The Couplehood Journey of a Distort Soul....

Kenduri di Matang...

I was not feeling very well today due to rambutan and durian that I consume yesterday night. Arief woke up early and play helicopter with Ilyas & Irfan at our courtyard. We went to Matang by noon; and arrive just is time for the doa selamat. The meal was superb; ala nasi kenduri with nasi minyak + kari daging + ayam masak merah + daging rendang + kerabu perut and my mom prepared bubur kacang with durian. We thoroughly enjoy our lunch and family gathering and we went back to Pokok Assam by 4pm. I was exhausted from the mild fever and I slept until 6.30pm. We went back for dinner at Matang by 8.30pm; Arief was already sound asleep. It's the same menu and still delicious. We drove back to Pokok Assam by 10.30pm; and we need to drive home early tomorrow as Arief has a silat reaheasal for a show on 27th December :-)

Balik Kampung & Daging Korban...

We went back to Taiping to celebrate post Raya Haji; we had our morning breakfast of roti canai + nasi lemak with Eliza's parents before we began our journey at around 9.30am. We arrived in Taiping by 12.30pm; just nice for lunch @ my mom's home cooked meal. After lunch I went to visit my fellow WCM @ Farid77 for his Kenduri Aqiqah. Arrived there quite late @ 2pm but the food @ daging korban is still there. I really enjoy having daging kurma with air assam but couldn't ate sup daging as I was too full. We went out in the late evening and we manage to have Cendol Ansari's before it rains @ Arief really likes having cendol. We went to Sri Kota to check on the Streamyx connection @ wifi is excellent but do need to change the computer though. And we manage to play with baby safia before we went back to Pokok Assam for some needed R&R and dinner :-)

Kenduri & Mee Udang...

We went to Tesco Taiping early in the morning to buy some groceries before driving back to Pokok Assam for Aiman's Kenduri Doa Selamat; btw Aiman will be furthering his studies at SUNY Buffalo United States on 18th August. The doa selamat started at around 11am and lunch was served at noon; simple buffet of kurma kambing, ayam masak merah, dhal and acar. Arief was keeping himself busy by playing with Ilyas and Irfan all over the house compound; playing with their new plastic toy gun. I went with Aiman for some char kueh teow; we went to Doli first but there was no parking and we then drove to Kuala Sepetang for their famous mee udang. Mak Jah was too packed and we went to Mak Teh instead; even packed a few for my sister :-)

Nasi Kandar, Windscreen & TT A.Rahman...

We will be driving back to Taiping today with Aiman and Fazlin. We need to swing by Menara TM to pick-up Eliza as she needs to be in the office for a meeting. Fazlin came at around 9.30am and we proceed to my sister's house to pick-up Aiman. We then drove to Menara TM and Eliza concluded her meeting by 11am. Well as I was hungry (Aiman too), we decided to have nasi kandar at Bangsar @ bawah pokok ceri. We both enjoyed the delicious nasi kandar for brunch; btw Fazlin is fasting today so she had to endured us eating the nasi kandar. Arief and Eliza went to the nearby shops to buy his goodies (toys as well) for the journey. We started our journey again by 11.30am; watching G.I. Joe : Rise of the Cobra until we reached Taiping. Arief was sleeping most of the journey though :-)

We even had time to buy Cendol before driving to Pokok Assam. We had our lunch at my mom's house; absolutely delicious. I went to install tint for my windscreen at the nearest Accessories Center while Arief & Eliza rested at home. It was all done by 5.30pm and we went to Sri Kota for our dinner. Arief was playing all over the house and he finally fall asleep at around 9.30pm. I went for my brief WCM TT at A.Rahman Restaurant beside the old TMC; I met with fellow WCM members @ Farid, Zaki and Saiful. I finish my TT at around midnight and went back home for some needed rest & relax :-)

Mastan Ghani, AVON & Mee Udang...

We had our morning breakfast at Ashraf Restaurant after we check-out from Hotel Sutera Jelita; roti canai with milk for Arief. We then drove to Ijam's house for some home cooked bihun goreng before began driving back to Taiping; but not before buying mee rebus & pasembor mastan ghani for lunch. We reached Taiping by 2pm as we took the old route and only used the highway nearby Gopeng; and it was just nice for lunch. Arief was busy playing all over the house as we enjoy my mom's home cooked lunch. We went to AVON at around 5pm; with Arief as he did not sleep at all at home but once he is in the car and drinking his milk; he immediately went to sleep. I sent both Eliza & Arief home before I drove to Mee Udang Kuala Sepetang for a brief WCM TT but it was cancelled due to the rain (washed-out) :-)

WCM TT at Bismillah Restoran...

