Chawanmushi .. one of our favorite family must-orders whenever we head out for Japanese food. My toddler loves it alot - perhaps its the silky smooth egg custard sweet savory texture that makes eating it such a joy. Or the various ingredients that can be found in chawanmushi makes it very appealing for the young kids to scoop it up, like a surprise - spoonful by spoonful. 😊

Silky Smooth Chawanmushi with LILO Premium Ikan Bilis Powder + GIVEAWAY 

Chawanmushi can be rather expensive in restaurants, so I try to make my own version right at home with the ingredients that I have right in the fridge. I really like how you can add anything to this dish and it will still taste really good plus its so simple to make once you get the recipe right. Smooth and silky, just like tofu! 💗

The question I receive often via PMs are - "How do you make yours so smooth?" Or, "how do I get rid of the 'holes' in my steamed egg?" Well, read on! (There's also a #GIVEAWAY at the end!) Its very simple actually and you can adjust it to your taste easily at home yourself.

Chawanmushi Recipe (Serves 2) 

You will need :

1 egg (around 60g)

Just about any ingredients that you wanna use, today Im using : 

Shimeji Mushrooms

Threadfin Fish

Edamame Beans

Fishcake 

Simply add one tsp of dashi granules in 50ml of warm water so it will dissolve. Add one spoonful of ikan bilis powder provided by LILO Ikan Bilis Powder (Click here to read more about why Ikan Bilis Powder is good for growing kids) into the dashi stock. If you dont have dashi stock at home, you can use just about any stock eg chicken stock and add ikan bilis powder in too. Or even plain water - thats how versatile LILO Ikan Bilis is! 😋 

Do you know that LILO Premium Ikan Bilis Powder is now NEA-licensed? This means that the powder is made in a kitchen that is inspected and approved under NEA stringent control! As a parent, its my priority to make sure the food I offer is produced in a hygienic and safe environment. In addition, Ikan Bilis has a good amount of iron, healthy polyunsaturated fats (omega-3 fatty acids) and calcium (bones must not be removed) and because LILO Premium Ikan Bilis has been soaked before baking, its not salty at all for the little ones. 💪

Mix well and add room temperature water to make it 150ml stock in total. 

TIP*** I realize you need your stock to be 2.5x in volume with one egg (roughly 60g each) to get that smooth custardy texture. Any lesser and it will end up being too 'egg-like' and thick.

(Note also: I use warm water to dissolve the powders but add room temperature water so that I wouldn't 'cook' the egg when I add the egg in) 

Add beaten egg in the mixture 

Add ingredients into a small bowl or like me, simply get chawanmushi cups from Daiso. They are pretty and the covered lids makes the egg steam evenly. 

U can sieve the mixture in carefully, or if you are in a hurry - you may omit this step, no worries.

I like to 'fill' the bottom with the heavier ingredients like meat followed by veg and mushrooms. The fishcake can be placed at the top coz its very cute and looks appetizing for the young ones.

TIP*** To get the smoothest chawanmushi texture, you need to control your fire well. Once your water starts boiling, turn your fire to the lowest setting and place the cups in it gently. Steam on low heat for around 10-12 mins and check by poking a toothpick in if you are just trying out this method. If you use an alternative meat like chicken, make you slice it thin so it gets cooked through. 

Shortly .... a warm cup of chawanmushi to fill little happy bellies!😍

This is always a delicious side dish for my toddler and he loves eating it with a bowl of rice or with some udon! Versatile and quick to make, its worth mastering this coz its always a hit with the family! You can also add just about any ingredient, the variations are limitless 😇

 Hope you enjoy my little share! How about a GIVEAWAY now???

In conjunction with LILO Premium Ikan Bilis Powder - 4 LUCKY WINNERS will walk away with either 

1) Donutella Plush Toy 2) Donutella EZ-Link Charm 3) Stellina Unicorno EZ-Link Charm 4) Tokidoki Donutella Pink Mini Hair Brush plus a bottle of LILO Premium Ikan Bilis Powder too! 

