Monday, November 30, 2009

Eating well

Posted by Dawn at Monday, November 30, 2009 0 comments
It has been quite easy to feed Caleb especially if he is eating his favourite food like bread, cereals for breakfast and as for lunch and dinner, just give him rice! He likes rice with carrots, fish and mushrooms. Interesting guy. He does eat noodles too but not as well as rice.

Here's what he was having for breakfast- bread with nutella!






And today, we decided to try something new for his lunch. Instead of fried bee hoon, we used vermicilli (glass noodles) which he loves! Think most kids and even adults love that!



Oh by the way, Caleb eats more than me every meal! This is a picture of a typical dinner. At times, I do not even eat rice. But if I do, Caleb still eats much more than me!



I think its all parents' wish to see their children eat well and I am glad Caleb and Danielle are...

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Colleague's Wedding

Posted by Dawn at Sunday, November 29, 2009 0 comments
Today I attended my colleague, Faten's wedding at Hyatt Hotel. Went there with Sarah after church service. It was a very nice unique wedding as its an Indian Muslim Wedding. Each of our seats were labelled with our names...how personal!



The ballroom was nice and cosy.


Here's the couple's first walk-in. Faten's husband looked like some kind of Bollywood actor. Oh by the way, their wedding photoshoot was one of the best I have ever seen as they went all the way to Perth to capture the shots and the pictures and costumes were all so nice!


After that, came the announcement to proceed to the next door ballroom to get our food. Then did I realised it was a buffet style lunch. Was slightly disappointed as I was too used to being served in a wedding and its kind of troublesome. But then again, the food all made it worth my effort as it was absolutely delicious! I love any kind of food with lots of spices and so, my love for Indian cuisine.



The table of appetisers were as many dishes than the main course ones!




There were all sorts of curry to go with my naan bread. I simply loved it! Here's what I took!

My appetisers..


And my mains..


Then time for desserts. It was another small room filled with desserts. There was an kulfi (ice cream) station serving Pista (pistachio) kulfi and saffron kulfi! All so yummy! There were different toppings to go with like walnuts with honey, mango sauce, strawberry sauce etc.





The strawberries were huge and sweet. Reminds me of the USA Driscoll ones which I used to have when I was in the States. Size was as big as my palm...but these were smaller but very sweet. And the chocolate cakes were heavenly. It had to be since it was from Mezza9- my trusted cake shop in Hyatt!





Then there was the couple's second walk in where they donned on their traditional costume. Faten looked stunning! They looked like they just walked out of a fairy tale book!

There were drummers walking in before them and leading them the way. How exciting and interesting.





After the entertainmant and humourous speech by the groom's cousin, we went up to take pictures with the couple!


Really enjoyed this particular wedding! So memorable!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Last day at Desaru

Posted by Dawn at Saturday, November 28, 2009 0 comments
Didnt catch the sunrise today, but still woke up pretty early. By 745am, we were on our way to eat breakfast at the hotel restaurant.


Was slightly disappointed that there wasnt the Japanese Soba noodles today. Nevertheless, I still ate a lot!





It's always good to take a stroll after a hearty breakfast.


Moreover, Caleb wanted to play with the sand. So brought the kids back to the beach.





Ok, one last look at the beach and the hotel, before we left..





Went back to pack up before we left at about 930am from Pulai Desaru Beach!




We drove to Kota Tinggi Waterfalls after we checked out of the hotel. There were a lot of people. Too many for my liking! But it was fun to see and experience the waterfall!



Caleb was too afraid to go into the water. So since Danielle didnt have the ability to protest, we took (or rather, forced) her down with us. I quickly went under the waterfall as I slowly inched my way there as the rocks were very slippery.



The water was freezing but it was fun! CT had a go under the waterfalls too! It was practically beating against our backs. Quite painful actually. Oh well, just for the experience and probably, natural massage session.



That was the furthest Caleb went in touching the waters!


The place was like a water-themed park by itself as there were slides and games held in the water.






There was also a staircase leading up to the waterfalls, which CT attemped and it seemed that there are more waterfalls on top.


Not sure whether I would be back again considering the crowd!


Maybe I would when the kids are old enough the play the slides and if the crowd suddenly all disappear.

I was thankful that during this trip, the children were quite alright in the car.


After the waterfalls, we went to City Square Mall at JB (near the Causeway) for shopping and late lunch. Went to the food court for lunch as we wanted some variety. CT was still full. So I bought Malay vegetable rice and shared with him. This stall had a very interesting concept. They would pass you a plate of rice and what you do is to scoop whatever dishes you want, any amount you require-buffet style. And at the end of it all, they will charge according to the number of items and probably amount of veggies..This plate costs me about S$5. Quite reasonable since I took cuttlefish, a huge piece of chicken thigh and veggies with beancurd.

We walked around and did some shopping before heading back to Singapore. I bought a couple of clothes for myself and the children as well as bread and buns for breakfast.




The mall is quite huge and crowded.


Didnt stay too long as all of us were quite tired. Reached home at about 6pm.

A very enjoyable trip but it wasnt easy travelling with Danielle as at nights, we would be woken up by her cries. CT told me that Danielle and Vicky should stay at home the next time round as we would be coming back to Malaysia in few weeks time for our church cell group retreat! Though I would miss Danielle during that time, but I do agree with CT that it would definitely be more enjoyable and less tiring if we just took Caleb for now.

Friday, November 27, 2009

2nd day in Desaru

Posted by Dawn at Friday, November 27, 2009 0 comments
I am thankful that CT and I are both early risers. So today, we woke up at 630am to catch the sun rise. When we walked to the beach, it was almost pitch black. I did regret for waking up too early, but then again, we didnt want to miss it. So its better to be early. We spent time talking as we waited for the sun to rise.



