Tuition??

I have been busy preparing my boy for his first exam this year which starts tomorrow for 3 days.  I find myself checking the Hanyu Pinyin of Chinese phrases and characters on http://www.nciku.com/  so very frequent that I suddenly realise it's time for me to learn this language seriously or else the boy will be "victimised" by his mom's "setengah masak" knowledge.  He is only in Standard 2 and the words used in both Science and Chinese subjects are not easy at all.  One measure in my mind now is to get him to read more Chinese story books though he is more inclined towards reading English language books. 

When I share my concerns with my friends, it appears that 9 out of 10 of them send their kids for tuition.  Call me stubborn but I still insist on coaching him personally knowing him very well.  He is the playful and active type who will not sit still and pay full attention in class.  I don't think he will benefit from attending tuition classes or am I being prejudice in saying so when I haven't even tried?  Someone suggested hiring a private tutor i.e. one to one tutoring but I am not keen with the idea.  I have a friend whose son was my boy's classmate last year.  The mother too hires a private tutor to help her son in his Chinese subject but things does not work out the way she wants it, the exam results still come back poor and within marginal passes only.

So far, my boy had obtained good marks in the Chinese subject during his last 4 exams in Standard 1 last year, averaging 94%.  I shouldn't be worried but I get panaroid whenever I struggle to comprehend certain Chinese characters only to find them staring back at me.  With some effort, I can still solve the problems most of the time with the help of the online Chinese dictionary, though a tad slow and time consuming.  I think I will still stick to my title as "Teacher Mommy" for now until the day comes when I really have to let the professional takes over.  

I would like to hear from parents who send their kids for tuition.  Do your kids benefit from attending tuition classes?

SkyPark Subang Terminal, Subang

I had to send my parents in-law to the SkyPark Subang Terminal, Subang (former Terminal 3) this morning.  It was my first time there after their recent refurbishment.  I dropped them off at Lane 1, parked my car at the car park just opposite the airport and saw them off at the departure hall before leaving with my boy for lunch and school.  They were taking a FireFly flight to Penang to attend a wedding dinner.  

There are four dedicated lanes provided to ease traffic flow into the airport.  Lane 1 on the left, nearest to the airport entrances has been designated for passenger drop-off and pick-up; Lane 2, designated for taxis and valet parking (more about this later); Lane 3 for coaches and delivery vehicles while Lane 4 provides quick access to the SkyPark Fixed Based Operations that caters to private and business jet travels.

Those who have deeper pockets and don't mind paying more can park their car along Lane 2 which is near to the airport entrance at a charge of RM10 for first 2 hours and RM5 every subsequent hour.  Maximum charge per day is RM50. 

Opposite the SkyPark Terminal is the airport's open-air car park accessible via an overhead bridge leading directly into the terminal.  The parking fee is RM2 for the first hour and RM1 every subsequent hour.  Maximum charge per day / Lost ticket is RM30.  The car park doesn't look well maintained though being overgrown with grass and weeds and certain sections of roads not properly tarred.

Access to the car park is through a U-turn located not far after the airport terminal under the bridge of the main road (on the right side for those arriving from Subang Jaya).

Food and beverage outlets are aplenty.  I spotted Starbucks, Big Apple Donuts & Coffee, Sakura Cuisine and Cafe, Kapitan Kopitiam, 1901 Hotdogs, an Italian pizza outlet, a noodles speciality restaurant, a sports bar and grill, a dedicated section serving popular local delicacies, a chocolate shop, an ice cream bar and a fruit juice “island”.  Wow, really spoilt for choice and definitely a headache to decide what to eat here.   Nope, we did not have our lunch there before leaving the airport as I had earlier promised my son that we would have Chilli Pan Mee minus the chillie flakes for lunch, his all time favourite! :)

Dim Sum @Jin Xuan, Damansara Utama, PJ

It's 13th day of CNY and the CNY decor is still up..

This is a backdated post.