I conducted my first TT for WCM; an early morning breakfast at Bismillah Restoran Taiping. I was there since 8am and Faridd came at 8.45am; I had already eaten a plate of roti canai and nasi lemak. Soon after that RedWish arrive. We had a long discussion on WISH modification as well as on WISH maintenance where everyone agrees that MPV Proservices is the best. I was advised by the Taiping members to install Pivot Eco Drive to ensure more efficient auto gear shifting. Ajix came at around 9.45am but I had to leave by 10am; need to attend Dekda's wedding in Ipoh :-)

WISH in Taiping...

We drove our WISH back to Taiping today as we have Dekda's wedding on Saturday. We went to pick up Fazlin at her house before heading to Restoran Kayu for breakfast. After breakfast, we drove to my sister's house to pick-up Aiman. We began our journey by 10.30am and it was smooth until we reached Slim River; bottleneck. We exited at Simpang Pulai as we need to drop Fazlin at Regalodge. It took me awhile to configure my GPS to locate the hotel; even got lost as the address is incorrect. We finally found it. We entered the highway again and reached Taiping by 2pm. I really enjoy driving our WISH; so stable and comfortable. We even managed to watch 2 DVDs; Batman Begins and Transformers 2 :-)

Labour Day & Birthday Celebration...

We will be driving back to Taiping today as we will be going to Hard Rock Hotel Penang for our needed RNR. We went to Bangsar first as I need to pass the new tennis balls to TTDuta and had our breakfast of wantan mee at Restoran Berjaya (Fazlin went back with us as well). We arrived at my sister house at 10am (plan to convoy and Arief enjoy playing with the walkie-talkie) and we finally start our journey at 10.30am after numerous entering and exiting my sister house (toilet break as well as forgotten few things). The journey was smooth and we reached Pokok Assam at around 2pm; just nice for lunch. Arief was enjoying the space as well as playing with his cousins all over the living room. BTW I've installed Broadband recently and can't wait to test it but the wireless modem went kaput (lightning surge). So I went out with Aiman and bought Aztech wireless router and the Broadband works brilliantly. I went with my mom to Changkat Jering to buy food for my birthday celebration (murtabak & satay). My sister prepared kuehteow goreng as well as some kuihs that my mom ordered. It was a small yet joyous birthday celebration with families and relatives. BTW I celebrated my birthday with Hazig (22 April) and we cut the birthday cake together :-)

Safiah "Majlis Cukur Rambut" & CNY Traffic Jam...

We started our journey at around 8am; short pit-stop at my sister house. The entrance via Bukit Jelutong Expressway was smooth into Rawang but upon reaching Bukit Beruntung is started to jam. I decided to exit Bukit Jelutong and use the coastal road until Tanjung Malim. It was a good decision though as we escaped the earlier jam but caught in a massive one after Slim River onwards. I decided to exit at Sungkai but it was also jam; had to u-turn into NSE and drive through the jam. Lucky for us it was cleared after Bidor. We faced minor jams approaching the famous Ipoh Tunnel and it was smooth all the way to Changkat Jering. We reached Pokok Assam by 1.30pm and we immediately drove to Matang with my mom and my sister for Safiah "Majlis Cukur Rambut" :-)

BTW my mom's Gazebo is completed and we can't wait to have our evening tea there this evening. I went with my mom to Pasar Changkat Jering and bought pecal, satay ayam and murtabak but we ended up eating most of it at home because it was too hot. We only hang-out at the Gazebo by 6.45pm; it was cooling indeed with the evening breeze. I suggested to my mom to install lamp and a mini-fan for our night session. Arief was happy playing his remote control car in the gazebo while playing around the gazebo looking at my mom's flowers and home-grown vegetables with my sister :-)

Arief eating Cendol in Taiping...

We went back to Taiping on 1st May 2008 (Labour Day); and we make our usual stop at Cendol :-)

Muhin @ Last of the Mohicans Wedding...

Muhin is finally getting married. He is the last of my entourage in Taiping; Fazlan got married first followed by Mahadir; then Mahadi, Pai and myself. BTW Fazlan & Mahadir have two kids while Mahadi, Pai and myself have one. So Muhin; be prepared to fork out many RM in the next coming Raya. We arrived at the wedding at around 1.30pm; Mahadir & Pai was already there. Muhin is in the house; photo taking session with the relatives I guess. Arief was asleep so Eliza ate first. Fazlan & Mahadi came at around 1.45pm. We manage to grab a hold of Muhin at around 2pm++ and he politely introduce us to his wife; and I used the word; "Thanks for Kahwin". We took pictures with the bride and groom;  magnificent with their green and purple ensemble. Fazlan propose for us to play mini football at the Lake Garden in the evening. We duly came; scattered as it may seems at our own time but we did enjoy the gatherings (the last time we played here is when Mahadir came back from US and we played American football). Arief didn't join with Eliza as they were sleeping at home. We decided to organize a trip, maybe during the school holidays. Hopefully this will materialize :-)

Hari Raya Haji 2007...

