7 ate Nine @ #01-36 Esplanade Mall

The good news is, DH finally finished his exams (and he did really really well too)! The bad news is,he has to start work at a new hospital immediately after he finished his exams. No time for a break at all. I originally thought we could do a staycation at Sentosa, but nope, it was not possible.

Oh well, he promised that we would still try to spend time together.

We went to watch a movie yesterday after work. But we promised his mom that we would still go back for dinner. So it was a rather rushed kinda thing. And since we met after work, we went in separate cars, and left separately. Didn't feel at all like a date! Told DH that it didn't count as one.

For those who are wondering, we went to watch Terminator Salvation. I thought it was rather nice - the boys were goodlooking, very ruggedly so. They all had very nice straight and shiny teeth (I Like!). In an environment where fuel, food, clothes are all scarce... it's quite a wonder that the girls in the show all seem to have easy access to rose/coral lipstick though. Lol. I dont know if it's because I am now too old... it just seems that all the movies that I have watched appear to have a rehash of the same old themes - messiah theme (he came to save the world / he sacrificed himself in the end), machines take over the world for the humans' greater good theme, falling in love with the "supposed" enemy theme.

So today we had lunch!

I asked him what he felt like eating, and gave him a few recommendations - Japanese (Kome), Italian (Bonta), French (Gunther's) or tapas-style bites (7atenine)... unfortunately, he chose 7atenine! I was rather hoping to go somewhere new (he hasn't tried any of the above, but I have tried Kome and 7atenine).

Still, I do think that 7 ate nine is good value for money, and fun to eat.


I am happy, because he came to pick me up, and he was ON TIME. Applause please!

Most of the stuff I tried today were different from what I had previously, except for 3 items - the tomato cheese tart (which DH also liked), the stuffed beef on hot stone (DH thought it was interesting) and the truffle risotto (which DH also liked). I guess these items are firm favourites. Anyhow, they were good, so we ordered repeats of the tart and the risotto.


Duck Rillette with caviar. It was quite tasty, with an interesting contrast in flavours and textures. I like rillette and I like caviar. Somehow, together, it should have been a good match, but maybe just a tad salty.


Chicken Caesar Salad - it was nice, but the chicken tasted salty, more like chicken ham. Otherwise I thought it was pretty good.


Soft shell crab - a crowd pleaser. Crispy and tasty. But not unique.


This was a winner - Goat's cheese ravioli in crab bisque. Loved the texture of the ravioli (smooth and silken), loved the tasty cheese encased within, loved the crab bisque, which was flavourful and delicious. We of course ordered a repeat of this one too.


Carnivorous DH must have his meats, so the above was one of his favourites. Braised Veal with polenta. Their polenta is creamy and tasty. The last time I had the polenta here, it was also very well received. The veal was tender and full of the gelatinous tendony bits, which we liked. We ordered a repeat of this one.


This is roasted beef flank with enoki mushrooms. This was very nice and although not super tender, it was quite tasty. We also ordered a repeat of this one.


Our array of desserts. We were stuffed by the time desserts arrived, to be honest. They all looked very pretty. On the spoons were a mango sorbet, then a chocolate truffle ball on a stick with a sweet earl grey jelly, and then a brownie with vanilla ice cream.


DH spent quite a fair bit of his time playing with his phone though! He can't seem to stop texting at the table! So, I shall tell him that this date doesn't quite count either. He shall have to take me out again!! haha.

Brotzeit, #01-?? Vivocity and Tung Lok Classics, Chinese Swimming Club at Amber Road

Went to Brotzeit for lunch today. It a German pub, run by Paulaner Brauhaus I believe. They do seem to have a wide array of drinks. Foodwise, it seemed pretty limited. There weren't many things that tempted me on the menu. Eventually we shared a sausage platter (SGD32) and ordered a potato salad (SGD5.80). He had a original lager (SGD10.90) and I had a Mango Wiessbier (a beer mixer of white beer and mango juice, SGD8.90). I enjoyed our lunch very much..


It was enjoyable conversation, with refreshing insights. He is very mature, very smart... yet also very nice and warm. He looks cool, but now I see that he actually has very grounded and traditional values. He was trying to convince me of the sanctity of marriage. He actually firmly believes in the doctrine of marriage... and the erosion of family values is a phenomenon that worries him. How quaint, and sweet.


Tung Lok Signatures



We went to Tung Lok Classics at Chinese Swimming Club for dinner over the weekend. The restaurant was well reviewed in the local papers in the past week, resulting obviously in a large crowd of people descending on the place. It wasn't equipped to take the crowd, and there was no sitting area for a comfortable wait.

To appease us, they sent a complimentary juice desssert, served in an extravagant display of shaved ice.


Cutie liked the juice, I think he had 2!

No matter. The kids had fun though.


