3 Cousins Kahwin Bulan Ogos!

I love weddings!

1. sebab aku suka makan nasik ngan lauk kenduri
2. sebab aku suka makan
3. sebab aku suka nak tengok diorg serve nasik tomato atau nasik minyak
4. sebab aku suka minum sirap
5. sebab dapat telur rebus tu balik nanti bole buat egg sandwich

hihi.

 

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this adorable bride is my cousin yaya. my cousin on mak’s side. marrying her longtime baby boo amir. cute couple, fun couple. may Allah bless them with so much love and happiness till jannah.

 

gorgeous yaya waiting for the nikah to start. her baju kurung for that nikah was ‘beauty in simplicity’!

 

that’s my uncle rosli menikahkan sendiri his 2nd daughter, entrusting her to this young gentleman name amir. alhamdulillah, done in 1 lafaz!

 

adorable cousins. hihi. our moms are sisters. me with the blushing bride yaya

 

the sharifuddin sisters with the adorable bride yaya

 

me with cik, the gorgeous mother of the bride. black and yellow black and yellow!

 

love the spread during yaya-amir nikah. delicious lauk kampung; especially my fav kerabu mangga, my fav ulam kacang botol with that zingy sambal. perfection!

 

me and my boys with the bride & groom during the wedding reception. may Allah bless your union with a lot of patience and endurance, trust and understanding, and lots of LOVE! have fun yaya & amir!

 

love!

 

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next here is my cousin on abah’s side – his mom is my abah’s younger sis; iskandar and his lovely bride. looking resplendent in my favorite color yellow – memang raja sehari betoi!

 

man, I’m getting old! this young chap aku still rasa macam budak-budak kecik je. tapi now dah berbini dah pon. moga Allah panjangkan jodoh hingga ke jannah, diberkati selalu dengan kasih sayang dan tolak ansur ok!

 

during the reception for iskandar & wifey : here’s me and my boys with abah’s younger bro; my uncle pak huri

 

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next is another one of my cousins on abah’s side. son of abah’s elder sis. I was already back in dubai at the time. congratulations to fairil or nama manjanya ‘eye’ and his beautiful bride, suria. tak sangka cousin aku yang nakal nk mampuih ni dapat bini lawa camni haha. tahniah eye!

 

eye ni memang nakal gile masa balik beraya kat kampung bahagia teluk intan. memang bersekongkol dengan abang dia si faisal dok kaco kami adik-beradik. haha. skang kamu udoh berbini, elok bebenor le dah ade org jagakan. be good!

 

ni keluarga belah abah aku. adik beradik abah 7 orang. 4 pompuan, 3 lelaki. abah anak ketiga, anak lelaki pertama. a picture of them with the bride & groom; eye & suria. moga Allah kurniakan zuriat yg comel secepat mungkin, dan memberi kebahagiaan yang berkekalan hingga ke jannah. amin!

Nasi Kukus Ilham @ Mutiara Damansara : Panas! Pedas!

this is one crazy dish that seemed so simple, but I was told is so popular. I’ve tried it, no thanks to my aunts cik and auntyna (haha) – introducing me to this super-spicy rice dish! looking at the pictures I can still feel the pang in my mouth. fiery. spicy. hot!

 

 

this post is for you spicy-freaks, yes you!

 

the ‘famous’ ilham nasi kukus

 

apparently this place is super popular. tanpa segan silu diorang siap taruh perkataan ‘famous’ kat board diorang hihi. the *famous* ‘ilham nasi kukus’ at mutiara damansara. it’s just a simple restaurant that looks like any other goreng-goreng restaurant.

it’s got one small counter on the side for payment, one bigger counter (yet not too packed like mamak restaurant) for the drinks, and on the other side facing the road is where the magic happens : that’s where patrons line up to order, get their food; and where the fried chicken is freshly fried – there and then.

 

you can see my cousin umar in black T joining the long line of hungry people waiting patiently to order their nasi kukus.

 

‘take your meal here’. ok doki.

 

comot macam kat restoran nasik kandaq. lagi comot lagi sedap kan!

