The Journey of a Distort Soul....

Ben 10 Showcase KLCC...

We went to Ben 10 Showcase with Ilyas and my sister; Eliza decided to stay at home recovering from her eye infection. We drove out from my sister house at around 3.45pm and we reached at KLCC by 4.30pm and we parked beside KLCC Convention Center. The show is scheduled to start at 5pm and we immediately went up to the 3rd floor; it was lucky as if we had use the escalator we would be buying Ben 10 toys for Arief and Ilyas. Arief & Ilyas was looking forward to the showcase and couldn't hide their excitement (running all over the seats and playing with the Ben 10 omnitrix). The show started at 5.15pm and they shut down the lights. Arief & Ilyas immediately sat on our laps. The show is divided into two segments; Ben 10 & Ben 10 Alien Force. Familiar aliens appears such as Heat Blast, Four Arms and Willy Mutt and newer aliens from Alien Force @ Squids & Rocks. I was tired from driving this morning and was trying to keep myself awake during the show; same with my sister. The showcase finish at around 6.45pm and we went for our dinner at the food court beside Aquaria before heading home :-)

Transformers at GSC OU...

We went to watch Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen at GSC OU. I booked the tickets while I was in Jakarta; plan to go with Aiman and when my cousin Fazlin noticed the update on our Facebook she immediately bought the ticket; seat no next to Aiman. We move out from Shah Alam by 9.30am and reached GSC OU just in time to get out tickets. It was a huge crowd at the cinema hall as TV3 Kids organize a special Tranformers screening session for their members. They brought two mascots dress as Optimus Prime and Bumblee Bee to the screening; Aiman took a picture with them. We bought our usual popcorn combo and went inside the cinema hall; not before some Kodak Moments at the Transformers poster outside. Arief was happy enjoying his popcorn while kept on asking about Bumblebee. The movie is about two and a half hour long; and Arief was getting bored as he started to play with Aiman and Fazlin in-front. He even walked down the stairs. It took another box of popcorn to coerce him to sit back in his seat. We really enjoy the movie thoroughly and plan to buy the DVD later :-)

Queensbay Mall, Kayu Nasi Kandar & Bayview...

We started our journey to Penang by 9.30am as we wanted to go to Queensbay Mall. It is located at Bayan Lepas and I just follow my instinct on the direction. The signage is quite clear and we arrived there as schedule. We window shopped briefly before we proceed to a light brunch at Old Town (we wanted to try the doughnut shop but couldn't locate it). We ordered peanut butter toast, thick toast with strawberry puree and half-boiled eggs. After brunch we ended up going to the play-area beside CROCS and Arief play there for almost half-an-hour. It took us awhile to coerce Arief to change his diapers at the nearby changing room :-)

My in-laws called; saying that they are already approaching the Penang bridge and will be waiting for us at Gelugor Mobil Station (nearby tapak pesta). Again I use my instinct and we found the location. From there we convoy to Sg Dua to wait for Elina's family. We parked in-front of Subaidah Restoran; having our drinks there. Elina's arrived within half-an-hour later and again we convoy to Kayu Nasi Kandar. The place is not that packed but the queue is long. We ordered "hidang" with ayam goreng, ayam madu and kari kepala ikan as the main dish. We take turns to eat as Arief was busy playing all over the restaurant. I bought Arief Wall's Cornetto ice-cream and he shared it with his cousin. The total bill is RM125 for 10 adults. From Kayu Nasi Kandar we drove to Bayview Hotel at Batu Feringgi. I think the journey is about 45 minutes as Bayview is the furthest hotel. We went up to the room to freshen-up; the bed is huge. Arief took his bath there; in the tub as well as in the shower. We drove out from Bayview at around 5.30pm and we stopped by at the old Padang Kota to buy sotong bakar. We make a brief stopped at Juru R&R as Arief vomitted from his medicine and we finally arrived at Pokok Assam by 9pm. Arief was already sleeping soundly during the journey :-)

 

 

Haza House Warming at Lakeside Terrance...

We went to Haza house warming party at his new bachelor pad at Lakeside Terrance Damansara with my sister and Ilyas; Abg D had to stay home with Irfan as he is still recovering from his fever. I used the NKVE as it it much easier; using the Kota Damansara exit. Most of my relatives were already there. The party began at 5pm until Midnight with varieties of food on display. It started with bihun goreng, roti jala with chicken curry and fruit & potato salad. We had a blast catching-up with all my relatives. After Maghrib they serve nasi lemak, laksa, satay and sausage bbq. Arief and Ilyas was playing all over the house; attacking their cousins at will. They continue playing in the courtyard after Maghrib and by the time we were driving back home; both of them had fallen asleep :-)

Arief early Birthday Party...

We organize a small birthday party for Arief; just among Eliza's family & relative. We bought Nasi Ayam Pak Mal (Seksyen 11 Shah Alam) and my mother-in-law cooked kuehteow and mee goreng. We bought Arief birthday cake at Bee's Bakery Shah Alam Mall; Ultraman motive. The small party started at around 8.30pm. Arief wore matching collar t-shirt with me; mine is black in colour with orange logo complete with number 3 while Arief is orange in colour with black logo. We started with dinner while waiting for the others to arrive. Arief was enjoying the crowd and he is playing all over the house with his collection of toys. We started the cake cutting ceremony with birthday song at around 9.30pm. Arief looks so cute when he cuts the cake with Eliza. The party ended at around 11pm and Arief receive a lot of gifts and RM :-)

 

 

Irfan Birthday @ 1 year old...

