Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Tipah Tertipu KFC Penipu

Tadi kuar pi kedai perabut untuk beli book shelves untuk fid. So tempat pertama yang kami tuju ialah Wangsa Maju. Tak sangka pulak kedai pertama kami pergi dah dapat book shelves yang kami nak. Terus beli 2 buah. Beli yang ringkas-ringkas aje sebab nak letak kat school.

Pastu terus pi KFC kat sebelah kedai perabut tu. Masuk je KFC nampak promo set ayam panggang dengan baked potato. So I ordered that one sebab tergoda dengan gambar promosinya tang menarik tertarik the bomb. Cuba tengok gambar blur ni..menarik tak?




Tapi yang sebenarnya ini yang nko dapat bila nko order set ayam panggang tu. Aku terus blur jugak tengok habuan sebenar yang dia bagi aku. Do you spot it??? Cuba korang compare betul betul.



Yes...hidangan sebenar yang nko dapat sungguhlah menyedihkan. Ayamnya lebih kecik dari tapak tangan EJ. Kalau gambar promosi ayam hampir nak penuh pinggan tu. Tapi yang dia bagi aku ni macam side dish je...kecik nak mampos. Kenyang? Tak akan kenyang dan aku adalah sangat menyesal masuk KFC hari ini.

Kat counter...
Aku : aik...keciknya ayam tu? Gambar nampak besar je.
Budak Pompuan kat kaunter : a ah...memang kecik. Pastu dia senyum.

Sabar je la...

Monday, March 30, 2009

Ambal Curry

What is ambal??? boleh ku dengar suara Fend and kak long tertanya2 hehehe...i have heard that in Semenanjung, ambal is a type of carpet...am i correct??? Aku dengar dalam rancangan Who Wants to be a Millionnaire ...depa kata carpet ...aku jawap seafood ...Jalaludin Hassan kata jawapannya carpet (and i beg to differ!) Sebab kalau di Sarawak, ambal is a type of seafood...it is also known as bamboo clam...as can be seen from the pictures, it is shaped unlike any other seafood ....very unusual ....


Ambal nie ikut musim....and it is my family's firm favourite ..kami kan mostly allergic to prawns, lobsters and/or crabs ...but ambal ok pulak ....it is a bit pricy...dalam RM16-21 sekilo depending on musim. I often found org jual ambal by the roadside on my way back from work, especially near the roundabout towards Muara Tuang/Batu 7 ....but have to hurry parking keta once i saw pakcik tu sebab pakcik nie selalu bawak 2-3 tong kecik je ...aku plak kekadang beli sampai 2kg ..hehehe...org lain pun ramai yang beli, sampai berebut pun ada ...kalau my whole falimy ada, satu kilo sah2 tak cukup....


Anyway, kalau ada ambal, my dad will be the one who cook it for us...menu wajib is ambal kari ...let me share with our readers how to cook this delicious seafood:

  1. tumis bawang merah, garlic, halia, serai, hirisan cili merah

  2. add curry paste (alah, serbuk kari dicampur ngan air sket)

  3. add ambal - yang dah dibersihkan

  4. kalau nak kari kering, takyah boh air, kalau nak berkuah boh air sket ...please note air dia akan bertambah sendirinya ...so, jgn boh air byk sangat

  5. garam and perasa (if using). My dad normally add fish sauce at this point

jgn masak lama sangat ...kang kecut, jadi tak sedap ....

I sempat tangkap gambar yang ada dalam kuali aje...sebab, once dah di pinggan, kang lupa plak nak tangkap gambar ...hehehe macam tak biasa plak kan ...

But for those yang tak pernah merasa ambal nie, datangle sarawak ....most seafood places would have it in the menu (kalau musim ambal) ...e.g. at that Permata Foodcourt, kalau musim ambal, you can see berlambak2 kadiorang display kat sana ....

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Another round of my sunday's lunch

Ok puan puan dan tuan tuan ...the most awaited on weekly basis....he..he..he..(aku dlm keadaan separuh tak sedar)..be ready with your notebook and pen...here we go... another round of my sunday's lunch..
For a change not to bore you with my exotic asian food....i bring western meal for this sunday..thanks to fend for sending me that recipe for roast chicken ke hape? so i told my chef why not....bla bla bla..so we went to giant on saturday and walla below were our lunch this afternoon

Very the artistic right...aku kan???!!!!!We had grilled lamb...excellentee' sehingga menjilat kuku ...lamb was marinated for one nite with garlic, black pepper, olive oil, and...and..and..some bbq sauce...tak aci kan ????...tak pe lah...then those vege salads...like what being seen ...kalau tak tahu tanya ye...

