Luqaimat @ Freej, Al-Barsha Mall

luqaimat is a traditional emirati dessert; delicious fried dough, crispy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside. i absolute LOVE it! everytime i go to global village (which opens only few months yearly during winter) i will definitely look for that small kiosk with bedouin ladies sitting cross-legged on the floor, a hot wok of oil in front of her frying yummy luqaimat. one big-size of luqaimat, please! with silky sweet date syrup on top!

i love luqaimat so much!

 

 

upon suggestion from a dubai friend, i found out that there’s a shop in the food court of al-barsha mall called ‘freej’ or ‘fereej’ serving traditional emirati dishes, including my beloved luqaimat! pretty excited to get that information as 1) i don’t need to wait for winter to get a huge plate of luqaimat from the global village, and 2) it’s SO much nearer to my place than going all the way out to global village!

 

 

the menu is pretty extensive – with grills such as tikka and shish tawooq, and of course all sorts of rice dishes like briyani, mandi, madhbi and sorts. their appetizers are also very arab – halloumi (a kind of cheese), sambousk (macam karipap kita, filled with meat, spices or cheese!), baba ghannouj (a dip made from eggplant), labneh (rich, thick yoghurt), moutable and hummus. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

my boys LOVE luqaimat as much as i do!

 

 

 

verdict : the luqaimat from the global village is SO MUCH BETTER because not only does it look more appealing in terms of color and consistency in size, it’s also fried perfectly – global village luqaimat is just right – thin crisp on the outside, and delicious fluffiness on the inside. however at freej, you can see from the pictures that it’s obviously over-fried which made it too crispy and oily. you can also see that it comes in various sizes; which should be fine but not as presentable as the ones fried by those wonderful makcik bedouin at global village.

freej at al-barsha mall maybe closer to home, but i know now that luqaimat at global village is worth the wait, and the trip! but hey, if you wanna try out the rest of the arabic dishes in their menu, head on to the food court, level 1, al barsha mall, barsha 2.

Khaleef’s International Friends (Happy 41st National Day, UAE!)

as usual, when 2nd december is near, khaleef’s school will hold an ‘international day’ together with a parade in conjunction with UAE’s 41st national day. students will come to school wearing their national clothes.

khaleef proudly wore a maroon baju melayu complete with songkok and samping to school. even I was so proud seeing a baju melayu worn amongst other national dresses. all his classmates looked so adorable wearing glittery costumes, beautiful dresses and smart-looking outfit.

 

this is my khaleef with his best buddy zayn who is also in the same bus as he is. I love this picture. I love how the boys instantly put their arms around each other the moment I asked them to pose for the camera. cute!

 

another good friend of khaleef, kynan – now THAT is a hug! cheek to cheek!

 

completely in love with this shot and the adorable kids. the way they put their arms around each other – innocence, friendship, pure happiness. a malaysian dude, an indian, a filipino, a pakistani and two egyptians : it did not matter where they were from or that they speak english in different accents – they have fun together, laugh together (get scolded by the teacher together!) and that’s what’s important!

 

there is only one other malaysian in khaleef’s class. this is norissa and she’s a spunky one! it’s so cute that they’re wearing similar color tone. love it!

 

kekecohan!

 

love these pictures too! believe me it was difficult to take picture of khaleef in class by himself or with only one classmate, because the other kids would start to surround him and wanted to be in the shot too. too cute! romanian, pakistani, iranian, sri lankan and egyptian – many more!

in the top picture, the kids are showing thumbs-up while saying BAGUS! let me tell you the story behind it!

 

* * *

 

before the kids went off to the field for the international day parade, parents hang out in the classrooms to do a presentation about anything from their home country – it could be a song, picture or they could talk about their country’s flag or the national dress.

I wanted to show them how to play ‘batu seremban’ but the parents that went before me all just stood there talking about their country. just talking, so their presentations were short. they told the kids about their country’s flag. about the languages they speak. so I didn’t want to be so ‘over’ hahaha. so I quickly changed my presentation! buat simple-simple je lah!

I taught them a couple of words from the malay language especially ‘bagus’ with a thumbs up. ‘bagus’ means ‘good’ in malay. the kids enjoyed doing the thumbs up as they shout ‘bagus’; I just quickly cut the class into half – team khaleef and team norissa (both kids are from malaysia) and had a contest to see which team can shout ‘bagus’ the loudest.

short and simple, but I can see that the kids were responding well and enjoying the shouting and gesturing!

this short activity really made me miss my old job SO MUCH. yes, I used to work around kids – teaching, lesson planning, preparing reading materials – a lot of tense situation (that makes me want to rip my eyes out, haha) but definitely a lot more enjoyable moments that make me laugh, as well as endearing moments to treasure.

