happy meal
Tonight, at the age of twenty-seven months, The Bun was inducted formally into the world of fast food, entering through the fabled golden arches. He ate his first Happy Meal.
Okay, I exaggerate. He had already eaten various offerings from McDonald's several times before - fries, hotcakes, and hash browns that he shared with me, plus the occasional soft-serve ice-cream cone that his indulgent grandparents enjoy treating him to. But those were always like nibbles or snacks that came after his regular, healthy, home-cooked meals. This was the first time he actually ate an entire meal by himself.
It all started at dinner. J wanted to have Thai food so we paid a visit to Jai Thai at Clover Way, keen on trying some of their popular beef noodles. We ordered food that we thought The Bun would enjoy - beef noodles in a rich broth, pineapple rice with plenty of pineapple chunks, and lemongrass chicken. He tried a bite of each and spit them all out, refusing dinner completely. This was fairly unusual behaviour for The Bun, who is normally quite enthusiastic about food. He did eat a fair bit of our mango and sticky rice dessert though, so maybe he just really didn't fancy Thai food. (The other cuisine which The Bun has never quite taken to is Korean, which is a bit of a downer because J and I love it.)
So we hit the library after dinner and had an impromptu playground visit, and as we walked around Bishan I was a little worried because The Bun had eaten so little at dinner. He turns into a real monster when he's hungry and I didn't fancy a midnight supper call from him. I was planning to stuff him with some kaya toast and perhaps a soft-boiled egg from one of the coffee joints, and then we came upon the golden arches.
'Want ice-cream!' The Bun immediately crowed. J bought him a cone, and on a whim I decided to order him a Happy Meal, just to see if he was hungry enough to eat more. He was, polishing off a small bag of fries, two chicken nuggets, and a small packet of milk. The Bun said 'Mmmm!' and fed himself enthusiastically, and I found myself caught between guilt for feeding my toddler this food, and amusement at seeing how much pleasure he derived from the meal. To top it off, The Bun received a small toy with his meal, as well as a free green balloon from one of the staff. Afterward he cheerfully skipped all the way back to the car, holding his balloon aloft. A happy meal, indeed.
Chicken McNuggets: an excellent source of happiness?
In the grand scheme of things I know an occasional Happy Meal won't ruin him. I certainly had my fair share of McD's as a kid and turned out fine. I was even allowed Coke at age three, as the photo below testifies:
Maybe I'll throw him a McD's party for his next birthday. Goodness knows how much I wanted one when I was a kid!
Okay, I exaggerate. He had already eaten various offerings from McDonald's several times before - fries, hotcakes, and hash browns that he shared with me, plus the occasional soft-serve ice-cream cone that his indulgent grandparents enjoy treating him to. But those were always like nibbles or snacks that came after his regular, healthy, home-cooked meals. This was the first time he actually ate an entire meal by himself.
It all started at dinner. J wanted to have Thai food so we paid a visit to Jai Thai at Clover Way, keen on trying some of their popular beef noodles. We ordered food that we thought The Bun would enjoy - beef noodles in a rich broth, pineapple rice with plenty of pineapple chunks, and lemongrass chicken. He tried a bite of each and spit them all out, refusing dinner completely. This was fairly unusual behaviour for The Bun, who is normally quite enthusiastic about food. He did eat a fair bit of our mango and sticky rice dessert though, so maybe he just really didn't fancy Thai food. (The other cuisine which The Bun has never quite taken to is Korean, which is a bit of a downer because J and I love it.)
So we hit the library after dinner and had an impromptu playground visit, and as we walked around Bishan I was a little worried because The Bun had eaten so little at dinner. He turns into a real monster when he's hungry and I didn't fancy a midnight supper call from him. I was planning to stuff him with some kaya toast and perhaps a soft-boiled egg from one of the coffee joints, and then we came upon the golden arches.
'Want ice-cream!' The Bun immediately crowed. J bought him a cone, and on a whim I decided to order him a Happy Meal, just to see if he was hungry enough to eat more. He was, polishing off a small bag of fries, two chicken nuggets, and a small packet of milk. The Bun said 'Mmmm!' and fed himself enthusiastically, and I found myself caught between guilt for feeding my toddler this food, and amusement at seeing how much pleasure he derived from the meal. To top it off, The Bun received a small toy with his meal, as well as a free green balloon from one of the staff. Afterward he cheerfully skipped all the way back to the car, holding his balloon aloft. A happy meal, indeed.
Chicken McNuggets: an excellent source of happiness?
In the grand scheme of things I know an occasional Happy Meal won't ruin him. I certainly had my fair share of McD's as a kid and turned out fine. I was even allowed Coke at age three, as the photo below testifies:
Maybe I'll throw him a McD's party for his next birthday. Goodness knows how much I wanted one when I was a kid!