Then coleslaw.....cabbage+carrot+mayo+black pepper+garam (just a note:garam is applied to all dish ok)...Potato rebus..best is to bake but to save time and the fact that my oven is too cute in size...lupe kan ajelah...and asparagus rebus lighly,...

And another first timer (semalam was the belut)....Roast turkey....turkey+garlic+black pepper sauce+potato+carrot+holland onion+rosemary+????itu jelah kot...

When everything ready, had our bath (not together..separately), called for the boys...all came down....and Adib asked "mana nasi ni?????"

Mundar mandir

Hari ni mostly lepak rumah. Kemas apa yang patut while EJ finished up her homework. Every hour she came to me asking whether we are going out to buy her toys. Sebab yesterday kat Alamanda tak sempat nak beli toys. Dengan dia ni bukan boleh janji..dia akan tuntut sampai biler biler. Tapi kalau dia yang buat janji tak tunaikan takpe. Kureng asem kan.

Later in the evening since Fid needs to buy something for her fren's besday so we went to Jusco Setiawangsa. As usual once we were in the car, EJ started singing lapar lapar lapar. Padahal masa kat rumah dia busy tengok tv bukannya tahu nak makan. So we went straight to Big Apple to eat donut. Lagipun semalam kat Alamanda tak sempat nak beli donut. Once EJ saw baskin robbin's terus tak jadi nak makan donut dia nak ice-cream lak. Aku terus disapproved and bolayan sama dia. Kata lapar apahal lak nak ice-cream. Mana kenyangkan. Siap jadi member kat Big Apple tu boleh dapat discount kalau beli donut weekdays saje. Not applicable during weekends and public holiday.



After that we went in to JJ. Nothing yang menarik hati. Hampeh JJ setiawangsa ni. Too small the place so tak banyak barang. Only the supermarket yang OK. So we went to Great Easten mall. Sampai je kat sana EJ saw the Wind Castle. Terus dia layan main kat situ jap. Fid pi cari besday present.



After we found the besday present, we decided to have dinner kat Cosy House. From far we saw many people queing but we insisted to join the que sebab dah teringat ingat Tom Yamnya yang power. Malas nak bawa barang-barang masa dinner aku pi letak dalam keta dulu. EJ dok persuaded her mommy to Toy City. Masa kami jumpa balik kat depan Coy House tu Ej dah sengih sengih...rupana dia dapat jugak beli toys. Aku tanya amenda dia beli apa, dia cakap Biarlah Rahsia. Punya lah ramai orang yang kelaparan dok tunggu meja kosong.





We waited for less than 10 minutes. I ordered beef with dried chillies and cashew nuts, Ej ordered char kueh teow and fid ordered mihun tom yam. Sume sedap sedap. Cuma the char kueh teow tu jenis kering. I prefered yang jenis basah dan berkuah sikit. Overall sedap bangat makan kat situ. Ej nanti next month kiter dinner kat sini pastu kiter pi Bora Ombak for lepak minum coffee and layan live band. Masa makan tu mulanya aku segan segan nak ambik gambar sebab we were being seated at the "middle of nowhere". Other people sume macam concentrate makan and behave. Tapi curi curi gak la ambik gambar wihout flash. Tapi lepas dah separuh makan baru nampak kat meja makan lain dok keluarkan camera diorang. Ada yang canggih manggih punya camera. Lepas tu baru kami posing tak hingat dunia.








Lepas dah kenyang terus balik umah. Once we reached home, Ej terus layan mainan baru dia and mommy joined her. Kisahnya dia beli Fish game yang I think suitable for 6 years old kids. Sabar je la. Kiter tengok berapa hari benda tu boleh bertahan.

Visit places in Kuantan???

To keep up with the momentum and the spirit of blogging with the other 2 co writers (yg tinggi kekerapan melonggok nya), i am now sharing my saturdays...the routine is tuition, piano lesson, lunch outside, then depends either shopping/gardening/or just lazying watching movies...

