Syigim’s Birthday : Aigner, Pizza & Cinnabon

this is going to be a very short posting, with some pictures. oh, no biggie. it was just my birthday, got an awesome birthday present from my cookiedough, and a birthday pizza to top it all. alhamdulillah!

 

with my birthday present. with love from my cookiedough.

 

mr. khairul couldn’t be there on my exact birthday as he was leaving for algeria. so the day before he left, we went the mall of emirates, and without warning he just walked into aigner. out of the blue he picked two items, and asked me to pick one that i like. it turned out that he had been scouting for a birthday present for me weeks ago and he already knew which one he wants to buy me. he narrowed it down to two, and ask me to choose. best sangat. it was an absolute surprise. thanks honey. i love it, and i love you!

 

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bapak is out of town, but we’re still gonna celebrate! bought cinnabons – which ironically, i did not like haha. but my boys love it so much so i know i’ll be happy when they’re super happy to eat cinnabon. so jadilah cinnabon treat on my birthday!

 

 

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my birthday pizza. JUST cheese. again, just the way my boys like it. ni birthday mak ke birthday korang ni. huhu.

 

may Allah grant me many more years to see my boys grow up and achieve their dreams. more years to see them find the woman with whom they will spend the rest of their lives (so that i dont have to worry about them anymore hihi). more years to see my grandchildren, and to grow old with my honey cookiedough. more years to be your humble servant ya Allah. amin.

Boo! Horror Movie Marathon!

korang suka tengok cerita hantu tak?

i’m a fan of horror books. i LOVE reading horror stories. but when it comes to horror MOVIES, i’m iffy! haha. you see, i love visualizing what i read and trying to draw a picture in my head – but when the scary image is right there in the big screen with blasting sound effects that scare you, i’d rather close my eyes or look at it between the cracks of my fingers!

however, i was on a horror-movie marathon last week, no thanks to my mr. khairul. he kept piling them up in our ‘movie folder’! haha. i watched a couple of movies but these are my favs. one is a swedish 2008 horror movie ‘let the right one in. the others are all from thailand, and you know these thai people can make REALLY GOOD horror movies!

‘coming soon’, ‘ladda land’ and the most seriously scary ‘phobia 2’.

be afraid. be very afraid.

 

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it would be double scary to have watched this at the cinema, because ‘coming soon’ is about a ghost that appears from a movie screened at the cinema…

as the tagline from the movie suggests : ‘the most frightening movies are the ones that follow you home…’ – creepy! this dude chen works at the projector room in the cinema, and also films the movies for a pirated copy. but something went really wrong when he tried to film this particular horror movie – and the scary scenes begin…

this movie has an interesting storyline with a few twists in the end. just when you thought you got everything figured out, the movie surprises you with a new twist. i like horror movies like this – the ones that don’t simply scare you, but also entertain you with a clever plot and well-written script.

‘coming soon’ is a must-see!

 

 

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girls, if you’ve been watching ‘twilight’ just for edward cullen, i can’t help you. but if you’re watching ‘twilight’ for the lack-of-emotion bad-scripted love story, then you better ditch edward-bella romance and watch this swedish horror romance ‘let the right one in’. best vampire love story since the tom cruise-brad pitt bromance in ‘interview with the vampire’.

oscar is a bullied kid who befriended his mysterious neighbour-girl elsa, not knowing that she really is, a vampire who stopped aging at 12. if this plot sounds familiar, it’s because there’s an american remake of this movie called ‘let me in’, which was highly criticized for being too similar to this original swedish movie.

i love that they kept the bloody-gory scenes at a down-low, yet we know that there’s some sick stuff going on since she’s a vampire and all. the art director needs full credit here, for shooting scenes in a way that is so subtle that we know there’s violence taking place, but we’re shown only a little bit of it here and there – beautifully executed.

‘let the right one in’ is NOT a scary horror movie, but it is a unique vampire tale; of love and innocence. it’s a must-see, at least for its well-shot artful cinematography.

