Of Present and Future

Today is the last day of 2013. Not that it means anything to me. More significant, today is the last day of school holiday for Ms A. Tomorrow, we have to send her back to school and I feel sad about it.

 

Time like this will make me think if it is the right decision to send her to boarding school. I always believe that you can succeed no matter where you are as long as you give your best effort.

 

The main reason is because we feel that by going to this school, she has a higher chance of getting financial support to pursue her study overseas. She wants to go overseas and we want to see her dream come true. But now... as of today... I'm thinking.. it is worth? Do we have other options?

 

I'm torn and I'm really really sad.

 

She'll be in Form 3 and she's doing well academically so far. She'll be sitting for her O-level in 2015 and I hope after that she can continue her A-level somewhere close to home so I can see her everyday. Hear her giggles, grumbles, shouts and scream.

 

Oh... my eyes filled with tears as I wrote this. This is the sacrifies we have to make for their better future hopefully.

 

May Allah protect her whereever she'll be.

 

Mummy loves you so much and will definitely miss you sweetheart.

 

 

Of Beach and Spicy Food

We went to Phuket for holiday in mid December. Me and En ID go to Thailand almost every year for holiday but this is the first time we bring the kids. Entah la kenapa, I always feel Thailand macam tak selamat untuk kanak kanak. Tapi kali ni, due to limited budget and time, we chose Phuket as our holiday destination this year.

Why Phuket?

First because we've been there several times. We know where to go, what to do, where to stay

Second, we plan to go to Krabi at first but to book Airasia ticket is such a hassle for me. Kejap harga murah, kejap harga mahal. Then website hang pulak. And only Airasia have direct flight to Krabi from here.

We stayed at Novotel Resort Patong. Its up the hill tapi tepi pantai. Saya pilih hotel up the hill sebab takut tsunami! hehehehe.

Tapi turun tangga dah sampai pantai. Itupun saya sentiasa waspada, pandang laut sentiasa bila the girls mandi pantai. Mummy dia ni memang phobia. Bak kata En. ID, saya sentiasa hidup dalam ketakutan! Tapi mungkin betul jugak, when it comes to my girls, I am over protective.

We were there for 6 days. Doing nothing much. Just relax, enjoy the beach and food. We also went to Khai Island for snorkelling.

Halal food in Phuket is everywhere. Dari gerai tepi jalan hingga ke food court dan restaurants. Tapi one thing we noticed, harga halal food di gerai tepi jalan dengan harga di restaurant adalah sama. And its quite pricey.

So here are some of the suggestion on where to eat halal food in Phuket:

1. Muslim stalls along Patong Beach

These muslim stalls sell phad thai, nasi goreng, ayam bakar dan drinks.

 

Ayam Bakar 100 baht

 

 

Phad Thai 80 baht

 

 

Teh O Ais 60 baht

*teh o ais kedai mamak naik RM1.80 kau bising... merasa lah minum teh o ais tepi jalan RM 6.00!

 

 

Small pineapple 20 baht each. Sedap. Manis dan rangup

 

 

2. Kusuma Seafood.

 

This restaurant is quite famous. It's a gerai actually. Along the main road (tak tau nama jalan but near to Novotel Vintage Park) where there is a stretch of seafood restaurant.

 

We use to come here during our previous visit and its highly recommended but this time, the food quality is quite bad. Rasanya, tomyam kat Malaysia lagi sedap. May be sebab ramai sangat orang yang datang or they concentrate more on those expensive seafood so kalau order menu biasa, jadi tak best.

 

However, the price is slightly cheaper than those gerai tepi jalan kat Patong Beach tu. Teh o ais kat sini baru 40 baht, phad thai 50 baht.



 

Kangkung Goreng

 

Mango juice.

 

Chicken with basil leaves.

 

 

Prawn in green curry

 

 

Harga tak ingat tapi total bill for these and sotong goreng tepung, 3 teh o ais dan 4 nasi is 660 baht

 

Waktu malam juga ada banyak gerai di Bangla Road yang jual pancake macam ni

 

Banana with nutella pancake

80 to 100 baht

 

 

Ada dua version, satu jenis crepe and another jenis roti canai. Dua dua pun sedap.

