Yet another Malaysian eatery

We went to Camberwell Market on Sunday, then started thinking about where to go for lunch. Sam mentioned that there was a Malaysian place nearby, so off we went! Okra has been there for many years now, but it was my first time. Pretty decent environment, but what about the food? Babes had the Sar Hor Fun, while I had the Char Kuay Teow. All in all, rather average lah. I got told off by Babes for ordering such a 'challenging' dish like Char Kuay Teow, but what better way of judging a restaurant then by choosing what to me is a Malaysian benchmark? If it's any consolation, dessert was pretty good, the Okra specialty being an ice kacang-like concoction. It's not somewhere I'd make much of an effort to get to, but if we were ever in the area, who knows. Maybe we could order less 'challenging' dishes, like nasi lemak or something...

Glory glory Man United

I know we've lost the first three matches of the season, I know we've scored just one goal in that time, I know there've been injuries and suspensions, I know we're already five points behind Chelsea, I know there'll be people who will rub it in (yes you, Joe) ... but that's OK. I'm still looking forward to the rest of the season, including late-night Champions League matches when I'll be up feeding my darling baby daughter anyway while my lovely wife gets some much-needed sleep. So hang in there boys, there are millions and millions of fans around the world who are still up for it.

Babes graduates!

One year after Babes started her yoga teachers' training course, I finally got to see her classroom. The graduation ceremony took place last Sunday afternoon, and there we were consuming champagne and hors d'oeuvres while assuming various yoga positions like the warrior and the lotus. Okay, maybe not the yoga positions. Anyway, here are Babes, Nadia and Jannin posing with their hard-earned advanced diplomas. Well done, lovely ladies!

A blast from the past

Bubs and Babes went on a good ol' fashioned date last Friday, with dinner followed by a movie. Dinner was at J Cafe, a simple Japanese place in the city. I've been trying to empathise with Babes and refrain from sashimi, but she was gracious enough to tell me not to bother. Thanks babes, it was yummy! And so was her tonkatsu. Not a bad option for a relatively economical meal.
Did we watch a sensitive, romantic and provocative arthouse film? Nope, we went for the all-action, hard-rocking Die Hard 4.0! I used to love the old John McClane movies, so I was really looking forward to his return. And was it worth the hype? Sure was! Far-fetched at times, but c'mon, it's Hollywood. Two thumbs up! Image reproduced from www.collider.com. In Namewee's words, "please don't sue me, saya takde duit..." But that's a whole different story altogether, which we won't get into here. I haven't made any political statements on this blog, and I don't intend to start now.

Zorbie's a Girl!

Bubs and Babes went for the 19-week ultrasound this morning, and as far as Dr Andrew Ngu can see, Zorbie's progressing well. Then he asked us whether we wanted to know the gender, and of course we did! How else can Babes shop for Zorbie's clothes? Not that not knowing has stopped her thus far, we already got two PureBaby (babies' clothing made of organic fabrics) girls' outfits last week. And sure enough, those outfits will come in handy!
We've also observed that Zorbie's a bit of an acrobat, turning this way and that in the short period of time we watched her on the ultrasound. She's gonna be a sporty lass!

Yummy Beef Noodles

Sam and Becks have spoken highly of the Thai Beef Noodles at a place called Krua Thai 2 on Bridge Road, so off we went. There it was on the menu, for a paltry (by Australian standards anyway!) $4. Wah, so cheap! All became clear about ten minutes later when the waitress brought a tiny, tiny bowl of said beef noodles. It WAS delicious indeed, but for future reference, we'll need AT LEAST two bowls each! Highly recommended, think we'll go back there this weekend.

Adventures in New Zealand?

We recently watched a doco which featured New Zealand as THE destination for adventure seekers, with bungy-jumping, zorbing, jetboating, skydiving and more. Ironically enough, rather than being an adventure destination, it's more than likely that New Zealand was the SOURCE of what is about to be our greatest adventure so far; our Auckland-conceived baby! Although I must say that Zorbie wasn't necessarily conceived in NZ (could've been Thornbury lah) but it is a distinct possibility.
What else is intriguing is that the one adventurous activity on our itinerary (a few days after Auckland) was the Tongariro Crossing, which we didn't end up doing. Why? Because Babes woke up very early that morning feeling nauseous. Probably a bit early for morning sickness, but it could've been God's way of telling us not to do the full-day walk and risk hurting a freshly-conceived Zorbie...

Cravings

When we were in Auckland, Sue had constant cravings for Malaysian food, so that's what we had most of the time. Which was pretty good for good ol' Malaysian me. So now that it's MY wife that's pregnant, what kind of cravings does she get? Not char kuay teow, not chicken rice, not laksa... but salads/vegetarian food and other really healthy meals. Alamak, how lah? What to do, eat loh.

A qualified yoga instructor in the family!

Guess who obtained a High Distinction in her final Yoga Instructor's theory exam? That's right, the amazing Babes! After a year of coursework and many, many training classes, she's now a full-fledged yoga instructor. Well done darling wifey, I'm very proud of you. Unfortunately she declined to be photographed in a warrior pose for this blog. But you can be sure the fundamentals are correct...

Baby superstore!

