Visitors in Chengdu

It's been a week since MIL's arrival. She came with DH's cousin who also acted as a translator. So far, things have turned out better than expected - they haven't been too shocked culturally and neither have we killed each other :D

In the past week, we've probably exhausted all our usual restaurant haunts (which also goes to show how many we know). Hotpot, Sichuan, Cantonese/Sichuan, Japanese Tonkatsu, American, more Sichuan.... I've even ordered home delivery from the down-to-earth local eatery just round the block which they seemed to like. And to my delight, they have even taken to dumplings (饺子) eaten with vinegar & soy sauce. This is evidenced by them actually buying a pack of frozen dumplings from the corner convenience shop for lunch on their accord!

Nonetheless, a fix of Western food is always a nice reprive. Last night, I made roast beef & roasted vegetables a la Italiano for dinner and judging by the mood & second helpings, it was a welcomed change.

Last Saturday, we decided to do some touristy stuff so we rented a car & driver who took us to the nearest panda facility in Chengdu. Despite a couple of marked enclosures on the map, there was basically only 1 enclosure within the entire park where those adorable bears were found. Sigh. That aside, the pandas were awfully cute. How can anyone think otherwise? Those pear-shaped lumbering frames especially when they are sitting are the epitome of huggable, squeezable cuteness. But what stole our hearts that afternoon were the tiny hapless cubs in the nursery and the dude who lounged in the 'jacuzzi' for ages while silly tourists gawked & clicked pictures.

Today, we went to the WangJiangLou (望江楼) park right across the river from where we stay. We call it the bamboo park because of its clusters of tall, willowy bamboo. [It is DH & minibeanie's fav haunt on weekend mornings, mainly because mummy usually (ok, make it always :D) decides to sleep in on weekends. Usually, DH parks themselves in 1 of the few tea gardens there, have his favourite 竹叶青 green tea and read his book if minibeanie allows it.] Anyway, so all of us went there today, had our teas in a tea garden by the river and altogether had a nice walk even though it got rather sweaty at the end.



minibeanie is 1 year, 1 month & 2 weeks old

Puppy love

Having a baby is like having a puppy in the house. He's not house trained. He chews on everything including his own shoes, socks & even daddy's stinky pyjamas. He takes scraps of food off your hand. He slobbers all over the sofa & licks your nose when you're sleeping. Who needs a pet when I've minibeanie? :D

It's truly amazing how much & fast he grew in the past month. In the one month that we arrived in Chengdu, he has learned how to sit from a tummy position and how to pull himself up. This morning, still groggy from sleep I noticed that he was standing by my pillow holding onto the headboard. Whhaaaa....? Ok, this is a new milestone that the little rascal has now reached which means we're fast running out of options on how to keep him safe.

minibeanie's also extremely curious about what we're eating. DH & I were having a little breakfast of toast with cheddar when he was clamouring all over us to reach for the plate (or food?) To quell his curiosity & appetite, I began to dish out little bits of bread with melted cheddar. That got the little rascal sitting quietly at least for awhile :)

Still on the topic of nibbling off our plate, yesterday, on the rare chance to make it out of the house as a family, we headed to Haagen Dazs for high-tea. Halfway through our mango sorbet & green tea ice cream, minibeanie woke up and started getting bored. (yup, he seems to have the attention span of a fruit fly these days) Thus, we decided to give him a snack of banana that was on our platter. So there we were, starting a production line of me mashing the banana and DH delivering the payload to an eager puppy-eyed baby. At least, he wasn't demanding for the ice cream ..... at least not yet!


minibeanie is 8 months & 4 days old

Wibbit

Parenthood brings out the Bollywood theatrics in all of us. We sing whether it's off-key or with silly lyrics made up on the fly, tell an entire story in 5 different voices and derive joy springing out from behind walls. Thankfully, it's generally easy to amuse minibeanie as he's by and large, a good natured boy :)

We'd some fun today at an Austrian cafe today. A game that never fails to occupy minibeanie is the 'Burp Cloth Tickle'. Just lightly trail or swipe the cloth from toes to face. It's amazing how much joy can be found in a sometimes cheesy smelling piece of cloth! :D


Apparently, "wibbit" is also a reeeeally funny word as we found out ;)

minibeanie is 4 months, 1 week & 3 days old

A date at the movies

It felt like a family vacation yesterday even though it was just a movie & lunch. Probably because it was a Thursday afternoon & DH had taken the day off - it felt so... indulgent & decadent! :P The movie was My Blueberry Nights, the 'Baby movie' of the month but that wasn't really all that important.

Upon reaching the cinema, we were greeted by the sight of the atrium having been taken over by huge prams & their chubby masters. They sat or reclined in their 'mobile chaise lounges' sucking their pacifiers ferociously and once in a while, let their wishes be known by a wail.

