First visit to fun fair

So there was a fun fair in town, kinda like a temporarily put up mini theme park with rides and games booth. We pass by it every morning I send the lil' fella to his nanny's. He's been telling us, let's go there and have a 'walk walk'. I've been telling him, yea yea.. we will go there, one day. But deep down inside, I felt reluctant to bring him there, cos it's a temporarily made up fun fair, how flimsy are the rides and frames gonna be? Oh well, we had to go cos we still have to fulfill our promises. So we thought, we will just bring him for a walk-around. 

Ahhh... seeing these photos, you'll know we didn't just go in for a walk-around. He went onto the rides, alone. I wasn't too sure how my hubby felt, my heart was pumping fast cos for G sake, there were no height restrictions sort of rules and there wasn't any safety belt on the rides (Okay, for I have allowed him to go onto the rides, I shouldn't be complaining at all.. but .. just saying..). With his height, I doubt he would be allowed to go on. Oh well.. he loved it! It was heart-warming seeing the beam and grin on his little face. I hoped there was fear in him (cos that was his first ride, even though it wasn't a fast spinning one, but it did felt fast to me.. and knowing there was fear in him would make ME felt much better cos there was surely fear in me, worrying that he would stand up half way, wanting to be let out...) .. ah .. but again, maybe I was wrong. He held onto the rail obediently throughout the ride and was seen enjoying every second every moment of his entire ride. He even let go one of his hands half way through the ride, and the worrisome me had to remind him to place his hands back onto the rail. Bless him. 

Twas just a short visit. But it surely was a good one for him. We bought him an helium balloon on way back. He held on tight to the balloon even when going to bed. So the spiderman balloon was floating right next to my pillow at night. Nice!  

Last night, I also found out that my gym acquaintance from back then when I was in KL, Eileen Khoo has passed away at the tender age of 37. I hadn't got the chance to know her properly but she was a lovely and bubbly lass. I'm glad that she now doesn't need to suffer anymore. Eileen babe, rest in peace. 

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then the entire life to forget them. You'll always be in our memmory, dear Eileen. 

Breadmaker black sesame hee pan (kikaku)

My clients are getting sick of just baking bread with their Donlim breadmaker. So they are asking if I can come up with more recipes, other than bread. Yesterday, I made soft and fluffy banana and walnut cake with it. This morning I made these Hakka delicacies with the breadmaker. I kneaded the dough and let it proof in the breadmaker, then steamed them in the steamer. The lil' fella loved them. He had about 2-3 of them. I had 3 myself. We love the chewiness but at the same time, also fluffy, especially when warm. 

This is a sponge dough recipe. It requires additional steps of preparation. I have made some simple dough method, but I felt that the texture of the kikaku is quite dense, so I have always prefer those made with this sponge dough. You can refer to those easier ones if you felt that this recipe is a little too cumbersome for you. Here's the link for the easier straight dough recipe. 

Sponge dough: 

• 1tsp active dry yeast 
• 200g all purpose flour
• 150g black sesame drink / pandan juice (if making a pandan heepan) 

Combine all ingredients. Cover and proof overnight at room temperature. 

Main dough: 

• 100g all purpose flour (I have used 85g all purpose flour + 15g cornflour) 
• 150g glutinous rice flour 
• 125g water / pandan juice (if making a pandan heepan) 
• 125g sugar (I've replaced with 75g brown sugar) 
• 1/2 tsp active dry yeast 
• Some oil for rubbing on palms when moulding the hee pan later on. 

1. Place all ingredients, including the sponge dough into the breadpan. Select mode no. 6 for knead (和面）。 Press Start 启动/停止。Let it knead for 10minutes. Press Stop 启动/停止。 
2. Select mode no. 8 for Proof (发酵）。 Adjust TIME 时间 to 01:00 (1 hour). 
3. After an hour, bring dough out of breadpan. Punch out trapped air. Shape into 50g ball and place on a steam paper or banana leaf. Press to flatten. 
4. Let proof for another 15min. Steam on medium heat for 10min. 

