Why did you start this blog?

I’ve been publishing websites for over 20 years! Oh my goodness! My first ever personal site was made using Word in 1998 and it was featured in The Sydney Morning Herald and Net Digest (unfortunately long defunct). Back in the day, they used to be called vanity sites!  I also started a social networking site before the advent of Facebook and won an entrepreneurial award as a result. My winning the award led to my appearing in The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald and the South China Morning Post. Now married and a mother, starting a Mummy blog felt like a natural progression and hence, The Yumcha Mama was born!

What do you blog about?

All manner of things! Primarily however, I will be focusing on topics related to being a housewife and mother, issues concerning being a first time older mother, raising baby (now toddler), fun and interesting things to do for young children in Singapore and Sydney, getting and staying fit and whatever else tickles my fancy (this really is a personal blog after all).

Why do you call yourself The Yumcha Mama?

Because I love yumcha! Really!

What kind of mothering philosophy do you adhere to?

None and some! I follow my own innate child rearing beliefs, heavily influenced by my mother who continues to be a source of inspiration and wisdom. Above all, I see myself as a traditional and gentle mother who sets limits in line with my child’s personality. One thing I could never be accused of is being a Tiger Mum – perish the thought!

Is this another Wordpress Blog?

No way! This blog was created using the most wonderful website creator, Sparkleapp. The first incarnation of The Yumcha Mama was built using Wordpress but I found it slow, cumbersome and unresponsive to even the most minor changes unless I engaged a programmer. Who wants to deal with all of that when you just want to write! So thankfully I moved over to Sparkleapp and I’ve never been happier. I also designed everything myself and did not have to rely on any themes.  Sparkleapp is fast, so easy to use it’s fun and very secure. I love it.  

What are your hobbies and interests?

Where do I start? I absolutely adore anything and everything Japanese having lived there myself. I’m also crazy about bellydancing which I’ll be blogging about a fair bit so apologies in advance if shimmying is not your thing! My other passion is singing, especially musical theatre and jazz. I also love to read all manner of books, watch Investigation Discovery (when Bubby is sleeping of course) and ruminate over the meaning of life when time permits (not often enough). I also like to blog – yeah, I know.

Love, Mei-Ling x