Postcards from my hometown.

I feel very glad that i ve made today's trip to my hometown.Ramadhan is just around the corner,me,my brother,sil and niece made a day trip to our hometown to tidy up the house,change a few things and arrange for cleaning.It was a hush hush affair as uwan and the two girls didn't know about my trip,the trios thought i went off to office.I felt bad leaving them as they would enjoy it very much especially uwan but the time was limited and with them around we can't settle the things in time.So off we go in the morning..menyusur jalan kenangan sambil membuat kerja and mengisi perut..more to the later actually:) It was a very happy trip to us 4 adults,it was fulled with laughter,stories and nostalgias.We stopped at Dengkil R&R for nasi lemak with goreng peria.. and we had lunch at Kuala Pilah,me and ikin had our long awaited mee hailam,while my brother and sil had nasi puteh with ikan sembilang salai at his favourite shop.We went to tempah new langsir for rumah uwan,bought few other things for "Aminah Resort"..we look forward to our raya in kampung:) Can't wait to fix the new langsir,tikar getah,table cloth etc. Actually people would wonder what so special about going back to a small,hottest temperature town like KP..well nothing much they didn't even have supermarket like Giant or tesco..being in the town was like stepping back in time..that is the best part..if many,many years ago i stand at the toy shop pulling my mother;s sleeves to buy me marbles now i stand there to buy toy for my girls..the shop is thousand miles below Toy r us standard but it means so much..it is fulled with nostalgias and memories and i love my life and kenangan2 manisnya.

Always love this mee hailam,simple yet so delicious..everything just right about it; i can finish the whole plate.

Homemade chili jeruk adds ummphhh to the mee hailam.

The hungry mammal;)

Ikin sharing my memories at this toy shop..inilah kedai yang sejak kecik dulu i selalu bertandang,my doll,marbles,animal farms were all from here..everytime we passed by this shop my emak will buy something for me and without fail i always beli my milky van houten kenit2 chocolate here,i dont know whether anybody remember,the small square chocolate wrapped with red,white,brown and orange paper..i loved it very much.

Many types of bubble gums which can be found in small shop like this only.

And we bought gula anau for ramadhan.

I love going to this little shop which have all knicks knacks under the sun..my excitement going here is just like going to Eurochef in Seri hartamas..today i bought tuang kueh siput,gold strainer for wantan noodles,moulds for biskut semperit and even rake for my garden but i couldn't find rabbit loyang for my agar2;(

The pakcik with durian kampung..it may not be Mousan King but we bought it,more to helping the pakcik actually he's been sitting so long and nobody bought his durians due to competitor with much better selections.

And as promised i got the girls the golfset..it was RM20 each after tawar menawar..it is quite cool,it has club,putter,flag,balls,hole etc..

Then we stopped at this famous cendol..dah berabad this family runs this business...see there,layanan mesra lagi..too mesra lah penat dengar dia puji kita orang macam heroin hindustan..alamak..our shah rukh khan not around laaa:)

cendol yang menyegarkan tekak yang dahaga..cendol with jagung and kacang:)

We reached KL at 6.45pm and i cooked dinner..i feel so glad and thankful to my brother for driving us back and the other two ladies..i had a wonderful time..a short breakaway..the feeling was awesome..rejuvenates my spirit and mind. Bahan mentah for dinner mostly from KP,gulai telur itik with bacang,goreng taugeh kasar with kicap,santan durian mentah,goreng ikan sepat masin,sambal tempoyak and petai..perut kenyang..tak banyak lagi yang di idam..kecuali bantal yang empok dan pelukan anak2 dan suami...zzzzzzzzzzz:)

Happy and Bright as Lemon Tree!