To join, simply head over to my FB page : https://www.facebook.com/pg/Sugar7733

or instagram page here : https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg2kRL8hhio/?taken-by=sugar73

*****

For more info on where to purchase, please head to :

LILO Premium Ikan Bilis Powder Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/Lilo-Premium-Ikan-Bilis-Powder-1888334264713609/

On weekends we love heading out as a family, exploring brunch places that are kid-friendly. I relish the time we spend together, eating and generally relaxing with the little ones. And if the place has a playground or field to let the toddler run, even better, ley! 💚

Family Brunch at Cafe Melba 

One of the restaurants we frequent in the East is Cafe Melba

Just over the weekend, we were waiting for a table and we saw Elroy's schoolmate (former classmate when they were in Playgroup) and both boys took off to play together

They ran barefooted on the grass, such joy to see them having a ball of time!

I personally love sitting outside al fresco and enjoy my food while the young ones play in the sun

Yummy pizza!

With his head full of perspiration, he dug into his kids meal with gusto!  

All that running made him a hungry boy LOL

Poor didi could only look on in envy while sitting on Dada's lap 👻

After his little tummy is filled, off he went to the bouncy castle!

Precious precious morning spent with my loved ones xx

Still looking for similar places so we can visit, any recommendations? 

I admit, Im a sucker for cute packaging so when I first saw the Nestlé Gerber® Puffs Cereal Snack Limited Edition, I actually squealed and went," SOOOO CUTEEE!" Then the toddler reminded me with a "Mama, this for me?" Lololol yes son but can I keep the container after you are done? 😆 

Nestlé Gerber® Puffs Penguins 

It’s that time of the year when the elves make the toys, and Santa visits the little girls and boys! This festive season, look out for our playful Nestlé Gerber® Puffs Penguins as they come adorably togged out in a limited edition ski packaging! How fun are these!

I reckon Elroy is going through a growth spurt recently because from time to time he will ask me for more food or even snacks after he has his meal. I try not to offer him sweet stuff (coz you know what sugar does to these little ones, yessss they go all crazy after). So these Nestlé Gerber® puffs are perfect snacks to eat at home, or bring on the go - Each puff comes packed with vitamins and minerals including Iron, Vitamin E and 3 B Vitamins. What’s more, it contains 90% less salt and 15% less sugar compared to regular non-organic baby biscuits or treats.

This time round, they come in 2 delightful flavours, Banana and Strawberry Apple. I've tasted them and they are definitely not too sweet! 

Nestlé Gerber® Puffs are best recommended for crawlers from 8 months old. Nestlé Gerber® Puffs signature star-shaped, lightly puffed snack are specially designed to encourage self-feeding.

Baby Elric has to wait for awhile to eat these cute puffs so in the meantime, its all for Elroy!

He cant stop and told me he wanted the whole bottle 😈

Nestlé Gerber® Puffs Penguins Ski edition twin pack is available at all leading stores from 1st December and retails at a recommended selling price of S$13.90 for a limited time so do hurry and grab yours when you swing by the supermarket soon!

For more info, please head to :

Nestlé Website : www.starthealthy.nestle.com.sg

Nestlé Facebook Page : www.facebook.com/Nestleshshsg

Im not sure if you or any of your family members like drinking smoothies or shakes, but the 2 year old in our family LOVES his fruity milkshakes! Fruits plays a huge part in our daily diet and the kiddo loves all kinds of fruits, berries especially. Sometimes we buy so many different types of fruits and we cant even finish eating it all, hence I try to incorporate the fruits in our meals, like a blueberry pancake or banana muffin. Or I would just add fruits into his milk or plain yogurt as a tasty snack. With my new Philips Avance Collection Blender HR 3658/01, he keeps asking us for more! In fact, you can even add vegetables like celery, spinach or kale in for a healthy boost! Read on to see how you can win one for yourself this Christmas too!

Philips Avance Collection Blender Review + GIVEAWAY!