 

 

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‘laddaland’. when a horror movie is made by the thai people, you know it’s gonna be good. remember ‘nang nak’? this movie is seriously creepy. and scares you when you least expect it.

when you think about horror movies set in a housing area or village, i’m sure you imagine abandoned bungalow, or old neighbourhood with worn-down houses with broken windows and creaking floors – but ‘laddaland’ takes away all those horror movies cliches, and tells a story of a ghost in a squeaky clean, well-lit housing area, with gorgeous homes, new paints, fresh green lawn, and perfectly paved roads.

to top it all, a perfect family had just moved into the lovely neighbourhood. loving father who personally hand-painted the walls of his daughter’s room, plus a beautiful wife and two children. the opening of the film looks like it’s gonna be just another family drama.

everything seemed perfect – but it’s not. after the grisly murder of a burmese maid in one of the houses in the neighbourhood, strange things start to take place around the once-perfect housing area. watch the trailer, and let the horror creeps through your veins…

 

 

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i absolutely LOVE being scared by this movie.

there are 5 fantastically terrifying tales in ‘phobia 2’, giving us different kinds of ‘phobia’ in every short story. even when reading, i really love short stories because it gives me the chance to read more stories in shorter time. also, it takes a good writer to write an interesting story in just so many words.

so goes this movie – the 5 stories are all well-written, great acting talents and cinematography. never boring. the 5 stories are :

novice : REALLY scary. a troubled teenage boy was sent away by his mom to a sort of ‘boot camp’ with the monks. they bertapa in the woods where they give food offering to a supernatural being in the woods…one day he has to go bertapa alone…

ward : a quiet hospital floor. the silent night. death around the corner. always a good premise for a ghost story. a guy just had an accident, and had to share a room with a terminally ill patient in a coma. a person who’s in a coma cannot move, and walk. or can he?

backpackers : two japanese backpackers hitched a ride on a truck. while on the way, there were banging sounds coming from the back. what was it? to me, this is the least scary of the 5 – but that’s just because i’m not much of a fan of zombies…

salvage : i could never imagine that a used car shop can be a scary place especially at night, and when the night guard is away. ever wonder what happened to cars that has been in an accident?

in the end : this is TOTALLY MY FAVORITE! something went really wrong during the filming of a horror movie. what, who, when, why? i won’t spoil this best part of the movie, so i’ll just say this movie is a MUST-WATCH for all you horror movie fans, if only for THIS last part alone.

 

 

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after watching these horror movies, i had to switch on ‘toy story’ or ‘monster inc’ – or any silly strictly fun movie just to have some laughs and forget the scary scenes! i think i’ll draw the line here on the horror movie marathon. we sambung some other time!

(but i think you know that it’s just nice and warm to watch a horror movie with your husband or wife, kan? *wink wink*)

Kenangan Zaman Kanak-Kanak

siapa yang membesar dalam alam kanak-kanak sekitar tahun 80-an dan 90-an mesti paham sangat gambar-gambar ini! jom kita naik time machine!~

 

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keropok ubi yang tak berkhasiat tapi asyik betul mengunyah sambil menonton thunder cat atau kisah bersiri citer cina petang-petang. krup krup. 20 sen je sepeket kan.

 

mak aku selalu tak kasi beli coklat doraemon dalam kotak ni sebab dia kata aku nak mainan dia je, coklat dia bukannye aku nak makan sangat. gile kenangan ni! ingat tak iklan dia – “tora datang lagiiiiiii!”

 

aku tak pernah ade benda ni, setakat main kat rumah cousin aku je so takde la kenangan sangat. tapi aku bubuh je gamba ni sebab skang ni anak-anak aku ade x-box, kinect, ipad – tapi aku benda sega ni pun takde. jadi anak-anak, you got it easy boys! syukur!

