My Two Girls – All About Zara and Zaria

The competition ended last Friday for Ben Coes’ The Last Refuge published on my site here.

A winner has been picked by random picker, and she’s K-Ping.

K-Ping will received a copy of a SIGNED FIRST EDITION COPY of THE LAST REFUGE.

Photo credit : Bencoes.com

Congratulations! K-Ping. Lucky her. Hope she likes the book.

The winner is picked by Random Picker.

When the girls play with the Barbie Flower N Flutter Fairy, they like having little conversation, sometimes with the other, sometimes with me, and sometimes with themselves.

Zaria : “It’s my turn jie, to decorate the wings.”

Zaria : “Qing! Qing!” (casting spells)

Zara : “You missed a spot here!”
Zaria : “Oh.. there.. fixed it”

Zara : “My turn now Zaria.”

Zara : “Let me put on your tiara for you… Viola!”

Zara : “Maa, I like decorating the wings the same on both sides”
Me : “It’s called mirror image. What you see on the left, is the same as what you see on the right.
Zara : “That’s right!”

Me : Do you like this Barbie?
Zaria : “Oh Yes. I like this Barbie more (compared to the others she has). Because the other barbies can only just change clothes. This barbie can tie hair, can design the wings, can change shoes, can remove the crown.

Zaria : “Is this the magic wand?”
Me : Ya. It’s meant to be the magic wand.
Zaria : “How come it’s so fat? But I like the design on it.”

Zaria : “I’m now putting spells in the wand”

Zaria : “After this, it’ll look pretty and can fly!”

Watch out for this space as there’ll be a Giveaway competition later this month for you to win one of this.

To train the girls to clean up their plates during meal times, like all Chinese, I tell them that leaving rice grains or pieces of meat behind will make their husbands/boyfriends have scars, pimples, pork mark on their faces.

Every time when I say this to Zaria, she’ll reply, “But I’m not getting married.”
And I’ll ask, “What if your boy friend got it then?”
She’ll reply, “I’m not going to have a boy friend too. Remember, I told you I don’t want to get married and I don’t want to have boy friend?”

So this becomes our standard meal time conversation.

Then one day, Zara watched Justin Bieber’s Boyfriend on Youtube, and Zaria joined in.

That night, the dinner conversation changed. It started with the same thing with me telling her to clean her plate or her husband or boy friend will be porky face. Then the below conversation took place :
Zaria : But I’m not getting married, and I’m not having a boy friend, remember?
But she still cleaned her plate, and added : What if my boy friend or husband is Justin Bieber?”
Me : o.O”
Zaria : (giggled) Yah… hee hee hee.. He’s blonde and he’s so handsome.
Me : o.O” So, actually you want to have boy friend and you want to get married. But you want your husband or boy friend to be a handsome blonde?
Zaria : (giggled) Yah… hee hee hee.. And you know.. even in Harry Potter show, I like Malfoy.
Me : (just to tease her) Oh, What about Dumbledore?
Zaria : Dumbledore is not blonde, he’s grey! (so smart this one)
Me : Ohh….
Zaria : Actually I like blonde. And I also like Australian. You know like the men in High5 shows? They have light brown hair, and handsome.
Me : Ohh….

o.O” So she likes kwai-lou or kwai-zai larrrrr…

(and she just told me, “Justin Bieber sounds like somebody is pinching his hand when he sings Boyfriend right, mummy?”) o.O”

Got this sent to us a week back by Mattel, a beautiful Barbie Flower N Flutter Fairy.

The girls were so happy, they quickly ripped the box apart to check out what came with it.

Here is what they got with the Barbie Flower N Flutter Fairy.

The doll itself with a pair of wings (non-removable once attached).
Tiara, shoes and skirts are removable.

8 finger nail size flowers.

The flowers come with velcro at the back.

A ‘Wand’ that can be used to ‘sprinkle’ the flowers on to the wings.

Abracadabra….Wings now..

Alaka-zam! Wings decorated with ‘flowers’.

Neat one.

