Kluang Station - Halal Certified

Dear Diary,

Referring to my entry entitled Kluang Station, Tesco Ampang, Mar 2011, I found out a few days ago that Kluang Rail Coffee has obtained its halal certificate recently. Please refer here.

Thank you...

Sri Hainan Kopitiam, Shah Alam, May 2011

Dear Diary,

When we found a gem, we would cherish and treasure it always. This analogy can also be applied to eating places. When we found a place that serves delicious foods and suits our tastes and budget, we would visit the place again and again. Sri Hainan Kopitiam in Section 9, Shah Alam is such a place for our family. We’re even willing to close an eye on its slow service. We were there again last May. Our orders were:

Our all time favorite - Mi Hailam

Bihun Tomyam - A++

Lamb Wantan - A+

Chicken Rice (Fried) - A

Sri Hainan’s address is 2, Jalan Tengku Ampuan Zabedah G/9G, Section 9, Shah Alam. Telephone number is 03 – 5880 2886.

An Evening in Balok

Dear Diary,

An evening at the beach…Balok (May 2011)

Pusat Rekreasi Air Pantai Balok, May 2011

Dear Diary,

From Bukit Gambang Resort City, off we went to the wedding and joined as the bride’s entourage. After settling all matters pertaining what we came to Kuantan for and resting for a while, we toured Kuantan town a bit and ended up in Pantai Balok. There is a stretch of beaches along Pahang state all the way up until Terengganu.

The children wasted no time ran towards the beach and were in the water in mere seconds. While the kids were busy getting wet, we adults spent the evening talking and eating with the windy sea breeze cooling us. There are many sellers with stalls and vans selling all kinds of tidbits and finger foods. We bought nuggets, keropok (fish crackers), ice cream (on cone and with bread) and rojak (fruit salad).

Little that I know that Pantai Balok is the venue for windsurfer competition. Thus, it is well known and famous among world’s most skillful windsurfers. Not bad eh! Not only that, there are lots of activities that can be done besides picnicking such as kite boarding, camping and visiting fishing village. The easy availability of accommodations such as hotels, chalets, hostel and homestays in the vicinity also helps making Balok as one of the popular beaches in Pahang.

A bit of info on Pantai Balok at Pahang Trekker.

Words

Dear Diary,

Nothing much, just a few lines on a postcard that I like; so I thought of sharing it here with everyone...

Some people
come into our lives
and quickly go...
Others stay for awhile
and leave footprints
in our hearts
and we are
never ever
the same

Bukit Gambang Resort City Apr 2011

Dear Diary,

At the end of April, we headed east to Kuantan for a cousin’s wedding. We joined Hubby’s parents and siblings who arrived earlier than us. Hubby’s third brother booked two family suites for all of us at Caribbean Bay Suites, Bukit Gambang Resort City (BGRC). I was elated because I’ve been fantasizing holidaying at the resort ever since I read rave reviews by Maya in her blog about this place.

I loooooove the suite! Love it, love it, love it! Very spacious indeed. There were 7 adults, 1 teenager, 4 children and 1 baby in my suite but it never felt overcrowded. Each of us has space to unwind. There are 2 bedrooms (with 2 queen sized beds), 2 bathrooms, huge living hall, private balcony and a small kitchen. Too bad I didn’t take any pictures of the suites. Not even a glimpse of the place! I was either too tired and couldn’t wait to get into bed or too busy getting myself and the kids ready. We only spent one night there though.

There were many guests at BGRC during our stay there. A few groups were having their family day and whatnot; so you can imagine how chaotic the atmosphere was at Caribbean Cafe during breakfast. I was a tad disappointed with the buffet breakfast. Everything that I ate tasted so bland. Tawar, tak cukup garam! Maybe too many guests were one contributing factor to the dismal quality of the food because Ermayum enjoyed her breakfast.

After having breakfast, we took the kids for a few rounds of swimming in the pool. The pools and surrounding areas are nicely designed. The scenery is picturesque.

One sore point of the trip was we didn’t get the chance to chill out at Bukit Gambang Water Park due to time constraint. The kids were heart broken as we had promised them some time at the water park. Maybe next time eh *fingers cross*.

Details of Bukit Gambang Resort City:

Address – Jalan BGRC Utama, 26300 Kuantan, Pahang Darul Makmur

Telephone – (09) 548 8000

Fax – (09) 548 6888

Homepage – www.bgrc.com.my

Imran's Sukaneka

Dear Diary,

Imran’s school had its sports day a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday. However, standard 1 and 2 pupils were given exemption from attending it. As a replacement, the school organized Temasya Sukaneka last Friday for them. The event took place at the school field from morning till noon.

Imran took part in Jigsaw Robot and Match & Clip events. He persuaded us to attend the telematch a few days earlier. He wouldn’t stop until we agreed to go.

It was delightful seeing all the pupils pumped up with sportsmanship spirit and the camaraderie among themselves. They competed with soaring hearts and were ambitious to win. So competitive yet so naïve!

Imran and his team won third place in the Jigsaw Robot event and took home the bronze. He was over the moon for getting a medal and was walking on cloud nine for a few days. "Mama & Abah are very proud of you, Abang."

Tilapia Oh Tilapia

Dear Diary,

This is a fish pond at my parents in law’s house. There live koi and tilapia fishes harmoniously.

On some weekends when Abah feels like eating tilapia, Bibik would just go out to the side of the house and with a net in her hands start catching the fishes. Like these three big and juicy fellas in the pail.

Fresh from the pond!!!