 

budak-budak pompuan kalo tak pernah main benda ni memang lah. semurah 10-30 sen je bole beli sekeping bergantung pada ketebalan. lepas main simpan dalam kotak kasut. aku punya la suka mainan ni, aku pulak suka melukis – aku siap penah reka aku punya fesyen sendiri, lukis dengan patung dia skali, siap kaler suma. memang beria betul la masa tu haha.

 

chewing gum rasa strawberi yang sedap sangat! mak aku kata jangan telan tapi degil kan, aku kadang-kadang telan jugak sebab sedap. ntahape kan. ade lagi tak jual chewing gum ni? lagi satu chewing gum yang aku ingat yg macam sekeping kaler pink, kat kertas dia ade gamba, kita letak air sikit kat gamba tu, lekap kat mane-mane nak, pehtu jadi tattoo kan kan kan? ingat tak? haha. lawak.

 

ni ade jual lagi tak?! serius aku rasa macam nak makan skang jugak! kadang-kadang amik sekeping pastu biar je atas lidah sampai cair kan haha. takde keja.

 

aku suka ni! belon harga 20 sen sepeket dapat 5 tiub. gile best. sempoi je kan. kalau ade lagi, memang aku beli untuk anak-anak aku. ingat lagi belon tu picit sikit bubuh kat hujung straw kecik kuning tu, pehtu tiup je. jadi belon. pastu sambungkan 2 belon jadi macam kembar siam. main-main sampai meletup, lepas tu penyetkan kat dahi sendiri kasi bunyi letup-letup lagi. wow. nostalgik gile. aku macam terbau-bau je belon tu.

 

gile klasik. masa skolah kalau aku kena stayback untuk kelab memang kena balik guna bas awam ni. kat ipoh masa tu ade bas kampar (besar, kaler hijau), atau bas ipoh jaya (bas pendek) atau bas rapat setia yang paling tak boleh harap sekali. aku rasa ade 5 jam sekali kot dia lalu bus stop skolah aku tu. dan konduktor dia mcm mat rock dan slalu mengorat akak-akak form 5 yang cun-cun. pastu tiket bas ni kena simpan sebab nanti tiba-tiba ade pegawai naik nak check tiket, kalo hilang kena beli lagi pulak.

 

kalo korang kaki tv, tak payah aku cakap la kartun ape yang best sangat ni. ni memang favorite kartun tengok pagi-pagi sabtu, selain dari ‘jem’, ‘my little pony’, ngan ‘carebears’. dah besa sikit baru minat citer remaja ‘save by the bell’, ‘ferris bueller’ ngan ‘parker lewis can’t loose’. lagi besa mak aku kasi tengok ‘beverly hills 90210’. hihi. dan semestinya citer-citer klasik lain pun menjadi ikutan macam ‘full house’, ‘macgyver’, ‘quantum leap’ ngan ‘get smart’!

aku memang minat gile ferris bueller dulu macam budak-budak skang ni minat kat one tree hill huhu.

 

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aku amik semua gamba ni dalam facebook page ‘kenangan manis kita dulu’, lepas member aku kak saniah bubuh kat wall dia. seronok aku tengok. excited bila ternampak gamba-gamba yang aku kenal sangat, dan dah lama tak jumpa. banyak lagi gamba-gamba best yang bole mengimbau kenangan masa kecik. check out ‘kenangan dulu’ di laman facebook korang ye!

Questionnaire : Books Books Books!

 

if you love books, love collecting books, love reading books – answer these questions – for fun! i got all these questions from the facebook page of bookxcess – a bookstore in amcorp mall that sells great titles with great affordable prices!

i’m tagging all my readers who love books!

What book are you currently reading? How far in are you? What's it about? Are you enjoying it? i’m currently reading agatha christie’s ‘poirot’s early cases’, a collection of short stories on the esteemed investigator’s earlier cases. being a mom of 3 boys – time is never enough, so short stories are the best – it’s short and easy to digest. i can finish one story in one sitting, and continue my chores right after.

