Snowman

Bento No. 155

Christmas is coming! I made a snowman onigiri wearing a party hat and a red scarf.  In the bento, my son has steamed egg with minced meat, blanched carrot/broccolli and dragonfruit. 

I have a great time with my partner celebrating my birthday yesterady :)  We went for a movie, "The Adventure of Tin Tin" at Great World City and ate Skinny pizza.  We have not really been in cinema only just the two of us.  I felt good to spend some couple time together.  I also baked some chocolate cupcake and had my boy sang a birthday song for me ;)  It was a wonderful day!

Doggie & sushi

Bento No. 153

Bento No. 154

Yesterday, I made a doggie out of cheese and place it on the spaghetti.  Unfortunately, my son did not eat his lunch but he finished all the fruits.  When I opened the lunchbox, I discovered the cheese was sticked on the lid of the cover.  Back home, he kept asking for food knowing Grandma has bought some char siu bao for him.  I told him he has to eat at least half of the spaghetti before he can have his bao.  Well, he did so.  Gosh, I cannot believe he can stomach so much food at one go. 

The spaghetti is infused with garlic oil and I packed his favourite tomato sauce (which was the leftover previously and it was kept in the freezer for use) on a separate container.  And he passed gas all the times yesterday.  Is it the effect of garlic oil or the tomato sauce?

Today,  it is baked salmon sushi and his usual side dishes! The addition of red strawberries made the bento look so tempting and colourful.  Put a few of his favourite safari animals foodpicks for cuteness.

Last week, I requested my Mom to post a letter to my son for fun.  It was a silly idea but my boy would ask whether he got any letter every time, I opened our letterbox.  Well, he was so thrilled and surprised (from his expression) that he actually got a mail.  Not an electronic one but via the conventional method.  Inside the envelope, there were a bookmark from NLB, a doremon sticker and a cartoon printout by his cousin, Dexter.

Pinwheel

Bento No. 152

Does it look like pinwheel or flower to you?  It is made of crabstick and blueberry. The rest of his lunch consists of tuna mayo sushi, edamame and kiwi.

My boy has a wonderful time with his cousins from Penang.  It is fun watching three kids aged seven, five and three years playing together.  On the other hand, it can get quite rowdy when they are out of control. I just cannot imagine how the parents cope in the old days where they have six or more children.  When the kids are in bed, we finally has some peace and sat down comfortably to relax.  One topic we discussed is hyperactive child.  My son is also super-active.  That is why I am very particular with what I fed him because the type of diet would affect his behaviour according to experts.  I would love him to take all the natural food but occasionally, I will allow processed food.  But caffeine/soda drinks are absolutely prohibited for him now.  The main reason is my boy always fights with me over his bedtime.  This also explained why I constantly looked out for labels with preservative, colourings, sugars level, sodium and etc.

Below are some excerpts from http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/807819/calming-foods-for-hyperactive-kids.
“Food additives and colors plus artificial sweeteners make the nervous system overactive. That's in addition to what too much sugar can do,” explains Dr. Jennifer Greenfield, Center for Chiropractic Wellness.

“Foods that have calcium and magnesium, like vegetables, nuts and seeds, can be calming,” adds Greenfield.

In any case, it was a good discussion where we shared our thoughts and parenting skills.  And the best?  We have a great time together! :)

Tractor

Bento No. 151

The tractor is made of cheddar cheese, honey baked ham, cucumber, oatmeal bread and nori. Well, my son's preference is the train sandwich cutter.  Unfortunately, the oatmeal bread is too small to make a train.  Therefore, he selected his next favourite i.e. tractor.  Then I rolled up a small piece of ham and put a leaf foodpick.  Plus some Hawaii papaya to go along with it. 

Thanks to Sanku who got my boy a dinosaur coin bank with his name painted on it.  My boy was so delighted and kept asking for more coins to fill up his round transparent tummy. 