 

Other place to find halal food is at the Jungceylon Mall. The food court has 3 halal stalls. Harga lebih kurang macam Kusuma Seafood juga tapi portion nya agak besar.

 

KFC di Jungceylon Mall juga halal. Tapi hargainya jauh lebih mahal dari kat tempat kita. Snack plate set consist of 2 pieces chicken, medium fries and a soda cost 169 baht. Which is double the price. And the egg tart is 35 baht each.

 

 

We are not complaining so much about the price sebab nak makan kan. Takkan nak berkira sangat. But at the same time, saya amat bersyukur hidup di bumi Malaysia. Makan senang, sedap dan affordable.

 

 



 

 

Cuba teka siapa yang tak mengikut tema tu?

 

Of course my Ms M.

 

 

Durian oh... durian

En ID suka makan durian. And we have found port bagus durian at USJ 14. Almost tiap minggu kami pergi. Just me and him. Dating makan durian.

 

 

 

 

Semalam kami pergi tapi tutup pulak. Stock durian dah habis ke?

 

Azam Berazam

I never make a resolution for a new year. Tahun silih berganti and I'm still who I am...

Tapi tahun ni nak tukar skit lah. Nak start tanam azam. We'll see menjadik ke tak.

FOR 2014, I WANT TO:

1. REDUCE WEIGHT BY 10 kg

• For the last 2 years, I gained 8 kg. And I think I gained 5 kg in 2013 alone. Blame it on my metabolism. It's either sleeping, in deep coma or totally dead!!!! I don't eat that much but the pounds keep piling up! So, I must do something about it!

2. REDUCE MY DEBT BY 30%

• I'm the real life example of that shopoholic girl in that famous book. I need to freeze my credit card. My spending habit had resulted in my very bad credit rating. So, I really need to change that. First step is to reduce 30% of the current debt. Meleleh lah air liur tengok sale nanti...

3. REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE

• I want to change my habit for a better environment. I always concern about the environment but never really seriously doing something about it. So, starting 2014, I pledge to reduce my electricity bill by 10% (good for the pocket as well), recycle my waste whenever possible (I learnt how to make baja kompos the other day...), plant more trees around the house and use less water.

I think 3 resolutions would be enough for a start. Lets see how it goes. I shall track and report my progress every end of the month until December 2014.

2014 HERE I COME!!!!

Of A's and Success in Life

Hari ni keputusan PMR keluar. Saya tiada anak yang ambil PMR tahun ni tapi ramai anak sedara, anak kawan kawan yang saya anggap macam anak saya sendiri yg berdebar menunggu keputusan PMR.

To all PMR kids... Congratulations!!! Regardless how many A's you've got. You've done well!

LETS CELEBRATE OUR CHILDREN TODAY! FOR WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT EVER THEY WANT TO BE.

THEY ARE ALL CHAMPIONS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT

TODAY IS ONE EVENT IN THEIR LIFE JOURNEY

AND THERE WILL BE MANY MORE EVENTS, UPS AND DOWNS.

BE PROUD OF THEM FOR EVERY ACHIEVEMENT THEY MAKE. NO MATTER HOW SMALL IT IS.

AND LIFT THEM UP WHEN THEY FALL DOWN

AS ITS THE JOURNEY THAT MATTERS

Back to Reality

Back in office after 6 days of holiday.

MOOD: SERABUT

Kita minum dulu......!!!!!

Hujung Minggu

Salam Jumaat.

Sedar tak sedar, dah sampai ke penghujung minggu.
Hujung minggu saya adalah masa untuk keluarga.
Macam macam plan dah ada dalam kepala.

Esok pagi Ms M ada swimming assessment.
Saya sentiasa berdebar bila dia ada assessment.
Walaupun bukan apa sangat pun.
Tapi pencapaian anak walau sekecil mana.
Will still swell my heart and bring tears to my eyes.
Dan kalau dia tidak berjaya.
Hati saya yang lebih pilu
Ms M seperti biasa... life goes on....