It was a public holiday and hubby suggested we went for dim sum in the morning.  I suggested Restaurant Jin Xuan as I visited this place before with friends and  I remember they offer a wide range of dim sum varieties to the extent that you'll be spoilt for choice and at affordable price too.  They have other outlets in Damansara Jaya, Puchong and few other places that I can't recall where now.

We reached there around 11am and saw a big crowd at the entrance of the restaurant. We quickly took a number and sat on the chairs provided outside the restaurant while waiting for our number to be called. They enjoyed good business but the wait was short, only 10 minutes.  One thing worth mentioning, their service was fantastically good, just before we could warm our chairs, the assistants came lining up to serve us with trays and trays  filled up with different varieties of dim sum.  And boy, our table was filled to the brim with baskets and trays of dim sum in less than 5 minutes!

Brisk business

The boy enjoying his brunch

century egg congee

Can't recall the name but it's a frying dish stuffed with scallops, salted egg and prawn

The taste was ok though nothing to shout about.

Only let down: The meat filling of this dumpling was cold and unappetising

An egg tart turned into a birthday cake by our boy..

Happy Birthday, Mom! :)

Overall, the dim sum there was good considering the affordable price and the posher and air-conditioning dining environment.  Will I come back again for more dim sum?  Absolutely Yes!

Thanks hubby and our boy for the yummy dim sum treat.  Oh, yes..must have this jotted down..  Our boy had a share of the bill too.  The father teased him by saying he should share the cost of the bill as it's a birthday treat for his beloved mommy and he said sure..  On that night before he went to bed, he came to me and asked for permission to take RM30 (The total bill around RM60) out from his piggy bank a.k.a pouch.  Not having a clue what he wanted the money for, I queried him.  He said, "I have got to pay back daddy for the dim sum this morning, daddy pays half and I pay half".  :)  At least I know he is not stingy la.. just that he spends his money "wisely". Hahaha...

Two's Company, Three's A Crowd!

While doing revision with the boy last night, he looked so bored trying to tackle the mock questions I set for him.  I decided to crack a silly talk to cheer him up a little and so I asked him:

Mommy:  Boy, when you grow up and go out on a date with your girlfriend, would you bring mommy along?
Ian: Hey, mom.. No!!  Two's company, three's a crowd!
Mommy:  What??!!  LOL..

I was impressed, guess he picked it up from reading one of those books from his book collections.  Even when rushing to the toilet to do his big business, he will never forget to drop by the book shelf to get himself a book before dashing off to the toilet.  That's my funny little boy.. Hahaha....

Wang Chiew Seafood Restaurant @SS2, PJ

My boy with grandpa and grandma

Someone from my parents in-law's circle of friends recommended Wang Chiew Seafood Restaurant in SS2, PJ and gave a big thumbs up for their cheap and decent "dai chow" in an air-conditioned dining environment.  We went there last Saturday and ordered few simple dishes for dinner.

Stir fry HK Choy Sum

Omelette ordered specially for the boy

Honey pork ribs

One of their signature dish: Indonesian seafood curry tofu pok

Steamed Patin fish

A happy and satisfied customer

We ordered chinese tea while my boy had a can of crysanthemum tea.  The bill came to RM108 for 6 persons.

Noodle Village @Bandar Puteri Puchong

Loh Pan Mee

My friend and I went to Puchong last Friday to meet up with an ex-colleague whom we have not met for at least  7 years.  How time flies..  Our "long lost friend" took us to this noodle shop specialised in pan mee nearby her office.  Three of us ordered the same set lunch  that came with a bowl of Loh Pan Mee (noodle soup of gooey broth),  a mini portion of guai ling gao (chinese herbal jelly) and a glass of herbal tea.   I added some black vinegar to bring out the taste and ate with the accompanied sambal to get the kick out of the othewise bland taste of loh mee. Taste wise, nothing to shout about but the portion was big.

It's nice catching up with old friends and I hope I can do that more often.

Holding Hands

Grandpa & Grandson

Love Is In The Air!

