CNY: Looking Back on a Great Life

Yet another meaningful video by Petronas for this year Chinese New Year, revealing Malaysia's favourite snack-dessert, Tau Fu Fah. It really reminds me of Jenny Hong (if you don't know Jenny Hong, it is PJ's most renowned Soya bean stall selling home-made soya bean drinks and tau fu fah. Sedap wo!). I think Jenny Hong has been in the 'soya bean' industry for so long. 

Just like what it was shown in the video. 

Look back on a great life. Look forward to an even greater one.

Happy Chinese New Year to friends that are celebrating. 

Of Miso Soup and New Year!

January 2013. Amazing how time flown so swiftly last year and we are now embarking to another 365 days of journey. 

Thank you Allah for another year. 

I anticipated New Year within a low key ambience; the whole family decided to celebrate at home. Nothing extravagant but it wasn't dull as well. We decided to cook at home (my parents hate dining out for dinner) so they requested to us to make something for them. We don't want the typical BBQ, laksa or even beriyani to the least, we decided  to cook something that we have never cooked before.

Sister No. 3 suggested Japanese.

Hmmm.

The only thing that I could think of making for Japanese are

tenpayaki (masak nasi and goreng ayam je)

shashimi (potong je salmon tu)

So tak nak kalah budak tu, she decided to call one of her best friend (cum our neighbour who has lived in Japan many years ago)for recipes. 

Menu:

1. Okonomiyaki 

2. Salmon shashimi
3. California Temaki
4. Miso soup


I cringed when I looked at the receipt of the ingredients that were bought by my sisters. Japanese's ingredients are expensive. But you cant't deny those are good healthy stuff.

Anyhow, some pics to feast your eyes!

 While making the Okonomiyaki!

The end product!

Can't have enough of those!

The usual temaki

The feel good Miso soup


Oh, it was filling and we surely had a good time cooking those food. We end the night by watching fireworks at Publika and glad that it wasn't as pack and crowded like what we thought.

Akemashiteomedetogozaimasu!

Different Folks Different Strokes

I was fortunate to watch the Qurban inside the house, not having to hover around under the hot sun because my in law's house is just next to the surau. And to make things more interesting, the cow went amuk and ran inside our compound, so the Qurban people had no choice but performed the Qurban there. Alhamdulillah.

Was at my MIL's house in the morning, and knowing my MIL, she's a great cook and just love to spoil her family with food, food and more food. She told us 'ala ini cincai-cincai aje', well, which part of this is cincai la Mama? Every Raya food is there from lontong to kuah kacang to rendang to mee kari to ketupat palas to nasi impit to ayam masak merah etc etc. 

Oh boy. I have a lot to do and to learn man. *looking at husband*

My Aidiladha did not just end there. We went back to Johor at night, started our journey at about 9-ish pm. It was very unusual for me (and a first time again) because my family rarely (more like NEVER) starts the journey very late at night. My dad would be like  "after Subuh, we shoot" kinda person and yes, we will arrived at our destination way before noon. Less stressful perhaps? On the other hand, Mr. Z's family is totally the opposite but I was appalled that I didn't see any sign of stress in them. Different folks, different strokes I guess.

Arrived Benut at 2 am. I  was sleeping the whole journey I did not see or hear a thing. Tahu-tahu dah sampai. As I opened my eyes, I saw that we were in this huge beautiful compound with many trees and fairy lights all over. There's a gazebo parked beside the house and it was decorated with fairy lights as well. The compound of the house was huge; I think it can parked more than 10 cars kot and the house? All I can say was WOW. The exterior was a bit fusion; classic meets modern Bali style with fancy woods, stones and bricks but the interior is modern. This is the first kampung house that I've been which is fully air-conditioned. Love every sense of it and all I can say is that the house is very very very COSY. 

 Sorry no pictures. Too excited and jakun sampai lupa nak snap. Next time?

But I managed to snap this instead!

Mr. Z's family is from a Bugis ancestry, so here I am presenting to you their famous wajib dish; Burasak which is made out of rice and coconut milk. Lots of coconut milk. I can feel the ooze of fat running inside my body mannnn! You either eat with rendang or sambal goreng but I discovered another way of eating it; with asam pedas lobak masin ikan parang.  

 Chilled freshly made pineapple juice and sugar coated butter toast on a very hot day. Such simple snacks but memorable to your palate. Oh gosh, where can I find this in KL?

