Another Christmas Party

Tomorrow is Christmas and we had another party to attend today. Where? In Aunty Jamie's house. This time the crowd is even bigger than the one that we had in our condo on Saturday. All the great-grandaunts were there along with their family. And so there were more kids there too. Look at the food that they ordered:

On top of this spread, we were treated to another of Great-Grandpa's specialty. Hainanese Chicken Rice. Yup, no chicken rice tastes the same after this. Ah Kong didn't join us today, as Uncle Stanley had invited us to have dinner with him in Equatorial Hotel too, and since we already had plans to go to this party, Ah Kong was our representative to have dinner with Uncle Stanley. *grin*

Before we went down to join the rest, we had to feed you dinner first in Grand-Aunt Doris' room. Away from the crowd. Otherwise, you'd be too excited to eat dinner. By the time you were done with dinner, they'd already started, so mummy took some food and we went to sit by the Christmas tree to enjoy our dinner. Of course, you also had to share some of mummy's chicken rice. And some of the noodles(mee tiau) too.

Just like our party, there was a gift exchange session too. But with a different twist. How? Lookie here:

Did you spot him? No? Look again:

Haha.. yup, uncle Sin Tien dressed up as Santa Clause. You didn't want to take a picture with him, but you were willing to take the present from him.

It was almost 10pm and was pass your bedtime when we left the house. We even packed chicken rice for Ah Kong to have, since he missed out on Great-Grandpa's chicken rice.

Good night, and Merry Christmas.

Our Christmas Party

It has become our family tradition to have a Christmas party, with most of Ah Ma's relatives coming to the house to have dinner followed by presents. Of course, we had Ah Kong's friends over too: Uncle Stanley and Aunty Nellie. And since our Christmas tree was set up in the condo, our party was held in the condo.

Unlike the other parties that Ah Ma throw, our Christmas party is simplified where we bought most of the food. But the food was bought from a variety of places. And also in the end, Ah Ma cooked the prawn dish and she also left mummy and daddy with instructions on how to cook the potato dish (Ahem, and it turned out ok too!)

Luckily for us, you had your afternoon nap on time and that gave us enough time to prepare the potato. After you'd woken up, mummy gave you your bath and fed you before our guests arrived, because knowing you, you'd get all excited and not be able to eat your dinner.

At around 7pm, most of our guests arrived. Hhm.. quite punctual surprisingly. Even Abby, Uncle Sin Chuan and Aunty Amy arrived on time. They'd driven straight to our condo from their trip to KL. Soon food was served and everyone had a great time trying the variety of dishes while listening to Jim Reeves singing Christmas songs. Look at the "loot" under out tree!

What's next? Gift exchange. This year, we had 3 assistants to help give out the gifts, unlike last year where we only had Anna Che-che to pass the gifts around. And on top of the gifts, we bought reindeer antlers for the 3 of you when we went to Nara.

Giving present to Ah Ma

Annabelle giving her daddy his present

Little Reindeer

Opening presents

On top of being our early Christmas party, today is also the winter solstice festival. So great-grandma made a traditional Hainanese dessert (tang yuen) that is different from the colourful ones that we usually have. It's been a long time since she made this. Not too sure exactly what it's called, but it sounds something like "wa-at", made with the glutinous flour, peanuts, sesame seed, coconut and sugar(and maybe some other ingredient that I cannot figure out). And the picture does no no justice to the taste:

This was served along with our dessert of chocolate mud cake from Sunflower (next door) as well as Häagen-Dazs ice-cream.

By the time everyone left, you were already very tired. But too bad our room's air-con was not working well. But you'd refused to sleep in another room, so mummy had to turn on the fan and try to get you to sleep. After you'd fallen asleep, I moved you to your bed, but you woke up again and refused to sleep, so back to our (hot!) room we went to go to sleep.

Me Oh My...

How much walking did you do while in Japan? Let your shoes give you the answer:

Oh no.. they look quite clean right? Coz Kakak already washed them. By the time mummy procrastinated and got around to taking the picture, they've already been cleaned.

Actually, they were brand new before we left Japan. One lady we met on the way to Japan even told her son that your shoes were identical to his, only yours were new and still very white, unlike his. And after this trip, your shoes probably look worse than his!

