A couple of months ago, we went to the newest theme park in Beijing. The kiddo’s actually been bugging us about it even months before its opening day last year but has been quite busy and waiting for the right time… like spring. So when a friend gave us complimentary tickets sponsored by a magazine for expats – free entrance and rides, the kid was really ecstatic! At one point during our day at the park, I saw the magazine’s photographer taking our son’s photo. The stage mom in me got excited it might get published. After a week, we saw not only 1 but around 5 photos in their website! My, we didn’t even notice that guy around us while we were having so much fun! Another week passed by and my friend who gave us the tickets informed me to get the latest issue. And so our hunt for the magazine began.
Got our copies (yeah, we took the last 2 copies) from our favorite hawker-style Singaporean Restaurant. Of course, it’s just proper that we should also enjoy the food. We had Chicken Rice, one of the best we’ve had in the country’s capital.
Yummy Mee Goreng with crispy chicharon (pork cracklings), need I say more?
Here are the shots from the June/July issue of the magazine. He’s the boy in black tee and a yellow cap flashing his two front teeth.
And he’s also the poster boy for their Kid Olympics held at, incidentally, the sports facilities of a hotel project we did few years ago. Haha! Some moms would be happier with a talent fee… but I am just so proud his face is in the glossy pages for being the picture of a happy, lovely, active boy.
I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.
My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.
Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.
winner!!! ahaha… sorry ka, di na ikaw ang celebrity. kelan siya magsstart mag-blog ha? talo ka na sa anak mo! LOL
proud mom! at ang ganda talga ng photos mo…crsip and clear…pano ba yan? hahaha!
Ang guapo ng anak mo, cute smile!!
Iska, nakakapaglaway ang chicken (na miss ko bigla Singapore ha!) and I must also say that pictures look good, well photographed!
Oo nga dhey… winner sya! Wala na ako masabi pa hehehehe
Ces, I just use the macro settings of my non-pro cam and that’s it! Plus my ever-steady hands….
Thess… oo nakaka-miss talaga yang dish na yan kaya kami naghahanap ng mga South-east asian restos. Ang bata syempre may pinagmanahan… hehehe
Ang gwapo naman ng anak mo! Kahit sinong mother talagang magiging proud and happy pag na feature and picture ng anak
Naku, like din namin ang chicken rice…halos every week nga kumakain kami
hi anne! aba syempre gwapo may pinagmanahan e (wahahaha!) it’s good may pareho kami na gusto ang chicken rice