 

* * *

 

after terrorising the class, parents head on to the field for the international day parade. there were also cultural shows being held in the middle of the field like the emirati girls dancing, african drums and many more!

the weather was wonderful – at 9am, the sun was out but it was cool all around. winter was already here in dubai!

I was seriously smiling and grinning the whole time watching the little ‘country representatives’ strutting down the field in their national costumes. they were SO adorable. I truly enjoyed the sight of different cultural identity in their clothes. amazing!

can’t help taking a lot of photos of these little ‘diplomats’, while waiting for khaleef’s class to pass by.

 

 

the final two pictures above were two malaysian kids I spotted. one was this cute little girl in red baju kurung. another one that caught my eyes was this enthusiastic boy in white baju melayu, raising his flag ever so proudly up in the air. super cute!

 

…and then it was khaleef’s class. note the boy in the baju melayu at the background? noisy, ceria, enthusiastic, joyful, exuberant. they were shouting UAE! UAE! at the top of their voice.

 

left! right! left! right!

 

with fellow malaysian, norissa. malaysia boleh!

Worst Sandstorm in Dubai in Years

dubai sandstorm attacked my kitchen this morning.




waking up, i was greeted with SAND in kitchen. the washed plates left to dry by my sink is dusty, the jam jars on the kitchen counter is dusty, the tikar felt really dusty under my feet, and you could really see small particles of sand everywhere, it's scary.


i definitely have to wipe, wash, clean everything from scratch. but not before i draw smiley faces on everything!


looking out the window, the sight was scarier - the sky painted dirty grey with sand and dust that i could hardly even see the building closest to mine. low visibility out there for those driving out - careful! even without opening the window i could hear the wailings of the winds, and it's really loud. i could see trees swaying fiercely against the wind.


sand and wind - not a good combo. sand was in my eyes as i stepped out to send khaleef to his school bus this morning. also, i could see sand on the outside floor - desert sand literally piling on the floor. cars are also covered with a thick coat of dust.


a friend of mine didn't send her kids to school this morning because of the sandstorm, as her kids had just recovered from fever - and i was thinking of khaleef too after he had gotten on the bus.


may Allah protect him from harm!





a friend of mine wrote in his facebook status, that this day "...reminds him that we are living in the desert," and another one calling it a 'sandday' instead of sunday! having desert sand in my coffee mugs and window panes of my living room - we ARE in the desert!


the sandstorm has been making its comeback in the UAE around this time of the year with the change of weather. last week, the dubai global village even closed its doors due to worsening weather.


at the time of writing - 12.30pm - the wind still hasn't subsided from morning, blowing ever strongly the sand and dust of ages right up to our homes. visibility seemed improved, though i can vaguely see the buildings on the far back.


with sand blowing right into my eyes, strong winds, my kitchen all dusty, dark skies and desert sand on the floor beneath my feet - it was by far the worst sandstorm i've experienced of my 3+ years here in dubai.


school-going kiddos, those out and about - be safe! click here to read more about today's sandstorm in gulfnews. aku nak kena lap-lap barang-barang dapur ni...

Just Ban Smoking!

"UAE approved warnings on cigarette packets with a graphic picture covering about half the packet...it also bans tobacco company from using 'smooth', 'silky' and 'light' or similar words to describe the product." - gulfnews today. click here for full report.

while i applaud UAE's effort in curbing the filthy smoking habit among its people, i can only snicker in sceptism at its effectiveness. tak jalan punya! this is not my way of belittling UAE's noble effort, but rather a scornful smirk towards the *incorrigible smokers.

*incorrigible : incapable of being corrected or reformed.

buat lah apa saja. rise the price of cigarette. put no-smoking signs. put pictures of blackened lungs on cigarette packs. have taknak campaign. ban tobacco advertisement on tv. create awesome no-smoking ads. under 18 cannot buy cigarette. cammon, tell me the truth - NONE is really working, right?

1. rising the price of cigarette - have you ever wondered why run-down flats in kl with owners who probably can't afford monthly insurance payment, managed to have astro satelite dishes mushrooming all over the building? same logic. mahal macam mana pun, orang yang tak berapa mampu pun will make it a priority, because they want to.