Selepas tu, nak kena jenguk peti ais.
Apa stock yang ada, apa yang dah expired
Hari Ahad boleh ke pasar.

Esok rasa macam nak masak nasi biryani daging juga .
Kegemaran En. ID saya
Dan rasa macam nak ajar Ms A buat brownies
Or simple bread
Mummy - daughter bonding time

Malam nak pergi ke rumah Mama saya.
Mummy - daughter bonding time juga

Hari Ahad nanti Ms A kena balik ke sekolah dia.
Kena bertugas semasa interview kemasukan pelajar tingkatan 1
And since we are going for holiday next week
Nak kena pack terus untuk dia

Balik dari hantar Ms A, nak singgah ke rumah kakak saya
Saja nak beramah mesra

Oh... tak sabar nak berhujung minggu

Sebelum tu, jangan lupa baca surah Al Kahfi hari ni yer....

My Ms M

Anak saya yang seorang ni memang unik. She was born unique. Siapa siapa yang jumpa dia akan perasan keunikan budak sorang ni. Dan sepanjang 11 tahun saya hidup bersama anugerah Allah ini, macam macam benda yang dia buat yang membuatkan saya tersenyum bila mengingatkan.

 

When she was a baby, she's a happy baby. Hardly cry. When she laugh, she laugh big and loud.

 

Masa umur 2 tahun, dia lari masuk bilik air dan kunci bilik air dari dalam. Masa tu En. ID was in hospital. Panik saya dan bibik sebab takut apa apa jadi dalam bilik air yang ada baldi berisi air. Sementara bibik tengokkan dia dari cermin tingkap bilik air, saya panggil locksmith untuk buka bilik air tu. Mujur tak ada apa apa berlaku

 

Masa umur 2 1/2 tahun, saya dikejutkan dengan panggilan dari bibik pagi pagi sesampai saya di ofis. "Ibu... saya minta maaf bu.... adik bu... ya Allah bu... saya minta maaf" ulang bibik berkali kali. "Kenapa? Kenapa?" saya dah panik. "Adik potong rambutnya masa saya sedang mandi".

Saya balik, botak separuh rambut dia potong dengan gunting dapur. Bibik had a long lecture about not leaving her alone and house safety. Saya terpaksa potong rambut Ms M hampir botak untuk ratakan balik rambut dia. And because of that, dari berambut ikal lembut, sampai sekarang rambut dia kasar dan lebat.

 

At 4 years old, I lost her in Hong Kong Disneyland!

 

She talks non stop. Her favorite words that we always remember

 

"Close your eyes... no peeking".... whenever we play

"Talk to my hand"... (seriously... she said that when she's 3 when she doesn't want to hear anything which invited a stern look from us)

"Les tu" which mean "lepas tu"

"Kape?" for "kenapa?"

 

We sent her to kindy when she's 3 1/2. And she changed kindy many times.

We sent her to Sri Zesta for a while together with her sister then stop when Ms A masuk Darjah 1.

 

then

 

We sent her to Smart Reader when she 4 years old , had to pull out after 6 months because she refuse to talk in class. She just shut herself up. And it worry us because its a drastic change of behaviour

 

then pindah ke Krista. Tahan satu setengah tahun di Krista and she enjoyed Krista sebab cikgu cikgu nya baik baik sangat. Ikutkan aje cakap dia. Cikgu dia kata, kalau cikgu marah, dia akan berdiri belakang langsir and pretend that she is invisible. Homework tak buat pun cikgu tak marah. Mana tak suka kan?

 

Bila umur 6 tahun, saya tukarkan ke Q-Dees sebab saya rasa, masa untuk main main dah habis. Its time to learn. By now, Ms M masih tak boleh baca Bahasa Melayu. Only English. With an additional Mandarin lesson in Q-Dees, its a tough time for her.

 

By the way, Ms M only speaks English. Masa tu tak de lah risau sangat bila dia tak tahu cakap Melayu. Tak tahu yang bukan sikit sikit. Memang tak tahu langsung. Kalau saya cakap melayu dengan dia, dia akan cakap "English please". Masa tu Ms A ada untuk translate apa yang dia nak cakap pada bibik. Kalau yang dia tahu cakap pun basic malay macam "nak makan", "nak minum", "nak pergi taman".

