Where the Yangs dine: The missing pan

(Currently G is sitting on my lap as I type this post out. too many distractions and pauses cause she keeps touching the keyboard!!)

Going to add another segment to my blog which is to write about food. During our dating days Sean and I would scout for good brunch places. Trust me when I say there was one time we had eggs and truffle fries every weekend for brunch! No guessing which are my favorite kind of brunch food.

We have been to too many places that I can't remember. I even have a list of places to go and that list was created 2-3years ago and we have not even covered half but yet new interesting brunch places keep popping up!

On Saturday (2nd may 2015) we decided to give The Missing Pan a try since I've read some good reviews on their famous French toast.

Pushed the glass door and we saw 4 tables, a lift and a glass window which the kitchen where they bake can be seen. Tiny little first floor. We were shown to the lift and up the second floor we went. But the lift was tiny and it could not hold the weight of 2 grown men, 2 women and a baby so my sister's boyfriend took the stairs.

We were greeted and given the menus by a very friendly and hospitable male staff. He walked away and came back when a set of plastic cutleries for G.

I love how they paid attention to little details like for babies. We always eat out with G very often and most places always give us big Ikea kiddie cutlery which obviously isnt suitable for G at the moment cause it can barely fit in her tiny mouth. I was pleasantly surprised that they actually provided her with a Munchkin baby spoon! We always bring her own cutleries but it was definitely a nice and fresh touch to our dining experience (:

So as mentioned I LOVE LOVE anything truffle! well who doesnt right? Their truffle fries were good! But only for fans of cheese as they really sprinkled alot of cheese. Fries were fried to perfection but felt that the cheese was a tad bit too overwhelming that it kinda masked the truffle taste. 

My sister ordered their pork belly eggs benedict since it was one of their popular dishes. But she felt the meat was too tough and dry. Eggs were runny though. Overall my sister and her boyfriend did not feel it was a great brunch. they have had better. 

(spot tiny baby hands) 

I ordered the beef and chicken skewer french toast which was another of their popular dishes. I loved the beef cause it was tender and flavourful. But to me having fruits with meats were a bit weird; interesting new concept but interesting. Also because i dont really like savoury and sweet food mixed together. The fried chicken skewer was really yummy. Something like pop corn chicken but nicer! G enjoyed the french toast for sure! She does a happy dance whenever she likes something shes eating. For me the meats were the star of the dish not the french toast. 

I ordered the strawberry lemonade which i LOVED. They have pretty interesting drinks on their menu. Sweet, tangy and gassy. this was a great compliment to my meal

Overall i think my sister, her boyfriend and husband did not have a fantastic experience. I was half half. To me the great service made up for the medicore/over-rated food. I wish i got the name of the staff that served us. Cause he was really friendly not only to us but to G as well. He talked and played with G; served her the menu and asked her playfully what she wanted to eat. To me when a server takes the extra mile to even serve/entertain a baby, it shows how much he enjoys his job. This is called going the extra mile to make a customer have a memorable experience. This is the first kind of experience we had that the waiter actually took the initiative to interact with our baby. G often attracts attention whenever we go out but this was more than a "oh shes so cute" kind of service. So props to that waiter! 

Food: 3/5 

Ambiance: 4/5

Service: 6/5 !!

Shall end this post with my favourite picture of my 2 loves. G is so sweet... she really knows the way to melt your heart. Definitely daddy's lil girl. 

Gwyneth's magical pony 1st birthday

Finally getting my butt down to blog about G's first birthday. And i did mention in a few posts back i will be sharing where i got the stuffs for the party and all. 

(PS: none of these are sponsored. I sourced and paid everything, except for candy)

Picking a theme was never difficult. in fact i knew what theme i wanted the day she was born (or even earlier haha!) Since she was born in the year of a horse and shes a girl, My Little Pony was the theme. It was a no brainer since i love all these magical and rainbow. 

We rented some toys as there would be a couple of kids. We didnt want a party that was boring where children sat around and did nothing. And I managed to find a very affordable toy rental company. Got a small bouncy castle and a small play gym for the babies. Additional green tunnel was our own which we got from Ikea. 

Toys from: http://www.toys4rent.sg

Though they arrived a bit late to set up, it is unavoidable since it was a saturday and many childrens parties fall on that day. They did clean and sanitise the toys before leaving which I felt was good! i mean kids germs and all. And the toys were in good condition. The person in charge were flexible too. I managed to negotiate and change some of the party combos they have. So if you see toys you want and arent in the combo package, feel free to email Deborah and she can work something out. 

Customised candy from: Made In Candy (Sponsored since it is our own company) 

Ive always wanted a dessert table since my wedding but getting people to do them is so expensive. I love that companies do personalise things and all but really for the money i rather save it and do it myself. So I customised a banner with a picture of G, with her name and ponies on it. Graphics, price and quality were great!

