Kad Raya

lagi pasal raya.

aku rindu nak terima kad raya. kad raya yang betul-betul kad. yang aku boleh pegang. yang aku boleh keluarkan dari sampul kaler putih. yang aku boleh belek-belek dan bukak. yang ada tulis 'pecah kaca pecah gelas, lepas baca harap balas.' yang aku boleh gantung atau tayang atas almari masa hari raya.

by ihsan

masa kecik-kecik dulu beria-ia beli berpeket-peket kad raya yang 10 satu peket tu, untuk kasi kat member-member sekolah. kalau boleh nak bagi setiap sorang budak melayu yang aku kenal. nak kasi cikgu-cikgu lagi. masa tu kasi by hand je.

bila masing-masing dah masuk U, baru la pandai guna setem untuk hantar kad raya. aku spend dua kali raya bekerja separuh masa kat pejabat pos besar ipoh dengan member aku wani sortkan surat-surat, termasuk lah kad raya yang bertimbun-timbun.

seronok tengok ada banyak kad raya di alamatkan kepada tun dr mahathir, artis-artis termasuklah kami terjumpa kad raya yg di alamatkan kepada member-member kami sendiri!

kad facebook yang bermotifkan pelita - klasik dan tak ditelan zaman

tahun ni macam jadi satu trend - rata-rata edit gamba untuk digunakan sebagai kad raya. samada letak di blog untuk rakan-rakan bloggers, atau di tag melalui facebook.

apa tidaknya, memang senang sangat. upload kad raya digital tu di wall facebook, kemudian tag 50 (max) rakan-rakan facebook. percuma, mudah, cepat. 50 rakan akan dapat kad tu. aku amik beberapa kad yang aku terima kat facebook, termasuk jugak kad-kad yang aku nampak menarik di facebook.

(maaf ambil, tapi kredit masih ada di kad masing-masing ye?)


kad-kad ni pun menarik. yang kuning tu simple sangat, tetapi itulah yang menarik perhatian. yang putih tu pula tersusun petikan dari surah al-Baqarah.


yang ni pulak mendapat minat aku kerana kad yang comel dan kreatif. gambar rendang ayam kat atas sekali tu cun gile. begitu juga dengan peringatan memandu berhemat di kad raya yang penuh dengan papan tanda jalan raya. menarik!

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ni kad dari nekPP, blog perpustakaan resipi masakan yang sedap-sedap belaka. menariknya blog ni, gambar makanan yang nekPP masak mesti cantik dan tersusun dengan hiasan-hiasan tepi yang comel dan sesuai dengan masakan tu. macam shot dalam majalah!


yang ni pulak 'kiriman' blogger merangkap baker kat dubai ni, fida. ramai juga di facebook, terutama yang dah berkeluarga, menggunakan gamba comel bersama pasangan dan anak-anak sebagai kad hari raya. thanks fida, i nak order roti jala lah raya ni, boleh?


ni pulak dipaparkan oleh kak arin kat blog dia. rasanya nilah kad raya paling comel kot haha pasal ada gamba girlfriend si kahfi!


thanks amirul kasi kad raya yang cantik ni. amirul ni cucu tokcik jugak. kira second cousin aku la. asyik berdua je raya, bila nak bertiga? (apsal aku macam makcik-makcik??)

ok cepat la kasi aku kad raya, nanti aku tambah lagi kat section ni hihi.

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kad raya adik-beradik aku mesti lah ada!


ni kad raya comel dari yong, abg. mat and their kids - haiqal, haqeem dan husna.


ni kad raya dari mak buyung yang baru lepas pantang - syima, din with their girls - sufya dan marissa. tahun ni best lah beraya dengan baby baru kat ipoh!


adik di melbourne pun tak ketinggalan buat kad raya digital. syida guna gamba our first nephew, haiqal! comel, simple dan mesej tu sampai!


ni our puteri bongsu punya kad raya! ceh ceh, ayu la tu hoho. aku suka sangat font dia. jealous!


