A Kampong Wedding

Dear Diary,

During the one week school break in March, we had an invitation to a wedding in Sungai Siput, Perak. It was a simple but delightful kampong wedding. Everything from beginning till the end was done in the spirit of gotong royong by the villagers.

The trend in a city wedding nowadays is very different from the one we experienced in Perak. All the works are almost always left to the hands of wedding planner and caterer.

It’s not everyday we can encounter this kind of wedding. The lauk kenduri (food) cooked by the groom’s mother herself were finger licking good. It might not be a fancy or glamour wedding but we had a lovely time.

Yik Mun Restaurant, Tanjung Malim, Mar 2011

Dear Diary,

As I mentioned in an earlier entry on Yik Mun, whenever we traveled via PLUS highway, more often than not we’ll stop at this restaurant. Last March, we grabbed a bite there on our way to Perak.

Roti Kahwin...Hainan Kaya with Butter

This time around I tried Roti Kahwin. What a unique name! I didn’t expect too much since its only toast but when my order arrived I was proven wrong. After taking the first bite, I was like Wohoo! Roti Kahwin is definitely not just a toast. It is slathered generously with Hainan Kaya and butter.

Soya Mix...Soya + Cincau and Apple Juice

Another item that we tried was Soya Mix, a beverage of soy and cincau. The taste of the soy used is different from other soy drinks in the market making this beverage authentically satisfying.

And of course we also had our favorites – Hainan Mee, Hainan Fried Rice and Iced Hainan White Coffee. Want to know more about this restaurant, check out its website.

My First Mother's Day Card

Dear Diary,

Yesterday Imran came back from school and said, “Mama, tengok dalam beg abang. Ada surprise untuk Mama.”

As requested I searched his school bag and I found this, my first Mother’s Day card. Tadaa…!

Thank you, Abang! Love you…

Girls & Flowers!

Dear Diary,

Girls and flowers go hand in hand. If you wanna win a woman’s heart, flowers and chocolate almost always never fail to impress unless the girl is allergic. Here are some pictures of flowers that I captured in Petaling Street recently.

Harum Sundal Malam

Chrysanthemum / Kekwa

No idea what flower this is...

Red Roses

Yellow Roses

Lily

Enjoy peeps!

First Experience Taking Public Transportation

Dear Diary,

Continued from High Maintenance Girl?!

It was a historic day for Zarra because during our outing last March she experienced taking rides on three public transports. First, we took monorail to and from Petaling Street. She takes pleasure in taking monorail because it is air-conditioned and “up in the air”. She likes to see the view from the wide window.

For our journey home we took LRT and Rapid bus. On the LRT, Zarra was in and out of sleep. She was very tired but at the same time wanted to stay awake to enjoy the ride.

The highlight of the day for Zarra was taking the bus ride from LRT station to our home. Since she was small she has been fascinated by bus. Bus is her favorite vehicle. I know she was dead tired by the time we arrived at our destination’s LRT station what with not having her afternoon nap and walking here and there. But her face lighted up as soon as she saw the bus and insisted we took a ride on it.

On the bus, she could hardly contain herself. She was very excited, asking me all sorts of questions. When the bus started to move, Zarra was elated with joy and broke into one huge grin. Seeing her smile made my day worthwhile.

High Maintenance Girl?!

Dear Diary,

Continued from Petaling Street/Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, Mar 2011

This was Zarra’s first time going out on our own. I mean without her Abah which translated into walking and taking public transportation instead of sitting comfortably in a car. Oh my, I found out this little girl of mine is easily “tired” unlike her elder brother. Tak tahan lasak betul! Halfway through, she didn’t want to walk one step more and asked to be dukung instead.

She’s easily bored too! If what I was doing did not interest her, she’d pester me to go home. To think that she was the one who was very excited to follow me. Remind me not to bring her along next time. Totally the opposite happened when it came to things that she likes. Then, she’d forget all about me. A case in point, when we window shopped at Sungai Wang Plaza.

These days Zarra is into make-up, clothes and shoes. While I was busy talking on the phone, my little princess was also busy. She was busy trying out cosmetics at the make-up counters. It must have been like heaven for her seeing all sorts of cosmetics nicely arranged for her to try one after another. To my amazement, she knows what goes where. Eye shadow – eyes, lipstick – lip, compact – face, and blusher – cheeks etc. She is one observant girl because I never teach her art of applying make-up. Luckily, at that time all salespersons were too busy cleaning and tidying their counters to notice Zarra (they just started business).