Salam Monday morning! Wahhh I am very happyyyy todayyy:) Tomorrow me,my brother,sister in law and ikin nak balik kampung day trip..we nak get ready few things before raya. Tia.Mia and uwan tinggallah kat kat KL kalau tak susah nak buat kerja..so dah buat plan,my brother will be driving..seronoknya nak balik pekan kolo pilah yang kecik tu..kita orang nak singgah kuala pilah nak makan mee hailam dan ABC piring..my husband suruh beli toy golfset untuk tiamia last time balik dia nampak tergantung kat pasar pilah..haaa..haaa. This raya,insyAllah panjang umur,sihat tubuh badan we nak buat lemang sendiri,tak upah orang..rasa lagi meriah dan seronok dan golongan muda pun nak belajar jugak buat lemang.So Alhamdulillah kan puasa dah nak menjelang cepat betul masa berlalu..happy rasanya dah ganti puasa yang tinggal tahun lepas dan sempat lah membuat puasa sunat 10 hari di bulan Rejab dan 15 hari bulan2 sebelumnya..bak kat uwan..puasa sunat ni "menampal' apa yang tak sempurna di masa2 "muda" dulu. Tahun ni jugak berazam nak buat biskut raya sendiri..tia mia pun dah besar,rasanya nak buat yang senang2 ajer dan yang dia orang suka macam kueh buah rotan,kueh siput,gunting,semperit dan agar2 kering..jadi balik kampung esok boleh lah cari tempat buat kueh siput traditional di pasar pilah..memang banyak barang2 moden di KL sekarang tapi saya nostalgia beli barang2 kecik di pekan kecik di kampung saya..and nak cari jugak loyang gambar rabbit untuk agar2..kalau jumpa nanti boleh buat seekor agar2 rabbit buat tia mia di pagi raya.

Yesterday we went out to buy rabbit's cage and i bought one table cloth with lemon pictures..wahh i really love it..i love anything printed with lemon or olive pictures and i suka table cloth kotak2 too:)Pagi ni berkobar2 semangat memasak tengok tablecloth tu:)..He..hee..tiny thing that makes me happy;);)

I love Lemon!

Cantikkan sunny and bright my kitchen..rasa tak nak berenti masak:)

I masak maggie goreng tanpa perencah maggie this morning..maggie ni yang tak elok dia perencah tu lah..so i tukar dengan tumbuk udang kering,bawang putih,merah,sos tiram dan sedikit kicap serta mix vege..dah tu bubuh scramble eggs banyak2 ..so yummeh:) Ada yang mintak resepi Spaghetti Olio..nanti bila senang saya publish entry khas okay;)

Gomok donut kurang gula utk tia mia..ni frozen donuts..goreng ajer...boleh tahan rasanya:)

Dah tu buatkan uwan gulai special..ahad dah "no oill and santan day"..so pagi ni masakkan uwan gulai ikan dengan petai dan belimbing buluh;)

Bubuh petai banyak2..senang ajer masaknya..bubuh semua sekali dan jerang..cuma santan biar pekat dan kurang kuah,..gulai petai sedap pekat;)

Wallaaaa..dah masak..saya rasa sikit..sangat mengancam lah..rasa nak bukak periuk pagi2 tu and makan nasi..kalau tak mengenangkan bau mulut..harussss;) Dah pesan kat heni tumbukkan uwan sambal tempoyak dan tambah ikan kering dan ulam untuk lunch..harap2 uwan selera makan.

Si Ribbon ni dapat rumah baru..makanan pun kena tala dengan tiamia punya banyak..bunga,daun,sayur semua bagi..harap2 gomok dan panjang umur lah Ribbon ye..nanti kita carikan dia girlfriend pulak ya..sian dia sorang ajer now;):)

Trapped like a Rabbit!

Nearly 11 years ago before i got married and when i was stilled slim and weight less than 53 kg i had an illusion in my head that i was heavy and signed for a weight loss program. I was not really sure what had into me at that time,maybe i was comparing my cekeding weight of 44 kg when was in Uni,that i felt heavy at 53 when i started working..if now i stilled weight 52kg i sengih happy ,tergolek tergelantang manjanglah dgn weight tu.Anyway back to the program, after i signed it i had attended about 6 or 7 sessions and stopped sedangkan the session has about 60s.The centre had been calling me after that but i didn't go because i didn't like the process of wrapping and been left under the hot blanket for 30 mins,macam ikan siakap kena stim.Few years after that as i thought dah burned dah my package they called me,persuaded me to come and finish it and they even offered to shift it to facial program.I agreed but in the end i stilled didn't go as i couldn't find time etc.Last few weeks they called me again and i was impressed as i think they are so good after 11 years they stilled keep my pacakage! They asked me to come as i stilled have about 16 wraps left,thinking that i should lose some wight since nak pakai kebaya nanti i pun pergi lah last week..and stilled impress with their honesty and sincerity.Once i reach there,they have my record ready,they took me to the room,measure my body and showed me the "perkembangan" of my body..haaa..haaa..of course lah berkembang dari 11 years ago:) But my 'kegembiraan" thinking about their honesty and sincerity vanish after the session as after that they showed me the whole range of supplements," a must buy" package to compliment the old package,sebab the old one dah tak effective etc..when you are there you are really helpless you can't really say no and they are damn persuasive..i ended up buying the drink supplements etc as well:) instead untung boleh habiskan package lama..duit baru pun melayang..kena ketuk2 kepala,ingat!!!! next time should never walk into their shop!Never,never..they are like a sucking machine,they will suck you and you'll never get out alive! Just like me, i was trapped like a rabbit and this rabbit better lose some weight!