Watch out for this space as there’ll be a Giveaway competition later this month for you to win one of this.

I agreed to review this book when I was approached just because I like books; not knowing if a political thriller like this will be something I will enjoy (I normally read non-fiction from Chinese writers).

I’m so happy I did!

The plot.

Dewey Andreas, a former SEAL and Delta, who owes his life to Kohl Meir, Israeli Special Forces commander has to face his biggest challenge.

When Kohl was kidnapped by the Iranian Secret service, who then smuggled him back to Iran where he’s jailed, tortured and then prepared for a show trial; Dewey now has to attempt the impossible – to rescue Kohl from one of the world’s most secure prison before he’s executed and to find and remove Iran’s nuclear bomb before it’s deployed. All without the help of Israel nor America.

Ben Coes’ articulate writing enables me to be transported into the various scene, quickly easing into the plot.

An absorbing story, full of action and suspense with vivid details, I find myself not able to put it down. An absolutely good read. Normally a slow reader, I finished the book in less than 4 days.

The only thing is I cannot read this out loud like I do with other books, as most of the details are not suitable for the ears of Zara, who loves listening to me reading my books aloud.

This book will be released in US this week, and probably will take a while before it reaches our book shop.

The good news is :

Ben Coes has generously offered a SIGNED FIRST EDITION COPY of THE LAST REFUGE to giveaway to one My Two Girls Reader!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment with your email address (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be considered) and tell me you are interested.

Giveaway is open to Malaysia and Overseas readers. This will start on July 3rd and will run until July 15th 2012.

At the end of 15th July 2012, I will choose the winner, completely at random, and then announce here. The book will then be sent to the lucky winner directly from www.bencoes.com.

(PS : I’m so going to shop for his 2 earlier books, also political thrillers, Power Down and Coup d’Etat. Will be checking if they are available in our bookshops.)

♥June 5th♥
After leaving Penang, we continued our journey to Cameron Highlands using the Simpang Pulai way.

We arrived Cameron Highlands in the evening, and welcomed the cool weather.

We stopped at the first place that offered strawberry plucking. For RM20, we get half a punnet to fill up which is equivalent to 0.5Kg.

Zaria being helped by a worker to reach the nicer strawberries on the higher racks.

Each flower of the strawberry plant will turn into a strawberry.

Heading down to Tanah Ratah where our hotel, Hotel De La Fern, was located, we got stuck in the Brinchang jam which was caused by the night market (If you use the Simpang Pulai Way, you’ll reach Kampung Raja, then Brinchang, then Tanah Ratah). Don’t get fooled by the Hotel website, there’s nothing luxurious about it. It’s by the main road next to a busy steamboat restaurant.

Dinner was at Rosedale Bistro, Tanah Rata. Girls didn’t want any noodles or rice, so they have scones and strawberry ice cream for dinner.

We had an early night as we knew the next day will be a long day.

♥June 6th♥
12am, when the restaurant next door closed up, the staff started chatting away. This plus the clattering of dishes, the cars revving up the slope next to the hotel, made Daddy & I have difficulty falling asleep.

Our quad room is comfy, but I don’t think it’s worth the rate we paid for. With the noise pollution we got, not a place we’ll stay again.

We checked out soon after breakfast, and headed to Boh Sungai Palas Tea Plantation. As we neared the plantation, vege greenhouses were replaced with slopes of tea plants in different shades of green. It’s a very calming and lovely sight.

We drove, got out of the car, walked a bit, explored a bit, went back into the car, drove some more, and repeated the process many times.

At the workers’ quarters, girls played with the dog and cats there.

Workers who were home were quite friendly. This handsome man allowed us to take his photo.

We also spotted this.

A real ‘rooftop’ garden in one of quarters.

Near the quarters, is the Boh Sungai Palas Tea Centre.

Love the floor to ceiling windows in the cafe.

Tea served was good, scones was ok, but the the beautiful sights surrounding was the reason people came.

The factory itself has nothing much to see, but I think this is one place that must be visited when in Cameron Highlands.

