Nostalgia Beraya di Hari Raya

ada sape lagi nak jemput datang open house raya? di dubai, orang tempatan raya sehari sama rakan dan keluarga; hari yang kedua bercuti ke negara jiran atau tempat peranginan. malaysians? syawal kan sebulan!

seronoknya pergi beraya. kecik-kecik dapat duit raya, dah besa ni seronok tengok anak dapat duit raya.

beraya - bagi aku bagaikan evolusi. memori terawal beraya aku pastinya di sisi keluarga. kemudian evolve kepada beraya sendiri-sendiri bersama member-member, dan kini beraya dengan keluarga sendiri - suami dan anak-anak.

masa kecik-kecik dulu, kalau raya je mesti balik teluk intan belah abah, sebab mak pun dah lama yatim piatu. raya ke-3 - 4 baru ke taiping rumah tokcik. masa tu opah (mak abah) ada lagi, 7-7 adik-beradik abah akan balik kampung. mak cho, pak huri, mak yang, pakcik kudus, mak nyah ngan mak cu. campur anak-anak suma memang riuh. rasanya ada dalam 30 cousins aku!

raya pertama, lepas melawat kubur atuk shoib, mesti pegi 2-3 rumah yang sama tiap tahun. rasanya tuan rumah dah bersedia bila nampak batallion cucu tok shoib datang beraya. memang kecoh, memang bising, memang perabih kuih raya, lemang dan minuman kordial!

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raya ke-3 atau 4, kalau tak ke rumah tokcik jumpa anak-anak tokcik mak long, pak ngah, uncle lim dan ucu sefamily, kami ke kuala lumpur. kat kl semestinya port kami di rumah cousin mak yg dah macam kakak sendiri; mak keh. yang pasti turut serta - adik-adik mak; auntyna, cik ngan cu sefamily.

* (my mom's mother, mak keh's mother and tokcik are sisters)

rindunya nak beraya ramai-ramai!

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just10 raya @ year 2000 : wani, niraku & syu (standing) and me, hani & fazlein (sitting down)

bila dah besa sket, mak kasi jalan beraya sendiri dengan member-member. kenangan paling best pastinya beraya dengan gang just10. rumah aku paling hampir dengan rumah asmatul, niraku ngan fazlein. ingat lagi masa tu berjalan kaki je nak pergi beraya. jalan ramai-ramai sambil bersembang, tak ingat panas dan letih. memang seronok.

bila dah masuk 17 tahun ke atas, seingat aku niraku adalah member pertama yang berkereta. jadi, daripada berjalan kaki, kami upgrade kepada kereta. sumbatlah kami 6-7 orang dalam kereta niraku tu nak beraya. sungguh berjasa kereta tu! masing-masing kebanyakan belum bertudung, dengan jeans, atau tudung senget-senget.

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just10 raya @ 2003 : fazlein, syu, safira, wani (on the sofa) and anneeza, niraku & me

tiap-tiap kali raya kami cuba berkumpul. itulah reunion kami lepas semuanya terbang ke uni dan kolej masing-masing.

menjelang graduasi, rasanya rata-rata dah berkereta. daripada berjalan kaki dan bersempit-sempit dalam kereta niraku - lepas tu kalau beraya pasti tidak kurang 5 bijik kereta bertapak kat depan rumah.

yang paling seronok, walaupun kami dah muda remaja, dan baru-baru bekerjaya merasa duit sendiri - masih lagi mak-mak just10 kasi duit raya bila beraya. pada mereka kami masih anak-anak kecik yang beraya ke rumah diorang dari zaman sekolah-sekolah lagi!

selain dari sumber pengangkutan yang bertambah maju (dari berjalan kaki, naik bas, satu kereta ke 5-6 bijik kereta), satu lagi perubahan ketara ialah fesyen. daripada sekadar jeans dan tudung senget; raya-raya yang mendatang lepas tu menampakkan betapa kami budak-budak just10 comot dah jadi kupu-kupu - boyish dah jadi feminin - yang tudung senget dah tudung lilit-lilit - semuanya bergaya, dan ada yang pertama kali mengenakan make-up dan high heels!