Sebab dah kena trap..this rabbit tak larat dah nak tulis keterangan kat gambar2..tengok ajer lah ye:)Oh yaaa i ada beli rabbit..sebab peringatan kat diri sendiri:):)

Finally, i am just a human, sometimes i am vain too..let myself be trapped like a rabbit but dah kena insaf lama,hopefully another 11 years Lol,Lol..to my emak doa your daughter to be strong and not vain ya:):)

Puteri Mandi,Puteri Belum Mandi & Puteri Italy & Puteri ditinggal suami.

Salam Jumaat yang Barakah buat semua:) Mintak maaf sebelum cerita yang manis ada bebelan dulu:)Minggu yang panjang jugak buat saya..banyak perkara perlu di buat dan di selesaikan,pening jugak kepala menangani masalah manusia.Bukan berjawatan CEO ataupun Director tapi masih perlu menangani masalah staffs yang ada seramai 10 orang,all kind of attitude and thinking.Some people only look at themselves,so self centred it is always "me,me and me and how about me" ..that is not the way to go if you live in a society,sit down ,ponder and look at yourself in the mirror..if you are sincere,you will see the true picture and there's no need for other people to tell you.The most important be humble..itu di tuntut as you are only hamba..if you have that quality you will be more human.

No matter what problem or difficulties i faced at office,when i go back home i will it leave outside the gate,enter the house with bismillah..bila dapatan pelukan dan ciuman rahmat dari kedua puteri kesemua masalah pun lebur. So last nite i buat "Puteri Mandi" untuk uwan, kegemaran uwan di bulan puasa,tapi sebab lewat buat,dah uli tepung bulat2 kan tengok uwan dah masuk bilik pulak so simpan lah dulu dalam fridge pagi baru masak:)

Macam ni lah buat Puteri Mandi,bulat2 kan tepung pulut.

Dah tu penyek2 sikit kat atas dia.

Ini lah dia Puteri Mandi yang cantik jelita,manis di pandang apa tah lagi di makan.

"Puteri kembar belum mandi" pulak nak makan spaghetti olio with prawn..so buatkan jugak..your children suka local parsley tak? i love it very very much..but my twins can't really stand the smell and strong pungent of local parsley but they don't mind english parsley..but i biasakan jugak..so letak lah my lovely parsley banyak2.

Tadaaaa... Puteri Italy yang cantik jelita,menggiurkan bila di pandang apa tah lagi di makan;)

Dah habis masak..packkan untuk semua orang..papa pun dapat bekas "pink" jugak..don't forget to eat your lunch before friday prayer ya papa.

"Puteri sudah Mandi" beselera santap di atas kereta.

"I dont like the "big salad.. i only like the small only"..Mia referring to the parsley..dia tak suka yang potong kasar tu..yang kecik dia tak apa..ok next time mama will bear in mind okay!