We went to my sister house at Subang Permai to celebrate Irfan birthday @ 1 year old. Everyone was waiting for us to arrive to begin the ceremony (a bit late as we went to the Photo Shop in the evening; passport pictures for Eliza & Arief). My sister prepared cup-cakes; orange and blue in colour with birthday wordings on top. The main dish is "Nasi Arab; chicken & lamb" and satay. The lamb is very tender but the rice is quite dry; luckily my sister ordered extra dishes for the needed "kuah". It was delicious. Arief was feeling sleepy but he still plays with Ilyas; running all over the house. BTW Arief fall asleep in the car on our journey home :-)

Birthday Dinner at Bagan Lalang...

We went to Bagan Lalang for an early dinner to celebrate Haziq and my birthday. I had made reservations in advance; so we didn't have to rush there. We meet up at KLIA Mosque at around 5.15pm; we drove from Pullman Putrajaya. From there it is just about half an hour drive to Bagan Lalang. We were suprised upon reaching Bagan Lalang as it was the high tide season. We went here last year and it was low tide. We drove straight to HM Seri Bagan and took our seats while I went to check the seafood spread with Abah. We ordered Sup Ketam, Pepahat Masak Bercili, Lala Masak Halia, Kerang Rebus, Ikan Kerapu Masam Manis, Sotong Goreng Tepung, Ikan Jenahak Masak Pedas dan Ikan Pari Bakar. At first it does look like we ordered quite a lot but we manage to finish everything at the end and the bill is about RM250 for 8 adults. BTW we even had a birthday cake brought from Banting to celebrate the birthday boys :-)

 

Dinner with the newlyweds...

We brought Ijam & Zurita to "Famous Thai"; they arrived from Taiping at around 7.30pm. This time around we ordered Tom Yam Chicken, Mixed Vegetable Soup for Arief, Kerapu Sweet Sour Sauce, Mango Salad and Baby Kailan Salted Fish. Again the service is fast and Ijam gave high compliments on their Tomyam and rice. The Kerapu Sweet Sour Sauce is also excellent. We went back home with a full stomach and Arief fall asleep immediately :-)

Ijam & Zurita Wedding Part 04...

The morning of Ijam's wedding reception at Sri Kota and we were ready quite early as the reception will start at around 10.30am; marhaban. We wore matching chocolate ensemble of baju melayu and baju kurung. Arief looks so handsome wearing his baju melayu. My task is to welcome all guest to the reception as well as safe-keeping the money given. I wore a pouch bag that I found at Aiman closet in Pokok Assam and brought along walkies to communicate with Neng. Eliza is in-charge with my mother-in-law at the entrance of the house to welcome guest into the house; and also safe-keeping the money given. Arief is playing inside the house with his cousins as it was quite hot outside. The guest started to arrive around noon and I ushered them to the tent. Ijam & Zurita arrived at around 1pm and the coordination with Neng was excellent with the help of the walkies. The bride entourage was seated at a special table located at the neighbour's house. Alhamdulillah the reception went well; we did faced minor hiccups but it was manageable. I ate my lunch at around 2.30pm and I really like the "kurma daging kambing" and "acar buah". We went back to Pokok Assam for R&R at around 4.30pm and we spend close to one hour to count the money; RM2,345 in total. Arief was sleeping soundly at home as he is tired from playing all over the house with his cousins. We went back to Sri Kota after Maghrib for the "upacara buka hadiah" and satay was served as the main course as well as the "bubur kacang hijau"; leftovers from the wedding. Ijam & Zurita did received a lot of gifts; some of them are un-named and I claimed it was all coming from me. BTW we gave the bride & groom MAS return flight tickets to Kota Kinabalu :-)

 

Ijam & Zurita Wedding Part 03...

We went out at around 9.30am to buy more stuff for the door gifts; the shop is located at Taiping Bus Stand. We went back to Pokok Assam to get ourselves ready for Ijam's reception at Matang; we wore matching batik that we bought in Bandung. We arrived there by noon and everyone is already holding the "hantaran". Arief was sleeping inside the car as he still tired from yesterday playing with his cousins until midnight. The entourage parked our cars at the community hall which is quite far from the reception and it started to drizlle. We walked to the reception and Arief was still sleeping; he woked up upon approaching the house as it was quite hot. They were a lot of crowds at the wedding and we manage to come in the house for the "bersanding". I waited at the door as it was too crowded. We were treated to a scrumptious lunch at the main table after "bersanding". Arief was keeping himself busy by playing with the small pebbles while we ate. I really enjoy the "kurma daging", "ayam masak merah" and "udang goreng". BTW we found out that Acik Zakiah's Brother-in-law is Zurita headmaster; small world indeed :-)

We went back to Sri Kota late in the evening to help with tomorrow's reception. I was in-charged with the setting up of chairs and tables for "khemah". I went out with Yeop to buy eggs and sugar. We did stopped at Bomba for teh tarik. I bought the eggs and sugar at The Store behind "Berkat Supermarket" and on our way back we stopped at Big Seed to buy lamp for the main tent. They were having "bacaan doa selamat" at Sri Kota and I opted to sit outside as I was wearing shorts tonite; anticipating hard labour. We finish installing the chairs and tables by 11pm. Eliza did her briefing on everyone roles and responsibilities for tomorrow and we went back to Pokok Assam for the needed R&R around midnight and Arief was already sleeping inside the car :-)

 

Ijam & Zurita Wedding Part 02...