中文翻译

面种: 

• 1tsp 酵母 
• 200g 普通面粉
• 150g 黑芝麻奶 

在一个碗内将以上材料混合。盖上保险纸 ， 放在室内室温发酵过夜。 

主面团：

• 100g　普通面粉 （我用85g 普通面粉 + 15g 生粉) 
• 150g 糯米粉
• 125g 水
• 125g 糖 (我只用了75g 黄糖) 
• 1/2 tsp 酵母 
• 油　（整形的时候抹在手板上用）　

1. 将所有材料，包括面种，放入面包桶内。启动菜单 6  和面。 和面 10分钟，按停止。　 
2. 启动菜单 8  (发酵）。 调整时间为１小时。　按启动／停止。　 
3. 一小时之后，　将面团取出。敲打以将空气敲走。　将面团分成50克的小圆形，　放在香蕉叶上压扁。　
4. 发酵15分钟. 中火蒸10分钟。　 

Buttery cornflake cookies

It's my son's second day at preschool today. Tell me if you're like me. I have a feeling I'm the one more excited than him. I wake up early to prepare two special treats for him to bring to preschool. Well, not that he's not excited. He loves being in school. Everytime asked, he told me, school is fun! (oh well, I shall keep track and we'll see how long he'll think school is actually fun!). After he got home from his preschool, he has been singing all day long! I asked him, do you wanna go to school tomorrow? He said YES! So I guess it's only fair to say we are both equally excited about him going to school. 

Yesterday, I prepared him pasta with minced chicken in creamy pumpkin sauce, and a pot of yogurt. Food like that may be messy, and I do wonder what the other parents prep for their kids. Anyways, I shall make something that's easier and less messy to eat today, ie buttery cornflake cookies (a recipe shared by a mommy from Healthy Food for My Baby facebook group) and banana muffin with chocolate chips and cinnamon streusel, recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction's blog. Both are delicious and very moorish!! When the cookies were just done, I have been munching on them, and I shouldn't cos they would give me sore throat but they are too delicious!! (Note: They are a little soft and chewy when fresh out of the oven, after about 15 to 20min when cooled down, they will turn crispy). For the muffin's recipe, please refer here. 

Here's the recipe for the buttery cornflake cookies, recipe shared by Yvonne Woi from Healthy Food for My Baby facebook group. 

This recipe yielded about 30 cookies

• 125g unsalted butter, chopped and softened to room temperature
• 60g brown sugar 
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla essence 
• 1 1/4 cup self raising flour (or replaced with all purpose flour plus 2tsp baking powder) 
• 1tbsp milk
• 1 1/2 cup cornflakes, lightly crushed 
• 1/2 cup craisins/ raisins/ chocolate chips (I omitted these)

1. Preheat oven to 175deg C. 
2. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Sift in flour. Add in milk and combine the dough. 
3. Add in crushed cornflakes. 
4. Line baking tray with parchment paper. Scoop the dough using a teaspoon, roll into balls, flatten very lightly with folk or finger (just very lightly, in face, if you want your cookies to be thick-ish, you wont even need to flatten it). 
5. Bake for about 15min or until cookies turn golden brown. 
6. Leave to cool. 

Banana muffin with choco chips and cinnamon streusel

It's my son's second day at preschool today. Tell me if you're like me. I have a feeling I'm the one more excited than him. I wake up early to prepare two special treats for him to bring to preschool. Well, not that he's not excited. He loves being in school. Everytime asked, he told me, school is fun! (oh well, I shall keep track and we'll see how long he'll think school is actually fun!). After he got home from his preschool, he has been singing all day long! I asked him, do you wanna go to school tomorrow? He said YES! So I guess it's only fair to say we are both equally excited about him going to school. 

Yesterday, I prepared him pasta with minced chicken in creamy pumpkin sauce, and a pot of yogurt. Food like that may be messy, and I do wonder what the other parents prep for their kids. Anyways, I shall make something that's easier and less messy to eat today, ie buttery cornflake cookies (a recipe shared by a mommy from Healthy Food for My Baby facebook group) and banana muffin with chocolate chips and cinnamon streusel, recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction's blog. Both are delicious and very moorish!! When the cookies were just done, I have been munching on them, and I shouldn't cos they would give me sore throat but they are too delicious!! (Note: They are a little soft and chewy when fresh out of the oven, after about 15 to 20min when cooled down, they will turn crispy). For the cookies' recipe, please refer here. 