Cutie and Daddy.


Me and Sweetie.


Cutie doing his own thing.


Sweetie doing her own thing.


Bought a new camera - a Canon Ixus. Love the functions, and the various cool and nifty things like automatic macros function, nice sleek design etc.


Took this photo in the car, and see how well it turned out!

Cutie

Generally, he has been a good boy, he is learning to accept criticism, and we are learning to do it in a more gentle manner. He can be quite embarrassed if we scold him in public or in front of others. If we are insensitive to his feelings, he will manifest his feelings of hurt pride and/or embarrassment by talking louder, in this pseudo macho bravado - "If Daddy scolds me again, I will cut him with the scissors! Lalala..." He says it loud enough for the people around to hear... I think it's so that he can manage his fragile male ego from being told off. Is this a guy thing?


Due to the extreme heat conditions here in Sunny Singapore, we have been eating ice cream a lot. Here he is, eating vanilla ice cream. His favourite flavours are green tea and vanilla.



Cutie also copes with the heat by taking frequent baths. He loves to have lots of bubbles in the tub, and if I take away the bathsoap, he will use shampoo, handsoap and anything else that is available. SIGH. How to scold him, when he is so delighted?

Sweetie

Our little princess. Wearing a tiara.


Sweetie is very good at posing for the camera... it's an instinctive girly thing maybe... she will turn to the camera and smile!

Sweetie is 10 months now. Very sweet and observant and friendly.

You know, I am very proud of my 2 little ones, they are growing rapidly! I find such joy in playing with them, reading to them, going for walks or just watching them.


I find that Cutie is a very good big brother, albeit a little rough from time to time... He takes time to play with Sweetie, does silly things to entertain her and make her laugh... Here is the video evidence of the above! I wasn't sure if my approach was right... you know, at first, when I decided to spend more time with Cutie after Sweetie arrived. Some experienced moms, and most books, suggested that it was important to spend more time with the elder sibling, because the elder sibling would be very aware of the new addition, and would be particularly sensitive to the intrusion and/or change. The baby would however be blissfully oblivious. So I adhered to this rule... resulting in me spending more time with Cutie than Sweetie.

The good thing of course, is that Cutie never felt threatened or abandoned. So he loves Sweetie and is always sharing things with her and playing with her. Nevertheless, I worried about this approach, I obssessed that Sweetie might not be close to me. The fears were of course unfounded. Sweetie still prefers me over any other caregiver. But now that she is older, she is more vocal in her demands for my attention as well. Fortunately, now that we are all pretty settled into the new family structure, the fact that I am now paying more attention to Sweetie does not change Cutie's attitude towards her. He is still the caring and loving big brother. I hope the way I dealt with this situation had helped, in a way. I think different kids respond differently so I dont know if my approach would be appropriate for everyone, but I think it did work well for me.

7ate9 @ Esplanade Mall #01-36

Finally, after several rounds of rescheduling, the girls managed to meet up for lunch! The last time we met was the French Kitchen lunch that PC hosted, which was in February!

I miss PC so very much, ever since she left for greener pastures, but I am happy that she is happy.

Anyway I am glad we 3 girls had lunch again together. PL had good news to share and I was so happy for her too. I hosted lunch this time and we went to 7ate9, where they are having a lunch unlimited promotion for SGD37++ (including free flow juices, soft drinks, coffee and tea). It was truly an enjoyable lunch, girl talk and great food.

The food is served tapas-style, and you can ask for repeats of anything that you particularly enjoyed.

I found the food light and nice, presentation was interesting and service was warm and polite. I had read some bad reviews online about the unaccommodating service, about taking photos etc. However, when I was there, I noticed the staff didn't prohibit photos, and they even helped to arrange the plates nicely if you want to take a photo.

Some of our favourites are below:



This was the first dish to arrive - tomato tart. It was served on a crisp parmesan cheese biscuit, held together by a white creamy cheese and topped with arugula leaves. Sinful, I bet, but utterly delicious. We asked for a repeat of this one!


This was a mousse of sorts, topped with caviar. Although it looked rich, it actually tasted quite light and healthy. Not bad but not superb.


This was tuna topped with sea urchin mousse (if I recall correctly). It was alright. I found the fish a little chewy, but it was nevertheless very fresh.


This was a visually stunning dish! We girls oohed and ahhed when it arrived. It was prawn and squid balls I think, served with a dip of wasabi mayo? It looked amazing, and tasted equally amazing. Can't go wrong with well-fried seafood balls, I imagine. These were light and crisp and fun to eat.


Beef on a hot stone. I think it was meant to be eaten slightly raw, because the stone wasn't really hot enough to cook the think slices of beef. It was an interesting concept though. We all enjoyed this.


