I will just let the dryer do the job.



While the laundry are being washed, I will work on the load in the sink. (When comes to washing up, I secretly wished that I am still having a helper around but I chose not to cave in to get another one)


If I have done my marketing and have planned for my meals for the next, one day before, I will prep the ingredients for lunch. Usually, lunch are more simpler with a soup and a dish. I do have some quickfix recipes on hand to save me at times.

All the vacuuming and packing up of the living room or the study room which is in an UNDESIRABLE state yet again. I close both my eyes to the mess. Thankful for friends who came by for visits or sharing for their kind understanding that it's inevitable for the mess, especially with young kids around.

7.30 am to 10.30 am : Playtime - At times, I will let her catch some bubbles to train her eye-hand coordination,


or we can at times get down to impromptu learning session in the kitchen.


If we have time to spare, I will let her dabble with the paints.


10.30 am : Nap time ZZZ - Little missy will be put to bed for her morning nap. Somehow she needs  her nap even if she wakes at 8am.

10.30 am to 12 pm : My oily business - Apart from dealing with the kids' business, I do run my own oily business. Not only I am actively enrolling new members but I provide them with product knowledge and usage support as well. I would say it is a really mobile business as I can do it within my free time, earn my keeps and be financially independent.  At the same time be with the kids.
During this one hour, I will also cook Vera's lunch and take my shower before she wakes.


12 pm to 1pm : Lunch Feeding . I will serve and feed Vera lunch before leaving house to pick up Xav.

1.30 pm to 2 pm Dismissal : I will normally leave home at 1 pm to pick Xav from school. 

2 pm - 3 pm Lunch with Xav : I have self declared off on Fridays due to the enrichment class in the evening.  Lunch will usually be done at Seletar Mall.
 
3 pm - 5 pm Revision Time - It's a role changing period. I wish I can split myself into two. If am fast enough, I will be putting Vera to nap while Xav is on his own here. Then, my role changes from a cook, a mum and then to a teacher. While he does his school homework or the assignments given by me, I would quickly cook Vera's dinner and mark his work and do a little revision with him if I can. I would say I can't do much but a little is better than none !


5 pm : Enrichment evening - We will usually make our way to Mindchamps at One KM shopping mall for his creative writing class. If the daddy is around, I will return home with Vera while he will hang around the mall and wait for Xav's dismissal.

6 pm to 7pm : Dinner - Both Vera and I will have our dinner taken before we send Xav up to his class. Xav will then have his "dinner" after his class ended because it does not make any sense to force him to eat with us given that his lunch ended at 3pm.

9 pm : Lights Out - This is where we split our tasks. Dear will wait for Xav while I will cab back and wash Vera up to prepare for her bed. Sleep time for Vera is usually between 9 pm to 9.30 pm. While she is busy sucking her time to sleep and at the same time needed my presence to be there. I will be on my mobile again to catch up with chats and Q&A if there is any.

10 pm onwards : ME TIME  - Usually my ME time starts at 10 pm on a daily basis. Completing the remaining household chores, blogging, chatting on watsapp, crafting, surfing the internet for ideas, placing online orders for my team from Young Living US site, my own "admin work" to sort out the sums from the sprees, anything ! As if these two hours can do wonders heh !

Nowadays unlike the past, it is so impossible to complete one layout. Even for a simple project life (PL) layout, it took me months. Anyway, this is the first and only PL I have completed after 4 months.   If I can ever do one page in a day given the current , it would be so un-un-un-un-unbelievable  !


My lights out time for myself ? No later than 12.30 am or if my brain decides to shut off earlier.

Here's my typical Fridays. It can be more tiring if I am solo parenting when the mister is on duty.

Do share yours with me ! “Day In A Life” blog train is hosted by Justina of Mum in the Making. To check out what a typical day is like for other mums on the blog train, do click here or the button below.


Next in line to share about her Day in a Life is Sandra who blogs over at SANses.com where she chronicles her life as a mother of three, now staying in Sydney, Australia. Once a fancy-free girl, life is now chock-ful of quips, questions, dinosaurs, trucks and trains.  

