Simply Lambchops

Let's eat at Gu Ma Jia (姑妈家)

Reviews Tuesday, January 27, 2015

I hardly blog about food, as I'm no food critic nor a food connoisseur. But I love a plate of good food anytime - food that doesn't have to be too expensive, and has a name that is easy enough for me to pronounce. So when I received the food tasting invite from Gu Ma Jia (translated as Aunty's Home), I went online to check out the place with anticipation. I was pleasantly surprised to read all the good reviews of the place, and looking at the food pictures made me even more eager to visit soon!

For those who are unfamiliar with the Chinese Family Tree structure, Gu Ma (姑妈) refers to the paternal aunt, specifically the eldest aunt. In the Chinese culture where the extended family is valued, every one has a "position" (bei-fen, 辈份) based on his generation, lineage (whether paternal or maternal), relative age to another member in the family and his gender. So we have to remember all these, especially during Chinese New Year or any gathering with the extended family, as those with a younger "bei-fen" will have to refer to the one with an older "bei-fen" by the correct term to show our respect.

About Gu Ma Jia (姑妈家）
When I stepped into Gu Ma Jia, I felt a sense of closeness to this restaurant right away. It could be the sincere, friendly smiles of the staff when they attended to our requests, or the simple decorations that exude the love and warmth of a home. Regardless, the informal style of Gu Ma Jia made me feel very welcomed and I wouldn't feel too stressed if the kids toppled their drinks.

I later learnt that this is because Gu Ma (the founder of Gu Ma Jia) advocates serving every customer with love and passion. Like many older sisters in big families, Gu Ma grew up cooking dishes for her siblings at Pulau Ubin. And growing up in a natural environment with access to seafood, Gu Ma would meticulously handpick fresh seafood back home as part of her ingredients. So till today, Gu Ma maintains this high expectation to ensure that Gu Ma Jia serves up delicious home-cooked food to her customers just like how she provided food, cooked with love, for her family. And I was happy to know that they do not use instant processed food or add MSG in their food.

That is love to me - the promise to serve up good quality food for the love of all who eat at Gu Ma Jia.

Gu Ma Jia indulged us with her new selection of sumptuous dishes as part of their 5th anniversary in 2014 and we love them all!

[NEW] Homemade Yam Ring with Kyoto Pork Ribs ($30)
The crispy yam ring is soft and creamy on the inside, and complements well with the
tender Kyoto pork ribs that is tantalizing to the taste buds.

[NEW] Gu Ma Signature Traditional Bean Curd Soup ($28)
Power packed with ingredients like salted fish head, Chinese ham, pork ribs, peanuts and
fresh bean curd, this nutritious soup is boiled for 6 hours to achieve the rich broth.
Definitely a comfort soup for me!

[NEW] Ubin Lala Bee Hoon ($18)
This is our family's favourite, especially Ch.
Fresh lala (clams), cooked with tasty rice vermicelli in a savoury sauce.

[NEW] Satay Cuttlefish ($18) and Lotus Leaves Rice ($33)
Fresh cuttlefish that is cooked to perfection and added with homemade flavourful satay sauce.
The lotus leaves bring out the fragrance of the rice. I definitely want more!

[NEW] XO Prawn Noodles ($36)

Gu Ma selects the freshest prawns for this Cantonese dish. Cooked in a special homemade
superior XO sauce, this dish leaves you with a lingering sweetness of the big prawns.
The prawns are also pre-grilled to add a smoky flavour to the soup.

[NEW] Claypot Pork in Sesame Oil ($15/$23/$30)

With premium Chinese wine, tender pork slices, ginger, black fungus and sesame oil, this reminds
me of the confinement dish I had but definitely, much much better. Another homely comfort dish!

Yuan Yang Kailan ($10/$15/$20)
The famous crispy kailan with stems cooked to the right crunchiness, and thin shreds of
leaves fried to the perfect texture. This is one definite way of including greens in a child's meal!

Auntie's Dessert ($3.50) and Vinegar Enzyme Jelly ($5.80)

Light and refreshing, both desserts are nourishing to the body and improves the complexion!

