Kahfi Meets Wan Cik, Maknye Meets Nasi Tomato

remember the yummy ikan keli?

meet the cook!
my aunt, my mom's youngest sister.
puan norzehan, also known as cik to her nieces and nephews.
wan cik to her grandnieces and grandnephews.
and cik an to her peers.


it was the first meeting for kahfi, this grand-aunt who had been feeding his mom with yummy ikan keli, nasi tomato and char kuey teow all these years. only her youngest daughter siti, and younger sons abu and umar were there. her eldest wani is working in kl and yaya studying somewhere on the planet!

kahfi and his wan cik

too bad kahfi wasn't shining his talked-about smile - as he was a really smiley baby (ngan suma orang asyik tersengih aje - tak percaya cuba tanya) he was having fever and i dare say this was the first time he sported a moody exterior. otherwise, he's really a sunshiny baby!

uncle umar cakap, "mata sama!"

khaleef and kahfi met uncle umar (the chinese lookin) and uncle abu (the hindustan lookin) who just came back from school. they looked totally different, right but really they're blood brothers! the last time i saw them they were stout and chubby - now so tall and lean! "dah handsome lah macam zac efron je!" to which they just grinned sheepishly.


while cik and siti were busy preparing the table, my boys had fun at the main hall. khaleef ransacked his uncles' game room and found a few action figures while kahfi tried his best to reach out for the ornaments on the coffee table. bad kahfi!


and here is the main course! nasi tomato with ayam masak merah, egg salad and a must-have - crunchy popadam! i don't think i need to canangkan how good it was. i had three helpings!

salad tu messy a bit because siti yang preparekan. hahaha.

* * *

this house was the house i grew up in before moving to my present house when i was just finishing form 5. it's approximately 30 years old, and we moved in here after a stay in taman tun where yong attended kindergarten. this staircase seemed so small now that i look at it. i was a kid upon the steps! and i'll tell you sumtin - look at where khaleef stood - as a kid i used to climb right at that height - but on the outside of the railings - and jumped down onto a sofa.

gile tak?

sigh. so many memories. so many suka duka tangis tawa. if the walls could speak, i would...i would kill it before it could divulge any information!


after the hefty meal, as usual, gossip time! from cousins getting married to when-are-they, from life in dubai to stuff done during this holiday back to malaysia. yak yakkity yak.

thanks for lunch, cik. nanti nak kuey teow pulak!

Gulai Lemak Nenas, Ikan Keli & Kuih-Muih

coming back to malaysia after months and months abroad, the one of many things in mind is FOOD! especially typical malaysian food, or lauk-pauk kampung.

* * *

this is mr. khairul and his aunt, mak cah on her wedding day with pak abas. the day he introduced mak cah to me for the first time, he said she is just like a mother to him - she took care of him almost completely from the moment he was born.

the way he fusses over her and the way he constantly 'demands' this dish and that lauk from her, you know he is super-manja with this 'mak'. so it's no surprise that on this trip back to malaysia from dubai he 'requested' gulai lemak nenas.

my dad-in-law, mom-in-law and youngest sis-in-law sofia. ade kucing dok tunggu lagi!

this was weeks ago, we went to taiping from kl, arriving close to midnight. sayangnya mak cah with her 'along' she stayed up waiting for him. my in-laws drove from kampung lalang and met us there.

mr. khairul went straight to attack the gulai lemak nenas he asked for, along with the ikan masin. the simple ikan goreng was inviting, and the best dish for me was the sambal ikan bilis petai.


it was a classic kampung meal. served on transparent glass plate yang macam kat kenduri kawen. laid down on newspapers. accompanied with hot plain tea. semua duduk bersila makan lauk dengan nasi panas. fuh!

buah tu je yang tak malaysia! hihi.

* * *

fast forward to the present, yong finished work early so she sent the boys to abah's house for another round of x-box fun. i was supposed to pick them up after a visit to cik's house.

cik is my mom's youngest sister, and she makes the best ikan keli dish - ever. i mean, i'm an ikan keli hound. go to any malay restaurants, and chances are you see my plate graced with ikan keli goreng or masak sambal.

cik's ikan keli is so special because instead of using red chilli, she uses green chilli and bawang besar which gives it the sweet spicy taste. lovely! thanks, cik! esok nasi tomato pulak!


afternoons in ipoh is yummier with goreng pisang from the makcik bawah, as her stall is down a slope. from carsem factory in maju rapat, you go straight towards sultan azlan shah airport but turn right at the first junction after the factory. go straight down and you'll see from afar a stall selling goreng pisang, cempedak goreng and kerepok lekor. nyum.

we buy from this makcik since eons ago, so she pretty much knows our family. it's sweet how these little relationships can be built with a makcik goreng pisang or the pakcik posmen if we just make an effort to say 'hello' and bertanya khabar. even a little smile!

coming back, we just left the kuih in the plastic bags, and dunked our hands in to savor the taste! tak sabar-sabar nak letak kat pinggan!


in fact, just across a busy main road, lies 'yoong foong' - the pasaraya that i always go to when i was younger. 2 kids and dubai life later, i went to buy some stuff, leaving kahfi with cik.

