Tamaki Haiga Short Grain Rice

This is Tamaki Haiga Short Grain Rice.  Haiga-mai is a type of brown rice with the outer bran removed while keeping the nutritious haiga or the germ, intact.  It is also called as half polished rice. 

This is what we currently eat for our rice.  The regular price on this 15 pounds bag is $30.98.  It is on sale at Marukai this week (until this Thursday) for only $20.98.  That's a saving of $10. 

What I like about this rice:

1. It is packaged in 3 bags of 5 pounds each.  I like it this way because it will keep the freshness as we only need to open one bag each time we finished.


2. It is easy to cook with a rice cooker although initial adjustment may be needed. For me, I will add 1 cup of water to 1 cup of rice. If you have brown rice setting on your rice cooker, use that. Or else, like me, I leave the lid ajar when cooking the rice to give air to avoid water bubble overflow.

3.  It is a type of brown rice so the texture is chewy yet fluffy.

Apple Coffee Cake from Sprouts Farmers Market

When I saw the Apple Coffee Cake on sale in the weekly sale flyer for Sprouts this week I told myself - "I have to get this."  We were running out of eggs so I went to Sprouts today to get them (with no intention to get this coffee cake at all).  While browsing through the bakery section I saw the sale sign above this cake - Apple Coffee Cake $2.99 Save $1.  Now I know their regular price is at $3.99, not too bad.

They package the cake in a 8"x8" aluminum pan with a clear plastic cover.  Just by looking at the crumbs, I can just feel them in my mouth.  My mind was weighing the pros and cons of bringing this cake home.  We were trying to eat more healthy this year. But in the end, my devil side won.  I bought this cake.
 

Immediately after I got home, I cut a small piece of this cake for myself.  It was so delicious.  The crumbs just melted in my mouth.  The cake itself was moist enough for me.  It wasn't overly sweet either and you can actually bite into some apple chunks in the cake.  I couldn't help it but had another piece. 

Final verdict - I will definitely buy again but may have to share half of it with another friend.  It is also good bake item to serve during a tea party for adults and kids.

Where can you get this yummilicious Apple Coffee Cake?

At Sprouts Farmers Market.  It is on sale for this week (Oct 16th to Oct 23rd 2013) for $2.99.

I bought mine from the Sprouts at this location:

Sprouts Farmers Market
3775 Alton Pkwy.
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 705-5435

Open daily 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Sebamed at Costco

Surprised to see Sebamed products in USA at Costco.  I've known this skincare line for a long time from my visit to Malaysia.  My aunt always buy this brand for her family especially the body wash.  All the products has a pH of 5.5 which is very healthy for the skin. 

When I saw the table with all the different Sebamed items, I went to check them out.  The lady said this German company had just started their USA retail two years ago and that she is having the road show promotion at this Costco (Tustin the District) for two weeks.  She said the items are sold at a discounted price, almost like buy one get one free. 

I was interested in the eye cream.  The price for one is $34.99 outside according to her.  But at this road show, they are selling 2 item for this price.  I can choose to buy 2 boxes of eye cream or 1 eye cream and 1 moisturizer.  I bought the combo deal with 1 eye cream and 1 moisturizer.

These two items I bought have the Co-enzyme Q10 which supposedly help to reduce fine line and wrinkle.  I can see fine lines emerging on the side of my eyes thus I need a quick fix for it.  I also needed a new bottle of face cream for night time use.  It says on the box that visible improvement can be seen in as short as 28 days.  I'll find out about that and attest to it.

When I came home, I went to Sebamed US website and saw that they are selling this product for $29.95 each on their website.  It is not really $34.99 like what the lady told me.  But it is definitely a great deal to get two items just for $34.99 plus tax.

You can find them at Costco at the Tustin District from Oct 11th to Oct 20th 2013.

Malaysian in Orange County, Southern California

We have a growing number of members for our Malaysian in Orange County group.  Currently we have about 40 members.

It all started when I met another Penang mom at Pretend City.  We both were attending Parenting Skill program offered by KIDA.  The program was seven weeks long and I only met her on the last week when I heard her talking to her son in Hokkien dialect. We exchanged phone numbers.  At that time she was still living in Costa Mesa and was moving to Irvine in another month.

I still remember vividly on the first week, my husband and I were sitting in the same table as her.  She has fair complexion and never in my mind would ever thought she's from Malaysia.  When she spoke in English, we could tell she is not native speaker.  My first thought was that she's a Taiwanese.  Later, I also met her husband whom is also from Penang.

