My Domestic Art

I'm always trying to get the kids out and about for some fresh air, stretch their legs and explore new places. It's a great feeling to be surrounded by nature, to unwind after a hectic week. Today we decided on the Chinese Garden. The kids have never been as it is a little out of the way. There were not many people when we were there, probably because the Chinese Garden is not as highly regarded as Botanic Gardens or Gardens by the Bay. But to us, this just added to the beauty of the garden. It was so peaceful and serene. We could stroll through and bask in the beautiful scenery at our own leisurely pace. It is truly a hidden gem in our bustling city! We were immediately impressed as we were greeted by the sight of the twin pagodas when we entered the Garden. The rest of the Garden was equally impressive! It offers a beautiful landscape that is unique and hardly seen in Singapore. A sprawling lake surrounded by lush greenery, dotted with grand pagod...

Sometimes the easiest dish gives the most satisfaction. Like this super simple fish recipe. It requires minimal ingredients, so easy to prepare and cook. It literally takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish! The best thing is, my 3 kids polished it off so quickly. They even poured the sauce all over their rice and licked it all clean. No complaints, no fuss. If only every meal is like this - I'll be one happy stress-free mum! This fish has no bones, no mess, and is so delicious. What could be better than this? Easy Chinese Pan Fry Fish Fillet Ingredients: 300g fish fillet 1 tbsp. light soy sauce ½ tsp sugar ginger strips 2 cloves garlic - minced 1 shallot - minced salt and pepper ½ tsp corn starch Instructions: Mix light soy sauce, sugar and 2 tbsp. water in a bowl Season fish with a pinch of salt, pepper and corn starch Heat a little oil in a wok, pan fry fish, then add garlic, shallots, ginger strips ...

Have you ever cooked with turmeric? It is a yellow spice coming from the ginger family traditionally used in many curry dishes. There have been numerous scientific studies of late to show the various healing and cleansing properties of turmeric. It is said to contain powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Turmeric also adds a beautiful vibrant colour and distinctive flavour to many dishes. Like this soup. Even though I don't believe in "detoxing" the way some people swear by it, there are times when I just want a large dose of nutrition to get back on track, especially after an indulgent festive season. And the best way to do it is by making vegetables soup. You can't go wrong with vegetables soup really. It is fool proof. So easy to make, hearty, delicious and nutritious! I always start by making a savoury broth in the thermal cooker and then load it up with veggies and spices to create different flavours. If you don't have a therm...

It all started with the oldest boy coming home from school with blocked and stuffy nose one day. Within 3 days, all 3 boys are sporting runny nose, itchy throat and cough, and high-grade whinging. Life can be quite miserable with 3 sick children in the house. Between the cleaning of mucus, spooning various medicines and vitamins, breaking up fights and putting up with restless kids being cooped up at home, I am so craving for a good bowl of something warm and comforting. What's better than good old nourishing chicken at times like these? Well maybe a large chunk of melting lava chocolate cake... but it's just too bad that is not going to fulfil all of our nutritional needs! So here comes my recipe for a good bowl of nourishing ginger chicken, great for the body and soul. The broth is full of warmth from the ginger and Chinese wine, which is said to help boost the immune and digestive systems, and the chicken so deliciously juicy and tender. The c...

Every year, we try to catch at least one lion dance performance. The kids find it very entertaining and fun to watch, although it can be a bit loud. But since we only get to watch it once a year, I will definitely make time for it! It is believed that the lion dance, together with the loud beating of drums, cymbals and gongs scare away evil spirits and bring good luck to the audience and the premises. The lions are usually accompanied by the God of Fortune who will give away chocolate gold coins to the audience. This is always the highlight for the kids, who will scramble to get as many gold coins as possible. The climax of the show is when the lion dances and approaches the platter of green vegetables, oranges and red packets laid out for them. The lion will then "pick the greens" which symbolizes picking of wealth and fortune, peel the oranges, eat them, and then spit them out to the audience. It is considered lucky to have the lion "spi...

I first discovered about Coke chicken when I was staying in student flats back in my University days. One of my flatmates cooked it for a potluck dinner and all of us were amazed at how delicious it was. Who would have guessed that those incredible tasting chicken wings were made with just a few simple ingredients. Soy sauce and Coca Cola. Nothing fancy. This recipe has been adapted over the years to better suit my taste, but the star ingredient remains the same. The can of regular Coca Cola. This has become another one of my kids' favourite. They simply love the sweet and savoury flavour of these sticky chicken wings. And they are so ridiculously easy to make! Simply brown chicken wings. Throw in some garlic and pour the can of Coke. Let the wings soak up all the flavours. What you get after 20 minutes of simmering are some rich, syrupy, very flavoursome wings. Easy-peasy! Coca Cola Chicken Wings Ingre...

It's my little one's birthday yesterday. He's got this obsession about the cable car ever since we got the annual pass two years ago. Needless to say, he's requested everything cable car for his birthday. I got the 2 brothers to make some cable car banners to decorate the house. All we did was printed some cable car pictures off the Internet, coloured them in and stuck them on some colourful papers. Then we put them on a string and hung them up. We were very pleased with how they turned out! His birthday being so close to CNY, I haven't even got the chance to take down our CNY decors. For the Happy Birthday banner, I just drew it free-hand and coloured it in. Then folded the top of the papers, slid a ribbon in, stuck it with scotch tape. The same way as the triangular banners. We had a mini celebration in his kindy in the morning. It's really uplifting to see his teeny face lit up when he saw us coming into the school w...

Xin Nian Kuai Le Gong Xi Fa Cai Of all the festivals we celebrate, Chinese New Year has got to be the biggest, most extravagant, most elaborate and most important of them all. Weeks before the New Year, we have to do thorough spring cleaning, decorate the house, buy new clothes - red of course, stock up fridge, prepare red packets, go for hair cuts and the whole works. Even Mum had started preparing the foodstuff from days before the New Year, like all the soaking and chopping etc would have been done days in advance. Lucky for us, we always have reunion dinner at Mum's - all I have to do is bring ourselves and our empty tummies there to feast! My favourite is definitely the Salmon Yu Sheng. I wish I could have it all year round. I love the taste, the texture, the colour and the symbolism of it all. There's nothing quite like it, really! Toss it up and toss it high! Oh the amount of food we ate over the past few days!! 😋 Our family tradition ...