We went back to Taiping on Thursday morning after I finished solat raya at Masjid Al-Mawaddah Seksyen 7. We manage to grab some breakfast at McDs and fetch Fazlin at around 10.30am. The journey was smooth initially until we reach Behrang; it took us about one hour and a half to reach Sungkai. It was a bad accident involving four cars and one passenger bus. It was quite scary watching the condition of the third car; we prayed that the occupants survive the accident. We arrived in Taiping by 3.30pm (5 hours drive). My mom had already prepared Laksa and Nasi for us; as well as bubur nasi for Arief. We went to Matang that night for dinner, sup tulang. Arief was enjoying the company of his cousins in Matang and Pokok Assam. He played from evening to night. We went back to Sri Kota for some needed R&R at around 11pm and Arief couldn't sleep. Eliza had to hold him standing up before he fell asleep; finally at 3am :-)

Aveo, 5 hours and Birthday...

We went back to Taiping to celebrate Arief birthday in Pokok Assam. We start our journey at around 10.30am, later than my usual 8am. We drove in two cars, our Honda and the Aveo. Eliza nephew, Haziq rides with us and Fadzli drove the Aveo with my father-in-law @ Abah (the Aveo had some minor problems with it's aircond on Thursday ; one of the hose leak). The journey was find until we passes Sg Buloh when it started to jam; massively (big problem for the Aveo as no air-cond). I decided to use the old route through Rawang. From Rawang, I took a wrong turn going to Kuala Selangor. Luckilly I realized it early. We make a U-Turn back proceed back to the right route. It was jam too, mild as compared to the NKVE. We entered NKVE back via Tg Malim and it was clear. The drive from there onwards was smooth but as we reached Bkt Gantang, the jam started again. It was due to a broken down trailer on the left side of the highway. We actually killed time by talking via the walkies. We reached Pokok Assam at around 3.30pm; 5 hours (usually 3 hours the maximum). My mom already prepared a small birthday party for Arief with pulut kuning for his birthday cake; complete with party hats. Arief did the pulut cutting with my mom. BTW Nasi Briani is the main course and we ate all out. Arief got his first motorcycle toy and a musical car :-)

Roti Canai Bismillah...

I went to eat Roti Canai at Bismillah restaurant with Haza and Dodi. It was the first time for both of them and I shared with them the history of Bismillah restaurant and Taiping famous cendol. The cendol guy used to ply his trades outside the Bismillah Restaurant, using the cart with bicycle. A long wooden chairs is provided by the cart but most of the customers will eat standing up or inside the Bismillah Restaurant. Now they sell the cendol in a proper shops. The Roti Canai in Bismillah is famous. During festive season, the Q is tremendous and you will have to come really early to avoid the crawl. We ordered one each with Teh Tarik and Nescafe Tarik for Haza. The roti canai is less oily and the gravy, a mixture of dhall and "spicy serbuk" is simply awesome. It was delicious and we ordered another round :-)

Jam in the Pizza Hut...

We went to Pizza Hut for Eliza's family dinner. We thought it would be empty but it was full to the max. We couldn't get a table that can accomodate all of us (10 in total). Not giving up that easily, I went back in managed to secure two separate tables. As we were about to order our meals, one big tables was empty and we immediately moved in. The waiter had a torrid time figuring out our orders as it came from two separate tables initially. He finally managed to resolve it and we duly received our meals. Well partly as the garlic sticks was served with the pizza. Pity we had to sip the soup without the bread. Arief was sleeping during dinner, it was quite noisy though but Arief slept soundly. We went home by 10.30pm and I went to my grandmother house for supper. We organized a small family gatherings with meals bought from "Pasar Malam Changkat Jering". I was full from Pizza Hut but it does not stop me from eating satay. murtabak and putu piring. Again, I overdose on food :-)

Dentist and Hair Saloon...

We went to the local dentist this morning as Eliza "gigi bongsu" been giving her problem for months. We did went for the dentist in Shah Alam but they quote us RM400 for the whole process plus RM70 for the X-ray. We hope that Taiping dentist won't cost that much. We were suprised when the Doctor told us that the cost will only be RM30. That was cheap. We did asked why others charge so exhorbitantly and the Doctor says, "Is all drama, I can do that too. I ask you to do an x-ray and I charged you RM100++ for it. There is no other way to solve your problems. Just pull the bad tooth out. Simple as that". It saves us a lot and it took only 10 minutes to finish the process. After that both of us went to the Hair Saloon. Eliza went to a small saloon in "Perumahan Hijau" and I went to WELCOME @ RUBY Hair Saloon. They still remember me; I went there with my late father throughout my childhood days and it has been close to 25 years. The place still look and smell the same. We arrive home just nice for the lunch buffet at my grandmother house with Acu Din and his family. Acu Din was here since Friday and Mak Su came with Dodi, Haza and Dekda today. I really like the "kerabu mangga" and chicken curry :-)

IKEA and night driving to Taiping...