Second mom I met whom also from Penang was from my son's summer school at Eastshore Elementary.  He was attending Jumpstart to Kindergarten and the other boy was also in the same program.  His mom and a friend of mine were friends.  So we would be standing and waiting together for the kids at pick up time.  We all conversed in Cantonese and initially I thought she was from Hong Kong but not long after that, I found out she is from Bukit Mertajam.  Well, by then I already knew three people from Malaysia and all from Penang.

The next person I met was Bee from Rasa Malaysia.  Another Malaysian friend who lives in Pasadena told me the author for Rasa Malaysia also lives in Irvine.  So out of curiosity, I emailed her to ask if she would love to join us, the three Penang ladies for lunch.  Surprising, she replied and said Yes. 

And from Bee, I also met another two friends, one from Penang and the other from Johor.  And our list grew longer and longer. 

Now we have gathering once every few months.  The purpose is to get together, eat and talk.  Just like back home, we always have conversation over food.  It is fun to be able to see so many Malaysians in Orange County.  If you are reading this post and you would like to join our gathering, kindly leave me a comment here.
 

Carter's Boys Cotton 7-Pack Briefs / Underwear

Back in April 2011, I bought the Paul Frank Toddler / Kids Underwear from Target.  They didn't last long enough.  The elastics became less stretchy after sometimes.  But I like them and used them all till now. 

When it was time to look for some new underwear, I checked out many places and couldn't find something that suit my son.  We prefer something that has shorter length from the waist to the crotch.  Most of the ones we found at Target or Kohl's (made by Fruit of the Loom or Hanes) have deeper crotch to waist length. 

Finally I found the underwear that fits well for my son at Carter's.  And they were having 50% sales during the Labor Day's weekend.  I got the Carter's Cotton 7-pack briefs at $12.  Regular price is at $24 + tax.  I think I score a good deal here.  I bought 2 packs of the size 6-7, Carter's largest size for kids.
    

They have the 3-pack briefs for $12 regular price, sales price at $6.  The 7-pack is a better deal.  I think this is the best offer I've seen at Carter's for the underwear.   

FREE McDonald's Breakfast for Students

Southern California McDonald's restaurants are promoting their healthy breakfast for students to kick start the new school year. 

When students from kindergarten to 8th grade accompanied by an adult visit participating McDonald's restaurants on September 10th from 6am to 9am, they may receive free of charge any breakfast muffin, apple slices and 1% milk.

Shown in the picture above is their Egg White Delight McMuffin.  This breakfast sandwich features 100% egg whites, extra lean Canadian bacon and white cheddar on whole grain muffin.

McDonald's Back to School Breakfast Offer

Students: Kindergarten thru 8th grade
Date: September 10th, 2013
Time: 6am to 9am
Venue: Participating McDonald's Restaurants

Bruxie in Irvine

We now have a Bruxie in Irvine at Heritage Plaza off Culver and Walnut (same plaza as Mitzuwa & Daiso). The outlet just opened last week when I was still in Malaysia. I returned to Irvine last weekend and the first thing I did this week was to pay a visit to this restaurant.




My first impression on this new Bruxie location was, "Wow! They have a lot of seating!" The original Bruxie at Old Town Orange, if you ever been there, the seating space is very limited. I know they do have other locations, but we only visited the one at Old Town Orange. I am glad they have one now in Irvine as it is much nearer to our home and with more tables.






The interior design is very simple and clean. There are two ordering cashiers where you place your order and a condiment island towards your right side. They noted down my name after I paid for my order and then passed me a pager with a number, like one of those pager you get while waiting for a table at a restaurant. They said they will deliver the food to my table when it is ready.

We ordered the Bruxie Angus Beef (savoury) and Crème Brulee (sweet). I also ordered a P&J kid's meal for my son.


Kid's Meal - Peanut Butter & Strawberry Preserve, waffle fries and strawberry lemonade

Sweet Waffle - Seasonal Crème Brulee

Savoury Waffle - Bruxie Burger
We will definitely go back again to try the other waffles on the menu. I am really glad they have the kids' menu that comes with lemonade because my son just happen to like their lemonade a lot. Do check out their weekly special. This week is the Carolina BBQ Pulled Pork and Country Sausage & Egg.








Bruxie Irvine
14376 Culver Drive,
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 556-4894