If you could live out any storybook (as a character in it), which story would it be? any story happening on the discworld. discworld is the wacky world created by one of my favorite authors terry pratchett as the setting for his books. a police force made of trolls, dwarves, a werewolf, vampire and a few humans; a librarian who was cursed and turned into an orangutan and prefers to stay that way – all happily living and solving crimes on discworld!

 

the discworld series

Lets say you had to donate your old books. Is there ONE book that you could not bring yourself to donate? it’s probably gonna be really hard to part with my books, but if i had to choose, it would be john adam’s ‘watership down’ (about adventures of rabbits) because it belongs to my late mom, and she was always asking me to read it so that she could have someone to talk about the book with. i would keep THAT one.

Do you recommend books to other people? If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be? george orwell’s ‘animal farm’. people not familiar with this masterpiece need to know that just because it’s a classic written before the dinosaur age, it doesn’t use difficult words. the story is easy to follow with an interesting plot. it has engaging loveable animal characters and even more touching and meaningful message.

What’s the first book that you ever read more than once? What book have you read the most times? And–how many? i’ve read many books more than once; but the FIRST book that i’ve ever read more than once would be stephen king’s ‘it’. and it’s a mighty fat book! finish reading it is like losing a friend, because i got really attached to all the characters.

now the book that i’ve read the MOST times pulak would be roald dahl’s ‘omnibus’ – a collection of adult short stories by the author more popularly known for his wonderfully wacky children’s books. his stories are so very interesting especially in the way he wrote it, the sentence structure and most of all the ending – that countless re-reading will not get you bored.

 

 

A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving? i’m stubborn. i very seldom read books outside my favorite genre or other than my favorite author. however a colleague of mine recommended yann martel’s ‘life of pi’ and i ended up being so engrossed in the book and his writing style. it’s about a shipwrecked boy who survived at sea on a boat – with four zoo animals; a tiger, a hyena, an orang utan and a zebra. interesting, huh!

Name one book that you hope never, ever, ever gets made into a movie (no matter how good that movie might be). twilight. no, wait ----

What’s the last book you were really EXCITED to read? And, were you excited about it in advance? Or did the excitement bloom while you were reading it? Are there any books you’re excited about right NOW? the last book i was really excited to read was jasper fforde’s ‘the fourth bear’. yes, i was excited in advance because for the rarest time, i actually tried to be more adventurous and ventured out to discover new authors that i might like, instead of sticking to the same authors (reading ONLY my favorites) – that’s when i found jasper fforde and that he writes about cases that involved nursery rhyme characters. so interesting, and wacky! just how i like it!

 

What’s the largest your personal library has ever been? What’s the greatest number of books you’ve ever owned at one time? the largest nearly 200 i think – JUST storybooks! and i’m not done yet!

What is the most annoying character in a book ever? frodo. just thrown the daymn ring already, and don’t be so lembik!

What is your favourite fictional relationship between characters? (romantic, friendship, familial) there are so many favorites! the relationship between christopher boone & his dad in 'curious incident of the dog in the night time' is sweet and needs patience because of christopher’s condition as an autism kid; also hercule poirot & hastings’ conversations are always delightful – poirot the self-confess genius in solving crimes while hastings just put up with him; oh, and the wonderful sisterly love in 'little women' ~ many, many more!

 

What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read? beowulf. had to read for a class in college. yech. he made shakespeare looks like dr. seuss for beginners! tak paham ape!

What animal-related books have you read? Which do you love? Do you have a favorite literary animal? definitely, definitely george orwell’s ‘animal farm’ – one of my favorite books, and the best story ever written in my opinion. i still cry at the end no matter how many times i’ve read it.

If you could see one book turned into the perfect movie–one that would capture everything you love, the characters, the look, the feel, the story–what book would you choose? there’s so many – but i would choose terry pratchett’s ‘the truth’ – set in a magical world, a clever plot, it has an inspiring hero who rises to the occasion, a love story, an adventure, a mission – it would be a very enjoyable movie!