The clouds were very nice as the sun was rising and the breeze made it more enjoyable as we waited.


Then we saw a number of dogs running along the waters in the sand. So we got the idea of walking down the beach and gate crash into the next door resort just for the fun of it!


We followed the dog prints and walked quite a distance to the next resort. We were quite afraid that we couldnt make it back on time to our resort as the tide was rising quite fast.


So we competed and raced against each other by running our guts out to just have a quick look at the next resort so that we can make it back on time to our own resort without getting wet.

We were slightly disappointed when we got there as the resort seemed to be undergoing some construction. The main wing is open for guests to stay but they have not built the other wings closest to the beach.



Anyway, as we turned and ran back to our resort before the tide came in, the sky looked so nice and pink.



The waves were stronger as well.


After a nice morning activity, we went back to the room. Vicky and the children were still asleep. They woke up at only about 730am. After washing up, we went down for breakfast. But before that, the kids stopped by to play at the playground.





Breakfast was great. Not as many dishes but good enough to make me stuffed! I loved the Japanese hot soba soup noodles best!





After a very hearty breakfast, brought the kids to the beach to take a look. On the way, there were some animals in cages for them to see.




It was quite sunny and I was wishing I could just jump into the sea to swim. But the red flag was up and at certain times, the waves can be quite big. Oh well..




As Danielle was tired, she went back to the room to sleep while CT and I brought Caleb went to the Kids Club and played carrom.





When Danielle woke up from her morning nap, we then made our way to the famous fruit farm which was just 5 mins from our resort. We paid for the tour (children free) at only about RM$30 for 3 adults. We walked around the plantation as the guide explained to us. I knew most of the fruits and their trees as my mum's place has them!

So when the guide told everyone what this plant was, I would tell CT proudly, "Yup, I know because my mum has this!"

My mum has both of these fruits- the passionfruit


and the dragonfruit!


Then with Vicky, she was also our personal guide, telling us what this plant is as she has grown before in her village.

Here's the pumpkin plant with huge leaves and yellow flower.


During the tour, we made two stops. One was a big koi pond with lots of koi fish. There was also a small museum and drinks stall selling home made ribena drink, passionfruit drink etc.


We saw lots of other fruits like mangosteen

and water apples!


The next rest stop before we headed back was a mini zoo which was fun as the children loved playing with the animals. There were monkeys, goats, rabbits, tortoise, chickens, owls, ostrich etc.







I was glad my children had the chance to touch them with Vicky around because I was sure if Vicky wasnt with us, CT and I would probably not want to even touch these animals. Haha.

After the tour, we were given a box of fruits to sample. I really highly recommend going to this fruit farm when you come desaru. So worth it!


Here's the ribena fruits which my mum has at home too!



I bought the starfruit drink and ribena drink from the shop! So yummy and thirst quenching especially for a hot day like this!

Oh by the way, we parked our car next to a durian tree. Thank God no fruit dropped down!


After the trip to the fruit farm, we went back hotel for Koka No MSG instant cup noodles which Caleb slurped down and ate lots of it! We were all too full for any food so wanted to keep it simple. It was enjoyable and nice as we could enjoy the aircon and TV in our room!

For dinner, we wanted to try another seafood place. So in the map, we saw the words, "Telok Sengat Seafood Restaurant". So I thought, must be good since it is in the map! So we made our way there. However, the place is not that easy to find because its a town area and very secluded. Its not like the place we went last night where there were many restaurants and cars. It was getting dark as well and we didnt want to lose our way. So we stopped our car to take a look at one restaurant which seemed a lot of people. But it turned out that it was a Malay place which I didnt want. I wanted Chinese food. So we drove and I saw the words, "Sengat Seafood Restaurant with Chinese Characters" so I told CT that we should just eat here and quit looking for a restaurant which we do not even know where since the map didnt show the exact location. But CT was a bit apprehensive as there was only one Indian family eating in the restaurant. But I managed to convince CT as we really didnt want to venture somemore, in case we get lost.

In the restaurant, we ordered steam Teochew style fish,

fried cuttlefish, veggies and chicken with spring onions and ginger.



Anyway, during our dinner at this secluded looking restaurant, CT became comforted as we saw a big family coming to eat in the restaurant and its none other, than our Finance Minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam with his family and few other friends! So I told CT that even the minister is here to eat, so must be good! CT was assured.

Total bill: RM$77.30 for 3 adults , 1 child (Caleb). Here's the breakdown:
1) Steamed fish (RM$28.80)
2) Cuttlefish (RM $22)
3) Veggies (RM $10)
4) Chicken (RM $12)

Nice tasty food but it seemed Jade Garden Restaurant which we went to last night is cheaper as the veggies and non-seafood dishes seemed more expensive in Sengat Seafood Restaurant but because we were so afraid to order lobster or crabs anymore, we spent lesser than last night!

After dinner, we went to the Lounge area in the hotel to listen to live music. Caleb also sat down and listened intensely. CT and I ordered a mocktail and nuts to enjoy. We had a good time! Also played table tennis while the children went to play in the Kids Club!

After a while, the kids became tired and so we brought the kids back to sleep while CT and I went out to the poolside for a movie screening there. It was so fun as we laid on the pool deck benches, watching "Aliens in the attic". The sea breeze was so cooling and it was just so relaxing to be able to enjoy! We didnt stay throughout the movie as its quite a silly movie. :p

Our last night in Desaru...

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