Lovely Perak Royal Family

forget william and kate middleton – the state of Perak, Malaysia has an equally gorgeous, and intelligent royal couple too – and they already have heirs to the throne!

stumbled upon this lovely informal family photo of Perak’s raja muda (next in line) Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, and raja puan besar perak, Tuanku Zara Salim and their two children. the royal couple is already so beautiful together – add another two royal kiddo and it’s picture perfect!

 

 

that’s the royal couple's nine-month old princess Raja Nazira Safya as well as their prince, Raja Azlan Muzaffar Shah, who is 4 years old. owh my, he’s already breaking hearts with that little smile! and that little princess would definitely be as gorgeous as mom and dad!

a real life prince charming!

 

found this shot at NST (new straits times) according to NST, at the time this photo was taken,

“..Raja Azlan Muzaffar Shah, who was accompanied by a palace assistant, was coming down the stairs from the Balairong Seni to the Dewan Santapan in Istana Iskandariah here after the end of the investiture ceremony in conjunction with Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah's 84th birthday.”

it’s SO cute that he’s shy! i hope he grows up having the regal debonair of his grandfather, the brains of his dad, the beauty of his mother and the humility of his late uncle.

read the full story here at NST.

 

 

yes, isn’t it obvious that i’m a proud perakian? i was born and raised in ipoh all my life! (miss ipoh!) the perak royal family has always been a beautiful one – with a grandpa like the dashing Sultan Azlan Shah, how can the grandson NOT be so cute!

 

this is a black and white photo of Sultan Azlan Shah (aged 21) published in the Sunday Times on January 1, 1950 with the caption, “Ruler’s son to be law student.” handsome kan! (Photo: www.malaysianmonarchy.org.my)

 

 

daulat tuanku! and may Allah bless our state of Perak with everlasting peace and prosperity!

Homemade Steamboat @ Abg Shon & Kak Muna’s

one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me happened the day we came back from malaysia to dubai. we were invited to abg faisal shon and kak muna’s lovely home to savor their delicious homemade home-prepared steamboat dinner.

yum.

we were in the kitchen, preparing the dishes, and i told kak muna how i dreaded going back to dubai, leaving my beloved family, but at the same time, somehow i felt that i’m also going back home to dubai…and then we held hands, and she finished my sentence, “..because you’re coming back to your family in dubai!” referring to her family…

i wanted to cry! sayang kak muna! *hugs!* thanks for making us part of your *family*!

 

everything just looked wonderfully tantalizing. when i was helping kak muna prepare the food, i felt like preparing for breaking fast – can’t wait to just pounce and eat!

 

 

there was yellow noodle, fishballs, seafood and such for the steamboat as well as veggies and mushroom too! i love the details in preparing the items for the steamboat!

 

..and in another corner, all the deep-fried in a batter mixed by kak muna herself. i especially love the mushroom, but what i find weirdly inviting was the prawns – because i don’t even like to eat prawns, and yet i was so drawn to eat this one! and it was so delicious! good one, kak muna!

 

 

…and on top of it all, there’s even nasi lemak! yum! this is too much! but we’re SO welcoming it!

 

where you have good food, it’s even better when shared. thank you so much abang faisal shon (mr. khairul’s MCKK senior) and sisterly lovey kak muna for your endearing hospitality. we felt really loved and cared for, and surely life in dubai is never lonely with people like them around.

 

thanks abg faisal shon & kak muna! *BIG HUG!* maybe we could do this again – our place? now what shall i cook…

Lil Malayan Tigers @ Zabeel Park, Dubai

summer is slowly reaching dubai, but before it gets too hot to stay a minute outside, we wanna take full advantage and take the boys out to zabeel park for a football fun time. they all proudly wore the bright yellow malayan tiger football jersey, getting much attention from amateur photographers hanging around the area!