...and tada! aku buat kad ni guna paint je. i love to draw, remember? ni kad raya yang aku tujukan buat rakan-rakan facebook aku! untuk sape-sape yang aku tak dapat tag (pasal facebook kasi tag 50 je) aku sampaikan salam syawal buat korang juga!

dan pada rakan-rakan bloggers dan bloggirls, silalah ambil kad raya ni untuk hiasan di laman blog anda kalau sudi!

memang betul, kad tu pengganti diri! selamat hari raya aidilfitri!

Persediaan Hari Raya

hari raya is less than a week.

persiapan raya aku dah buat sejak cuti kat malaysia lagi. memang dah plan, balik malaysia nanti mesti beli baju raya untuk my boys; mr. khairul, khaleef dan kahfi. yang paling kelakar skali nak beli baju melayu dan sampin untuk kahfi. beli satu saiz besa supaya bole pakai lagi tahun depan. jimat!

persiapan raya ni aku bahagikan kepada empat:

persiapan baju
rata-rata kalo baca article mak-mak pasal persiapan raya mesti akan cakap "siapkan anak-anak yang paling penting." dulu aku rasa, asyik cakap mcm tu je. especially artis. rupa-rupanya bila dah jadi mak, memang betul pun. memang lagi excited nak beli baju baru untuk anak-anak. diorang yang diutamakan. kita kemudian-kemudian pun takpe.

dulu masa aku kecik-kecik pun, agak selfish la. dah mak bawak gi super kinta beli baju pusing cantik-cantik, baru aku teringat nak tanya mak, baju raya mak mana? masa kecik-kecik ada yong, aku ngan syima je selalu pakai sedondon bertiga. bila da besar, dah ade identiti masing-masing, mulalah nak pilih kain sendiri!

mak aku pandai menjahit tau. mak pernah jahit baju kurung raya kitorang masa kecik-kecik, pajamas pun ade. mak aku siap bole jahitkan baju barbie doll - kena jahit 5 pasang pulak tu pasal dah ada 5 anak perempuan dengan 5 barbie dolls!

dekat umah aku kat ipoh, kitorang ada tailor yang dah bertahun-tahun buatkan baju raya kitorang adik-beradik dengan mak skali. bayangkan lah mak ngan 5 anak perempuan kali dengan brape pasang baju - kaya tailor tu dengan kitorang je! tailor tu telah menyaksikan perubahan fizikal kitorang, dari kecik budak skolah sampai la ke mak beranak 3. "aiyo u sudah gumuk sikit la." lepas aku deliver kahfi. ceh!

raya pertama tanpa mak, aku serius tak ingat macamana persiapan raya. aku rasa aku pakai baju yang jarang pakai kot, jadi baju tu nampak baru!

persiapan makanan
masa ngan mak dulu, mak confirm tiap-tiap tahun akan buat sejenis kuih raya ni iaitu kuih gajus. kuih tu bujur pehtu ada gajus terbonjol klua. mak suka sangat buat kuih tu dan adik-adik aku pun suka makan. aku je tak berapa pasal aku pun tak minat kacang.

kalau aku rajin aku pun ade buat sejenis kuih ni. simple je butter base. tapi aku bijak sket. satu aku salut dengan kelapa. satu lagi aku tepek coklat cip. satu lagi aku golek-golek atas nestum. satu lagi aku buh ceri. konon-konon aku buat 3-4 jenis kuih raya. padahal suma biskut raya butter. hihi.

kuih lain-lain tu kitorang beli je. adik-adik aku akan tukang isi kuih dalam balang. ada sekali aku ngan yong gi pekan ipoh dekat kedai borong untuk beli kacang-kacang mamak. ala, kadang-kadang orang datang beraya nak kudap-kudap kacang je.