Banner from: http://signtech.com.sg/printing-services/

All balloons from: http://www.wowletsparty.com/

Store:  69 Moulmein Road #01-81 S(300069)

Big Unicorn, First birthday bouquet, 35 latex balloons, 1 walking unicorn and 12 small foil My Little Pony. 

I got a basic balloon package from them which was $90 and added the other balloons.   http://www.wowletsparty.com/birthday-package-a/

I ordered these customised lil steam nutella cakes for the dessert table. Alot of people loved it and it had generous amount of nutella. 

Steam cakes from: https://www.facebook.com/littlesweettoothbakes?fref=ts

Old school animal, gem and alphabet biscuits from: Biscuit King 

Address: 130 Casuarina Road 

Baskets of mini breads: Four Leaves

Then we made little rainbow marshmellow balls using fruity pebbles. And then daddy made the rice krispy treats using rice krispy cereal puffs. 

Very easy to make. Just put a little bit of butter and marshmellows in a plastic bowl and microwave till it completely melts. then mix fruit pebbles or rice krispy and its done! 

Daddy hard at work 

We printed these huge MLP ponies for decor cause its just too cute! haha

This was G at the start of party when guests started slowly streaming in. She was obviously tired and totally not having fun. haha we managed to put her to sleep for a while while we waited for more guests to come. and by the time the hall was filled she was up and all ready to party! 

Lil Aiden

Finding a cake wasnt much of a challenge either as I knew i did not want to pay an exorbent amount on fondant cakes and I havent found a place which i really liked yet. I had a jelly cake once for my birthday when i was 8. So i thought of a jelly cake immediately and im thankful i did cause everyone raved about the cake!! i was super impressed that she managed to draw up the ponies in a jelly shape!! and mind you that can be eaten too! not only was she affordable but the art work was spot on!! taste was great too! not too sweet and texture was bouncy just like how a jelly should be. im happy to say i have found my official cake person if i ever wanna do jelly cakes again! 

But really the picture doesnt do the cake justice. but im glad all my guests managed to see it up close and everyone had all praises for it! 

Jelly cake from: https://www.facebook.com/BarbieJellyCake?fref=ts

G was so happy that day. Her smile lighted up the room and she made my heart sing. nothing makes me happier then seeing her happy and even though she probably wont remember her 1st party, i know she had fun! 

with my young parents clan. both who are gywneth's boyfriends! haha

Aunty and her lil bubba

Mama and Kong Kong with their Famous 5 grand children

4 generations 

Daddy managed to capture these pure sweet and happy moments of our lil angel 

Grandpa had so much fun with the birthday girl too. taking her on the castle and playing with her. moments like this im glad i have these pictures. these pictures are priceless. 

we have watched each other grow. from those wild drunk days to having families of our own...

I really felt it was my birthday! haha but since it was a magical pony theme obviously i had to dress to fit the theme right. everyone was wondering whose party it was! haha 

And finally my niece with the 2 giant ponies. 

Still cant believe G is 1 years old already. amazing how time has flown by. but then again because she is premature she really isnt 1 yet. so i get to celebrate her officially being 1 on 26th june again. I marvel at how much she has grown and how amazingly healthy she is. 

At 1 years old (corrected age 10mths) G can... 

-say 'mama, dada, nana, yaya, papa and other gibberish words'

-crawls super fast 

-climbs on the table 

-climbs out of a high chair and climbs onto the table 

-cruising 

-she loves steam egg, udon, fried rice, noodles, cakes, pao, french toast, pancakes 

-knows how to clap her hands

-feed herself using her hands 

-feed herself using a small fork 

-knows how to do the action of 'no more'

-waves 

-does a happy dance whenever she loves whatever she is eating 

-pulls the dogs ears and tail, pulls the cats fur 

-chases the cat/finds the cat 

-squeals in excitement whenever she sees the cat 

-cuddles with the dog 

-knows how to crawl up stairs 

-loves the slide and indoor playground 

-loves the ball pit 

-knows the word 'shake' and she will shake the bottle she is holding 

-knows how to play dead (she would fall backwards when we go "BANG") its really hilarious 

-she is super clingy to me (breastfeeding mother problems)

being a mother to this lil angel has been the most rewarding and my greatest achievement of my life. im truly blessed that God gifted us this amazing warrior; she fought for her life during the first 2 months and since then she has been perfectly healthy. out of this 1 year she has never really fallen sick and has taken her immunisation jabs very well too. she has only gotten slight flus and coughs which go away pretty fast. she is a blessed child and im proud that she is mine.