 

 

we went to zabeel park, and the weather was really welcoming. it was a fantastic day, alhamdulillah. not too scorching, and there was even strong breeze to keep the boys cool. it was a really perfect day to be out under the sun.

we pay 5dhs each to get in, which is fine considering the awesomely beautiful park we’re goin in – but what i opposed to is that they even charged my little kazim! we had to pay full entrance for kazim too…

 

 

zabeel park is indeed beautiful, and so classy. the lush greeneries, the clean surroundings and perfect walkways – awesome. there’s a large lake, an ampitheater, a long jogging track, and even a boat people can rent and row. this park also house the children’s entertainment center called ‘stargate’.

 

 

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what a lovely sight! brown-orange-red leaves and we’re sandwiched in between. i can’t stop looking at the trees and lovely flowers!

 

i am just amazed at the grass. is it even REAL? i want this in my living room! the grass felt so incredibly soft and carpety under my feet, and i had no qualms in letting my boys run around without their crocs on. the feeling is just liberating. no sticks and stones in my way – freedom for my feet!

kazim had fun ‘falling down’ so often while taking the advantage of rolling around in the grass once he’s down there!

 

zabeel park is really HUGE, but this area is our favorite part of zabeel park – it’s like a valley and we’re just playing in a lovely bowl of grass, surrounded by trees and these stony stairs that i love so much.

watch the clip below and you can see how this area looks like as a whole. and remember – this is just a TINY part of zabeel park! in this clip we had just arrived, getting comfy in this lush grassy field. we were the only ones there! the place is too green and classy, it could be a golf course!

 

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my eldest boy khaleef sharpened his footie skills of course, with the help of coach bapak!

 

kazim has his own woody ball, and just happily embracing the awfully LARGE place to run around like crazy!

 

kahfi? he’s certainly one of a kind – he didn’t want to kick any ball, he didn’t want to throw any ball, he didn’t even want to just run. he told me he wants to SLEEP. yeap. kahfi, oh kahfi!

 

can you guess what’s that pretty brick building at the back, with that weird swirly antenna-thingy on top? it’s not the information booth. it’s not the guard’s house. it’s not the snack kiosk. it’s actually the toilets! yeap. toilet pun lawa kat taman dubai ni.

 

washroom!

 

i hope next weekend’s weather would be welcoming us to another nice park too!

Found New Mandi Rice @ Najd Restaurant

our all-time favorite mandi restaurant in dubai is tawasol, but sometimes it’s nice to try new places.

having said that, full credit goes to my mr. khairul who always geared up to find new places and try new stuff. this time we tried mandi rice at ‘najd restaurant’ in al murar, deira souq, opposite hyatt regency.

it’s just a small, simple restaurant and quite congested. the tables are pretty bulky for such narrow space. rush hour must be a real pain for both patrons and serving staff! also there are no family area at ‘najd restaurant’. well, no matter. the good food made up for it!

 

we ordered the grilled chicken with our mandi rice. the soft beads of rice itself is as delicious as any mandi rice should be. however, the chicken was a tad too ‘grilled’ for my liking – resulting in a more charred parts which gives the chicken a slight bitter taste. however, the rest of the chicken is marinated well and pretty yummy.

 

the lamb was good. tender, juicy – an A plus!

 

my boy khaleef enjoying lentil soup – his must-have everytime we go to a mandi restaurant.

 

the plate of veggies is well enough – leafy ulam and sliced cucumbers and carrots.

 

the chilli-tomato paste. delicious!

 

yeap, these are their hardworking waiters – don’t let the relaxed pose fool you – they’re always on the move, handing out plates and taking orders into the small window at the side.

unlike the waiters at tawasol or bait al-mandi, the waiters at ‘najd restaurant’ don’t wear uniforms. i don’t have any complains as long as they’re neat, but we have to admit it IS more presentable to have uniformed staff. furthermore, it’s easier for customers to ‘detect’ the staff should they need any help!

 

my boys LOVE mandi rice!