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just10 raya @ 2007 : me, hani, wani & niraku

raya yg akhir bersama just10 sebelum ke dubai, masing-masing datang beraya dengan suami, dengan anak-anak. memang evolusi betul. dari kami budak sekolah, ke mak budak. dulu mak-mak kasi duit raya, sekarang jadi opah yang kasi just10 juniors duit raya. malahan bukan saja dapat duit raya dari opah-opah ni, tapi juga dari makcik-makcik just10 seniors!

cerita raya bukan lagi gosip budak lelaki cun, homework raya atau 'cuti raya uni sampai bila'. masa tu kisah sembang berpusat pada anak-anak, bertukar jabatan, dan rancangan melanjutkan pelajaran.

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evolusi berterusan!

kini di dubai, aku beraya dengan suami dan anak-anak. rasanya beraya di dubai ni lagi terasa beraya rumah kawan-kawan kerana bagai semuanya nak buat open house, terutama raya pertama dan kedua. rasanya di malaysia memang tak pernah kami suami isteri beraya dari rumah ke rumah dari pagi lepas solat hari raya sampai ke malam satu syawal, dan sehari suntuk hari kedua jugak!

yang paling seronok pastinya dapat merasa makanan malaysia walau jauh di perantauan. laksa, nasi lemak, nasi dagang, nasi ayam, nasi minyak, satay, keropok lekor, soto, rendang pelbagai rasa, serunding, lemang, ketupat dan kuih raya yang bermacam rupa - memang mewah hidangan raya di dubai!

cakap-cakap tentang makanan ni, nak ulang soalan kat atas tadi - ada sape lagi ke nak jemput ke open house raya? *sengih*

Lelaki Ini

i have a major crush on this guy. nuff said.


sigh. wish i could go...

Salam Perantauan

when i was studying in melbourne, i think i sent out 3 salam perantauan - one was a group photo with my fellow malaysia hall-ians, another one with kak laily, liyana and nurin wearing our melbourne msia hall t-shirt, and another one with syima, syida and azi during their visit to melbourne university.

gile glamour! haha.

how bout did year? my sis syidot in melbourne, buddies niraku in UK, aisha in US, hani in korea and wai in sydney - didja guys send in your raya picts to salam perantauan at utusan online?

i didn't, but - well, khaleef and kahfi did! click here to see their raya well-wishes!


..or i'll just cut and paste it here!

Nama Pengirim: Khaleef Bin Khairul dan Kahfi Bin Khairul

Lokasi Pengirim: Dubai, Emiriyah Arab Bersatu (United Arab Emirates)

Nama Penerima: Atuk Ipoh dan Opah Umi (Hj Sharifuddin dan Pn. Raihan) beserta Atuk Kg Lalang dan Opah (Hj Anwar dan Hjh Norazian) dan ibu dan bapa saudara - Mak Long Syimee, Auntie Ma, Pak Ngah K, Auntie Da, Mak Su Azi, Auntie Na, Ateh, Pak Su Asrar dan Auntie Sofia. Tidak dilupakan abang dan adik saudara (cousins) - Abang Haiqal, Abang Haqeem, Sufiyya, Husna, Marissa dan Wafa.

Lokasi Penerima: Ipoh dan Kampung Lalang, Perak.

Ucapan: Bila menjamah lemang, ketupat dan rendang, ingat-ingatlah kami adik beradik, mak dan bapak (Syigim dan Khairul) di tanah arab ini! Kami minta ampun dan maaf zahir batin, semoga aidilfitri kali ini tetap meriah walaupun pertama kali berjauhan dengan keluarga tercinta!

