O!

Foooood Hall, The Gardens Midvalley

2 Sundays ago, Mr + Mrs Kong took JW to The Gardens for lunch, a bit of shopping and to check out the Christmas decorations.

Imagine our horror when on arrival we realised that we had forgotten the boy's stroller! We'd never gone on a trip of more than hour without it before. It felt like we were jumping out of an aeroplane without a parachute.

Anyway, we were there so we thought we'd make the best of it, thinking we'd have to carry the boy most of the time. To our surprise and delight, not only did he not need to be carried (much), he loved toddling around - looking at the decorations, window shopping, going up and down the escalator (and up and down, and up and down again)!

It really made Mr Kong realise how much JW has really grown. He's definitely not a baby anymore...

One of the best parts was after lunch at the Garden's food court when JW played in between the seats in the form of letters at the front and started saying the letters out loud. The pictures below say it all:

"O!"

Feeding at 12 months

JW has mostly been an enthusiastic eater. He has been willing to try new tastes, and up till a month ago, had his favourites when it comes to food. But just after his first birthday, we did notice a change in his behaviour: with increased fussiness, unwillingness to sleep, and distraction when it came to meal times.

Now, a month on, JW has taken to refusing his solids, sometimes going without a meal (or 2) and just drinking milk. At first, (and still to some extent) this raised alarm bells in Mrs Kong's mind. After all, isn't a well fed child demonstrative of good parenting? And what about all the time and resources to put the food on the table? It is certainly a waste of money and good food. Shouldn't we just feed it to JW anyway, after all, he is only a baby and we are acting in his best interest?

Yes, it is all too tempting to force feed JW at times like this: a thought that has crossed Mrs Kong's mind. However, after consulting several well recommended books on baby care and child rearing, this quite clearly isn't a simple solution for the reasons below:

It is believed that force feeding can lead to unhealthy eating habits as it teaches the child to ignore his own bodily signals - and to continue eating when he is indeed full. Further more, the right to decide whether he is full has been named as a component of a child's physical integrity, not too dissimilar from the right to be free of physical abuse. This is alleged to have far reaching implications to a child's emotional and psychological well being.

Hence we are now faced with the question: do we (a) force feed JW and ensure that he gets 3 square meals a day (assuming we are able to do this?); or (b) do we let JW decide for himself if he is indeed hungry and wants to eat, but waste all that food AND let him skip meals?

The latter choice is still too troubling for Mummy, but it might be the better course of action just to let him be.

[As long as he does not lose weight. ... !]

This is how much JW had for lunch yesterday... just the bit on the bottom left ..

Thankfully, JW had some broccoli and orange. The remainder fell into his "little pouch"

Of course, there could be other, more sinister reasons for JW's refusal of some of his meals. It could mean allergies for one, but we are not certain of this yet. Reading up on allergies at the moment, and hopefully we won't find anything serious.

Meanwhile, Mr Kong and Mrs Kong have now taken on DBKL like roles. We get rid of the wastage from JW's meals - Mr Kong being in charge of liquid disposals (milk in particular) while Mrs Kong is responsible for the solid disposals (all other foods not containing milk)! Lets see who puts on more weight from these new parenting duties!

Broccoli

Mrs Kong will be the first to admit that we are terrible at updating this blog. For some reason we get so caught up in daily life that we just don't have the time to write about it.

But nevertheless, it is accepted that this is not a legit excuse.

Our latest excitement is broccoli; or rather baby eating broccoli!

This was first rejected some 3 months ago when introduced but surprisingly, JW started to take it (quite enthusiastically in fact) last week. He gets so excited, the entire floret is coaxed into the mouth (by JW, not Mrs Kong) even before he has a chance to chew on it. Initial attempts were a little cautious of course (our guys MO) but now, JW even grabs the floret himself if Mrs Kong is not quick enough.

At the last meal this evening, JW was found scratching the bottom of the bowl which previously housed the broccoli. He was searching for more broccoli which he had just finished!! Poor JW. We shall be steaming a little more for him tomorrow.

Solids

first bite

We started introducing solids into JW's diet when he turned 6 months old; slightly more than a month ago. The day was greeted with much anticipation, as we have suspected JW's readiness for months now and only held back because we were warned that he may not be ready due to a immature digestive system. Yes, another one of those differences in experience in caring for premie albeit only a month early.

give me more!!

At the first sitting, JW was super excited at the sight of the bowl, food and spoon. He grabbed Mrs Kong's hand and shoved the spoon into his mouth. At the end of the meal, there was another round of crying as there was no more food!! Poor JW, not enough to eat when he clearly wanted more.

We had stopped solids after a few days of introducing rice because it seemed to have given him a tummy ache at night. A month on, we have started him rice cereal for the morning and rice & carrots for lunch & tea.

Today's menu: rice and pumpkin!

Citron Shocker

Last weekend, Mr & Mrs Kong were looking forward to a trip down nostalgia lane on Sat by having dinner at our old haunt (and pak-toh favourite) Cafe Citron on Lorong Stonor.

Imagine our surprise and horror to find huge apartment blocks surrounding what used to be a quiet, leafy bungalow - with Indonesian construction workers actually living in the bungalow!

Cafe Citron used to be a place where you felt you were in the middle of a park whilst having a gourmet dinner in the city centre. It was a sanctuary in the middle of bustling KL. Sad to say, leafy sanctuaries are no match for 'development'.