On Friday, I picked up Sanku from Tanjong Pagar market after I dropped my son in school.  I managed to find my way with the help of GPS.  For one moment, I thought I was lost ;)  In the afternoon, we went to the Flower Dome at the Gardens by the Bay which opened for viewing from 14 to 20 November 2011 only.  Afterwhich, it will close and officially, open in June 2012.  The Dome housed all sorts of plants and is huge!.  The highlight is the thousand years old Olive Tree. In the evening, we went to the airport and picked up the rest of Sanku's family members whom we have been waiting to meet them. 

It was a busy and eventful day for me :) 

California roll and Panda

Bento No. 150

Yesterday, we finally picked up our first guest, 'Sanku' around Jurong where she has been working as a confinement lady.  Thereafter, we visited Pak Pak who lived at Pandan Garden.  He has since been recuperated at home after his discharge from hospital.  Pak Pak has a bad fall from his bicycle during the Hospice Bike Ride.  It is a blessing that he is fine now.

This morning, I was quite nervous when I prepared the sushi bento for my son especially with Sanku around in the kitchen.  When she asked me what I am going to make, I actually has no idea.  So I just arranged the food in the bento box and put two panda foodpicks on the tamagoyaki.

We look forward to seeing the rest of our relatives this Friday.  It will be a lot of fun :)  My son is also delighted to have companies to play with. 

Seahorse

Bento No. 149

Recently, we bought two Seahorse brand single mattress.  These are for our relatives from Malaysia who will be visiting us in a few days.  Needless to say, I made a pair of seahorse from nori and sticked it on a piece of steamed minced meat with egg.   And my son was so quick to point out the difference.  Its prehensile tails are pointing outwards instead of inwards.  I did not realise it until he showed me a picture from a book.  He was right afterall!  Besides steamed minced meat with egg, he has strawberries, grapes, blanched carrot/shanghai greens and brown rice for his lunch.

Panda

Bento No. 148

I made these two pandas from mantou using a bear shape cutter for his lunch yesterday.  I told my son that the boy is Kai Kai and the girl is Jia Jia.  But he objected! He told me they are Papa and Mama ;) I stuffed some grilled chicken breast spread with tomato sauce and some cucumbers.  I also packed his favourite blueberry yogurt.  He finished all except the meat and tomatoes.  Raw tomato is not his favourite anyway.  Laoshi Chunyang told me he also has some toast at the school.  Probably that explained why he could not finish his lunch.

We also began to train him to sleep on own bed.  He is progressing very well except that there are a few occasion he would still find his way onto our bed.  Haha, the secret is we bride him by buying him a new bedsheet with all his favourite vehicles on it.  It is a good start anyway. ;)

Butterfly and Turtle

Bento No. 146

It was a long weekend over the Hari Raya Haji holiday and we spent some quality time together as a happy family.  On Saturday, we had oily and sinful prata, thosai at Casaurina.  Then, we headed towards the Lower Pierce Reservoir for a short and easy hike.  Sighted lots of squirrels and monkeys along the way.  Two monkeys were actually mating.  I like the quiet, relax and peaceful surrondings there.  Recently, I struggle to remember what we did and eat over weekends.  Is it a sign of aging??

I tried a different way to make a pair of butterfly with tamagoyaki.  Usually, I used two eggs for tamagoyaki but this time, just one egg. I sliced it diagonally and used a foodpick to hold the wings together. In this bento, he has his inside-out baked salmon sushi, edamame, grapes and dragonfruit.

Bento No. 147

It is pasta today with tomato sauce.  But I cooked the sauce with minced meat and a bit of yellow pepper.  Then I decorated the bowtie pasta with some boiled green peas and a Turtle!  This turtle idea was conceived yesterday night when my son is watching his favourite TV show in Okto.  Not so adorable...yeah ;) 

I have never showed affection towards my partner openly in front of our son (being a conservative Chinese).  It is that moment and also the unbelievable expression on my boy's face led us to realise this boy is uncomfortable with hugs/kisses between Papa and Mommy. I felt we have a duty to educate him to accept that it is natural and alright for parents to do so.

Sponge Bob and Dragonfly



Bento No. 144



Bento No. 145

 The first bento was a Sponge Bob created from corn loaf.  I had this idea when I saw his tootbrush with the image on it.  I think it looks a bit spooky here.... that he said he don't want the Sponge Bob lunch. Haha. But he finished his lunch anyway!  He has egg mayo spread in his sandwich, some carrot stick, cucumber, strawberries and kiwi.  