We woke up early on Friday to have our breakfast at Bismillah Restoran. We ordered the usual roti canai with teh tarik while Arief ate nasi lemak. We went to TESCO to buy Ijam's wedding gift and AVON to buy Eliza's stuff. I sent Eliza & Arief to Sri Kota before I went for my hair-cut at the famous "Welcome". The house is about ready for Ijam's wedding this Sunday and everybody is busy preparing for this evening "akad nikah" at Masjid Matang. I took Arief to TESCO again to buy his first imitation Ben 10 Omnitrix which cost me RM13.90 (later I found out that I can get it cheaper at Long Wan). We went back to Pokok Assam for lunch while Eliza did her hair with her sister. Eliza's hair session took longer than expected; finished at around 3.30pm and we rushed to get ready for Ijam's "Akad Nikah" after Asar. My mom went earlier with Acik Nan & Acik Zakiah and we arrived there by 5pm but we just missed Ijam's lafaz. BTW Eliza & Arief had a minor accident while going out from the car (high heels and Baju Kurung; not a good combination) and luckilly it was just bruises for Eliza and Arief just woke-up from his slumber without any injuries. We went back to Zurita's house to exchange the "hantaran" and for Ijam to give the wedding ring to Zurita. It was a bit crowded in the house so I ate outside with Arief; they served laksa and kuihs. We did went inside the house and I ate bihun goreng (which was said to be delicious). We went back to Pokok Assam to refreshed ourselves before coming back to Sri Kota to assist on the preparations (mostly on the door gifts) and Ijam's "Naik Pelamin" which started at 11pm :-)

Ijam & Zurita Wedding Part 01...

We took our annual leave since Thursday to drive back to Taiping earlier to assist during the wedding but Eliza had to attend an important meeting in the morning. I sent Arief to Little Caliphs and went to USJ Taipan to pick-up cheque from Sime Darby (deposit for renovation). Eliza was supposed to finish at around 11.30am but her meeting continue until 1.15pm. I waited at Old Town Kopitiam at Bangsar South; huge place with free underground parking. From Menara TM we drove to Kajang to pick-up shoes for Ijam and Neng's house. We had our lunch at Tuan Fatimah Ayam Kampung Puchong; one of my favourite venue for lunch. We arrived home at 3pm and we wanted to fetch Arief at Little Caliphs but he was still sleeping. We went home instead and finish our packing. We went back to Little Caliphs at 5pm and we drove back to Taiping. The journey was ok apart from the heavy rain. We ended up reaching Taiping at around 8pm. We ate dinner with my mom and sister before we went to Sri Kota to see the wedding preparation; and it is beautiful indeed :-)

Fiza's Wedding Part 3...

I woke up early as I wanted to have roti canai & teh tarik for breakfast at Bismillah Restoran and I met with my junior there (Edwardians & part of the hockey team). We catch up on all times and I promised to attend his wedding in Shah Alam this coming June 2009. Arief & Eliza was still sleeping from the ordeal yesterday and I went back to sleep at 8am. We gathered at Mak Lang house around noon and we drove to the groom house at Kamunting by 1pm. We parked and walked to the "rumah pengantin", lucky for us the weather is fine. We went straight to the buffet table for lunch. They gave jelly as the dessert and Arief enjoy eating it as he didn't ate rice for lunch. We went back at around 2.30pm and had cendol at Ansari's before heading home :-)

Fiza's Wedding Part 2 & Anis Birthday Celebration...

We arrived at Mak Lang house for the "pembukaan hadiah" a bit late; 9pm as we had to stopped at Sri Kota as Arief pooped. They served BBQ chicken, ikan bakar & daging rendang with nasi goreng kampung. We also ate "ayam masak merah" from the "santapan pengantin"; again. Fiza's and her husband open our gifts first; everybody seems to like it as it is different from the normal tea sets and photo frame. They did received two microwave oven. They finished everything by 10,30pm and we went to Sri Kota to celebrate Anis birthday. They were still on their way from Banting and should be arriving at around 11pm. My in-laws bought cakes; and Anis, Haziq and Arief jointly blow the candle together. Arief was still awake eventhough he didn't sleep at all in the evening :-)

Fiza's Wedding Part 1...

We went back to Taiping for Fiza's wedding in Kampung Jambu. We wanted to start our journey earlier but Eliza was in Melaka since Thursday and she came back home late on Friday due to her work commitments. We bought our breakfast at McD Seksyen 3 and we entered the NKVE by 10am. Arief was sleeping until we reached Kuala Kangsar and we arrived at Pokok Assam by 12.30pm. We refreshed ourselves before going to Fiza's wedding; arrived there by 2pm with Eliza's parents. Fiza and her husband was already having their "santapan" and we went straight to the buffet spread. My sister was there managing the "bunga telur" and my mom brought us "udang masak sambal" from the "meja santapan". The food was delicious and I particularly like the kurma daging. BTW Arief and Ilyas was playing together by running all around the "khemah pengantin" and we take turns with Abg D to watch over them. I even managed to take a bite from the "ayam masak merah" for "santapan pengantin" :-)

Aiman Birthday...