Still reeling from the shock, Mr & Mrs Kong then went for the backup option - another old faithful, Genki Sushi at KLCC. Only to find it closed! Being replaced by Sakae Sushi! Ptoooei!

I guess its true - some things are better left as memories. You just can't go back. Sigh.

At least The Rendevous Steak House is still hanging on...

Oat Rounds

Amidst these very busy days, Mrs Kong has managed these very simple but delicious Oat Rounds, of Mary Berry's of course. For once, the whole process was completed without any major glitches, maybe because it is a very simple and fast recipe afterall.


Named "the first cousins of the digestive biscuit" these were both delicious as well as healthy at the same time. The oaty taste of these biscuits were wonderful though if they were to be made again in this kitchen, Mrs Kong would probably use less sugar to ensure that the oaty taste isn't masked by the sweetness! Probably the only error in Mary Berry's recipe... a little too much sugar.

Nevertheless a delicious crunchy bite.

Perfect for morning coffee or afternoon tea!!

Krispy Kremes

Mr Kong has been wondering for a while now, about the hype surrounding Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Everyone raves about them, so when Mrs Kong went to Birmigham last week to meet a friend, her task was set out - to bring back a box of Krispy Kremes.

They did not last long of course.

for two people!!

And then we got more again on Saturday. I suppose we can confirm that they were good!

Great Brington

Mr Kong wanted a Sunday roast for lunch, so we made our way to the village of Great Brington, in Althorp, Northamptonshire.

For those who don't live in Northampton, Althorp is the ancestral home of the Spencer family, the late Princess Diana's family, since the 16th century. (To the Malaysian, this is probably the only significance of Althorp/Northampton!)

The village itself is beautiful, peaceful and its inhabitants extremely friendly.

We made our way to the local Fox & Hound, and found a delicious Sunday lunch menu.

Mr Kong had the Sunday roast.

And Mrs Kong had the vegetable lasagne.

The pub itself looked like most other English pubs, though its period features were quite well preserved.

It was clear that this was a local pub, where everyone knew each other - and it was clear that most people here were kind of posh (who would carry a mulberry handbag out for Sunday Lunch?) and of the hunting set. We received several curious glances of course, but more so friendly curiosity.

Mr Kong thought he spotted the late Princess Diana's aunt. Mrs Kong did not know she had an aunt. Hmmm, suspicious...

Of course, the surrounding countryside was beautiful, on this sunny winter's day.

2nd Anniversary Celebration - London

The second part of Mr & Mrs Kong's 2nd anniversary celebration was spent with KTKK in London.

We'd said we would visit KTKK for some time since his move to London so last weekend we finally did!

KTKK making Madeleines - out of the oven, into the mouth...

We went first to KTKK's flat near Old Street Tube station in Hackney to drop our things, rest & have some food. The area is a little run down (maybe it should be described as 'ripe for regeneration') but his flat is very cosy & spacious inside.

KTKK kindly made us some Madeleines to stave off our hunger.

Then it was off to Borough Market.

It was the 250th Anniversary celebration (coincidence?!) of the opening of Borough Market and there were people dressed in 18th century costumes among the crowd.

Musicians dressed in 18th century costume

Lovely autumn produce

Mr & Mrs Kong have mixed emotions about Borough Market. On the one hand it really is a fantastic place, full of history and interesting stalls of food & produce from all over the world.

On the other hand, the crowds are just ridiculous. There are masses of people crushed into a small space and queues everywhere for everything. It gets a little tiring after a while. If 3/4 of them disappeared, it would be a great place to visit.

Then it was back to KTKK's place to get ready for dinner.

Japanese food is calling...

For dinner, went to Edokko Restaurant near Holborn (as recommended by Mr Loke! - ok Mr Loke, happy now? Credit where its due... actually wasn't it your friend who recommended it...?)

2 years!

KTKK: "House of Flying Daggers gets all the details absolutely correct!"
Mr Kong: "But in its style over substance, its the death of narrative cinema!"
Mrs Kong: "Yawn! Boringgg..."

It was a superb, slap up Japanese meal. Very authentic (it wasn't run by Malaysians!) and all the food was excellent.

Edamame, Sashimi, fried tofu, tempura, sushi - we had it all! That was the first time Mr Kong can remember being full to bursting from eating Japanese food.

After dinner, we wandered over to a old pub called the Princess Louise

This pub has to be one of the best preserved and most attractive pubs in London.

Cheers!

KTKK with Sam Smith's Wheat Beer

Just another evening down the pub

Another fantastic anniversary celebration...

2nd Anniversary Celebration - Northampton

Mrs Kong before dinner date

Last week was Mr & Mrs Kong's 2nd wedding anniversary and we had a double celebration. Once on the actual day (17th October - get those cards & presents now!) in Northampton and again with KTKK in London.

We had a simple Italian dinner at a place called Papa Chino's in Northampton town centre. The decor was very cheap & cheerful but it served good hearty food that definitely filled us up. A nice place for some no frills Italian.

Somethings that made us both laugh was the way in which the kitchen let the waitresses know that an order had to be picked up. A bright orange light went on outside the door to the kitchen & because the dining area wasn't very large, it lit up the whole place. So you could always tell when someone's food was ready!

Midget & Giant playing at the Fish pub, Northampton

Fully concentrated on the music

After that, while walking home some folksy music drew Mr & Mrs Kong into a pub where a duo called Midget & Giant were playing. It really was one taaallll woman & a shooooort guy on guitars. They were good so stayed for a while.

All in all, a good evening - Happy Anniversay Mr & Mrs Kong!