Next on our agenda was mossy forest, which is near Sungai Palas. As a bonus, when we were driving there, we saw workers picking/cutting tea leaves up close.

Their supervisor, a veteran, watching over all these workers.

Me watching over the girls messing about.

As the road got narrower, the slopes too become more jagged.

Finally, we arrived the mossy forest; where fog was thick, and visibility lower. It got very cold too.

We tried going into one of the trails, but 5mins into it, we turned back out. We were not properly attired and the girls were complaining the ground too soggy to walk on.

So we walked along the tar road, and yet, it was still interesting.

For the girls, it’s another play time.

Before heading back to KL, we did some shopping at Brinchang. The ‘night’ market started trading at 3pm+.

Girls… went searching for things to buy for their friends and teachers.

See how the car boot is filled up with all the shopping from Cameron Highlands and Penang?

We had this conversation the other day when Zaria asked me how old I was.
Zaria : How old are you mummy?
Me : Me? 15.
Zaria : (suspicious) The number is so little.
Me : Ya. Because I’m not that old really.
Zaria : (a little convinced) Oh…
….. then she thought for a while.
Zaria : (a bit worried) So when you are 18, you are going to leave us and go to college?
Zara : Mommy is just pulling your legs. How can she be so young!
Awww.. when they are older, they become less gullible.

Over dinner on Sunday.
Zaria : I don’t like fried bee hoon. BUEK.. so horrible… BUEK.(always exaggerating)
Me : If you don’t like fried bee hoon, you can have a dumpling. Your choice.
Zaria : I don’t like dumpling too! I don’t want to eat dinner. I want to drink milo.
Me : (not giving in) If you don’t finish your beehoon, nobody is allowed to make you milo or give you milk, and you cannot have any snacks after that. Anybody give you snacks or make you a drink, I’m going to cane that person! And if you got so hungry in the night and start shivering, I won’t give you anything to eat as well, you’ll have to wait till tomorrow breakfast! So your choice. Eat your dinner or go hungry for the rest of the day.
Zaria : (started eating reluctantly) Next time if I was (were) a mummy, I’m going to let my children eat anything they want. I won’t say (change her voice to higher pitch) YOU MUST EAT THIS… YOU MUST EAT THAT…..
So lets see what she will do next time when she becomes a mom.
And she did ‘force’ herself to finish her dinner and then went on and had all the other snacks she wanted.

When I was at the supermarket the other day about to pick up a pack of GUMP (Growing up Milk) for the girls, I was approached by a children’s milk powder promoter who told me about a recent study done on GUMPs.

What she told me further confirmed what I read in the May issue of Health Today Magazine.

When one brand launched their ‘no added sugars’ GUMP (Growing up milk) early last year, many other brands started making similar claims. These GUMPs promoted that their brand has no added sugars, no sucrose, less sweet . These claims can be misleading because they focus on one type of added sugar (such as sucrose), but ignore others (like glucose syrup solids, corn syrup solids, dextrin, maltodextrin etc).

There’s a recent independent study by the University of Sydney which look at the Glycemic Load (GL) of GUMPs in Malaysia. The research looks at the sugar level changes in the bloodstream of a child after drinking a glass of GUMP.

You can read more about GL and its effect on GUMPs from The scoop on GUMPs by Emma Stirling, but in summary

– High GL means a lot of sugars added, which causes a blood sugar spike
– Low GL means no or low added sugars, which is healthier

If you make a few google searches, you’ll see that international experts agree that children, should avoid too much high GL food and drinks as this increases the risk of chronic diseases. See here and here

So what did the research from University of Sydney show?

The below bar graph is produced based on the research results.

You can read more about the research finding from 7 GUMPs GI and GL results by Jennie Brand-Miller; or

Page 719 of Australian Medical Journal published last December.

This research has found that only one GUMP has a low GL (which is close to regular milk), other leading brands have significantly higher GL levels, indicating the sugar added; this has provided independent proof that only this GUMP in Malaysia really has no added sugar, because only one growing up milk has a low GL.