The second bento is made with brown rice.  I suddenly thought it is a perfect colour to make bugs!  Its eyes are made of carrot flowers and the wings are snow pea.  The only problem I have is how to pin the wings down firmly.  After struggling for a while, I inserted two leaf foodpicks through it.  It works! My son loves eggs very much which is evident from the bento above. Here, he has stirred fried snow pea/carrots with chicken breast, hard-boiled soya egg, strawberries and kiwi.

Coincidentally, my blog is also named "Dragonfly bento box".  I chose it because the most luxury and expensive jewellery I owned is from Tiffany; a dragonfly pendant necklace and a pair of dragonfly earrings.  It was a birthday gift from my hubby many years ago.  Why dragonfly and not butterfly?  One is beautiful, always in the limelight and relax.  Whilst the other is not so glamorous, hardly anyone would notice it and busy.  Well, I guess the latter kind of resembles me. ;)

Froggie

Bento No. 143

The bento was prepared on Tuesday which I did not manage to blog it due to internet connection failure.  Being a not IT-savy person, this is not something I can fix it and always depend on my hubby to resolve it for me.  I felt helpless and useless :(  At last, I can post my blog today.

This froggie is made from Yong Tau Foo.  I cut into half from a piece of beacurd and sliced it.  Crabmeat for its rosy cheek, nori/cheese for the eyes amd mouth.  As my son has fishball and kuay teow for his lunch, I placed two piece of flower shape carrot behind its eyes for contrast.  The effect is good and came out a cute-looking froggie.  Hidden underneath the carrots are some blanched caixin. 

My boy has been associated animals with rhymes like horsie, piggy, ducky, froggies, sheepy?? cowdy??  I was amused but I must admit that, definitely, it is not a good language.  He also picked up expression very quickly such as 'actually', 'ai ya ya', 'oh man', 'oh my goodness', 'oh my god'.  Children just absorbed like a sponge.

Black cat

Bento No. 142

Today is Halloween Day.  I told my son I made a black cat bento to mark the occasion.  Then I asked him if he knows what is Halloween and I got an straight answer "yes".  I was puzzled if he really knows what it means.  We do not celebrate Halloween day in our family.  He probably picked up from his schoolmates or teachers.  This little black cat is cut from nori and I placed it on the tamogoyaki. He has his usual california roll, edamame and grapes.  Notice I have peeled the skin off from the grapes. Because its layer of wax on the grapes is rather distasteful this time.   Too health conscious?? Maybe.

I have a sleepless night yesterday.  My poor boy hyper-sensitive nose is back again with  lots of mucus in it and blocked.  He did not sleep well too with continuous toss and turns on the bed until dawn. The medication he is taking seems to lost its effect now. How I wish he can be completely cured.

Aeroplane

Bento No. 141

I am sure this does not look like aeroplane.  But my boy disagrees with me.  I wanted to make a black cat for the halloween theme but instead, my son wanted an aeroplane. I left it as it is because I did not have time to re-do it.  He has fried egg with french bean, steamed meat patty with young ginger, a cherry tomato and papaya.

Time flies, it is the last term of the school.  I can't wait to see my boy performs in the Annual Graduation Concert and Ribbons Ceremony on 10 December 2011.  Last year, it was held at Methodist Girls' School campus and this year, it is at The Threatrette at Singapore Post Centre.  I was totally impressed with the concert last year because it was super entertaining watching the little ones performed on stage. 

Transformer

Bento No. 140





I cut the shape of transformer on a tracing paper the night before and keep it as a template for this morning use.  After I finished cutting on the nori, I assembled the pieces onto the emmental cheese. But I think I should stick it closer instead.  Why transformer? Because our neighbour has a bright yellow car with a very large and distinctive logo on it.  Whenever my son passed by, he recognised the logo and said loudly "Look, transformer Mommy!".   Hence, the idea come about making one for him.  I tried a few types of burger look alike bread/bun and yet to find one that he likes it (other than those found in fast food where he can eat almost the whole of burger).  I bought his wholemeal soft bread roll from Delifrance.  I put a piece of oven-baked halibut, topped with a slice of tomatoe and iceberg lettues.  Spread some mayo and ketchup for taste. On the sides, he has baked garlic fries, grapes, oranges and a packet of mini-size milo.  He is so happy and satisfied with his lunch that he carried all by himself to school (not letting me to touch a bit ;)

We found a little surprise on our car.  A small green grasshopper on the boot!  My son asked me if he can touch it.  I was like  Err........??  In the end, he did not.hehe..