 

where they kukus (steam) the rice, and where they freshly fried the chicken. therein lies the not-so-secret to its popularity – hot, fresh chicken eaten with fresh steaming rice.

 

tapau or eat in, the nasi kukus is served in brown packets of ‘ilham nasi kukus’ like this, lying on a banana leaf inside. aromatic!

 

I love the chicken. the chicken at ‘ilham nasi kukus’ is crispy crunchy, with tender juicy flesh – everything that a good delicious fried chicken should be. that’s the key to its popularity – hot, and fresh.

 

omg look at that. just look at that. this is the famous ilham nasi kukus! spicy gravy spilling and seeping into my innocent steamed rice. and what could be better (or murderous!) than adding spicy gulai nenas, and top it all with hot sambal ikan bilis campur cili padi?

 

sebagai seorang yang memang tak suka makan pedas, aku tengok pun takut! I don’t like spicy food, so I don’t get why a simple plate of just chicken, ikan bilis and sambal cili padi would be so popular? and ‘ilham nasi kukus’ does not come with any other lauk tau! so everyone who came here really came JUST for this dish!

it must be the freshness. made fresh. on the spot. bukan dah siap-siap goreng dari petang tadi. they fry and serve, fry and serve.

I’m sure you guys know by now that this review would be biased, coming from someone who dislike spicy food – but I’m highly recommending ‘ilham nasi kukus’ to all my spicy-freak readers out there. as you can see it’s a very simple dish but prepared fresh and hot, and of course – very spicy.

 

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with my aunt cik. who loves spicy food. me not so much!

 

my adorable cousins siti, amin & nayah : semua gile pedas!

 

sempoi je kedainya. masa ni nak tutup dah ilham nasi kukus ni

 

ok guys, kalo gile nak makan pedas, and you happen to be around mutiara damansara, check out ‘ilham nasi kukus’ and lit your tongue on fire!

12-12-12 : K Boys Welcome Another New Cousin!

no, this date doesn’t necessarily bring luck, or holds any special ‘magic’ just because of the triple number – I’m thrilled with this date because it’s the LAST repeating date we will ever encounter in our lifetime.

…AND I got a new nephew, and my boys got another boy cousin! (earlier my bro-in-law received his second child, a boy). congratulations to scientist parents syima and my bro-in-law din, getting this precious gift on this rare date!

this would be the 10th member of ‘Kelab Cucu-Cucu Atuk Podin’, and my younger sister’s syima’s 3rd child, and her 1st boy. much reason to rejoice!

 

 

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I knew my sister was already at the hospital by 1pm on 12-12-12, so with Allah’s will, the baby could come out by today. I called her up from dubai kasi semangat haha but no sweat, it’s her third time so I’m sure she’s all prep and ready.

 

 

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and then came the SMS announcing that my sister’s 3rd baby is OUT! alhamdulillah! mom and baby in excellent condition. it’s a BOY!

 

 

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…and then I finally got the photo from my youngest sis azi whatsapp-ing to everyone. he is SO adorable, like any newborn would be. can’t wait to see him!

 

 

at the time or writing, the parents have not confirmed the name of the baby – the baby boy’s elder sisters are named sufiyyah syafiqah and marissa marha – SS, MM – because mama is SS and their abah is MM. so it’s a wild guess what’s this boy’s name would be!

10 Things I Love about Raya 2012

eid mubarak everyone! selamat hari raya, maaf zahir batin. how’s everyone’s raya so far? in a nutshell – i spent 1st syawal in my hometown ipoh with abah, umi and my sisters. headed on to kampung lalang, kuala kangsar on the 2nd of syawal.

i’m rolling up 10 days of syawal in one posting. senang. eazy pizzy lemon squeazy. presenting : 10 things i LOVE about 2012 raya!

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1) TAKBIR MALAM RAYA

 

my dad with his grandkids. minus 2 girls spending raya at their other atuk’s house

 

as usual, every year, the pakciks at the surau would go from house to house to do the takbir raya. this year our house is the first stop. we prepared a simple supper for them – lemang and rendang of course!

this year it was just the 3 of us sisters on the eve of syawal – me, yong and my youngest sis azi. syima was spending 1st syawal with her in-laws, and syida was spending her first raya as a wife.

