Eating & Shopping...that's life

Today was a day of eating and shopping and more eating. After last night's late dessert of Belgain waffles with Alya and her parents at IHOP, we all woke late this morning. We had also ran out of bread and chee cheong fun, so we were cracking our heads over what to have for breakfast when Suresh suggested dim sum.

We got to Hong Kong New Saigon Restaurant slightly after 11.30am and there was LONG queue outside. Suresh, not being one to wait in line for food, headed straight for ABC Seafood Restaurant instead. But, what do we see when we get there? Another queue! But I quickly wriggled my way to the front desk and showed her '4' and how lucky we were to get a table straight away.

Then, it was non-stop har gao, siew mai, char siew bao, fung zhao, shrimp dumpling, law ma gai....yummy!!!!!

Time to walk off the calories at Old Navy where Suresh's Mum needed to get some shirts for Dhini. Then it was major shopping at Costco before heading off for home.

Suresh and I then made another trip to PW Market to get the ingredients for dinner - fettucinne alla carbonara. He got the inspiration and the recipe for it after watching Nigella on Food Network in the morning. Worked well! I added bacon, portobello mushrooms, chicken breast and some peas. The sauce was an easy mix of parmesan cheese, heavy cream & eggs.

I'm on Facebook

It's easy to be out-of-touch with the 'real world being a stay-at-home mum, so when I heard about Facebook, the latest social networking thing to hit the web, I thought it wouldn't be such a bad thing to be on it.

After an hour or so tinkling with the profile and applications, I finally set up my Facebook profile. Hopefully I can find some long-lost friends.

A weekend of endless makan

This past weekend has been an endless round of makan. Mariam hosted a farewell dinner On Sat for Aunty Geok and Suresh's Mum since they were going back to Singapore/Malaysia soon. I made just a simple bubur cha cha for dessert since there was to be plenty of food there. And indeed it was. The kids also had a blast when Natalie brought some paper lanterns that her sister had brought from Malacca.

It was Shaayla's first time playing with a paper lantern. And I was rather worried when she started waving her lantern around, oblivious to the fact that her lantern could burn down any minute. But the kids had a great time talking a candle-lit walk around the neighbourhood.

On Sun, still tired out from the night before, we made an easy fish paste & potato bagedel. Had wanted to make Thai otak, but it proved to be too much work.

Our Disneyland Summer Vacation

After a fun-filled, tiring and HOT holiday weekend at LA and Disneyland, we finally got back home on Monday. It had been unbearably HOT throughout the time we were there....what a time to go...there was actually a heatwave, and we were walking around in 95F/37C heat!

We got a relatively early start at 10am, and after a smooth drive down south, we finally checked in to the Best Western Park Place Inn & Suites at about 4pm. The hotel couldn't have been in a better location...directly across the Disneyland Resort main entrance!! A mere 5min walk to Disneyland!


A quick dinner of leftover Caribbean black bean rice & tender BBQ chicken & ribs, it was time to hit the shops of Downtown Disney. Our first stop....World of Disney. Turns out, this was our ONLY stop for the night. Decked wall-to-wall with all things Disney, it was no surprise that we left the shop with overflowing shopping bags....and it was just the first night!

After a hurried breakfast the next morning, we were eager to start the day at Disneyland. We got a leisurely start with Jungle Cruise at Adventureland, followed by a ride in a beehive on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Guess Shaayla didn't like the cruise too much after a 'crocodile' popped up from the river. But 2 rides on the Flying Dumbo and the King Arthur Carousel later, she was all ready for anything. She wasn't the least bit afraid when Dumbo started flying up and down. In fact, she was busy manipulating the lever to make Dumbo fly up and down. The queue for the Peter Pan ride was long, but she enjoyed the ride in the dark nonetheless.

The mid-afternoon heat really got us down, but she lighted up when she saw Mickey's and Minnie's Houses. And of course, taking a photo with Minnie really made her day.

About 30min before the afternoon parade, we grabbed a great curbside spot along Main Street. But the scorching heat from the pavement meant it was a butt-warmer of a wait. But the smile on Shaayla's face made up for all the waiting. She wasn't fussy at all waiting and sat patiently on her stroller. When the parade started, she kept pointing out the characters that she's so familiar with from her storybooks. It was like they all came alive for her.

On Sat, we were supposed to start the day with the new Nemo ride, but the queue was ridiculously long. We didn't want to waste time, so we headed off to Autopia. One round around the track later, we all got our Disneyland driving licence.


Then it was off to California Adventure for the 'live' Playhouse Disney. It was a relatively long 30min wait, but it was worth it when we saw Shaayla singing and clapping during the show. It was definitely a show for the tots.

The next attraction was the Aladdin & Jasmine Musical Spectacular show. But not before I scooted off to get FastPass for Suresh and myself for Grizzly River Run and Soaring Over California. The musical show was truly spectacular with colorful costumes and catchy tunes. But I got to say the star of the show was really the Genie. His humor made sure the adults in the audience enjoyed the show as well. But the Genie emerging from the lamp would have been quite scary for young kids.

While Shaayla chilled out with Suresh's Mum in the shade after lunch, Suresh and I hurried over for Soaring Over California. It was a hang-glider simulation ride over the famous sights of California. What topped the experience was the incorporation of wind and scents of the scenery such as the ocean and the forest. Grizzly River Run was a rough ride down rushing waters with a drenching end. It was welcome relief from that scorching afternoon heat.

Then it was off to our next hotel at Manhattan Beach, the Springhill Suites by Marriott. It was to be our 'base' for visiting Hollywood and Santa Monica/Venice Beach. We headed off to Venice Beach early the next morning. The cool ocean breeze made the early morning walk quite pleasant. After some souvenir shopping, it was off to Hollywood. The suffocating heat proved too much for all of us. After a quick stop at Souvenirs of Hollywoood, we quickly drove over to Thai Town for a late lunch of Thai food.

As lunch was digesting in our tummies, we drove down to the city of Bellflower to Toko Rame, a highly recommended halal Indonesian restaurant, famous for its Nasi Bungkus. It was a 45min wait for the 4 packets of Nasi Bungkus that we were buying back for our friends. Meanwhile, a super-sweet drink of Chendol and Chin Chow quenched our thirst. Now we know why our friend, Sam, keeps talking about Nasi Bungkus from Toko Rame. It's as authentic as you can get from an Indonesian restaurant back in Malaysia/Singapore. But we would recommend going much earlier than the stated business hours. We were there 10min before 4pm, plenty of time before their posted closing time of 5pm. But slightly after 4pm, when customers walked in, they were told that the restaurant was closed!!

Enroute home, we stopped at the Malibu Hindu Temple. A beautiful temple hidden away in the hills just behind the famed Malibu Beach. The sculptures were amazingly intricate.

Then it was a smooth 5hr odd drive back up north to San Jose. Traffic got held up slightly along Highway 101 near Gilroy as everyone was turning to look at the huge forest fire burning at the Henry Coe State Park in the distant mountains.

If not for the heatwave, it was an otherwise wonderful summer vacation.