I have been reading a lot about white fish fillet lately and quite astounding to find some fishes like grouper, snapper, Alantic salmon, cod, sea bass contains mercury that small children should avoid it. Halibut is one of them too. My boy has threadfin in his porridge almost everyday when he was a baby. Until he is older than 2yo, he began to eat everything on the dinner table. I also become more adventurous in preparing his food when he reached 3yo. Too much fish would expose him to potential mercury intoxification?? Gosh! Thank god, he grows up healthy and fit.



Pokemon

Bento No. 139

This pokemon is made of egg sheet.  He has fried mee hoon with chicken breast, cabbage, carrot and mushroom today.  Plus dragonfruit and grapes on the top tier of the bento box.

Expert says breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Our kind of morning breakfast usually consist of either bread or cereal.  And only on weekends or public holidays, we treat ourselves to Burger King or Dim Sum.  Mmmm, tomorrow is a public holiday.  What should we have for tomorrow breakfast?  

Tuna salad sushi

Bento No. 138

I re-arranged the tuna sushi and tamagoyaki to create a pattern.  Then I put a monkey foodpick in one red grape.  I told my son that he has to use his imagination to visualise what is inside in this bento.  Tricky! But he is quick to reply "It is a monkey robot!".  Alright, I am thinking in my heart, maybe I could make something like transformer next time.

We are looking forward to Sanku and her family visit this coming November. So is my boy, especially.  He can't wait to meet his cousins, William and Jessica.  And he has already planned the itinerary for them.  Needless to say, all his favourite hunts; Zoo, birdpark, botanical children garden.  Of course, we are going to Singapore latest attraction i.e. Universal Studio. Counting down....;)

Ladybug



Bento No. 137

I was wondering what is missing for this ladybug?  Its head!   It is made of two type of cheese.  I did not pack any rice for my boy's lunch today.  Just ginger pork, steamed/baked sweet potato, blanched green peas, grapes and green kiwi.  I added some bowtie pasta to resemble butterfly.

Initially, I wanted to make some grilled/baked white fish fillets like those serve in Fish & Co since I had purchased two packets of sutchi (cat)fish fillet from NTUC or called Pangas, Basa.  This type of fish is dirt cheap because it cost less than $4 for two packets each with three sizable slice of fillets.  After browsing the internet for more information about this type of fillet, I decided to forgo the idea.  Why?  It contains no nutrition value other than for the taste.   After reading the below, I am contemplating to throw it away.  Wasteful but........erm...  I have to think twice now before I order fish and chips next time.

Quote: Pangasius Hypothalmus is a species of Asian freshwater catfish. They get a bad name in some circles, as they are bottom feeders, and will feed on whatever is available.... even if it's human waste in contaminated backwaters.Unquote

Dinosaurs - Stegosaurs



Bento No. 134

 I made this stegosaurs this morning for my boy's lunch.  Orange cheddar cheese for its plates and chicken hotdog for its legs and spots on its body.  I also packed some carrots, cucumber, cherry tomato and grapes as well.  I like it but my boy is full of criticism; face not looking correct, plates is not right, no spots on its body,..etc.  The only thing right for him is the spike on its tail which I inserted two musical foodpicks onto the bread.  Oh boy!  He has grown up so fast!  Probably too fast that I have forgotten he was no longer a baby ;P 

Whilst we were having breakfast this morning, I asked my son if he will take care of Mommy when we grow old. He just said 'No' honestly. Very disappointed and sad :(   One of the Chinese vitures is filial(孝), a respect for the parents and ancestors. He obviously does not have any now and I hope, he will learn in future.