Here's the recipe for the banana muffin with chocolate chips and cinnamon streusel

This recipe yielded about 8-9 muffins 

Muffin

• 1.5 cups all purpose flour 
• 1.5 tsp baking powder (I omitted the baking soda from the original recipe) 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 50g butter, softened to room temperature, chopped
• 40g grapeseed oil 
• 1 large egg
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed 
• 3tbsp plain yogurt / milk

Streusel topping (You may opt out the topping, but I felt that the topping makes it extra yummy!) 

• 1tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/4 cup dark muscovado sugar
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 185deg C. 
2. Make the streusel first by combining all ingredients in a bowl. Set aside. 
3. In another bowl, sift in flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 
4. In another bowl, beat together sugar, chopped butter, oil and egg until fluffy. Beat in mashed banana and yogurt. Sift in dry ingredients until everything is just combined. Do not overmix. 
5. Fill muffin liner with about 3/4 full batter. Top with streusel topping.
6. Bake muffins for 10min at 185deg C. Lower temperature to 175deg and bake for another 10min. 

Cheese and mushroom muffin

My nanny is off for a whole week. So I'm a full time 'working' mom, taking care of my son in the shop, while looking after my shop, dealing with the clients with the little cheeky fella roaming around the shop. Phew! It's not easy, but surely fun to spend so much time with him daily. He's with me in the shop till about 3pm, then I bring him home for a bath and his dose of sedative - his MILK! and off he goes for his nap. I then return to the shop for a final hour before I call it a day. So what does he do in the shop? Everything! He reads, he draws, he plays with his playdough, he plays with his toys literally everything, other than napping in the shop. All in all, I'm still appreciative of this week. I got to get up close with him on a few issues, his temper, his basic manners and some other stuffs. Now that he's a 2 year old, he communicates and understands instructions pretty well. So I better start these early than later. 

Anyways, enough about my story. Here's the breakfast I made for us this morning, a savory breakfast muffin - cheese and mushroom muffin and a creamy pumpkin soup. I'll be sharing more about the easy 5-ingredients creamy pumpkin soup later on this month during my class in PJ (see this link for info), so do pardon me as I won't be revealing the recipe here in this blog, yet. 

Back to the muffin. I wanted to make cheese and mushroom scones. But I realized I didn't have any butter nor cream in the fridge. So instead, I searched for a recipe on savory muffin and adapted it to make it my own. It's a great recipe for a savory soft muffin if you don't like too much of sweet stuffs for breakfast. 

 Ingredients:

• 250g all purpose flour, sifted 
• 1tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 50g cheese 
• 1 medium size egg 
• 50g oil, I used grapeseed oil 
• 150g milk 

• 4 brown button mushrooms, cleaned and slice (about 120g) 
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 onion, finely minced 
• pinch of salt 

Instructions: 

1. In a frying pan, heat up a tablespoon of oil. Stir in minced garlic and onion, followed by sliced mushrooms. Seasons accordingly. When mushrooms are soft and juices are drained off the mushrooms, they are ready. Keep the mushrooms, not the juice. Chop the mushrooms into small cubes. This step can be prepared in advanced. 
2. Combine dry ingredients, ie flour, baking powder, salt in a bowl. 
3. Beat together egg with oil and milk. Sift in dry ingredients. Add in the grated cheese and chopped stir-fried mushrooms.
4. Fill the batter into muffin cup to about 2/3 full (this recipe makes about 5 muffins). Option: top with an onion ring and more grated Cheddar. 
5. Preheat an oven to 175deg C. Bake for about 20-25min.  

Ten healthy kids lunch box recipes

My little 2 year old will be going to preschool soon. So if you are like many others, stuck for easy and healthy lunch box ideas, here's a compilation of my recipes for some kids' healthy lunch box that are easy to make and practical to eat. These will surely get your little one's face light up.  

