Take a Spaghetti Squash, cut into bits to fit into your steamer then steam. When cooked, use a fork to create your “spaghetti”. Serve with your choice of sauce then top with (heaps of) grated parmesan cheese.
Little E ate two helpings of it last night! We all agree that he liked it 😉
For my Canberra readers, I bought the squash at the Belconnen Farmers Market.
Since we were in the area, Mr E picked Chatterbox Espresso Bar as our lunch venue a couple of weeks ago. Located near the new Unilodge in Belconnen, it is slightly away from the hustle and bustle of the Westfield. I like the way the place is decorated, it has a modern vibe but still welcoming. Being such good morning that day, we opted an outdoor table.
When I requested a highchair, we were told that they’ve ordered but has yet to receive them. I don’t mind feeding Little E in his pram, but I really prefer not to since he’s pretty messy. Never mind that.
Mr E and I ordered a cappuccino each, in a mug! I am on my way to full caffeine intake these days 😉 We both thought that they were good coffee, not the best ones we’ve had in Canberra but they hit the spot nevertheless. I love how they came with little chocolate cookies on the side, it’s a great touch 🙂 Little E was envious of our beverages and wanted in on it, so we ordered a babyccino for him. I liked how the waiter asked whether we wanted chocolate powder on it (their usual), which we opted without. Can you tell whether he liked it or not from the photo below? 🙂
Our food arrived in no time at all, definitely a big tick from me when we’re with Little E, as he’s a little impatient. As soon as you sit him down, and it’s his lunch time, he wants food pronto! I cannot remember which dish exactly that I chose but it came with smoked salmon, poached eggs and potato rosti. I didn’t mind this dish, though it was rather plain and needs salt. It would have been a lot better if it came with hollandaise sauce, I think. Mr E chose their lamb and tomato pot “thing” (again, I can’t remember what the dish is called), unfortunately, neither of us liked it. We reckon they must’ve forgotten to stir through the tomatoes, as the dish tasted like stewed lamb mince with salt. That’s it.
We thought that we could share our meals with Little E, as they’re both pretty baby friendly. Little E was having none of that, and opted to be pretty fussy. He didn’t like the potato rosti. He didn’t like the poached egg white. He didn’t like the lamb. He, also, didn’t like the toasted bread that came with the lamb, when he’s normally a big bread lover. So we asked the waiter if we could have a side of yogurt (as we noticed they offer fruit salad and yogurt in their menu). Just like our request for the babyccino, a side of yogurt was not a problem and a small plate magically appeared on our table.
With the name Chatterbox Espresso Bar, perhaps they market themselves more for their coffee. Being so close to a lot of the Government buildings and as mentioned above, a Uni residential building, they’ll be pretty popular. Weirdly, the place had a refrigerated cake display inside that had no cake. That morning, there were two bits of croissant and that was it. Perhaps the cakes and sweets were coming with the highchair 😉
All in all, I didn’t mind Chatterbox. The service was very friendly and prompt, no requests were too much and was very accommodating. The meals were reasonably priced and the portion size was good too. We found out that morning that the owner is a father of a young child as well, perhaps that is why he was so patient with us. Unfortunately, we didn’t like their food and while we didn’t mind their coffee, they weren’t good enough for us to go back for it. However, if you are nearby and looking for a child-friendly cafe/restaurant, please do try Chatterbox out.
If I could do anything in this world, I would love to be a full time traveller! I love travelling. There is nothing like experiencing new food/place/atmosphere/culture, the more I see, the more I yearn for more. It’s an addiction. It is definitely one of few things why I need to work, so that we have money to fund this addiction.
What my fortune cookie said at CNY
I am lucky that I married another traveller. From our first holiday together, I knew that I have found my match. We holiday really well together, we like the same thing, we want to do/see almost the same thing. My need to travel is definitely a lot worse than his, but he lets me get away with it 🙂 Since the year we got married, we’ve been going to one overseas holiday a year. For the years that we couldn’t, we will make it up for the following year. I am also tremendously blessed to have inlaws who understand my desire to travel. I am counting my lucky stars that I have such supportive parents who cares. This year, they’ve offered to look after the little one so that we can travel by ourselves.
With my brother and sister inlaws, we’re going for some jam-packed fun in Japan! For THREE WEEKS! Wooooeeeee!!!! I am sooooo excited! We’ve all bought our tickets and we will start planning our itinerary. It would be my third visit to the beautiful country, and I am very much looking forward to it.
However, I am also worried how I will cope being away from Little E for that long. I know that he will be very well looked after, and I know that he will be just fine being spoilt rotten by his Grandma and Pa. I don’t know about me, though. I am definitely feeling a little apprehensive, as he’s too little to talk on the phone, so there won’t be much contact for the entire time.
If you have been away from your little one for longer than 1-2 days/nights, how did you go? What did you do to make it better for yourself (and your little one)? Would you do it again? Any advice and suggestions would be very much appreciated!
