Cheap Dining

Just finished watching local drama Daddy at Home (企鹅爸爸）starring Chen Hanwei and Li Nanxing. I have to say, I love Chen Hanwei's sibeh aunty character and curly hair. I think he is even more "aunty" than my mum.

So hubb was watching the show with me few days ago, while we were having our dinner and there was a scene where Li Nanxing took his family to a posh chinese restaurant for dinner. Later his wife asked him how much the dinner cost and told him not to waste such money in future (as he was retrenched). He said the dinner costs about S$200.

Upon hearing his reply, my first reaction to hubb was: $200?? Its not expensive at all mah... Thought they went to a posh restaurant?? How come so cheap?? There were 5 of them (4 adults and 1 child) so means per person is only S$50. Cheap mah. Hubb replied: Don't compare with the cost here lah. OMG I think when we go back Sg, you're gonna eat at all the expensive restaurants cos you'll think they are so cheap. You are going to 吃穷我!!

But seriously, S$50 is about 25eur and that is the price for a dinner menu at a normal (not posh at all) restaurant. In the past I used to complain that S$5 for a bowl of noodles in a foodcourt is expensive. I don't think I will complain about that anymore. Over here, 2.50eur can only buy you 1 corssaint and a cup of coffee. But... I still think $200 for 5 people is really cheap. :p

**

So, drama recommendation for Jan 10:

Daaddy at Home. You're gonna love the aunty Chen Hanwei.

Okay I gotta go do some housework and cut discount coupons now. Keke

Transformer Strollers

As the guys don't have to go to work early today, hubb and me and An and her hubby decided to go check out this baby outlet near our area. Since its the winter sales now, we wanted to see if we can find any good deals for baby strollers as alot of people tell us that the strollers here are of better quality.

 Well the shop wasn't very big but we were wowed by the strollers there. Seems like strollers nowadays have alot of functions. They come with car seat, detachable basket, this and that and there are different ways u can fix the strollers!! We were busy looking at the catalogue which has the different ways the stroller can be fixed and I told hubb: wah these strollers are so complicated. Can transform into so  many patterns, like transformer.

And the transformer strollers don't come cheap. Since we can't get the sales person to explain to us the functions (doubt they can speak much english), we decided to do some research on our own before buying one. So far I like the Mac Laren strollers best. Saw that their latest model of strollers even have a thermometer and a stroll-o-meter to measure the ambient temperature and how fast you are walking!! Nowadays strollers very high tech ah.

So... Any godmas to be out there wanna sponsor your god child his/her stroller?? Let me know :p

Disclaimer: An and I are NOT pregnant.

10 Ways to get your wife to cook

Guys, if you want to enjoy home cooked food from your wife on a daily basis... Try these...

1. Move to a place where cheap and good local food is not easily available (any part of Singapore does not qualify)... Somewhere out of the city, somewhere boring and dead, somewhere both ur parents are not available... An ideal example of such place would be La Teste, France...

2. Let your wife be taitai (ie, no need to work, just stay at home) so that she has all the time to cook...

3. Introduce her to wives who can cook very well (and pray that they become good friends) so that they can influence and inspire her...

4. Move in to an apartment where you have neighbours who are good cooks and always give some food to you... Over time, your wife will feel paisay and will wanna reciprocate also...

5. Organise potluck gatherings...

6. ALWAYS, and I repeat, ALWAYS, no matter under what circumstances, PRAISE her for her cooking. Always say its delicious. "OK la" does not constitute to nice. "OK la" means its not nice at all but still edible.

7. When she is cooking, the kitchen is her empire. DO NOT go into the kitchen and start giving pointers on how she should do it, unless she asked.

9. Offer to wash the dishes after eating.

10. Buy her a LV bag for her effort in cooking.

And viola, I assure your wife will cook everyday. :D

Banana Cake

This banana cake is one of my best received cake. I baked it once for a MJ session and after Su tried it, she has been bugging me to baked the banana cake whenever we have gatherings. In fact she loved the cake so much that this is the first cake she baked after she got an oven. The cake is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Very nice. :)

Recipe taken from bakingmum.

Ingredients:
180 gm. Butter
180 gm. Fine sugar (I cut down to 150 gm)
2 nos. Extra large Eggs - beaten lightly
250 gm. Cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. Bicarbonate of Soda
220 gm. Bananas - mashed
50 gm. Dairy whip cream (I use evaporated milk)
1/2 tsp. Banana essence (I replace with 1 tsp vanila essence)
2 bananas - slice



Method:

Cream butter and sugar till light and creamy.
(Note: Always thaw your butter before using. If your butter is not thawed fully (soften) and you do not have the luxury of time to wait, then cut the butter to small pieces, like this:

Pour in eggs gradually and beat till creamy.

Add in whip cream, mashed bananas and banana essence and mix well.
(Note: for sweeter taste, use very riped bananas. They are easier to smashed as well.)


Add in cake flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and beat for a while only.

(Note: the end texture of the batter will be very thick and sticky. So don't worry if your batter turns out like creamy form)
Pour into an 8" round tray, and arrange sliced bananas on top.

Bake at 175C for about 50 to 60 mins. or until cooked.

And you get a tasty banana cake. I didn't add sliced bananas at the top but I added chopped walnuts to make it a banana walnut cake. The end results of the cake should be crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. This photo doesn't do much justice cos this pic was the 1st banana cake that I baked. I've since then improved but I didn't take any new pics.

Surprise Surprise

I think everyone loves surprises. Usually women (who are the more romantic creatures) are better in surprises than men. In me and hub's case, we are the opposite. I think I am very lucky that hub is more romantic than me and he likes to give me pleasent surprises.

Anyway, for all the surprise loving women out there, here's some tips on how to get ur partner to give you more surprises.

1. If you have discovered the surprise, always act dumb. Pretend you don't know a thing. Sure it might give u a sense of "see I know you so well, I know what you will do" truimph feeling, but by being a smartass and exposing the surprise, your man will feel dejected and useless. After some time, they will stop planning surprises for you (since you are so smart, so what for I take the effort to plan. Its going be found out anyway).

2. Always appear happy. Even if the surprise bore you, pretend to be happy. Even if you already know about it, pretend to be shocked and happy.

3. Always thank your man (on the spot) and plant him with hugs and kisses.

4. Tell your friends about it. Post it on FB, msn, blog. And if any of ur friends express envy or any good comments, let them know. This will be a boast to their ego. All men like to look good in front of your friends.

5. Lastly, and also most importantly, give ur man a good love making. Then he will be encouraged to give u more surprises. :)