Pengenalan Gambar: Khaleef (baju biru gelap - 4 tahun) dan Kahfi (8 bulan)

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got some raya picts of mr. khairul's family in kg. lalang and my family in ipoh to share with you, my friends and fellow bloggers!


raya was incomplete on the first of syawal at kg lalang, as their big brother 'along' wasn't there to share their joy and merriment. tears flow down as a call came around 10am dubai time from the anak yang merantau. isk isk. they could never get used to not having their along around, even though this is the 5th year mr. khairul celebrated raya abroad, way back since his michigan and chicago days.

but no matter, i'm sure it's still as meriah, especially since it's the first raya they welcome their first grand-daughter and niece; wafa (whose adorable face is somehow more 'gangster' and intimidating than the ever tersengih kahfi!)

raya at my in-laws place would be missed, as it really gives the feel of kampung raya with sounds of ayam and kambing in the wee morning and cengkerik concerts in the middle of the night.

selamat hari raya, maaf zahir batin. tahun-tahun depan kami cuba balik raya!

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as you might already know, abah celebrated his 62nd birthday on the first of syawal. when i called to wish abah at 3am dubai time, he didn't even remember it was his special day!

i thank God for another year with abah, may Allah lanjutkan usia abah and grant him happiness and the best of health!

love always!


this is the raya family potrait of my eldest sister syimee, her husband abg mat and her kiddos - haiqal syahid, haqeem syukran and aisyah husna. hmm, interesting choice of color this year, yong - salmon pink for your boys, eh?

the kiddos' expression really showed their characters - haiqal the eldest with his composed, 'abang' look, haqeem the family clown in his cheeky pose while husna takes on her mama - expression control senyum sebijik macam yong lah!

miss you guys so much!


family of scientists - this is my younger sister syima, her husband din and their girls - sufiyya syafiqah and the newly born marissa marha. syima had just finished her confinement period, and i'm sure she's just started to enjoy raya dishes right now.

i was glad marissa was born 2 days before i was scheduled to fly off back to dubai - so i met the new addition to our family before i go.

miss the two princesses!


did you know azi spent last year's raya with syida in melbourne? she flew all by herself to the land down under and lepak-lepak with syida for the first few weeks of raya.

sometimes i think my two youngest sisters are more independent and adventurous during their college years than i ever was.

missing you both syidot and azot!

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to the rest, continue to have a fun-filled syawal! saving the best for last, here's the clip taken from yong's facebook, of her two boys, haiqal and haqeem wishing me and their aunty da a happy hari raya. enjoy!

Hari Raya Open House @ Syigim's

i hosted a hari raya open house. ok.

i cooked. spaghetti and nasi minyak. fine.

i single-handedly cooked (with the help of mr. khairul in cuting the onions and vegetables) for almost 70 people. daymn!

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this is about to be a loooong, syok-sendiri-i'm-so-proud-of-myself posting. save yourself and leave this page NOW. stubborn, are you? fine! you have been warned.

ok for those of you who are used to cooking for large amount of people, this is no biggie. and for people like my friend fazlein who can whip up a good fish curry at the age of 14, this is nothing to shout about either. and for couples who have vast experience hosting raya open house for years and years, this is no front-page news also.

i do not belong to any of those group of people. when i cook a lot, i cook for my family. i have no idea how to make fish curry, and the only raya open house we have ever hosted as a couple was in conjunction with khaleef's first birthday, and even then we had a lot of help.

even hosting raya open house with my family in ipoh, we would order food out - lemang, satay and stuff, ask my mom's sister cik to make her char kuey teow and mak would make her yummy chicken rendang.

i don't cook!

my pride and joy - a huge pot of spaghetti sauce, nasi minyak and ayam masak merah

so yes, this raya open house we're hosting in dubai IS a big thing. we had a list, we had a budget, we had the possible number of guests, we had the what ifs, and we had plan A and plan B - when in doubt we're even thinking of calling my mom-in-law for advice!