Ooo.. It's time for Shopping

Of course! With Christmas just around the corner, we need to do our Christmas shopping. Our Christmas tree has already been up for one week, but the poor little tree is bare underneath. So we NEED to do the shopping for our little tree *grin*.

Off we went to Gurney Plaza on Saturday after everyone was up and your moi moi was ready. We originally planned to eat somewhere else before going shopping, but it started to rain, so we had no choice but to go directly to Gurney Plaza. Lunch was a quick one in Aji Ramen. Daddy had to eat quickly as he'd promised you that he'd bring you to have a look at the Tiny Tunes characters that were going to make an appearance.

You didn't seem as interested in it this time as you were the last time mummy showed you the Tiny Tunes characters. So we went our separate ways from Ah Kong and Ah Ma as we wanted to buy gifts for you and your cousins, while Ah Ma needed to buy some more gifts for our party guests. Where to? Toys R Us, where else?

Mummy walked around looking for something to buy for your cousins, as we'd already decided to get you the Imaginarium that daddy wanted to buy a long time back. What to buy? Especially Annabelle che-che who's got almost every toy imaginable! Before we picked a toy for the girls, you'd picked another toy that you wanted, using your newly learned word. What is it?

Yup. You went: car, CAR, CAR, CAR, CAR. What to do? We ended up buying that car for you too. Not much time left and we were getting a headache trying to pick a toy, so in the end, we picked a dog house for Annabelle and a shopping cart with Hello Kitty for Abby. But before we left, you also picked another toy, a Barney soft toy. OK, OK, time to go before you pick more toys!

We paid for our purchases took wrappers from the wrapping counter and off we went. We dropped our purchases in our car as Ah Ma said that she was not ready yet. So we walked around a little more before leaving Gurney Plaza.

Went home and you fell asleep shortly after that, as it was way pass your nap time. So mummy took this chance to wrap all the gifts while you napped.

Where to go on Sunday? Hehe.. Gurney Plaza again. No chance to pick up gifts for Ah Kong and Ah Ma yet. After we'd bought the toys yesterday, Ah Ma unloaded Ah Kong with us, so no chance to buy their gifts. So another round of shopping today.

Another round of shopping (inclusive of trying to crack our brains to figure out what to buy for them) and we're finally done. Even managed to buy a new pair of shoes for daddy.

Happy Birthday Daddy

This year's celebration was a little low key. Why? The excitement from the trip to Japan is still in our minds. Furthermore, you had a jab scheduled for today. Daddy says I should have remembered his birthday when making the appointment, but mummy pointed out to him that I did ask him "Is 4th December ok?" when making the appointment and he'd said it's ok. Duh!!

So after work, we went home to get you ready to go see the doctor. Our initial plan was to have our favourite Bah Kut Teh for dinner. The wait for you to have your second flu jab wasn't too long. But before we left, Nanna (who's staying at our condo) called to ask us to join them for dinner. She said another celebration with them on the real day. We'd already had chocolate mud cake as daddy's birthday cake yesterday.

So off we headed towards somewhere in Hillside nearby our condo to have dinner with Nanna and 4ee Poh and family. And so ends daddy's birthday celebration.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy Birthday Great Grandpa and Great-Grandma

Yup, Great-Grandpa is 90 and Great-Grandma is 80 years old. So where did we hold the big birthday party? It was being planned many months in advance. With Ah Ma delegating the task to your uncles, since we'd be in Japan during the crucial weeks leading to the birthday celebrations.

The birthday was held in Evergreen Laurel Hotel with the food being catered by the Chinese restaurant. We were supposed to arrive early, but as we were cleaning the condo with kakak Wati as 4th Ee Poh, Teo Kong, Uncle Julian, Uncle Ashley and Nanna were going to spend the week in the condo, we were late. Then again, so were the rest of the family.

We arrive just pass 7pm and some of our guests were already there. So before more guests arrived, we quickly gathered in another room to have our family picture taken. After trying to get 3 babies to co-operate, we finally managed to get a decent looking picture with (almost) everyone looking at the camera man.

