Moving On

We stayed at Paragon Residence for almost a year now. It was a great place. Good location, nice view, low density and good facility. The only thing is, too far from the children's school.

Moving forward, we will move nearer to the school, as we have decided that Tiny will start school next year and somewhere nearby jehjeh and gorgor's school. Here we go again!

Looking back, we have moved from Petaling Jaya to Bangkok, Bangkok to Shah Alam, Shah Alam to Johor, Johor Bahru town to Mount Austin. With 3 Children. Within 10 years. Can we settle somewhere, daddy?

All Packed And Ready To Go

Mostly Toys

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Merry Christmas 2017

Hi Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Hohoho!

Love, 

The Chungs

Merry Christmas 2017

#Hohoho

X M A S | Barbecue Galore

One rainy day, after Christmas, after watching TLC cooking show, was craving for barbecue. 

Decided to cook this later that evening. Mediterranean/Tex-Mex style.

It was still rainy, so some of it we grill it on the stove top. 😕.

BBQ Kebabs Skewers

Serves 6-8

500g Beef (cube)

500g Salmon (cube)

300g Bacon

250g Mushroom

3 Bell Pepper (tricolour)

2 Cucumber

2 Onion

3 Bell Pepper (tricolour)

½ Pineapple

¼ Cup Soy Sauce

5 Tbsp Honey

5 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 Tsp Salt and Pepper

Marinade meat and fish (except bacon) with soy sauce, honey, olive oil, brown sugar, salt and pepper for at least 2 hours.

Soak the bamboo skewer for 20 minutes prior grilling to prevent burn. Assemble the kebab skewer.

Grill for 5-10 minutes till done.

Oh Yes!

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BBQ Galore

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Mediterranean/Tex-Mex Night

Watermelon Feta Cheese Salad

Serves 6

½ Watermelon (cube)

¼ Cup Feta Cheese

1 Cucumber (slice)

1 Onion (slice)

2 Stalks Cilantro

2 Stalks Mint

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Lime Juice

1 Tbsp Honey

1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tsp Salt and Pepper

Whisk olive oil, lime juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper . Set aside.

Place watermelon, cucumber, onion, feta cheese, cilantro, mint in a large salad bowl. 

Dress when ready to eat.

Refreshing

Hummus With Tortilla Chips

1 Can Chickpeas

¼ Cup Tahini/Peanut Butter

2 Cloves Garlic

5 Tbsp Olive Oil

5 Tbsp Lemon Juice

2 Tbsp Water

1 Tsp Salt and Paprika

Puree all ingredients till smooth. Season with salt.

Cut tortilla into small square or triangle. Bake in preheated oven at 180⁰C for 5-10 minutes till crisp.

Drizzle hummus with some olive oil and paprika before serving.

Simple . Comforting

Mango Tomato Salsa

1 Mango (cube)

1 Tomato (cube)

1 Onion (mince)

2 Stalks Cilantro

5 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Tsp Salt and Pepper

1 Tsp Sugar

Combine all ingredients well.

Rest and chill in fridge for 30 minutes before serving.

Salsa

Hummus . Mango Tomato Salsa

X M A S | Roast Beef with Gravy, Vegetables and Yorkshire Pudding

We are not Christian, but is fun to celebrate Christmas every year. The children are always looking forward for it. Present.

Every festivities, I will try new recipe, just to get into the spirit of celebration. This one was good and easy to prepare. Typical Sunday roast.

Roast Beef with Gravy and Vegetables

Serves 6-8

1kg Beef (chuck roast)

2 Sticks Carrot

1 Serving Green Vegetables (Broccoli, Green Beans, etc)

2 Tbsp Salt

1 Tbsp Pepper

1 Tbsp Mustard

4 Tbsp Butter

1 Tbsp Flour

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Rub salt, pepper and mustard all over beef. Let it sit for 20 minutes.

Bake in preheated oven at 200⁰C for an hour, medium well. Add 10-15 minutes for well done.

Let the beef rest for at least 15 minutes before carving.

Save all the dripping from roast. Pour into a pan, add in butter and flour to make roux, add broth/water to thin it out. Keep whisking to avoid lumps. Season with salt and pepper.

Steam carrot and green vegetable. Season with salt, pepper and butter before serving.