ok, you have to understand that i'm making a big deal here because we rarely hosted a makan-makan this huge! ok rare would be wrong - almost never would be more accurate!

we wanted to order our favourite 'drug' nasi mandi - senang, takyah pikir banyak-banyak. but figured that hey, it's raya - let's put some effort and cook something from scratch for our dubai friends. so what can you cook, syigim?

kalau yang terer masak, macam-macam menu timbul, sampai susah nak pilih yang mana satu nak masak. but for me, the choices are limited - spaghetti is about the only thing i'm confident of cooking. oh, and the simple nasi minyak recipe that mak left for me. whip up some ayam masak merah my style - and voila - we got our main menu.

but it all went well - and yes, i will say it again and again - i am very proud of myself for cooking a nasi minyak that is not keras nor hangit (though an 'unsuccessful' nasi minyak because a lot of people seemed to think it was nasi lemak), an ayam merah dish with lovely peas and tomatoes and one heck of a big pot of spaghetti sauce.


mr. khairul helped peel the garlic and onions, cut up the vegetables and sliced the oranges. he was the nanny through-out my cooking adventures in the kitchen. he prepared the hall for guests to arrive.

he really wanted to help me cook, but you know me and my kitchen and my system. no one messes with my system! thanks, but no thanks, honey. leave my kitchen alone, and you go layan the boys lah while i fry the chicken!


khaleef was all ready with a complete baju melayu and sampin, while i put up the raya decor, just a smidge to get a little feel of raya. kahfi was already getting sleepy, and i was hoping that he would sleep by the time the first guests start to arrive.


i also bake the easiest sweeties i know - puding roti choc chip. easy, fast with simple ingredients and no using the mixer. that morning i also boiled the instant ketupat daun palas and lemang, and cut out the nasi himpit that kak ziela gave me from the extras at her open house the night before.

i poured in the serunding brought from malaysia and heated up the instant kuah kacang. i boiled the pasta and grated the cheese for my spaghetti. i took out my bottles of fried anchovies, cut-up the boiled eggs and finally prepared my super-spicy sambal. (ikan bilis, telur rebus, sambal - patutla orang ingat aku buat nasi lemak!)

..and then we waited.

fauziah, fairoz and their youngest hanna. rugi no picture of azfar in the green baju melayu!

ding dong! our first guests arrived! it was my uni-mate fauziah and hubby fairoz with their kiddos azfar and hanna, complete in their baju melayu and baju kurung. adorable. she brought, among others, a huge plate of 'arab sweets' or baklava that became one of the many conversation pieces throughout the evening.

thanks dear! (psst! roti canai homemade satu! oh, make it 5 pieces, just for me!)

help yourselves, please! ada spaghetti, nasi minyak, ayam merah and kari ayam. makan, makan!

and after that, our dubai friends started arriving in gerombolans! kak zaida and bro imran with their girls bringing kak ani and family whom i newly met, tokeh cendol eiyda and bro nik all the way from sharjah with her twinkling daughters, kak jah (my esteemed tukang urut during my pantang) from mirdiff came with hubby and daughter, and tokeh roti fida and amran with their kiddos. terima kasih sudi datang!

also arriving was the current myUAEpro president bro affandy, wife kak su and kiddos. he actually showed interests in my x-files collection! i was touched. isk isk. nah, actually it was super cool. i saw him in a new light that day. haha.

mr. radha with baby rajsree, wife sreeja and son, rahul

mr. khairul's right-hand-man, radha and wife sreeja joined in, bringing a gigantic pot of chicken curry - an original make from kerala - an addition to the lauk for my nasi minyak. thanks so much, dear sreeja! it was really a big help!

from top : adawiah & family, haikal & nyta with kiddos and adzlin & faizal with baby haffiy

more came soon after that - nyta, a sexy mom expecting twins, and hubby haikal with their kiddos, adawiah and hubby with son adam, and adzlin and faizal with little baby haffiy who wore a teenie tiny baju melayu though he could barely crawl or even turn by himself yet! cute!