Do you prefer to read a book really fast, or savor it slowly? definitely savoring it slowly. in fact, even a simple book like an agatha christie, i would be forced to re-read a page if i were interrupted in the middle of a reading. i admit i’m a s---l----o---------w reader!

What’s the latest you’ve ever stayed up reading a book? Is staying up late reading a usual thing for you? YES, staying up late reading a book is a VERY usual thing! hihi. when i was younger, when lights were off at home, i used a torch light to keep reading. what’s the latest i’ve ever stayed up reading? never can tell, because i’d be reading myself to sleep!

Do you read book reviews? Whose do you trust? Do they affect your reading habits? Your buying habits? i do read book reviews, but i’m never swayed by what’s written. i STILL look at the author, and storyline. opinions don’t matter, because books are very subjective. also, since i usually buy books by my favorite author, i don’t really need a review to tell me that his book is awesome! (yes, stephen king, terry prachett and roald dahl!)

 

Choose one book as a gift to:

1. Your best friend – stephen king’s ‘shawshank redemption’ – a wonderful tale of friendship fostered in an unlikely place
2. Your mom/ dad/ both – for mak, if she were still alive, would be jasper fforde’s ‘the fourth bear’ since this is one of the authors that i proudly discovered all on my own without being inspired by what she likes hihi. for abah, it would be mitch albom’s ‘tuesdays with morrie’ to show him that eventhough he’s a man with few words, he taught us just as much as morie did with that young man.
3. Your other half – for mr. khairul? anything with the word ‘leadership’, or ‘business’. *yawn* we have VERY different taste in books!
4. Yourself – complete set of gary larson’s ‘the far side’. mahal nak mampuih. so please someone give it to me as a gift ya hahaha
   

What is your favorite quote, from your favorite book? that’s easy – from terry pratchett’s ‘the truth’,

There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!

~ terry pratchett’s ‘the truth’

How did you encourage your children to pick up the reading habit? one of the things i did is i bring a pocket-size dr. seuss book in my handbag everywhere we go so that when there’s some sort of waiting involved, i could just pass the book to khaleef for him to read while he waits.

Do you read short stories? What do you like and dislike about short stories?  i LOVE short stories. by roald dahl, stephen king, edgar allan poe, agatha christie, h.g wells. in fact, i have ALL of jeffrey archer's short stories compilation but i've never read any of his novels! being a mom of 3, short stories are the best - easy to digest and fast to finish!

Ever received an unexpected gift of books from your loved ones? a day after i delivered my first baby, mr. khairul surprised me with the latest terry pratchett’s book ‘going postal’ which i finished during the first week of my confinement. it was a very meaningful book because it entertained me during my very boring confinement days. i was in taiping (tokcik’s house) and he works in kl. sob sob.

 

 

From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot before the other. But when books are opened you discover that you have wings. ~Helen Hayes

 

i would like to tag these adorable dorky bookworms :

1. aisha
2. syidot
3. hmm…

hmm, i know there are more out there, if you did do the tag PLEASE leave your url in the comment section because i would really love to read your answers. love, from a fellow dorky bookworm!

Syigim’s Bday @ Outback Steakhouse, Dubai Mall

i wanted lamb chops for my birthday dinner. big, fat, juicy lamb chops. i LOVE lamb chops, but the only place in dubai where you can get delicious lamb chops is at these steakhouses. kalau kat malaysia, gerai-gerai tepi jalan tu pun bole dapat lamb chop sedap kan. bestnye.

so after much deliberation, (and hours of googling) mr. khairul suggested ‘outback steakhouse’ in dubai mall.

birthday girl enjoying her lamb chops

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‘outback steakhouse’ is an australian steakhouse restaurant. i guess even from the pictures you can see how ‘aussie’ this steakhouse is. the wind musical instrument, ‘didgeridoo’, a wooden replica of the aussie map on the wall, a picture of sydney opera house, chairs with boomerang design on the backrest; and of course – it can’t be aussie if it didn’t have kangaroos on the wall…

everything is so brown and earthy and yes – spells ‘outback’. outback in australia means those vast, remote area away from towns.