Soon, we rejoined the party and there were more guests arriving. You, daddy and mummy were asked to sit at the main table with great-grandparents. It seems that is great-grandpa's request: that his great-grandchildren sit at the main table with him. So along with Anna Che-che, Abby Mei-mei and their parents, we sat at the main table. Before food was served, we were entertained with pictures of everyone when they were young, including mummy and daddy's wedding picture and your baby picture too.

Food was served and, boy was it yummy. Even you got a portion. But you obviously were not interested in the food, so we asked the waiter to serve your portion to other people. We even had a traditional Hainanese dessert that was nicely packed. Uncle Sin Chuan had gone online to look for the recipe and get someone to make it for this party.

Cake was served and it was a two-tiered cake, with one for Great-grandpa and the lower layer for Great-grandma (this layer had mahjong tiles on it!). We stayed for almost all the dishes, but it was too late and so we decided to leave. Everyone has having a great time, but you were getting grumpy and tired.

By the time we left Gurney Drive, you'd already fallen asleep on your car seat. Even the short ride to the condo left you totally zonked out.

More Pictures from Our Japan Trip

I wrote earlier that I was going to post a picture of the crowd in Shinjuku. Look at the crowd!

And here's of a little lane with several eateries that I had mentioned:

Here's a picture of some sort of sea-snail that I ate in Kamakura.. It tasted rubbery but was grilled quite well.

Loved those beautiful pictures that I'd posted in this blog? Well here's the photographer (it's daddy.. who else?) in action (in the Kayukan in Osaka):

As most of the pictures that were taken of you had you all covered in your jacket, we attempted to at least take a picture of what you wear underneath... (except that you weren't in a co operative mood then)

And here you are checking out the diaper changing room as well as breastfeeding room in Sunshine City:

Here's of a "Capsule Hotel" that we saw when we took a stroll further than we usually take on our last day in Akasaka:

Bye Bye Japan

As our flight was at 11.30am and we needed to take the bus (just like when we came to Tokyo) which took 2 hours, we had to wake up early to get ready and do some last minute packing before heading to the nearby hotel to catch our bus.

We waited a while and soon our bus arrived. They loaded our luggage onto the bus and we were off. Such a long ride, and thankfully you dozed off on the way and only woke up as we approached the terminal where they checked our passports before dropping us off.

We had some brunch while waiting to board the flight. Our flight had to be delayed but thankfully we arrived back in Singapore on time to catch the connecting flight to Penang. Again, you fell asleep shortly after take off and woke up only less than 2 hours before we arrived at Singapore.

We met Aunty Jackie on the flight. She was the stewardess on our flight and you were nice to her, showing her your "disappearing hands".

Here's a picture of you having fun on the plane.

And so ends our 2 week holiday.

Our Last Day in Japan

What shall we do on our last day in Japan? We have one more day to go, but several things more to do. Ah Ma wanted to go to Sunshine City in Ikebukuro and we weren't too interested in more shopping, thinking of going to Ueno Zoo to let you see the animals.

As usual, after giving you your moi moi, we headed to Akasaka-Mitsuke station and daddy and I were going to head to the Marunuochi line to head to Ueno while Ah Kong and Ah Ma were to walk to Nagatacho station to ride on the train on Yurakucho Line to bring them to Ikebukuro.

Mummy and daddy were undecided on what we preferred to do, and in the end, we decided to follow Ah Kong and Ah Ma to Sunshine City. We walked and we walked and we rode on escalators going up and down and we finally arrived at Nagatacho Station. What a long walk. Thankfully you sat willingly in the stroller!

We took a (nicer looking train that those we've sat so far) and soon arrived at Ikebukuro station. Pek Kong's instructions were to walk out of the station and we'd see a sign directing us to Sunshine City. But I guess he forgot that there were many exits. And the first exit we took was the wrong one. After doubling back and looking around for signs, we saw the sign indicating Sunshine City. Finally.. We had to walk and walk quite a distance before arriving at Sunshine City.