We went to my sister house to celebrate Aiman 19th Birthday; we bought Dominos Pizza (Hawaiian Chicken and Veggie Galore). We gave Aiman his first beach CROCS; purple in colour. It was on 50% sale by Pinang Medical Supplies. Arief ate sup nasi ayam with Ilyas and as usual they will play and quarrel with each other. They did though watch Ultraman DVD; the one that we bought recently where a group of Ultraman dance :-)

 

IKEA...

We went to IKEA with my mom and my sister, Aiman, Ilyas & Irfan to celebrate the new year. This is the first time that we went out with Irfan for lunch. We arrived at my sister house by 10am as promised and we drove to IKEA by 10.30am. We managed to find parking beside each other at P2 (my favourite spot). It took us awhile to unload three strollers from the cars. We walked straight to IKEA for lunch and the queue is already long. I ordered two vegetarian rice with ayam masak pandan, 5 pieces chicken wings, 10 swedish meatballs, salmon, spicy chicken with fries, daim cake and chocolito. I did try the pear cider as mentioned by Haza in his facebook. BTW Eliza had to go to the Brands Outlet to buy "Thomas & Friends" water bottle for Arief as he saw the kid beside us having a sip with the same bottle; Arief choose the RM19.90 for him and Ilyas (bigger than the one he saw). We had a wonderful family lunch where we manage to finish everything. After lunch, we did some light window shopping at Brands Outlet (again) where we bought t-shirts for Arief, Ilyas and Irfan. Aiman also bought three t-shirts for him. Arief, Ilyas and Irfan was happily sitting in their strollers while playing with the free balloons. Both of them are tired and by the time we went to have teh tarik and laksa at LG; Arief was already sleeping but Ilyas was barely awake. So I took Ilyas for a short stroll around LG and a few minutes after that he fell asleep. We went home by 3.30pm and it was indeed an enjoyable family outing :-)

LCCT, ENSTEK & Putrajaya...

We went to LCCT to send my mom's maid back to Jakarta; she has been with us for 2 years ++ (since Arief was 6 days old). She is hardworking though and can be trusted to do the household chores; but she lost our trust when she uses the house phone and my mom mobile phone without permission (calling her then boyfriend). The bills went up tremendously; few hundreds for both house phone and mobile. She even tried to hide the bills; big mistake as we can access the bills online. My mom had to stopped her wages for two months to cover the telephone cost. She only brought home about RM1000; which is quite small as compared with the other foreign maids. Well she kept on buying clothes and top-up cards; and also new mobile phone (which was ringing at every 10 minutes interval at LCCT). We arrived at LCCT by 10.30am and it was already packed (normal). Her flight is scheduled to depart at 1.30pm. Our timing is just perfect as after we had finish at the AirAsia counter, the queue at the baggage checking is long. BTW her luggage is in excess of 6kg @ RM90. We asked her to enter the international departure early as to avoid crowds. Once we saw that she had passed the immigration counter, we went to have lunch at Abg Ngah house :-)

We arrived there by noon (ENSTEK) and we chatted (Fiza wedding in February, trip to Bandung, passenger mishap at AirAsia) while waiting for my sister to arrive (driving from Bukit Raja Klang). Kak Ngah prepared rice with ikan goreng rangup, sambal tumis udang, ayam masak merah and sayur campur. We thoroughly enjoy our lunch while Arief and Ilyas was busy playing "Ultraman"; Irfan on the other hand just kept on smiling looking at his brother and cousin playing their hearts out. By 3pm we drove to Precint 18 Putrajaya, to visit the newlyweds apartment. Zura's sister families was there when we arrived. Fadzli prepared cucur udang, pisang goreng and roti john (bought at Precint 9). They have a lot of new furnitures now as compared to my earlier visit when Fadzli was still a bachelor. Ample warning was given to us on their dining table; it will tilt if it is unbalance (Cavenzi). Arief was sleeping but woke up at around 4pm and continue playing with Ilyas, as Ultraman and they attacked Fadzli :-)

Pertunangan Ijam & Zurita...

We came back yesterday as I need to send my mom's maid back to Jakarta (for good); we didn't went to Ijam "Pertunangan" at Matang. The "pertunangan" went well as planned at the wedding is scheduled on 7th & 8th March 2009. Selamat Bertunang Ijam & Zurita and I particularly like this photo of them :-)

Open House at Sg Pusu...

After playing three sets of tennis (double) at Bangsar in the morning, I arrived home at around noon. My in-laws had already went to Banting for house-hunting with my sis-in-law. We drove to Sg Pusu after Zohor and Faris already provided us with the map to his weekend house (it was nearby to UIAM Gombak). The journey is about 45 minutes from Shah Alam and Arief was sleeping during the journey. The house is located on a small hill at Sg Pusu; nice "kampung" surroundings. We thought we were late but we were the second to arrive (my sister was there). Arief immediately went to play with Ilyas and Fahmi; playing with the Shell Ferrari cars. We enjoyed our lunch; white rice with gulai ikan, udang masak sambal, jelatah and sambal belacan. We also ate bihun sup and chocolate cake. I think we overdosed ourselves :-)

Burger King, Wedding & Open House in Bangi...