 

 

the place doesn’t have any distinct characteristic of a middle east restaurant – just a simple makan place that serves good mandi rice. the food is fine enough, but i’ll stick to tawasol for the best mandi rice, and bait al-mandi for the best grilled chicken mandi rice!

..unless you wanna try a new place…

B’day Party Lil Diva Mell @ Chowking, JBR

this is probably the first time that we got an invitation for a kid’s birthday party held at a venue other than a fast-food restaurant (excluding those held at home). no juicy fried chicken or happy meal toys. we had delicious noodles and savoury dishes!

it’s little miss sharifah melissa’s 1st birthday, held at a chinese restaurant called ‘chowking’ in JBR (jumeirah beach residences) the walk. it’s right between chilli’s and tim hortons.

i just found out that chowking is actually the biggest chinese fast food chain in the philippines. i really didn’t know chowking is from the philippines; no wonder they serve desserts from the country!

 

my boys with chubby wubby cutie pie birthday girl sharifah melissa or mell (or like what her mommy likes to refer her as ‘little diva’!) kahfi really REALLY likes her, but she’s always angry at kahfi! hihi marah-marah sayang ye? memang diva la mell ni!

 

me with lovely hostess aida. thanks aida for including us in this merriment of celebrating mell’s first birthday! we had fun makan-makan-makan and playing silly game! haha. and birthday girl is a darling!

 

birthday girl mell with her daddy. aww.

 

cute cake! sigh. will i ever get a chance to host a birthday party with pink cupcakes and pretty cinderella carriage cake? and not ones with ben10 on them? *wink wink*

 

‘buko pandan’ – a salad from the philippines

 

here i tried this interesting dish that LOOKS like some sort of jelly drink or cocktail, but actually it’s referred to as a SALAD instead! this green dish is called ‘buko pandan salad’. it’s a popular filipino dessert; and it’s made using young coconut (which is ‘buko’) and screwpine leaves (pandan leaves) with condensed milk and jelly too.

the ‘salad’ is served cold, with lots of jelly and coconut. i LOVE both jelly and coconut BUT i find the milk too sweet and too berlemak to my liking. i would prefer it to be less sweet, with blended ice maybe?

 

 

i love to google interesting food i found or tried here in dubai, so naturally i googled ‘buko pandan’ and found out that it’s a filipino dish. that’s what got me wondering why does chowking serve filipino dessert – and that’s when i finally discovered that chowing is from the philippines. interesting facts!

oh, must it be green? when i googled, they’re all green. yeap.

 

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chowking really can throw a party – tak sangka yo! there are even games for the guests, starting from a silly race between the guys-team and the ladies-team.

the game – to carry an orange using only your cheek and your neck, then passing it to the person next to you. must do this faster than the other team. if the orange fell, start from the first person! winner? the guys! *clap clap*

 

 

next is the hubby-wife challenge, which was just like charade – you pick a word from a box, act it out, and your partner must guess the word. the words are all connected to babies – ‘feeding bottle’, ‘baby’s blanket’ and such. easy pizzy lemon squeezie! fun!

 

kiddos waiting for uncle syed to prepare the balloons

 

i have a feeling that this game was impromptu but it was the funnest, and also most annoying!!! haha. the host syed pluck out all the balloons from the decor, placed it on the floor and the kids get to stomp on the balloons till it pops! agh!

the kids eagerly waited for uncle syed to put all the balloons on the floor, before going wild stepping, stomping and even jumping on the balloons to pop as many as they can. towards the end, a few even took forks to pop the balloons, mercilessly!

all i could do was press my palms against my ears. i hate this kind of game that involves loud balloon-popping!!!

 

khaleef met his classmate arissa

 

and i met an ol gal pal too, from my olden days in melbourne. nice hanging out with you akmal!

 

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thanks again to syed and aida for making us part of the celebration of your little diva. she’s so cute! next time buat la kat rumah pulak ye, bole serve kitorang laksa kuale! hihi *wink wink*