I made two other bento this week; left is fried yellow rice with mix vegetable and char siew, right is soba noodles with blanched caixin, carrot, fresh shitaki mushroom and gyoza. 


Bento No. 135



Bento No. 136





Thoughts: House and Education

Last week, we went to check out an Executive Condomium (EC) and a DBSS HDB near our home.  Despite warning of gloomy economy, it does not stop people from buying properties.  In fact, the value of property market is in the peak now! A 5-room HDB flat can cost $670k onwards and a 4-beded EC can set you back a million dollar. Why we decided to take a look now?  Simple because, we used to have any empty State Land in front of our house that provide some recreation such as flying kites, aeroplanes, picnics, cricket for the residents here.  And, I can see the sunrise in the morning and full moon at night.  The site has now become a gigantic construction site making way for three housing estates.  All these housing projects in close vicinity are due to complete in 2014.  I think the Government is anxious to right the market sentiments and fill up the gap that people are complaining there are not enough housing available which was one hot area during the Election. 

We live in the heartlands all our life.  To upgrade to condomium would be wishful dream and a thought that always cross our minds.  How different it is to stay in heartlands and private housing?  We are told that in private estate, it is the security that can keep our kids in a safe haven and give the parents a peace of mind.   And, would the environment really matter to a kid's growing up?  The  same logic also goes for enrolling our child into a premium preschool and government preschool.  Will the quality be better in premium preschool in Singapore context?  We want the best things in life and likewise for our child.  I begin to ask myself if it is pure vanity in pursuit of 'better lifestyle' or should we be contented to remain status quo.

Salmon sushi

Bento No. 133

My boy has very congested blocked nose and cough since the beginning of last Friday.  It started end of September where he has a blocked nose so bad that he snored loudly in his sleep.  He was recovered after a week and now back again.  We brought him to see the pediatrician and spent $137 medical bills for consultation.  He was prescribed with Charityne for nose, salbutamol to open up his airways, Rhinathiol promethazine for the cough that occur in the evening and night and lastly, nasal spray.  I did not want him to use the nasal spray last year although it is a mild steroid spray according to the pediatrician.  I have no choice now because my boy complained of difficulty to breathe at night, tossed and turned all the times.  It is painful to see him not getting a good sleep and breathing heavily.  In addition, it will affect his development if the brain is not receiving enough oxygen.

His symptons often got worse nearer the end of the year and during the haze period.  And I recalled a vacation away from home kind of a relief for his running nose.  Perhaps, we should plan a short trip to Malaysia. 

So much of my boy's condition. Here is a simple bento that consisted of baked salmon sushi with cucumber, chicken hotdog octopus, blanched edamame, grapes and green kiwi.

Walrus

Bento No. 132

Recently, we borrowed a book titled "Super Swimmers" from the National Library.  One of the animals that he also learned in school is'Walrus'.  We are familiar with sea lion and seal but little is known about Walrus. They are recognised by its prominent long tusks and are often found in the Arctic Circle. Their favourite meal is shellfish.   I used two type of cheese to make its muzzle and tusk and the facial with seaweed.  I actually made a 3D version of it using brown rice initially but abandoned the idea because I have difficulty fitting it into the lunchbox.  The sides, he has meatballs, blanched carrot, broccolli, apple and nectarine.

Pokemon



Bento No. 131

 Does it look like Pokemon?  I guess not so.  It looks like pokemon junior..haha..  I told my boy it is a robot rabbit but he told me that is a pokemon ;)  It is made of fishball and crabstick. Since he requested for brown noodles, I stir-fried some beanstick noodles and added black soya sauce to create the colour.  I also included some blanched broccolli, carrots and tofu.  His fruits consist of orange and white nectarine.

Butterfly and sushi

Bento No. 130

I need some beauty sleep!  Wake up in the morning, feeling lethargic.  Shortly after, I heard a loud thunder and it started to rain heavily.  My pet dog, Nitro, a shih tzu breed, was petrified.  He was trying to escape through the baby barrier gate we installed between the living and dining room, squeezing his little head between the poles.  He was stucked and literally tangling mid-way through the barrier. Knowing he cannot move, he began to weep.  Nitro will outsmart all kinds of barrier we put up during the rainy season. To the extent, I fear that he might get hurt by his dangerous actions. On the other hand, Nitro is my weatherman.  He shows sign by sniffing the air, tail down, and shivers.