We went to an Italian deli recently and saw the array of homemade gnocchi they’re selling. Basil pesto gnocchi, capsicum cashew gnocchi, sweet potato gnocchi, etc. They just looked so yummy, I want to eat them all at once. Unfortunately, they were quite expensive. I think it was AUD15 for a 250g box. Ever since then, I have wanted to make some myself. So last weekend, I did.
Looking at the different recipes available, I chose the easiest one that isn’t plain potato gnocchi, so I made sweet potato gnocchi.
Ingredients:
Method:
These were a little fiddly, as you can tell from the photo, I got a little inconsistent at the end 🙂 They were good, regardless. I served it with a cheese sauce, and was able to chop them into mini bits for Little E to eat by himself. Mr E also liked it, he was happy when I told him I have more than enough for him to have for lunch too. I think I will try to make a basil pesto one next time.
On a totally unrelated note, look at these finger carrots from our garden! So cute!!! I think I planted the seed way too close together, which resulted some all tangled up. They were so flavoursome though! We have a few still left in the ground, I don’t actually know when they’re ready. Regardless, I cannot wait!
We spent the entire day at the Multicultural Festival today. We did nothing but eat and drink. It was such a hot day and super duper crowded. Little E was such a trooper, he didn’t fuss at all!
Finally! Good authentic Indo satay sauce! Soooooo good! I wish I bought more. I also found out about Aus/Indo language school for children, we’re definitely looking into it for Little E.
Another highlight of my day: having tried haggis for the first time and chips on a stick! Little E absolutely loved the haggis. I guess he does have some Scottish heritage in him 🙂
As every year, I enjoyed the Tongan watermelon and coconut milk punch. So refreshing in the heat. I had such fun today, I look forward to the next year!
The Festival is still on until late tonight as well as tomorrow. If you’re in Canberra, please do go and check it out 🙂
I went to Woolies the other week looking for one of those fruit strips for Little E, but couldn’t find any. I did, however, found and bought these. Little E had it for the first time this morning and liked them. I actually quite like them too but I don’t like the price. I bought a pack of 6 for AUD2.39, which isn’t too bad, however, they’re AUD3.23 full price. So today, I decided to try in making my own 🙂
There are lots of recipes online, each are quite different, but most contain a lot of sugar! Even ones that are supposedly for kids. I basically chopped and changed different recipes and come up with my own – based on what I have in the pantry and least amount of sugar possible. Here it is!
Ingredients:
Method:
Note: for a gluten free alternative, you can use crushed cornflakes and rice bubbles 🙂
When kept in the fridge, these should be fine for a couple of weeks. I guess the good thing about store bought ones is that they last longer and so you can keep them in your nappy bag for emergencies. However, these would be a lot cheaper and if you have older kids as well (or husbands), they can get on these too 🙂
We went to the place excited for some all-you-can-eat hot pot. Sure it was such a hot day, but tell me of an all-you-can-eat and I’m there quicker than Little E would be when he spotted his water bottle. So I was a little disappointed when I found out that the restaurant had closed and was replaced by a dumpling restaurant. I read that as a generic Chinese restaurant, especially when reading their menu. Yes, there were dumplings on offer, but nothing like what other dumpling places around. However, we were there, and it was past Little E’s lunch time, so we went in anyway.
On first impression, it was clean! With an open kitchen. How unusual for a Chinese restaurant 😉 The waitress must have seen me struggle opening the door with the pram, as she held the door open. She also came up with a clean highchair in no time and was friendly. Another man, who I assume is the owner, was also friendly, paying a lot of attention to Little E. He even gave him another plate to play with when he dropped the one he already has.
There were other families with young children, and from what I saw, they were also treated nicely. No comments nor abrupt actions for the mess and noise these young ones tend to create 🙂 I am impressed!
Now, the food. We ordered one serve of their beef and chive steamed dumplings, and it came out nice and quick. I would have loved the skin to be thinner and the filling less “cooked”. However, it wasn’t bad and Little E liked it. For mains, we ordered shantung chicken and spicy beef strips served with steam buns. Mr E and I were a little disappointed with the chicken, as it lacked the tartness of the vinegar. In fact, it was a little too sweet, though the chicken was deboned and juicy. Little E ate some of it and didn’t mind it. We liked the beef and the buns, Mr E especially! I’m pretty sure he would’ve eaten it all if I said I didn’t want it lol We gave some of the buns to Little E, which he ate happily. He didn’t really like the beef, as it was a little tough for him and perhaps also a little too overpowering for his palate.
CNY celebration continued, Little E's first experience watching the lion dance
All in all, given the friendliness, the cleanliness and the patience given to Little E, I would say they’re an okay choice for a Chinese restaurant if you have young ones. I probably will not go back, only because it’s a little far from where we live, so we rarely in the area. Also, there are too many other Chinese restaurants around that we would like to try instead, or just go to ones that we know are good.
The Unicorn Mum 