boon's log 1010.07: Ballerina Girl, XianDingWei, HRC

HRC

Happy Birthday, IL. :) *Hugs*

We celebrated IL's birthday at HRC this year. And because she has a close friend's wedding dinner to attend, we had little choice but to settle for a small lunch-do celebration ad the HRC. IL said that it looked more like Ab's birthday, rather than IL's because it seems like Ab enjoyed it more than IL did... :) We had so much to eat that we had to box some of the food for later - which actually worked out pretty well, since I did not have any dinner plans (not wanting to get in the way of the all-girls-reunion thingy at the wedding)...


Back at the Hard Rock...


Food that can feed 5 (or 6)...

For the record, I really enjoyed the Smokehouse Menu - particularly the Ribs. The meat literally slides off the bones and it is very, very tender. Mouth-watering, really. They were out of beef brisket, which was my original choice - as part of my Duo Delight (or something like that), so i ended up with Beef Ribs and Chicken BBQ. IL and Ab shared the Mac and Cheese (with Chicken), which 1/4 of it eventually became my dinner (:)). Ab had a order of Hotdog with Fries for herself. All in all, a yummy treat for the entire family.

Oh and for Citibank Credit Cardholders, there's a 10% discount (if you do not have the All Access Card - which also gives you 10% discount at the HRC)

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Xian Ding Wei, Taiwanese Tea Room



NROTB - New Restaurant on the Block

On Saturday, we checked out Xian Ding Wei - the latest addition to Queensbay Mall's list of restaurants. It turned out to be a rather pleasant visit. And we think that finally, Dragon-I may have a competitor. We ordered the San-Bei Chicken Set, the Sweet Roasted Chicken Set and a DanDan Noodles for sides. A quick word of advise, skip the DanDan noodles if you can. If you really cannot, go ahead order it, but you may find that you will need to add the chili oil to spice it up a little. Apart from that The set meals are delicious. And to wash it all down, do try their Pearl Milk Tea.


San-Bei Chicken Set


Collages of Taiwan


Taiwan's famous Pearl Milk Tea

The service was pretty good - there was one time when the waitress brought a glass of warm water to our table and we just told her that we did not order it and she brought it back. After that 2 other waitresses came over and apologized, and then came one of the "captains" (identified by different costumes) also came and apologized. And the speed of the food was also quite impressive - food was served under 15minutes.

The only thing was that the price may be a little on the steep side for a rather normal/typical Joo-Char meal, but not to extravagant, I believe.

So, the verdict...

3.5/5 for the taste (judged down by the bland-taste DanDan Noodle)
4/5 for speed and service
3/5 for value for money.

Would I go back there again? Sure...

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Ballerina Girl

Earlier in the week, we took Ab to one of the Ballet classes near our place - since she enjoyed dancing so much - influenced by the many Disney Princesses she's been watching, no doubt(!). She enjoyed herself, and due to her age (0.5years short of the youngest kid in her class), the teacher asked her to return this week for another trial as she needs a little bit more time assess if she is able to cope with the rest of the class. What's encouraging was that the teacher commended on her "flexibility". It was really fun to see her enjoying herself dancing and doing all the ballet moves and stretches... :)


Our little ballerina girl in the making...

boon out...

boon's log 5209.03: Dark Knight at Queens

We're taking over the fulltime babysitting job for the week because our babysitter's (a.k.a. Aunt) taking in all the Sun at Bali. :)

Today, we promised Ab that we'd bring her to see Batman at Queensbay. The Dark Knight is Queensbay Mall's Christmas theme this year. At first we were wondering what's all the hype about - with all the Batman and Joker posters all over the mall. IL was even asking if there was a new Batman movie in town.

Anyway, as part of the whole Batman theme/promo, there is also a stage show that that runs at the center court of the mall. That was what we promised Ab, that we'll bring her. The entire show was quite impressive - with the costumes, choreography and all - if only it was a little bit longer...

here are some photos...


Ab enjoying the Batman show... you can see that she is quite excited - her left hand stayed like that for at least 5 minutes


Batman-Joker in action...


"I'm not a hero..."

I was telling IL that they could also make it a little more interactive, with Batman or the Joker make surprise visits / walks in the mall and take pictures with the folks - just like in the themeparks. I'm sure people would like to have their pictures taken with them. :)

boon out...

boon's log 3609.01: Independence Day

Malaysian's 52nd Independence

Well, it's our 52nd year of Independence.

Independence... do we really understand or have really tasted the true meaning of it? A lot of the talk about democracy and racial harmony seemed to be just surface level chit-chat. But the true meaning of Independence has been diluted and muddled out through the years. No matter what, in all sincerity, putting aside out differences and our political affiliations, I hope that we can find within ourselves the true meaning of Independence and celebrate it with our heads held high, with the words of our "fore-fathers", "Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!"


Our future generation...


Our small little celebration with Ab at Queensbay Mall...

boon out...

boon's log 2009.07: Foodie Sunday: breakie with the dragon

This is one of the rare weekends when the grandparents are in town, but we did not get to have breakfast with them - they were busy with toilet repair in their condo. So, the 3 of us had to head out for breakfast on our own.


Dragon-i's Lai Mian

Ab initially wanted McD (again!), but IL insisted that she's been having too much of it already and should take a break from it this weekend - CL bought her McD on Tuesday, I think. Anyways, second in her list was Noodles (like that in Kungfu Panda). And her mom also promised her ice cream. So we decided to head down to Queensbay Mall - all under one roof.


Dragon-i's Xiao Loong Bao

She loves the Shanghai Dumpling (Siao Loong Bao) and the Noodles (Lai Mian). And she realy packed them in. Everyone seemed to have the question - "Where did all the food go?!" Not too very long ago, I've the same phrase used before too ;) Like father, like daughter, I guess! ;)


The kitchen used to be very busy, but rather empty and not so much activities...

dragon-i's typically loaded with people - we tried getting a place during Mother's Day last week, and there was a queue just to get your name registered in their book (!!!). But this morning was a totally different story - we just waltz in freely. and there was no line and ample tables - we can even take our pick which table we wanted. And food was speedy enough.


Ab's short wait for her Xiao Loong Bao - seen here with her pony tail :)


It took them less than 7 minutes (really!) to get the first bowl of Lai Mian on our table. Then came the Xiao Loong Baos. So, if you really want stress-free Dragon-I visits, try it at 11:30AM. This was truly my best dragon-i experience so far.


the "terra cotas" guarding the "dragon"

After that, we shopped for a little bit before heading down for NZ Ice cream... and then headed home for a some R&R... relaxing Sunday, indeed.

Oh, and unlike Rafa - as what they always say, "May the best team win." Indeed, the best team has claimed the EPL title this year. Kudos to the Red Devils. But I have to agree the Reds have really done well this year. Good season, indeed, but could have been better. :)

boon out...