Monday Practice

It's Monday once again and the perfect timing to make a guinea pig out of my unfortunate husband ^_^

Dish: Sweet and Sour Prawn
Description: Small sized prawns fried with dried chilli and scallion simmered in mixture of chilli sauce and ketchup
Verdict: Sauce was nice with a little sweet taste while prawn had a nice chew, though it tasted like it was a little overcooked
Rating: 3 out of 5

Dish: Stir Fried Lady's Fingers
Description: Sliced fingers lightly fried with garlic and cut chilli with a dash of bean sauce

Verdict: Veg cooked just right retaining the good crunch; bean sauce gave it the saltiness while the chilli balanced up the whole dish. Color was just right too!

Rating: 4 out of 5

Dish: Stir Fry Celery with Anchovies

Description: An ad hoc creation because i couldn't think of what to go with the veg and then i remembered the little fishes!

Verdict: Veg was very very crunchy and the anchovies gave it a great taste! The anchovies could be fried to be more frangrant and crispy though. Taste is good but the overall presentation looked bland

Rating: 3 out of 5

Dish: Sambal Brinjal

Description: Sliced brinjal with garlic and scallion with spicy sambal sauce to add the zest!
Verdict: Tastes way better than it looks. Brinjal was a little overcooked and looks so BLACK ^_^ But the softness and sambal made it yummy

Rating: 2 out of 5

Tracy GAMBATE! ~

Getting a Maid

Some of my friends have been checking in with me regarding getting a maid, since i just got mine a couple months ago. Below are some information if you are thinking of getting a maid.

1. Required by law to take a e-learning (FDW-EOP) certification before you can employ a maid. Go to http://cec.sp.edu.sg/webapps/login/ to complete the online course. Should take you less than an hour and $30. After you complete it, your particulars will be sent to MOM so you are ready to apply work permit for your maid.

2. You need to first determine your criteria, e.g. Nationality? Age? Married? Height? Language spoken? Primary Role (baby-sit or elderly care)? You can contact any maid agency by looking through newspapers, or recommended by friends, or surf online. Give them your requirements and they will try to match against their current database. For my case, i email my request to many agencies through the web and they send me bio-datas of maids which they think might fit my criteria.

3. The bio-datas will tell you the basic particulars and experience of the maid. Of course photo is also attached so you can find someone who is pleasant to your eye. You may want to ask the agent more about the person, e.g. Can i interview her? Can i speak with her previous employer?At this time, you do not have to pay anything to the agency yet.

4. It is important to ensure that the maid meets your primary need. For example, if you want the maid to take care of your children, then look out for her experience in this area, even if she cannot take good care of your dog! After looking through so many bio-datas, it is true that it is almost impossible to find the "perfect maid" (just like we can't find the perfect mate!!), so you have to weigh the most desired criteria.

5. Once you finalize on your choice, this is the time to pay $$! Three types of fees:

a. Agent Fee - this is one time service fee to the agent, may range from $88 to $588. Look out if the agent will provide free replacement if you are not satisfied with your maid. Some agents have unlimited replacement within one year; some only one free replacement within six months.

b. Insurance - mandatory to buy insurance for the maid. There are different plans but the most common one is about $200 plus.

c. Placement Fee - this is a little difficult to explain, please bear with me. For the maid to work in Singapore, she has to pay a sum to the agent for finding work for her. It could be 4 or 5 months of her salary. Suppose her salary is $350 and she has to pay the agent $1400 (4 months' salary). So the maid will "borrow" $1400 from you, and you pay $1400 to the agent on her behalf, and she works 4 months for you free of charge. On the 5th month, then you start paying her the regular salary of $350. Sometimes, the agent will require you to pay the maid a nominal $20 from month 1-4, of which you will then deduct $80 on the 5th month from her pay. In summary, you need to pay upfront a lump sum though in actual fact you are not losing out in any way.

6. The amount of the placement fee, as well as the salary actually depends on the maid's experience. A worker without any experience may be paid $320 while one with two years' experience may be $370. For those whom have worked in Singapore for many years may command $400 or more. You also need to take note if the maid is entitled to any days off. If there is mutual agreement without days off, then you have to pay additional $20 to "buy up" the leave. For example, her salary is $350, and you buy up her off day, so you have to pay her monthly salary of $370.

7. Other considerations include

- Does she have a handphone? Would you allow her to have one?