There are lots of cooking styles to prepare tilapia but most of the times we just fry them. Ikan tilapia goreng! The flesh is so sweet. Together with rice (panas panas), sambal belacan (or in this house budu) and some ulam-ulaman, it’s a perfect ensemble. Who says we need to toil and sweat to put out a satisfying meal? Sometimes less is more…

Mama's Nescafe

Dear Diary

Suddenly I’m craving for my mother’s coffee. It’s nothing extraordinary, just a glass of hot Nescafe kaw punya! There’s no secret to her caffeine shots, just Nescafe, condensed milk and hot water; but magically she gets all of us addicted to it. Even Hubby is hooked.

Not only immediate family, my uncles, aunts and cousins would also request for her Nescafe whenever they come over to my parents’ house.

I’ve tried concocting Nescafe like her style but the taste is just not the same. Hubby gives his green light though, “Tak sama cam Mama tapi can do lah”.

7 Things About Myself & An Award

Dear Diary,

First of all, a zillion thanks to Rina for remembering and presenting me with Beautiful Blogger Award. Beautiful ke huhu? Together with it, there is an assignment that needs to be done in order for me to claim the award. I need to write 7 things about myself that most of you don’t know. Let me think what can be shared with everyone…so, here goes my list:

1. I am left-handed. Kita geng ye Rina - high five! Since I was a little girl, I never thought that I was different from the majority of people out there. Until one fine day when I was about 7 or 8 years old, I looked at a picture of me and a few cousins eating laksa. There was something odd with the picture. I was holding the spoon with my left hand whereas everybody else was holding their spoons with their right hands. I knew then that I was kinda special. It’s a gift from Allah. Until to this day, my left hand is the dominant one. There is one exception, though; I use my right hand when I write on a blackboard or any kind of board. How weird is that, go figure!

2. I was raised by my maternal grandparents. The story was my mother is the eldest and the only daughter that Mak & Bapak have. When my mother got married, they “lost” their only daughter. So, when I was born (I am the first grandchild), they took me and raised me as if I am their daughter. I was the apple of their eyes. I am also close with my mother’s brothers (my uncles). Those are the good outcomes. There are also the bad sides of it. In my childhood, I was not close with my siblings and I was forever jealous of them. Moreover, I thought my parents didn’t love me that they gave me up. Now, I know the story behind what transpired and I know they love me dearly :). When I was 10 years old, Mak was down with a mild stroke and my parents & siblings came live with us. Thus, my family ties were mended. The one important lesson I learned is that I would never separate my children. Whatever happens in future (God forbid); I wish them to be placed at one place TOGETHER not separated sorang sini, sorang sana – NO NO!

3. I take time to warm up to people. Actually, I used to be a very shy person to the extend that I would rather be lost than ask for direction. To make matters worse, my facial expression (raut wajah) is an unfriendly one. People’s first impression of me is I’m snobbish (muka sombong). Even among relatives I was known as the unapproachable girl. I opened up a bit when I met Che Anis in Form 4. She was the person who is responsible for changing me into a more talkative and easy going girl. I am forever indebted to her. In case you’re reading this entry, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

4. Since I was a little girl, I consider myself to be lucky. Alhamdulillah, most of my dreams and wishes came true. Allah Maha Adil. He gives some, He takes some. When it comes to career, however, lady luck took a wrong turn. Believe it or not, for the 10++ years of working, my salary never touch RM2000 bar. My first job’s salary was underpaid, so, it was difficult to raise the bar from there. Moreover, I almost always fail in interviews. I know I can do the works but I don’t know how to sell myself. That’s my main weakness in securing high paid jobs. That was all in the past now that I’m a happily stay-at-home-mother. Still, I’m a bit terkilan because after all the hardships of obtaining a degree (from oversea lagi tu!), I’d never merasa bergaji besar. Hubby always reminds me of this fact. I know he wants me to work and his reason is in case anything happen to him I’d have something to fall back on.

Wow, this is gonna be one looong entry. Where was I…at number 5.

5. In my university days, I traveled a lot. Whenever I got a chance, I’d be on the road to a new destination. In fact, I was never at home most of semester breaks. Even on short holidays, I’d make plans to go somewhere. Ermayum can vouch for this eh (she was my housemate in university). One of my BFF, Zaidah, gave me a nickname for traveling here and there – Marco Polo. My destinations were not only limited in the states of America but also include Canada and Mexico. My rationale was that I never know whether I’d be going back to US, so might as well take all the opportunities to explore and see new places and things. There were millions of memories and adventures I went through in the course of 2 and half years I lived in the States. I’m glad I did what I did because it really was an eye opener for me.

6. Hubby and I was match made. It was quite an interesting story actually. I’ve written an entry about this and you can refer here for in depth accounts. Long story short, we were engaged 3 weeks after we first laid eyes on each other (first met on Mar 6 & got engaged on Apr 1) and were married after 3 months of engagement (engaged on Apr 1 & got married on Jun 30). Alhamdulillah, we’ve reached our 1 decade milestone last June.

7. Last but not least, I'm loyal, very detailed person and a bit skema. Oh, don't mess with me because I'm an easy to forgive but not fast to forget kinda person. I treasure friendships and love spending time among family.

Well, that's all folks. Thank goodness, the assignment only requires me to write 7 things if not I would take forever to finish it.

Kenny Rogers Roasters Genting, Apr 2011

Dear Diary,

During the trip to Genting in April, we had our last dinner there at Kenny Rogers Roasters.

My plate

Hubby’s plate

My sister’s plate

Imran’s plate

Zarra’s plate

Our drinks

Our appetizers & desserts

ps: Saja je nak tayang gambar makanan huhu...Nak buat camne tuan punya blog suka makan. Layankan je la...