Steamboat Gathering

It was very sweet and nice of Cher to invite as over for a steamboat gathering at her house. She woke up early in the morning to get the ingredients and to make preparations. How touch! Thanks Cher! =)

Upon arrival at her house, we were greeted by her princess, Baby Xin-Yi who was very much alert when we stepped in. Mmm...she must have been waiting for us to come over so she would have playmates.

We ladies were having a great time playing with Baby Xin-Yi. She's not afraid of stranger and a very friendly baby indeed. Having both tall parents, Baby Xin-Yi is slightly bigger than babies of her age. Her legs are very agile and she can dance to music, mind you. We commented that she could be an athlete when she grew up. Although she may be young, I realise that she's adamant in getting things done by herself. While she was lying on one side, she wanted to roll over so she can rest on her abdomens. However, she seemed to have some difficulties in doing so on her own. Hence, my colleagues and I decided to help her. Once we successfully laid her own her abdomens, she rolled back so that she rested on one side again. She, then tried to roll over. How cute!

I didn't know Cher is such a good cook. Everybody complimented the BBQ chicken wings she roasted. Honestly, they tasted better than those by Yuen's steamboat. The meat was tender and succulent despite being roasted for close to an hour in the microwave oven. According to Cher, she used low heat to roast the wings. Ah, that's the important tip ;-)

Looks finger-licking good eh?

Ok, here comes the main course. We had fish noodles, crab fillet, Teochew fish paste and fish dumplings, seafood beancurd, squid, fresh prawns, chilli fishballs and fishballs.

We ain't carnivors. There were also 2 different kind of vegetables, 3 different kind of mushrooms, rice noodle, eggs, and clams.

The lunch was hearty and we had a great time chatting and joking while helping ourselves with the generous amount of food available. Cher was so thoughful that she had prepared both clear anchovy soup and tom yam soup, bearing in my mind Ming is a huge fan of spicy food.
After lunch, we played with Baby Xin-Yi again before moving on to play the strategy board game Risk. To newbies, it may seem a little complicated or confusing when the instructions are read to you. But once you get started, believe me, you will get all excited! We were cheering and jeering loudly. Pardon us for our lack of manners. I assure you, that was the only time we acted crazily =p * Hope Baby Xin-Yi was not frightened by us *

Whether you are the attacker or defender, the dice determines the "life" of your armies. Aiks, seems like the defender was not at its best of times.

Without noticing time had passed us by, we had played the game for about 3 hours! And we still wanted to continue the game. Gee, Risk can be addictive. Anyway, as Cher had plans for dinner, we exchanged Goodbyes and left for home.

Hope we would have another gathering on weekends. I had a wonderful time. Thanks once again Cher, and to my other colleagues for making my day! My Saturday was truly well spent =D