Back to bento, my son has his usual sushi lunch.  I made a butterfly using two pieces tamagoyaki and strip of cucumber.  He got oranges and white nectarine for his fruits.

Whale and mantou 馒头

Bento No. 129

I am kind of running out of idea what to prepare for his lunchbox.  Whilst I was shopping at the NTUC fairprice supermarket yesterday, I saw an Auntie reached out for a packet of frozen mantou.  Curiously, I stood beside her pretending to buy it.  Then, we striked a conversation and learnt that her three kids love mantou and favour a particular brand i.e. 'Chinatown'. Later, I bought it.  This would be my boy's first taste of mantou.

Sandwiched in the mantou are breaded chicken spread with tomato sauce and mayo plus slices of tomato and cucumber.  I placed a whale shape cheese and wrapped it together with cling wrap.  I baked some fries sprinkled with paparika and salt to be added in his lunch too.  He has papaya for his fruits.  On top of it, he gets his mango yogurt.   It is a East meet West combination!

Ambulance

Bento No. 128

I remembered my boy's request for an ambulance bento. I granted his wish today.  It is made of white rice onigiri stuffed with baked salmon.  The siren is made of carrot, nori for the facial, cucumber for its wheels and cheese for its windscreens.  When I looked at my finished product, I felt that there is something amiss.  I could not tell what it is.  My son has fried long bean with egg, baked salmon, blanced carrot and green kiwi.

There are times I will allow my son to help me in the kitchen to do simple chores.  And we did yesterday!  Because he did not like the idea of leaving him alone to play by himself whenever I said "Mommy has to cook dinner.  You need to play on your own now."  He will refused to let me go and cried.  So, to pacify him, I asked him to help in the kitchen.  His task was to separate the leaf and stem from the caixin.  Happily, he put on his doremon apron, pulled a round stool to stand and started working on the kitchen top.  I must say that he did it quite well, no mess up at all.  Good job!  And, of course, he grinned with satisfaction and played on his own afterwards.

Piggy

Bento No. 127

I had a terrible headache today and really could not think creativity to make his bento.  Probably due to hot weather yesterday.  Hence, I made a little piggy out of orange cheddar cheese for its face and yellow cheese for its snort.  My boy has sphagetti with tomato sauce for his lunch today.   Plus green kiwi and oranges.

In front of my house, there is a gigantic construction site paving way for three housing estates!  There goes my view of sunrise and sunset :(  I will definitely miss it.  Other residents will miss the opportunity to fly kites and aeroplanes which they have been doing so in this empty plot of land.

Tamago sushi

Bento No. 126

I swap the ingredients for making sushi.  Instead of having baked salmon sushi, I put tamago instead.  Well, my boy still has his baked salmon but as a side dish.  For the rest of tamagoyaki, I cut into half and put two pieces together to make it a heart shape.  In the end, I abandoned the idea because it does look like hearts at all.  I used a green stalk foodpick and skewed it together to form a flower.  Then I added the edamame, grapes and kiwi to complete his lunchbox.  In th midst of doing so, my son suddently approached me and said that he wanted a ambulance bento.  That will be the theme for his bento tomorrow perhaps.

1st October was children day but somehow, this year, it has shifted to the first Friday of October that falls on 7th.  We did not really celebrate the occasion but I bought him a gift i.e. 50 pieces of animal puzzle.  And he completed the puzzle all on his own without help!

Bunny

Bento No. 124

Bunny with an oversized long ears! Yeah, I made this bento yesterday with wholemeal bread bought from Yamazaka bakery.  I like the soft wholemeal and black sesame bread at this Japanese bakery.  The only pro is the odd size of the bread which comes smaller than four leaves or breadtalk bread that I find it hard to use my sandwich cutter.  Hence, I created this bunny by free hand cutting the shape of its ear.  As for its face, I topped one slice of bread with tuna mayo, small slice of cucumber and tomato and another slice to cover it before I used a cup as the cutter to press it to seal the edges.  The rest are cheddar cheese, nori, ham and grapes.  My son favors cheddar over normal sandwich cheese!    There was one food I have never packed in the his bento before.  It was the carrot! Raw!  My boy likes it very much.  

