A Quiet Sunday

It is 9am Sunday morning and the house is unbelievably quiet – baby’s asleep, Pepper’s lounging god-knows-where, hubby’s oncall and the weather is looking desperate out there.

I have been up since 6am – fed and played with the baby and packed hubby’s lunch and dinner since he will be staying the night at the hospital.

Thanks to Tesco online, I have just done my grocery shopping for the week and the items should arrive at my doorstep tomorrow evening. I used to enjoy going to the store but ever since having a baby, the online option is probably better for me. No more worrying about looking for the nearest parking space and handling a cranky 3 month old whilst pushing a fully loaded trolley. Their service has been super efficient and always arrive at the scheduled delivery time. From baby nappies to chillies, from coconut milk to shampoo, the items have been spot on too.  Basically you can get just about anything from the store and it gets easier with every order as you can make a favourite list making everything just a click away. I wonder if Malaysia has the same service?

Anyway, if you’re wondering what happened to Mr Crab – we had a big (big meaning plenty of leftovers to survive another meal) lunch yesterday and here’s a photo of it

Ketam Masak Lemak

Dihidang bersama nasi panas dengan

Udang Goreng Kunyit

Alrighty, Master Aidan is screaming for attention.

TTFN ! ( That’s Ta Ta For Now from the Disney channel )

Goodies From Home

You can always count on mom to bring goodies from home.

And look what she brought all the way from Malaysia :

Sate Hj Samuri

I didn’t expect anything like this and was surprised when she told me she brought 40 sticks of sate  for us to savour. Mom had wrapped it well in foil that the flavour was perfect as if it never left the restaurant back home. Coupled with thick peanut sauce, it was definitely one of the best dinners I’ve had in ages. I even kept half of it in the freezer, sayang nak makan…

And thanks to SIL, amongst other goodies were a whole bunch of Malay movies that should keep me entertained for the next couple of weeks. Being here makes me miss all things Malaysian that I’ll watch anything and everything.

Picnic in the Park

Birdie mid-flight

Birds flying high,
You know how I feel.
Sun in the sky,
You know how I feel.
Reeds driftin’ on by,
You know how I feel.

It’s a new dawn,
It’s a new day,
It’s a new life,
For me.
And I’m feeling good

( Micheal Buble )

Another birdie

We’ve had such a nice return of glorious spring weather recently that we spent a good 5 hours in the sun, walking along the pier, enjoying the gentle sea breeze and taking photos of old rusty boats and sea gulls. It’s true that having a camera does make you extra aware of what is around you.

The scenery behind us exudes a sense of calmness and serenity that we felt refreshed after the walk

I made him climb the steep steps so that I could take a photo of the cloudless sky

Our usual weekend haunt would be the fishmonger and we bought sea bass, salmon and prawns. I was tempted to buy the live crabs and lobster but as our freezer is currently packed to the brim, we had to settle for the fish.

Spoilt for choice

Friends joined us for a spur-of-the-moment picnic in the sun and we had another dose of fish and chips. It is always handy to have a picnic mat ready in the car with summer coming along real soon.

My RM10 tikar came in handy

I wonder where we should go next ? I just hope the weather will be kind to us for the next couple of months and my idea of the perfect picnic should include Nasi Lemak too.

Packing on the Pounds

These days all I do is eat,eat,eat.

I am hungry 20 minutes after having a BIG meal and constantly snacking throughout the day.

I am worried that I am packing on the pounds in all the unnecessary places.

But that didn’t stop me from having friends over for a big lunch and this was what we had :

Roast Chicken

Homemade Nasi Ayam !

Rice and Soup

Anyway, I was looking through my April 2008 folder to look at my old self exactly one year ago.

I was surprised that I can’t even button the jacket below and this particular skirt won’t go pass my thighs.

I am in need of a serious exercise regime after this or else I will face a major wardrobe crisis  

With Miss Yummy Mummy @ The Cumberland, April 2008

Catch of The Day

We went back to the village of Howth to get our supply of fish for the week. We wanted something fresh from the sea and not from some local supermarket.

