Laksa Johor

Planning to invite my friends and hubs friends over to the house for raya when my family is going away on a trip to Bali in 2 weeks time.

Have been thinking on what food to prepare and order,
When i suddenly thought of laksa johor.
Dont know who is willing to cook the kuah for me since my mom would not be available.
I googled the recipe's, but i'm not confident that i'm capable of cooking for 40 people on my first attempt.
And i'm sure my mom wouldnt let me, even though i'm up for the challenge. Mainly because she doesnt believe i could manage it.

Looking at images of laksa johor makes me want some badly.
My mom and relatives, eat their laksa johor with a bit of kicap manis, and using their hands. sedapnyaa. u squeeze abit of lime, with a bit of sambal belacan, sliced cucumber, daun kesom, and beans sprouts......Terliur.

Yesterday's attempt

Image above is not from google, it is in fact my very own keuy teow goreng

Succeeded in my attempt to make kuey teow goreng. (Macam la nak masak nasi briyani ke apa kan)
Mom and my 2 brothers said it was sedap.Dad on the other hand commented that it would have looked even better if i added more soy sauce to make the color a bit darker.Well it didnt matter, because all my kuey teow goreng which was equivalent to 3 packets of keuy teow used to making it, habis licin (managed to pack some for my once a week - day maid and her husband when she left before berbuka) We complemented it with bawang goreng and mom made some pickled green chili's.

I was soooo satisfied when i got to eat the kuey teow for berbuka.
I'm definitely into cooking lately. Hoping to sharpen my skills with more challenging dishes to come.

In the mood for kuey teow goreng!

Guess what i'm going to try and cook for berbuka today.

U got it right..Kuey teow goreng!

I would like my kuey teow goreng with prawns and chickens.
And i'm sure my parents would prefer it with kerang.
So to make everyone happy, i'm planning to cook both types.
I'm envisioning my kuey teow to have lots of telur. yummm.

Hoping that it will be sedap
Cant wait for 4.30pm to leave work and stop by the grocery store near my house to get some of the ingredients listed below because, i do have a few items available at home already.

kuey teow
prawns
boneless chicken
taugeh
kuchai
cili boh
kerangs
eggs
sesame oil
oyster sauce
soy sauce/kicap
onion
garlic
bawang goreng

How i'm planning to cook it:
1) tumis the onion and garlic with cili boh.
Add in my chicken.
2) add oyster sauce, a bit of sesame oil, kicap and salt n sugar to taste.
3)add in my eggs, a short while later i chuck in my prawns.
4) Put in the kuey teow, followed by a handful of taugeh and kuchai.
5) Mix everything well .
6) Plate my keuy teow goreng and sprinkle bawang goreng on it

*Drooling at the kuey teow goreng images from google.

Plans for Hari Raya

Image is from google

Raya is a week away ! woohoo!

So far puasa this year syukur alhamdulillah, better than previous years.
I have no plans on baking raya biscuits. Have ordered a few types from work for my house and my mil's house. As for my baju raya this year, my mom's tailor refused to take my materials as it was 1 week of puasa already. (I figured this, but somehow didnt sweat it as nowadays there's tons of ready made baju kurungs to choose from).

I remember asking hubs a few times even before puasa whether he wanted to make a new baju melayu this year. As usual he'll say there's no need for it because he hardly wears them and last year's was still as good as new.So i was just waiting for the perfect weekend to go look for my baju kurung, and then out of the blue, hubs said he changed his mind and he wanted a new pair of baju melayu. Off we went to Jakel Shah Alam on a sunday on the 14th day of puasa to look for his material. This year, i let him choose our theme color. He chose purplish grey.
After Jakel, we headed for Subang Parade as my mom has been telling me that there's so many stalls selling baju kurung for raya on the ground floor.
True enough there was plenty of stalls to choose from but limited to the color hubs has chosen. After looking around at a few stalls with hubs totting behind me, bored to death. Finally found a baju kurung that was 90 percent the same color as hubs material.
When i got home, i was sorting out my wardrobe when i found that I actually got another 2 baju kurungs that i have never worn. I totally forgot about them. I made them in May for a friends wedding but ended up not wearing it. ...So i have 3 baju kurungs already which i think is more than enough for raya.

Hubs will be coming back this friday night. and we will be going back to Melaka on Monday. Will be spending raya in Melaka, meeting my parents in Tampin on the first day of raya, and my parents are coming to hub's house on the 2nd day of raya. I will be in melaka until the 4th day of raya, then all of us (hubs family) will go to Port Dickson for a 1 nights stay. Then the next day hubs and i will be coming back to Subang.