Bento No. 125


Can't see the brown rice?  Yes, it was hidden underneath the drumlette. This is what he has today for lunch.  The drumlette was marinated with Lam Yee overnight.  His bento consisted of blanched 'super fine' french bean, carrots, corn cob and grapes.

My first Halloween theme bento (Ee Fu Noodles)



Bento No. 123

 I created a Halloween theme bento today.  Two Jack O'lanterns carved out from carrot which I attempted to shape a crooked teeth after seeing Happy Little Bento's tutorial.  Well, as you can see, I failed but don't they look spooky with the hollow eyes!  Just a consolation to myself haha...  Besides Jack, there are two bats flying in the moonlight (made from cheese and nori).  And a creepy crawly spider on a floret of broccolli.  It all happened when we were sitting on the dining table this morning for breakfast.  First, I flipped through the pages of his Charlie and Lola activity magazine.  Then I took out the nori and started cutting the shape of bats infront of my boy. Thought that I have completed the task. Instead, he requested a spider and reminded me it must have eight legs. Okay, for the legs, I cut a rectangle from the seaweed.  Then, I trimmed out the edges with  a 'L' shape and assemble around its head.  Got it?  Hope so...:)

The school has invited 'The Rabbi's daughter' today, 28th of September 2011 to teach the little ones about Jewish customs, Kosher food, and some Jewish folk-dancing.  The date coincides with the Jewish New Year.  It would be interesting and eye-opener for my boy other than the four races we know in Singapore; Chinese, Indians, Malays and Eurasias.  Mommy does not even know what is all about! 

Sushi Bento

Bento No. 122

Lately, my boy's stuffing nose has got worse during his sleep.  Tossed and turned plus snoring loudly due to nasal conjestion.  I was amused at his reply when I told him about his snoring.  He said "Just like gorilla!".  I have not given him any medication from the onset.  Hoping that, he will heal naturally.  Well, it has been more than a week and his condition does not improve.  I have no choice but to start " Dexchlorpheniramine" with him.  Also, we skipped school yesterday and went cycling at the Sun Plaza park.  The air was fresh after the rain.  Although the ground was still wet but did not dampen our mood!  Sun was partially hidden behind the clouds amid warm weather with a breeze.  My son headed straight to his favourite sand playground.  He had a great time there.

Today's bento is his all-time favourite sushi; crabstick, cucumber and egg.  Along with a floret of broccolli, tamagoyaki, edamame and grapes.

Polar Bear

Bento No. 121

I made a white rice Polar bear bento this morning with eye lashes, a red bow but I forgot to apply blushes on her cheek.  My son chose the red bow foodpick over a sun hat :)  I am feeling that it akin more of Koala bear than Polar bear...haha...  Anyway, it is fun to engage my boy in the preparation/assembly process of his lunchbox. 

In the bento, he has steamed meat patty with young ginger, a cherry tomato, blanched snow pea/cauliflower and a large red strawberries.

Salmon sushi

Bento No. 120

We got our boy a new water bottle from Simei yesterday.  His favourite colours; orange and yellow.  He chose the sticker, 'Tom and Jerry' to be affixed on the bottle.  This is his third bottle I had purchased.  First is the Lighting McQueen and second is the Thomas and Train plastic bottles.  The former is still in used although the cartoon can hardly be seen now and the latter, he broke it.  They are all labelled as BPA free except for this 不锈钢单层运动水壶 made in Taiwan that did not specify if it is BPA free.  It cost us only $10 compared to those of brand name SIGG. At that point of purchase, Papa remarked "At least, it is not made in China!"

It is sushi bento for my son's lunch today.  I rolled it with baked salmon with cucumber and sprinked with seaweed flakes.  Aside, he has edamame, cherry tomatoes and dragonfruit. 

