Memories…

Over the last few months, there have been little things that have happened and events/places we have been to, which i want to remember and would have loved for each of these to have a blog-post each… but life took over and those posts never got written. Besides, some are really small things and others have already passed so i thought i put them all into one big photo post.

So here are some memories from our last few months:

Camera 360Some time in February, Tobias decided that he would attempt to finish an entire Subway Foot-long Sandwich (a whole 30 centimeters of bread and fillings). He has tried a few times since but has not been successful. It doesn’t matter whether he did or did not finish that huge sandwich; what was important is that he tried and it was fun watching him try 😉

Camera 360Sticking with the food theme, we found a new Sushi place to eat at. Now if you know have known us (in real life) for some time, you would have been told at some point that our boy is a Sushi-Monster! He LOVES Sushi!! So this is a big thing. Yooji’s serves great sushi and it’s a conveyor-belt system which my boy adores. The other attraction is the tablet ordering-system – very modern, complete with little games and internet access to entertain you while you wait for your food. The only problem is how expensive it is to eat there, especially when he can finish an average of seven plates by himself!

Camera 360At the beginning of March, Tobias started going to Chinese class again. We had him in one class when he was in Kindergarten but that closed after a year or two due to a lack of students. Now his best friend and his best friend’s brother are going to one, he has decided to join them, which is fabulous. Unfortunately, it is a fair drive to get to class and now the other parents who share the driving have found another teacher much closer so it looks like we will continue with classes but with another teacher.

Camera 360After the Sportsferien (Sports Holiday in February), Tobias picked up Unihockey (floor-ball) and is loving it. None of his friends play this sport but it doesn’t matter, he enjoys it and is making new friends on the team.

memories20140613eDaddy’s birthday should have gotten a blog post all its own BUT… we had to celebrated it belated and then life got busy. So here’s our little celebration at home with the 6-minute Chocolate Cake.

memories20140613fWe got invited to a Swiss-American wedding! This was special because we got invited to the dinner, which is a first for us. We got to see how a Swiss wedding dinner works from beginning to end – so very different from ours. It was all about having fun – my kind of wedding! There were games and lots of laughter and conversation; it was a long long fun-filled event – we left early (close to 11pm). We really enjoyed ourselves and it was an excuse to see the lovely city of St Gallen. i’m not posting a picture of the couple because i don’t have permission and because i couldn’t get good pictures. So i’m posting a picture of the very lovely homemade table decorations – i really liked them!

memories20140613gSo this year’s English League Premiership saw Liverpool, my husband’s beloved team, having a real shot at winning the cup. Which is the reason why Tobias and i left him with his friends in a pub one Sunday afternoon and went to a small Medieval Festival in Luzern. We enjoyed the sunshine while walking around the stalls. Tobias got to work with a blacksmith and hammered out a small horseshoe.

memories20140613hA highlight for Tobias in April was getting to play the Cajón during worship at church. He has been asking and asking to be allowed to play with Daddy during worship and he finally got to do it. He was thrilled so was i and i’m so proud!

memories20140613iLike a true Singaporean, i bring you back to the food. We (husband and i) got to eat at a small family-run Vietnamese restaurant in Liebefeld, Bern, (Pho Saigon) directly opposite the chinese grocery shop. They serve authentic Vietnamese food and we love it and will definitely be back for more.

memories20140613jLast but not least, we have been living in renovations since the start of May. The real-estate company which owns our quartier has decided it is time to renovate the facade of our building. So the scaffolding went up and will stay up till the middle of July. Tobias was really excited cos he could open his window and walk directly onto the scaffolding. Of course, that idea was met with much disapproval.

Yes much has happened. Looking forward to a quiet summer holiday – is that possible?

syc

Gong Xi Fa Cai…

… i think i have never actually devoted a post to Chinese New Year!

i have looked at the archives and have not found one post on this – which is strange considering how much i like the festivities of celebrating Chinese New Year. A celebration which traditionally lasts 15 days, but of course, in these modern fast-paced times, no one stops for that long to celebrate anymore.

When i was growing up, it was a huge thing. My mum started preparing 2 weeks ahead for Reunion Dinner (the eve of Chinese New Year), where all the extended family came to us for dinner. There is this special dish she makes only for Chinese New Year – Ayam Buah Keluak (Black Nut Chicken Curry) because you need to soak the nut for 2 weeks. Then crack a tiny slot in the hard shell, remove the flesh of the fruit, mix half of that with minced meat, stuff the mixture back into the nut and use the other half of the fruit-flesh to make the curry. So much work!

Then there is all the yummy Chinese New Year goodies – pineapple tarts (i LOVE these), Bak Kwa, Love Letters, Kueh Bangkit and so many other ones, along with all the mandarin oranges i could peel and eat as well as roasted peanuts, sunflower seeds and sweets. Also Yu Sheng – Fish Salad which we toss for good luck. Not to mention the kids all got red-packets (ang baos, filled with a small amount of cash).

We would spend 2 whole days visiting family and friends, exchanging greetings and blessings for the coming year. There are some people we only get to see during this festive season so it is indeed a special time.

Now that we have moved to a “western” country which doesn’t celebrate Chinese New Year and we no longer go back to Singapore for the celebrations (logistically not practical now with the school term), i miss them.

The dishes we had for Chinese New Year Dinner.
The dishes we had for Chinese New Year Dinner.

This year i decided maybe it’s time to highlight some traditions again, now that my boy is bigger and understands more. He really only remembers collecting the Ang Baos and not much beyond that cos he was so small when we did go back to celebrate with family.

So while i didn’t make Reunion Dinner, i did make a 1st Day of Chinese New Year dinner for the 3 of us. Cooking one of my favourite Nonya dishes – Chap Chye, and Cantonese Steam Fish as well as Stir-Fry Ginger Beef. It was a tiny affair but still…

And this year we also gave my boy an actual Ang Bao when normally it would just go to his bank account. He was glad about that cos now he gets to actually spend it, instead of mummy putting it into his bank.

So here i take the opportunity to wish one and all a very Blessed Happy Chinese New Year – it’s the Year of the Horse so may you gallop into peace and good fortune.

syc.

Cooking Adventures Continues…

My parents are fantastic cooks and they taught me how to cook from as far back as i can remember. i remember standing on a stool,  as a little girl, trying my best to fry the perfect sunny-side-up egg, which my dad says is the ultimate test of a good fryer 😉

So i continue the tradition and have introduced the kitchen to my little guy as soon as i could. He started here and sometimes cooked with Daddy too. He has made pizza, baked a mini cake and made beef-patties. And other times which i have not written about.

This time round he used his Stars Wars Cookbook and made for us Tie-Fighter Ties and Tusken Raider Taters.

Here he is in action:

From Left: Preparing the sauages, cutting the dough...
From Left: Preparing the sausages, cutting the dough…
From Left: wrapping the dough, before going into the oven...
From Left: wrapping the dough, before going into the oven…
From Left: cutting potatoes, mashing potatoes...
From Left: cutting potatoes, mashing potatoes…
Finally! Cooking done! We can eat!
Finally! Cooking done! We can eat!

In case the pictures aren’t clear, dinner was sausage rolls, which look like tie fighters and mashed potatoes which represent the desert landscape where the tusken raiders lived 😉

i’m so glad that my little guy actually likes cooking 😀

syc