"kenal saya lagi tak?" and the amoi squinted her eyes, trying to recall. "saya dulu duduk situ." pointing. "kakak saya.." and she brightened up and finished my sentence, "...kakak you duduk sana kan!" pointing to another direction. and we talked a bit. she told me she just found out that my mom passed away. her sympathetic tone and our mutual smile describes years of bond built between a grocer and her customer. it's that easy.

while big bro haiqal went out with his opah running errands, haqeem and khaleef enjoyed ice-cream together just watching x-box. best of times.

the cutest thing happened when they were leaving. haqeem left his wallet filled with coins. i noticed it right when they stepped into the car. haqeem asked me to keep it for him, he'll come for it tomorrow. and as they were leaving, haqeem rolled down the car window, and shouted, "kalau aunty gim nak beli apa-apa, guna la duit haqeem tu!"

it was the sweetest thing from a 6 year old, and the perfect example of 'i may not have much, but i don't mind sharing.' sigh. sebak sungguh! we can learn a thing or two from this little haqeem!

Chaotic Photoshoot

put 6 kids aged -1 to 7+ on a lawn. and watch chaos at play.

i had an image in my mind. a few even. arrange them according to height. or age. or in random. sitting down. standing up. some sit some stand. golek-golek. lie down. jumping in the air. hugs. poses. candids. i especially bought matching dubai t's for them kids.

but turns out 4 adults can't get them kids to listen and follow instructions exactly!

the most co-operative was haqeem, the grinning boy in red. excellent sport. always ready - smiling on the get go! the most troublesome was - khaleef! he was in one of his moods - sporting this macho, brooding face - geram betul!

the first part of trying to get all 6 of them sitting on the grass -

1. haiqal suddenly said, "kejap. nak berak!" so the rest had to wait. impatiently. restlessly.
2. khaleef constantly moving away from the troop to hug a nearby pillar.
3. haqeem tugging out few rumput and dropping the rumput 'confetti' on sufya's head!
4. kahfi was totally fixated with the grass.
   

once we got everyone sitting down, nuna refused to! also, we can't see the 'dubai' word and also the burj al-arab on their t's. so, up up everyone!

then they tried (or we tried to 'organize' them) standing up. khaleef, this time was willing to stay put, but still having that 'whacca lookin at' look. haqeem was ever bubbly. haiqal played the big brother card, sufya was obediently grinning away while nuna needed some coaxing.

..and this is the RESULT! hours of organizing and arranging, screaming instructions and 'threats' to some (read : khaleef) and this was the best shot that we were able to get.

* * *

funny thing was, later that day yong and i were looking through old photographs of us adik-beradik, and came across a picture of us with cousins belah abah at my opah's house in teluk intan. and it was a perfect picture!

arranged according to height. coordinated based on the color of our baju melayu and baju kurung. girls sitting on the wooden floor, while the boys stood behind. we were what? 4-6 years old? the old picture looked so peaceful and organized! why can't we re-create the magic during this photo shoot?

hmm. i think because our kids are much more vibrant and such minds can't sit still! *smile*

* * *

ok, let's get to know haji sharifuddin's grandchildren!

...and his daughters!

why yang bongsu tu 'nazirah'? you might ask. or you might not. or you might be wondering now that i've mentioned it. i'm gonna tell it anyway. well, orang-orang tua kata when berderet girls and you wish for a boy, then you have to change the pattern of the name for the next girl so that the child that comes after the girl whose name you changed, would be a boy -

geddit?

so since all of us have syazrins, with double 's' just like my dad sharifuddin shoib, my youngest sister was named after my mother's initial, 'n', noriza. so no matter how left out she did feel when she was younger, my mak would always tell her that she's special because "azi ikut nama mak." making her beam in pride.

hmm. bila tengok semua cucu-cucu berkumpul ni, teringat mak. takpe nanti korang dah besar sikit mak cerita pasal wan okay? *smile*

Al-Fatihah.

