Selamat Hari Raya...

Salam Selamat Hari Raya AidilFitri ...

....kepada semua yang sudi singgah ke blog saya terutama kepada kawan-kawan blogger. Di sini, saya mengambil kesempatan meminta maaf zahir dan batin jika tulisan saya sepanjang saya berblog, ada menyinggung hati dan perasaan. To err is human, to forgive is divine. ;-)


I am still here in Ipoh at my family home. As always, hari raya means a hectic schedule for me minus the updating in my blog. Blogging is not in my schedule at all for now! InsyaAllah, I'll be back with stories about my raya which, at this point in time, as I'm writing this, is the best ever I've celebrated. I'm grateful that I'm blessed with much love and fondness from my family members. My family is awesome! 

No Bad Hair Day!

I got up as usual this morning at 4am...and normally during Ramadhan, I would take a nap after Subuh. But not today. I couldn't sleep a wink. When hubby and MyC left for work and school, I thought it would be better if I start on my chores but, I chose to blog instead. Lying in bed, laptop perches precariously on my tummy, I know anytime now I'm sure to fall back to sleep! :-)

It has been raining cats and dogs for the past two days. Yesterday was the worst. Since I have already made an appointment with my hair-dresser I went anyway in the heavy rain. Getting there seemed forever and getting soaked whilst trying to open the umbrella seemed natural. Trudging clumsily on the flooded pavement towards the salon warrant some skills. But making my appearance inside the salon - all collected, seemed showing off (erk!) the nonchalant side of me that the rain was only oblivious by now! Smiling, I could almost hear hubby said: hati punya mau...ribut taufan, kilat petir pun...sanggup! Well, there were times when he called to run errands for him and I declined by giving all sorts of excuses, and the rain was one of them, but if it was mine, I'd do it...my way...hiks!

This was my first time doing my hair at a salon recommended by Kak T. I hear her mak datin friends come here for their 'berinai rambut'! It's cheap, they say. But when I stepped foot yesterday, this place is not like what I expected a salon should be! Hmm..I'm not telling why. No wonder these people are rich. They save a lot on their hairdo. :-D

It has been a year since I last had my hair cut and styled. Imagine a year with nary a trim. Parting with almost half of my hair length was a 'phew' moment. And now the hair falls shorter at the shoulder and the head weighs lighter! ;-)

I have this tendency of falling asleep whenever my hair is being done. Yesterday was no exception. I nodded off inside the steamer! Aaahh..this is what I hate about visiting a hairdresser that is not your friend. Although Jenny, was cheerful and friendly, I did not quite make into her conversations. She did the talking while I chipped in where necessary....hehehe! Only towards the end of my two-hour 'ghonyeh keFAla' session, did the atmosphere warm up when I was about to put on my 'tudung'. Jenny was engrossed with my 'demo'...muahahaha! She said she had never seen anyone wrapping her tudung like mine, 'macam orang Arab!'...er..yuhoo Mira, boleh I pinjam Pak Arab you?... which made me think her clientele were really 'mak datins' in those 'tudung ada awning'! Oops. 

Ehem...ini bukan I

Pic: Google

Oh, I don't think I will ever fall asleep now. I'll go marketing-lah! The big Q is...what to cook? arghhhhh

Not So Wordless Late Wednesday....Again!

Iftar: Day 24th

I've been having noodles all through Ramadhan. 
Monday and Tuesday saw me tucking in LaksJoh with gusto. Walaupung...hikhikhik!
Sunday was LaksSiam which I bought at 'everything Thai' at a food-court in a hypermarket.

Okay, okay I know... this is so not me. I'll blog again when I get back my mojo. :'(

 

Contemplation...

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

- Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for for; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.
 - Al-Baqarah 216 

 

Iftar - Day 18th

 

Today @memasak: Macaroni Goreng Pedas... 

Me no mood to 'talk talk'. Me...abc...hiks! Now me sakit pewot :'(  
Me want to baring-baring but me miss me blog...me very the 'syok sendiri' with me blog.
But me no kisah.

Bye for now...

Wordful Wednesday!

I've been cooking for iftar but have not been eating well. The other day, I don't know what got into me...hahaha...that prompted me to whip up so many dishes that they ended up in the freezer for some 're-cycled-dish' days. Always at the last minute, my cravings for noodles, had me spontaneously preparing my favourite 'tak jemu-jemu' menu for my own consumed. I usually eat rice at sahur; and how much can you eat at that hour, no?

