The day when she started baking

Yummy in my tummy

One day all of the sudden the wifey said she wanted to make cup cakes. (well i kinda persuaded her - saying I want to do it) but I guess she wanted to take over. Be my guess. It went perfectly. It tasted great and looked beautiful. Pass the "ultimate kids test"  with flying colours. Hope its first from many to come.

Bukak puasa di Ostrolia

Last weekend we had a bukak puasa at our house. We loved it coz it just brings our culture of breaking fast together. Sharing food with other Muslims is a blessed feeling. we had lovely food from Ikan bakar, kerabu, kfc, tart and other manisan. I loved it when the dining table was full of food and people eating. Addition to our very Malay cultured night we had Upin Ipin as part of our entertainment. It was fantastic and enjoyed by all of us. I hope to keep this tradition going inshallah as to not forget the finer things in life.

Tambah lah kolestrol

Heres a picture of my tasty lunch dessert. Its sooooo sweet I couldn't go all the way. Nice though. It was hot and crunchy on the outside and mushy and gooey in the inside. Have to eat it warm before it gets soggy. Its good, i'll buy it again but maybe when theres somebody i can share it with.

ps.. it might a good idea if anybody wants to start selling the stuff back in mesia

To indulge or not?

Saw one of this poster in a 'fish and chaips' shop around Beacie depot. Still contemplating/considering going there this Monday to indulge in this sinful pleasure. Last time I had one of this was nearly 20 years ago back in Glasgow and I remembered how I loved it. Even had it with a snickers bar.

That does it!! Its happening this Monday. I'll tell you how it tastes.

Nak makan?? Tara hall nya!!

Dear family and friends (I start the post with this cause we miss them dearly),

Most ppl are always worried about finding food when traveling/moving abroad. It's never been a problem for me personally. Coming from a guy who ate nasi+kicap+telur dadar (occasional sardin tin) for a week and a half without complain (not by choice but by financial reasons).

My wife and me are always adventurous when trying new food or places - can ask Shahrul (eats anything he thinks wont make him fat.. I emphasize "thinks") or Wafi (eats everything THAT does make him fat except chicken skin[case of overdose when he was a kid - macam obelix dalam comic asterix]). The kids however are choosey but add sugar in it and they'll be fine. We know sometimes we miss our local dishes and home cook meal (terliur jap pikir asam pedas and sotong hitam) but fortunately we can find dishes that brings us back home and hit the target. Here's a pic of nasi lemak and nasi ayam when we had lunch with our adopted Malaysian-Canadian friend Grant (thanks for bringing us although we got lost most of the time):

I promise you its authentic as you can expect. It better be when I see the prices they charge with what I used to pay at the warung tepi jalan (but i'd rather have the REALL authentic makcik kampung style food - by far).

So apart from being all nostalgic and hitting the spot, I would like to introduce/expose these food to the kids. I dont want them to lose out on an integral part of our culture - YEss the food. So heres a pic of them having bubur cha cha and bubur hitam. Sedap giler this one cause its freshly ~ sort of home cook made. Nothing like the ones I used to buy at the pasar malam - macam nak basi and cold and tawar.

A little bit more on the cuisine, it is so popular even the best part of Melbourne Zoo has an Indonesian warung (pic above). So if indeed rindu sangat nak makan, I might just be thinking of opening a restaurant (kalau ada rezeki). So Haziq (our family chef in training), sharpen your skills/talent cause this might be an interesting possibility.

My idea of good home cook meal

I went to my Mak Lang's house yesterday. I love it there.. I loved going there when I was 5 and I still love going there now. This is due to numerous reason especially the authenticity of the house.. I will write more about the house later... but the food, I tell you its the same type of food for the past 4 generations in the house. Minang kampung all the way!! Every time after I take my first bite I fell like the the food critic guy (Hugo) in the cartoon Ratatouille when he tasted the tested dish - reminiscing the joy of the food since childhood. I know everybody has that feeling... brings all those memories back..

So here is what I thought that made it great:

1. Served on a table that is older than myself
2. The table has to be pack where you can barely put your plate on
3. Not less than 3 types of sambal - sambal udang petai, sambal manis ayam, sambal tumis, sambal nak makan ngan tahu sumbat, sambal semalam ada dalam fridge for emergencies
4. All the accessories in reach - kicap sebelah, fridge belakang je, pinggan + cawan kiri/kanan.. everythinglah dont have to get up until u finish.
5. The same original ingredients from the same pasar for decades.
6. At least 5 types of snacks on the table - roti 3/4 jenis, biscuit, wafer dan lain2.
7. Ice still buat sendiri dalam tupperware - so u can get the biggest ice you need
8. Weird combinations of lauk for those who crave creativity - Nugget cicah kuah lemak cilipadi ikan tenggiri.
9. Introduced to those cheap stuff (chocolate, snacks) but tastes at par with ruffles, Lays etc.
10. Most importantly - MADE WITH LOVE

So heres a bit about what I like about my ideal home cook meal.. I sure will miss this.. not so the rip off nasi lemak/ roti canai at the stalls. Do share on your thoughts on the matter.

ps.. I'm telling you what I told my Mak Lang before we left - "I would rather eat here than any other grand hotel"

Lunch in the shower @ Apartment Curve

*Sorry for being slow with the blog*

So heres a story about our little lunch. Yes we had in a shower at Apartments. Not bachelor pad apartment Wafi kat PD (yg smell a little funny) but the "Apartment" in curve. Its a trendy restaurant. The theme was to emulate a house/apartment type feeling. We really suck it all in cause we were sat right by the bathroom. The usher might have noticed Shahrul's odor and trying to hint something. It was a secluded and private area. Untung jugak kawan ngan budak masam. Nonetheless, the decor was really nice and something new for us. Have to add that our table was made from a bathroom door or something like that. We didnt realize it for the first hour sitting there. Wafi was more oblivious due to his "keen senses and power of observation". There were towels, sinks and showerheads all around us. We tried getting the bedroom section but one look at Wafis weight they gave the "shut the section off" excuse.