Haiqal, Haqeem, Husna, Khaleef, Kahfi & Sufya Meet

this entry could be the longest i've ever written, as this is the first time i'm back in ipoh in the longest while. but there are not enough words to express what happiness is in seeing the giggly grins of my nephews and nieces; and the familiar smile of my sisters, and the content look on abah's face, seeing that his daughters and grandchildren are finally under the same roof.

a thumb, an index finger, a middle finger, and a pinkie. we're missing a finger; the ring finger. she's in melbourne. you're in our hearts and minds, syida!


sons-in laws? only din (syima's hubbie) was there; abang mat (yong's) was off to a political discussion, and mr. khairul is in kelantan on his first round of business visits around the peninsular.


the moment khaleef met brothers haiqal and haqeem, it's x-box time all the time! auntie gim (that's me) had to impose the '5 minutes' rule where the 2 x-box controller be circulated among the three of them within 5 minutes.

"auntie gim, lama lagi ke?" haqeem anxiously asked. looking at the clock right above the tv set, i announced, "ok abang, 2 more minutes." haqeem satisfied, convinced that his time to hold the x-box controller would be soon enough.

meanwhile, when the brothers haiqal and haqeem conquered the x-box, brothers kahfi and khaleef got acquainted with cousin husna; fondly refered to me as nuna - yong's youngest. she has this most adorable habit of squinting her eyes whenever she's put on the spot and everyone's looking at her. then she'll give the most cheeky smile. ;)

khaleef & cousin sufya

my niece sufya is syima's only daughter, with another one coming up very, very soon. she's incredibly shy and it took quite a while to soften up to the rough boys - the double H and the double K. slowly and surely, khaleef used his charm and before we knew it, they were playing gleefully by themselves on atuk's stairs.

kitchen chicken action

while the dubai-born kahfi got introduced to cousins nuna and sufya, and the boys bonded over x-box, my sisters were busy whoopping up a delicious dinner. yong was long expected to make my favorite lauk, ayam masak merah - made to taste just like mak's ayam masak merah. that's the specialty that i can't get anywhere else on earth.

simple, but delightfully ours. nasi beriyani with the highly anticipated ayam masak merah, accompanied by the crispy crunchy salad, cucumber and squishy crisp tomatoes. along with cackles of popadom and soft boiled eggs on the side. not enough chicken to go around? yong fried a couple of drummets for the kids.

heavenly!

abah sat down first to start the meal as head of the family, and the grandchildren quickly formed a 'circle' around him. khaleef on the right and haqeem on the left. haiqal came and joined while sufya looked on from the opposite side.

they practically gobbled up their food as they wanted to continue x-box-ing!

* * *

then it was time for my surprise birthday cake! it's absolutely cute - with "syigim is 30" on top! i love it! moist choc cake for my 30th - cost a few RMs. from my sisters - priceless.

the kids sang and out-of-tune birthday song with everyone else shouting auntie gim while khaleef sang for 'maaa-aak'. the singing session ended with nuna dipping her finger into the side of the cake!

while i cut my birthday cake, azi took out the rainbow ice-cream bought especially for the kids' cake time. in awe and a lot of patience, they waited as their maksu scooped out the ice-cream onto their cake slices. the sight of them sitting so close against each others' side, munchin choc cake and lickin cool ice-cream without a care in the world - you don't want them to grow a year older.


then only it dawned on us - sweet choc cake and sugary ice-cream? so close to bedtime? are we outta our mind? they'd be up all night with all the sugar rush!

oh, well. setahun sekali!

cousins!

the last time we put the cousins on this couch was when khaleef was just 2 and sufya was still a baby, and it was hari raya haji. there were just four of them - haiqal, haqeem, khaleef and sufya. and it was a the same black leather couch but a two-seater.

fast-forward to the present, we need the three-seater black leather couch to fit all of them. sufya in pink, haqeem holding sister husna, eldest bro haiqal holding youngest dubai-born kahfi and khaleef grinning on the side.

these are priceless moments. moments locked in time. ones that i'll bring in loads back to dubai.

Rambutan Picking @ Kampung Lalang

rambutan. the hairy prince of the fruit-ies. i love its sweet, juicy crunch, but i caution myself whenever i'm faced with this seductive red hairball - i get sore throat when i eat too much! and i will when it's in abundance back in mr. khairul's kampung lalang!

somebody stop me!

look at that rumpun of rambutan. selambak!

we dropped by my in-laws' place in kampung lalang to pick up khaleef who had stayed there for the past week. unable to resist, we plucked a few rambutans to bring back to ipoh.

khaleef picking out rambutans with his opah

my mother-in-law took charge and went to the back of the house, where there were trees laden with the red hairy fruit. the branches and twigs drooped to the sandy floor with the weight of the rambutans! khaleef joined in to help pick the red, ripe and irresistable rambutans!

sure there's probably rambutan sold at tomorrow's pasar tani, or perhaps you'll encounter a stall along the road. but nothing beats picking out your own rambutan, at your own backyard, on your own sweet time.

ah, the kampung life!