Owl

Bento No. 119

This bento was made with brown rice onigiri in the shape of an Owl.  Eyes and beak are made with two type of cheese and nori. Inside his lunchbox, I packed leftover char siu we ate last night and pan-fried long beans with egg.  As well as a bunny apple and green kiwi.  This is the first time he did not touch or eat the brown rice and upon checking with my boy, he just said "I don't like brown rice".  But he ate it for dinner! What is going on inside his little head??? 

I was horrified when I realised my boy opened car door in the middle of the motorway while I was driving back home from school.  Immediately, I stopped the car on the road shoulder and jumped out to close it.  I was really mad and kept reprimanding him.  At the same time, I wanted him to understand the seriousness of making sure the doors are to be closed at all times and dangerous as well if the doors are left opened. The last time, I did an emergency stop at the road shoulder was having a punctured tire.  Afterwhich, I read from the newspaper that there was an accident whereby a lorry crashed right into the faulty car which was about to tow away.  One casualty in this freak accident!  We always assume it is alright to stop on the road shoulder but forgetting that it is 'unsafe' too.

Somen and Gyoza



Bento No. 118



Being a stay-at-home mom, I feel blues at times.  Today, I took a long time to prepare such a simple bento and left the stove fire on without realising it.  Luckily, I checked it before I left the house. Blogging, at least, will help me to ease my mood but sometime, I wish I can chit-chat with my friends over a cup of tea.  Reminiscing the old days.......

In the lunchbox, my son has gyoza, crabstick, broccolli, carrot and somen.  For fruits, he got kiwi and oranges. Hope he would like it.  Because my boy told me that he did not like the chicken and mango sandwich and he would not want any bread for breakfast in the morning.  Well, I said he either have it or go to school without breakfast.  Reluctantly, he ate the bread with orange marmalade spread.

Mango and mayo chicken sandwich

Bento No. 117

I made something different I had never tried before.  Mango and mayo chicken sandwich! Coincide with the Lantern Festival, I had one big pomelo sitting in my kitchen.  My intention is to make the HK style mango sago desert since I had also bought some mangoes from supermarket.  Then, it striked me that chicken and mango paired very well in sandwich.  But how to go about it?  After browsing the internet last night, I settled with simply just mixed diced chicken breast with mango puree and mayo.  Topped with additional mango puree, tomatoes and cucumber.  I can taste the sweetness of mango but perhaps, too bland for my taste. 

A speedy bento compliments with kiwi and grapes.  In addition, I packed Emmi vanila flavour yogurt into his lunchbox. 

Yesterday was the actual day of Lantern Festival.  But my boy was too sleepy and yet insisted to take his dino lantern out at night.  He was in tears when we refused due to the fact that the weather was so hazy and he was dozing off during dinner.  He was asleep by 7.50pm!  This was the problem whenever he did not nap in the afternoons.  And the biggest headache for me is that my son only takes nap in my car and not at home!

Sushi and Panda

Bento No. 116 

This has become one of the standard bento I am fond of making.  Pretty simple!  It consists of sushi with crabstick, cucumber and egg, tamagoyaki, edamame and black grapes.  And I put two cute little panda foodpicks on the tamagoyaki.

It is the beginning of the school after one week holiday. We did not go any place special for this short break.  It was just ice-cream eating, Grandma and cousin Dexter came visiting us, Story-telling and craftwork at the library, celebrated lantern festival at Papa's office.

Car

Bento No. 115

The new car pixar movie is in town!  Of course, my son has requested to see it.  The last movie we saw was "Kungfu Panda" during Chinese New Year in Malaysia.   My boy got frightened with the fighting scene.  He was also tearing when the Panda recalled how he was separated from the parents.  We have to step out of the cinema to pacify him.  Well, I hope he will seat and watch the entire the show this time.  I made A 3D version using brown rice. Cucumber for its wheels, two type of cheese and nori for the eyes, headlights and mouth. Really, I spent a lot of time how I should fit it in his bento box without being crashed!  Arrgh...the cheese for the headlights keep dropping off.  In the end, I was left with no choice but flatened it. 

He has a corn cob, snow pea/carrots stir-fried with pork tenderloin, kiwi and blueberries.