It was about after 'Asar on Sunday, when I already started making sup soto tulang, when hubby told me he already booked a table at PenMutiara. I continued cooking till it was done having in mind the soup would be one dish for sahur.

 The usual fare at PenMutiara - Fish head curry

and...

 

 ...MyC's favourite - udang goreng tepung...

yeah...the most cekik darah dish...RM60 for the ten prawns alone!

 While waiting for the azan Maghrib...

oops Papa shy shy...kite cropped...haha!

Monday was the day I cooked like there's no tomorrow. Actually, saje jer...nak masak buat lebih so that I can take a rest the next few days. But, did I? Nehva! I made rendang pedas kerang, sambal tumis sotong, fried ikan kembung besyar punyer...and doused them in cili bawang kicap sauce. Then there was tumis sawi and mushrooms with fishballs swimming in the light soup. But I did not partake any rice just because I dah terasa-rasa kat tekak nak makan koay teow sup a la soto! And guess what? :D

 My koay teow sup tulang soto...Perghhh)))

All done at the last minute! ;)

 

Kasi close-up sikit! Ada nampak itu tulang lembut-lembut punye?

Hehhee... I loike!

Yesterday's iftar was a simple one and as you know the rendang pedas kerang and sambal sotong came to my rescue. I just stir-fried some veges and... oh yes, I did cook a small portion of kari bawal. Sorry, tak sempat berposing those dishes...Tengok nasi and lauk pauk tak selera nak amik gambar! And, guess what again? Yup. At the very last minute, I made char koay teow from the same koay teow I had the day before! First time weh, I goreng koay teow jenis sup ni..hehe...but it turn out so good. It just takes minutes to fry since the soup version koay teow is smoother and thinner. Rugi tau I tak sempat ambil gambar sebab by the time I scooped the fried noodles into my plate, it was about to azan...

But I have some pictures of my 'loot' hikhik, over the weekend at Wan Intan's.... Nak tengok? Tak nak tengok pung I tunjuk gak... ;p

Mak's Spander M & S harus ada!

Oops...don't believe all you see! ;-)

Have a nice day, all! Selamat Berpuasa.

Something Gotta Go 2....

For some reasons, some things are best be shared even though they are not really ours. That some things like memories we hold close to our hearts, are part of our reasons to rejoice. And then, there will come a time even memories have to be erased... Just when you thought these memories will always be there whenever you feel like looking back, more often than not, you take them for granted until you learned that one day one is going to slip before your eyes...

Saturday morning saw me heading happily to Wan Intan's house. She is about the only closest relative I have here in Butterworth. Wan Intan is not a natural 'wan' like me, but being a second-cousin aunt, we normally attached a 'wan' to the names of aunts and an 'Ayah' to uncles. 'Wan' here means emak saudara (aunt). Wan Intan is my late father's second cousin from her (wan intan's) maternal side -  related through my great-grandmother who married my great-grandfather who is a 'Wan'. And that makes my great-grandmother and Wan Intan's grandmother, siblings, and my grandfather and Wan Intan's mother, first cousins... wow...punya ler bersoreh!  Confused? You tell me! One of my first cousins from my mother's side called us 'keluarga 69'! Muahahahaha))

I was going to Wan Intan's house that morning when she called me to collect my things which she had bought for me and some gifts which she wanted to give on her recent trip to England.

But what I did not expect at all when I reached her house, was the signage posted outside her home and it took me a while to compose myself before I decided to take some pictures of it....

Oh no! Not this house that has marked many occasions. In any situation, I see myself come and go as I wish like it is of my own grandparents place. This is a house in the heart of Butterworth on a prime land.
I can only imagine another developer eager to tear this one down when the time comes. :'(

Like that one house, this one is very special to me too. I first came to visit Pah Chu and Tok Su, when I was about eleven. This imposing house is very warm with friendly people living here. Tok Su was a scholar and his formidable persona intimidated me so much....hikhik! I would hide from him every time he was around but secretly I love the way he spoke in English. I was told by my late father that Tok Su was his English Language master in MCKK who made him define the word 'IS'! And I remember now, he was the one who used a lot of the word 'uncouth' on his mischievous grandchildren when they were loud ...haha! He was practically my walking dictionary. Pah Chu on the other hand was a very loving lady who loved me like I was her own grandchild.

Anyway, when I saw Wan Intan that day, she told me it was a unanimous decision she and her siblings have come to. I toured about the house and told her I was going to miss this house once the deal is done. And she said, she cried when they made the decision. But like I said before....something gotta go...