Ejin actually told me to get my butt off and start showing interesting places n Kuantan... ...as the gang is fully awared my level of adventurous and outdoor activity is pretty low almost down to zero (to compare with fend especially)........my apology but there is slim chance that i can, like showing any place interesting in kuantan other than my home sweet home...sabor je lah...but I'll try ok..now let me start with food ok!
Last saturday, the boys were voting for pizza hut..and me , i insisted for thai food...one thing for sure at least for me..being 30 something...i need rice at least once a day...and my dear otherhalf being 30 sth himself...always agrees with my choice so we went to this one of our favourites place for Thai called Restaurant Sawadee Dee...so here we go our lunch on saturday...







Thai Lemon Chicken...Angah and Along's fave






Kerabu kaki ayam...jawa ckp Caker Ayam..Adib and Afi and Duan's fave




Kerabu mangga...my fave










Fried Kailan with garlic...a must have for me...bukan favourite sgt but it is just not right not having any vege lah...

either kerapu or siakap...tomyam...very yummy...duan said there's santan in it...i cant differentiate but i know it taste so good....dua pinggan akak makan shared with adib so oklah kan?Last but not least...belut entah masak ape, yes ...this is first time...duan ate it before but our first time ordering it..it tastes like keli......

And for dinner, utk tidak menghampakan the boys, we had pizza....and sometime late at nite, duan and me had supper before bed....duan said it is a sign of aging...erkkkkkkkkkkk

Earth Hour

guys...i am wondering if you guys knew at all that last night 8.30 to 9.30 is 60 Earth Hour..???I read that it started back in 2007 but I only aware about it this year thru repetitive advertisement in astro..So in showing our support against global warming...we shutted the lights off for ...only 30 minutes...not 60..ok lah tu dari tak de kan?...the kids were so overwhelmed playing with the torch lights....the whole house was in total darkness but we got to have the tv on and the fan and the aircond.....kang berpeluh busuk boring sape nak tanggung???? and besides it was saturday and the AF was on..

Babysitting Duty

Aku pun busy jugak semalam...ditinggalkan oleh my mum and dad to look after bujang kecik. Was told the night before that they will be leaving at 6am sebab terlampau syok nak melawat kebun ....they all warn awal2 sebab tau i nie akan lambat bangun kalau weekend...

6.30am - aku baru bangun....itupun sebab my dad call me on my mobile. Dia malas naik atas utk ketuk pintu aku, jadi dia call aje ...lawak kan? bangun2 terus turun bawah, and nampak my parents dah siap nak bertolak ...anak buah aku pun dah jaga since 5am kata my mum...so, abis le chance aku aku nak continue tido...


8.00 - anak buah aku mula lentok...aku cepat2 mandikan dia ...hehehe this was the 3rd time aku mandikan dia...very slippery, aku takut je kang2 terlepas dari pegangan aku...as if knowing aku nie a novice dalam hal mandikan dia, he was very passive and keep smiling at me walaupun air tu kejap kena mata dia ...sorry sayang, mama belum expert hehehe ...


8.30 - anak buah ku tido dalam buaian - fuyoooo lega...aku pun buat laundry dan mengemas rumah ...baru nak rehat je, dia dah bangun ...he only sleep sejam setengah, laundry pun tak sempat sidai lagi ...


10-12 - layan dia main, dia baru belajar tiarap ...sedang aku terlentok letih, tetiba nampak dia dah meniarap...menggagau aku ambik kamera to record the moments ...nanti nak pos kat parents dia ...aku baringkan aje dia kat depan tv and bukak chanel 613 ...very entertaining. Aku dah tahu dah lagu tema Dibo the Gift Dragon, Word World, Thomas and Friends, Pocoyo, Higglytown Heroes, Little Ernstein ...hehehehe entertaining jugak kartun2 nie!




12 - dia tido lagi selepas letih meniarap and tengok tv ...aunty dia kan main lega lagi sebab by this time perut dah menjerit2 kelaparan ...tak breakfast pun tadi ...makanan plak takde, so I opted for hashbrown, toast, scrambled (cheese) egg, and chicken & mushroom sausage...pas makan aku pun layan tengok DVD - citer Accidental Husband - ok gak le, but if only I tau the ending - sebab i woke up to the sound of bujang crying hehehehe aku lelap rupanya ...but at least this time dia tido lama sket ...till 3pm....