I always have fruits, milk and plain greek yogurt in my fridge as this makes a really good snack in the day for me and the toddler. Commercial fruit yogurt tend to be really high in sugars (I kid you not) and so are flavored milks. Thats why I always try to make them at home myself!

For a quick Strawberry and Blueberry Milkshake, you just need fresh fruit and milk. (Or plain greek yogurt to thicken the consistency) In fact, for a nice cool treat on a hot day, simply freeze the fruits, add some milk (or water) and blend away!

The toddler is stealing the fruits on the table already 😂

The Philips Avance Collection Blender HR 3658/01 has a ProBlend 6 3D technology, 1400 watts of power and speeds up to 35,000 RPM to enjoy smoother smoothies and blends with just the right taste and texture. It is proven to motivate users to add more fruits and vegetables in their daily diet!

The Philips technology ensure that all of the ingredients in your smoothie are finely blended - so that the nutrients in fruit, vegetables and nuts are unlocked from the cell structure and easily absorbed by your body. No waste of nutrients at all! Only the goodness for your family.

With my young toddler in mind, I try to make meals or treats like smoothies that he will enjoy fresh at home without any additives or added sugars 💓

Its so easy, he can do it too!

In fact, you can make your smoothie directly in the drinking tumbler and bring it along with you if you are heading out! The Philips Avance Collection Blender comes with a sturdy 600ml tumbler, made of virtually unbreakable tritan material (as seen below), to make smoothies directly with no wastage and that easily fits in your bag or backpack. For the whole family, you can use the 2L glass blender jar. Whats more, this blender comes with a small mill attachment. Whether be it grinding nuts, spices and beans instantly, or preparing small quantities of baby food and dips. The mill attachment makes time consuming processes much easier. My MIL uses it to make sambal and grind chili! Its really perfect for the whole family!

***** Philips Avance Collection Blender HR 3658/01 Giveaway ******

In the spirit of Christmas and upcoming holidays, Philips and I would like to give ONE lucky winner this Philips Avance Collection Blender HR 3658/01! To join, simply  head over to my Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/Sugar7733/

or Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/sugar73/ and follow these easy steps! 

Good luck! 

For more info, please head to :

Philips : Philips

Have a happy weekend! xo

I reckon if my toddler has his way he will be eating biscuits and cookies all day err day. Its just one of those things that even adults get really addicted to, and before you know it - the cookie jar is empty. Growing up, one of my favorite characters on Sesame Street was undoubtedly Cookie Monster! 

Nestlé Gerber® Graduates Cinnamon Graham Animal Cookies and Arrowroot Cookies Review 

Nestlé Gerber® recommends 'First Cookies" for all toddlers and crawlers, these Gerber Graduates Cinnamon Graham Animal Cookies are flavored with a dash of fragrant cinnamon, while the Arrowroot Cookies contain arrowroot flour that gives it a unique taste. In addition, parents will be glad to know that the Nestlé Gerber® New Bakery Snacks do not contain any artificial flavours, colours or artificial sweeteners.

Both cookies are loaded with essential nutrients like Vitamin E, Zinc and Calcium but what I like most is that the handy size makes it easy for my toddler to bite into it easily. These biscuits are the perfect size for the little ones to hold on to it and encourage self-feeding at the same time. The pack also doubles up as a resealable bag, which makes it a breeze for storage. I don't have to look for a cookie jar this time round! My toddler loves the Arrowroot cookies so much that he keeps bugging me for more! The Animal shaped ones are really cute and he names the animals before he eats them ~ Haha! 😁 In fact it was amusing playing with the animal puppets that Gerber sent over in this press kit! Thanks Gerber for the fun! #GerberFirstMoments #ItsGerber

Nestlé Gerber® Graduates Cinnamon Graham Animal Cookies (170g) and Arrowroot Cookies(155g) will be available at all leading supermarkets at $8.90 and $7.90 respectively. 

For more info, please head to :

Nestlé Facebook Page Singapore : https://www.facebook.com/Nestle.Singapore

*This product should only be offered to seated, supervised children who are accustomed to chewing solid foods