- How many friends does she have in Singapore? Would she want to call/write to them?

- Does she want an off day?

Ok, hope this helps! It is definitely not easy to get a suitable helper, but exercising caution and doing detailed planning in advance may mitigate the risks involved.

Happy searching! :)

What's so funny??

Baby must have caught the laughing bug. Apparently anything we said and any noise we made seemed so funny to her, which in actual fact she was the hilarious one to look at! We had such a great car ride!

Delicious Chicken Rice @ Chinatown

Fried brinjal - crispy and tasty! Something new!

Went to visit my mum and she brought us out for dinner at this chicken rice restaurant at chinatown, along the street beside CK department store.

When the dishes were served, my eyes brightened with delight. Afterall, what would you expect to have at a chicken rice eating place? But they have many other side dishes that really spiced up the entire meal.

The chicken was tender and fragrant. We also ordered fried tofu, wu xiang springroll and this new dish - fried brinjal. My taste buds tantalized with every bite and i was already planning my next visit!

The bill came up to be $20+ for 4 persons. A must try for chicken lovers! :)

Ministry of Food

Softee ice-cream with red bean served with balls of yam and sweet potato

Definitely for macha lovers! Comes with fruits to lessen your calorie guilt!

A friend suggested to meet at Ministry of Food at Suntec for our tai tai gathering. It must have been ages since i stepped foot on that territory. Thought that MOF is a new food joint but friends said it has been there for some time already.

It's a really really really nice place. Japanese restaurant with lots of desserts that would make you drool on the menu. Totally spoilt for choice, and you'll be delighted at the friendly price tags too :)

Try out this place the next time you want to hang out with friends. You would enjoy a nice leisurely afternoon with visually good looking desserts served with giant portions. Downside: mind the calories!!

The Many Faces of Baby Charis

Surprised!

Excited ... hehe

Blur aka Stoned


Cheeky .. BLAH ^_^

And finally ... ERIC! :)

Learnings on Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is a really big topic. I remembered attending the pre-natal class and the nurse emphasized again and again that we should persevere no matter what/who/how/why and provide baby with this best nutrition and gift by God. I have gained some personal experience and knowledge from a lot of helpful friends in the past months and would like to share some insights with my dear sisters.

1. The repeated emphasis by the doctors/nurses proved to be very helpful because indeed in the first week when milk hasn't really come through, pple have already started to "throw cold water" and ask me to give formula because there was no milk. DO NOT be deceived. Stay positive, because every mother WILL HAVE milk unless there is a medical or exceptional condition. Continue to let your baby suckle even though there isn't seem to be a lot of milk. Also drink lots of fluid especially soup (green papaya fish soup is highly recommended). My gynae also prescribed fenugreek. Though my milk flow was retarded to come, it DID come eventually and i'm still happily breastfeeding my baby. If your confinement lady suggests for you to give formula, think twice. Consult your lactation consultant to determine if you really have a low milk supply.

2. When you breastfeed, there is a "letdown" effect, where a lot of milk will be released. Apart from the letdown where milk comes in sprays and jets, your breasts will have milk but smaller drops. The letdown causes both breasts to produce a lot of milk at the same time. So while you are feeding on one side, you might find the other side dripping. Sometimes, when the baby suckle for a long time, you may experience two letdowns in the single feed.

3. After the first month when the milk supply is getting established, you can try expressing breast milk so your hubby can feed and have some baby bonding. Another benefit is when you pump you will empty your breasts, making your body think that the milk is all finished so it will start to produce more. In this way the milk supply will go up. Of course you will also avoid the painful transition to bottle later on if you start the baby in the early months.

4. You can try letting baby suckle on one side and manual pump the other side at the same time. In this way, you will capture the letdown milk on the other breast and it will not go to waste. I use the Avent manual pump and it works very well for me.

5. When you are going back to work, you may need to express your milk in the fastest way. My neighbour lent me the Medela dual electric pump which works wonders in a couple of minutes! It drains both sides in a jiffy and you can go back to your work desk with minimal disruption! So for you mothers who really want to get the most breastmilk for your baby, you may consider getting both the manual pump and electric pump. Use the electric one during working hours and the manual one when you go home to direct feed your baby.

I'm definitely not an expert on this topic, but so many thanks to all the experienced mums whom had so selflessly shared their learnings. Let's continue to persevere in this noble task and calling of nursing our babies!