We were supposed to make our journey in the evening to Taiping but we went to IKEA first. We are looking for a new wardrobes for our master bedroom and we finally decided to buy the RAMBERG unit. It was on sale, RM200 less. We also bought a single bed frame for Fadzly, also on sale. It was nearly 7pm when we finished our shopping and we decided to have our dinner there. Meatballs is today "Members Special", so we got RM1 discounts and I ordered Herb Chicken. The herb chicken is delicious. Arief was busy playing with the IKEA brochures and children utensils. He kept on throwing the utensils and make noises if we didn't pick it up for him (Arief knows how to manipulate us). We started our journey to Taiping at around 8pm from Kota Damansara. I make a brief toilet stop at Tapah RNR and we reached Taiping by 10.30pm. My mom had already prepared supper and as usual, I overdose on the foods :-)

Kanna Banana Leaf Rice...

We were supposed to go to a wedding in Bangi today but instead we went to Kanna PJ for lunch to meet up with Eliza's Convent friends as Puspan is in town (She resides in Sri Lanka). As I am clueless on  where it is, I surf the net for information and got it from monsterblogs. We arrived there at around 12.30pm and the place is already buzzing with customers. We managed to find a table at the air-cond section, ordered our banana leaf rice and waited for them to arrive. Actually the girls was already there and had booked a table with one baby chair for Arief.

The curry was thick and nice. We took chicken masalla, squids, mutton masalla, beancurd and fried chicken. Arief is busying tearing the banana leaf as he can easily grasp anything in his sight. I personally like the pineapple, cucumber and onion veggies. The fried chicken is delicious but the mutton and squid is just acceptable. The dessert is excellent, soya jelly with longan and Arief agrees with me. It was an enjoyable lunch outing for all of us; Eliza met her Convent friends, Arief played with the banana leaf and enjoyed the dessert. And me, truly enjoy the feast as I was suffering from a major stomach discomfort yesterday morning :-).

Chakri Palace Gatherings...

This was our second gatherings (the first in 2005, same venue) with Elizabeth and her husband Chris. FYI, Elizabeth is Eliza classmate in SMK Convent Taiping. She is now working and residing in Australia. It has become an annual trip for them and us as well, meeting them at Chakri Palace KLCC for lunch or dinner. This time, it is only us and Ai Ping with her son (few months older than Arief) as her husband is recovering from a flu. BTW this is the first time Arief sat in the baby chair. I do like the appetizers, as big as the main course. By the time we started the main course, I am already full but still can squeeze a bit more. Elizabeth and Chris is a lovely couple and I hope they decide to have a baby soon; the more the merrier. Till 2007 then and we will be looking forward to our annual gatherings and by then, Arief is already walking and can sit on his own :-)

Faizal @ Pai Wedding...

I went back to Taiping yesterday for my good friend wedding. Drove like mad as I reach Changkat Jering in 2 hours with an average speed of 140 km/h (inclusive bathroom break and white coffee in Tapah R&R). Sure hope there is no speed trap yesterday.

I have 7 good friends from childhood in Taiping and we are still as close as ever. There's Fazlan @ Lan Kechik, the big brother to all of us (married with 2 childrens and his in-laws makes the utmost delicious nasi ayam). Myself, Azlan @ Lan Kaya (single and very eligible). Mahadir @ Mack (married with 1 children) and his brother Mahadi @ Adi (married and wife expecting in May). Faizal @ Pai (just got married and used to be a Don Juan). Muhin @ Hans Issac Twin (single) and Nasrul @ Acun (married with 2 childrens). And the best part all of us are based in KL :-). I am blessed to have friends who have been there with me since childhood. We have many unforgettable moment together.

Back to Pai Wedding. The food was delicious. Lots of people and the weather is not that bad. Hot but windy. Pai looks dashing in his light green outift, with his bride looking stunning as well. I wish him all the best in his marriage and be blessed with lots of children.

I even have time to have Cendol with all my buddies. Taiping serve the best cendol in Malaysia especially "Ansari's Famous Cendol". On my way back, I drop by to Kuala Kangsar to buy some of their famous Laksa Kuala (Taufik Laksa) for dinner (recommended by my friend). Arrive home around 7pm and was flat out tired. Laksa was excellent. Thought of resting the night away but have a last minute discussion at Alam Sentral (had mango with carrot juice and char kueh teow) of which after that I proceed to De Palma Inn Seksyen 19 Shah Alam for a brief discussion with my new client. A brief discussion that lasted until 1am. I was fighting to keep myself awake during the conversation. Finally arrived home at 1.30am and remember that my car smell like laksa. Need to FeBreeze my car tomorrow morning then :-)