Super moist and healthy carrot cupcakes

Mini Mulberry Scones

Chia seeds bun

Spaghetti stir fry

Easy fried rice

Oat milk mantou

Chicken Sheperd’s Pie

Pasta with creamy mushroom and oat sauce

Orange and mango chiffon cake

Steamed moist chocolate cake 

If you're keen to know more about food and nutrition for your baby or toddler, join me at the following classes in Petaling Jaya end of this month (November 2014). For registration, please kindly email justhealthsandakan@gmail.com. Advanced registration is required.  

Super moist and healthy carrot cupcakes

I haven't made carrot cake for the longest time ever. Maybe I just dreaded the process of grating carrots, or perhaps the process of cleaning the grater. In actual fact, neither the process are cumbersome at all. Okay, I dunno why. I should bake more of this, cos this is so healthy, with such little amount of oil (and I used virgin coconut oil), yet they turned out super moist and yummy. The taste or texture of carrot are seriously not noticeable. I prepared them for the lil' fella's take out breakfast box, fingers crossed the nanny will tell me he loves the cupcakes. Oh ya, the nanny is bringing him out for breakfast with her friends, so I made a take-out-breakfast-box for him, consisting of his favorite food, ie plain yogurt with freshly chopped mango, some cheese crackers and this carrot cupcake. He held the container tightly with him when we were on our way to our nanny's place. Bless him! Oh, I forgot to mention, with the amount of sugar I have used in this recipe, it wasn't too sweet, just right for my liking. Try it! You'll be in love with them! 

Here's the recipe, which I have modified, adapted from Little Miss Kimberly Ann.
It made about 7-8 medium size cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup of all purpose flour, sifted (or 1 cup of all purpose flour; half cup of wheat flour) 
• 2tsp baking powder (I have ommitted the baking soda from the ori recipe, and replaced with baking powder) 
• 1tsp cinnamon powder 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 1 egg, lightly beaten 
• 2tbsp oil (I used virgin coconut oil) 
• 1tbsp apple puree (I used a tablespoon of blueberry jam) 
• 1/2 cup fresh milk
• 1 banana, ripe, mashed 
• 1.5cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar 
• 2tbsp sunflower seeds, as topping (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 175degC. 
2. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. 
3. Add the wet ingredients and stir until combined thoroughly, but do not over mix. 
4. Pour batter into cupcake liner, filling about 3/4 full. 
5. Bake for about 20min, or until an inserted skewer or toothpick comes out clean. 

Easy chicken bolognese for toddler

Bolognese sauce, other than creamy mushroom sauce, is a staple recipe in my kitchen. I usually whip up bigger portion of it and serve it over a few days, or sometimes, I even freeze portions of it, and use them when I am out of food for the little fella. It's so versatile. It is perfect with pasta, also goes well with rice as pasta bake or just simply rice and sauce, I have also used them as the filling for sheperd's pie under mashed potato. This round, I served it with cous cous. This is also the first time the lil' fella is having cous cous as his main meal. 

To prepare the chicken bolognese sauce: 

• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced 
• 1/2 onion, finely minced 
• 1/3 medium sized carrot, finely chopped 
• 4 tomato, lightly scored at the bottom, and boiled in a pan of boiling water for 2min to remove the skin, then finely chopped
• 1/4 chicken breast, minced and marinated with dash of orange juice, pinch of salt and liquid amino 
• 1 cup of chicken stock, homemade 
• Seasoning eg balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper etc (optional) 

Instructions: 

1. Heat up a pan with 1-2 tbsp of cooking oil, I use a choice of rice bran oil or grapeseed oil. 
2. Stir in minced garlic and onion, fry till aromatic, about 1-2min. 
3. Stir in minced chicken and chopped carrot. Stir fry for about 1-2min. 
4. Stir in skinned and chopped tomato. 
5. Pour in chicken stock. Gently simmer for about 15 to 20min for flavor to develop. 
6. Season with choice of seasoning.  

To prepare the cous cous:

• Place 1 cup of cous cous in a flat container. 
• Pour in 1 cup of  hot boiling water or hot boiling stock into the container with cous cous in it. 
• Cover with lid for 1-2min. Open up. Fluffy with fork. Ready to serve!  