3.00 - buat susu untuk dia kali yang ke-4 ...then baru perasan yang baju2 yang aku cuci tadi semua tak sidai ...sure mak aku bebel nanti ...but nak buat camne, aku takde masa ....again, tv pun terus on to chanel 613 ...but then dia dah tak nak dok diam, asyik minta dukong...so kami berdua pun jalan2 le kat rumah ...dia lelap lagi at 5pm ...tapi dia tak tido lama, sebab aku tak buaikan dia ....manale aku tau dia kena buai selalu, ingat boleh ditinggalkan - aku pi baca blog masa tu hehehe


6.15 - my mum balik ...legaaaaaa, hand over duty ....but ada plak tetamu datang for dinner - so tugas aku pi gerai utk beli makanan, mak aku tak sempat masak ....


P/S I admire sangat org yang jaga baby full time....as well as working mothers! It is a tough demanding job rupanya ...and part paling aku takut, bila dia nangis, sebab tak tau dia nangis sebab apa - nak susu ke? basah ke? or kena gigit semut ke??? and bila dia tido pun aku takut gak, sebab takut bantal tu cover muka dia le ...aku yang jaga from 6-6 tu pun rasa cam tough sangat, inikan pula org yang jaga day in day out ...kan?

Separuh hari yang kartun



Hari ni penat betul. First half of my day was kelam kabut cam kartun. Pepagi memang plan nak hantar fid and ej to tutorial centre. Pastu baru je lepas selekoh kat Mak Tim cafe tu..rasa kereta cam berat je. Berhenti kat tepi jalan tengok-tengok tayar pancit. Hampeh.

Menapak balik umah ambik keta silver. Lepas hantar diorang berdua terus call AAM. On the way balik contractor call cakap dah ada depan umah. Pening aku nak layan dua dua sekali gus. Since AAM tak sampai lagi, layan contractor dulu...aku panggil dia datang sebab atap bocor. Lepas tunjuk lebih kurang aku menapak balik ke keta pancit. Tunggu 20 minit baru orang AAM sampai. Tukar tayar terus balik umah.

Baru je nak rehat, Technician Diamond filter pulak sampai. Dia nak service water filter kat luar tu. Layannnn. So kejap kejap aku layan contractor kejap kejap technician. Service filter tak lama, 1 jam saje. Lepas dia blah je..contractor pulak update apa dia dah repair. Baru je nak labuh punggung sambil tengok TV, dah time ambik EJ kat tutorial and sent her to Da Vinci.After dropped her there terus drive pi Gombak. Pi tempat publisher untuk tukat tutorial books. Pastu on the way balik jalan jammed sebab ada accident.

Sampai umah lepak lebih kurang dah time fetch EJ from Da vinci. Again terpaksa menempuh jalan yang seperti biasa jammed cam siut. Hari ni EJ lukis gambar ladybird. Sampai ke umah baru nak bersiap untuk pi wedding, fid dah call suruh fetch her. Lepas fetch dia terus pi Semenyih. Lepas tu baru fun bermula and hilang keletihan siang yang kartun itu. Best biler jumpa geng ronggeng. Gelak tak ingat dunia.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Mount Kinabalu

I decided to do a separate posting on Mount Kinabalu …it wouldn’t be fair to lump it together with other sightseeing adventure yang I buat kat Kota Kinabalu…

I was so happy when I found out that we had a free day to roam around as we pleased, and without second thought, I said to myself – I nak tengok Gunung Kinabalu …I have heard so much about Gunung Kinabalu – since my primary schools days – sapa yang tak tau that Gunung Kinabalu is the highest mountain in Malaysia..in fact based on my readings, Gunung Kinabalu is one of the most prominent mountains in South East Asia and rated as the 20th highest peak in the world in terms of prominence (according to Wikipedia)..ambik ngko …tinggi beb!



But when I first saw it, memang teruja …on our way towards Kundasang, tak berapa nampak coz it was hidden behind kabus tebal…but we did get a few glimpses here and there, and left us craving for more …but on the way back, the view of the mountain was magnificent, kabus dah mula berkurangan, giving us tantalizing glimpse of the mountain …the different shapes from different direction…


It is, for me, such a humbling experience…to be able to see the mountain which I have heard so much about, and standing at the foot of the hill and admired those who are lucky (and fit) enough untuk panjat Gunung Kinabalu … I have to be satisfied standing there and admiring the wonderful scenery…



FYI, Kinabalu National Park (at the foot of Mount Kinabalu) is located about 2-3 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu in the Ranau District– depending on traffic. Jalannya amat bengkang bengkok… If you go early, you would be able to see the mountain clearly sepanjang jalan ke Ranau (according to our guide) but because we left KK after 10 am, by the time we get near the area, kabus dah agak tebal and Gunung tak berapa kelihatan …Kinabalu National Park is also a World Heritage Site, kalau tak silap it was Malaysia’s first WHS sebelum Penang and Melaka…Definitely a place for nature lover….I was there sekejap sangat and definitely tak cukup masa to explore what the place has to offer….