The vinegar enzyme jelly has a lovely sweetness with a tinge of sourness and makes it very delectable.

Gu Ma Jia also encourages families with children to eat there. Children 10 years and below can sign up for the Gu Ma Jia Kids' Club to get a free dessert with every 3 stamps collected. Collect all stamps to exchange for a mystery gift.

Food blogger in the making?

For the coming Chinese New Year (CNY) festive season, Gu Ma Jia is offering a few sumptuous set menus for the reunion meal. Gu Ma Jia has always been fully booked for this, so do call and make your reservations early!

Gu Ma Jia is located at:

45, Tai Thong Crescent

Sennett Estate

Singapore 347866

Tel: 6286 2023

Opening hours: Daily 11am to 3pm (last order 2:30pm),

5:30pm to 10pm

More info can be found at www.gumajia.com.sg

Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sg.gumajia

Disclaimer: We were invited for a food-tasting session by AT Marketing Consultancy for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was given and all opinions are ours.

Share |

Review and Giveaway: Lost My Name personalised book

Reviews Friday, January 09, 2015

Published with Karen Wollman's permission

It started with two courageous little ones who had to fight against all odds for their lives.

Their mommies got connected through a Facebook group in March 2014 and they realised that they share similar experiences with their courageous little warriors.

And that started the whole journey between little Renner and I - a journey of inspiration through running.

A short introduction about Renner - He was born with Hydrops Fetalis and Down Syndrome in 2012, and had many complications while he stayed in the Neonatal ICU for 6.5 months. At one point, Renner was so sick that the medical team told his parents to be ready to say their last goodbyes. But slowly, his condition improved under the care of his medical team and his loving family who never gave up hope in him. With God's providence, this little warrior is finally home with his parents and older siblings.

Many months later, while I was looking for a gift for Renner, I came across Lostmy.name (from UK) which personalises books for children using their names. I have not done a personalised book before as many of the story lines I came across were quite pale in my opinion.

With a magical adventure of a little warrior who has lost his name, I was sold when I saw Lostmy.name. The illustrations are beautifully done too. What a perfect gift for Renner!

"A BIG thank you to my runner, Mary, for sending me this amazing book! My big brother and sister have been reading it to me and we think it's so neat that it spells out my name...RENNER!"

~ Karen (Renner's mom)

The ordering part is easy too. Just 3 simple steps:

key in the name of the child,

select the gender,

click "Create Your Book".

The cool part is, you get a preview of the book just as how it will be when printed!

A personal dedication can also be added to tell this blessed child of your love.

I love the book so much that I made one for my own courageous little one =) The short hair of the girl in the illustrations remind me of her sweet face too!

I like that the story does NOT gender sterotype. Both the boy and girl have equally exciting adventures - meeting robots, narbaleks, elephants, trolls - till the end of the story! And don't worry that the name has two or more of the same letter - the story does not repeat!

Worldwide Giveaway!

I'm so excited to share this giveaway! Lostmy.name has kindly sponspored a personalised book (worth USD 29.99 with free shipping) to one Simply Lambchops reader!

In order to qualify for the giveaway, please complete the following steps:

1. Like Lostmy.name on Facebook.

2. Like this Facebook post.

Important: You have to complete Steps 1 and 2 in order to be eligible for the draw.

Bonus step:

Tag a friend on this Facebook post (in the comments section) and you will have 2 extra entries for this giveaway.

This giveaway will end on 16 January, 2359 hrs and the winner will be selected through a random draw. Results of the draw will be announced on here.

Terms and Conditions

This is a WORLDWIDE giveaway. Claiming of the book will be through the sponsor Lostmy.name. The winner will be contacted through Facebook Messenger and has 48 hours to respond, failing which a new winner will be drawn. All incomplete entries will be disqualified. All entries will be verified before the winners are announced. To be fair to our sponsors, please note that all fake Facebook accounts (e.g. accounts set up purely to take part in contests with no or very few real friends) will also be ineligible to win.

