Breakfast at The Red Bean Bag, Publika

I've heard many rave reviews about breakfast at the Red Beanbag. Unfortunately, we never had the chance to try it out as it was always full with a long waiting list; and that one time that we managed to get in... we were told that they were no longer serving breakfast. Hence we had cake instead!

Last weekend, I decided that we were going to try it out once and for all. Right after Ian's early morning class at Beebop Circus, we headed straight to Publika. It was a half hour wait, with about 5 families in queue before us. We had to wait outside, and with a sleeping Ian and a hungry Aiden in hand, it was no surprise that both kids started getting cranky. But still, we prevailed!

Chairs for customers in the waiting list. See how close they are to the cafe tables? Also, I wish they would put a fan outside - it was so hot! 

Finally, they called our number!

Anddddd thank goodness we prevailed, because as the reviews raved - breakfast was sooooo good. Here was what we ordered.

Benedict III (RM26).

Look at that beautiful runny yolk oozing out onto the fluffy french toast... Aiden certainly had fun poking at the poached egg!

Out of the three dishes we had, this was the best of them all. Your choice of beef bacon/turkey ham (I chose beef bacon) with kale, sauteed mushroom, roasted portobello mushroom on a bed of fluffy french toast, drizzled with hollandaise sauce served with two poached eggs. *drool* I am no food blogger, but I am a mummy blogger; hence when my son managed to finish this up including the greens, it must be damn freaking good.

What a mess! However, he literally wiped the plate clean (greens included!) and even requested for a repeat breakfast visit!

Next, we ordered the Signature Baked Eggs (RM22) - two eggs cracked in a bowl of lamb, chicken and beef bratwurst topped with mozzarella cheese then baked to perfection. Also served with three pieces of sourdough toast which Ian hogged throughout the whole meal. This was somewhat okay, but we collectively agreed that we preferred The Benedict!

Ian peering curiously at his bread.

Check out that thick gooey layer of cheese.

Aiden asking Ian for a piece of bread.

From left to right - Aiden begged for a taste of bread, Ian allowed Aiden one bite, then Ian got exasperated and shoved the whole thing in his brother's mouth! *giggles*

Since Aiden loved The Benedict so much... we decided to order The Atlantic (RM25), which is exactly like The Benedict but instead of meat, it had smoked salmon. To be exact, smoked salmon served with salmon pearls, baby spinach, sauteed mushrooms and fluffy french toast, drizzled with hollandaise sauce served with two poached eggs.

To be frank, I preferred the crispy and chewy beef bacon if compared to the slightly salty smoked salmon.

Something funny that I noted was that the two were assembled differently - one had mushrooms but without the spinach, while the other vice versa.

A cranky Ian, yelling for us to quickly finish our meal as it was his nap time!

Overall, I'm glad we made the effort to visit The Red Beanbag. I just wish they would improve on the waiting time. Also, don't be fooled by the size of the meals - they were quite filling and it lasted us well until dinner. Looking forward to our next brunch here. Dying to try out The Skyscraper!

The Red Beanbag

Block A4 1st Floor A4-1-08, Publika

Jalan Dutamas 1, Solaris Dutamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur

T: +603 6211 5116

F: https://www.facebook.com/theredbeanbag

Sending My Domestic Help Home...

"Puan, saya mahu balik cuti, boleh?"

*sigh* Yes... in exactly one week, we'll be sending our domestic help home.... for her well deserved holiday.

After a whole string of maids who only stayed up to their two year contract (too old, ran away and left Aiden at home alone, found a boyfriend), this one is the best maid of them all. She has stayed over and above her two years contract and now it is time for her to head home for her holiday. She promised to come back after three weeks. And I sincerely hope she does. But you and I both know that, until she physically arrives in KLIA, there are simply no guarantees.

Meanwhile, I am prepping myself for this three-week maid-less period. Just this morning as I was driving to work, I was mentally listing things that I need to plan and worry about. Such as:

• Where am I going to send Ian while I work? Which daycare would accept toddlers for just 3 weeks?
• If I manage to find a daycare for Ian, he's not going to like being left with strangers. How am I going to handle the crying?
• Where is Aiden going to go after kindergarten ends? Need to inform the van too.
• If I manage to find a transit daycare, what food can I provide for Aiden, considering he always gets hungry at tea time? (Our maid usually makes sandwiches, roti canai and such - but I need to find simpler food that I can pack in the morning.)
• What am I going to cook for dinner? Erm, scratch that. Where am I going to tapau lauk for dinner?
• Aiden doesn't have sufficient uniforms to last him the entire week. Need to hand wash his uniform mid-week.
• Should I get a daily maid to help with the cleaning during the weekend? Need to find one.
• What about laundry and ironing? Should I send it to the dobi or do it myself during the weekend?
• Need to stock up on groceries. Don't want to run out of groceries and have to rush to the shop while Aiden and Ian are at transit.
• Should I negotiate with the boss to work from home on certain days?

And the list goes on and on. Don't even get me started on the list in the case that my maid doesn't come back. *shudders*

At times like these, I marvel at how mums without domestic help manage their household. I especially marvel at how the working mothers manage... juggling their careers and home. *salute* Not only are you responsible for cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing... etc etc etc... but some of you are chauffeurs for your kids too! 

Anyway, wish me luck and let's all pray that my precious domestic help returns after her brief holiday. I don't think I'll be blogging much during that period (apart for some pre-scheduled posts)... so if you don't hear from me, you know why! *nervous grin*

Here's Ian's version of my nervous grin. 