Spicy Corned Beef Pasta

Aildiladha was different this time around because I'm celebrating it with none other than my husband as a first time. Time management is crucial between two families as we wouldn't want to hurt any sides and boy, we really had to strategized it  carefully. Phew.

So, we were at my parents' home during the eve of Aidiladha, and Allah is Great to locate us at my parents' home at that time  and not husband's because my sister had to be rushed to the emergency room. She had a sudden severe attack at her lower abdomen so we suspected that her appendix might .. burst?  Erm, gory thoughts creeped into my mind so off to SDMC Subang Jaya we went. When checked, everything was fine and the ONLY problem with my sister is that she RARELY eats and the ONLY thing she eats is MAGGIE mee. Pftttt. Doc suspected it was just gas and Alhamdulillah nothing serious is going on and doesn't have to be warded. 

Anyway, back to Aidiladha, we were at my parents' house in 

the morning, I woke up very early and crept downstairs to help Mom prepared Raya dishes but tengok-tengok she was done with everything and was ready to go back to sleep. 

Gosh, how can we not love her? And how in the world I can be like her? 

To make myself useful in the kitchen, I made the family spicy corned beef pasta and I was very happy to see that it was gobbled down by many. Let's share the recipe. Sharing is caring!

Ingredients

- 250g packet of your favourite pasta

- 1 can of corned beef (For more healthier choices, try to use lean or minced meat!)

- 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

- 2 red onions, finely chopped

- 7 dried chilies, seedless and finely chopped

- 1 can of button mushroom, diced

- 120ml olive oil

- salt and black pepper to taste

- Shredded basil leaves.

Methods

1. Cook the pasta according to the instruction on the package.

2. Heat the olive oil in a pan and when it is medium hot, add the garlic and onions as well as dried chilies. 

3. Throw in the corned beef and stir-fry until fragrant.

4. Add the diced button mushroom in the pan. Stir it well.

5. When the pasta is cooked, drain and toss with the stir-fried ingredients in the pan. Top the pasta with the shredded basil leaves.

6. Season with salt and pepper. Ready to serve!

My siblings and Mommy on the way to see the Qurban. Where was I at this point of time? Pfftt. Left out! I was already making my way to my in-laws.

Hen Dinner with the PB Ladies

I had one final hen dinner with my PB girls over Iftar and such a surprise it was. Nadia Suhaimi texted me saying " Eh we need to have one buka puasa laa with everyone. Let's meet up jom jom." 

At that time, I was already busy running around for my wedding errands and thought I'll be rushing for the Iftar macam tak sempat je and pulak they chose Delicious and you know lah with the desserts and all kan as I was supposed to be on a strict diet. 14 days to go kot!

But for my PB ladies sake, I thought to myself, WHY NOT? They've been there for me throughout my PB journey and not forgetting THAT PB income has helped me A LOT for my wedding which I am grateful for until today. Seriously amat bersyukur. Alhamdulillah.

We ate and chatted, whined and complained about work, Nadia gave us some of her words of wisdom and semangat (cewah!) as she just got her highest achievement of being a CDM! Giler minah tuuu now bonus dah 5 figures ok! I'm just so inspired and very very proud of her!

Soon after desserts (see I told you I can't TAHAN a good dessert!), the girls took out a paper bag and had us wore a tiara. Oh us means, Natasha and I. Natasha another PB lady who is also getting married a month after me. We were a bit puzzled and macam what's going on and all..la rupanya depa ni buat mini bachelorette dinner ke. So sweeet! Too kind of them to do this for us! Disebabkan bulan puasa yang mulia ini, so tidak la kami main games bukan-bukan ye. It was just simple but sweet. Love it girls!

And I love the gift please! Mr. Z loves it too. Ahahaha.

Thank you so much ladies. I'm so glad PB happened and YOU GUYS too!

Strangers to friends that was bond over PB

Sama-sama

This entry is long overdue, I've been meaning to blog it months ago but have been keeping it off because I was waiting for the photos from the girls.

I'm so blessed to have known these people, for I have known them for quite some time (nearly to 10 years perhaps?), and even some I have lived with for 2 years or so. 

Despite the differences that we've had, the distances from each other and hectic life that we are leading, it's not that often that we see each other as how we should. Some tak jumpa langsung.. i think more than a year, only see them on FB.

Anyway, the best part of throwing parties is that we can gather everyone together and have a good time. In conjunction of me ending my singlehood days, my TESL girlfriends decided to throw one hell of bachelorette party and being surrounded by teachers and lecturers (most of em) and some were once teachers/lecturers, it is one hell of a party siap dengan adanya Master of ceremony, game master, performances and all sorts of contests! Siap ada best dress competition. The theme was diamonds and sequins. Hilarious!