Easy fried rice for toddler

When he saw this, he was so excited about it, he said 'so cute!' (in canto)

Fried rice is my boy's favorite lunch. Actually, not right, it's MY favorite meal to prep as his lunch. It's easy, incorporating whatever I've got left in the pantry or in the fridge and it is still nice even if not served warm.

Here's a very simple and easy recipe for fried rice for my toddler boy:
This recipe makes two little portion

• 2-3 cloves garlic, roughly minced 
• 1/2 small onion, roughly minced 
• 1/3 medium sized carrot, chopped into tiny cubes 
• Some greens eg beans, kailan, peas etc 
• 1/2 chicken breast, cut into small cubes, marinated with pinch of salt, pepper and liquid amino 
• 2 bowls of cooked rice (cooled down) 
• Seasoning eg salt, pepper powder, liquid amino etc 

Instructions: 

1. Preheat wok with 1-2 tbsp cooking oil, I use a choice of rice bran oil or grapeseed oil. 
2. Stir in garlic and onion, and fry until aromatic and onion turns translucent. 
3. Stir in carrot and chicken. 
4. When chicken is cooked through, stir in cooked rice. Season with your choice of seasoning. 
5. Ready to serve! 

*Sometimes, if there aren't much ingredients or there aren't any meat in the fried rice, I would also add in egg. 

Marble butter cupcake / Butter cake

Josh turns two today! :) 

2 years ago, I woke up at 7am, got myself ready for my routine check up with my gynae at the hospital. Little did I know I was gonna be pushed into the OT that day, and I would meet the lil' fella that day itself. 

A year ago, I woke up at 5am, if not earlier, to prepare for the lil' fella's first birthday cake, I made chocolate cupcake decorated with owl for his halloween-themed birthday party. 

Today I woke up at 6:15am. I made a simple but delicious butter cake, marbled, in a log form (topped with plenty of sunflower seeds) and 2 cupcakes. We're not gonna have any lavishing celebration this year, it's just gonna be a simple one with the family. I prepped his lunch (spaghetti with creamy mushroom sauce), I boiled him some red eggs and got his breakfast ready (steamed bun). Yea, it does seem too much of a breakfast spread for a little two year old. This is my wish for him, that he shall have nothing to worry about, his tummy shall be filled and he'll always be happy in his future years to come. 

I made this very good butter cake few months ago, here. It has gotten very good review from many bloggers so far. So I have decided that I would make it for the lil' fella's birthday cake. I was initially gonna make the easier Steamed Moist Chocolate Cupcake, but I couldn't get unsalted butter. And the only recipe that would go well with the savory butter would be butter cake. And no regrets. It was good! This time, I didn't drastically down the sugar level, cos I used salted butter, worrying that reducing the sugar may affect the ultimate taste. 

Ingredients: 

• 230g butter, soft 
• 80g brown sugar 
• 1tsp vanilla extract 
• 1/8tsp salt (I omitted this, cos I used unsalted butter in this recipe) 
• 4 egg yolk
• 1tbsp fresh milk
• 200g cake flour 
• 1tsp baking powder

• 4 egg white
• 80g brown sugar

For marbling effect: 

• 1tbsp cocoa powder
• 3tbsp hot water

Topping: sunflower seeds (optional) 

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 170degC. Line a loaf tin. (This time I baked mine at 155degC) 
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
3. Add in yolks, one at a time, and beat until fluffy. 
4. Sift in flour and baking powder and mix well. Set aside. 
5. Beat egg white with sugar till turns to soft peak in another bowl. 
6. Fold egg white meringue into yolk batter. Mix well and fold in the rest. 
7. In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder and hot water until there is no lumps. Mix into 3-4 tbsp batter in another bowl. 
8. Pour yellow batter in lined tin, followed by brown cocoa batter. 
9. Sprinkle generous amount of sunflower seeds on top of batter. 
10. Bake for 40min (for cupcakes, I baked for 20min) or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

My kind of breakfast

The two questions that I get asked most frequently are: (1) What sort of breakfast do you make for your boy? and (2) What do you eat for breakfast? .. If you've been following my blog or my facebook network group Healthy Food for My Baby, I'm sure you won't be deprived of ideas on breakfast for your little one. Now, what do I eat for breakfast? Tadaaa... this is my breakfast platter! 