We will be joining "rombongan pernikahan" Azral to Bangi at around 10am; we decided to have our breakfast at the newly opened Burger King at Seksyen 13 Shah Alam. We were the second customer there and we found out that today is the official opening of the outlet and they were waiting for the VVIP to officiate the launch. We arrived at Pak Pian house in TTDI just in time; and we started our convoy from TTDI to Bangi. We stop-by at the Petronas Station in Bangi as Azral wanted to visit the bathroom; I guess he wanted to calm down before the ceremony. We arrived at the bride's house by 11am and everyone was waiting for us. We re-group at their neighbour house before proceeding to the "pernikahan". We sat outside with my cousins while listening to the ceremony; Arief was busy playing toy car with his cousin while eating "kerepek" and drinking "sirap selasih" with "teh tarik". BTW Azral took three "lafaz" and they served "kambing golek"; one of our favourite dish and I was the fifth person to queqe for the "kambing golek". Nasi Briani was also delicious with chicken and beef; we take turns eating and we thorougly enjoy the meal. Arief was enjoying playing with his toy car at the neighbour's porch. After the wedding we went to Roslan house at Taman Bangi Ria (old Bangi). I called Rahimi requesting for the direction and Alhamdulilah we found the house; got lost for awhile as the signboard to Taman Bangi Ria was hidden beside some trees. We were still full from the wedding but I still managed to eat lontong with satay while Eliza ate desserts. BTW Arief was playing at the miniature fountain with the other childrens; washing his hand in the process :-)

Irfan Aqiqah & Ilyas Birthday + Open House...

We went to Kompleks PKNS (Bee's) to pick-up Ilyas Ultraman birthday cake before going to my sister house in Subang Permai. It took us awhile to locate the shop (at the end of the other site). We arrived at my sister house by 11.30am and the "marhaban" group is still there waiting for the main course @ rice with daging kambing kawah and kurma kambing to be served. Arief was sleeping along the way but woke-up when we arrived; Ilyas & Irfan was sleeping. We ate early and I overdosed on the "daging kambing kawah"; Eliza too but not too much as Arief wanted to play inside with Eliza. I was the "penyambut tetamu" and I wore "baju batik" that I bought in Bandung and I do look like a "wakil rakyat". By 1pm the crowd is getting heavier with relatives and friends. Weather was nice; not too hot and windy. I managed to catch-up with a lot of my cousins; and Azral is getting married next week in Bangi and we will be joining the "rombongan". In between that I played mini football with Arief & Ilyas; it was fun and tiring as well. Arief can really kick the ball and his balance is quite impressive for a 2 year old. My sister nearly forgot to do the cake cutting ceremony for Ilyas. It was cute as Ilyas try to blew the candles on his own and his brother Irfan curiously looking at his brother. My mom prepared "take-away" for us and I requested for the "daging kambing kawah" :-)

One Utama & Ikano with Aiman

I went out with Aiman (on his semester break) to One Utama; catch a movie and do some "raya" shopping. We went out by 6.50am and Aiman was still groggy due to his lack of sleep the night before (playing PS2). After sending Arief to his babysitter and Eliza to the office, we went for breakfast at Raju's. Aiman as usual ate two pieces of roti canai and we ordered fried chicken too. From there we went to Taman Tun as I wanted to change my Celcom 3G plan. We arrived at One Utama by 9.30am and the retail shops was just about to be open. We decided not to watch movies as there is nothing interesting at TGV. We shopped at FOS & Reject Shop and I bought jeans & t-shirt for Arief as well as t-shirt for my other nephews; Ilyas & Irfan. I found shirt at Cufz that I really like and it was on 70% discounts; also they sell rubic cubes cuff-links (RM139; not on sale). Aiman finally bought his t-shirt; Bossini black jazz t-shirt. We went to IKANO for lunch; at IKEA Cafe. We ordered meatballs with fish & chips. After lunch, we went back to Shah Alam as both of us is quite tired and wanted to sleep :-)

Steamboat at Tupai-Tupai...

We went to Tupai-Tupai with Eliza's parents and sister for their steamboat promotion; RM28 nett for adults and RM15 nett for kids. BTW drinks is charge separately. I've made the reservation earlier and requested table at the back. We went out from Shah Alam after maghrib and arrived there by 8.45pm. We immediately went to our table and the waiter asked whether we would like to try "Tomyam Kelapa"; obviously I will try and it tasted just like tomyam but with crunchy kerisik. We decide to order the normal soup & tomyam for steamboat and went to the buffet table to choose the ingredients. The best offerings is the big prawns. Tomyam is a bit spicy and Arief enjoy sipping the soup. The spaghetti and nasi goreng is excellent too. For dessert, we had ice-cream (they do served tapai & red bean pau). The total cost is RM200 for 5 adults and 3 kids; paid by Eliza's sister :-)

   

Birthday Celebration at Penang Part 2...

We were the first to have the buffet breakfast at Delifrance; the offerings is again minimal. Arief enjoys his honey stars cereal and watermelon; for awhile before he started throwing it down. I do like the nasi lemak though with sunny side up. Arief was showing his tantrum as he wanted to play in pool nearby; luckily we have my in-laws maid to keep him entertain while we hurriedly finish our breakfast. We brought Arief to walk at the beach; it a private beach so it was clean (as compared to the beach in front of TM Resort). It only lasted for 10 minutes and then we went straight to the pool. I had bought beach ball, donut floats as well as ToyRUs swim vest. Well Arief wore the most cheapest one (RM4 donut floats bought at TESCO); we had to coaxed him to wear the vest (RM49). Arief enjoys playing in the kiddie pool; with the help of the float Arief is able to walk freely around and play ball with us. He even managed to play with the other kids. Ucop and Zakuan came at around 10.30am but Arief was already cold (1 hour in the pool). Ucop tried the vest and Zakuan seat on the inflatable car float; they both look so cute even though Ucop cried :-)