 

Cikgu di Q Dees pernah cerita, dia dan kawan dia, juga budak melayu tapi tinggal lama di Australia, tengah buat colouring. Kemudian datang la sorang budak cina nak main sama. Budak cina tu ambik crayon kuning and cakap "ini kuning ke?" and Ms M and her friend, Raina looked at the girl like she's talking alien!

 

One day, Ms M came home and said her Mandarin teacher did not allow her to go to toilet during mandarin class. I asked the teacher why and the teacher said every day, at the start of the class, Ms M will say "Teacher I want to go to the toilet" in Mandarin and stay in the toilet until end of the session! hahahahaha... patut la cikgu tak kasi pergi dah. Ada ajer akal dia.

 

Because of the language barrier, she doesn't do well in kelas agama also. Ms A cakap adik asik tido aje kat kelas agama sebab dia tak paham apa ustazah cakap. And the ustazah tak boleh explain kat dia.

 

Bila masuk sekolah rendah, she masih tak lancar cakap Melayu. Cakap pun masih pelat. Sampai cikgu ingat mak dia gurkha sebab nak kata anak mat saleh, tak de rupa pan asian pun. She once asked me "Mummy.. am I English?" hahahaha... tak.... Kita Jawa..!

 

Now, at 11 years old, selepas setahun saya panggil tutor datang rumah ajar dia Bahasa Melayu, adalah improvement. Dah boleh la dapat markah 60 untuk BM. Dah pandai cakap bahasa Melayu dengan betul. Dan saya panggil juga ustazah ajar dia fardhu ain dan mengaji di rumah supaya dia lebih paham.

Tapi perangai pelik dia tu tetap ada. She still have 7 imaginary friends. She has a stuffed monkey named Kira yang dia bawak pergi mana mana. Dia tak makan sos and pegang botol sos pun tak nak. And because of her, rumah saya tak ada sos.

She is still the happy Ms M. Hidup sentiasa stress free. Bak kata Mama saya "Tak ada apa yang jadi kudis kat budak ni".

 

Everyone of us was born unique. And this is my unique Ms M

 

 

 

WW: PEACE

Kunming Islamic Restaurant

Kunming Islamic Restaurant

No 26, Lane 81,

Fuxing North Road,

Taipei

Restoran ni agak tersorok. Seperti biasa, saya suruh orang hotel tuliskan alamatnya in chinese dan cuma tunjukkan pada taxi driver. Bila teksi berenti di depan satu lorong kecik, cuak juga rasa, Betul ke alamat ni? Kami tanya orang disitu dan disuruh jalan terus di dalam lorong kecik tu. One thing about Taiwanese, they are very helpful. Kalau tanya arah, bersungguh sungguh dia akan tunjukkan.                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

The restaurant is small but cosy

 

 

 

 

Nasi Biryani Ayam NTD 200

 

 

Fried Beef with Green Pepper

 NTD 260

 

This restaurant also serve Indian food like capati, masala and dhall.

 

Dari pengalaman selama 10 hari di Taipei ni, orang orang Taiwan lain dari orang di China atau Hong Kong. Taiwanese are more friendly, they speak English better, lebih bersopan dan bandar Taipei lebih bersih dan teratur.

 



WW: Rindu

 

 

Yunus Halal Restaurant

This is one of the famous halal restaurant in Taipei.

Alamat:

36, Bei Ning Road,
Songshan District,
Taipei

Saya pergi naik teksi. Kena suruh orang hotel tuliskan alamat dalam bahasa mandarin. Kalau tidak, teksi driver mungkin susah nak paham. Bei Ning Raod tu orang sini sebut Pei Ning Lu.

Landmark nya sebelah stadium. Stadium apa tak tau... hehehehe

First time tu saya pergi malam.