2. put no-smoking signs - i was there. at PWTC. there was a no-smoking sign. and this man still lit up a cigarette, without a care.


3. put ugly pictures of what harm rokok can do - smokers KNOW that smoking is harmful to them. they KNOW their health is affected. so pictures are just pictures. it's JUST the box. again, do they care? nope!

i'm sorry. it's just my sincere opinion. this is coming from someone who has lived with a smoker for her whole married life. and because of the same reason, i will tell you what REALLY works :

the ONLY way smoking can be deterred, or lessened, or eradicated totally - is to BAN SMOKING. the best example is our neighbour singapore. even as a non-smoker, i was surprised to see the long list of smoke-free places in singapore.

this includes so many, many places like carparks, playground, clubs and even hawker stalls! kat malaysia, hawker stall la tempat yang paling seronok nak merokok...

the best one was definitely 'no smoking within a 5 meters radius from ANY doorway. gile best. this means that even when you walk OUT of an air-conditioned, smoke free building, you need to make sure you're 5m away from the entrance before you light up a smoke, or else!

when we were in singapore last july, mr. khairul was restless as he searched for a place to smoke. it seemed like everywhere we go, it's a no-smoking zone. fantastic! whenever he felt like it might be okay to smoke, he was still cautious - can i? can't i? anyone watching? it was great to see him without smoking while we enjoy the holiday.

so you see, singapore makes it VERY DIFFICULT for anyone to smoke. also, singapore makes smokers feel like they've done something worse than armed robbery! as someone gets less and less chance to smoke each day, eventually they will come to their senses - hey, i CAN do without cigarette! it is possible. it can be done. i can slowly quit.

in this matter, i hope one day malaysia can emulate our neighbour, who is already famous for its squeaky clean image - ban smoking!

Ramadhan in Dubai : Five Fun Facts

i’m still in malaysia, people – but my other significant half is in dubai. jadi maaf jika hati ni asyik teringat dubai! here are five interesting bits about ramadhan in dubai UAE (united arab emirates) :

* * *

1) in dubai, it is illegal to give to people who beg for cash in the streets!

but don’t be quick to judge – dubai is NOT being cruel – it’s just that ramadhan is the time when beggars suddenly pop out to take advantage of people’s charitable sentiments.

if you’re thinking, “..but i’m just being ikhlas (sincere) and niat untuk sedekah”, maybe you can channel your sadaqah through established means, like charity to orphanages, or offer food supplies to old folks home. if approached by a beggar, you could also suggest that they go to any charitable organization and seek help there.

personally, i’ve never actually seen a beggar along the streets of dubai, but we did once approached by a dude in a car, along with his family, telling us his sob stories, and asking for any dirham to spare. apparently, this is just one of the few methods of ‘scamming’ that had been going on in the UAE.

“what do you do when approached by beggars? police bodies in the UAE advise people to report any such cases immediately, and promise that action will be taken against beggars because not only do they bother people and distort the country's image, many of them are also involved in illegal activities.”

read full report here.

* * *

2) restaurants in dubai want to serve or deliver food BEFORE iftar? go apply – for just dhs5,060 fee!

by law, restaurants are not allowed to serve or deliver food before breaking of fast UNLESS they received permission from the DED (the department of economic development in dubai). how to get the permission? they have to apply – for a fee of dh5.060!

and even with the permission, they would have to cover the dining area – for example :

• i noticed that starbucks in ibn battuta mall was open, but pulled their roll-down doors halfway down
• a cafe in ibn battuta had only one light open; right above the counter
• a restaurant in dubai marina was open, but dimmed their lights

"..any restaurant or coffee shop that serves snacks can apply to DED to get this permission for a dh5,060 fee. and those restaurants that are found violating the rules by delivering food without permission will face heavy penalties for this illegal practice.."

read more here.

* * *

 

3) cannon fired to indicate berbuka time! 

now this is just the coolest. just when i thought that beating the tabuh to indicate breaking of fast was a thing of the past, here comes sharjah state organizing cannon-firing to tell people that it’s time to break fast. (sharjah is one of the 7 states in the UAE, just like dubai).

i wish dubai would do the same!

“police in sharjah…announced that cannons will be fired to help people know iftar times at locations across the emirate during ramadan.”

read further here.