Sitting in a Capsized Chopper!

Remember this post? Well four year later, it is time to renew my offshore safety training certification - also known as BOSIET (Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training).

The problem with rules and regulations in this country, is that it keeps changing. Similarly, what was previously a perfectly acceptable BOSIET curriculum, has now changed to an OPITHO certified curriculum. And with every change, it has its pros and cons. The pros? Less time in class. I remember dreading the hours spent listening to lecturers literally reading from the slide. It was pure torture - like nails on a blackboard. Why stay in class listening to someone reading to you when you can just read the slides in the comfort of your home? Well this time around - short enjoyable lectures and more hands on training.

The cons? Instead of having to just sit in an overturned helicopter 4 times, it has now increased to a grand total of 8! *no kidding*

The first two times were simulations of ditching on water. Hence we only needed to jump into an awaiting life raft outside the helicopter. The third time, was a simulation of the helicopter sinking so we had to escape by holding our breath through an open window. Fourth - helicopter sinking and escape using emergency breathing system (EBS) through an open window. Fifth - sinking and escape with EBS through closed window. Sixth, seventh and eighth were all similar to third, fourth and fifth... But instead of just sinking, the chopper also overturns (turn turtle)... Oh you know, just for that added torture *stressed face*

The helicopter simulation we had to sit in that morning. Aaahhh the things I do for a living!

On trip number four, it was my first run with the EBS and I must have panicked cos instead of blowing air into it and closing the valve, I immediately closed the valve! Which would have been horrible because it meant that I would have no air in my EBS.!Thankfully I came to my senses and managed to reset the valve, blew air into the EBS and closed it... just as the water was reaching my chin. I actually had to push my head up high to get that precious few seconds of extra time above water to get it all done. Talk about cutting it close!!!!

And on trip number six, it was the first trip for the chopper to overturn, and in all the panic, I didn't have time to put on my nose clip. Thankfully the instructor helped me with it just as the water reached below my nose. Not only that, because the chopper had turned turtle, it was only normal for me to lose my bearings hence as soon as I escaped through the window, instead of swimming up, I swam downwards. My breath-hold was finishing fast, I was not breaking through the surface and panic was kicking in. It was only when I felt a tug on my back (from the standby safety diver) that I realized I was going the wrong way!

Four seats in the chopper. Even with two instructors in the chopper and two back up divers in the water (meaning one diver for each participant), we were all dead nervous!

But.... Thanks to goggles and nose clips... I survived! In hindsight, I'm glad we did the whole helicopter survival on the first day (so that we get it over and done with and enjoy the remaining days!) and I'm glad all 8 trips on the chopper was done in succession, continuously, which gave us no time to think nor panic before each round on the chopper! Kalau tak panic jugak tunggu each group to finish their runs before embarking on the next round.

Hurray, we survived!

Other than that, we were tested on our ability to don a life jacket properly in one minute, boarded a survival craft (TEMPSC), jumped off a one meter board (back in 2007 it used to be 10 meters which in 2011 became 3 meters... Soooo glad that it's now one!), rope transfers, sea survival, fitting of helicopter strop, first aid, CPR and fire fighting.

Here's the TEMPSC. Imagine squeezing 16 people in there, sweaty bodies all cramped in that small space. I hope I never have to go through this in real life... ever!

Sea survival.

And so I got my four year certification again. Here's hoping I don't have to go offshore anymore by the time this certificate expires!

Welcome September!

Happy Tuesday blues!

So how did you guys celebrate your long Merdeka weekend? Similar to last year, we took the opportunity for a short getaway using my HiltonHonors points - but this year instead of heading to our usual Doubletree, we splurged a bit and picked KL Hilton!

It was such a good choice too! Despite being so close to the office and so near to Bersih 4.0, we had such a relaxing stay. I'll save it for a separate blog review, but in a nutshell - clear traffic, our room was upgraded, the pool was huge, the kiddy pool was shallow enough for Ian to walk in and out by himself, we received a free dessert at Tony Roma's for dinner, a discount for Chicken Rice Shop for lunch and ended the day by watching Inside Out at GSC Nu Sentral. Major milestone for Ian too, cos it was the first movie that he managed to watch from start to finish without crying. He sat on my lap the whole time, munching on popcorns, engrossed in the movie.

The gorgeous pool view from our room.

Aiden and Ian playing with their beach toys and water guns by the kids pool, while I relaxed on the pool lounge chair. I can do this all day!!!

After returning home from our short city getaway, the SPK gang decided to hangout at our place so we had our Merdeka countdown with them. By the time they left it was past 2am. The next day we all slept in (obviously!) and after a late lunch at the in-laws, we went biking around the housing area. Then we had a light dinner at Zawara Coffee (our favourite cafe for now... their homemade Walnut and Cranberry bread is simply to die forrrrrr), and then Aiden achieved a personal milestone - his first barber haircut!

Aiden has always been super scared of anything sharp near his ears. When he was a baby, he would wail his lungs out whenever we go get a haircut. Once we were even escorted into a private room cos we made so much noise that it created quite a havoc in the salon. When he got older, we brought him to our local barber and he kept moving his head whenever the barber got close to his ears. He was soooo worried that the barber would snip off his ears! In the end, Aiden grew up with Hubby as his personal barber - which resulted in some disastrous Temenggung Jugah hairstyles!

But last night, he sat perfectly still, and even confidently exclaimed, "I'm not scared right, Mummy?"

First barber haircut! 

Aww... he looks like he's ready for primary school!

Hope you all had a good Merdeka getaway too!