I was excited for the party so I decided to get ready early. Of course you'll be excited when you are being celebrated! Hitched a ride with Azura and Azima, and off we went to One Utama. Before the event started, they sent me away for a massage at Thai Odyssey because they wanted to decorate the place in order to boost up the party ambience. Had my 1 hour massage and off I went to Neway, but when I called them, "Eh belum lagi belum lagi", haish kelakarlah budak-budak ni.

And rupanya guess what they were doing? They were rehearsing a song for me because when I entered the room, Azura was 'Ok, everyone 1 2 3" and the music starts. 

So sweet I want to cry. They performed one of my favourite song by the late Seha, "Mulanya Disini". Siap ada menari tu. 

" Sama-sama menjejak mimpi, sama-sama mencari dan menanti, segalanya direstui cinta sejati, sama-sama gunung didaki, sama-sama turun ke lembah sepi, suka duka bersama dirasai"

:)

The rest came after and we started playing games. I felt like peeing the whole time as the girls were hilarious! Screamed, shrieked, laughed, screamed, shrieked, laughed. We had Falliq as the master of ceremony and it's quite fun to see him do what he does best.

We sang, we played games, we sang again the whole night long. I nearly choked up when I sang a favourite song of mine by Nora, "Hanya Satu", which I did not at all think about Mr. Z, but at that moment I felt that it could be the 'hanya satu' moment that I spend with these girls. With our busy schedule, long distances and yada yada, it's just hard to find time to actually gather like this again.

Gah. That's just our friendship dynamic. Sigh.

Anyhow, all in all, the 5 hours I spent with them were tremendously worth it and fun, and it actually made my whole day. In fact, I was smiling and talking about it the whole week.

Girls (Sheena, Zura, Ima, Ikhlas, Qilah, Deera, Wena as well as Faliq), if any of you reading this, thank u so so much for taking time to do this for me. Appreciate every little effort, energy and creativity that you guys put into this. More of this soon ya? Wedding siapa pulak yaaa?

Sneak Peek - Akad Nikah

Myself and MOH during my akad nikah day.

01.09.12

More pictures coming up soon!

London 2012 Opening Ceremony

I wish I'm in London right now! The opening ceremony for Olympics 2012 was MAGNIFICENT!

It's so 'London' and the things we saw during the ceremony were the things that we could relate to..everytime. Mary Poppins, Harry Potter, Mr. Bean, James Bond, West End, Mallory Towers, NHS, Enid Blyton and most of the elements are celebrated the contributions the UK has made to the world through innovation, revolution as well as not forgetting the exuberance of the British people. It was really reflected on London 2012 games based on sports, youth transformation and inspiration. Directed by Danny Boyle (he directed Slumdog Millionaire) and the opening ceremony was named 'Isle of Wonder'. No wonder.
You can never expect nothing less from London. The best I have seen so far.
Oh how I miss that place.

Here are some of my favourites during the Opening ceremony of London 2012.

A performer acting as the chimney man during the Industrial Revolution.

Marry Poppin(s) rocking the stage!

Legendary David Beckham piloting a speedboat carrying the Olympic flame to make his way to the London 2012 ceremony.

The Green Pleasant Land before transformed into Industrial Revolution.

The Industrial Revolution. Can you even imagine London back then?

Favourite. Sir Rowan Atkinson was himself as Mr. Bean who brought out great laughter during the opening ceremony.

The Big Ben and The Parliament House being projected with the Union Jack.

The great achievement of NHS 

A giant puppet of British villain characters, Lord Voldermort and the Queen of Hearts. This performance honours Britain's greatest achievements for children's literature.


SPECTACULAR innit?


When can I go there again? 2013 perhaps?
With the Green Leaders Group? And my PB gang? Plus a husband of my own! Excited pulok.

Childhood Friend is Married!

Liyana Nurain. She was my first friend after 3 years spent in Scotland where Dad did his postgrad studies. That was 16 years ago where life was all about fairy tales, barbie dolls, rollerblades, dancing to KRU Elite and Backstreet Boys.

Come this year 2012, both of us are getting married. And for Liyana's case, she's already someone's wife a week ago. Time just flew in so fast without us realizing. The hectic life of working and surviving, tup tup tak sedar dah kahwin. Lepas ni ada Liyana/Salman Jr. Insya Allah.

