Beraya on Aidil Adha

my, how time flies! it's my second hari raya haji here in dubai!


no new baju raya for the boys - guna yang dah ade je! kahfi even wore the ones yong gave, the old ones belonging to his cousins haiqal or haqeem! well, the most important thing is to wear our pride traditional wear on hari raya, right!

sembahyang raya, then the makan-makan

the day went as a usual raya morning for malaysians in dubai - solat hari raya at matrade building, followed by a pot-luck makan sessions. most people don't even approach the 'buffet' table - instead, they spent the morning catching up with fellow malaysians, while extending and receiving beraya invites.


it's the first time ever ever ever that my 11 month-old kahfi wore shoes in public! well, the little lazy bone is making an 'effort' to walk now but he enjoys holding on to me while walking so much that he's too lazy to try on his own! so he was 'walking' around the hall - with my help, of course.

but the little tippy-toe does try!

khaleef, kahfi with bro apit

khaleef and kahfi had a fun time just hanging out. kahfi kept wriggling his feet as he sat strapped in the stroller, while watching his abang running around playing with other baju-melayu-clad kids.

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what's raya without snapshots of fellow malaysians yang beraya? interesting to see some malaysians who opted for the arabic traditional garb on this hari raya haji - pakpayne in black, while bro haza had the arabic 'yashmagh' around his neck and shoulders. if you guys notice, i myself wore an egyptian jubah, bought last year from the dubai global village!


sigh. that sampin, again. year in, year out. need i say more? mr. khairul was even thinking of getting the form one 's' size sampin for khaleef by the time he's tall enough...

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let me just say before anything else, that i was surprised by the number of open house invite we received. it was just like hari raya puasa! in malaysia, hari raya haji is a day to go balik kampung, wear baju melayu or baju kurung - basically just hang out with family. it's seldom that people hosts open houses like on hari raya puasa.

not in dubai, though. hari raya haji is just as festive!


our beraya rounds started with the home of bro faisal, or what mr. khairul named him - 'faisal biker' - as he once owned a superbike (sold after an accident). his much-talked about garden was as beautiful as it looked in photos, and the men took advantage of the good weather and lovely ambiance to just sit around and chat over teh tarik and nasi lemak.

kak ziela, kak mira, me, sheila, kak zaida and eiyda

of course there would be pictures of the dubai ladies too! thanks kak mira, for the delicious breakfast of nasi lemak udang and fried chicken!

the kids? the kids were kept busy watching a very popular show in malaysia - very popular to budak and mak bapak budak alike - it's upin and ipin! laughters filled the entire front hall every minute or so!

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with fauziah

noon came and we were due at my dear friends's house - the Fs - fauziah and hubby fairoz. unfortunately, fairoz was so employee-of-the-month that he was working on hari raya! too bad we went beraya at their place without fauziah's other half but it was nice to meet their old friend from penang, the amiable kak anne who came to dubai for holiday.

so, fauziah - what's for lunch?

fauziah's yummy super delicious homemade roti canai

she promised me a homemade roti canai - but there were that, and a host of other dishes! nasi minyak, ayam rempah and roti jala too!

her homemade roti canai was fantabulous! it beats all other yummy roti canai i've bought from the countless malaysian mamak restaurants. and she made it from scratch - from the dough, to the shaping of the roti canai, to the cooking, down to the slapping the cooked roti canai from all sides to make it fluffy.

and oh yes, it's so fat and fluffy! it's seriously good, and fairoz is so lucky that he could just wake up one morning, decides to eat roti canai for breakfast, and his wife can just whip up a few keping - super-fresh, homemade goodness!


it was such an excellent meal, that mr. khairul couldn't resist catching a few winks, and crashed on the front couch. zzz... kahfi pun meragam, so he joined his bapak and had his noon nap too! meanwhile khaleef had his time completely occupied with playing toys with azfar and hanna.


it was such a homely feeling being in the company of good friends, that we just let time flow! while mr. khairul was in slumberland, i spent the entire afternoon boraking with fauziah and kak anne, while fairoz's good friend and colleague ooi joined in later when he came beraya. it was more than words can say about how happy and comfy i was being able to chat in perfect manglish - with malaysians indian, chinese and malay in the room!

i miss home!

when mr. khairul joined in after that relaxing siesta, things got even louder and more festive. add in mr. host who just got off from work - it was a hoot as we continued the noise over hot tea and freshly baked choc cake. there was no end to good food over here at the Fs!

we only got to chat with fairoz for awhile since we have a few other houses to go to, but it was a really wonderful raya with these funny chatty folks. thanks fairoz, and fauziah for fattening us up with delicious food - and kak anne and ooi for the wonderful company.

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for dinner, we have satay and pulut kuning in mind, courtesy of tauke tau foo fah fairus and fadzil (another Fs!) - well, mostly pulut kuning for me as i had been 'bombarding' fairus's facebook status with hints of pulut kuning!

when we arrived i was like, mana bau satay ni? and round the backyard i can see the guys grilling satay - what a sight! i miss pasar malam! hihi. i can't believe i'm eating freshly grilled satay on hari raya haji in dubai!


it was so nice when we crave something, and we got it. perasaan yang tak terkata! hihi. it's been so long since i had pulut kuning, and hers was excellent! paired it up with her own easier-to-make version of rendang meets ayam merah - tasty!

i definitely had seconds. and thirds!

me, tuan rumah siti fairus and kak ziela

thanks fairus for the delicious pulut kuning, and hubby fadzil for manning the satay station for your guests' eating pleasure! it was made double-nicer having it at their newly-painted, newly moved-in house with lovely green walls and spacious lawn for the kids to go crazy with!

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thanks guys, for making our hari raya haji in dubai not only a memorable one, but certainly a yummy one as well!