 

Kangkung goreng belacan NTD 190

 

Seafood Tomyam NTD 290

 

Teipen Fried Beef NTD 290

 

 

Fish ball Soup NTD 290

 

Dessert bubur pulut hitam diberi percuma

 

 

Sambal cili

 

 

Air diberi percuma. Free flow of tea, milo, orange juice and Nestea.

 

 

Kaunter air. Ambil sendiri

 

 

Saya makan 3 orang and total bill is NTD 1342 termasuk 10% tax.

 

 

Semalam, kawan saya yang dari Indonesia dah balik, dan saya repeat pergi kedai ni sorang sorang. Kali ni order......



 

Chicken with cashew nut NTD 290

 

Kangkung lagi

 

Ada rombongan mungkin muslim dari negara China

 

Bungkus Pineapple Rice Rice untuk dinner.

NTD 290

 

 

Chinese Tea FOC

 

 

Total bill NTD 900.

 

Tuan punya kedai ni orang Thailand. Sungguh peramah. Wife orang Taiwan. Manis bertudung wife dia.

  

Disebelah kedai Yunus ni ada lagi satu kedai halal. Halal Bismillah Restaurant. Nampak sunyi saja tak ada orang. Saya belum cuba lagi. 

 

 

 

 



Ai -Jia Qingzhen Beef Noodle Place

Before travelling to new country, selalunya saya akan cari di internet mana restoren halal paling dekat dengan hotel yang saya akan duduk. Walaupun saya bukan jenis yang kena makan proper meal, tapi carik la jugak kot tiba rasa nak makan nasi kan?

My usual meal kalau di negara yang tak de makanan halal will be bread and soft boil egg for breakfast. Salad and fruits for lunch. Kalau nasib baik dapat la grill fish. And malam, vegetarian pizza or just plain chips will do. Kalau ada halal restoren dekat dekat, maka kesitu lah setiap hari. Kalau tak ada, maggi pun ok.

Tapi dari pengalaman saya, restoren halal ada di mana mana. So tak de alasan tak boleh dapat makanan halal. Saya pernah ke Nay Phi Taw, the administrative city for Myammar. 5 jam by bus from Yangoon. Padang jarak, padang tekukur. Tapi masih boleh jumpa restoren halal.

Hari pertama saya di Taipei, makan maggi sahaja di bilik. Hari kedua, saya ada official dinner di hotel. Malam ketiga baru dapat keluar. So, me and my Indonesian friend decided to try halal local food.

 

We wanted to go to Ai Jia Qingzhen Beef Noodle. Alamat yang tertera di Zabihah.com is

 

(Ai-Jia) Qingzhen Beef Noodle Place

41, Alley 223, Zhongxiao East Road,

Section 4 

Taipei

 

Tapi bila saya tunjukkan alamat tu pada orang hotel, dia check and cakap restoren tu dah pindah. Dia siap call restoren tu tanya alamat baru dan tunjuk arah macam mana nak pergi. Jadi saya tak ada alamat baru tapi saya boleh cerita bagaimana untuk ke sana.

 

We took MTR (ala ala LRT la..) ke station Xiamen. Keluar dari station Xiamen ikut Exit 5. Jalan terus sampai nampak kedai 11 Eleven. Bertentangan dengan 11 Eleven tu ada Taisugar Hotel. Masuk ke kanan dan jalan terus. Simpang pertama, nama jalannya Yan Ping S. Road ( S tu South tapi memang dia tulis S saja), masuk kiri dan dah boleh nampak restorennya.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dari jauh lagi tuan kedai ni dah bagi salam. Suka dia nampak orang muslim agaknya

 

 

 

Dalam restoren bersih dan teratur

 

 

Menu.

 

Appetiser. Self Service

 

Ada ambik tapi lupa harga berapa

 

Tukang masak

 

Ada macam macam lagi jenis noodle tapi saya order yang ni.

 

Taiwan Beef Noodle

Harga: NTD 120.

 

 

Rasanya biasa saja. Macam bakso la sikit sikit. Not something that I will go for again.

 

Kalau nak cheap halal food, this place is recommended. NTB 120 (RM 13.40) is considered cheap for halal food.