* * *

4) 9am – 3pm is a normal, daily working hour? only during ramadan in dubai!

some call the law a bliss from the heat of summer ramadan. some say it halts the productivity of companies for that single month. call it what you want – that’s the law. muslims or non-muslims alike, ALL must abide to this rule.

there are arguments saying that ramadan shouldn’t be used as a reason to cut-short working hours, or to rest more. ramadan or not, the show must go on. that should be part of the challenge for muslims during ramadan – the fact that we have to work just the same as the rest of the year; just the same as non-muslims who can eat and drink.

when i was working in malaysia, i was just given an hour earlier to leave office; basically to beat the traffic, and be home in time for breaking fast.

“..employees should not be asked to put more than six hours during ramadan regardless of their religion, and private sector institutions requesting their non-muslim employees to work normal hours are violating the law of the land, the ministry of labour warned.”

hey, don’t get me wrong – if it’s the law, it’s the law. i can only enjoy mr. khairul’s company when he comes home really early, take care of the kids while i fix the dishes for breaking fast!

to read more, click here.

* * *

5) this is the first ramadhan celebrated during the hot summer time, since 1978!

2011 – delivery service, fridge to store food, air-conditioner and iftar at home. 1978 – riding camels to get groceries, no air-conditioner, and iftar was a social event done with everyone in the neighbourhood.

but these two years share one common trait – during both years, muslims fast for more than 14 hours, in the scorching heat of summer.

mr. khairul stumbled upon this well-written article; sharing the fascinating experiences during summer ramadhan in dubai. iftar feast with the entire community, soaking clothes to remain cool during the heat, man beating drums to wake people up for sahur, and many more interesting anecdotes.

“it has been 33 years since ramadan last fell in the heat and humidity of august…this year, as in 1978, muslims will fast for more than 14 hours a day…

"we never kept track of the passing hours in those days," mr mohammed said. "we would only say that the days are long and we would just get through them determinedly and patiently. i recall that one man in my family would toil away all day under the blazing sun and would sometimes faint of thirst and hunger. many advised him to eat and break his fast, but he availed himself of patience and persistence and held on."

to read this most interesting article, click here.

* * *

hmm, if i were to write 5 fun facts about ramadhan in malaysia, what would my list be ye? *think*

* * *

to my other half, missing you very much. counting the days we will reunite in the middle of ramadan!

Best Grilled Fish @ Aden, Sharjah

we’ve heard of this place a thousand times from other malaysians in dubai. it’s always ikan bakar aden, ikan bakar aden. is it a seafood restaurant in the middle of the desert? is it a grilled spot famous for its fish? it’s our time to check the truth of those stories.

it is said to have the best grilled fish you can find in sharjah, with very affordable price.

 

 

it’s opposite safeer mall, at al ittihad road. there’s a big clearing next to the row of shop houses and you can clearly spot aden restaurant from its bold red signage.

when we arrived and looked at the menu, we realized that all these while when our malaysian friends keep mentioning about ikan bakar aden, they never mentioned that it’s actually a mandi restaurant! we thought it’s a seafood place or something! it’s basically a mandi restaurant, which happened to have a good grilled fish as well.

hmm, kalau macam tu, my favorite mandi restaurant tawasol pun ade ikan sedap…

 

the table-chair area for singles and men; while the other door leads upstairs where the family area is

 

as usual, most arab and indian restaurants here have a separate section specially for family or ladies only.

 

* * *

 

the inside of the restaurant is just modest; nothing to shout about. i don’t know about you, but i am a bit skeptical with restaurants with bathroom tiles on its walls, no matter how clean they are. just me! hihi.

anyways, we were ushered upstairs to a more presentable sight – carpeted flooring, nice curtains to separate the tables, and what i love most is this elaborate wall decoration with quranic phrases. a lovely touch.

 

 

 

like many mandi restaurants, there would be small rooms for patrons who choose to sit cross-legged on the carpeted floor instead of at the table.

since we’re expecting abang shon, kak muna and uncle zul, we chose to sit at the tables. the sitting-down sections of this restaurant are all too small for more than two adults eating.

 

 

we went for supper, so it was way past the boys’ bedtime. the boys were asleep by the time we got to aden sharjah, so we just landed them on the carpet in the sitting-down area. the place was empty anyway! hihi

 

* * *

 

a usual accompaniment of a mandi rice dish : the salad. i like this one – cut up pieces of cucumber, lettuce, grated carrot and onions. crunchy fresh!

