Kawan Lama

We did a few rounds of open house this weekend. Termasuk sebuah rumah kawan lama dari college days.

It was an occasion untuk menyambut menantu / raya I suppose. Sangat sederhana. Namun sangat menambat hati.

They live in  FRIM quarters. Rumah pun terletak di antara pokok2 besar FRIM dan amat terlinding dari sibuk jalan; agak macam rumah nenek little red riding hood! haha ~ Although I doubt there are any wolves hovering behind any trees.

It was strictly "eat under the tress" kenduri concept. Tapi makanan mak aiii, cakap aje nak apa. Ada nasi tomato, nasi dagang, nasi kerabu, laksam, spaghetti, bakso. Dessert. Unfortunately we just came back from my sister's house also for raya do (lupa lak nak tangkap gambar..) jadi tak ade lah makan beriya.

But the laksam and nasi kerabu were teramat sedap. And I have photos to share if you like to see (petang agak mendung dan kami duduk2 dan makan di celah pokok2 di FRIM, it was too cool not to take photos. Macam duduk di kampung from long ago days).

 Kenduri yang sangat humble and humbling. Saya terfikir mungkin ini yang sangat dituntut.

We ate amongst trees in the open (fresh) air (there was a hammock outside the house, under the trees. I thought I would love to lie there and swing it slowly with a book on my lap on a lazy weekend afternoon).

 Nasi kerabu (siap dengan solok lada) dan laksam yang sangat original.

Hijau!

Malang gambar dengan kawan2 dan pengantin didnt turn out great. So that's that.




~ xoxo

Syawal Tiba : Raya Snippets

Selamat Hari Raya.

Thank you to all that had sent HR wishes. Sorry I didnt reply to some; I was rather in an in-communicado situation (I was in charge of mum, the kitchen, the guests etc etc). So somewhat running like a headless chicken so to speak.

Namun. Ampun maaf banyak2 diminta pada semua. Seikhlas2nya.

Again, our raya photos are rather limited this year.. Efan was in charge of the camera this time..

 That is our old(er) house at the back. Rumah papan where we grew up in.

Alhamdulillah. Tahun ni dia beraya dengan kami (and refusing to return to Saudi again. For now).

As usual, mesti ada gambar raya yang skema. Tahun ini kami buat freedom baju raya - ie tak ada bertema2 (payah nak kelola..)

Baju Umar dan Sara tu nenna yang belikan dan tempah (thank you Dib!) Konon nak jahit sendiri (mungkin bila kucing bertanduk..)

I love these raya tudungs; although they are rather elaborate in a way (at least for me). But I have seen prettier and even more elaborate tudungs worn by some tapi nampak cantiiik aja.

They are from Sookascarf on fb, if you are interested..

Everybody in the family went hoo-haa over mum's wajik. I posted the recipe on our group wa, and then agak2 2 hari topik wajik berlegar di situ. To celebrate the greatness (haha, konon) of the recipe let me share that here also.

Enjoy the kati and cupak measurement! (which had caused the big havoc on wa the other day)

Were you caught up in the traffic madness this raya? We were, both whilst coming in and out of the city. That was unavoidable though. But we were quite patient and therefore the experience was rather tolerable.

Dan kata ustaz, kalau nak tengok Ramadhan kita berhasil atau tidak, lihatlah diri kita setelah berakhirnya Ramadhan. Kalau kita mudah berpuasa, mudah mengaji, mudah bangun malam semudah kita buat semasa Ramadhan, berkatlah maknanya Ramadhan kita yang lepas..

And I suppose as always, we will raya till the end of Syawal.





~ xoxo

When In Ipoh : Interesting Stuffs

We were always in a big rush whenever on raya trips. This time we took things a bit slower.

And thus decided to spend an extra night in Ipoh to explore out a bit (I think it is age, or ageing if you prefer). We've been here since forever and never once felt compelled to do this.

We booked a night at a place called M boutique Hotel Station 18. Found out that this is one of the more interesting hotels in Ipoh. Newer. Different with a modern decor.

And pleasantly surprised, we found the reviews correct (after all it is rated as the no 2 hotel in Ipoh by TripAdvisor with The Banjaran in first place).

It is indeed most appealing and interesting. There are two branches in Ipoh; the one we stayed at was opened only a couple of months ago and didnt even show up on Waze.

Let these photos tell the story (Efan was the model of the day..)

They put up old wooden window shutters as the facade. What can I say, the mix of modern and rustic really came through. Indeed there are lots of old shops throughout Perak that have these kind of windows.  

This is the reception. The iron/wooden chandeliers remind me of some English dungeons (although I cant remember if I have ever stepped into one.. haha). The floor is of timber. So is the upstairs floor. In fact, upstairs the floor is made of used wooden planks recycled from old buildings. Which is absolutely gorgeous (which also makes lots of sound when you walk, exactly like in out parents' houses of long ago days).

The cafe. I thought it looks almost like Acme. It has that welcoming relaxed atmosphere. Inviting you to sit longer and maybe order another cup of the aromatic local coffee.

Upstairs hallway. Tersangat gorgeous. If you are ever in Ipoh, you should stay here. Have a feel of the place. The rooms were beyond words. The air-cond supercool and the duvet was soft like goose downs. And what can I say about the bathroom - beautiful with gushing hot/cool water.

The service was impeccable. At 6pm the room service came to our door with extra bottled water and famous Ipoh kacang putih snacks. And the staff were friendly. Isy, memang mesti datang!

We went for Nasi Kandar Vanggey at Greentown (rather a let down for me).