From pregnancy to handling newborns and now with two talkative toddlers & a baby in tow, Sandra shares the joys and challenges of motherhood. Parenting, after all, is a road best travelled with good company and a healthy dose of humor and perspective! Her motto in life: Outsmart ... or be outsmarted by the kids!


 
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Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Spring Onion Omelette with Bak Kwa

When I was clearing my draft folder, trying to clear some #backlogs (some were as long as 2013 !!! ) I came upon this dish that I attempted to cook as one of the dishes. #Throwback

Recently, hands are really tight. Especially during school holidays, I get busier. I would rather go out for meals and as a result, my onions in the fridge started to grow roots ! What would you have done normally ? I don't throw into the bin but I threw into the pot so grow spring onions !! When it grew taller, just harvest it and it is really useful when in times I need spring onions as garnish or to cook an omelette in this sense.

Just nice that I bought a pack of Bak Kwa from the food fair. $15 for 500g if I did not remember wrongly. Hence, I cut into small pieces and top it on top of my omelette roll and secure it with a heart shaped pick !

Xav loves anything with Bak Kwa like me =D, no need to say much, the dish was wipe out as per norm ! How I love my supporters at home !


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Monday, April 20, 2015

KSL Resort and "Dinosaurs Alive" Water Theme Park

Our last long weekend getaway for a 3D2N in Johor, we booked and stayed at KSL Resort. After clearing the immigration, we took public transport which stopped right in front of KSL Mall where KSL Resort is just right beside. It was pouring for that noon and we stayed in our room till the rain stopped and made our way to the "Dinosaurs Alive" Water Theme Park located on Level 7.

View from our room

Since we were guests of KSL Resort, the entry to the "Dinosaurs Alive" Water Theme Park was complimentary.

Vera must be thinking what are those two gigantic creatures !


Else you have to pay for the entrance fee which I find it really over priced. I personally felt that the pool was poorly maintained.


Some snippets around the theme park.


Dinosaurs lover will probably like this water theme park if all it takes is to soak into the company of the loved ones and with these huge dinosaurs around the pool.





 

After the water play, we made our way down to Kimdo for dinner and tried one of their recommended 1 bone bbq chicken wing.


One thing about getting out of Singapore or rather from my home is,  I am not distracted by anything and I turn in as early as 10 pm !

The next day, we made our way to Komtar JBCC and spent half a day at the Angry Birds Activity Park which I last blogged about.

Guess our mode of communication in the mall when I did not switch on my auto roaming ? Never did it came across my mind that this toy would be so useful ! Yes, we used walkie talkie to communicate! How cool !! Just simply switch to the agreed channel and you be contactable.


And one of the craziest thing I have ever done, walking into a saloon to get a hair service with a sleeping baby. But this little darling woke before I am half done. Luckily she was pretty cooperative !

Ladies' hair fix

Thereafter, we returned to our hotel, got changed and got ready to have a dip in the pool ! Skin care has to start young ! We brought along Mustela Very High Protection Sun Lotion to hit the pool for Vera and myself.


The lotion is water resistant, SPF 50+ UVB – UVA 25 PPD , 0% Paraben and is suitable for all skin types, including Atopic Skin as well as sun intolerant skin.

Guess what is she running away with ?


It is lightweight and easy to apply onto the skin. Here's all dipping in the pool for some splashing fun ! Thank you Mustela for sending it over.


 
We ended our short getaway with a lunch at City Square before we made our way back to home. Till then yes, we are starting to plan for our trip for the coming June Hoidays !

Where have we gone for our passport therapy :
- UK Agro Farm, Kluang
- KL - Penang Trip
- Superstar Virgo
- 8D7N Taiwan Trip (Three more days left pending to blog about)
- Phuket, JW Marriot Vacation Club
- Grand Canyon West Rim
- Hokkaido, Japan

 My apologies for the haywired alignment. Somehow, I cannot save the edited adjustment.

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Disclaimer : We received a complimentary tube of sunscreen lotion from Mustela Sg. All opinions are of my own.
 
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