Nothing much to see there actually.. Now we regretted having gone to Sunshine City. Should have stuck to our original plan of going to Ueno. Too bad. It's too late to travel all the way back to Ueno. So.. we spent our day there in Sunshine City, having Burger King for lunch (too much Japanese food over the past 2 weeks), deliberating whether we wanted to bring you to see another aquarium in Sunshine City (which we didn't) and finally heading back to Akasaka. We'd gone separate ways from Ah Kong and Ah Ma, but in the end, they arrived home earlier than us. We did manage to get a picture the beautiful Christmas tree and also of the fountain. The thirds picture is of the pretty girl preparing out delicious Cold Stone ice-cream. Oh yea.. also took Baby Zen's mummy's advise to try the Godiva drink.. Yummy

Dinner was of course to be with Pek Kong. After all, it' s to be our last meal in Japan with our host. What was for dinner? Have a look.. A quaint restaurant (not very little... it looked small from outside but it had a lower floor for dining). These are what we had as our last meal in Japan.

Here's of a picture we took of the wonderful lights nearby Pek Kong's apartment:

Of Sushi, More Shopping and A lot of Sight-seeing

We had been trying to decide if we wanted to go to Hakone. Firstly Ah Kong and Ah Ma have already been there in their previous trip to Japan. Secondly, if we were to go, we would need to wake up very early. Also whether to bring you a long. So, to make the decision, we decided to take the train to Shinjuku Station where we could inquire further about the trip to Hakone.

As usual, we made sure that you'd taken your lunch before heading out to Shinjuku. Upon arrival, we headed straight to the counter and after making inquiries, we decided to get the Odakyu Hakone Freepass for the both of us. We did not have to make a decision straightaway about bringing you along, as with travelling with you so far within Japan, there was no extra charge for your ticket.

After buying our tickets for a (VERY) early trip for Tuesday, we headed to Shinjuku Terrace City for a little retail therapy (ahem.. for the eyes). Ah Ma bought herself a nice jacket and after looking around and taking pictures, we headed for Ueno again.

What was on the menu in Ueno? Sushi, of course! We haven't had sushi since we arrived and there's only a few more days to go before heading back to Malaysia. So we took the train, and by the time we arrived in Ueno, you'd fallen asleep. A blessing, as it was a sushi restaurant serving sushi on the rotary. As we had our lunch perched on our stools, you dosed contentedly in your stroller parked at the side of the restaurant (safe and away from harm!)

After a yummy lunch, we headed to Ueno to buy more foodstuff to bring back to Malaysia as well as some food for Ah Ma to cook for tonight's dinner. Soon, we were on the train headed home to Akasaka to rest a little and to prepare for dinner.

We had decided that we would let you decide whether you'd be going to Hakone with us. Since we needed to leave Akasaka latest by 6.30am for our 7am train, we'd bring you along if you woke up. And guess what? You did wake up. Just on time for mummy to bathe you and off we went. With the stroller (despite Ah Ma telling us that it was not possible to use the stroller).

We arrived in Shinjuku Station with ample time to buy something for breakfast before looking for our seats in the "Romance Car", the train that is a faster train. I thought that having woken up so early, you'd sleep in the train. But nooo... you had something else in mind. You played and played in the train while daddy napped most of the way to Hakone-Yumoto and only decided to fall asleep around 15 minutes before we arrived! Sigh.. so mummy didn't get to nap. Oh well...

We waited a while in Hakone-Yumoto and soon the tram arrived and we hopped on the switchback train on Hakone-Tozan Line that first moved forward then backwards, zig-zagging up the hill until we arrived at Gora. When we arrived, there was a large crowd waiting to hop on the cable car to go up to Sounzan. Since it was still early and we didn't want to join the crowd, we decided to walk around Gora and wait for the next tram. It was quite a wait and as we waited the crowd got bigger and bigger. And when we got it, it was rather packed and the seats were VERY close together. As usual, you picked the best time to ask to be breastfed. So how? Luckily mummy had your (current) favourite rice crackers in my handbag, and so that kept you occupied and forgot what you originally wanted from me. Phew... Next was to catch the gondola on the Hakone Ropeway to Owakudani. That was one of the points where we could see Mt Fuji. It wasn't too clear that day, but we've had several nice shots of Mt Fuji already, so nevermind... Here's where the sulfur mountain was. The sulfur smell was quite bearable.. or so we thought. We bought the eggs that were boiled in the natural hot springs. Er.. forgot to take a picture of it. Too busy eating. Then off we went to climb the sulfur mountain. And I tell you, thank goodness we decided to bring the stroller. Hey.. we managed to push you up almost all the way. But the moment we neared the top, the sulfur smell was too strong, so we doubled back down to have lunch and off we went on the gondola again this time heading to Togendai.