the 4As - afza, aida, alya & adly

mr. khairul's mckk classmate afza came after what seemed hours of car-park searching! nasib baik dapat jugak. aida with kids alya and baby adly dah selamat makan!

bro zaim's wife, bro faisal with wife kak muna & their kids

soon, other mcobs started showing up with their families; bro faisal and bro zaim. too bad lah kamil you kat malaysia. rugi tau!


we took all our resources (carpet, carpets, carpetS!) and blanketed the whole hall, hoping that the guests would be comfortable enjoying their raya dish on the floor. the guests seemed to be adding up by the hour and we hoped we have enough food (and space) to go around!

since kahfi was sound asleep in his crib in our main bedroom, i had ample time to roam about making sure guests were at ease and their tummies properly filled. i could freely walked about the kitchen topping-up the spaghetti sauce and other dishes; making sure everything was enough and most importantly - served fresh and hot from the stove.

mr. khairul had his share of kitchen time when he constantly turned the stove up to re-heat the pots of spaghetti sauce and chicken curry.

kiddos room

how about khaleef? khaleef opened his self-operated nursery in the guest room, armed with his toy box. then he moved the scene to the front, showing off his skills in x-box games, while hogging the controller the entire time!


what is raya makan-makan without snaps and shots and flashes from the cameras? group photos were a must at any raya open house, paling tak pun pasal nak tag di facebook! some pictures in my keep are blurry, but most important is the memory of a meriah day because of your attendance!

thanks, all!

kak zaida (purple tudung), bro affandy, kak su (black tudung) and kak jah

before we let the guests leave, a snap shot was a must! that's why most of them are taken near the door!

kak ziela (purple tudung) fida, eiyda (brown tudung) and fairus

kak ziela, bro haza and kiddos came later that evening, and were joined in by tokeh tau foo fah fairus, fadzil and their girls.

and of course, the late-comers of the day - our consul general tuan syed hasrin and wife kak sarah. thanks for coming! fashionably late, but better than never! tu lah - sebab lambat, tak sempat rasa my nasi minyak! we quickly whipped up nasi putih right before they came as kak ziela and family pun tak sempat rasa!

with kak sarah and sir consul general who's in a playful mode this raya!

it was late in the night so mr. khairul made teh tarik for the final guests of the night. tuan syed, bro haza, fadzil and mr. tuan razali, tourism director lepak-lepak and borak-borak over teh tarik, while the ladies had a chat about the much-talked about local drama series, nur kasih which i had never ever seen. dengar kata best sangat and kalau tengok confirm nangis. ye ke?

after they left, few more guests came, and stayed till past 11pm. tak abis lagi rupanya my open house! by the end of the day i was dead tired, and found that my tumit hurts like crazy, especially after i lie down for awhile, and starting to walk again.

tired, sleepy and aching all over - but it was so worth it.


for all who graced our humble dubai marina abode with your presence - we thank you. we appreciate you guys making our first full-fledged, cook-by-ourselves open house a memorable occasion, a yardstick for future open houses to come. (berapa ekor ayam nak masak, berapa pot nasik, berapa peket spaghetti bla bla..)

it was very touching when 'veteran' cooks like kak jah complimenting my food, and for some men to go back to the food table for seconds and thirds - and for others as well for your sweet and encouraging words. it meant so much for a rookie cook like me, so i thank you again!

and thank you for giving me this content feeling and the joy of feeding people. suka tengok orang tambah nasi. suka tengok orang makan nasi, lepas tu makan spaghetti, lepas tu sambung makan nasi balik! yes, nothing is more satisfying than seeing people finish your food with slurps and finger-licks!

thank you, thank you, thank you!

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saving the best for last - to my partner in crime, mr. khairul - hey, we did good, when we thought we couldn't pull it off. *hugs* so, when can we do this again?

