President Mozzarella Cheese

Everyone at home loves to eat cheese especially my Cupcake and me.. I mean all the kids I know love cheese. So it was a mystery to me why my little Munchkin didn't.. He'd eat it if it was with other ingredients but would refuse to eat a  slice of cheese with bread or just the cheese alone. Then, one fine day Hubby bought this cheese.

Retailed at RM14.99 (or was it RM14.49) at Giant, Sandakan.

Initially, I had my doubts as I was not familiar with the brand; President. However, my Munchkin absolutely loves this cheese. It tastes a little sweet and is not salty.  Overall, we usually buy this or the BBQ one of the same brand.

Miri Kindergartens : Update

Some time after my previous entry about Miri Kindergartens here, I found out that a kindergarten using the Fungates system was going to be opened in Miri. Today, I came across their website and knew that they were up and running. How exctitng! It's called Tadika In Kidz Tunas Canggih. Cool name right? The thing is I have had the pleasure of personally meeting Michelle Loh (principal) and Daniel Tan. They are charismatic people who are extremely knowledgable in the education field. If I was in Miri and they still had a place for my Cupcake, I'd definitely send her here. No two ways about it..

Intrigued? Check out their website here... Everything you need to know is there...

They even have Holiday Programmes... See what I mean? Great right? *Sigh...

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Keep Calm and.... (Carry On) Posters

I have recently found myself liking the Keep Calm and.....(Carry On) posters. However, I am yet to find the one that can actually make me keep calm if I were to read it.. So, in my quest to search for it, I found some that were adorable, some that were hilarious and some potential 'the one' ones.... Sharing is caring so these are the images that popped up thanks to Google Images....

Thought of my hubby for this....

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I know some who need this : )

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hmm.. a few potential 'the one' for me..

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coffee? this is so me....

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Too cute...I totally heart colourful stuff..

I used to do this when I was pregnant with my Munchkin and had severe backache.. it helped..

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And in the end I found it... Now if I could get a colourful one...

 I know this will definitely work... : ) Hope you find yours..

Wordless Wednesday

Potty Conquers All

Well the post title tells all...I was right to go with my initail hunch to give my little Cupcake time before trying 'diaperless nights'. There were a few times when she would sleep off and I would too and not put diapers for her. I;m so proud of my little gal... just 2 weeks of day naps without diapers and no accidents she just naturally moved on to sleeping without diapers at night too! Mummy is so proud of you my dearest little Cupcake.

What I realised is that potty training is not just for kids but also for parents. You wean yourself out of your dependency on the convenience of diapers and you add taking-your-child-to-the-loo-at-any-given-time to your list of parent duties. I tell you, Malaysian public toilets can be quite a challenge to handle even as an adult. But it's nothing compared to taking your little girl and seeing her have to use it. I go armed with Dettol wipes, toilet seat cover and loads of tissue. Thank God most shopping complexes have really nice restrooms.   

However, when you travel as often as we do, there's no way of avoiding the gruesome ones...

Well, it takes much longer for the diapers to finish now as only my son is using them...n of course we save on the moolah! Here's 3 cheers for my little Cupcake on conquering this milestone! Hurrah!Hurrah!Hurrah! : )

Best Western Sandakan Hotel and Residence

Looking for a spacious, clean hotel with a modern design that is affordable and has tasty food? Read on..

Sandakan, Sabah has been our temporary home for 6 months so far. 4 months (Dec 2011 to April 2012) and then we are here again since August. During our stay here, we have been at the Best Western Sandakan Hotel and Residence. We absolutely love it here. This hotel is part of a large chain of hotels all over the world and Malaysia.

Newly opened in July 2011, this hotel still has a 'new' look and feel to it. Our room is the Deluxe Room and my first impression when I saw our room was that it resembled a show unit. At that time there were even white pebbles in the bathroom that have since been removed. 

Members of the staff are friendly and attentive further creating a homey feeling. The food is nice and the best part is the Internet speed and accessibility. You can access the Internet using the LCD television in the room.