 Pictures of arwah Tok Su (Dato' Salleh) and arwah Pah Chu Nuteh

and some of the family photos....

  

I'm going to miss this place but certainly not the memories.. :'(

A Beautiful Doa...

Pic: google

  "I know you are there ALLAH. I know you see my tears. 

I know you hear my prayers. I know you are testing me.

And all I ask from you is to strengthen my Iman, so I can handle the struggle in life and have patience.

I love you my Lord. My Allah. Please keep me safe." Ameen. 

Updated: *credit to: Hadith of the Day @ facebook

A Delightful Iftar...

Day 12
Ehem...now we're talking...

 Green and red salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette dressing...

...and...

 ...spaghetti in spicy tomato sauce for mains.

I love this, peeps! It's very light, and easy to the tummy...hehehe!

My kinda food for iftar....but hubby had to settle with PaRam bought nasi kerabu. ;)

Have a nice weekend, y'all! ;-)

Of Fasting and Iftar Yesterday...

Alhamdulillah... a slightly cloudy yet breezy morning here. Well...what do you know? As I'm writing this, the sun has decided to make its appearance somewhere over the clouds...hehe...nice! ;)  But you can never tell the weather....especially these days. In the late afternoons when the tide is high, but I'm holding on, I'm gonna be your number one...number one it can be very very windy but HOT!

I was really exhausted yesterday that I abandoned my mission altogether to stay up after Isyak to perform my terawih and tilawah, let alone to update this blog. I slept like a log throughout last night. There goes Lili, the light sleeper! Much as I tried to sleep yesterday afternoon, my aching body simply did not responding well to the message my brains had sent. Every time I closed my eyes, the image of the pots and pans and the dangling chicken passed my mind. And that left me awake and turning and tossing in bed. Now, how am I supposed to take a rest?  :(


Another thing is, I have not been eating well lately. I drink a lot at iftar and that explained my tiredness and lost of appetite. I think I'm going to omit rice for the time being for iftar and have them for sahur instead. Terbalik kong dah ni!

I made agar-agar bodoh yesterday....But being me...hehe...you know the cerdik wan, and so, I cerdikkan agar-agar bodoh until it was no longer bodos....

What's not to like about jelly and fruit cocktails!

And afterwards right after Maghrib I forced myself with these....

...three tablespoons of rice was good enough but the attack was more on the salad!

 To whet my appetite I made kerabu tomato for a change

to this chicken rice accompaniment...and it helped in a way. ;)

...and slurping this fish-balls soup was nothing but refreshing!

Selamat Berpuasa everyone!

9 & 10... A Big Fat Hen???

Aahhhh...this is a quick one! Rasa lama ek bila tak menulis sehari dua ni. Idea pung bukan nak menolong masa-masa buntu memikir hal ehwal donia (hiks), sama jugak hal masak memasak. Actually, I'm too tired to fikir soal makan ni. Aleh-aleh nasi seems mundane. Kalau dapat makan setengah senduk pung kira mantopp dah... Lauk pung dah tak nampak lain asyik...kari, kari, kari...nasib baek tak de papadom, kalo tak jadi lagu dah...kari kari...nasi kandaq papadom..sekali sekala pekena teh lambung...

It's 4.25pm...sementara menunggu Asar, boleh ler cer cer citer sikit. Hari ni kurang tidur. Hubby left very early after sahur for Shah Alam. So, I ler kene mengantor MyC Girlgirl ke sekolah. Boleh aje lepas hantar tu balik rumah and lepaks titon bagai...tapikan tapi...terasa lama dah tak tengok laut...lencong sekejapans tapi dah termasuk BORR...so, bayar tol and terus ke market ayam. Hehhee...kat sini tempat orang sembelih and process ayam! Me got fresh fresh ayam wannn....hehe
Lepas tu menapak sikit kat pasar borong tu, Terkezut uols...Sepokok daun salad which I don't think I can finish for weeks...haha...was only a ringgit. Rasa nak amik sebakul terungs...cili merah yang meriah carey and macam-macam lagi ler. Tapi hajat hati cuma nak masak nasi ayam...maka I walked back to my car and left before I start on impulse buying.

So now you know what is my iftar this evening, ken! Yes...masak nasi ayam style lain pulak. Hehe...Oh, hari ni terlebey rajin. First time weh since puasa ni I buat desserts. Tapi itu ler...segan nak citer lagi...hehehe...dah dekat berbuka nanti, I amik gambo and then tayang kat sini. Hah, harus dua entry hari ni!


