The second day of our trip was spent outdoors and exploring what Kuala Lumpur has to offer. First up was the Batu Caves, an iconic and popular tourist attraction, about 25 minutes away from KL city centre. It is a limestone hill, rising to almost 100m above ground, comprising of a labyrinth of caves. These caves feature ornate Hindu temples and shrines, with beautiful statues and paintings. At the front of the cave is an impressively large statue of Murugan, a Hindu deity. To get into the main temple cave, we have to climb a steep flight of almost 300 steps. Remember to wear comfortable clothes and shoes! More steps to the top. Beautiful view just as nature intended! There are lots of monkeys frolicking around freely. They generally don't bother you. Just do not try to touch them - I saw a tourist trying to pat one of them and it turned around and growled aggressively. We particularly enjoyed the Dark Caves. The 45-minute guided tour to enter ...
I am always looking for ways to make cooking simpler and less time-consuming. Who likes to spend hours slaving over the hot stove in our sunny island... definitely not me. But I still want hearty, delicious, wholesome meals for the whole family. So here comes my favourite thermal cooker to the rescue. I have been using my thermal cooker a lot lately. It is perfect for making soups and stews. One of the greatest features of the thermal cooker is that it is an amazing one pot wonder. I can brown the meat, saute the vegetables, then add in all the liquid right in one pot. When I come back after a good 6-8 hours, what I have is a rich, warm, thick stew that smells divine. Perfect for any busy mum! If you don't have a thermal cooker, you can use a slow cooker instead. Always choose beef that has a good amount of marbling for stews. These have collagen-rich connective tissues that break down after many hours of cooking and become meltingly tender. My boys call them ...
Pumpkin is very versatile and can be cooked in many different ways. Whether it is roasted or stewed or stir-fried, it always tastes fantastic. On top of that, pumpkin is rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. I love pumpkin and always stock up on them whenever I do my grocery shopping. Pumpkin is so rich tasting that I don't need to put all sorts of seasoning to make it flavoursome. A little soy sauce is all I need to bring out the lovely flavour of this dish. Braised Chicken Pumpkin and Mushroom Ingredients: 500g boneless chicken thighs - cut to bite-size pieces 500g pumpkin - cut to bite-size pieces 100g shitake mushrooms - quartered 3 cloves garlic - minced 2 shallots - minced salt and pepper 1 tbsp. light soy sauce spring onions Instructions: Heat cooking oil in a wok over medium-high heat, add garlic and shallot, fry till fragrant Toss in chicken, season with salt, pepper, and light soy sauce, fry till bro...
Following the fun the little brother had with his growing caterpillar drawing, the 2 older brothers quickly made their own versions. This was their idea but I had to draw it as it was tricky to get the proportion just right. All is not what it seems in the sea... The rest were drawn by the 2 of them. Psyduck that turned into alien. Hidden family. And if I have to pick one FAVOURITE, it will have to be this one below!! Lol. 💙
When I want a tasty soup but don't have the time to make chicken stock, I turn to this ikan bilis stock recipe. Unlike chicken stock that requires 1-2 hours of boiling, this stock only needs 30 minutes of boiling time. This is fantastic as a soup base for steamboat and other soup dishes, or to be added for cooking whenever stock is required. I got these tea filter bags from Daiso and they are great to put the ikan bilis in and discard after boiling. This saves me the hassle of removing all those black residue left behind by the ikan bilis. But if you don't have them, just pour the stock through a sieve after boiling. Ikan Bilis (dried anchovies) Stock Ingredients: 100g ikan bilis (dried anchovies) 1 inch ginger - bruised 2 litres water salt Instructions: Rinse ikan bilis then put them into tea filter bags (I used 4) Bring water to boil in a soup pot, add ikan bilis and ginger Simmer for 30 minutes Discard ikan bilis and ginger Add salt to...
Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is one of the largest parks in Singapore, with an area of 62-hectare. It has been said that sightings of wild-life, particularly wild otters and monitor lizards, are common here. Of course, spotting these wild animals are not guaranteed, but we decided to try our luck anyway. Armed with this map that we printed off the Internet, we decided to explore the west side of the park known as the Pond Gardens. Shaded by dense greenery, the well-maintained tracks are ideal for jogging and cycling, or simply a leisurely stroll with the kids. We walked along the river banks, which were surrounded with colourful flowers and foliage. It was indeed peaceful and picturesque! We saw some families with their buckets and nets, doing some longkang fishing too. Great idea for when we come back the next time! Nature lovers will enjoy this park as the lush greenery and unique waterways provid...
If you are looking for some crazy bargain shopping, head to Wufenpu. Wufenpu Commercial Area is a huge garment wholesale area. Shops after shops line the streets and the numerous small side streets here. They do mainly wholesale, but would be happy to do retail as well. There is an incredibly large selection of clothes, shoes, accessories for women, men and kids. Plenty of Korean and Japanese style clothes and accessories, sportswear and sports shoes, and undergarments too. If you love shopping, you can easily spend half the day here. Most shops are open from 2-3pm till late. For real bargains, spend time looking through the bargain racks and rummaging through the bags on the floors. Most items there were NT$100 (less than SG$5!) The clothes they put up on the walls and those without price tags are their newer collection and are not cheap. Some shops allow a little bargaining but probably around 10-20% only. When I was there, most...
Hubby has an aunt who is an incredible cook. Every now and then she would invite us all to her house to have a meal where she would cook up a storm of classic Indonesian fare. Beef rendang is one of her specialties. She told me it required at least 14 different spices pounded in the mortar and pestle to make it! It definitely is not an everyday dish. Unfortunately I don't have the time nor the skill to make my own rendang spices from scratch. When my craving for some Indonesian food strikes, I check out our local supermarkets to try out the different sauces and spices available. Today I am using Mak Nyonya Beef Rendang sauce. This sauce gives an authentic rendang flavour, very rich and aromatic! You can use either beef or chicken, simply fry it with the sauce, add coconut milk and simmer. I opted to fry some garlic, shallot and chilli first to make it even more fragrant but this step is optional. This rendang sauce is very easy to make and bursting with flavour...
My favourite running route at the moment starts from Zion Riverside Food Centre, off Kim Seng Road, that goes along the Singapore River and passes Robertson Quay, Clarke Quay, and all the way to Boat Quay. It offers stunning views of numerous high-rise condominiums, gentle river and dense greenery. This loop along the river and back is a good 6km long. Perfect for a morning boost of energy! Running along the Singapore River, with the water flowing beside me, and the air crisp and cool in the morning is extremely calming. And the myriad of sensory delights along the way makes the run enjoyably effortless. At the end of the route, there is a great range of dining options, plenty of quirky cafes and eateries, to rest your feet and reward yourself. But the best thing about running here is that there is NO exhaust fume! The smell of fresh air is something that we don't ...
Langkawi Cable Car, also known as Langkawi SkyCab, is located on the Southwest coast of the island, which is approximately 15 minutes drive from the airport and 45 minutes from The Andaman Resort. It is the number ONE attraction in Langkawi and also THE ONLY thing that managed to entice our family to step out of the comforts of our luxurious resort ! And what can I say... my little one has an obsession with all things cable car . The entrance to the cable car station is at the Oriental Village , located at the foothill of Machinchang mountain. This is where the ticket counter is located, as well as a few other attractions, some restaurants and food courts, and small shops. There are a few restaurants serving local and international food, but we chose to eat at the food court as we wanted to have a quick meal. Fortunately, the food served here was freshly-cooked, delicious and good value. I have no idea why the little one was so engrossed studying the menu! ...
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