We managed to sleep at around 11.30am; tired from playing with Arief. The others went out for some morning shopping around Penang. For lunch, we all went to Nasi Kandar Line Clear and we arrived there by 3.30pm and everybody was starving. I took chicken with pedal, lots of kacang bendi, sayur kobis and kuah campur. Not forgetting the green minty sambal. Arief didn't eat rice but he munch on the papadom. Eliza on the other hand just ate ayam goreng with nasi and sayur as she is in her first trimester and curry is a big no-no. We went back to our hotel after our "Line Clear" escapade and I went to wash our car at the nearby car wash. BTW I managed to find "cempedak goreng" for Eliza. For dinner, Yong had already made reservations at the seaside cafe; and it was quite hectic due to the Hotel shareholders event organize on the beach (we were indirectly entertained with music and sexy singers). I ordered "mee karapoley" while Eliza shared Fish & Chips with Arief. The "mee" is quite currylicius; but can't finish it as I was still full with curry from "Line Clear". The hotel provide us with a birthday cake for Abah at the end of our dinner; pity it was started to rain and we adjourned to our hotel room to enjoy the cake. As the others went out to Padang Kota, we ordered "sotong bakar" and "air kelapa muda" :-)

We went to breakfast early as usual as we plan to drive back to Shah Alam by 10am for Eliza check-up. We make a brief stopover in Taiping to meet with my sis before driving to Air Kuning to purchase "kekabu" for my mom. As it was approaching noon, we decided to have "laksa" in Kuala Kangsar. We did try to find my old family house in Bukit Chandan but I couldn't seem to remember the way. We arrived at Subang Permai at around 4pm; and ate my mom freshly cooked "cokodok pisang". We finally arrived home by 6pm and was already tired from the long journey; we ended up postponing Eliza check-up to Tuesday. It was an enjoyable family vacation apart from the hotel slip-up on our BBQ dinner; we really enjoy the room as well as "Line Clear" and Arief had a blast in the kiddie pool :-)

Birthday Celebration at Penang Part 01...

We went to Paradise Sandy Beach Resort in Penang (thanks to Yong for buying the hotel voucher) for Arief & Abah birthday celebration. We plan to start our journey early; and as usual we start driving by 10am. We reached Pokok Assam by 1pm and my sister had already prepared home-cooked lunch for us and it was delicious. My sis also bought McD porridge for Arief and he immediately refuse to sit on the baby chair to eat; instead he sat down on the small table and chair and feed himself using the plastic spoon. It caught us by surprise. We continue our journey to Penang by 4pm with Abah (the others went first) and arrived in Paradise Sandy Beach Resort by 5.30pm. The hotel was fulled due to a wedding reception tonight. We were placed at 16th Floor, 3 separate rooms. Ours is the biggest one with excellent view as it was the family suite. Arief was really enjoying the space and the huge balcony; as well as playing with his cousins.

For dinner, we had already arranged for a BBQ dinner beside the pool but we ended up having BBQ buffet dinner at Delifrance instead (the hotel's cafe). It seems there is a slip-up in the reservation by the hotel. Well we did enjoyed our dinner, I managed to grab BBQ squids before it was finish and I really like the BBQ beef. The pasta with spicy seafood sauce was delicious too. We went up to our room after dinner to celebrate Arief & Abah birthday. Abah gave his heartwarming birthday speech and cried briefly at the end (cries of happiness). We had prepared a "Photobook" of Abah for his birthday present; and during the unveiling it really caught Abah by surprise. Abah was so ecstatic at the "Photobook" and began telling us about the photos; especially the one that Abah gave to Mak during his courting days. It was a joyous birthday celebration and Arief received a lot of RM :-)

Mohammad Irfan...

My sister gave birth to a healthy baby boy on 27th May 2008; 4.2kg at Subang Jaya Medical Centre. Next year we can celebrate Arief birthday with Irfan :-)

Wedding at Kampung Perkahwinan...

Eliza's parents was supposed to attend this wedding but had to cancel last minute due to Abah minor health problem. We arrived at Kampung Perkahwinan at around 1pm; it was easy as I am familiar with Ampang and we wore matching blue outfits. It is actually a bungalow lots; turned into a wedding village with ample parking space. We were greeted by the bride's family (gold ensemble) upon entering; I don't actually know or remember any of them (Eliza did the re-introduction again and did brief me during our journey there). They are some familiar faces there; Eliza's Aunt in Taman Tun, Pak Ngah and Mack uncle in Brickfields. The wedding is a buffet style and the arrangement was beautiful. I had my lunch first while Eliza feed Arief nasi minyak with chicken. I personally like the chicken and beef rendang but the syrup taste a bit weird. Arief enjoy the surrounding and was exploring the vicinities while Eliza enjoyed her lunch. BTW I met Najwa Teamcity and found out that her father is indirectly related to Abah. We managed to catch the glimpes the bride & groom as they are walking towards their "persandingan". We went back at around 2.10pm to KL Sentral; my mom is coming from Taiping to see Ilyas (warded in SJMC for measles) and Aiman (coming home from PLKN next Tuesday and his SPM results on Wednesday). Mom's cooking, nyam nyam nyam :-)

Outing with Aiman to OU...