Cerita untuk di kongsi minggu ni: Semalam lunch dgn kawan..dia bercerita kisah kawan dia yang menghadapi masalah rumah tangga,now dah duduk berasingan dgn suami..walaupun dia masih sayang dgn suami dan mengharapkan suami balik ke pangkuan tapi kawan2 keliling telah ada yang nampak si suami menggendong wanita lain. My friend and her other friends are in dilemma whether to tell the lady or not because it will have two impacts, she might do her best to win the husband back or she mengamuk, bergaduh besar dan terus bercerai. Tapi apa yang nak di kongsi di sini.menurut my friend,she thinks kesilapan besar the lady which she had been telling her since day one is; when they got married,the husband bawak adik perempuan dia yang tak bekerja untuk tinggal bersama,so adik suami ni lah yang usruskan seluruh rumah tangga dari memasak,mengemas, menjaga budak dan sebagainya.The lady ni happy sebab dia tak perlu risau,rumah sentiasa kemas,makan minum suami terjaga tapi bila dia told my friend,my friend said : you are stupid,do you know that through cooking,taking care of your husband,your kids they will have you in their hearts..if you allow your SIL to do everything your husband don't need you,he will not miss you because there is somebody who can cook,clean etc for him' And that is true enough...bila they bergaduh dan tinggal asing the husband tak miss the wife pun sebab he got his sister to cook and take care of him and once a while bila dia nak nafkah batin..he will go back to the wife and get it! I totally agree with my friend! Yes kita sebagai isteri patut dicintai dan di sayangi hanya kerana diri kita dan bukan kerana masakan,tenaga,duit atau sebagainya but whether you like it or not it plays an important role! Cooking is one of them..remember how we sayang and attached to our mum,semua mak masak sedap,apa yang di cakap betul,apa yang di jahit cantik..masalah apa pun kita tuju kat emak..kalau dia tak ada sehari,dua kacau bilau jadinya hidup kita dan kalau tak bernasib baik kehilangannya merana lah hidup menangisi kehilangannya. Begitu jugak suami..kalau kita tengok di awal perkahwinan dalam few months atau tahun pertama dia masih miss masakan emak dia,masih rasa masakan emak dia sedap..longing for it but after tak berenti masakan kita lidah di dah biasa,bila kita aturkan segalanya dia pun bergantung pada kita untuk terus mengatur hidup dia..dia biasa dgn cara kita susun baju,kemas rumah,waktu makan dan minum..dan kalau tak percaya cuma tengok kita tak ada sehari kacau bilau tak rumah.Bukan lah kita suruh di melupakan sleuruh hidup dia dgn keluarga dia ,tapi hubungan dia dgn keluarga memang dah kukuh terbina,itu hubungan darah yang takkan putus,hubungan baru dengan kita yang bukan sedarah tapi berdasarkan perasaan cinta yang perlu di jaga,perlu dipupuk untuk dapat "bonding" yang kalau tak lebih sama taraf dan akrabnya dgn pertalian sedarah.

Having said that,memang sangat susah menjaga perhubungan..ada yang akan berkata "semua telah saya buat tapi dia masih curang' ..itu pun memang berlaku,nasib kadang2..kalau kita baik dan dia masih curang maka dia bukan yang terbaik untuk kita.Doa sajalah yang dapat kita panjatkan.Moga Jumaat ini barkah buat semua,happy weekend.

Meraikan Orang Puasa.

My X Big Boss once messaged me and asked "Zu,,why your fb penuh gambar food,you dah bukak restaurant ka?" Haa,haaa.. first i don't have enough branded bags or tonn of jewelleries to flash here..secondly i love food and cooking..so what to do boss..if you come to my blog or fb that is what you see;)Well having said that i got some serious thoughts about something,this morning bercerita dgn kawan kat traffic lights:):) Nanti cerita:) Anyway, yesterday Nur,my niece called she said she will be coming over with her emak to my place for buka puasa..first thought of buying lauk from kedai then teringat Kak Yah (My eldest sister in law wife to my arwah brother) loves my masak lemak cilipadi and sambal bilis kampung style..so masaklah apa yang ada dalam fridge ajer,nak berenti pasar takut lambat.Masak at 6.45 and sedia at 7.35,ni lah hasilnya;

Apart from egg tarts,kacang rebus and gulai perut yang lain semua masaklah.

Berenti tepi jalan beli belimbing buluh,masaklah lemak dgn ikan,buat sambal kampung,sambal kampung ni tak payah goreng ikan bilis garing,dulu arwah makcik kat kampung suka buat sambal ni,dia berkuah,pakai banyak bawang besar,masak lama sampai bawang lembut..sangat sedap makan dgn nasi lemak panas 30 sen dan pulut kuning;):).Ada ikan pekasam kedag,goreng jugak then rebus terung pipit dan bendi and buat sambal tempoyak.