Aqiqah 6 Babies & Open Hse @ Gold Souk

raya continues in dubai with the big aqiqah of 6 dubai babies, including consul general's youngest son, baby ahmad! kahfi could've joined in if we hadn't done the aqiqah earlier this year.

initially it started with the planned aqiqah of aida and afza's baby adly, and kak zaida and bro imran's baby ihsan at bro fudzail's home. i guess with the syawal spirit and makan-makan mode, few more parents of new babies decided to joined in.

ape lagi, makan besar la kita! kenduri kambing on hari raya!

kumpulan nasyid rabbani & mommies with their babies :)

the aqiqah took place at our consul general's house in barsha with the special appearance of malaysian nasyid group rabbani whose missing its lead singer, the late ustaz asri who passed away not too long ago. to me, raihan has always been my top nasyid sound, but no doubt ustaz asri has a uniquely powerful voice that's second to none. he was really missed, especially when rabbani took center 'stage' to sing after the makan-makan.

consul general tuan syed hasrin grooving with rabbani

on a lighter note, some brave souls actually joined rabbani to sing some raya song - including consul general tuan syed hasrin! cayalah sir! even kak pah had a duet with her cik abang for one raya song. gile sporting!

our dear ambassador dato' yahya was also there to celebrate the 6 dubai-born malaysian babies!


some pictures are taken from bro affandy and fida's facebook. hope you don't mind ye, fida, incik affandy. i balik awal tak sempat snap banyak gamba! check out fida's blog page for more pictures on that night! click here.


i think 7 slaughtered lamb, no less - grilled, cooked with briyani and much more - a feast fit for kings and queens!

i LOVE lamb chops but not so crazy about lamb cooked this way. i had one helping but i think mr. khairul was the one who went crazy over the juicy, soft, easily shreded lamb.

thanks to the 6 new dubai babies, malaysians in dubai get to have kenduri kambing this raya!

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the day before ours, kak ziela and bro haza had their open house at gold souk. we came later as we did the shopping for ingredients and stuff to cook for our open house the next day.


although kak ziela's celebrated kek batik was nowhere in sight (found out later dah abis isk isk) but we still get to eat 'chef' haza's signature dishes - spaghetti and soto. how wonderful when husband and wife get together in the kitchen to whip up yummies in huge portions!

it was a more relax setting since we missed the 'peak hour' where guests came in throngs. we took our own sweet time, enjoying the dishes, especially kak ziela's chicken rendang. excellent. thanks for the invite, kak ziela!

we ended the night with a hot teh tarik time, before heading back home to prepare our raya dish for tomorrow...

2nd Syawal : Disc Grdn - Qusais - Disc Grdn - Deira

i survived the first syawal in dubai with very few tears and a lot of laughs. everyone here misses their family back in malaysia, so we're together in that sense, and became family over here. i thank all the lovely hosts and hostesses who opened their doors to us with their warmth and spirit of syawal.

on the night of the first raya we beraya to fida's house, the dubai baker. she made bihun sup, but the one that i was looking forward to was her carrot cake! nyummy! siap tapau lagi! thanks, fida!

fairus, me & fida

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second raya greeted us with the same ray of summer sunshine and warm breeze. we started the morning with a cucur udang breakfast (i made it just like mak's!) and later off to fairus's house at the discovery garden for brunch.

fairus is a young malaysian mom living in dubai whom i got to know through our blogs - and i met her for the first time yesterday during the raya prayers at matrade building. thank you for your friendship, and thanks for the raya meals!

aida (on the couch) me, fairus & fida

what could be fun than pegi beraya umah member, and then terjumpa pulak member lain. the more the merrier!

what did we eat? fairus prepared the yummmiest nasi ayam - but the best of all was the tau foo fah. yes, you read right. fairus actually made her own tau foo fah and it tasted heavenly! seronoknya kat dubai pun dapat tau foo fah!


kahfi had fun, but not as much as his big bro - who conveniently found himself surrounded by girls, girls and girls. kawan elok-elok okay!