At another shop, she tried on clothes and picked out shoes for herself. As if… She was busy “shopping” like a pro. Look at all these pictures. Bear in mind that I didn’t ask her to pose for me. All her acts were based on her instinct alone.

To be continued in First Experience Taking Public Transportation

Petaling Street / Chinatown, Mar 2011

Dear Diary,

Continued from Taste of Asia Food Court, Times Square, Mar 2011

After lunch was finished at Taste of Asia, we left for Petaling Street. One of my friends wanted to buy fresh flowers for her brother’s wedding. Wikipedia’s description of Petaling Street:

Petaling Street (Malay: Jalan Petaling, Simplified Chinese: 茨厂街, Traditional Chinese: 茨廠街, pinyin: Cíchǎng Jiē, Cantonese: Chee Cheong Kai) is a Chinatown located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is infamous for pirated clothes and accessories along with bootleg DVDs and CDs. Petaling Street however does not exclusively offer pirated products. Haggling is a common sight here and the place is usually crowded with locals as well as tourists.

The area has dozens of restaurants and food stalls, serving local favourites such as Hokkien mee, ikan bakar (barbecued fish), asam laksa and curry noodles. Traders here are mainly Chinese but there are also Indian, Malay, and Bangladeshi traders.

I couldn’t remember when the last time I went to Petaling Street. After years of absence, I am impressed with its transformation. All vendors are neatly placed even though most of them are selling the same merchandise. The surrounding area is cleaner and beautifully decorated. All these are plus points in attracting tourists.

So, if you want to find fresh flowers, fruits, fabric, souvenirs and imitation of branded goods (watches, handbags, luggage, shoes, shirts, sunglasses, etc) head up to Petaling Street today. You’ll be amazed with the array of things you’d find there. In my opinion, pricing of some of the goods are way too expensive. They are just imitation after all. Words of caution though don’t bother asking for prices if you’re just window shopping and don’t have any intention of buying. Rumors saying that sellers would be abusive and would start to ridicule you.

To be continued in High Maintenance Girl?!

Sources from Wikipedia and VirtualMalaysia

Taste of Asia Food Court, Berjaya Times Square, Mar 2011

Dear Diary,

I thought when my status changed from a career woman to a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM), it would be easy for me to go out and meet up with friends. I can just go whenever I want. Well, I thought wrong! Since becoming a SAHM, only once I went out by myself. It was not really a full “me time” because I brought Zarra along. The fact that I didn’t know how to drive make matters worse. Though I have a helper at home, without fail I still feel guilty and sorry leaving my children behind.

The rare chance that I went out took place somewhere in March. I needed to settle some urgent matters at the bank and I thought why not go to their KL branch. If I go there, I can meet up with ex-colleagues. So, on that momentous day, Hubby gave us a lift and dropped us off in Bukit Bintang. After I was done at the bank, Zarra and I went window shopping at Sungai Wang Plaza to kill time since I was supposed to meet my friends during their 2-hour lunch break.

When the time finally arrived, we went to Times Square and met up with my friends. First, we had lunch at Taste of Asia Food Court (Ground Floor). All of us had nasi campur at one of the food court’s hawker. While eating, we talked and talked. It’s been so long since I last met them so naturally there were tons to catch up. For a while there, it felt good to be among friends just like old times.

To be continued in Petaling Street/Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur Mar 2011

Glutinous Rice with Durian / Pulut Durian

Dear Diary,

I love durian! How do you all normally eat durian? Apart from eating it just like that (ratah cam gitu je), we also eat it with rice (nasi durian) and glutinous rice (pulut durian).

Let’s check out what are needed in preparing pulut durian.

The ingredients are durian, glutinous rice (pulut), coconut milk (with a pinch of salt for taste) and sugar (preferably brown sugar/manisan/gula kabung/gula merah). The method is you just mix all ingredients until they blend well together. I usually skip sugar since durian is already sweet and creamy.

Voila! Pulut durian is served. Savor the glorious taste of the king of fruits!!

Birth Order - Karang Bunga

Dear Diary,

I’m the eldest of 4 siblings. The second is my brother, the third is my sister and the youngest is my brother. Do you see the pattern in the birth order: girl-boy-girl-boy? Since childhood, I’ve known this pattern as karang bunga.

Now years later, I gave birth to 3 precious children. Guess what? My children are also born in karang bunga order: boy-girl-boy. Elderly are the ones who usually replied, “Dia karang bunga” when they asked about my children.

Nothing much, just wanna share my two cents worth of thoughts.