A foot long, that's only half of the fish!

It was a pretty good deal at the market, we bought a whole salmon for 13 euros, which is considered cheap. A whole fish in Tesco would have cost us more than 20 euros. So looks like kari kepala salmon will be on the menu this week.

This side view of me is pretty scary!

Just outside the market, we saw a crowd of people at the pier. We decided to have a look and we were in luck!

A few wild seals were putting on a show for us and people were trying to attract their attention by feeding them fish.

There were plenty of seals but only 2 can be seen here.

Cute!

Later, we had fish and chips at one of the takeaways in the village which I think is better than any other place.

The crowd

Just look at the massive crowd at the photo above -  people were actually getting a little aggresive.

Anyway, I had the succulent scampi while he had the haddock. The batter was light and crispy, not oily and just perfect!  Price was reasonable too that I am definitely coming back for more.

Yummy!

Hungry, hungry!

I kept thinking of Madam Kwan’s Kuey Tiaw recently that I whipped up my own version complete with taugeh, tauhu, udang, daging and bawang goreng.

My version of Char Kuey Tiaw

We’ve had it twice for dinner this week and I think I am getting better at making it.

(My mom must be so proud of me.  Heheh. I really have to master how to make her super yummy Nasi Tomato next!)

Sometimes I wonder where I get the energy to cook after working from 9 till 7pm. Paediatric clinics tend to drag on forever!

And believe me, the picture doesn’t do justice laa.

Come Dine With Me

Last Friday night I had this sudden craving for Chicken Rendang and so we rushed at 8pm to the local Malaysian/Asian store looking for ingredients.

We couldn’t find any galangal or tumeric so that dampened my mood, I could make a simple version of it but I knew it wouldn’t taste the same. We did find some frozen crabs though.

The very next day which happened to be Valentine’s Day, a few friends decided to pay our new home a visit.

Luckily I was in the mood to cook and with our kitchen well stocked with food, I made ‘Nasi Lemak with Sambal Ayam and Sweet and Sour Crab’.

Food prepared with love

I should have taken a close-up of the Sambal Ayam and Sweet and Sour Crab, as always hubby was too busy munching away! And that is why we never have photos of home cook meals…heheh.

Time for dessert!

The meal was followed by tea and New York Vanilla Cheesecake which wasn’t homemade by the way

I-know-I-look-like-a-WHALE-at-29-weeks!

I was tired at the end of the day, but it was all worth it!

Weekend ramblings

I was on-call on Saturday and thank god there were no major dramas in the ward.

Rushed home midday Sunday, took a quick snooze and made our way to a friend’s BBQ.

There was a lovely spread of food,

Homemade burgers

that we didn’t know what to have!

Ikan terubuk bakar

Though it was drizzling at times, we made the best out of the sudden rays of sunshine.

Had to leave the party early as I was going be on-call (again!) the next day, didn’t think I could survive 3 nights of no sleep!

And so I slept like a baby that night…zzzzzz

Nothing beats home

Lots and lots of cheese

Picture taken last Sunday.

There was a funfair and Music Festival during the Bank Holiday weekend and for once, the little town was vibrant and alive with music and street entertainers.

We went to check out the food at the funfair but didn’t find anything much to our liking. Nothing beats the ‘pasar malam’ back home though.

Sushi Mushi

Went for a shopping trip with friends last Tuesday and with all the great summer sales going around, we had very little time for dinner.

And so we headed here for a quick dose of sushi without the frills. (It’s handy that they have one at Terminal 3 Heathrow too)

yummy!

I was surprised to find a branch in Gardens when I went back home last February/June, had a glimpse at the price list and thought it was rather pricey compared to paying in Euros/Pounds.

So instead, we opted for a meal at the food court in Midvalley. Cheapskate, haha!

Wouldn’t you do the same too ?