Disclaimer: We received a copy of the book for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was given and all opinions are ours.

UPDATE [19 Jan]: The giveaway has ended. Congrats to Ms Jenny Chua for winning the giveaway! Thanks to all for your support!

Share |

Messy Play! - MyMessyBox Sensory Play Review Part 1

all about K Monday, January 05, 2015

When I was mom to Ch and L, I didn't know that playing with sand and water provide far more benefits than just fun and laughter. These hands-on learning experiences engage a child's senses, and develop his creativity and imagination. There are many other benefits of such sensory play and I highlighted some here.

It took a third baby for me to know all those benefits.

For this new year, I resolve to provide more opportunities for K to play messy in order to improve her feeding habits. K does not accept many flavours and texture in her food. For the record, it took us 1.5 years of hard work to progress her from rice cereal and baby bottled food to porridge that is not blended. Sensory play will expose her to different textures, smells and tastes.

There are many online resources available which offer tips on how to set up a sensory box and I have spent many late nights ploughing through them to prepare for the sensory play activities. It has been a tedious affair - sometimes when a material is lacking, I have to look for alternatives within my home.

Then came MyMessyBox!

MyMessyBox is a sensory-based monthly subscription box targeted at children between 3-6 years old. Every box includes all the materials and suggested play for projects related to a theme, neatly packed into 3 packages - A,C,E: Active, Creative and Explorative.

:: Active Pack
consists of toys and figurines for the child to role-play with.

:: Creative Pack
consists of 2 to 3 craft activities for parents to work on together with the child.

:: Explorative Pack
provides the base materials for the child to engage in sensory play. These can be in the form of beans, sand etc.

Beautifully-designed instructions are also included for each pack and with the older kids, there are suggested questions which the parent can use as prompts to discuss the activity.

The themes have been carefully selected and designed by the team at MyMessyBox. The same box can be used for children across the age range, and the outcomes and difficulty level will still vary depending on how the child and parent interact with the materials and projects.

Themes available now

K's experience with our first MyMessyBox
The December theme was The Whimsical Garden. I was quite happy as this is a familiar theme for K - she enjoys listening and singing along to Sunday School songs about the butterfly, tree, flower etc.

K's first experience with the beans in the Explorative package was a cautious one. Dried green beans have a faint smell which was unfamiliar to her. She approached it slowly, as if trying to size up that material. And very quickly, after getting her fingers into the box of green beans, she decided she was done for the day.

Fiddling with the goodies of the Premium Toolkit

I had to sustain her interest with the rest of the materials in the package - some flowers, together with green strips of paper grass and leaves.

And the play got messy.

I was glad the mess happened as this was a learning opportunity for her. In my "therapy mode", I got K to practise on her pincer grip by picking up the green beans, while I repeated "Beans go into the box...".

Lesson learnt - I have to put the small box into a bigger box (can see from the pictures below) to prevent the materials from falling out of the sensory box as K's hand control is still not very coordinated.

I went slow with K, repeating this same activity over a span of 3 weeks. Scoops from the Premium Toolkit were added for scooping and pouring to develop the muscles in her little hands and fingers. I am glad that now, she does not mind touching the green beans and is even willing to sit on them.

Contents from the Active Pack were added when I sensed more readiness to progress with the messy sensory play.

Aren't these figurines from the Active Pack cute?

Older kids can use these figurines to design and create a garden scene. You can talk about the activity with your child using suggested questions (e.g. What do you like best about your garden?) from the instruction sheet. I spotted Ch and L playing with the materials a couple of times too.

They enjoyed the tactile play too! Therapeutic!

As for K, I worked on her vocabulary and speech by naming the figurine when she touched one. We sang songs about some of the figurines as she picked them up too. Heh heh, her physiotherapist will be pleased to know that I also managed to sneak in some physiotherapy! Got her to stand and squat to transfer the figurines from the table to the sensory box.

Strengthening her leg muscles

Do supervise your child during any messy-sensory play as some of the items are rather small. You never know what might happen with an unsupervised child.