I'm sorry if this revelation disappoint you, but unfortunately, (fortunate from my perspective), this is my kind of breakfast, almost every morning, if no one invites me out for an indulging breakfast. My usual routines are as such, I wake at about 6:30-7am, prep my son's breakfast cum lunch (check out this blog to ogle on his food), then I get myself ready for the day, and I sit down for a nice me-time enjoying my breakfast while flipping through a magazine or browsing my facebook or instagram feed. 

The orange juice look-alike drink on the right is made up of freshly squeezed juice from half an orange, a tablespoon of RIN enzyme, a sachet of FibreCleanse with half a glass of water. I have been consuming this drink for some time and I felt that it really clears up the complexion, making my skin more radiant. FibreCleanse is a fibre drink fortified with pre- and probiotics and chlorophyll, therefore rendering me more regular bowel movement, which I felt is the reason for the clearer and brighter skin tone. After drinking this FibreCleanse and RIN enzyme drink, I make myself another half a glass of water while at the same time, I dig into my overnight chia seeds oatmeal. 

The recipe for the simple chia seeds oatmeal are:

• 1 cup of rolled oat, organic 
• 1 cup of black soya milk, organic
• 1tbsp chia seeds 

This oatmeal is prepped the night before, combined and mixed thoroughly and kept refrigerated. For more interesting and delicious combo of this recipe, you may refer here. 

Most of us enjoy eating too much of 'acidifying' foods 酸性食物 these days. As a result, this create an acid ash in our body, allowing for micro-forms like bacteria, yeasts and fungi to thrive in our body, causing problems like recurring infections, poor immunity, allergies, dull skin tone etc. 

RIN Enzyme is super alkalizing, it contains the most complete blend of alkaline-rich foods from Japan that neutralize the damaging acids in our body. I take a tablespoon of RIN enzyme daily coupled with a sachet of FibreCleanse and this combination supports healthy digestion and bowel system. 

Try this breakfast drink and you'll see tremendous results, especially your skin, in just 30 days!

Both RIN Enzyme and FibreCleanse are now available for sale at Just Health. Please call 089 210 620 or email justhealthsandakan@gmail.com for further info.

Slow-braised lamb with black eyed beans

This was the first time I served lamb to my 23mo toddler. I didn't actually intend to make this dish for him. This was made more for my hubby cos I was going out for dinner with the girls and the in laws weren't around, so I decided that I would prepare dinner for the hubby and the little fella before I leave, so they can dine peacefully at home and settle for an early night. 

I was afraid that the taste of lamb would be too intense for the lil' fella and the texture would be too tough for him. However, after the dish was made, I was pleasantly surprised of how soft the lamb had turned into. I let him tried the lamb. He loved it. He actually finished up quite a big portion I plated him. This is quite an easy and convenient one-pot dish. Just chuck in the veg and meat and any sort of beans you have at home, it's a nutritious and delicious meal on its own. I prepared this dish in the morning and just heated it up and plated it for dinner in the evening before I left home. 

I just simply googled for a recipe for lamb stew and I stumbled upon here. I adapted the recipe using whatever I have in my fridge, the results were superb. 

Here's my recipe, adapted from Jamie's Homecooking Skills

• about 800g lamb steak, diced to cubes 
• 2 slices of ham or streaky bacon, chopped
• 1 medium onions
• 1 parsnip, peeled and cubed or 1 potato, peeled and cubed 
• handful of fresh brown button mushrooms, cleaned
• handful of cherry tomatoes 
• Half a medium carrot, cubed 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 500g tomato juice (organic tomato juice in a bottle, with no sugar nor salt added) *
• Salt and pepper (according to taste) 

*If you dont have tomato juice, you could probably use half half of stock and tomato puree.