Here are photos of this hotel that we have called 'our home away from home'. Would I recommend this hotel? You betcha!

F.Y.I they don't even know I blog so this is definitely not a biased post..

Surf the Internet using the tv.. or your laptop via WIFI

You can turn the TV to face the bed...

My trusted luggage..not part of the room : )

As you can see, there is ample space for my kids to run and play.. It's really our home away away from home..will post more about this hotel soon...

They're having a weekend special package promotion valid until 31 Dec 2012... Check it out here!

Best Western Sandakan Hotel and Residence,
Lot E-1-G, Lorong Letat 3,
Bandar Letat Jaya, Mile 4,
90000, Sandakan, Sabah.
+6089 243 000
+6089 243 188

Delacq Nails @ Sunway Pyramid

Last month I purchased my first Groupon. Yes, kind of late to hop on the Groupon train right.. I've wanted to take my mom for a manicure and pedicure for some time and when I saw this deal on Groupon, I thought, 'why not? sounds good.'

The deal I bought cost me RM70 at RM35 per person. Apparently it was on 73% discount and I saved RM102. Whatever the case, a classic Mani-Pedi + Scub + Foot Milk Bath at Delacq Nails, Sunway Pyramid sounded like a good deal. It had nothing to do with my addiction to online shopping  I mean who can resist a good deal, right?

Let me share a little bit more of their sales pitch with you. It goes like this, ' Before fingers were made for prodding delinquent eyeballs, they were designed primarily for scratching the cat. (Err??) Today's Groupon gives discipline a rest with a classic manicure and pedicure inclusive of scrub, foot milk bath, cuticle removal and quick-dry top coat. Classic manicure (30 minutes), Foot milk bath (5 minutes) and Classic Pedicure (90 minutes). Friendly nail engineers at the parlour welcome finger and foot sororities to meticulous shaping, exfoliating and cuticle preening. At the foot funfair, soled appendages take a dip in the milk bath and challenge each other to a race to achieve the delicate texture of caramel pudding. After effortlessly naming all 300 shades, guests may have their button presses and floor squeakers glazed onto crispy candied O.P.I shells that may only be licked, but not eaten.'

What do you think??

I managed to make an appointment with them. They were extremely busy, by which I mean totally booked. There was a free slot for a night appointment and my mom and I would be their last customers.

My mom's 'nail engineer' was A and mine was B. A really knew her shades and was able to find shades that my mother wanted. Which says a lot about her expertise in knowing her shades. She listened and  got the right shade with her first recommendation. No guessing games. She was very fast and efficient, although I would have liked her to slow down a little as there was a lot of time left and there wasn't any rush. B on the other hand took her time. She was fine until a lady walked in and wanted her nails done. Instead of sending her away, B was giving her ideas or tips or what I don't know. (They were talking in Chinese) B is a student from China. I didn't mind until she started to stop doing  my pedicure and just talk to this lady. My kids were waiting for me with my husband and my boy would be needing his milk soon. He's still being breastfed.  I told her firmly but nicely to concentrate. She took it well and didn't sulk. Long before this happened, A was already furious with B for not sending her away. There weren't any other 'nail engineers' except the two of them, you see. When it was time for the milk foot bath that I was curious about, they said that they had run out of the milk and used salt instead... Hmmm... Other than these two hiccups, we enjoyed ourselves.

All in all, I was happy with the service and the outcome. The ambience and general setting of the place is comfy, cosy and modern. As the place where my mom and I had her first mani-pedi experience, it will always be remembered. 

Here are photos that they put up on Groupon. 

Delacq Nails
Lot F1 AV126, AV127, AV129, AV130 (Asia Avenue, 1st Floor, Sunway Pyramid)
No 3, Jalan PJS 11/15, Petaling Jaya
03-74944288  
10 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily

HoHo Bento @ Merdeka Mall, Miri

Ho, ho, ho belongs to Santa Claus and Ho,Ho i guess belongs to Ho,Ho Bento.  There is a food court in Merdeka Mall but the word bento was appealing to me. Isn't for most mummies? This Japanese restaurant with no Japanese anywhere as is a norm in many places is situated at G32, Merdeka Mall in Miri, Sarawak.

