Happy 20th Birthday, Evan

Our hearts are filled with pride as we see the grown up that you have become. And just like that you are in the second decade of your life. We still see you as that little precious bundle that we could hold in one arm, who filled our days with laughter.

Keep chasing your dreams and living life with the same passion that makes you so special. 💓 

Love you always -- here's to the exciting journey ahead! 🌟

Birthday Celebration

It sure took you a long time before deciding on the dinner venue. In the end, you picked Moo Point. It was recommended by Aunty Amy. You were initially not too keen, telling her that your daddy cooks a mean steak, hard to match. 

But in the end, you picked this location. So I made the booking. Luckily we managed to get a table at 7.15pm. 

The menu is very limited. But they also have some daily specials. So these are what we had:

Some deep fried beef tendon

Cauliflower soup

Tomato soup

Beef tartare

Bread with some specialty butter

One of the 2 wine we brough

Prawns

We had 4 types of steaks

Dinner was delicious. We were even given a scoop of complimentary ice-cream each.

Went home feeling very full. Sat a while before taking out the cake. This year's birthday cake is the Carribean which you picked. We had some photos taken before singing the birthday song:

Birthday boy

With Mei-mei

With Ah Kong and Ah Ma

The family

And then it's time for the song. No one fights to blow out the candle nowdays. All grown up:

Movie Date

You had asked to go to the cinemas to watch Hoppers. So today, Ah Kong dropped us off at Queensbay Mall after music lessons. We shopped a little, ate lunch, then headed to the cinema:

It's nice spending a "girl's day" with you. We get to chat and gossip together. Let's make sure we do this often. 

At the Driving Range

Went with the two of you to the driving range today. We dropped Evelyn off then headed over for you both to have a go at 100 balls (or was it 200?) each!

Spaghetti Marinara

Kakak had the day off today. Since we didn't want to have to rush her to come back, we decided to cook dinner. It was a last minute decision, so we picked up all the ingredients from Jaya Grocer. 

I peeled the prawns while Ko-ko de-veined them. 

Such fragrance from the prawns

Frozen scallops

(they shranked significantly after cooking!!)

Taste tester

Dinner is served!!

And then a certain little girl also made tang yuen today:

Home Tech Support

The printer we had bought when Ko-ko was in primary school has finally KO-ed. So daddy and I searched for something suitable (for our needs as well as our pockets). And we finally bought this HP printer. Daddy asked Ko-ko to have it set up and connected to the home network. It's aliveeee... we're all able to print on this printer. 

 

CNY Dinner with the Phuahs

.. and Nanna too. Ah Ma had invited her over and she happily obliged. Especially since daddy's famous barbecue on the menu.

Here's the main course:

Steaks resting

The whole spread

Kids (all grown up and taller than us). 

Missing Annabelle who's in US and Abigail who's back in KL

The oldies' table

And of course, the finale was roasted marshmallows.

2026 Chinese New Year - Day 2

Day 2 is always a relaxed day. Lunch was a simple meal of leftovers.. we had too much popiah and dishes leftover.

Then Ashley Kor-kor, Yvonne Kor-kor, Martin and Chim Poh headed out to visit Chim Poh's brother. Since we had nothing to do, we headed to Etre for some desserts. The shop was crowded but we finally managed to get a seat for the 6 of us: Daddy, Mummy, Ko-ko, Mei-mei, Ah Ma and Uncle Dennis.

Even to order our cakes, drinks and pastries took a while. But as usual, the wait was worth it. Everything was beautiful and delicious.

Sweets and Savories

Coffee

When we reached home, Kor-kor were all back too. So they had a mahjong session. And like the years before, the stakes was alcohol. Not sure if it's better to be the winner or the loser!

Dinner was chicken rice with dishes.

And on top of that, Ko-ko went out with Daddy later to pick up pizza for supper. This time it's from Rossi Italian. Not bad. Daddy and I have not tried the food from here, even though they have a branch in Penang.

Of course, the night is not complete without more alcohol, chatter and laughter. 

2026 Chinese New Year - Day 1 Evening

Today's dinner was mainly cooked by Ashley Kor-kor, Chim Poh and daddy.  

 

The girls, Ah Mm and Kor-kor helped with the lou sang.

Then it was dinnertime. Tonight's dishes were a mix of bought (roast duck and roast goose, supplemented by Ah Kong and Ah Pek) and others cooked at home:

After dinner was done and cleaning up completed, it was time for fireworks again. The evening started with the kids playing with the varieties available. Daddy was around to make sure everyone played safely.

Then it was time to bring out the big guns. 

And then as usual we sat around chatting and drinking. The kiddies sat around playing cards and on the ipad. 

Horseh Chinese New Year 2026 - Day 1 morning

We all woke up a little earlier. I had kitchen duties and daddy had prep work before the lion dance came. Ate breakfast, then showered and dressed up.

Daddy putting up the firecrackers, and also had to put up the angpow with the lettuce

Tasked the girls to prep the setup of basket filled with pomelo and mandarines for the lion dance. They decided to write the word "Ma"馬. As the simplified writing wasn't to nice looking, you all attempted to write in traditional Chinese. Needed Ko-ko to help tweak the design for it to look nicer.

Not too bad!

Took some photos while waiting for the lion dance troupe to arrive. Look at the dark skies behind. Very strange CNY weather.

And then they arrived.. a little pass 11am. As always, the performance was very impressive. This year, they even relaxed in the living room, while another attempted to play the piano.

Getting ready to pick the ang pow and lettuce

Sayonara!

And this was what they had "re-designed":

Took a family photo before heading in and getting ready for lunch:

Master chef preparing the soup for our mee suah soup

Master and assistant (dunno who is what) preparing the fried eggs

And while we prepared the food, daddy and Ah Pek decided to pool some money on TnG to give to the kiddies. There was so much excitement as they scanned the QR code to see who gets the most:

Lunch is served:

Then it was time to give out the ang pows:

Phew.. and we could finally rest a little before the dinner prep.