Excited for raya. To eat ketupat and all. Not to forget my 2nd attempt on my sambal jawa. All the raya biscuits. Duit raya from hubs!!
Oh yes, my family and hubs have agreed on trying to have a feel of jalan TAR this weekend on one of the nights. Will use the lrt to get to kl. cant wait for our mini adventure.! My dad did ask if hubs has ever tried the komuter and lrt, which made me laughed. i actually can confirm that my husband has never been on one. He is the type who prefers driving right to the doorstep if possible. mengada!
He ought to get used to public transportation's because there will be alot of tube rides in our december trip.

Sambal Jawa

Sejuk hati when your husband makan lauk u cook dgn berseleranya.

Last friday, it was my turn to go back to Melaka
Got there in the evening.While driving back, i thought that i would attempt my mom's signature dish.Called hubs and asked if he wanted eat sambal jawa for berbuka.
He said Yes wich made me even more determined to nail this dish.

So i stopped by at Jusco to get all the ingredients and immediately started preparing the dish when i got to his house.
Nervous, as i've never tried to cook this dish before even though it has always been one of my favourite lauk, and ever since hubs married me, he grew to love it too.

After about an hour, it was ready. Ready to be eaten for berbuka.I was really hoping that it would at least turn out ok..
Come the time for berbuka, my mil tasted it, and she straight away said-" Raya nanti kita masak ni eh". So flattered. Hubs was so proud and he ate alot. even for sahur he was looking for my sambal jawa.Dont know if its him trying to jaga my hati.
Nevertheless i am so happy that it turned out sedap.

Here's the ingredients for my favourite Sambal Jawa dish:

kacang panjang, sliced thinly
tempe, cut into small cubes
tahu, cut into small cubes
bwg besar, sliced thinly
cili hijau and merah, sliced thinly,
prawns
beef, sliced thinly
soh on
santan
belacan
air asam jawa

First, fry each ingredient separately , except the soh on.
Then, roast a small chunk of belacan, and add santan.
Remember to keep on stirring to avoid curdles.
Then when u see it simmering add air asam jawa and salt n sugar to the taste.
Finally mix in all the fried ingredients into the boiling mixture of santan, belacan and air asam jawa..
Last but not least, we put in our soh on.
Mix everything together. Then we are done ladies!

My passion-my husbands headache

1)Pizza

2)Fish n chips

3)croissant

15 nights-should I? I'm one click away.
To pizza or not to pizza. If there's no pizza then might as well ditch fish n chips
N the croissant too..

But I Love fish n chips in december! And croissants with a dust of snow is beautiful.
I bet hubs would love it.
While we have not been blessed to become pregnant again just yet, we might as well
have a taste of all the best pizza's, fish n chips n croissants the world has got to offer.
This time, we'll taste and enjoy all of it together.insyallah.

Salam Ramadhan

Selamat Berpuasa everyone..

Looking forward to go back to Melaka this Friday.
MIL is gathering all of hubs siblings, nephews/nieces, cucu's for buka puasa gathering on saturday followed by solat terawih berjemaah.
Its fun when everyone gathers together. I don't usually get that chaosness with my family as
my immediate family excluding myself only consist of 4 members..


This ramadhan, hubs and I went for our 1st solat terawih together with my family at the mosque nearby my house.Yes, last year we didn't get to go together.. Felt nikmatnya having a family and a husband.Can't wait for us to have kids.

Indahnya. Its been a little over a year. But I feel the love grows with time.
Life has never been this beautiful. Syukur Alhamdulillah.

1 Year Anniversary

Lamaaaanya tak update blog.
Its not that i've been busy or anything, ntah just didnt have the mood to update.
On the 16th of July, our marriage hit the 1 year mark.
Syukur Alhamdulillah.
Felt like it was only yesterday i was getting all dolled up for my solemnisation.
To commemorate our 1st year, we went away to Bangkok for 3 nights, which was so much fun.
The night of our anniversary we went for the Calypso Lady Boy Cabaret Show.OH MY, the lady boy's were so pretty, flawless skin, jaw dropping silhouette, and most obvious of all are the gedikness.But one thing remain significantly obvious (that they are in fact boys) are their voices.
Since the last time i went to Bangkok with my family which was like 5 years back, we went to this amazing thai cultural show which is called the Siam Niramit. I insisted that for this trip,i wanted my husband to experience the show .So for anyone planning to visit Bangkok in the near future, i truly recommend that u try to fit in this show into your itinerary.
U bet I was right because hubs loved the show.truly magical and indescribable.He was in awe from the beginning right to the end of it.
For the Siam Niramit show, we took the package that included hotel transfers, buffet dinner and the show. So upon arriving at the Thai Cultural Village at 6pm, we had our early dinner and just walked around the place. There were elephants. There were men and women dressed in costumes.
The guests were also able to buy food to feed the elephants which we did many times because as usual we got over excited. and, when no other guests bothered to ride on the elephants which came with a small fee, me and hubs were laughing hysterically while riding and balancing ourselves on the elephant and at the same time posing for the camera when the elephant guardian helped us take our pictures.