Yorkshire Pudding

½ Cup All Purpose Flour

1¼ Cup Milk

¾ Cup Vegetable Oil

3 Eggs

½ Tsp Salt

Preheated oven at 250⁰C.

Whisk flour, milk eggs and salt till well combined. Rest 10-15 minutes.

Put a tablespoon of oil in each of the muffin hole. Heat the muffin pan in the oven for 5 minutes.

Take it out, pour in the batter (be careful, it will splatter a little). Bake for 10-15 minutes till all the yorkies puff up.

Sunday Roast

Need More Sleep

Woke up today at 5.00 a.m. Can't go back to sleep. Sitting here organising my photo albums till I bumped into these old photos.

Breastfed all my babies. Direct latch. Princess, 15 months (pregnant with #2). Speedy 26 months (pregnant with #3). Tiny 24 months (Not pregnant, just want to rest, period).

They grew so close to me. Is impossible to not sleep together. Princess and Speedy have their own room. But every night, we all ends up sleeping in one bedroom. One king size bed, one queen size bed, and a bunk bed, in our master bedroom. How we managed to squeeze all in? Still fascinates me... 

Looking back at all these pictures, makes me smile. My children grows up so fast, one day they will leave the nest. All these beautiful memories will stay in our hearts forever. It might seem uncomfortable, but even Daddy can't sleep alone now, he needs all his kids to be together with him. Every single night.

Yes. As of now, we are still in one bedroom.

First Few Weeks

A Month Later

Few Weeks After A Month

3 Months Later

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Gave Up, Doesn't Matter Anymore...

S E A F O O D | Udang Masak Lemak Cili Padi

When it comes to food, we, Malaysian are really lucky. We have all this unique food from different culture, and some we mashed it up and it becomes a new fusion food. I love all Malaysian food, whether is Malay, Chinese or Indian.

This is one of my favourite recipe, not for children, a little spicy, sweet. Good with fluffy white rice. Let's get cooking!

Udang Masak Lemak Cili Padi

Serves 6

500g Prawn (devein)

1 Onion

3 Cloves Garlic

3 Inch Turmeric

2 Inch Prawn Paste Block/Belachan (toasted)

5 Red Chilies

6-8 Bird Eye Chilies

2 Stalks Lemon Grass (bashed to release flavour)

½ Cup Coconut Milk

2 Tsp Sugar

2 Tsp Vegetable Oil

Salt (to taste)


Blend onion, garlic, turmeric, belachan, chili and red bird chili to paste. Set aside.

Heat oil, add in chili paste and lemon grass, cook till oil separate from paste.

Add in coconut milk, simmer in low heat till boil, add prawn, cook for 5 minutes. Add salt and sugar to taste.

Spicy!

Jom Makan!

P A S T A | Spaghetti with Bacon and Creme sauce

Jamie Oliver. Been following him since Naked Chef days. Inspired me so much.

This is not his recipe, just my idea and take on quick lunch or dinner under 30 minutes.


Spaghetti with Bacon and Creme sauce

Serves 6

500g Spaghetti 

500g Bacon (cut into strips)

200ml Creme 

4 Garlic Cloves (mince)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Parsley (for garnish)

* I used mint

Sauté garlic. Add in bacon. Cook untill crisp.

Cook pasta in a ligthly salted water till al dente. Drain and pour into the pan with the garlic and bacon.

Add in creme. Season with salt and pepper. Toss.

Garnish with parsley.

Spaghetti with Bacon and Creme Sauce

Romaine, Cucumber, Olive with Bacon Bits

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P A S T A | Penne with Beef Ragu

My children loves pasta and noodle. Any kind, with broth, sauce, or baked.

This is one of their favourite.

Penne with Beef Ragu 

Serves 6

500g Penne 

500g Beef (mince or cube)

2 Carrot (mince)

8 Stalks Celery (mince)

1 Onion (mince)

4 Cloves Garlic (mince)

2 Can Plum Tomato

2 Cups Beef Broth 

* I used 5 tbsp Bovril, mix with 2 cups of water

1 Cup Red Wine

* I used 5 tbsp Ribena, mix with 1 cup of water

2 Tbsp Tomato Paste 

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Bay Leaves

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Parmigiano Reggiano (grated)

* I used Cheddar

Season and brown beef, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Sauté onion and garlic. Add carrot and celery,  and sauté the vegetables till softened.