On my flight back to Kuching, I was chatting to the guy sitting next to me…dia dengan bangganya tunjukkan sijil that he got selepas Berjaya panjat gunung …sampai Lower Peak aje katanya …but still, it must be a great experience…aku nie ntah le…bila le aku dapat panjat Gunung tu…hajat di ati ada, tapi keupayaan takde kah kah kah ….




Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Kota Kinabalu: One fine day in KK ...

The very next day pun aku free jugak pada waktu siangnya…and this time decided to explore KK on foot. Aku pi sorang je coz si amoi tu pi jumpa adik ipar and cousin dia…So, after a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, hashbrown, grilled tomatoes, turkey rashers and sausages (courtesy of room service hehehehe), I went out…first stop of the day was the Times’ Bookstore – but tak jumpa pun buku yang aku nak (aku sedang cari buku Cross Country by James Patterson)…so, I proceed to the Sunday market kata Gaya Street (kalau tak silap)…but memandangkan aku dah lewat, tak banyak benda yang ada, most peniaga dah berkemas …

Bangunan yang represent Filipin Market ...cam takde apa2 kan ....

Undeterred aku pi the Handicraft Market (a.k.a Filipin Market), a place where you can finds soveniours and so on …but pandai2le bargain kalau nak murah ....and Sabah is well known for its fresh water pearls, and this is the place where you akan rambang mata sebab byk sangat pearl in different shapes, colours, sizes and prices. Tapi aku kureng sket sebab aku tak suka benda2 bergemelapan sangat …I was looking for a simple design …just pearl (aku kureng sket kalau pearl mixed with crystal…silau mata I tau!) Btw, aku baru tau during my last visit that ada dua jenis pearl – deep sea pearl and freshwater pearl …yang mahal is the deep sea one (macam Raflesia pearl yang artis dok pakai le kot)– and the shape is round. Freshwater pearl nie, tak berapa bulat and more affordable …selepas membeli belah barang2 for my family (as usual le) aku pi jalan2 sekitar area tu- jumpa le pasar ikan masin …hehehe aku tak pi or tangkap gambar, but those who are interested can go there in the future – ada sotong kering, seaweed, gamat kering etc…manale tau, ada readers yang nak tau kan?

Gambar last nie, koleksi yang ada makcik tu jual kat Sunday Market

By the time aku abis kat situ, dah kol 1 …and aku kehausan yang amat ..stop le kat gerai jual kelapa …very friendly orangnya …kat sini aku beli pudding kelapa (tapau, and makan kat hotel – but I tak suka rasa nya), lepak2 jap before proceeding to the market. Ingat nak cari nangka sebab during my last visit dapat nangka yang sedap kat situ…kali nie Yang Ado! So aku pi ke bahagian yang jual kuih and kerepek ….as usual yang banyak is amplang (keropok ikan), kuih cincin, kerepek ubi, kerepek pisang ….and unlike Kundasang, aku tak jumpa kerepek bayam …makcik2 tu layan aje aku bila aku nak ambik gambar …muka tourist le katakan …

Abis menjelajah kat area tu, aku membawa diri ke Warisan Square for lunch – I found this place, Rainforest CafĂ© – makan laksa penang – ok lah, but I had better ones before…and I ended my exploration dengan shopping kat Plaza Warisan, City Point and Plaza Wawasan …then off to the hotel to sleep hehehehe …and like Aimran selalu kata: The End ….


KK is a great place if you are interested in activity macam snorkeling – lots of island yang cantik2 nearby (Pulau Mamutik, Pulau Manukan, Pulau Sapi), or hiking – panjat Gunung Kinabalu, or whitewater rafting (kat Padas), or nature exploration – ada tempat tengok monyet yang dekat, Lok Kawi I think nama tempat tu…or kalau nak ke Sepilok pun ok – but agak jauh le ….kalau untuk shopping, tak le sehebat Bandung, kak long …hehehe unless nak beli cincin pearl lagi, sori kak long, I cannot resist!

P/S walaupun Sabah terkenal dengan monyet and orang utan, nie aje lah spesis monyet yang aku jumpa kat sana ....