To couples out there, have you got your loved ones any gifts this Valentine's day?   Flowers are by far one of the most popular gifts on this special occasion.  Most florists provide delivery service and accept online ordering but do look out for reliable ones to ensure on-time delivery.  I am talking from my past experience where I received a bunch of roses delivered to my office a day after Valentine's day.  As my birthday was only two days apart from Valentine's Day,  I did not sense anything amiss until my then boyfriend, now hubby made a big fuss calling up the florist and gave them a piece of his mind.  What happened was they delivered the bunch of roses to his house and not to my office which was clearly stated in the order form as they assumed I lived there too!   My father in-law ended up the flower recipient!  The flowers that I received at the office the day after was in fact  an apology gift from the florist for messing up the order.

Love is in the air... Can you feel it?  I was doing my marketing at the wet market this morning and although it's a day away, some of the stalls were already selling flower bouquets nicely decorated and wrapped with ribbons and teddy bears.  

Besides flowers as Valentine's gift for girlfriends alone, one may also consider Football T shirts as gift ideas for boyfriend with a romantic candlelit dinner thrown in, Awww.. that sounds awesome and who says girls can't buy boys dinners?

Learning Hanyu Pinyin Online

For those who have kids going to kindergarten or even primary one and two who wish to brush up their Hanyu Pinyin, you may be interested to check this out.  The website allows the kids to learn interactively, ie. the kids pronounce the Pinyin first and check his pronounciation by clicking on the word on the screen.  Games are also incorporated to promote interest in learning. My boy loves it so much! And No, this is not a paid post... Caring Is Sharing, No? :)

Thanks Nuffnang!

I received an email from Nuffnang informing that I have been selected to received four complimentary movie passes, valid at TGV cinemas outlets nationwide in celebration of my upcoming birthday this month.

This is the first time I have received something from Nuffnang ever since I registered as a member a year ago. Thanks Nuffnang for the movie passes though I am still contemplating if I should beat the traffic jam and make a trip down to their office in the heart of KL to collect them.  

9th Day Of Chinese New Year

My boy gets a day off today as his school declared The 9th Day of Chinese New Year as a holiday.  It's not a public holiday though as the holiday does not apply to all schools as I heard some of them are classes as usual.  Each school is granted few days of "internal" holidays (not sure how many days though) declared at the discretion of the school management, so I was told. 

The ninth day of the New Year is a day for Chinese to offer prayers to the Jade Emperor of Heaven (天宮) in the Taoist Pantheon. The ninth day is traditionally the birthday of the Jade Emperor. This day is especially important to Hokkiens. Come midnight of the eighth day of the new year, Hokkiens will offer thanks giving prayers to the Emperor of Heaven. Offerings will include sugarcane as it was the sugarcane that had protected the Hokkiens from certain extermination generations ago. Incense, tea, fruit, vegetarian food or roast pig, and paper gold is served as a customary protocol for paying respect to an honored person.

We do not celebrate it in a big way as the in-laws are Cantonese Chinese though today is a big day and considered even more important than the 1st day itself by the Hokkiens.  My mom in-law will cook some simple dishes for offering to the ancestors and a dinner together if it coincides with a non-working day.

CNY Spring Village 2011 @Mid Valley Mega Mall

On 2nd day of CNY, we sneaked out from the parents in-law's house and went paktoh-ing at the nearby Mid Valley Mega Mall, leaving my boy behind to entertain guests.  So bad hor.. It was hubby's idea as he said his boy was a good entertainer and the in-laws were expecting guests with kids at that time.

The roads were super duper jam-free and finding a parking at the mall was a breeze!  How I wish it would be like that every single day but then if it really did, we would have to start worrying about the country's economy. :)

The mall has transformed their ground floor into a Chinese Spring Village setting with replicas of traditional building. The whole setting is complimented with blooming cherry blossoms, red lanterns, craft galleries and rows of street vendors and carts offering Chinese New Year must-haves.

I shall let the pictures do the talking now.

 

Spotted a kid trying to play the drum with.. hmmm. chopsticks, I guess. :)