Add beef, bay leaf, red wine and beef broth. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2-3 hours or till the sauce is reduce and thicken. Alternatively, u can put it into a Dutch oven in a 180℃ oven for 2-3 hours. 

Cook pasta in a ligthly salted water till al dente. Drain and pour the beef ragu sauce over it.

Serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Penne with Beef Ragu
Spinach, Arugula and Cherry Tomato with Caesar Dressing

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Life After Marriage And Children

Life after marriage or children means...

For the first few years. Blissful. Honeymoon. Romantic date nights. Love is in the air.

Love Is In The Air 💕

Still Blissful

After the first child. Sleepless night. Vacation means at least 3 large size luggages. Eating out means, only child friendly restaurant. You still love each other and every time you look at your beautiful baby, you felt so blessed and all your hard work (changing night diaper, midnight milk pumping, baby taking over the bed, etc), so worth it.

#1

After the second child, still sleepless. Vacation means no more than 2 hours flight, choose either Thailand or Singapore. Indonesia also can. Eating out, only air conditioning restaurant that have baby chair. Still love each other, but no more hand holding when going out. Each hold a child. 

#2

After the third child. 5 to 6 hours of sleep should be sufficient for you. Your body is used to it by now. What vacation? You are lucky if you can eat out. Watch more cooking show, learn to cook. Love, yes of course. If you have the time.

#2 Going #3

😓

😑

On a lighter note, we still have time to take family portrait. 

Love. Trust. Believe. Laughter. Compromise. That's all we need.

Daddy's Princesses 👶👸

😝

#3

Life Before Marriage And Children

Life before marriage and children means...

You think about each other everyday. You say I love you everyday. You call and text each other everyday. You hold hands. You kiss goodbye. You go to movie date nights. You celebrate anniversary, birthday, etc. You go on exotic holiday. You buy each other gifts. You take tons of pictures together. List goes on.

2007

2008

2009

2010

After my first born arrived, hardly any picture of just the two of us. Took me forever to dig out this recent one.

Now

Ten

We have been together for 10 years now. Married for 9. Technically, we registered our marriage 10 years ago, only held the wedding banquet/reception a year later because of feng shui. Too many dates, but it does not matter much to me. We don't really celebrate anniversary. Not that my man is not romantic, but I do not think is important. As long as we are happy together, everyday is a special day to me. 

But life is not a bed of roses for us too. We do have our ups and downs. Every couple does. There were days I fall head over heels in love with him over and over again. And also days that I want to strangle him. But usually we are too busy to notice all this. Children. Work. Routine, etc.

But nevertheless, he is the love of my life. He is a loving and responsible husband and father. He put us before himself. He is a great man. 

Ten

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S H O P | IKEA Tebrau

We were so geared up for the opening of IKEA Tebrau. Literally prepared. Woke up in the morning and received a text from a good friend, massive queue, and the store have not even open yet! No chance for Tiny and I. Daddy needs to work and the older children were in school.

Sorry, we have failed you IKEA!

Tried our luck 6 days later, Wednesday. Printed the shopping list. Got the best parking. Got all my stuff, ate ice creams, bought some gummies and curry puffs. Even went to smaland. Mission accomplished.

Generally the store is great. Guest, however need to take care of stuff. The ladybug machine for points collection in Smaland was out of order, less than a week? Washroom, even when the store provided the best disposal bins, please try not to spoil it. Take care like your own. Don't wet the toilet as if you are going to take a shower. Totally understand is a family concept store, if all of us take good care of it, wouldn't it be nice?

There are a number of staffs that had been transferred here from KL. They were really friendly and helpful. I printed my list, pass it to them to pick up and deliver straight to my house. RM25 + RM80. I have few bulky items, totally worth that extra RM105. Assembly. 10% of the furniture price. For a Dombas unit RM449. I paid RM45 for them to install. Totally worth it. 

My first visit was great, will definitely be back for more!

So Ready

So Happy

So Lovely

So Excited

So Many

So Efficient

So Nice Parking

So Cute

So Hungry

So Patient

So Big

So Yummy

#3

#2

#1

So Satisfied

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So Yum (Back The Next Day!)