So what is the real ‘no added sugars’ brand? It was Anmum Essential. It had a GL of 2.6, very similar to regular milk, because there’s really ‘no added sugars’. This is low GL, which is good and healthy.

No other GUMP tested in this independent research had a low GL, this is the proof that only one GUMP contains absolutely ‘no added sugar’.

Even though other brand of GUMP claimed they have no sucrose added, or they have reduced sugar, the high GL that’s indicated in the survey shows that these GUMPs have high sugar added (which comes in other form other than sucrose, such as glucose syrup solids, corn syrup solids etc). You can validate this finding of added sugar found in other GUMPs by checking the nutrition information panel of the GUMPs.

Not all growing up milks are equal, do make informed choices on the next one you purchased.

Continue from here.

♥June 4th♥

We spent the whole day in Georgetown, just eating, drinking, taking photos. I have to say the girls are really great travel companion. In the hot sun, they just followed us, as long as there’s occasional cold drinks and ice cream treat.

If it wasn’t for the sun and heat, we would have walked out noon time. It’s crazy actually to drive in Georgetown, the traffic was so bad, and it’s so difficult to get a parking lot, and even when you get one, there’s still some walking to do. By the time we got a spot to park, it was almost 2pm.

Lunch was at Shing Kheang Aun Restaurant. A restaurant that serves homestyle Hainanese and Nonya cooking.

Asam Prawn – What I like is you can order in the quantity you want, 1, 2, 4, 6, any number.

Gulai Pomfret (I didn’t drink up the sauce, so… it’s ok)

Stir Fry Tofu with Leeks (I want to cook this at home next time)

Chicken Chop. This was ordered for the girls, but they didn’t like it, so they skipped lunch. (Thank goodness for the hearty hotel breakfast).

(Shing Kheang Aun Restaurant is located at 2, Chulia Lane, 10200 Penang, Malaysia)

We spotted the Rainforest Bakery & Pastry which Daddy has read about. (This bakery is opened by twin brothers, and they supply their bread to a lot of the hotels in Penang. So he read.)

As breakfast was provided by the hotel, we didn’t get any bread but got cakes and biscuit instead. I’m quite a fussy person when it comes to bake goods, and I have to say, they make really good cakes and biscuit (the trail mix biscuit).

(Rainforest Bakery and Pastry is located at 300 Lebuh Chulia, 10200 Penang, Malaysia)

When the girls felt hungry, we went into the air-conditioned Yeng Keng Cafe & Bar run by Yeng Keng Hotel.

“Hmmmm…. aircon…” said the boss.

Love the air well, although sealed up, brought in natural light.

And the retro red velvet seats.

(Yeng Keng Hotel is located at 362 Lebuh Chulia, 10200 Penang, Malaysia)

At my insistent, we went to have the Siam Road Char Kuay Teow. An early dinner.

The wait for a plate of Char Kuay Teow here on average is 45mins. After finishing her drink, Zaria became bored.

But, they found some games to play to entertained themselves (no need for gadgets).

Our wait was 40mins this time. As usual, the Char Kuay Teow was delicious, although the plate that the girls have which was without chili didn’t taste as nice.

We then parked the car at the hotel, and went out for a walk in the evening when it was cooler.

Fading mural.

Teowchew Temple.

Everything can be turned into something interesting for the girls. Here, they were competing who can balance on these road decos the longest.

Seeing a man stringing jasmine flowers near the Kuan Yin Temple.

The man decided to give them each a string of jasmine.

The girls watching people praying in the Kuan Yin Temple; and they decided the flowers are nicer on the hair.

The Teowchew Temple lit up at dusk.

And then, while we wanted to look for some snacks to eat. We saw this.

Can you guess what it is?

See this…
One of the restaurant in Little India has this little stall set up outside, grilling chapatis. We always get our chapatis cooked on a flat pan, grilled over charcoal? This is my first time trying it. Very delicious indeed.

And then, we saw this new luxurious boutique hotel, Chong Tian Lou. A night there is ~RM1000. o.O”

Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped at Sri Malaya Heritage Restaurant for a drink.
Love all these little cafes scattered around Georgetown housed in restored pre-war shop lot.