The screening was held in the largest theatre - 648 seats in all. On the eve of the movie, about 100 tickets were sold. Yet, it felt as if there were a lot more. Entering the theatre was a surreal experience. Yes, it had the familiar feel of a movie theatre - dim lights, rows of seats, huge screen, plush red carpet..but wait, there were toddlers totting about, babies crying and mums queueing for the microwave ovens! The first row was entirely taken for an obvious reason. Mums have created little away-from-home nurseries for their little sultans there with mats, toys & even a castle-tent! :D


Over the 'ping' of the microwave ovens & cries of the babies, we still managed to catch the banter between Norah Jones & Jude Law. As for minibeanie, he was a good boy. He sat captured by the large screen for half an hour before deciding he had enough and wanted to be fed. Then after, he fretted in the pram's cot and finally fell asleep in my arms.

It was a really nice afternoon diversion, not least because it was our first movie in... more than 4 months. The organizers had even put changing tables and brought in the popcorn man with snacks & drinks. And only 3% of the audience were big boys above the age of 18, popcorn man included. They should organize this is Singapore, I think it would be a big hit :)

minibeanie is 3 months & 4 weeks old

To the movies

One of the most common grouse from parents of young children is that they can't remember when was the last time they went to the movies. Without babysitters, it's mission impossible. Then, we heard that twice a month, the movie theatre here holds a special screening for parents with babies! Wow whee, here we come!! :D For the regular price of an afternoon movie ticket, the theatre comes equipped with changing tables, microwave oven & hot water for milk. No need to feel guilty when minibeanie fusses for his feed or have the need to grope in the dark if he spits his pacifier flying out in an arc because the lights will be half dimmed. And to top it all off, a goodie bag is given to each baby. How cool is this??

Yeah, so I thought we'd be watching Finding Nemo (again!) or Lion King (argh..), then I found out it was My Blueberry Nights. Blueberry what? To my great relief, the imdb search was a lot more promising than having a name that closely resembles Strawberry Shortcake. No offence to movie buffs here.

surprise #1: It's a Wong Kar Wai movie!
surprise #2: It stars Norah Jones, probably my fav R&B singer
And the icing on the cake? (even though I'd get pinched for this)


It co-stars Jude Law!

And here's what the theatre looks like today when DH was on his way for lunch. To our friends in Singapore, the size of the prams here probably comes as a bit of a shock :P


Going totally off-tangent, feeling the need to get out of the house, I met DH today in the city after his work for some real chocolate :)

minibeanie is 3 months, 1 week & 6 days old

Family visit

"minibeanie, say hi to puopuo (grandma in Cantonese)"

4 days ago, my family from Singapore got to see & hold minibeanie at last. It was great to have them see him before he becomes a strapping toddler (I swear minibeanie's growing right before my very eyes... it must be the glow-in-the-dark green mushrooms I ate)

In addition to the mandatory coo-ing and ah-ing, from the adults of course, my family got to see some of the Finnish sights such as the island fortress Suomenlinna where my pram underwent a severe stress test over the cobbled stone streets, arty farty museums (not for my mum though ;), fed a herd of enthusiastic geese at Seurasaari and wiped out the Iittala, & Aarikka stores.... some retail therapy is always a welcome treat for any Singaporean visitor ;)

Then of course there's the Christening ceremony for minibeanie on the coming Monday. Yes, this means that we've chosen a name for the lil' un' at last! This was no mean feat. A council of 12 elders had to meet thrice and an auspicious time had to be selected that involved the full moon before the name was finally agreed on.

My family's visit also means that my larder gets stocked full of lup cheong (chinese sausage), dried shrimps, korean instant noodles that my mum swears by, mooncakes & the piece de resistance, ... frozen durian! My mother-in-law is so going to swoon with the pong of dried shrimps and durian :D

minibeanie is 1 month & 2 weeks old

First visit to a Chinese restaurant

minibeanie is 5 weeks old and that is as long as we've gone not going out for dinner. Going anywhere with a baby is tricky business; the bottle is the centre of the universe - all revolves around it. Hence, we dashed out of the house the moment minibeanie was fed, sufficiently burped and comfortably nestled in the pram. After all, we only had a 2 hour window.

We decided to try a Chinese restaurant that a friend recently recommended. As a general rule, we tend to steer clear of Chinese restaurants in Helsinki believing that the dishes they serve up all have the same gooey gravy with bamboo shoots. And dessert is always fried banana with ice cream. In other words, these restaurants have all pandered to adapt to what the Finns think of as Chinese food. But if a Malaysian Chinese friend had recommended it, it can't be that bad.

Upon entering the restaurant, I asked the owner for his recommendations in Cantonese. That's something I learnt early on. If you want authentic Chinese food, speaking in Cantonese or Mandarin signals that you want the real deal - none of that same goo that's in every dish, please. The owner was straightforward and said that the menu was not for us then. I asked for a vegetable or tofu dish but he said that he had run out of Asian vegetables and the tofu wasn't that fresh. How about mussels in black bean sauce?

We lapped up everything in good time and minibeanie slept blissfully, much to our relief. My mum will be visiting this week - perhaps DH & I can make a dash for the cinema? It sounds too much like the tv series Prison Break :D

minibeanie is 1 month 1 week 1 day old

ps. thanks Joyce for the restaurant tip!