 

this is the most comot plate of mandi rice i’ve ever eaten, but it tastes just as good! also, it’s the first time in dubai that mandi rice is served on a normal plate, rather than the large silver dulang. the taste and texture of the mandi rice leans more to our chicken rice. a different taste for mandi rice, but different-good!

 

…and this is why we came here in the first place – the grilled fish. ikan ape ni ye? the look : inviting. the texture : smooth and juicy. the taste : sweet succulently delicious.

but, we see no reason over the huge fuss that this is THE best grilled fish. sedap tu sedap la. tapi sedap biase. in my opinion, you can get better grilled fish (and closer too, since it’s right in dubai, no need to go all the way to sharjah) at chalet jumeirah! wanna read my review, click here.

 

a sleepy khaleef with the infamous grilled fish

 

my dear kak muna, abang shon’s wife brought along her home-made air asam and cecah cili kicap for the grilled fish. these are the must-have dips when malaysians eat grilled fish. these two dips absolutely take the fish taste to another level.

malay cliche : memang terangkat! ‘nuff said!

the moral of the story is, malaysians who wish to enjoy the grilled fish in aden that’s been named best in sharjah – please bring your own cecah cili kicap and air asam to make the dish perfect!

 

 

kahfi and kazim were still in slumberland, so only khaleef was enjoying this late supper at aden sharjah. he ate a little bit of rice, and this huge nan bread. it’s really the biggest arab bread i’ve ever seen!

us 5 adults and 2 kids could not even finish the bread. but of course, we already had the rice…

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

we enjoyed the delight of aden’s grilled fish with mr. khairul’s mckk seniors abang faisal shon and wife kak muna with their daughter sarah, as well as uncle zul.

 

 

 

* * *

 

uncle zul, mr. khairul, abang faisal shon, kak muna and little sarah

 

for a taste of reasonably good grilled fish with slightly different-tasting mandi rice, head on to aden restaurant in sharjah. opens from 11 am to 11.30 pm.

the grilled fish and mandi rice are delicious, but i may not go again anytime soon – i can get very delicious mandi rice at my favorite haunt, tawasol, and bait al-mandi. and if we want to have grilled fish, we can just go somewhere close like the chalet in jumeirah.

but if you’re in sharjah, go ahead and give it a try!

What’s That Picture on Your Dirham?

daily; we see them, we touch them, we look at them to count them, we had them in our pockets, in our wallets, in our purses, in our socks (haha, eh aku pernah buat okay! kalau ape-ape hal jadi masa zaman naik bas ekspres kat puduraya). they are an important part of our life – our cash. the bank notes. money. the AED. the dirham.

we use them so often, that we overlooked the interesting bits on this valuable piece of paper. there are history engraved in those bank notes. what IS that picture on your dirham?

 

sharjah is one of the states in dubai, it’s right next to dubai. is the central market of sharjah also known as the ‘blue souq’? always wanted to go but never did get here!

 

honestly i never noticed the existence of this building that looks like the ugly brother of sydney’s opera house! hihi. i only saw it when we were up on the dubai cable car at creek park!

 

abu dhabi is the capital of the united arab emirates. we’ve passed by this fort, and took a couple of pictures. below is my eldest son khaleef in front of the al jahili fort in al ain.

 

 

 

been here! really beautiful fort with a deep historical past. the museum is simple, but i love the displays.

 

 

looks like our parliament building. if i’m not mistaken, long ago, before the concrete jungle of dubai came to be, this building is the only tall one along the stretch of sheikh zayed road.

 

 

 

when i first went to dubai on a holiday with abah and my sisters, we took a picture at this mosque. i didn’t know the significance of it back then. nampak biase je mosque ni… turns out it’s as old as i am!

 

 

this is a very commendable effort by the gulf news team. wanna see the actual article, click here.

so how bout it, my fellow malaysians? can you remember what’s on OUR ringgit malaysia? click here for a wiki info, but it’s not that comprehensive because of too much info, and it lacks clear images, and most are without image of the bank note at all.

i like this link here, it’s much better than wiki, because it has complete images and for me the info is easier to digest.

for the coming merdeka next month, malaysian news team should gather up images together with interesting facts stated briefly to come up with easy-to-digest infos like this. it would not only benefit malaysians, but tourists and expats in malaysia will learn a lot too. budak sekolah pun senang nak faham!