I really love that these are pre-packaged for the busy parent and the box comes directly to your home every month. The messy-sensory play process is even sweeter when the hassle of sourcing for items and deciding the theme yourself is all done for you. With such interesting themes, it is also easy for you to supplement the messy-sensory play with stories related to the theme. Besides, your child can still reuse the messy-sensory box for more fun many months later.

I hope that by sharing my experiences about sensory play, you will be reminded of this important aspect of your child's development. Sensory play cannot be just an incidental occurrence during bath time or a trip to the beach. And I cannot stress any further how important sensory play is for one who has special needs.

Discount!

MyMessyBox has kindly offered a 5% discount to all Simply Lambchops readers who subscribe to MyMessyBox! Just enter the code below when you check out your cart!

SLC5

You get to save more with the 6-months or 12-months subscription.

No frets if you have more than one child. MyMessyBox offers a Sibling Add-on to your subscription with an additional $10 per month for another set of materials.

You can also get a free reward chart if you sign up for the mailing list on their website. An email with the download link will be sent to you.

More information can be found on MyMessyBox's website and Facebook page.

*The January theme is Sea of Dreams!
*Read Part 2 of the Messy Play! - MyMessyBox Sensory Play Review and a GIVEAWAY ~~coming soon~~!

Share |

Review and Promo - Our first family photoshoot by Cloud Productions Sg

Family time Tuesday, December 30, 2014

This year has been an eventful one for us at Simply Lambchops. K was critically ill and hospitalised for a total of 76 days (read here and here), thus the family has to cope with a new home therapy routine. Hubby got his new posting, and L is going on to Primary 1 in a few days' time. Managing Ch has also been tough - we were battling with each other almost every day after school for various reasons. I'm definitely blaming the tween phase.

With so many changes happening, I am still counting my blessings and thanking God that I can live to see my family every day. The smiles on their faces every morning add spice to the otherwise, mundane day of routines and tasks to be completed.

Pictures help to add that daily spice too. I learnt the importance and significance of family photos through hubby. When hubby was still doing his National Service, he kept with him an old album of his family members and his beloved dog. We had a rare chance to visit Tokyo in 2007 (without Ch), and he prepared a small photo album containing our family photos for Ch in case she missed us while we were there. And when K was in critical conditions at the paediatric ICU, we looked at her photos from our phones to mend the heartbreaks we had and to help us look forward to the day she recovered.

Hubby takes beautiful photos of us and his family members so that we can have a collection as our memories. But being the photographer, he is often missing from the photos. So after K was discharged from the hospital, I wanted even more to have professionally-taken pictures of my family while we had the chance to. Life is too fragile, as seen from the recent airplane crashes, to take each day for granted. And we have certainly experienced that each time K was very ill.

Action to start planning for a family photoshoot was delayed for a few months as I was waiting for "the perfect family" moment. I didn't want permanent memories of K with a plastered face of nasal prongs and feeding tube. Hubby and I also had some rough times with each other during those stressful months. Too selfish I was.

Thankfully, photos from Cloud Productions Sg's portfolio convinced me to look beyond my shallow self, and put that thought into action. The families, couples and kids looked happy and the photos were taken very nicely with quality and thought put into taking each one.

Cloud Productions Sg specialises in doing photo shoots of families with kids (they cover kids' birthday parties as well), and they are able to shoot big families (up to 30 pax) at no additional cost per pax. I'm also happy to know that for every family photoshoot packaged booked, 5% will be donated to Dignity Kitchen Singapore (a food court run by the disadvantaged and disabled) as part of Cloud Productions' Social Cause.

This was our first family photo shoot and I didn't know how to dress everyone up. Fortunately, Cloud Productions offers tips on their blog on how to prepare for an outdoor photo shoot. Irene, the chief photographer, kept in contact and sent reminders of the photoshoot. We had to postpone it once due to bad weather (November and December are really bad months to do any photo shoots) and Irene was very nice to accommodate to our requests for the rescheduled date. Instead of an evening photo shoot which is said to be more suitable for photography, we decided on a morning shoot for the rescheduled date to avoid any unpredicted afternoon showers. Irene had to brave through trails of millipedes and other insects to get to the remotely located park we chose (thank you, Irene!). But she was still with all smiles and started working when we reached.

