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Saturday, 22 August 2009

Rong Chen Bak Kut Teh @ Sin Ming

It's been a long time since I blog something on food. I am reminded how torturing it is to do food blog. Imagine editing enlarged photo of yummy food to make them look even yummier, made worse by an empty stomach. Lilian was wondering why I stared at the following picture for so long.

You can't really blame me for staring, the braised pig trotter made me salivate just staring at the photo. The trotter meat is soft and tender and the skin is oh so tasty. If you prefer leaner meat, just let the stall know, but I recommend getting the fatty ones. Afterall, what's braised pig trotter without the yummy skin and that heavenly layer of fat below it.

And on to our main subject, Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶). The Rong Chen Bak Kut Teh is clear soup based and you usually get one long pork rib and one short in each soup. I love Bak Kut Teh with long rib bone as it adds to the experience of holding it by the rib bone with one hand and ripping the meat off while I scope the rice with the other.

The pork ribs used has two layers of meat separated by a layer of fat. Somehow the meat I had that day was a little tougher than its usual standard. The soup is very fragrant and the mix of garlic and pepper seems just right. Sweet and spicy would be how I would describe it.

However, I do find when we replenish the soup, it doesn't taste as good as the first, usually more bland.

Special mention is the braised duck rice stall in the same coffeeshop. Will do a post on it when I next eat there, provided the insane queue is not too long. Apologises for missing out the photo on the stall. If you look at the block from the carpark, the coffeeshop and the stall will be on your extreme left.

Blk 22 Sin Ming Road
Eng Ho Hup Coffeeshop
Singapore 570022

Tuesday, 18 August 2009

Xavier found his Feet

Earlier this month Xavier seem to have discovered his feet. He has been practicing yoga, bringing his feet to his mouth to suck. And if he is wearing socks, he would be eating them as well.

Xavier's First "Toothbrushing" Experience

I haven't been sick for such a long period before, hence the reason why I been behind in my posting. Xavier had his first "tooth-brushing" experience early this month. Well not exactly tooth-brushing as his teeth hasn't show up yet. More like gum brushing. But we thought we get him use to the sensation. Derek gave us the Nutec Infa-Dent Toothbrush.

Did I tell you how expensive his toothpaste is? SGD17.00! I also haven't use such expensive toothpaste before. It's a special toothpaste that is safe for the baby to swallow. Here's a shopping tip, get them from the "toiletries shopping haven" at Chinatown and that same toothpaste will only cost SGD10.90. We also discovered that have a wide range of California Baby products as well, selling at wholesaler prices.

Sunday, 16 August 2009

Baby Tips 2: Diaper Strategy

While cloth diapers are the best for babies given its advantages like more airy (less likely to get nappy rash), more comfortable (since its usually 100% cotton and less likely to have allergy) and more economical over the long run, we still choose to use disposable diapers. And boy I am glad we stick to disposable diapers.

The two main advantages disposable diapers have over cloth diapers are convenience and mess control. These two were strong reasons and I tell you why. Xavier is on breastmilk right from the start so he poos very often during the first three month. How often? Up to eight times a day. And I am not counting the number of times he pee yet. So you can imagine how many soiled diapers we have to wash every day if we were to use cloth diapers. Now what if the soiled diapers also dirty the area (sofa, his cot, your bed, your clothes) the baby was resting on? You know what I mean.

Disposable diapers are not cheap though. The cheapest cost at least 10 cents per piece and the most expensive I have seen is about $1.20 per piece. Which diaper to use for your baby is down to your baby's butt preference. Some babies' butt is made of gold and have to use expensive diapers to prevent rash whereas other babies' butt is more forgiving and accepts all diapers.

There are differences in the quality of the diapers. Some are more comfortable, some are more absorbing, some are less bulky, some have urine indicators and some are made in Japan (and no it doesn't wash your baby's butt like those Japan toilet seats).

I find the best way to go about using disposable diapers is to have two sets of diapers (instead of using only one kind of diaper):
1) For use when you are at home or at places where you can easily change his diaper with minimum fuss - Cheapest diaper that your baby is not allergic to and is able to reasonably contain his output. The rational here is since you can easily change his diaper, get the cheapest diaper that will not cause him nappy rash and is able to contain his output. This is where you can save quite alot of money.

2) For use at night when he sleeps or when you are out (shopping, chilling) and you want maximum convenience - Good diaper that is reliable (contain his output for up to 10 hours without changing). You might wanna spend more and get good ones as you are actually paying for convenience (not having to wake up in the middle of the night to change diaper) and reliability (not having to wake up in the morning to find your baby sleeping with his/her pee or poo around him/her, or dealing with soiled mess when you are out shopping). Bulkness might also be a consideration if you go out often for long period of time. Having bulky diapers means u either have to carry a big bag or carry less diapers when you go out.

When testing for nappy rash allergy, either get a small pack to try or get a few samplers from your friend using that brand and model. I know Huggies do give samplers if you register and request from them. Once we have decided which brand and model of diaper your baby should use, look out for offers and stock them up. The offers can be pretty substantial so do your homework.

Saturday, 15 August 2009

我是師奶殺手 Xavier

Seems like all the "Aunties" that Xavier go pass cannot help but give Xavier a 2nd look. His Sunshine smile, Michelin profile and Thunder Thighs are just too irresistible. Everywhere from supermarket to kopitiam to carparks to lifts, they always ask the same questions:

1) "你的 baby 很 cute hor?" - "Your baby very cute hor?"
2) "几个月了?" - "How many months already?"
3) "喝什么奶粉?" - "What milk did he drink to get so big?"
(Lilian absolutely loves this question as the Aunties usually want to know which brand of milk powder does Xavier eat to be so chubby. So Lilian will always be beaming from ear to ear when she says he is breastfed.)

Quite a number say we should bring him to baby contest/competition. Well we did consider but I have a hard time looking for contests. Seems like the information is not so readily available since most competition are independently organised. If you do come across, please let me know. Hehe.

Anyway to all the 師奶 reading this blog, below is a treat for you.

**Warning, contains nudity.**