Don't Know Whether He Loves it or Hates it


The poor little guy caught his first cold a few weeks ago when the weather turned cold.
He's got to take 2 cough and allergy medications and 2 nasty saline shots up the nose every day which gets him screaming bloody murder.


But this greedy boy can't decide whether he likes or hates his medicine. Maybe because it's new, or because it's sweet or maybe because he's just so darn greedy... he opens his mouth for it. He balks but still wants it...

Looks like he's ready for life - sucker for punishment.

New Discoveries at Marmalade Pantry

Just when the cupcakes were starting to lose their ability to brighten up my day, I discover 2 new yummy reasons to go back to Marmalade...

The fluffy coconut cake

And lemon meringue sponge cake.

Since I grew up with my mother's homemade lemon meringue pies, I fell in love with this sweetie pie just from the menu description alone. A clever twist to the traditional dessert, MP leaves the tried and tested combination of sweet tinge of pillowy soft meringue and tarty lemon zest, and incorporates generous layers of soft light butter sponge. Yummy!

Another 5th Month Milestone - Rollie Pollie!



Grayden's Laughter


T-shirt from Gramsies - $24
Panasonic Lumix Camera - $699

Rarely heard pearls of laughter from my little Graydie - PRICELESS.

Guest-starring Daddy G, providing the even more priceless entertainment. :)

Graydie and his Gramps

The Chronicles of Grayden's Chairs


Grayden loves his chairs. I realize this boy really loves to sit. He sits alot...

From his super cool high-chair from cousin G to socialize at dinner...

To his observatory pram from Godma to snooze or chill comfortably in...

To his 2nd month Disney play-gym-cum-chair...

To inflatable smiley Hippo... to sit and ponder.

And of course our big cosy sofa in the living room to play with his M & D.

Today was another new chair experience. We had lunch at Taste Paradise again but it's his first time 'chairing' at a restaurant. :)
Hee hee, check out the paranoid parents and the little runt.


Gregory provides some side-line entertainment to his little cousin


And loses his specs! :)

"Revenge I eat your feet!"

Chalk @ Mount Sophia


...And that's exactly what we devote our precious Saturdays to...selfish brunches, lazy lunches and family dinners. Since last week Chalk lost to District 10 - and such a poor victory it turned out to be, we thought we should give it a chance this week.

One walk in and I already like this place. Perhaps it's the large dining room space, or the chalkboard specials or the open kitchen concept or friendly owners Marcus and Laurent. We settled ourselves at our table, tripping over the fact that there were only a combine total of 2 filled tables for lunch. An empty restaurant means private and efficient dining - me like.

Jumping straight into the menu, we ordered a few appetizers - the mushroom consomme, smoked duck breast and the beef carpaccio from the specials that day - to share.






The appetizers were pretty average. The soup was a clear and light broth and the carpaccio was as predictable as day in what we expected. The smoked duck salad was interesting and the pear with raspberry dressing gave it a nice refreshing twist.

Lunch moved on at a leisurely pace. Our hearty mains were dished out as we chilled with cold beers and relaxing conversations.

We ordered another 2 items from the specials - the duo of pork and lamb parmentier. Normally I wouldn't recommend walking into a restaurant and ordering the specials since they tend to be what the kitchen needs to have thrown out. And this is the case for the lamb. But for the pork, it should be a main stay.This was lovely. Done in 2 ways, the pork was tasty and tender. The lamb wasn't so great though.

Sadly, that was about the only fantastic main we had. The rest failed to impress. The braised duck pappardelle wasn't that yummy.

The duck confit that came highly recommended was a little on the dry side. The sweet potato mash was really nice though. Refine and smooth.

Although the mains were not terribly impressive, I was still rather eager to move on to dessert. There were 3 items that had already screamed out to me when we first stepped in and I couldn't wait to sink my folk into them: sticky date cake with ginger ice-cream - Marcus laments that Laurent loves to dapple with everything ginger. We think it's yummy! - champagne sorbet with strawberries and fried banana with coconut ice cream.


The cake was warm and so homely. The ginger ice cream was a nice touch compared to the usual french vanilla ice creams normally served.

The champagne sorbet was light but the essence from the bubbly was apparent. Decently generous but not loud enough to cause drunkenness.

My absolute highlight was the fried banana and coconut ice cream. Fancy 'she-bang' for goreng pisang, I would still come back just for seconds. I don't like bananas actually, in fact I detest them to the point where I barf the minute I put a morsel in my mouth. But my dining companions confer that they are yummy. Coated with dessicated coconut and drizzled with creamy caramel - the pipping hot bananas are superb. And the coconut ice cream is perfection. I begged Marcus before we left to find a way to sell his ice cream by take-away tubs. Sadly, it's so yummy because they don't use stabilizers and that means that the ice cream melts in 10 minutes. It's never going to make it home with me... Sigh, such are life's ironies.
But Marcus makes it up by serving us another treat on the house - vanilla pana cotta with berry compote.


The pana cotta is so smooth and velvety creamy. So rich, yet so light. So sweet and tart at the same time. It was an extreme delight.

So will I come back to Chalk?
Like District 10, the food is nothing to rave about. The bulk of the menu is about average food. Like owner Marcus purports, it's meant to feel home-made and rusty.
But will I come back? Certainly!
If anything, it's for the yummy dessert and the chatty owners, Marcus and Laurent, who made lunch such a simple joy on a hot lazy Saturday afternoon.


Chalk@ Mt Sophia
11 the Old School at Mount Sophia,
#01-03, Singapore 228461
Tel: 6883 2120
http://www.chalk.com.sg/

A Day in the Life of 4-Turning-5 Month Old Graydie

In the mornings I play with my mouth and tongue on my Mummy and Daddy's bed...






In the afternoons I lie by myself or sit and watch the world go by...






In the evenings, I rule the Household with my chair...




It's me and my chair - no one can take away my food or my toys.