Lunch time, Sunday. Starving. Nothing to eat. It all looks boring. Want to go out. Tired. Bored. Staaaaaarving.
We headed out for a nice Sunday lunch together, just the three of us. Found a nice place that we knew would fill our empty stomachs, sat down, ordered and licked our lips seeing the food arrive to our table quickly.
We get a little blase about what what we feed Abbey - not in terms of nutrition (I'm very conscious of that), but with the types of food. She is not, and has never been, a fussy eater - she'll try anything and likes the most amazing array of flavours.
She tried to try the food...
... and then resorted to cutlery when she realised chopsticks aren't used to stab food with!
One taste, one cry... one problem.
Uh-oh. Maybe this food isn't suitable for an almost-three-year-old? Malaysian food is spicier than I expected and although we had ordered mostly mild dishes, there was a hint of spice in each.
The thing is, Abbey clearly loved the flavours. The rice (nasi goreng) was delicious and she wanted to eat it but the lingering spicy hit was hurting her tongue.
The solution? A little shop two doors down, and a gulp of...
... milk! Famous for cooling the mouth.
We didn't ask her to try the food again, but we asked her if the milk cooled her tongue. A nod. A moment of thought. A dive back into the rice. A few mouthfuls followed by a gulp of milk. Repeat.
One happy girl.
Meanwhile, Steve and I were happily eating...
My favourite? Rasa Malaya Sotong (calamari with a tangy red sauce):
And Steve's favourite - a spicier dish that came as a surprise for its yumminess (a spicy bean dish that I forgot to write down the name of - too busy eating calamari!):
We ate at Rasa Malaya in Doncaster, east of Melbourne, with thanks to the Malaysia Kitchen campaign.
17 comments:
My kids love spicy, and that's because it's been drilled in! I don't want my kids to eat chips whenever we go out. Especially when there is o many wonderful flavours out there!
And isn't milk a godsend?
Must visit... LOVE Malaysian! xx
We use milk too, to help with the spicy, but it's tricky. Alexander is on the Spectrum, and they can be hard to feed, and to get to try new foods. It's only now that's he's getting a bit older (he's 8) that he will try new dishes. But he struggles with ANY spice. 'Tis frustrating because Joel and I love spicy food.
Those photos have made me famished. They look divine.
Aww. Glad she figured out a way to enjoy it!
I was eating some ginger candy in front of my friend's 18 month old. She begged me to let her try it so I agreed and we watched to see her reaction. She loved it! Kids are funny.
Your little is precious with her milk!
Abbey had the right idea! haha I WISH I liked spicy food, but I can't stand it!
I make food a total non issue in the house of O. We eat lots of spicy food.
In my case I have one who will try and eat anything at all and one who will eat very plain food and only likes raw vegies and plain meat past and rice.
Basically not forcing the issue with food has not made my life simpler in that I need to prepare raw veg and plain pasta etc on top of the meal the rest of us eat, but it does make for a pretty calm mealtime and I know that they are eating nutritionally well.
We were given some learning chopsticks which are very similar to spring loaded scissors with a pencil grip attached (loops where fingers go). I can't recommend them enough.
Oh my goodness, it's so great that Abbey dove right back into that rice! Good girl!
And that calamari is making me HUNGRY! :)
Wow, that looks so yummy. I love spicy foods by the way. :)
I used to hate spicy food, but somewhere along the way I became an addict. Maybe what they saw about taste buds changing every 7 years has some validity?
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I can also empathize with the chopsticks. I was just in Korea and needed a steep learning curve. This Mid-Western American boy had never used them before!
I really haven't tried my girls with spicy. But hearing how kids do enjoy it I kinda wish I had earlier. Clever idea mumma :)
Well done, Abbey! My kids have never shied away from spicy either - exposing them to different flavours is a great thing.
It all looks so delicious. I will have to find a Malaysian restaurant in Ottawa because of you!! :)
That food looks absolutely delicious. I've tried spicy with my little girl and it was a no go...with or without milk, though she tore up her rice and my rice as well.
That food looks absolutely delicious. I've tried spicy with my little girl and it was a no go...with or without milk, though she tore up her rice and my rice as well.
Oh yum! It's breakfast time but now I want curry!! lol
I'm so jealous of your non-fussy eater. I want one of those.
What a cutie! So glad our eldest and youngest enjoy spicy foods. Our middle child doesn't.
Seeing your photos makes me miss my Mum's Indonesian cooking. I can't seem to get it to taste as good. Looking forward to my folks being with us for Christmas :)
I am Juanita Sheffield of Dermont Ar. USA I got your blog from my daughter Charlotte Crawley. I know what you mean about taking a child out to eat We had 6 and we took out some of my children loved spicy food I do not but their daddy. I love the picture of the white Rainbow aren't children. I write a blog and learning Photography. Read mine if like let know. www.gardeningwithjuanita.blogspot.com
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