Below are some of the acts from the Siam Niramit show. I promise you that what u see from the picture is exactly how it turns out at the show. with all the beautiful colors and flying acts and all.

Restrengthening ties

Had so much fun with dear friends for a friend's baby shower yesterday evening.
Managed to drive back home from Melaka, bought bread n tuna on the way home, prepared sandwiches, got ready and waited for a friend to pick me up.

The 2nd time mommy to be was (i hope) surprised with our small get together.It was just great to see my friends.Remember i was complaining that i hardly see my friends anymore?so yesterday's baby shower was the revival of my almost dead social life.

Mother's day is coming up in May. If i'm not mistaken its the 2nd sunday in May right? My cousin's and i are planning to take our mom's out for lunch.but since some of us arent free on Mother's day, we decided to bring forward and celebrate our moms on the 30th of April.
This is another thing i'd like to work on.Spending more time with cousins and aunts.
Now that almost all are married and some with kids, we hardly see each other besides the occasional functions held by relatives or weddings.

we are definitely psyched and looking forward for our joint celebration.

Ikan keli

Picture from google

Ikan keli and my family, we go waayy back.

I'm frustrated that my hubby managed to influence me to stop eating the fish.
Growing up with a dad and grandparents from Negeri Sembilan, masak lemak cili api ikan keli salai with belimbing was one of our favourite dishes.
Just thinking about it now brings back memories of my arwah wan.She used to cook a killer masak lemak cili api.Literally killing-upsetting our tummy because it was so spicy and of course delicious.Eat it with a side dish of tempoyak, that made the simple meal so puas hati.A meal that leaves u sweating and drinking loads of water.

Through out the 8 years i've been with my husband before we got married.He would give me the occasional look whenever i put ikan keli on my plate when we go out for nasi campur.Slowly it got to me.Slowly i've opted for some other fish if ever there was ikan keli as one of the variety of dishes available at a shop.

Fast forward to 2011.I have stopped enjoying ikan keli entirely.
I blame my husband for it.Just because he doesnt fancy the fish, he had to influence me too.No fair.
I'm not being true to my origins.HEHEH.

Socialising?

I feel so bad for i have once questioned why a friend who got married then later just hardly turns up for any get togethers/events anymore.I remember comparing her to my other friends who would still always join our events/get togethers despite being married and have babies.

For now i understand.Nowadays, i hardly have time to socialise with friends be it for lunch, dinner, shopping etc..I feel that i dont have the luxury of time for my friends anymore.And i miss hanging out..
After getting married, weekends for me revolves around being with my husband, since we only get to be with each other from friday to monday. So i pour my time and energy solely for him,be it in melaka or subang.My weekends are about preparing meals, doing his laundry and being his siamese twin/other half which i miss out during the weekdays.I dont have the ample time or energy to go meet up with friends during the weekends anymore. U may ask ask 'how about weekdays?' Well, i'll summarise my weekdays: work, eat, bathe, play with my cat,korean drama,watch movies on my laptop and sleep.I dont do socialising on a weekday.

Not that i'm complaining,dont get me wrong i love being married and all but if i could just make/find time to be with friends and catch up on things.Then that would be awesome.

Much needed time off

Hubby has been rather bummed with work this past two months, and through out the time , i have behaved very very well.not complaining much about the lack of attention/time spent given for me.Usually if he gets too caught up with work to even call during the day, I would definitely show and give him a piece of my mind when he does call later in the evening/night.But instead i gave him tremendous support and never ending reminders that i believe in his capabilities and dreams.

Finally after the gruelling period , i felt as if every ounce of patience i had to endure was worth it when i saw a picture of him sitting with the chief minister in a function/memorandum signing that he organised last week from the chief minister's fb page.This is a beginning of something he has always dreamt for.So hopefully this year would be OUR year.Insyallah.