You loved the rides that we've taken so far. Especially on the gondola. You even disturbed the nice ladies in the gondola, but of course when they spoke to you, you decided to be shy... Here's a picture of you in the gondola and also the view of Lake Ashi from our gondola.

Again, we missed the "pirate ship" that was to take us to Moto-Hakone, the last stop for our Hakone trip. But since it was still early, we wondered around, got you some more milk from the store and also came across this sign.. Daddy could not resist taking a picture of the signboard.

Soon, it was time to queue to board the ship. We managed to get a seat with beautiful view. Here's some of the pictures taken in Lake Ashi as well as of the ship. Next stop, Moto-Hakone. It was a slow ride of around 30 minutes.

From Moto-Hakone we walked a little, enjoying the view (again, I'm thankful we brought the stroller) and we arrived at the bus station, waited a while and when the bus arrived, we headed back to Hakone-Yumoto. You'd fallen asleep even before we boarded the bus and you only woke up when mummy carried you off the bus in Hakone-Yumoto. The return trip to Shinjuku was to be by train. This time it wasn't by Romance Car.. and it was the longest trip back ever! It was crowded and we stopped at one station for more than 20 minutes!

Finally.. yes finally we arrived at Shinjuku station and took a train back to Akasaka where Ah Kong and Ah Ma were waiting for us. What a long long day of sightseeing and interesting travelling. Just in one day we sat on the: subway, train, cable car, gondola, ship and bus. Wow!

Some Shopping Finally...

It's the first weekend we get to spend with Pek Kong and so what was on the itinerary? First we fed you your moi moi and then we were off. Before we started sightseeing the malls/branded shops, we made a stop at Omotesandō, as we were going to make a stop at Harajuku to look at the Meiji Jingu-mae, a shrine built in dedication the Emperor Meiji and his wife. We had to walk a short distance from the subway station. Guess what we saw along the way? Lots of shops selling branded items. And they were each several floors high. Not just one tiny shop lot. What an eye opener! Haha..

We finally arrived at Harajuku and since it was Sunday, there we several street vendors along with the locals dressed in Gothic clothing and make up. Anyway, we made our way to the entrance and it was a rather warm day and in fact, we had to remove our jackets as it was getting stuffy. Furthermore, it was a rather long walk to reach the shrine from the entrance. You initially insisted on walking, but as it was a really long walk and your little short legs could only go so fast, we had to put you into the stroller with a promise of letting you come out to walk as soon as we arrived at the shrine compound. Unfortunately it was a very bumpy road and after sitting quietly in the stroller for a while, you started to protest. But daddy pushed as fast as the stroller could go and we finally made it. Phew..

Entrance to Meiji-Jingu Mae Compound of Meiji-Jingu Mae

As with the many places we have been in Japan so far, it was crowded. And it was made worst with the fact that it was a Sunday. There were many children dresses in Kimono and Hakama. I guess there's a big occasion as some mummies and daddies also went dressed in their best. Here's a little girl in her Kimono and of a lady getting married with everyone taking pictures of her. She posed for so long for her own professional photographer as well as visitors like us to take pictures of her.

We walked around the grounds before leaving. Next stop was nearby Harajuku. There was lots of little shops selling mostly clothes. We made a quick stop to have a light lunch of crêpe and drinks. And we took a stroll back to the train station before heading to Ginza.

Ginza was an interesting place. As it was Sunday, the road was closed to traffic and we were free to cross the road whenever and wherever we felt like it. Managed to get this picture of the road, all decorated with Christmas decorations. We walked into several shops and even into IOIO a large shopping mall.. but it was crowded everywhere. There was even a jam trying to get into the escalator! We got separated from Ah Kong and Ah Ma as they managed to get into the lift while we couldn't as we had to struggle with the stroller, so in the end we had to push our way onto the escalator and when we finally made it to the lower floors, we could not find Ah Kong and Ah Ma.. after searching and searching while mummy waited near the entrance, daddy and Pek Kong found them.

By then it was rather late and everyone was getting tired from all that walking. But before we left Ginza to go back to Akasaka.. we had one more stop and one purchase to make. See that silly grin on my face? Yup, daddy bought me something. Isn't he sweet?