khaleef in blue, tini in pink, fatin amily in brown & alya in red

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we went to kak zaida's house later, but before that we rode off far into the end of dubai to qusais, bro mazed's home. i didn't know the couple before this and was glad to meet their acquaintance. they have the most endearing sons; the youngest eagerly greeted me at the doorway with the salam, the middle one tagged along as i put kahfi to sleep in one of their rooms, while the 15 year old, eldest one sat cross-legged on the carpet with me and kahfi, borak-borak, keeping us company.

i have two sons, and i hope they would emulate these boys' politeness and warmth - and, like i told their parents - great 'PR' skills! the boys are brought up really well!


as bro mazed's wife hailed from johor, we were served with yummy laksa johor. kak zaida was there as well, and she immediately invited us to beraya to her house.

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afterwards we went to kak zaida and bro imran's house in discovery garden (yes, people. we were in discovery garden, scoot off to qusais, and now heading back to discovery garden. gile jauh perjalanan!)


i love kak zaida's home! very laura ashley with her flowery curtains that matches the table spread! kak zaida just moved in to this new home. previously she stayed in mirdiff (also a favorite place of mine - it's pratically in the same building as central perk!)


kak zaida's rendang is the best! i do not like nasi himpit, and you would rarely see me munching one, but kak zaida's rendang was too hard to resist and i actually ate a lot of nasi himpit with her rendang! nyum!

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the night was upon us, and we have one more open house to go to. this time it's mr. khairul's mckk senior, bro faisal's house in deira. kak muna, bro faisal's wife was an equally charming hostess!


the other boys from mckk came too; afza, mr. khairul's classmate, and bro zaim, class of 82. four of them got comfy at the 'arabian' corner of bro faisal's home and chat all through the night.

kak muna is the one in black

kak muna made a lot of dishes! kuey teow, bihun sup, nasi putih with mix vege, ayam madu, kari kambing and rendang, along with lemang jagung and nasi himpit. the guests' favorite was kak muna's homemade keropok lekor! excellent!

memang mckk betui! even the serviettes was arranged nicely in the quad colors - red, white and yellow. black je takde!

* * *

thanks to all for the continuous merriment in this second of syawal in dubai. tomorrow, another special dish to be devoured at eiyda's house in sharjah. dah umah pasangan kelate - ape lagi nasi dagang la kita esok!


* i just got this picture from eiyda (during her raya open house) who tagged me in fb. thanks dear! your nasi dagang was excellent! i really envy the fact that you can make this classic dish! abe pun masuk dapur ye? oh and the best surprise was the air cincau! i LOVE cincau, or in perak we call it air lengkong - icy cold with black jelly yummies!

thanks for the kelate dish - cheers for eiyda and abe nik!

Selamat Hari Raya & Eid Mubarak

selamat hari raya!

i can't believe it's already raya and i am in dubai. it felt like only yesterday when i sahur with abah, and then later walked to bazar ramadhan taman tun with azi to get our craved ayam percik.

i won't dwell on sadness this raya, being away from abah and my sisters - instead i rejoice in the fact that i know syida is safe and sound in melbourne, my sisters enjoying raya in ipoh and abah sihat wal-afiat to celebrate raya this time around.

as a matter of fact, abah is also celebrating his 62nd birthday today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY abah!


1st syawal started early, i heated up the rendang i cooked in the previous wee hours of the morning, and rebus the instang lemang. taste better than i expected! in fact, after finished cooking the meals, it was already subuh in malaysia, so i made a call to abah, syidot in melbourne and my best bud niraku in UK. (of all my friends, niraku is a must-call on raya morning. she calls, or i call. and now, even when we're miles apart dubai-UK, the habit lives on!)

i called azot who was in super-cheery mood ironing her baju raya, with noises in the background from haiqal and haqeem who had a sleep-overs at abah's house. also talked to cik, but didn't manage to get auntyna and tokcik. busy sangat kot!