I was supposed to go to a Team Building in Kuantan but it was postpone due to the on-going flood situation there. So I took an annual leave instead to go out with Aiman to OU. Aiman will be going to PKLN on 29th December 2007 until early March 2008; the camp is in Kuching (at first we thought it was in Tapah, my mistake). After sending Arief to Kelana Jaya and Eliza to her office, we went for breakfast at Restoran Pelita Bangsar and had roti canai. We arrived at OU at around 10am and immediately went to GSC to get out tickets for National Treasure 2 that I've already paid via maybank2u. The shop in OU was just about to open and we just wanders around killing time while waiting for 11am. The movie was funny and enjoyable, I really like Riley as he has all the funny lines. We had lunch at Peranakan Place; one of my favourite restaurant. As Aiman need to go home early to pack his things for tomorrow, we manage to sneak into MPH before driving back to Shah Alam. I hope Aiman will have the best time during his PKLN stint :-)

Subang Permai Raya Open House...

My sister moved to her brand new house in Subang Permai; actually she bought the house long time ago (I was still in UiTM at that time) and just renovated the house. My mom is here since 6th November; my sister send Ilyas back to Taiping the previous weekend. We arrived at around noon and Arief was sleeping soundly. The menu is nasi putih with sayur campur, sambal tumis ikan bilis with petai, rendang ayam, daging kawah, ulam kampung, laksa, satay and agar-agar sirap. My mom prepared the sambal ikan bilis, sayur campur and agar-agar ikan bilis. We started with nasi putih; the daging kawah was nice and really like the sambal ikan bilis. The relatives arrived in stages from 12.30pm onwards. Arief woke up at around 2pm and was enjoying the huge crowd; he was actively playing with everybody. We were there until 6pm because we were waiting for Wan Jah to arrive. BTW Arief receive RM140 duit raya :-)

IKANO with Arief & Aiman...

We came back from Taiping on Wednesday as Eliza had to work. I've taken my annual leave to spend time with Arief as his babysitter is still in Taiping. We went to IKANO in the morning to shop for Aiman shirt. Arief was enjoying playing with his cousin at IKANO; running around at Padini concept store and playing with the plastic utensils at IKEA Cafe. Suprisingly they did not served meatballs that day. We arrived home at around 2.30pm. Arief did slept for awhile; inside the car while we were travelling home but woke up once we reached home. BTW Aiman played football with Arief in our living room; foam football :-)

Pertunangan Fadzli di Bidong Kedah...

We were really looking forward to this "Pertunangan"; as is everybody; because Fadzli is the one and only son for Acik Nan & Acik Zakiah hence the extra excitement. Just looking at their "Pertunangan" preparation especially the "hantaran", it was beautifully prepared with gold colour schemes (can't wait for the "hantaran perkahwinan" later next year. Acik's and my aunties (my mom included) prepare breakfast for that Monday morning (nasi lemak & mee goreng is the main dish). We began our journey at around 11am with about 15 cars; a lot actually for just a "Pertunangan" but it was expected. I manage to borrow one walkies to add to my existing two walkies; we took one and pass the other two to Fadzli and Fazlin. It was quite funny and enjoyable to communicate via walkies especially when the small kids are involved eg. Akmal. We arrived at around 1pm at Sg Petani North exit. Zura's house is about 15 minutes from the highway. We re-group at the nearby "Balai Rakyat"; it has a big UMNO flag inside and everybody was posing in-front of the flag "pilihanraya" style. And so it began, the pertunangan. I waited outside with Arief and my cousins; the ceremony finishes at around 2pm. The food served was very interesting; ikan siakap bakar with kurma itik. We went home early because it was beginning to rain. We stop by at Juru R&R to buy cucur udang but it was not ready yet. We arrive home at around 4.30pm. To Fadzli and Zura, Selamat Pertunangan and semoga berjaya menempuh dugaan pertunangan dengan sebaik-baiknya. Can't wait for the wedding nanti :-)

GES Tapah Hockey Team Gatherings at KLGCC...

I was invited to attend the gatherings by Datuk R. Yogeswaran, my arwah father hockey teammate in GES (Government English School Tapah). They wanted to celebrate 50 years of winning the inaugural Merdeka National Inter-School Hockey Championship. I remember my arwah father telling me about his achievement in sports and still recall the time that he was searching for the "Green Blazer" that he got from winning the Championship. I nearly didn't make it to the gatherings as Arief was about to be discharge from SMC today. I went with Aiman, wearing my black t-shirt with jeans and sport sandals (the dress code was formal) as I planned to just drop-by and say sorry that I couldn't come. But as I was waiting outside the function room, I noticed the picture of my arwah father on the presentation slide and they were asking if there is any representatives. I immediately went in and introduce myself. Everybody was clapping and asking us to sit down; we duly seated. It was an eye-opener for us; we met with my arwah father teammates and saw his picture in his school hockey team. He looks just like me when I was in my secondary school days (I did play Hockey for my school, KE). At the end of the gatherings, we were each given souvenirs (medal) and door gifts (t-shirts and caps). It was a truly enjoyable evening and I'm proud of my arwah father for being the inaugural winners of Merdeka National Inter-School Hockey Championship :-)

Electricity Blackout...

My mom, sis, Aiman and Ilyas plan to have dinner and watch Arsenal at our house. I went out to buy Nasi Ayam Pak Mal and Nasi Lemak Seksyen 9. While I was on the way home, I've been thinking about the possibilities of an electricity blackout to our house and how it will impact us. Well, it came true. As I was about to solat Maghrib, I noticed the bedroom fan is slowing down and the air-cond LED indicator is off. It took us awhile to locate the candles and torchlights. At the end, we packed all the foods and went to my sis house. The electricity was back to normal at around 10.30pm (called TNB but their response is still not fully repaired, some parts of Seksyen 7 is still experiencing blackout). Luckilly I call our neighbours to verify :-)

Aiman Zafri @ Cucu Tok Chu...