This is more well cooked beef, served on a plate. It was a little chewy, but otherwise enjoyable. The tart and refreshing cooked apple on the side was fantastic though!


Ahh.. the well-reviewed risotto. I was told that the risotto here is quite a highlight. And it was good. This was the truffle risotto. Wow. It was really fantastically fragrant, with sliced truffle and mashed black truffle. We had a repeat order of this.


This was the an interesting satay skewer of macaron, raspberry jelly and cake. pretty good. I recall the jelly being surprisingly tart, in a good way.


The chocolate cake was well-received, which girl doesnt like chocolate?

We all agreed that this was the best dessert of all - banana mousse. Not too sweet, very fragrant and light and smooth.

Next one is on PL, she's going to take us to the White Rabbit!

McDonalds @ Kallang, Sakuraya @ South Bouna Vista Shopping Centre

Birthday Party for Lea at McD's
Lea is 6! She is our neighbour's youngest daughter, and she has 2 sisters, Lyn (aged 10) and Liz (aged 7). They are all lovely polite and well-mannered girls, who are kind and generous. I really adore them.

Lea is, I think, Cutie's first ever girlfriend. He likes her a lot and always enjoys going to her house. When he was younger, he would stand at the window and call out to her: "Lea, Lea, are you at home?"

They kindly invited Cutie to Lea's birthday Party at Kallang McDonalds! And of course Cutie had a great time.


Birthday cake was lovely. He sure enjoyed the cake, the food and the games.


He of course had to take a photo with his first girlfriend.


Yep, if Cutie were a little bit taller, they would have made a great couple! Haha.


Him and the other girls at the party.


Sakuraya Japanese Fish Market
I have never even heard of this place, but decided to check it out after a colleague mentioned that this was a pretty good place for cheap sashimi. Then I realised it sort of a well-kept secret, because this place filled up quite quickly on a weekday afternoon. This is a rather deserted location, near pasir panjang village (towards the haw par villa end).


Our selection of sashimi (which you choose from a counter and then they slice up and serve to you). Wow, I think we really ate a whole week's quota of sashimi. The nicest was the swordfish. It was firm and fresh. The salmon was also good, sweet, fresh and oily in a good way. The scallop was huge huh.. very fresh also.. it was sweet and yums.


We ordered uni sushi for $8 for 2. It would have cost easily $7 each at other places. The toro was $14 for 2, but we didn't go for that.


This grilled spicy salmon belly was SGD6. It was recommended dish on a website, but i found it a little dry.


We all ordered our own staple, and I had this. It was quite nice, but the rice was a little under-par. Not sweet, not sticky, not really a good accompaniment to the fresh salmon roe.

Verdict: come here for fresh and cheap sashimi, but that's about it.

Mothers Day Pressies
MOTHERS' DAY!! First time Cutie is really celebrating it with me. Usually Cutie's dad would buy a gift or plan something on behalf of Cutie. Cutie would be oblivious. Not this year though, because Cutie's dad is busy with something until the end of this month. And because, Cutie now 3 years old! He is very adept at art and craft and therefore has made the following pressies for me. I am thrilled to bits!



Bookmarks that he made for me at Por Por's house. One says "Mummy I love you" and the other says "Happy Mothers' Day!". It has stickers of a bus and a car and he says that he wants to buy them for me when he grows up.


These paper flowers in a yakult bottle, he made at school for me. Aren't they lovely? Beats any flower you get at the florist, any day. Exclusively hand-made by Cutie, and one of a kind.


On the left, bookmark with hearts made with Chinese teacher in school. On the right, a red styrofoam heart that Cutie made at Sunday school.


Cutie also made konnyaku jelly with mango and kiwi. Mine was a heart-shaped one. He proudly presents it to me on Friday. I praised him and told him to teach me how to make jelly next time... he says: "cannot, because must cut fruits with a knife, and I am afraid you will cut your hand. Only I can cut fruits with a knife because I am very careful."

One thing I am very grateful to Por Por is, she really is a hands-on grandma who allows Cutie to explore and try things under her careful supervision. She allows Cutie to explore, and do things like cut, and bake, but under her watchful eye so that he doesnt get hurt. Cutie actually enjoys the freedom, and he learns so well through this hands-on experience.


Doing a taste-test before giving it to me. -_-"


Present from sweet DS, a Mommies' Calendar with inspiring tales and verses to keep me grounded and grateful for life's blessings. Thanks DS!


So, to sum up, I really really love being a mom. Especially to these 2 darlings - Cutie and Sweetie.

:)

Hilarious

Someone sent me this.

WHY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CHECK YOUR CHILD'S HOMEWORK


===================


Here’s the note the teacher received the next day.

Dear Mrs. J,

I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.

I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit.

I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it.

Her picture doesn’t show me dancing around a pole.

It’s supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.

From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,
Mrs. S