Wolverine Kills Righteously @ Land of Lost

no, jalan-jalan? with flu and a sore throat, and sadly no appetite - syigim has become a couch potato. (but a cute one. on an ikea couch) she devoured 3 movies at one go. it was nasty. an action flick, a comedy adventure and a psycho thriller. enjoy.

* * *

it's not until after watching him hosting the academy awards did i really admire him as a character actor who is not afraid of showing a goofy side. before this he's nothing but a hot bod greek god with an australian accent. mr. hugh jackman. phew, is it hot in here, mate?

hugh jackman is a man's man. he's not playing a man in tights, a drunk swashbuckling pirate or a superhero with his underwear on the outside. he's wolverine. (can i hear some screaming?), a mutant with the ability to project razor-sharp steel-claws from his fist, and is self-healing, thus indestructible. not only that, he passionately protects the ones he loves and has a cool and temper of a disturbed beehive. how cool is that?

the movie is A plus. there's never a dull moment, and the only complaint mr. khairul has for the movie is that it's too short! more actions, please! the 'wolf' brothers shared the screen with awesome teeth-clenching moments packed with action! i'd dare say 'wolverine' surpasses even the x-men series.

don't agree? bite me.

* * *

'some people respect the badge. everyone respects the gun.' woah.

powerhouse names grace this movie. robert deniro. al pacino. the mere mention of their names can send goosebumps. ooh. (say it like those hyenas in disney's lion king).

and now they both shared the silver screen for this psycho thriller of two partnering cops investigating a serial murder involving the killing of bad guys who somehow made it pass the justice system. a poem is always left at the scene alongside the body. who? why?

from the beginning robert de niro takes on the role of the more brooding, sexy (yeah, sexy no kidding!) no-nonsense cop, while al pacino is the peace-maker wise guy with a smart mouth. you'd think that they're such big names that they'd try hard to overshadow each other to the point of over-acting but these are professionals, academy award-winners at work - they both gel well and in fact, complemented each other to bring out powerful performances, like always.

the movie starts with de niro's cop character speaking at a tv screen, confessing to the murder of 14 people. too early in the movie? and continues to narrate occasionally as he expresses his fear of being found out, and the urge to take justice into his own hands on those baddies that got away.

personally i've always preferred de niro than al pacino - but this movie is a must-see for fans of both.

* * *

you're tensed. you have a bad day. just loose yourself in the 'land of the lost'. it is silly fun. period.

if only they take out the toilet humors like dunking himself with dino pee (eww.) and a few other unnecessarily icky scenes. other than that, i thoroughly enjoy this movie purely for its amusing skits. will ferrel is not as funny as jim carey or steve carell but he can still make you laugh out loud. i like him in ben stiller's 'zoolander', and he's quirkily charming in that movie where his life is actually a narration from a real book. i forgot the title.

will ferrel is a has-been palentology got sucked into a weird parallel dimension, filled with dinos and weird creatures. a world where time overlaps - from swimming at a half buried motel in the mid of a desert to being chased by a t-rex to befriending a neanderthal named chaka. sucked along with him is a lovely brit research assistant and a loud-mouth redneck, who's painfully annoying though his heart is in the right place.

..while dinosaurs are about to attack the paleontologist
redneck to paleantologist : i'd join any battle with you, man. anytime, anywhere! (dengan bersemangat)
paleontologist : can the time be now, my friend? (dengan penuh dramatik dan penuh harapan berbunga-bunga)
redneck : (hesitant) well, i didn't think you'd call up that favor this soon, man. so i have to say no to this time. but any other time, i'm there!

pehtu dia blah! chaotic!

if you like brendan fraser's 'journey to the center of the world', then you might like this one. expedition to a new world, adventures at every corner, creatures to meet and monsters to fight. except that it's wackier, sillier - with corny b-grade looking alien-like amphibians, and erm, lacked the handsomeness such as brendan fraser's. but equally charming!

just leave your brain at the door and you'll laugh your teeth out. really.

* * *

can't wait for tomorrow. ipoh, here i come!

Khaleef & Kahfi