We went to see Aiman Zafri last sunday evening. He is 9 days old and he is big; 4.6 Kilos. He is Tok Chu first "cucu", therefore the family is overwhelmed with happiness. Pak Long @ Zarimie got married a month before me. His wife had to undergo an operation. They didn't scan during the routine check-up so the baby weight was unknown. They thought they were having twins but the Doctor anticipated a huge baby during delivery, thus the operation. We bought "I Love Daddy" clothing for Aiman Zafri and I also bought a bodysuit for Arieft. Strips of blue and the collar resemble the canterbury jersey :-)

Perkahwinan Wandi Part 2...

We drove back to Ipoh in two cars, my sis Sportage and Fadzlis' Kembara. We depart from Seksyen 11 Shah Alam at around 7.30am and make a pit-stop at Shell Station Kelana Jaya (infront of GIANT) and the journey to Ipoh began. We stop at Rawang RnR for breakfast and meet up with Abang Long family. My sis bought nasi lemak and homemade chocolate muffins. The muffins is delicious, the nasi lemak was just ok and the hot milo is excellent. We finally arrive in Ipoh at around 11am.

The wedding is a buffet style affair and the food is prepared by the villagers themselves. I personally adore the chicken. The weather is just nice but the big McDonalds beverage dispenser caught my attention (privileages of having cousin who works in McD). We were caught a bit unprepared when we are about to set the special table from the entourage from Raub but my Bro-in-Law organize it tremendously. It was a bit rushing but we finally finish setting the table just in the nick of time.

The bride and groom arrive at around 1pm and began the bersanding and merenjis ceremony. My sis was the emcee (last minute appointment and we finish preparing the pantun at around noon). The ceremony went well. It was a fun gathering of all my relatives and again the "Hot Topic" is our annual Bowling Tournament. Insya Allah we will try our very best to organize it by the 2nd Quarter of 2005. We went back at around 3.45pm and make our normal pit-stop in Tapah RnR (white coffee and guava). We had our un-plan dinner of Satay Kajang at Sg Buloh. Arrive home at round 8pm. Great wedding, excellent journey and lots of food :-)

Wedding in Raub...

My cousin, Haza Iswandi @ Wandi is getting married last sunday in Raub Pahang to a teacher based in Grik Perak. Wandi is the second from 5 siblings. His eldest brother, Haza Rizal @ Haza is still single like myself and very eligible. His third brother, Haza Yusdi @ Dodi got married in 2004 and currently his wife is expecting their first child. Warida @ Dekda, the only daughter, just graduated and looking for a job. Haza Aris @ Aris, form 4, and broke his toe during a football game last friday. BTW, this is a JV wedding, whereby Wandi bro-in-law is getting married as well.

I went there with my eldest sister and her husband. We depart at around 6.45am (again so early) as we have to reach Raub by 9.30 for the "akad nikah". We stop for breakfast at Genting Sempah. We arrive in Raub Rest House (my uncle was there since saturday with my mom and my cousins) at 9am but the akad nikah was postpone to 10.00am. Geezzzzz... I should have slept more. My Bro-in-Law was "Chef-de-Mission" and he gave an excellent briefing before we proceed to the "Majlis Pernikahan".

The first thing I noticed when we arrive at the bride house is that they are so organized. Parking is already in place for us (about 9 cars) with marshall to lead the way. They even have tents especially for us with a sign "Rombongan from Ipoh". Actually my uncle was from Ipoh but all of us came from KL. The "akad nikah" began at around 10.30am and my cousin "lafaz" on second take. The "Tok Kadi" was nice, no questions were asked. If not, it will add to the suspense. At that point of time, nothing is in your mind apart from just ensuring that you say the "lafaz" correctly and said the right name (not like Ross in his wedding to Emily when he said "I accept Rachel...").

We were then ushered to another house nearby for us to get ready for the "Majlis Bersanding". It was quite hot and luckilly I brought a spare shirt as I was sweating as if I had just completed 3 sets of tennis. Wandi wore light green ensemble and he looks so dashing. We went there by 12.45pm for the "Majlis Bersanding". The crowd is getting bigger. I stayed outside with my nephew, under our designated tent. It was too many people inside. Both the bride and groom parents were called to "menepung tawar" as well as other close relatives.

The "Majlis" finish at about 1.30pm and we had our scrumptious lunch. I like the "rendang daging" and "acar". The dessert was nice too (jelly with fruit cocktail). One thing caught my eye, they have created a wash basin specially for this wedding. Initially I thought it was for drinks (air suam) but it turned out to be a wash basin. Complete with taps. As this was a JV wedding, we can't proceed with "Santapan bersama Pengantin" as the other bride and groom has not arrived yet. They arrive at around 2.00pm and the "Santapan" starts at 2.30pm of which all of my entourage had eaten earlier. Ended up some of us have to eat again. Not me as I am not the "important" one.

We went back at around 4.30pm and I arrive home at around 6.30pm. A complete 12 hour journey. Amazing Race to Raub. Congratulations to Wandi. May you have a prosperous married life with lots of children :-).