K got a bit moody half an hour into the photoshoot as she wasn't used to the glaring sunlight and heat. She didn't want to smile after that, but we were pleasantly surprised that Irene managed to capture her smiles in so many photos! We love all the photos! Biased biased, but I'm sure you agree with me that the photos were beautifully-taken. Irene also constantly checked with us about K to make sure she was physically well enough to carry on the photoshoot. Attitudes of a professional and caring photographer!

Our photos came within one week of the photoshoot via email. Love love love all 46 of them!

Chinese New Year is coming, and I know some of you take the opportunity to do family photo shoots. Why not rally your whole clan to dress up for a themed photoshoot with Cloud Productions Sg!

Cloud Productions Sg is offering two family photo packages for our Simply Lambchops readers!

Premium Outdoor Photoshoot with Chief/Premium Photographer ($280)

Value Outdoor Photoshoot with Apprentice Photographer ($200)

Use promo code #mary2015 to get FREE 4x 4R Laboratory Prints (Gloss Finish) or 7x7" Pinboard Squareprints (Matt Gloss Textured) when you book for your package!

Both packages include:

- 1 hour outdoor photoshoot

- Unlimited photos

- Post-process and enhancement of photos

- High resolution softcopies in JPG

- Photos sent over via email within two weeks

Promo ends 3rd March 2015.

Do book early as bookings are confirmed on a first come first serve basis. A 50% deposit is required for confirming of appointments. Photoshoot date itself will have to be done before 3rd March 2015.

More of their creatively-taken photos can be found on Facebook and Instagram @sgcloudproductions.

Disclosure: We were invited for the Premium Outdoor Photoshoot for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was given and all opinions are ours.

Share |

We are the Nachos rock band! - The Eighth Note Music School Review and Giveaway

children activities Friday, December 26, 2014

The school holidays are almost over, and we had such a fruitful time so far!

One of the things Ch and L did was to join a holiday music program at The Eighth Note Music School situated at Lorong Kilat.

The Eighth Note Music School review by Simply Lambchops

This music school has a diverse music program from digital to traditional instruments. They also offer short holiday music courses on various musical instruments like the keyboard, ukelele, drums or guitar. This gives the student a chance to try out the instrument before committing to learn it on a longer term. One of their unique music courses allows the student to arrange, remix, compose and record their own music using ipads, computers and even on mobile phones.

Guess which holiday program I signed them up for?

Being a mom who learnt how to play the organ for about 10 years and enjoys pop music, I have a secret wish - that one day, my kids can jam together as a band, playing on the drums, the jazz guitar etc. How cool is that!

And so, I got my wish...

The Eighth Note offers a Band camp every year during the school holidays and is held over 4 sessions x 2 hours. Together with their 4-year-old cousin Aly, the children had a chance to tinker with different musical instruments such as the ukelele, drums, cajon and cabasa. Under the recommendations of the two teachers, each of them was assigned an instrument eventually, and there, a band was formed! In fact, they were the youngest group to attempt playing as a band in the school! (Usually, the Band camp participants range from 7yo to 23yo. The school creates the group based on age and/or level.)

Introducing.... our very focussed singer in the band!

Being the youngest band camp participants, it was definitely challenging for the teachers to get the whole group to learn the instruments and play as a band at a suitable tempo. Firstly, the timing that suited Ch and L coincided with Aly's nap time. Moreover, kids being kids, they didn't have the attention span to last a 2-hour session. Thirdly, L has to start from the basics of a ukelele, and Aly has no formal music background. I am glad the school gamely took up this challenge.

Despite these challenges, the two teachers impressed me with their positive attitudes and care for the children. When the children started getting restless, the observant teachers were able to engage the kids to bring their attention back to the lesson, without being mean or stern. They gave breaks at suitable intervals as well, and made the lessons interesting with their humour.