Although we wanted to eat here. Famously known as Nasi Kandar Ganja. It is a mamak nasi kandar in a chinese restaurant. Unfortunately they were closed. We visited the Nasi Lemak Ayam Kampung place too. But that was also closed. Hmmpfh. Berjalan lagi waktu raya.

Last but not least we went for HR open house in Chemor (which co-incidently did not show up on Waze either at first as it is, again, a new place). And then later caught up in the not-so-surprising traffic crawl back into the city).

The next time we come here, will will explore some more. Ipoh has rather a lot to offer.




~ xoxo

It is Friday!

Alhamdulillah. It's Friday. Finally.

The week had seemed so long.

We were talking about briani last week on Telegram and I had asked who'll be home for iftar (as everybody seemed to have all sorts of plans). Efan texted, itu harapan saya (isy, sedih pulak lah saya membaca msg dia). As it turned out the iftar was meriah as everyone was home including Miza, Ilyas and Zuf. With Umar al Haziq of course. Efan je yang tak ada.

So we are having a repeat of the briani menu today.

I plan to do some raya baking tomorrow. Yang nak dihadiahkan, yang nak dijamu pada tetamu dan yang dipesan. Tahun ni tak buat promosi biskut raya - cuma untuk mereka yang bertanya; sebab Sara amat sibuk bila ke dapur. Kalau tak percaya, just take a look at these!

Buku. Pinggan mangkuk. Plastik. Habis di"susun". Anyway.

I must go to the pasar tani as well. Minggu ni termangu tak tahu nak berbuka apa sebab fridge agak kosong. I think I will get ayam kampung untuk masak lemak cili api atau masak merah. Sotong for my famous fried kalamari rings (chewwah konon famous). Tauhu untuk tauhu sumbat.

Dan santan yang agak banyak sebab nak buat kueh bakar banyak2 dan hantar kepada jiran2 (kena buat baik dengan jiran.. kadang2 bila teringat, saya berdoa agar kami tiada menyinggung perasaan mana2 jiran. Dan hati akan jadi gundah sebab kucing2 kami bertandang ke sana sini. Namun masih belum terjumpa solution. Dannn. Pokok buluh saya walaupun kecil, daunnya merimbun dan daun kering ditiup terbang ke rumah sebelah. I will move that pot to the koi pond. Biar daun masuk ke dalam kolam dan block water pump hubs! Biar susahkan keluarga, bukan jiran. Isy, panjang pulak..)

So. Big plans; entah tercapai atau tidak pun. Oh, dan mesti ke tailor juga sebab baju raya dah siap! Pesan tailor di wa, jangan lupa datang ambil (kata saya dalam hati, itu selalunya kami tak lupa..haha)

So what are your weekend plans?





~ xoxo

Berpesan-pesan di Ramadhan

Pesan ustaz, di Ramadhan ini kena banyak mengaji. Mengaji tu bukan lah maksudnya bertadarus sampai khatam al Quran saja (walaupun itu pun sudah sangat baik). Namun, maksud al Quran juga perlu dihayati. Mesti mengaji dan faham maksud ayat itu; yakni bertadabbur (ini yang terbaik).

Kata ustaz lagi, Rasulullah saw membaca al Quran bersama Jibril bukan untuk khatam habis Quran saja (Jibril turun sekali setiap Ramadhan dan dua kali pada Ramadhan Rasulullah saw yang terakhir).

Saya mencuba. Tapi at this rate, saya agak saya tak akan sempat bertadabbur habis al Quran saya. Tapi mesti mencuba. Itu yang penting.

Dan saya terjumpa ayat berikut yang sangat memikat lalu telah pun saya bookmark.

Surah 73, Al-Muzzammil Ayat 1-9

1. Wahai orang yang berselimut!.
2. Bangunlah sembahyang Tahajjud pada waktu malam, selain dari sedikit masa (yang tak dapat tidak untuk berehat),
3. Iaitu separuh dari waktu malam, atau kurangkan sedikit dari separuh itu,
4. Ataupun lebihkan (sedikit) daripadanya; dan bacalah Al-Quran dengan "Tartil".
5. (Sayugialah engkau dan pengikut-pengikutmu membiasakan diri masing-masing dengan ibadat yang berat kepada hawa nafsu, kerana) sesungguhnya Kami akan menurunkan kepadamu wahyu (Al-Quran yang mengandungi perintah-perintah) yang berat (kepada orang-orang yang tidak bersedia menyempurnakannya).
6. Sebenarnya sembahyang dan ibadat malam lebih kuat kesannya (kepada jiwa), dan lebih tetap betul bacaannya.
7. (Kami galakkan engkau dan umatmu beribadat pada waktu malam), kerana sesungguhnya engkau pada siang hari mempunyai urusan-urusan yang panjang kira bicaranya;
8. Dan sebutlah (dengan lidah dan hati) akan nama Tuhanmu (terus menerus siang dan malam), serta tumpukanlah (amal ibadatmu) kepadaNya dengan sebulat-bulat tumpuan.
9. Dia lah Tuhan yang menguasai timur dan barat; tiada Tuhan melainkan Dia; maka jadikanlah Dia Penjaga yang menyempurnakan urusanmu.

Di bulan Ramadhan ini sementelah kita bangun untuk bersahur, mungkin sempat juga kita selitkan 2 rakaat jika tidak lebih untuk bersolat malam.

Bak pesan arwah Tuan GuruNik Aziz.

Semoga terus istiqamah dalam menghayati Ramadhan kali ini.

ps - Saya juga berpesan pada diri sendiri.





~ AllahuAkbar