from top left – kahfi with the musical instrument ‘didgeridoo’, khaleef & the wall kangaroos, and khaleef on the boomerang chairs

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there were mainly steaks and chicken on its menu, but there were also burgers, pasta and seafood too. think TGIF, or chillis with more steaks and chops in its menu. a little less mexican, and a little bit american. or in this case, a little more australian.

we begin my birthday dinner with this awesome starter :

the bloomin onion

i first saw this pretty dish during one of the assignments on donald trump’s ‘the apprentice’. the contestants were required to run outback steakhouse stalls at a college ball game. as ‘homework’, one of the teams ate at outback steakhouse, and had THIS!

i was already, “wah, ape tu!” and now i had the chance to try it out! it’s called – the bloomin onion. yeap. it’s NOT potato wedges. it’s not chicken fingers. it’s onion. deep-fried till golden brown. with a spicy dip in the middle.

the ‘bloomin' onion’ is a signature outback item. it is a one pound onion cut to 'bloom' open, breaded, deep-fried and served with mayonnaise-horseradish sauce.

i’m not a fan of onion rings, but the batter used to fry the onions taste really good. the texture? fantastic – crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside. and the dipping sauce has a hint of spiciness that just brings up the flavor of the fried onions. hello calories!

if you like onion rings, this is like – the lamborghini of onion rings!

we ordered pasta & cheese for kahfi and kazim; and fish and chips for khaleef. pasta & cheese was well, what else but yummy. pretty straightforward dishes.

mr. khairul had the ‘slow-roasted prime rib’ – a very manly dish i would say! haha. big, bold, thick piece of meat ready to be devoured by a hungry primate!

…and the birthday girl got her lamb chops!

i took the ‘outback rack o’ lamb’, and was more than happy when my plate came. 5 racks of lamb upon one another in a beautiful intertwining of bones and sweet meat. gorgeous. they looked so deliciously juicy, with glistening fat calling out to me!

thank you outback steakhouse! (yes, you too honey! many, many thanks!)

both mr. khairul’s dish and mine were serve together with a bunch of cut-up veggies that should’ve included broccoli and baby corn! there were cucumber, carrots, and capsicum. i love that the vegetables were made to taste a bit sweet, and i will tell you why -

the brown sauce for my lamb rack was VERY SALTY! TOO SALTY! it was so salty that i can’t hardly have it with my lamb rack! oh man, what a turn off. what a spoiler. such a gorgeous dish spoiled by the very salty brown sauce.

the lamb was so delicious; tender and juicy but i just can’t enjoy it with the brown sauce…

another complain from me is – the fries. with our dishes, we can choose two side-dishes. we both chose the veggies for one of the side-dishes; but while mr. khairul made the WISE choice picking the mashed potato for the second side dish, i went for the fries. BAD choice.

the fries were over-fried that they became too oily and too crunchy with more than desired chalky bits, with too much salt. what’s with outback steakhouse and salt??!

guys, go for the mashed potato, or baked potato. NEVER the fries.

my sweet surprise

while we were enjoying our steaks and chops, i saw one of the waiters holding a plate of brownie-ice-cream thingy and lighting up a small little candle on top.

the first thing i thought to myself was, “hey, they do the ‘birthday thing’ too here?” because i thought only TGIF does this staff-singing-birthday-song-to-customer thing. also, i was thinking, “patut bagitau diorang it’s my birthday too..”

suddenly the singing troupe came to OUR table! haha. bila you bagitau diorang, honey? i was really genuinely surprised, because i didn’t know outback steakhouse would do the birthday thing too. it was such a sweet surprise. hihi. *blushing*

…however, in the end siapa yang habiskan the dessert? these two finished up my birthday treat in no time! it’s okay la boys – mak got my lamb chops! thank you honey cookiedough!

so, as the phrase goes in its official website – ‘let go of the worries of today, and go outback!’