What I appreciated most was that the sessions were shortened to suit the children so that they were not too tired during each session. The school also offered to extend the number of sessions for them to complete the course.

The Nachos learnt two songs - Counting Stars by One Republic and Rude by Magic (with modified lyrics) - all in 8 hours! It was amazing to see how Aly persevered despite developing an aching arm with the shaker, and the older ones concentrating to avoid being distracted by the other instruments. Though they were still not perfectly in sync as a band group, I commend the children and the teachers for putting up a good performance. You can watch their band performance here.

The Nachos with their friendly Band camp teachers at The Eighth Note Music School

I am looking forward to the next school holiday as I hope to sign up for the music crash course if my schedule permits. Since The Nachos is short of a drummer, I'll volunteer to fill that role if the kids think I'm cool enough.

What you may not know about

The Eighth Note Music School

Established in 2004, The Eighth Note reaches out to over 25,000 students annually with its 2 music schools and music programmes in 35% of schools in Singapore. The school is also endorsed by the National Arts Council for a number of its music programs.

Flexible timings When their students have to miss lessons for valid reasons, the school allows makeup lessons as long as the teacher is available (but don't take this kindness for granted ya?)

Tailor-made lessons The lessons are tailor-made for one-to-one students, following The Eighth Note's own syllabus.

Talented teachers There are a total of 14 teachers specialised in one-to-one lessons. They are versatile to handle almost any genre related to their instruments, and I noticed that each teacher can play, not one, but a few musical instruments.

Most popular courses Guitar (pop, electric, fingerpicking) | Ukelele (beginner to advance) | bass guitar | classical and pop piano | classical and pop violin | vocals | drums.

The Eighth Note is located at:

Main branch (West)

19 Lorong Kilat #01-04

Singapore 598120

Tel: +65 6465 1418

Email: hi@theeighthnote.com.sg

Parkway Centre branch (East)

Parkway Centre #02-02

Singapore 449408

Tel: 63480628

Mobile: 9230 2778

Email: jac@theeighthnote.com.sg

Website at www.theeighthnote.com.sg

Follow them on Facebook for updates about their courses.

Giveaway!

Maybe you have been thinking about taking up music lessons, but am unsure of your commitment and interest level. Or you have stopped music lessons due to other commitments. Why not take the opportunity to rekindle that music passion in you? The Eighth Note Music School has kindly sponsored 2 trial lessons (1 hour each) to one Simply Lambchops reader! You can choose from guitar, ukelele, piano, violin, drums and bass guitar. Lessons will be at the main branch at Lorong Kilat.

In order to qualify for the giveaway, please complete the following steps:

1. Like The Eighth Note Music School on Facebook.

2. Like and comment on this Facebook post, telling me the music instrument you would like to learn.

This giveaway will end on 2nd Jan 2015 at 2359 hrs and the winner will be selected through a random draw. Results of the draw will be announced on The Eighth Note Music School Facebook page.

Terms and Conditions

This giveaway is open to Singapore residents only. Winner will be contacted through a private message on Facebook and has 48 hours to respond, failing which a new winner will be drawn. All incomplete entries will be disqualified. All entries will be verified before the winners are announced. To be fair to our sponsors, please note that all fake Facebook accounts (e.g. accounts set up purely to take part in contests with no or very few real friends) will also be ineligible to win.

Disclosure: We were invited for the Band camp lessons for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was given and all opinions are ours.

Share |

Pages

Let's eat at Gu Ma Jia (姑妈家)

Review and Giveaway: Lost My Name personalised book

Messy Play! - MyMessyBox Sensory Play Review Part 1

Review and Promo - Our first family photoshoot by Cloud Productions Sg

We are the Nachos rock band! - The Eighth Note Music School Review and Giveaway

Looking for Something Specific?

Like us on Facebook

Hello! I'm Mary!

Follow Me on

You shouldn't miss this!

Family First: Camping with three kids at Pasir Ris Park

Blogs I Read

Labels

recent posts

Blog Archive

Popular Posts

A part of ...