After the event, he promised a short getaway for the weekend.Believing that i truly earned it, we had to make do with a one nights stay at a hotel in Kl since it wasn't worth the drive to Penang or Singapore for a far too short trip. The hotel was situated 5 minutes walk away from Pavilion.So immediately after checking in, we walked to Pavilion, had lunch and spent the whole day shopping/window shopping.I had to insist that we return to the hotel because my feet were killing me.After soaking myself in the bathtub, and hubby getting his quick nap, we went for dinner at one of my fav seafood place-Hokkaido.

Initially we planned to catch a movie after dinner (again at Pavilion), but we were just too full and exhausted that we opted to watch the live band performing at the lounge of our hotel lobby. One glass of fruit punch later, we adjourned to our room for the night.The next day upon checking out, we went to starhill and again pavilion and last but not least sunway pyramid on our way back to subang.

What a way to spend the weekend.I am one happy lady!BUT no matter what i get or buy wont be able to fill in the void i feel in my heart whenever i think about IT.

I guess hubby has been trying to cheer me up and lift up my spirit since the whole miscarriage incident.Rezeki comes in different ways.For now i have to be thankful for the other rezeki's i have in life, as Allah knows best.
This glitch will not dampen my hopes on having an offspring with the love of my life of 9 years.Our time will come soon.Insyallah.

Grieving

NO longer pregnant.
I guess it wasnt our time yet..
Not allowed to blog about it as hubby specifically told me not to.


Grieving over our lost, but optimistic and still hopeful for the next one.
Took the whole week off last week and managed to fully rest at home.
Socks, no cold drinks, and selected food .

On a different story all together:
My dear grandmother passed away sunday morning around subuh at the hospital.

Arwah wan complained of stomach ache last thursday, so my uncle picked her up from our kampung in Tampin and brought her to my aunt's hospital in Kampung Baru.Wan was admitted and doctors were doing all sorts of examination on her to try and figure out whats causing the pain.

Mom and Dad managed to visit wan at the hospital on saturday morning.From what my mom described, Wan's condition was serious.That saturday night my dad wanted to stay with wan at the hospital to give my aunt who has been staying with wan at the hospital from thursday a break. Dad left at around 8pm, my mom did ask me and my brother if we wanted to visit wan that night or the following day.I insisted on going that night. So we went..Wan was very frail and weak..but she was talking..my brother massaged her head..put damped towel on her forehead and we tried to get her to drink. which we managed to..after spending about an hour there,We left at around 10.30pm..

6 am, dad called the house.. i immediately woke up and heard mom's conversation..Wan's not breathing...we got up and rushed to the hospital.. but about 20 min's later, dad called mom again to tell us that wan passed away..
i cried in the car.thank god boy came back the night before so he was with us .he actually wanted to visit wan that sunday as he didnt make it in time to subang when we left for the hospital that saturday night.i cant believe i just saw her that night.. i cant believe that night was the last time i held her hand and kissed her..My brother and i were the last cucu to see her alive, and dad got to be with her when she passed.

The most heartbreaking part that morning was when my atok arrived to the hospital..He cried upon looking at arwah Wan. he was saying sayang kenapa tinggalkan abang..and that he forgave her for everything and he asked for forgiveness...My atok has always been very dependent on wan.wan has always been the stronger one.it was soo sad.. a husband losing his wife..atok is just so heartbroken.

Jenazah arwah wan di mandikan at the kampung baru mosque opposite the hospital and was also disembahyang kan . after that, jenazah arwah wan was taken back to Tampin.All of us packed our stuffs and went back to Tampin..After all that came to my kampung house to give their last respects to arwah Wan. once again her jenazah was brought to the kampung's mosque for prayers.After that jenazah arwah wan dikebumikan at the kampungs tanah perkuburan after zohor..

Atok broke down a few times through out that day.We all helped console him and just giving him assurance that he will be alright, and that we are here for him..From what i heard atok will no longer be living permanently in our kampung house.He will be staying with all of us from time to time..i pray that atok will be strong and still has the will to continue on. Boy and i were touched by how loving and caring atok and wan were towards each other..
i hope my marriage will be like theirs..amin.

there's only 1 thing on my mind:FOOD

all i seem to think about is food!

Everyday i envision how my dinner would taste.On monday i wanted sup tulang, yesterday i just ate whatever my mom cooked and didnt seem to fancy it.It resorted me to eating cereals for dinner.For today, the moment i woke up i asked my mom if she could make bubur lambuk?!Being the lovely mom as always, of course she said yes.

Right after lunch , i suddenly felt like eating home made lasagna.I even googled the recipe as i malu nak mintak my mom buatkan.but i dont know when i'd be able to prepare it as weekdays mmg tak sempat.plus, i've got to go to the supermarket to get the ingredients.This weekend pulak, will be going back to melaka.When will i get to eat home made lasagna???

