Fish Maw Herbal Chicken Soup

I have always wanted to try to make this soup but just never get down to it till today. Mum had a bad fall in May and left her seated on wheelchair for months. During those time, it was somehow a calling for me to learn some culinary skills from her and I realized that being able to whip a decent dinner is very satisfying.

Took a trip to Chinatown last week and bought some fish maw as I am planning to make my mum this long-awaited soup… hahahahah… I finally get down to cook this soup. I had the fish maw soaked overnight; though it was as soft as I expected it to be but guess boiling it will help.

I made the soup with a huge chicken drum stick and some chinse herbs bought from the dried goods shop in Chinatown. After boiling it on low fire, the soup is finally ready after 2 hours. 😊 I am happy with the aroma in the house and it tasted really good!

The soup was very well received by the family and my kiddos gave me thumps up too! I am thrilled to see the pot emptied and kids are asking for more. 😊 YIPPY!!! I DID IT!

With this soup, I do hope it will provide mum with more gel on her leg and wishing her a speedy recovery.

Mantou

The kiddos are really into making their own mantou and here we go again. This time, they tired to fill the mantou with different flavours and shapes. 😊

We had Nutella, black sesame, kaya and plain mantou for everyone. After kneading and proofing the dough, they are all ready for their creations. They rolled the dough and shaped them after filling up their favourite fillings. 😊

I must say that the kaya mantou is really delicious though I love plain one personally. Well, this is really one fantastic bonding sessions for the kids and if you want some quiet time for at least a good 30 minutes, this is one method… hahaahahahah

Happy Birthday Singapore

This year, there is no NDP at Padang or Marina Floating Platform due to Covid situation and with that, we are truly blessed to be able to celebrate it with our family at the comfort of our home. Well, you might be wondering what the difference between this year and the past is…

With the Covid situation and restrain of people gathering in large numbers, the government arranged the army mobiles to be paraded in the neighborhoods areas and we are happy to be able to see them up closed just outside our house. No crowds, no sweat and abled to celebrate NDP with our family and neighbours. 😊

The kiddos are extremely excited about the NDP this year and knowing that they can see the mobiles right outside our doorstep, it got them into the mood. They were all charged up and waited patiently for the mobiles to pass our house. We waited for about 30 minutes for the appearance of the mobiles and we cheered them on and some of us waved with our flags. It was really a beautiful moment and being able to celebrate NDP with the neighborhood is something that I have missed doing.

I remembered during my childhood days, I stood by the roadside to wait for the army troops to march pass and the mobiles too. It was such an incredible feeling, and I am so happy that after so many years, I can watch the mobiles closed once again. It really brought back so much wonderful memories.

After dinner, we drove the kids to Punggol area to check out the fireworks. We were not sure which is the best place to view but we certainly found ourselves a good spot to view the fireworks in the comfort of our car. The kids preferred to see the real thing and we got out and watched by our car. 😊

This is one special NDP and we thoroughly enjoyed the moment and finally felt that we are included as a citizen. 😊 Thank you, Singapore!

The Next Door Café

Hubby has been telling me about this Spanish joint at Siglap which was highly recommended by his colleague. Finally, we found an opportunity to try and it’s not other than his birthday. 😊

It was a pretty easy to find and access place but for those who drive, you might want to park opposite the restaurant as there are very limited parking lots along the road. It was a very cozy café indeed and I am really happy that they staff were very friendly and warmth. 

We browsed through the menu and decided to order some of their some starters like their meat balls, mix cheese, grilled Spanish octopus and their special of the day – Ortiguilla (a type of seafood tasted like oysters but much tastier). It was so delicious that we wanted a second serving. 😊

For mains, we ordered their squid ink paella. It was really good, similar like our very traditional claypot rice with charred rice. Super delicious! I do want to come back to try their original paella which is with seafood. I am very sure it will taste as good or even better.

We did not have desserts as we are happy with our wine which compliments the food so well. 😊

Happy Blessed Birthday my love! Wishing you happiness and may you be blessed with good health always. I love you!

Birthday At Jamie’s

July has always been a month of birthday celebrations but this year, due to this stupid Covid-19 situation, there are some restriction on the number of people could gather at a time. Well, since we have moved into Phase 2 of the Circuit Breaker, we are happy that we can finally be out and about to meet our friends whom we have not seen for a long time.

We arranged to meet for dinner at Jamie’s and it was such a wonderful feeling to be able to hang out with friends again though limited numbers. We ordered some dishes, and we did our catch up almost immediately when we met.

There were so much to catch up with each other after not meeting for more than 3 months as we tried to arrange to meet monthly or every 2 months. It was unfortunate that Jessie was not able to join us due to work, but we know we will meet again soon.

We also took the opportunity to celebrate Leng’s birthday and I baked her favourite brownie. 😊 We sang the song as softly as we can and enjoyed the birthday brownie cake as our desserts. Hahahaahahah….

Happy Blessed Birthday Leng and may you HUAT all the way! Wooohooo!

Returning To Church

I was happy to hear the news that we are able to return to church for mass and I was excited after booking my slot.

I was filled with excitement when I arrived at church entrance and it was like returning home after a long vacation. When I stepped foot into the main church, I was really so happy to be back to church for mass physically after attending online mass for months. 😊

Everything was the same except for no singing, no music and very much lesser people. Though it was a 45 mins session but I found it really fulfilling to be there.

Thank you Lord for calming the Covid situation so that we can return to church. Will be returning for mass soon again. 😊

Birthday Cupcakes

I am really thankful to everyone who has given me the opportunity to bake for you. My cousin placed an order from me for her friend’s birthday this time. :0) I am excited and very happy to bake. 😊

She ordered lemon cupcakes from me and I am happy to prepare a birthday note for her friend. I hope she like the cupcakes that I prepared for her.

Happy Blessed Birthday Melanie!