Babes and I went to Baby Bunting in East Bentleigh with her cousin's wife Sue, and boy was it an amazing experience! I wanted to look at strollers, and it was like walking into a car showroom with loads of sleek-looking sportscars. Of course we test-drove a couple of strollers. And then there were clothes... and baby monitors... and playmats... and cots... and breast pumps... and thousands upon thousands of other assorted baby-related goods. So THAT's why they call it the Baby Bunting Superstore! It's early days yet, so we didn't buy very much. But we'll be back!

A busy Saturday

Now that Babes has finished her yoga course, we're finally able to spend a Saturday together. Well, part of it anyway! We had a leisurely brunch at APTE in Alphington (somewhere we've been meaning to go for a while), and it was pretty good! Babes had mushrooms and sausages on toast, while I had smoked salmon on a corn fritter. Yummy! Then we drove to Clifton Hill to have a quick look at some water features (as we're thinking of building a deck in our small courtyard).

Babes later dropped me off at the MCG to meet Simon Antonis (my workmate) and his dad for the Collingwood vs Geelong game, first versus third in the ladder. Good fun, except for 70ish-year-old Gramps behind us cursing and swearing 20 times a minute over anything and everything, even with a young grandson sitting next to him. The only time he showed any restraint was when he yelled, "C'mon, you black ..." before stopping and realising that that would have probably been a step too far, even for him. What's even more scary is that we were sitting in the MCC Members section, which is (supposedly) more civilised. What would it be like in the regular sections? Anyway, after the game I walked to meet Babes and others at Sam and Becks' house for an awesome dinner of Sarawak Laksa and Bak Kut Teh. All in all, an excellent day! (photos reproduced from The Age)

Restaurant-standard wonton

We had dinner at a place called Wonton House on Friday night, and of course I had the wonton noodles. I grew up on that stuff, after all, back in the days when the "tok tok man" used to cycle around our Ipoh neighborhood hitting two sticks together to attract our attention. Anyway, I quite liked the Wonton House dumplings but Babes thought she could do better. And whaddyaknow, she did pretty well, as you can see! It tastes as good as it looks...

15 weeks!

Bubs, Babes and Zorbie went for another appointment with our obstetrician yesterday. We heard Zorbie's (very fast!) heartbeat, and saw her vigorously waving her arms and legs at us. No baby photo this time, we'll wait for the next high quality image from the next ultrasound which will be in 4 weeks time. By then we should be able to tell whether Zorbie's a boy or girl. Meanwhile, the search for a pram/stroller has begun, beginning with research and reviews... and Babes seems to have regained (most of her) appetite!

Kuey Teow Pad Thai

Here's Babes' latest effort, a Thai favourite that she learned to cook about five years ago at a cooking class in Chiang Mai. It was good when she made it then, and it's just as good now. I should've run out to get prawns (always good with Pad Thai), but never mind, next time lah...

A cosy Friday dinner

We've just come home from dinner at Denn in Northcote. Babes and I shared a seafood paella and pizza capricciosa, and were pretty full by then. But of course we couldn't resist dessert after sitting around a wee bit longer, so finished off with sticky date pudding and vanilla ice cream. All in all a pretty good meal, with the deal sweetened by the 25% discount from the Entertainment Book voucher. Not a bad start to the weekend!

Jamie Oliver's Fish Pie

Tonight's dinner was a delicious fish pie. Although I shouldn't really say "was", as Babes has just started eating Round Two, one and a half hours after Round One. She IS eating for two, after all. And even as we speak, she's contemplating Round Three! Can't say I blame her, it's very good... guess what I'm bringing to work for lunch tomorrow!

Hello, Zorbie!

Here's a still from Babes' latest ultrasound, showing our little Zorbie. Can't really see what she's doing at the time, presumably working on her hand-eye coordination before I start training her for Wimbledon. Now I'm not assuming it's a girl, it's just that I can't keep saying "he/she/it" or "him/her". It'll be another few weeks before we'll know for sure.
Anyway, if anyone's interested, we bought the DVD of the ultrasound, a ten-minute epic production that's a sure-fire bet for this year's Ultrasound Oscars!

Two pink lines

We've told many of our friends and loved ones, and we're really sorry if we haven't gotten around to telling the rest of you... Babes has a bun in the oven! She is thirteen-and-a-half weeks pregnant as we speak, and no, we're not expecting twins, after careful scrutiny of a couple of ultrasounds. The foetus has been named Zorbie as he/she/it was scanned merrily splashing around in fluids, as if inside one of those Zorbs - inflatable balls - that we saw rolling down the hill in Rotorua, New Zealand.
We're expecting a Christmas baby, although Babes hopes baby will come slightly later so she can enjoy all the Christmas goodies! Meanwhile, contributions to the Wong Jr Education Fund will soon be welcome...

The kind of food I take to work for lunch

Lucky me usually gets rather yummy lunches from home, prepared lovingly by my dearest Babes. I'm the envy of the agency at about 12.30pm, and workmates often come to inspect what I've brought that day. Here's a pasta bolognese, for example, and what a majestic bolognese it was!

Roti Canai for Dummies

We recently discovered this amazing frozen roti canai (for you Singaporeans, that's roti prata), available at the Indian grocery store across the street. Just the other day we brought it to someone's place for lunch, and now they're hooked too... it used to be in packs of 20, now they seem to be only in 30s! Not that that's any problem, of course. It's about the most authentic roti I've had outside Malaysia and Singapore, and all you need to do is pop it on a pan for a minute or two and Robert's your aunty's husband.