Ramadhan is here

This year I’ve got the chance to observed Ramadhan in Malaysia. For the past two years, I was in US for either the whole Ramadhan month or half of it. So, I’m really happy this year. I couldn’t ask for more. The thought of carrying out one of the Five Pillars of Islam in my own country really excites me.

On the first day, I have watermelon juice with kebab and some rice. Yesterday, I went to buy Pasembor , popiah and … watermelon juice … again. Yeah I love it so much especially during the fasting season. Having said that, I couldn’t be bothered to blend my own. So I’ll allocate RM2 every day for this juice. For today’s menu, I haven’t got a clue. Wait until slightly later and all the idea will come pouring.

This month is not all about food. It is also a month to devote ourselves to Allah and carried out extra stuffs for his blessing. I’ve been doing Terawih and reciting AlQuran and I’m aiming to complete it early this year.

I hope that the Lebanon people will have something for their breaking fast. I should always be thankful for all the blessing and goodness that I receive. There are others out there that are suffering. How I wish I have the magic wand to stop it and welcome them to Ramadhan with delight.

Trip to Sedim with K Chik

Last two weekends, me and K Chik went to Sedim. It was just a hunch at first but then we decided to go. What the heck.. Just go and enjoy the different scenery. I don’t really know how to get there, but I did remember seeing one of those brown signboards indicating Sedim. Based on that, we pack some food and went there.

We found the signboard but then not much indication after that. So, most of the time we just try our luck and use our instinct. At the last few kilometers, the road becomes one lane and slightly winding. I try my best to control the car as there were quite a number of potholes on this small lane. The scenery is breathtaking and we arrived there at around 10am. We tried the tree top walk and later have picnic by the river. The water was so cold and K Chik gleefully play around.

Feel like cooking Japanese dishes

I’ve been craving for some Japanese food since Friday. So, I did my grocery shopping and made some sushi that Friday night. I use crab filament and Jap mayo and also scallop in shoyu and sesame oil combo as toppings for the sushi. Not bad…

For last Saturday dinner, I have a bowl of nice clear soup and fluffy rice together with yakitori chicken and grilled fresh shiitake mushroom. The yakitori chicken is surprisingly easy to make. I just marinade the boneless chicken pieces with ginger, shoyu, garlic and sugar for about ½ hour and later grilled. It tastes ok and I’d make it again in the future

Kuih sago

This is one of my favorite traditional kuih. It is made of sago, sugar and freshly grated young coconut. It is quite soft and springy and cost around RM0.30/pc.

New kitty …

My aunt got a handful of kitty from that mommy cat that chooses my grandma’s house as her new home – 5 of them altogether. They are quite an active bunch and grow up very fast. I just hope that my Aunt will properly feed them and neuter them so that they wont end up breeding unwanted kitty.

Terung herba

Can you believe that this is brinjal? My mom said that it is called “terung herba” or Herbal Brinjal (if loosely translated to English).

Mom brought it back from school and put it on the table in the kitchen. I thought that it was a toy as it looks so strange and is strikingly yellow. Upon closer inspection, it reveals a bite mark and I saw the leaf – it’s real!!.

I show this to some of my friends and none of them ever see it. Huh, it is strange fruit/vege. Maybe the Education Ministry moves to educate the students on our herbs are a good move. Else, this fruit will be gone forever.

The new member of our family – Yusman

Welcome to the world. Since my Aunt gave birth, I’ve yet to see her kid. I took this trip home as an opportunity to meet him. His name is Putra Yusham. Lord know who gave him that name. I always thought that his name is Yusman and I have been referring him by this name since the first day. So, I don’t care what other people call him. He’ll always be Yusman to me.

Before heading home, K Chik and I went to buy so stuffs in Giant. I saw nice baby cloth and these cute little shoes and we bought it for him. Well, I did not expect Yusman to be so small, and the shoes were too big for him…

When I went to KB, I bought two pairs of kiddy socks for him. This time it fits and he looks so cute in it.

Another trip home

National Day is here and I took few days off to go home. K Chik came and off we were together.

The weather was not so nice. It was raining heavily but luckily it was only cloudy by the time we enter the East West Highway. That area was quite cool as it is a highland. I enjoy the ride very much.

At one area, the visibility was so bad. I can hardly see more than 2 meters because it was so foggy. I think the cloud was so heavy and it stayed low.
Luckily we started our journey early so there were not many people on the road. In Jeli, we saw lots of people carrying flag on the bike. The kids were so happy tagging along but the ways they rode the bike were pretty dangerous. In my opinion, celebrating the spirit of independent is good but one need to pay attention on the safety factor as well

Succulent Mangosteen

The flesh of Mangosteen is really succulent. The sweetness really lingers in your mouth. This purplish fruit is hard to come by as it is seasonal.

People in Thailand are using the skin to obtain purple color and use it in cloth dying process. In Malaysia, this thing is unheard of. I think we are still behind in this. Maybe those folks in university can help the industry to make creative use of this fruit.

Anyway, I want to eat more and more Mangosteen. The tree behind our house has been chopped by our neighbor so there is no more chance to get the fresh fruit from that tree when it is in season. Now, the market is our source.