The weather has been extremely hot so I’m drinking plenty of tea to cool down. I brew a pot of Chinese tea every morning in a teapot similar to this one and it lasts me the whole day.

Helen Chen Oolong Teapot - White - 26 oz.

I typically brew a different kind of Chinese tea each day, sometimes oolong, sometimes tikuanyin or whatever but always a different one so I don’t get bored . Simply place the tea leaves into the pot, add boiling water and let it steep.

This teapot is not to be used on direct heat or microwaved. The tea won’t stay hot all day in a teapot like this unless you use a tea cozy, but that’s fine with me, the weather is so hot I prefer to drink my tea at room temperature. If I want to drink it hot, I just add a little hot water to my cup.

This Chinese teapot features built-in strainer holes to hold tea leaves back as the strained tea is poured out through the spout. It’s not expensive but it’s very useful to have in your kitchen if you’re a tea lover like me. Makes a great Mother’s Day gift for Mom too.

This oolong teapot is available from LaPrima Shops® where you can also find lots of other interesting kitchenware. You save $5 instantly on purchases of $50 and up. Offer ends May 14, 2009. You also enjoy free shipping on orders over $99.

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Every weekend, when me and the kids go grocery shopping, we have to buy ’school food’. My kids don’t eat at the school canteen and frankly, I’ve never encouraged them to eat there either. If you ask me, canteen food has an even worse reputation than college cafeteria food !

I wish the schools would take the trouble to ensure the  food they serve the kids is healthy and it wouldn’t hurt either to make it taste a little better too. Well, maybe some of the kids find it tasty because most of it is junk food but it sure ain’t good for them, I tell ya.

Anyhow, my kids being picky eaters, we constantly have to source for different types of biscuits, cookies or pastries so they don’t end up eating the same old stuff day in, day out. We kinda go through cycles with different foods. Recently we started back with granola bars again after we sampled Special K at the Cold Storage.

Now we’re on to Nature Valley which is equally tasty and still only 90 calories per bar, and slightly cheaper too. They have several flavors - Roasted Almond, Oats ‘n Honey, Pecan Crunch, Vanilla Nut, Peanut Butter and a Variety Pack.

But so far, we’ve only tried the Apple Crisp which I’ve been buying over and over because the kids love it so much. And of course, I’m going to try my hand at homemade granola bars soon, so watch out for my post on that.

I used to hang out at this little unassuming corner of a cafe called Hoca at Suria KLCC in the good old days. It was a little known place and so it was nice and quiet and my friends and I could gossip at will.

I went there with my kids because every other food place at Suria was packed like sardines. As I expected, we found a table easily at Hoca. I remember they serve a great cup of coffee.

So for old times’ sake, I ordered their Daily Brew which was always a nice surprise. It’s been many years since I’ve been there and sadly, their coffee has gone from thick and luscious to watered down.

They used to have a kampung nasi lemak (a local breakfast favorite of coconut milk rice, anchovies and chili paste). But we got there late and it was sold out as usual.

So we ordered the Footlong Sausage with Mashed Potato. Big mistake! One of the things I remember about their breakfasts is that they were very reasonably priced. Not any more!

This Breakfast Sausage and Eggs with baked beans and toast would’ve cost me less than rm2 to make at home. But I ended up paying through my nose!!

This breakfast sure would’ve saved a dieter a pretty penny on weight loss pills. The kids left the place still hungry, and this isn’t the first time we’ve experienced this eating out.

I wish restaurants wouldn’t take us for fools. I mean, they could’ve fooled my kids or some ignorant folks, but they sure can’t fool a mom who cooks!

We typically avoid Chinese restaurants like the plague during Chinese New Year simply because we don’t relish the idea of getting ripped off paying double for a hyped-up meal with auspicious-sounding names. I mean why, when we can have Chinese any day of the year?

If we could get rich from eating food with the words Good Fortune or Prosperity in them, Planet Earth would be sprouting billionaires sooner than you can say ‘money’ .

So the kids and I were wandering around the new Giant at Kota Damansara which, by the way, just opened recently. In fact, it’s so new the renovations and moving services crews are still busy setting up some stores.

At any rate, Nachos Nachos looked like an interesting option. We love Mexican food so we happily ordered away. This is the Tortilla Salad which, if you ask me, looks like kitchen leftovers hurriedly thrown together.

Frankly whoever heard of fishballs in a salad? *shudders* And somehow that bit of guacamole and whatever was barely enough to really dress the salad. We just kinda dipped the veggies into it.

With the Nacho Beef Pepperoni, they’re very generous with the sour cream and jalapenos as  you can see but where’s the cheese?

The Potato Skins were alright except for the scant toppings and not enough cheese.

This is the complimentary Kid’s Pizza you get when you order two meals off the main menu, I think. This is reminiscent of the one Chili’s serves except this one comes with pineapples.

I’m so glad the four of us decided to share 3 orders. I guess if you’ve never tasted Mexican before, you might be happy with this meal because you won’t know the nachos aren’t supposed to be soft, and that heaping on the sour cream doesn’t make up for the complete lack of cheese.

As for us, right after we paid a small fortune and left the shop hungry, we went straight upstairs to the kopitiam (coffee shop) for a real meal.

We got invited to a toddler’s birthday part at Hartz Chicken Buffet at Sunway Pyramid. The little boy’s father, one of dh’s friends unfailingly invites us to his kid’s parties. My teens loathe these childish birthday parties complete with clown and what they consider boring kiddy games.

I think the last time we were at Hartz, it was when my kids were toddlers themselves. Well, the place has since had a facelift and slightly better organized, but the quality of their food remains the same.

They have spaghetti, potatoes done in a couple of styles, and now they’ve even got rice and a few Chinese dishes on their buffet spread. Obviously too, they have several types of fried chicken and chicken nuggets.

The spicy fried chicken is practically the only thing I ate, and the salad, of course, plus a bowl of mushroom soup and a cup of coffee. My kids didn’t eat much either. They were more excited about going shopping .