Eh, melalut dah...


Layan ek gambar Iftar 9 & 10....

 

 Eh, silap...kita mulakan dengan Day 10 dulu...hehe

Berbuka semalam dengan bihun goreng

Adeh...baru ler selera sikit... 

 Day 9 - Tauhu sambal

Mmmm...pedas-pedas manis...tak sedar asyik ratah ni sesaje...

Hajat hati nak buat kari kering sutun ni...

sekali terbanjir daaa dengan air sotong tu sendiri!

Oh dear, dah azan Asar! Gotta go...lepas ni nak ber-parade kat dapur. ;-)

See you all later ye. And....thanks for dropping by, y'all!

Lots of love,

Lili d' emily <3

Iftar - Day 8

Wow, eight days already, eh? Only eight days and here we go again....asking the same question, 'what to cook today?' My menu has definitely 'shrunk' form a three-dish meal to two and only one for sahur. But buying outside food for mains, at the pasar Ramadhan is not the answer. Not even an option...for now-lah...hehehe...Who knows, towards the end of Ramadhan, perhaps.

Yesterday's iftar meal was simple but absolutely appetizing... Well...hehehehe))

 Kari Daging yang....malas nak citer...hahaha! ;p

 Terung Berlada

Sunday, the seventh day of puasa, I made a simple Egg Dhall Curry. *Earlier today, I gave a step by step instruction to Akak on preparing this dhall. Er... dhall ni kalo ada buah kelo/ramunggai/drumstick lagi ler sedap! ;)* Hah, amacam Kak Som? ;)

 Some eggs were intact, some just separated...
But of course. A cook has her days too...hahaha!

Have a nice day, y'all! <3

Saturday That Was...

Was not in my usual self when I woke up Saturday morning. Going about my chores later on, I decided to 'mogok masak' for Iftar that evening. Called hubby and he decided on nasi beryani Hameediyah. I know, I know...lagi lagi Hameediyah! So, after Zohor, it was off to the island...yippie!

The pictures you are about to see here are not edited...ahkak manyak fenat....and malas....and mengantuk tahap gaban....and....'tak sihat'. Sambil-sambil tu nyanyi ler lagu *Rob Thomas: I'm not crazy I'm just a little unwell...I know right now you can't tell...But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see, A different side of me....*
Hehehehehe

From Chulia Street, where Hameediyah is situated, I thought it would be nice for a change to venture into Little India. It has been years since I last stepped foot around this area where the Indian Muslims (and non) businesses thrive. Come let's check out what I found...

 After circling twice around the block, only then we managed to get a parking space...

 As it is still early....the place was not crowded at all...

Sweetmeats for iftar...I just bought two coconut candies for MyC...

Anyway, it isn't nice to poke your head at someone's stall, 

take some pictures and walk away...no? hehehe

Took this picture while the mamak scooping out 

mutton kurma for my extra dish...

Another nasi kandar outlet rumoured as the best...

Tajuddin Hussain - remember the name guys! hehee

Colourful 'sarbat campur'

Couldn't resist....haishh

It was really another walk down the memory lane driving along Downing Street later, on our way back to the jetty.

I felt a twinge inside me that I could not comprehend...every time I see this place....

 ....and....never mind! hehe

...that is why, I find it hard to leave the island 

at about every trip I make...

*jiwengs at her best!* hikhikhik

Selamat Berbuka Puasa! ;)

A Posting at Dawn...

Salam peeps! 

Tajuk tak boleh blah lagi...hehe! It's twenty minutes before Imsak and here I am sitting down from a light meal of vegetable soup and some leftovers from last night dinner. This is going to be a short entry because food seems to dominate my posting from now on....hehehehe

Well, what did I have for iftar yesterday? If it is an ordinary day, this meal means....nothing...to some-lah, hehe... So, less talk now.  ;)

 Yeay, nasi lemak...nasi lemak...yeay!

 SamTum Bilis baik punye... yeay

 Udang Goreng Halia...ish ish, udang fresh from the sea...

I love the green chilies...they're so crunchy and sweet! 

 ...hehe...yesterday's sahur dish of sambal sardin - also good with nasi lemak tau
...nyum nyum...Ailapit! <3

 Whose plate is it, anyway? 

hikhikhik *buat dah...ketawa waktu Imsak*

And whose baby is this, below, waiting for her Subuh prayers?Okay...gotta go now...

muahhhhs 

So long, peeps! <3<3<3