pastu biasalah abah akan stok peti ais dengan ayam dan bahan-bahan rendang. malam raya mak akan masak rendang yang sedap gile. sigh. rindunya dengan rendang tu. nasib baik yong pandai masak rendang tu rase dia sebijik macam yang mak buat.

aku kat dubai ni pun akan cuba sedaya upaya aku untuk menghasilkan rendang macam mak juga! wish me luck!

persiapan rumah
aku penah cakap yang mak aku simple orangnya. jadi dia tak la nak buang duit tuka curtain atau carpet baru tiap-tiap tahun. jadi dalam bab persiapan rumah, kami adik-beradik cuma buat yang patut - sapu-sapu, mop, lap-lap, vacuum, susun-susun.

aku rasala kan, keja yang paling aku malas nak buat ialah gosok pasu gangsa dengan braso. korang penah buat tak? gile boring. kena gosok punya gosok dengan braso tu sampai hitam, lepas tu lap dengan kain, dia jadi berkilat. tapi bila dah duduk-duduk dalam bulatan dengan mak sekali sambil gosok-gosok pasu gangsa tu, sambil sembang-sembang, keja tu jadi best.

aku suka susun-susun kad raya atas almari kat main hall. abah dapat banyak gile kad raya dan bawak balik dari office so aku susun la kad tu. cantik wo aku susun!

persiapan duit raya
masa kecik-kecik aku tak la terlibat dalam bab persiapan yang ni, tapi bila dah besa, abah akan kasi duit seringgit-seringgit atau 2 untuk kitorang tolong letak dalam sampul duit raya. ni nak kasi kat budak-budak sekawasan perumahan yang datang nak beraya atau sebenarnya datang nak berduit raya je.

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tahun ni?

tahun ni memang macam-macam yang baru. ni kali pertama kami beraya dengan ahli baru, kahfi! dan ini tahun pertama kami sekeluarga beraya jauh dari keluarga - di dubai! ini kali pertama kami nak beraya dengan rakan-rakan baru di dubai. (kali pertama untuk aku dan anak-anak le sebab mr. khairul dah beraya di dubai tahun lepas).

gamba raya pasti menarik dengan aku yang special di apit 3 jejaka tampan! baju melayu diorang memang sebijik. tak sabar nak tengok diorang pakai sekali. aku memang dah siap beli baju diorang kat malaysia, tapi hari tu berbuka kat jumeirah hotel, mr. haikal kasi tau yang kat dubai ada tailor india bole cakap melayu, yang memang pandai buat baju melayu ngan baju kurung suma.

logik jugak. dubai ni dah la haven kain. org msia pun pesan kain dari dubai. aku gi beli kat msia. takpe. lain kali boleh buat kat dubai je!

pasal rumah, aku kemas simple-simple je. tiada apa yang ganti atau baru. raya dengan seadanya. begitulah beraya di perantauan. cewah.

esok mr. khairul akan mula cuti raya. rasanya kami akan ke pasar esok untuk beli apa-apa yang patut untuk sambutan raya pertama di dubai ni. lemang ngan ketupat daun palas instant aku dah siap-siap beli dengan yong kat ipoh dulu. ketupat ngan kuah kacang pun ada. kerisik pun umi tolong belikan berpeket-peket. jadi aku nak kena cari bahan-bahan rendang esok.

eh, aku belum pernah jumpa kordial kat dubai ni. semua orang minum jus. mana nak cari kordial?

hmm, apa lagi nak beli..?