♥June 5th♥
Time to say good bye once again to our lovely and comfy room.

Before we left Penang, we had to accomplish one of the missions we came to Penang for – To stock up on my favourite soy sauce from Kwong Heng Loong （廣興隆醬園醬油） in Pulau Tikus. After started taking this soy sauce in 2010, no other soy sauce will do for me. Their tauchu (bean paste) is also one of the best.

You can either buy the soy sauce in prepacked bottles.

Or bring your own bottle to be filled up.

(Kwong Heng Loong Soy Sauce 廣興隆醬園醬油 can be bought from their shop located just outside the Pulau Tikus market. Address : 7A, Jalan Pasar Pulau Tikus, Penang, Malaysia)

We asked the shop if they have any recommendation of hawker food nearby, and they asked us to go Kedai Kopi Sin Hwa (Apparently, the Char Kuay Teow there won 2nd place for best Char Kuay Teow in Penang in 2011 or 2010).

I didn’t have Char Kuay Teow but instead have a bowl of Asam Laksa. I’m no fan of Asam Laksa, but this was goooooood.

And the Char Kuay Teow too was delicious. I guess next time when we come back to Penang, we’ll be eating here instead of Siam Road.

(Kedai Kopi Sin Hwa is located at 329 Jalan Burma, 10350 Penang, Malaysia. Which is opposite the Pulau Tikus Police Station)

And then, it’s then time to leave Penang.

After exploring all the different holiday options, instead of going somewhere else, we decided to make our annual trip to Penang during the June holidays to keep our tradition of visiting St Anne’s church yearly alive.

♥June 2nd♥

We slowly crawled our way up North due to the heavy traffic, reaching St Anne’s, which is located in Bukit Mertajam, in the evening.

The church closes at 7pm, so we were asked to leave not long after we arrived. We decided to have dinner at Northern Coastal Seafood Restaurant in Butterworth (1, Pantai Bersih, Bagan Ajam , 12000 Butterworth, Penang).

Recommended by a colleague, promising great view of Penang Island, and fresh seafood, we were not disappointed.

(no photos of food, but the stingray in Nonya sauce is our favourite)

Girls loved the coastal wind and the view.

♥June 3rd♥
Girls were looking forward to the buffet spread at the hotel. It was one of the things they love about staying in Traders Hotel. 3 years in a row, we’d been staying here. The place is still well maintained and the service is tip top.

What I like best about Traders Hotel is its location. Soon after breakfast, we walked out to the Chowrasta market along Jalan Kuala Kangsar.

I would have tried a plate of Java Mee, if I wasn’t full. The noodle is fried with the sauce, instead of the KL type of just blanching the noodle then pour sauce over.

The Java Mee stall owner prepared a plate of Java Mee for his daughter, to share with her sister.

We saw a big crowd at the famous Penang Road Cendol stall. We’d never tried it before, so I queued for a bowl too.

And I don’t know what the fuss is all about. I shared a bowl with Daddy and we didn’t even finish it.

For lunch, girls insisted we go to Nonya Breeze (50, Lorong Abu Siti, 10400 George Town, Penang). We’d been eating at this restaurant on every of our visit, but never took photos of the food. This time, I we did.

I don’t think we can find this vege in KL, but it’s call kuaci cai on the menu. Fibrous and sweet leaves.

Asam Pedas Fish; I almost drank all the soup!

Zara likes this fried oyster mushroom.

Girls favourite, Inchi Kabin. Even on the journey, they already mentioned they wanted to eat this fried chicken in Nonya Breeze.

As usual, Nonya Breeze never disappoints. It was a good lunch.

We then took the long drive to Batu Ferringgi. As guests staying in Traders Hotel, we can make use of the Golden Sand Resort facilities, so we spent the rest of the day at the pool and beach there.

I wanted one of the girls to go with me on a parasail, but they both didn’t want. So, maybe next time.

Zaria is more of a beach person. Zara just wanted to go back to the pool.