Dubai to Mumbai : So Long Kak Maherah!

away from friends and family, at a faraway land in the middle of the desert, it's good to know that you belong. other than the many new friends i made while i'm here in dubai, i'm glad to say that i also belong to this group of lovely ladies, the isteri-isteri perwakilan malaysia in dubai.


this is our little club, comprises of wives of the consul general, consuls, directors, vice-consuls and officers of malaysian agencies in dubai. fida, nita, adawiyah, kak nor, kak muna, kak nik, kak pah, kak nor, kak sarah, kak maherah, and kak mala - hope i didn't leave anyone out! - i'm certainly new, and still getting to know some of the members, having been absent from the morning meetings because of little kahfi! buzz me for correction, ok?

with kak maherah

at the time of writing i had just returned from the noodle house, madinat jumeirah. we held a farewell dinner for kak maherah, who is moving to mumbai by june. it's a loss, for i enjoy her company; a soft-spoken lady, sweet and demure. i remember together we 'stalked' pak lah during the dinner with malaysians in dubai and got our pictures together with pak lah, and then with datin jeanne.

good times!

fida's super cute cupcakes

fida brought her colourful cupcakes. it was delightfully sweet and spongy! thanks fida, for the appetizer! it was only the second time she tried decorating cupcakes, and i think she's doing well. there was a brief moment of 'cooking class' as fida explained the ingredients she used to make the icing on the cupcakes, then later described what she used to make her hotdog bun taste so soft. fida bukak cooking class lah!


noodle house is classy in its simplicity - cozy lightings which are not too bright, open kitchen where the chefs are visibly busy whipping up the dishes, dark wooden tables with long benches, and a nice layout of cutlery folded in a napkin.

when we first walked in and took our seats, we're surprised to hear a familiar voice singing over the speakers - our darling songbird siti nurhaliza, and my would've-been sister in law - ziana zain! (yah, i have a major crush on anuar zain) they had actually put on malay songs throughout our makan-makan session. telling this to mr. khairul later, he said maybe it's coz they know the malaysian consul general's wife is coming with her entourage...

kak sarah & kak mala looking over the menu - notice the funny pen!

the menu is basically a piece of paper with the list of food serve, with little boxes where you can tick your choices. it comes with a funny lookin pen - woohoo! check out the online menu here.

looking at the menu, they serve the typical dishes of a chinese restaurants in dubai - you've got the noodle dishes, the kung pow chicken, something something with cashew nuts, lemon chicken, bla bla bla - it's all the same. but the taste is what separates the good and the not so. and this one serves pretty decent food. notice that i didn't use the word great...

no matter - i finally found a really good char kuey teow here! at last!


after much discussions, we finally ordered plates of kuey teow (yay!), singapore meehon, some lauk-pauk - chicken, brinjal, fried calamari and crab cakes to be eaten with rice. the lauk-pauk and noodles were served in a plate 'yang macam topi', according to kak maherah.

verdict - the char kuey teow was heavenly. enough said. i've tried more than 5 places that were reported to have 'good' char kuey teow in dubai and they all disappoint except this one! the meehon was a tad bit salty and spicy. still tasted pretty nice but i'd rather have more kuey teow please! oh, and i love the goreng tepung fried calamari! nyum!

a good look at the yummies on our table!

despite the dishes lookin yummy, and with the price that we're paying, plus the interior that spells casual dining - the presentation of the dishes was - well, let's just say i'd expected more! cili bentuk bunga or daun pudina letak atas kuey teow tu takkan tak boleh, ye tak?

and the only decor they plopped on the dessert was cut-up strawberries. for all the dessert! and it's not even fashionably placed. susun lah bentuk pelangi ke, rama-rama ke. ha ha. get a new creative team, people!


next - dessert, anyone?

we ordered a banana beignets (pronounced bey-yay - the french word for 'fritter') with mango syrup and vanilla ice-cream - which is actually goreng pisang dua ketul and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. saje je buh nama beignets tu! also crispy fried wontons with caramel ice-cream. and my personal favorite, the fried ice-cream.

back in shah alam, there's this briyani restaurant we love which also serves ice-cream goreng. it's our must-eat dessert! it has a crunchy bread-like exterior, with the ice-cream inside. the fried ice-cream at the noodle house has the same concept, but it looks much more appealing! thin strands of crunch enveloped the exterior, giving it a rambutan look - with the ice-cream inside. cute!

(taken from fida's fb)

then it's time to call it a night. let's take a group photo for kak maherah to remember us by! so long, sis. may your journey to the land of the taj mahal brings you more interesting experiences, new-found friends and a wonderful life ahead.

good luck and bon voyage!

p/s : thank you kak sarah for dropping me off after the ladies night out. :)

* * *

speaking of saying thanks, my gratitude goes to mr. khairul - my hero, my cook, my nanny and bibik for the night. i came home to three boys sleeping all over the place - kahfi on the couch, mr. khairul lepaking on the carpet with the big pillow tucked behind his back against the sofa, and khaleef sprawling by his side.

sigh. a sight that makes life worth living. i wasn't even complaining as i noticed traces of kulit kacang pistachio and crumbs on the carpet...

you did great, honey and thanks again for the time-out - boleh la i klua selalu, eh? *wink*