the kids woke up early and there was no problem dressing them up for their first syawal in dubai, and the first ever, ever for kahfi! it felt like a quiet syawal - but nontheless joyful.

after a light breakfast and the mandatory sesi bermaaf-maafan, we headed on to matrade building for the aidilfitri prayers.


the scene was just like when i attended the raya haji prayers. the floor of the little humble hall was covered with tikar mengkuang and sejadah, ready for the congregation.

the ladies helped out in arranging the containers upon containers of raya dish on a long table at the back, a potluck from fellow malaysians. rendang of all types, lemang, nasi himpit with kuah kacang, roti jala, bihun, mee goreng, karipap and segala macam kek and kuih raya - and so much more!

the malaysians were all set for a hefty raya meal on this first syawal!


i hung out with mr. khairul's mckk classmate's wife aida and finally met cik siti fairus. all this while we had been exchanging comments through each other's blogs, and facebook - but had never met her in person! she's one of the sweetest persons i met in dubai and i'm glad we've finally been able to chat and borak face to face.

in fact, her adorable youngest chubby wubby falisha had it goin on with my youngest kahfi!


after the raya prayers, the crowd took on the back table to get their raya fix! throngs of people lined up and i decided to just sit back and bask in the wonders of my first raya in dubai. mr. khairul took a little of this and a little of that for me but it was just enough that i was able to be there in the company of good friends and good merriment.

what more when here and there, open house invitations were extended - enough to make sure our breakfast, lunch, tea-time and dinner were all filled in for the next 3 days!


as usual before leaving, clicks and clacks of the camera all around - everyone looking their best in baju raya. sigh, and the most amusing sight would probably be the sight of four grown men wearing what seemed to be part of a 'school uniform' - the immortal mckk sampin.

they just don't want to grow up, do they? (wonder whether abah would wear his?)

* * *

after the merriment in matrade building, we're off on our beraya expedition. and oh no, you probably can't see it clearly in the pictures but - belum apa-apa lagi baju khaleef was stained with icing from a cake he ate just now, and kahfi with the baby biscuit he was munchin.

sigh!


two cars started the raya prowl - afza and family, with mr. khairul and family. first stop - kak jah's house in mirdiff. kak jah yang mengurut me during my pantang with kahfi. she's a warm, friendly hostess, with good home-cooked kampung raya meal for our hungry tummies yang tak makan apa-apa kat matrade tadi!

me, kak jah's youngest daughter, kak jah & aida

i can't say how glad i am that her house is the first house i visited on this first raya in dubai, because with the classic raya dish (bak kata mr. khairul, "masakan orang veteran"), the cozy villa with the simple decor, and her makcik-makcik demeanour - i really felt like i was in one of my sedara's house back in malaysia, and we're on a normal beraya trip right in malaysia.


it felt like raya!

alya, khaleef and kahfi helped themselves with the raya cookies, while the mak-mak and bapak-bapak savoured the dish prepared.


kak jah made soto and peanut sauce with nasi himpit, rendang cili padi (yang pedas gile which mr. khairul was so so into) the yummiest chicken curry and ketupat daun palas (teringat tokcik!). on top of that there's a simple bihun that reminds me of the bihun that mak used to make - simple, sangat simple. tapi sedap, sangat sedap!

thanks kak jah for making my first raya in dubai a yummy one!

(oh, and kak jah siap kasi duit raya kat khaleef and kahfi!)

* * *

next stop : the humble abode of mr. affandi, the current president of myUAEpro (an assoc of malaysian professionals in dubai) and his lovely wife kak su.

we were served satay, nasi lemak, soto and carrot cake! ada satay tu!


outside, the sun was shining too brightly beautiful upon a wooden bench next to a dry tree, that i can't help snapping pictures of the boys - summer in dubai.

warm, bright, cheery, beautiful - just like our raya. hope your raya was just as! okay, 4 more open houses to crash!