The food was really awesome. The burger although seems too simple but the taste... powerr siuttt. Shahrul wanted to stand outside the door telling people how good it was but thought better off it .. looking jakun and all that. Not that he is not used to it. Muka dah ala-ala baru keluar hutan. The desert choc pudding was my chosen highlight. Sorry no pics cause it was just too great. Only the crime scene pics available after the robbing of deliciousness. Just a little set back on the place, our choc pudding took 40 minutes to prepare. We got the typical excuse, the guy who keyed it in was a trainee. Yeah always blame it on the new guy. Apart from that and the slow water refills, they were great. Wafi even said the usher girl was cute.

The long wait wasnt all that bad cause it was really comfy and spacious. Meja pintu lah katakan. But somehow it was kinda hot. AC tak power kot. I guess all shops in curve are like that. Tak pandai langsung conserve AC due to their open air design. Disappoints me as a electrical power man - unnecessary waste of energy. To kill of the time, we as usual being addicts opened up the monopoly card game. Although I hate to tell you but the champion of the day had to go to the wifey. She won over all of us (the addicts and so called otais). "Maz tu memang pandai eh?!!" said Wafi. "Of course she is... shes my wife" I replied.

So heres a few shots I took with the new camera. Not really good but I am still learning. Just got the camera a few days ago. I'll talk more about it later. Yes I know we have been slow in our story telling but I promise we will make an effort to update this blog regularly. Yes wife that applies to you too.

Chinese Muslim food hits the spot in Shah Alam!!

To all Shah Alam-ians, I finally found a Chinese Muslim Restaurant located here.... baru je tahu, ketinggalan zaman sikit. But for others yg lagi ketinggalan dan lagi hampeh the restaurants name is Mukmin. Its located at seksyen 19 near Shah Alam Medical Center (not Selangor Medical Center seks. 20.... senang tersilap hospital) on the row of shops kinda facing the old Depalma Hotel.

Food was good at reasonable prices too. Great value especially for this kind of cuisine. Proven, cause their main customers were middle-class Melayu (Melayu kan wassatiahh!!). I noticed cause ramai pakai baju kilang. The drinks... i tell you was superbbbb!! Walaupun hanya soya + cincau together, they made their on soya and it tasted different from ones I had before. As you can see in the pics, the air asam cukup kick with the response of our 'soured' face. But my favorite order of the night was 'air buah kundur dan longan'. Some ustadz made it and it really did what it claimed on the label. I did feel a little fresher. Loved it... we loved it so much that we bought extra bottles to bring back home.

The food was also a hit but we didnt get to try out a lot of dishes.. only 3 adultss yg nak makan, itu pun tak habis and had to bungkus balik. We had the nestum prawn (adik kepada butter prawn) but with a lot more fiber (nak sedapkan my high colesterol hati), ketam masak cili+cari+kicap kot and sayur kailan ikan masin. Everything was wonderful. "The ketam was sooo fressh" said the wife and my mother-in-law (ketam enthusiasts). I really enjoyed the prawns cause of its tender shells. I just had to chew the heads off... full of flavor, Layannnn... Normally it will give me itchy lips but not this time. The only complain that I had was the sayur was too salty. But daaaaa said everybody, its suppose to be cause of the salted fish. Okklahhh.. I was just being concern over my blood pressure.

A little heads up is that this place is good but a little bit crowded, sempit, 'berlengas' , asap kepul, stuffy and not so comfy. Anybody looking for a place to chill out and talk, this is not it. Its a place to really eat. So do enjoy it you get a chance.

ps.. Happy Birthday Mama, hope you live happy and long

Papa John's at Sunway Pyramid

Last night dinner was a delightful coincidence. We had a blackout in the evening so we decided to eat out and Zareef vetoed go to Sunway Pyramid. We agreed and I secretly wanted to eat at Papa Johns. It was due to open soon but i didnt know when.

To our surprise it was open and better still it was its first day. God graciously willed us to eat there. It made my day and I showed it by eating a little to much for my own good. The family especially Zareef enjoyed it too.

Papa Johns has this nostalgia touch on the wifey and me. When we were studying in the States it was our favorite pizza franchise. We have always admired its quality ingredients and additional sauces to the pizza and i can say it applied to most of our student friends. But somehow some of my friends here dont share my enthusiasm and say whats the fuss.

I think maybe its because we used to eat pizza every other day and appreciates the difference in one and another. Its just like nasi lemak, of course we can appreciate a better sambal, crispier anchovies and a more fragrant rice but i am guessing to a non-malaysian that doesnt eat that much nasi lemak its all the same.