It dawned on me earlier this week that I am currently responsible for the boys’ vegetable intake. Prior to the CB I depended on childcare and to a lesser extent, grandmothers, to enforce vegetable consumption, so I knew the boys got at least one meal with vegetables a day. At home, Daniel kicks up a huge fuss if there is so much as a sliver of green in his food, and Andrew is at a stage where he just follows suit, so for most CB meals they’ve just eaten carbs and meat, and get their fibre from fruit and wholemeal bread. And, hopefully, Meiji biscuits (with oats – that’s the green coloured one). My mother is probably shaking her head as she reads this, but now she knows why we are all so vague in our responses during video calls. Are you eating vegetables? *giggles* *act cute* ok say bye to Popo.
The aforementioned epiphany struck when I realised that the big 32-pack box of Meiji biscuits with oats that I’d bought on Tuesday was more or less gone by Friday (each packet contains 7, I think Jon and I combined only ate 2 packets at the most, so by elimination you can guess where the others ended up). By Thursday, Daniel had already taken apart the box to make the beginnings of a “house” that has been torn down and is awaiting recycling.
M helpfully reminded me that there are “veggie” Meiji biscuits (tomato and assorted vegetables?), but I haven’t seen them anywhere recently; even the 32-pack boxes only made an appearance at my preferred NTUC on the day I purchased them. Perhaps other parents are facing the same dilemma as we are regarding vegetable consumption, though from what I can see on Instagram, it seems like everyone else’s pre-school children are more than thrilled to consume vegetables (but maybe those whose children are eating Meiji veggie biscuits in lieu of fresh vegetables aren’t posting about it, obviously not).
The theme of Daniel’s English/ Good Citizen class this past week was recycling. All well and good, but then 20 minutes before Andrew’s Chinese class a few days later I read the instructional email more closely (common theme, this. I confess to Nelsonian blindness on first readings) and realised that we needed two empty plastic drink bottles for the craft. We have not purchased drinks in plastic bottles for a very long time, and I wanted to tell laoshi that even if we had I’d have recycled them. Why isn't there a common theme across classes? So I ended up providing two take-out containers for the craft. Whatever floats your boat, right?
Yes people it's a boat ok
Except that the boat also ended up getting taken apart before we could see whether it floated. Andrew’s English teacher has also sent me a message to ask me to send pictures or videos of Andrew’s “crafts” and any “work he has completed”. I sent her the above photo of the boat, which she said she would forward to laoshi, and repeated her request, this time emphasising that she "needed" them, and adding cute thank-you stickers.
She can see the double blue ticks on that last smiling cat emoting a pink heart but I have not replied her. I suspect the stickers are her way of hiding how she really feels about the fact that I have allowed Andrew to, essentially, anyhow-ly with korkor, is my best friend! (Awwww.) After the Meiji biscuit with oats debacle, I realised that most afternoons Jon and I just ignore Them and really work, and we have no idea what They do. Or what Daniel does after Andrew finally deigns to nap (Mummy, I’m very tired, I want to lie down. *proceeds to moodily mooch at the window*). At least this past week we know he was consuming Meiji biscuits with oats.
Jon recently got through an intense period at work (well he’s still working intensely but the previous intensity was for a different reason) and so I felt more expansive this past week about the food we ordered. I went out on a limb and decided to try Artichoke’s Vietnamese deli set. It wasn’t mind-blowing, maybe because it was takeaway, but what it had going for it was that it was thoughtful and comforting. I appreciated how much they stuffed into the hoagie, and what they stuffed into the hoagie – the large, thinly-sliced pickles were a nice touch, just like how you would make them at home.
It was also the first time EVER that we tried anything from Artichoke (children, etc.). In fact I got lost searching for it, although we used to walk along that stretch of road back in uni when it was nice to stay out late and just walk around. We always called that yellow building the faux church.
I also took the plunge and ordered The Secret Mermaid’s all-day drink set. This was my third drink delivery from them during the CB (fourth if you count the drinks I sent to R). This CB is unleashing my inner alcoholic, except that I pass from the pleasant buzz to grumpy sleepyhead stage in less than half-an-hour, so perhaps it’s a bit of a waste. The drinks are excellent though, and they don’t stinge on the alcohol.
Frankly, I don’t think many of us will be going back to work in our respective offices any time soon (even after the CB is over) so for your reference, I leave you with a list of the best places we’ve dapao-ed or ordered take-out from this CB. Largely for the Clementi/Dover/Holland/West Coast area (one cannot cook all the time. Really. I love cooking but ---):
- Nude Seafood (I drove down to collect it). Yes, it really is as good as it looks on your friend’s IG stories.
- La Pizzaiola (Sime Darby). Currently 1-for-1. We usually order the four cheese pizza and spaghetti bolognese, and we finish it all in one meal. #carbs4lyfe
- Blk 19A Dover Crescent kuey chap. The uncle collecting money and taking your order is grumpy AF but don’t be deterred. Order extra duck, you won’t regret it. The gravy is divine. Also at this coffeeshop: the best ice lemon tea in Singapore (price and taste wise, ask for siu dai, bring your own container), the shao la I ate a lot of when I was pregnant and therefore cannot eat so much of now.
- 365youreverydayfood (Science Park).
- Sunset Railway Café (down the row from Daily Scoop Sunset Way). Won’t deny it, we’re supporting the gentrification of our neighbourhood.
- Sushi Tei. Nothing like a Rainbow Roll, no mayo.
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