And then we headed home to rest. Dinner was early as lunch was a light one. What did we have for dinner? We went to the nearby restaurant that we walk pass everyday on our way home and out from the apartment. Look at what we had... Yummy Japanese steak. It was heavenly!

As it was still early, we crossed the road to take a train to Shibuya. Yup, the place with the busiest pedestrian crossing. Daddy tried several times to get a good shot of the human traffic. It was rather difficult, but he finally managed these as we were leaving Shibuya to take a train home.

Yummy Japanese Steak Dinner

Hello Kamakura

It was to be a long, busy day ahead. The plan was to leave the house by 8am as we needed to take a train for 1 hour to reach Kamakura. Pek Kong wanted to come along with us, but he didn't feel too well in the morning, so daddy was our tour guide for the day again. We took the train to Tokyo station to catch the JR Train. Our JR pass was still valid, so we took this train for free. You slept all the way there. By the time we arrived in Kamakura, our bums were roasted! The seats were heated, and boy, were they hot!!

We bought tickets for the Enoden and off we went. First stop on this train was Enoshima. We walked across the Enoshima Ohashi Bridge that linked the mainland to the island. Not a very short walk, but when we arrived, we saw many stalls selling souvenirs and also seafood there. So where to for the first stop? We walked and we walked and we walked first up the steep slope and then on steps and more steps before we came to this temple. It was a temple of the Dragon King. We continued walking and we came to this beautiful beach with many people carrying buckets and eagles flying overhead. Daddy stopped to take some pictures before we walked a little bit more to reach the Enoshima Iwaya Cave.

Enoshima Ohashi Bridge

It was an interesting place, made up of 2 caves. Some parts were low and there was a bridge linking the 2 caves. We saw something interesting on our way to the second cave. I guess it was naturally made by the waves that come crashing in and out. Looks like a tortoise, right?

After exploring the second cave, daddy took you down to the beach to have a look at the little fishes in the water. I wonder what else was there...

Eagles soaring nearby

And now we have to walk and walk back to where we started. But halfway you made a lot of noise, asking to be fed, so we decided to stop and have lunch. It was a simple restaurant with a beautiful view. No time to take pictures.. hehe.. Had to look for a place to breastfeed you and after that we had our lunch of yummy tempura with rice and you also shared some of our food. Only a little...

We wanted to go to the lighthouse, but it was another long walk and we were all too tired, so we decided to head back to the Enoden to take a train. We stopped to buy some things before arriving at the train station and waited for the train.

Next stop: Hase. It was several stops away and the train was VERY crowded. I guess it's because it's a weekend. We were packed like sardines. Luckily mummy managed to get a seat and you entertained a nice Japanese lady sitting next to us. After getting of the train, we walked and we walked again, with you walking too, but in the end, we put you (protesting away) into the stroller as it was very crowded and the sidewalk was rather narrow. And finally, we arrived at the Great Buddha Statue of Kamakura.

We strolled around the compound, sat a while to rest our tired legs and you also had a feed. I actually noticed people feeding there too.. Under their cape, but since i had nothing, daddy sacrificed his jacket for you to have a feed. I guess you're hungry and tired. And off we went after that to go to the next site in Hase, Hase Temple. We had to double back the way we came.

On the way to the Great Buddha, we saw a lot of people holding large rice crackers in seaweed. And of course we also had to try it out. Er.. nothing spectacular. In fact after a while it felt very dry. Hehe.. Never try, never know, eh? And we continued until we reached the Hase Temple. By then, everyone was too tired, so we abandoned the plan to see this temple. Instead, we headed back to the train station.

It was quite a wait before the next train arrived. By then the crowd waiting for the train was very big. And when we finally got into the already packed train, it was very full. And I'd thought the earlier ride to Hase was full! We had to make a few more stops before reaching Kamakura station and even though the train was already packed people still pushed their way into the train! We were all thankful when we finally arrived at the last stop. And if you think this was the crowd leaving Kamakura as it was already late, there was an even BIGGER crowd waiting for the train.

Another short wait and we were off on the train heading for Tokyo station. And so ends, another long day. What was on the menu for dinner? Pek Kong cooked for us, his "house specialty" and it was delicious, after having eaten out for more than a week.