1. Heat up 2tablespoon of cooking oil in a casserole pan/ pressure cooker (I prepared this dish using a pressure cooker). 
2. Stir fry garlic and onion till fragrant. Then add in diced beef, ham and all the mixed veg. When all is slightly brown (in about 3-5min), pour in tomato juice. 
3. Simmer on low heat for about 15min, then put on the lid for pressure cooker to work. (without a pressure cooker, this dish may takes 2-3hrs to cook on low heat). 
4. Serve with cooked pasta or mashed potato, or in my case, both :) 

My gf and I had a great time out when hubby took good care of the lil one. 

{Foodie Review} Nijyumaru Japanese Restaurant 二重丸， Taman Sutera (Johor Bahru)

This is a long belated post. But I told myself I must post it, cos' I really liked this place. 

We came to Nijyumaru for dinner to celebrate (1) my hubby's birthday (ya.. we celebrated it over a few dinners) (2) my bro's studies advancement in Japan. This time we called ahead to book a table. There were about 10 of us. The first time we came here, which was my trip back to JB in CNY, we just walked in, and it was a bad idea, we were basically rejected entry, they didn't even have the option for us to wait cos they were that full. 

This time, we were given a low table in a cosy room on the second floor, and that was good, especially that we have the little fella with us. He gets to roam around the room with all of us at his height (cos we were all seated at the low table).

Basically we were so busy chatting and when the food came (despite the almost packed restaurant, the food came quite fast) we were busy tucking in.. I forgot to snap photos afterwards. But all of us was quite happy with the food. The sashimi was good! And we loved the soft shell crab roll too. 

There were actually a lot more on the menu. They do have a pretty extensive menu. But because the parents were not especially adventurous when comes to sashimi, we just chose the safer options. We'll probably be back again to try the other stuffs like urchin and others. 

My lovely family in JB <3 

Verdict: Good, worth a try. 

Price: A good steal for the good food and extensive menu. 

Ambience: Good. Request for a room if you have a crowd of about 10. 

Address: 

Nijyumaru Japanese Restaurant 

94, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/4 

Taman Sutera Utama

81300 Skudai, JB 

Tel: 07 558 9818 

{Foodie Review} Koi Sushi Japanese Restaurant (Sandakan)

New Kids On The Block 

Oh ya.. there's a new Japanese restaurant that just opened here in Sandakan. Its name is Koi Sushi Japanese Restaurant. It's situated at the new shop lots in IJM Mile 5 and is on the same block as Anakku. 

Hubby and I decided to try it out, yes, we love trying out new stuffs, especially Japanese. Prior to going there, I checked with my friend if it was okay, here's what she said, 'yea.. OK lo.. just like Kyoto (FYI, I did a review for Kyoto some time back, here), the menu are pretty much the same with some additions probably, but the tables and chairs are VERY small'. She placed heavy emphasis on the 'small' tables and chairs. I couldn't visualize what she meant. You would perhaps do once you get there :p 

We actually popped by there twice. Hahaaa.. not that we ate there twice. We had to turn back when we arrived the first time, realizing that they haven't got their credit card machine set up (as of 13th Sept 2014). Probably not a good thing when people don't bring much cash around these days and it isn't cheap to have a nice Japanese meal. 

Yakiniku Don RM18

Soft Shell Crab Roll RM25

Niku Enoki RM16

Here's what we have ordered and eaten. You must be wondering what small tummy we have. Ah! That's because the yaki udon (stir-fried udon) that I ordered wasn't actually heard by the attendant. By the time I realized that,  I was already full eating the stuffs here and I'm not a patient person. So, lesson of the day, make sure your orders get repeated. 

My hubby is a big fan of soft shell crab. He was quite happy to see that there is spyder roll (soft shell crab roll) on the menu. The presentation was lovely. But the tastes of the crab was kinda overwhelmed by the sauce. Anyways, no big deal, we just scrapped off the sauce and eat them as they are. 

All in all, it was a good and filling lunch (despite of the forgotten yaki udon). It's worth a try if you're in a mood for Japanese. And it's new. Everyone loves trying out new stuffs in town. We went there for lunch, and the place was not packed. I'm not too sure if you'll need to reserve in advanced if you are there for dinner. 

Verdict: OK lor... room for improvements. Still worth a try. 

Price: $$.

Have a good weekend, xoxo, Jen.