 

 

 

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2) RAYA BREAKFAST : NASI LEMAK + LEMANG & FRIENDS

 

 

yong brought nasi lemak from home in the morning of 1st syawal. i mean, raya is all about lemang, rendang, ketupat, kuah kacang and the works, but having hot freshly made nasi lemak was just so satisfying as well!

thanks yong!

 

 

 

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3) LINE UP FOR DUIT RAYA!

 

this is just the cutest. my boys and my nephews and one niece lining up to get duit raya from atuk. from the head of the line is the eldest : haiqal, haqeem, khaleef, nuna, kahfi, kazim and adam.

 

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4) FAMILY PICTURE AT IPOH

 

as usual, this is as good as it gets when it comes to photographs that includes the boys. well, at least they’re sitting still. and i still have hopes for future photograph shots!

 

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5) NEW BROTHERS-IN-LAW

 

this year raya is extra special as we welcome a new member to the sharifuddin clan when my sis syida marries nash last april. this dec, we’re getting another brother in law. so double celebration!

 

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6) FAMILY PICTURE IN KAMPUNG LALANG

 

spending 2nd raya at my in-law’s place in kampung lalang. i love it that my sons are still able to experience kampung lifestyle when they’re here – wooden house, icy-cold showers, chasing chickens and picking up rambutan.

 

adik-adik ipar : from left is diyana, kay, tina, mr. khairul, sofia & asrar

 

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7) BERAYA in TAIPING : TOKCIK’S HOUSE

 

 

haven’t seen tokcik since last april during syida’s wedding. miss tokcik so much! i came to taiping to precisely to see tokcik AND for ketupat daun palas – unfortunately dah habis! uhuk uhuk. well, aunty shila (tokcik’s youngest menantu) swiftly cooked up some kuey teow hailam and it was simply delicious!

 

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8) ENJOYING DURIAN on HARI RAYA

 

 

on the way back from taiping to kampung lalang, we stopped by a DURIAN stall!

still weairng sampin, my durian-freak husband ate a whole bunch right there and then, and bought a lot more to bring home for later. i couldn’t eat any because of sore throat, but later that night my mom-in-law made pengat durian which was just indescribable. burp, alhamdulillah!

 

 

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9) MANDI SUNGAI on HARI RAYA!

 

this was just amazing. we took a dip at a river. on hari raya! i wrote a whole posting on this, so check out this space sometime soon, ya!

 

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10) POST-WEDDING PHOTOSHOOT?

 

we had a photoshoot. post-wedding. post-3 boys. post countless anniversary. suka-suka. coming soon jugak!

 

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enjoy the rest of syawal!

MoKa & Marini : Purple Royal Wedding

sigh. here is the frustrating thing about living so far away from family – i’m missing all the fun stuff!

last weekend my cousin marini got married to her sweet-mocha ‘moka’ also known as khairul (yah same name as my husband haha) in a royally resplendent purple wedding. it looked like such a beautiful affair from the pictures i’ve seen on their facebook pages.

marini is the 2nd daughter of my mom’s sister, and this was one of the 2 weddings of the year for my family on my mom’s side – few months back, another cousin my mom’s youngest sis got married (here’s the post), and now this other cousin.

i missed both weddings, but i wish both couples a lifetime of happiness, love and passion!

 

a picture of happiness! the newlyweds with my aunt and family : from left – their first son-in-law firdaus, eldest daughter shina, the groom khairul, the bride rini, aunty na & uncle mi. sitting down from left – only son amin (super cute in bow tie!), and youngest daughter nayah

 

the solemnization : i gasped in awe – so lovely!

 

looking good! my newly wedded cousins – wani, rini, khairul & ijan

 

their pre-wedding photoshots – cuteness!

 

as usual when weddings come, i always thought of my own; and how far we’ve come together. alhamdulillah! may Allah grant rini and khairul many wonderful years together till they’re old and wrinkly, still holding hands. amin.

remember, the wedding is over – the marriage is the one that we look forward to, that we have to work for, that we have to cherish and uphold, that will last a lifetime…