So, on the 23rd of June, Liyana and Salman was pronounced as man and wife and if you're reading this babe, you should have seen your face during the Akad. Priceless. You were indeed beautiful with your grey modern kurung by Qudyn and Salman ape kurangnya, he was dandy himself. He looked good in that grey Baju Melayu, no wonder he insisted on that colour. ;P

Congratulations dear friend on your wedding day. May the two of find everlasting love between you that will strengthen with each passing year. Of course you will have some tough times together, that is the challenge that all married people have to work through. Rest assured that you will have more good times than bad. And always remember you have made a commitment for life and in the end you will be happy together.

Have a happy married life.

Cewah, macam dah kahwin 10 tahun je saya ni.

Anyway Liyana, thank you for letting me be apart of your BIG day from day 1. The dresses (oh my the drama!), Jakarta (walau jumpa  kat airport je!), back and forth to get stuff, panicking over things and many more. Glad I could help babe. Even for just a bit.

During Majlis Khatam Al-Quran

Hours before her Akad Nikah

 Happy moments!

Beautiful pink-ple reception. I must say the food was good!

I've to admit it's pretty weird to see Salman next door!

Let's Get Domesticated!

Such a hectic weekend for the past two weeks but I had heaps of fun. Those two weekends were spent for my bridal shower and indeed I had fun fun fun. If you can see me now, I'm  smiling/blushing/grinning/giggling as I am typing this entry. Overwhelmed by my friends' effort and felt so lucky and blessed to have girlfriends like them. Alhamdulillah.

I had three bridal shower altogether and each of them deserves seperate post.

The first one was held a week ago and the theme was.. Stepford Wives. It was such an awesome theme and I couldn't help to not plan what I want to wear because you need to look 'domesticated' and EVERYONE were pretty! All was Bree of Desperate Housewives, Charlotte of Sex and The City, Joanna Eberhart of Stepford Wives. It was awesome seeing them together in those attire.


What BGFFs do best is plan an awesome party. No doubt their parties were always the bomb.

Let me feast your eyes with some pictures that were taken during the party.

Iced lychee / peach tea by Didi

Some of the decoration props.

 Baked mac and cheese by Tasha

The super-biadap-sedap-gile chicken mushroom and steak & cheese pies by Farissa. Sedap gileeee

Fruit tarts, chocolate brownies and cream puffs by Dalia Dania

My girls are certainly homemakers ;)

We played  games and as always Ema and Adeq were the ones that coordinated the games and the games were never dull. Not the usual ones people played at bridal showers, but the games we played relate to the themes. So we had:

1) Decorate the cupcakes

2) Identify the spices

3) The laundry

4) Initials cross-stitch



It's time for me to judge!

 The winner for cuppies competition. Top three!

The laundry game. The girls and I need to fold and arrange the laundry in a smooth, crisp and neat order. FAIL.

Pressure gile. Look at the onlookers. Siap cekak pinggang lagi.

All in all, I had a fantastic time. Everything was perfect from the theme to food to deco to game. Everything is nice like sugar and spice. ;)

More pictures:

Awesome doorgifts ;)

In true fashion for us, as according to the theme.. say cheese. 

Thanks for the amazing times girls. Forever I will never forget this moment and the all of the good times we have shared. May we have this kind of events until we are old. There's no reason for us not to have one kan? And may our friendship continues to grow and the warmth we feel continue to flow. Cewah!

Bree or Charlotte?

I am beyonnndddd ecstatic! ;)

Thank you girls. 

Surreal isn't it? When your bridal shower is around the corner, you know that the wedding is SOON. 

What shall I wear now?

Bree Van dee Kamp (-ish) or Charlotte York (-ish)?

Meema's Big Day

Ema and Pez is married. That means.. I'm next! 

Ahaha. It's not about me now..

Anyway, the Akad Nikah, Reception and bertandang for Ema was absolutely beautiful and all of us had fun so much. Everyone looked good as well.

Congratulations Meema and Ankepeth!

The beautiful pelamin by Ema's cousin. Good job gile.

Dulang girls

Suasana 

Sarung cincin

They are now man and wife

Hantaran

One of the hantaran by Pez. Ema was proposed by this cake a year ago and it's also Ema's fave.

 Lovely

 Ema in her gorgeous emerald green songket

Adibah Noor the emcee for the night!

Ema's lovely family!

Sama cantek sama padan.

Ni ape? Abubakar elah? 

Have fun making babies Ema ;-P