The lady or rather young girl who took our order was pleasant and helpful. We ordered three dishes. Two were tasty but the noodles were under cooked and so it was hard and chewy...

The Menu Board

Wall Design

The noodles I'm never going to order again

Yummy!

We all loved this dish

I think the trick is to order the right dish. How do you do that? Beats me. Trial and error perhaps...

The Waterfront Hotel, Labuan

These are photos of our stay at the Waterfront Hotel in Labuan. For more details on our stay, go here.

Room service takes a while to arrive so don't wait until you're hungry to order. That said, the food is tasty. This was the only order that I was able to photograph. Was too hungry for the others : )

As for the room, and the rest of the hotel, I managed to take photos only as we were leaving.. : ) so the room is a little messy and the outdoor photos are a little dark as it was dawn...

All in all, if I go back to Labuan, I would stay in this hotel again...

The Waterfront Hotel,
No 1, Jalan Wawasan
Tel: 087-418111 Fax: 087-413468

Nasi Lalapan @ Muara Restaurant, Miri

When we were in Miri, I would see the word 'lalapan' or 'lelapan' everywhere. I was curious about this dish and asked Hubby to ask his collegues about it. The vote was unanimous; the restaurant that served the best nasi lalapan was Muara Restaurant. They have two branches. Apparently, the older branch is better. Located at the Waterfront Commercial Centre, this restaurant has a strong following.

The menu at Muara Restaurant, Miri

You can choose from a variety of lalapans. The fish lalapans are Lalapan Bawal, Lalapan Kembung, Lalapan Tenggiri, Lalapan Tongkol, Lalapan Keli (Catfish). Then you have Lalapan Ayam (Chicken) and Lalapan Udang (Shrimp). They also serve other dishes such as Nasi Lemak, Buttermilk Chicken/Shrimp and so on.

Love the earthenware plate

Nasi means rice and lalapan means eight. This Indonesian dish basically has eight parts to it. The main dish (chicken/fish/shrimp), tempeh (fermented soybeans), fried tofu, leafy vege, cucumber, long beans, cabbage and belacan in the middle. Belacan is shrimp paste. Oh yes, and a plate of steamed rice.

The Lalapan Ayam was RM9 and a small sized Buttermilk Chicken was RM8. I thought it was reasonably priced until I heard a guy talking at the table beside us. He was calculating how much it cost per plate of Lalapan and had come to the conclusion that it was a little overpriced. I think the price is okay. As for the taste, I am a huge fan of belacan. However, this belacan was a little too strong on the fishy side for me. I guess I'm not a Nasi Lalapan fan. I loved the presentation though mainly the plate.

Give it a try the next time you are in Miri, as I love to say, 'Belum cuba, belum tau' translated 'You never know until you've given it a try'!

Muara Restaurant
Lot 1306, Miri Waterfront Commercial Centre
0168827370

Ole-Ole Bali @ Empire Shopping Gallery

During one of our many visits to Empire Shopping Gallery in Subang Jaya, we decided to try out Ole-Ole Bali (LG27). As its name implies, this restaurant specializes in Balinese cuisine. I loved the ambiance..a posh take on traditional Balinese concepts. You could spend a long time here and not want to leave in a hurry. However, if you go with two toddlers, like we did, you don't have much time to dilly dally and laze about. That said, while we were almost done with our meal, my then 2 year old daughter, got restless and wanted to 'explore' the open terrace. As there weren't many customers yet (we went around 6pm) the waitresses babysat for us! How sweet right..Nevertheless, it was under Mummy's super hawk eye supervision... : ) 

Here's what we ordered...

Gosh..maybe it wasn't a good idea to blog about this right now.. hungry!! 
: ) especially for the fried squid-my favourite! : ) hmmmm....

They gave us the billl in this interesting tray that looks like a hand..a big hand mind you befitting a 'big' bill..

Can't wait to go again...sometime soon I hope..