Tengok kak yah makan sedap sangat lauk ni..berbaloi lah rasanya masak walaupun penat.Kak Yah ni kakak ipar yang sangat baik,my eldest niece sebaya dgn i..masa kecik dulu selalu spent time kat rumah arwah my brother kat johor,she always sayang me lebih dari anak sendiri,..selalu i naik keretapi dgn my emak nak pergi johor,bila balik kak yah buatkan rendang kerang,sambal daging dan telur rebus makan kat atas keretapi..wahhhh sedap betul masa tu..sambil menyuap nasi tengok ke luar tingkap..macam dalam filem P.Ramlee .

Tengok lah tu..kak yah yang puasa dah pun habis makan..yang tak puasa ni beriya-iya..si Nur sampai senget hidung makan tu...sik cakap "sedap maksu,sedap maksu;)" Si eknit pulak sibuk lah dgn "water spout" baru..macam budak kecik lah balik budak2 ni;);)

Tepon sapa tu cik kak?

Nur uwan rimas lah kau tepon lama2 tengok tu berkerut rupa dia..hee..hee..tempat uwan tu area melepak favourite..bila puasa my house jadi tumpuan sebab ada emak duduk sekali kan..so selalu lah yang datang buka puasa ramai2..seronok lah..jadi bila dah bukak puasa,siapa yg boleh ke masjid pergi lah dan kaum perempuan normally melepak kat situ lah..lagi pun dekat dgn meja makan kan..boleh buat siaran ulangan banyak kali;)

Budak2 dua orang ni seronok jumpa kak nur,kak nur nak ke jogja dan melbourne..usha sikit suruh beli ole2 ya..masa baru melahirkan tia mia dulu..Nur datang jaga me few days,she said nak balas my jasa bagi support masa dia study and masa tu bapak dah tak ada..so dia datang urut myself..letak segala pupur dan lulur mak datuk tu,buatkan carrot juice,sup sawi,mandikan and bedung the girls..she pandai jaga orang bersalin sebab ramai kakak dan anak sedara..so bonding tu sejak kecik..dah besar budak2 ni pun sayang Kak Nur.

Dua orang ni bila dah orang dah balik..frust tak dapat berseronok lagi;)

ha..haa..kena hambat mama masuk rumah tidur lah pulak kan;)

Sepatutnya nak bercerita kan..tapi letih lah pulak..tangan sengal lah tumbuk sambal semalam,tu lah akibatnya cerewat,my sister cakap 'why you taks uruh heni tumbuk cilipadi,segala bagai?" sebabnya nanti kalau dia yang tumbuk..tak dapat hasil yang kita nak..dah ajar banyak kali pun macam tu,tumbuk cili dgn bawang cili tak hancur berkeping,keping..masak tak cantik..orang tumbuk cili dgn kunyit dan garam ajer dulu baru cepat hancur..tapi dah cakap seploh kali tak pernah ingat..so tumbuk lah sendiri:) macam tu jugak kalau dia hiris bawang,kulit tak habis buang,kita pulak nak kena ketepikan kulit tu.dah lah susah sebab dah kena hiris nanti tak buang dulu bila tumis dalam kuah nampak kulit naik terapung..kalau dia basuh ikan,ikan cantik,keras jadi lunyai..aduhhh frust betul i, coz my self kalau basuh ikan hati2 lah tak suka isi pecah dah tu atur baik2 dalam container..ini bab2 yang memang dia tak boleh di ajar..yang lain macam mengemas rumah,mengosok,mop etc memang tiptop,bab dapur fail..so dapur memang kena in charge sendiri..but they said i cerewet sayur nak kena potong ikut my cara,susun lauk ikut my cara..iya lah macam hidang lauk contohnya..kalau pinggan  lauk tak sama saiz,i memang susun supaya semua nampak dalam satu segi atau bentuk elak,kalau sudu satu menghadap kanan,semua mengadap kananlah..ulam pun  kalau daun tak boleh letak ajer atas pinggan kena susun..agaknya daalm hati heni cakap 'puan ko buat sendirilah kalau dah cerewet benar!" haa..haa..tak apalah asal puas hati;):)