Morning sickness has not kicked in ,its more of the nauseous feeling and the occasional gags whenever i smell something i dislike.I do hope it doesnt get worst, as i proceed along further into this pregnancy.

Mom has been trying to get me to drink milk and soya bean.but i somehow do not want to drink it now.it makes me loya..thank god i'm loving cereals so of course i eat it with fresh milk, so that somehow helps .But still i refuse to drink soya bean.I'm hoping i'd like it sooner or later.Planning to drink birds nest too.wondering how it taste like.

Besides the big appetite and the cravings, i am always just so tired..by 7pm i'd be half asleep, so every weekday after watching the korean drama series that ends at 8pm, i go straight to bed..I've been waking up at night to make trips to the loo.And my cat has been extra manja, which made my mom say that my cat could sense something different with me.

Its 3 pm and i have 2 and a half hours to go till i can go back and eat my bubur lambuk..tak sabar sgt.food is everything to me.i dont care about anything else.

6 weeks

Alhamdulillah, i'm 6 weeks pregnant.
was late for my period and after 4 days , i did the home pregnancy test.
2 lines baby!.

After a few days, I went to a clinic to get it confirmed. i am currently finalizing on a few gynae's i would like to start seeing.Am feeling nauseous more and more each day. I've been eating like no ones business.

Mom is sooo excited about it.telling everyone, even when i specifically told her to keep it to herself for a couple more weeks.My brother in the UK was screaming when he found out.Already planning if the baby was a boy, he would bring him to the gym and all the boxing classes.Imagine going that far!
Mom also has a specific stroller in mind already that she wants for her cucu.

But its still too early for any planning or shopping..still tooo early to get excited.Praying everything will be selamat.Hopefully everything will turn out fine and that my bundle of joy will arrive safely in September!

Shopping trip

Happy New Year!

Been 2 weeks since i last blogged.I last wrote while in Paris and i said i'd promise to write while i was in london kan.but london was too hectic that i couldnt find time to sit down and blog.
My London and Paris trip was sangat best.it was great because i had my mom, cousins , aunties and uncles with me on that trip.But the best part was getting to meet my youngest brother who's studying there.

Boxing day was madness,i've heard stories about it.About people lining up at 4 am to get into the stores that opens at 11am..The lines were so long that we actually ended up at the back alley as we only started lining up at 9.30 am.
Imagine waiting for hours in the terribly cold weather, furthermore it was reported to be the coldest winter in like 20 years plus..London rarely snows, but we got to experience snow.
Once the stores open at 11am.people were gushing into the stores and practically pushing each other and just grabbing whatever was insight.like vultures waiting for preys..whenever the salesperson restocked the empty shelves everyone would practically dive towards it.i thought i was going to die in that stampede like situation.heheh.imagine how my husband would feel if his wife died while shopping on boxing day..

The items were super cheap.perfume sets were less than 30 pounds.u could get a pair of jimmy choo or ferragamo shoes for 90 pounds which is less than rm500..
But the best bargain was in Primark..dirt cheap items.i got working shirts that cost me 3.50 pounds. i got a clutch for 3 pounds. i got a belt for 2 pounds.i got a top for 2 pounds..and the list goes on and on...it was sooo cheap!..nak pengsan

On boxing day, i didnt get myself any designer handbags, as i wanted to wait to check out the famous Bicester Village outlet stores..We took a train there 2 days later..it took us an hour to get there and when we got there....it was like dying and going to heaven.. Gucci, Prada, Anya , Ferragamo , Dior, Celine, and all the designer labels were there..Ya Allah..the prices were soooo much cheaper..like u can get a Prada handbag for 250 pounds.anya hindmarch handbag for 200 pounds. gucci for less than 200 pounds pon ada!..but of course the designs at Bicester village was last season's but who cares. Best gila!!!If only i had mooooorrreeee money with me.

We really didnt do much sight seeing in London because for 6 days we were so engrossed in shopping/window shopping..Imagine i got a Longchamp traveling bag for 33 pounds.CRAZY! i can go on and on about shopping in London..no wonder people say that their christmas/boxing day/new year sales are sooo worth it..

While in London i met up with 2 of my friends who are also from Subang .They too were on holiday.so it made London more exciting because u have a friend there with u.

When it was time to go back, mom and i were especially sad because we had to leave my brother.sedih sgt when the cab drove away and we waved goodbye.. haiih...
I'm sooo going to get boy to bring me to London again this year..Insyallah.