Hari Raya Feel

aku tahun ni macam tak feel la raya. (ye, memang la pasal aku kat dubai, bukan kat malaysia - jauh dari keluarga dan kawan-kawan - tapi ke-tidak-ada-an tu lebih dari itu.)

bila pikir balik, patutla terlupa yang raya nak dekat. takde iklan raya kat tv dubai. kalau dulu, lagu raya eon dan salem siap hafal. "lemparkan senyumannn, hulurkan salamannn, kini dan selamanya ucapan selamat hari raya..." masa iklan, ternanti-nanti iklan hebat dari yasmin ahmad.

sesama adik-beradik berbincang iklan mana yang paling kelakar atau menyentuh perasaan. masa tu imej pakai baju raya, berkumpul sedara-mara kat kampung dan juadah raya jelas dipaparkan dalam iklan. memang terasa betul tak sabarnya nak melaram baju baru dan balik kampung makan lemang.

yang kaki majalah tempatan sibuk menunggu majalah kegemaran keluar dengan shot khas raya artis pujaan atau gamba ekslusif yang dinantikan seperti gamba raya pertama erra fazira dengan baby girl, atau mawi dengan isteri, atau abby beraya dengan anak-anak je tahun ni. berderet-deret gantung dengan sepit baju kat kedai mamak jual majalah. aku masa minat gile ngan 4U2C confirm beli setiap satu majalah yang ada gamba diorang pakai baju melayu. comelnya!

merata-rata ada feel raya. mana tak rasa gahnya nak sambut syawal di malaysia!


itu belum masuk feel raya kat shopping malls kat malaysia. masing-masing berlumba nak letak hiasan raya paling gempak. paling kreatif. siap ada tema. macam OU tahun lepas buat tema padang pasir kalo tak salah aku, siap pasang lagu arab, dan buat macam rumah aladdin kat tengah-tengah tu. pernah pulak klcc buat tema kampung, dan buat sebijik rumah kampung kat tengah-tengah, siap dengan panjut dan lemang ketupat semua.

aku kan hari tu pegi dubai mall. hiasan raya alahai, seciput. nak kata raya pun pasal ade bulan besa seketul, di tengah-tengah juntaian bintang-bintang. cantik tu cantik la. tapi tu je la hiasan raya kat pusat membeli-belah terbesar di dunia tu.

jalan-jalan lagi, nampak la ada benda-benda kaler biru ni, yang bentuk macam pelita, tapi tak kot. macam tanglung ada lah. itu je la hiasan yang aku perasan. mall ni pun besa ya amat, jadi mungkin belah hujung dunia sana aku tak pegi ada hiasan raya lagi menarik.

lagu raya berkumandang di corong shopping mall? ye lah tu.

jadi korang pahamkan apa maksud aku takde feel raya tu. aku rindukan lagu sharipah aini atau anuar elina diulang-ulang kat corong radio dan kala aku beli baju kat jaya jusco. aku rindukan tergelak atau menitis air mata tengok iklan raya kat tv. aku rindukan nak pegi tangkap gamba kat rumah kampung klcc atau hiasan raya OU. aku rindukan nak beli majalah semata-mata nak tengok anuar zain pakai sampin kaler apa tahun ni.

aku tau korang wonder aku dah download lagu raya ke belum. mesti la dah. tapi tak sama. sama la macam kalo korang dah ade dvd 'lord of the rings' dan bole tengok bila-bila masa, tapi tiba-tiba korang still excited dapat tahu 8tv nak tayang 'lord of the rings' malam ni. aku nak la excited tiba-tiba terdengar lagu hail amir dengan uji rashid masa cari kasut raya ke ape ke.

tu je lah. kalo korang baik hati, korang dedicate la lagu raya kat aku. boleh la aku tiba-tiba "eh eh, lagu raya." dan kalo korang lagi hati baik lagi suci murni, kirimla kat aku majalah yang ada gamba anuar zain pakai baju melayu ye, ye, ye?

sementara ni, aku browse youtube je la menonton iklan-iklan raya yang terdahulu. jaaaadilah! untuk hiburan korang, ni video dua budak busuk kesayangan aku si khaleef dan si kahfi.

enjoy.

Lepak Sega Republic, Dubai Mall

after work, we went to the clinic for kahfi's regular check-ups, and then decided to just berbuka out. how to spend the next 4 hours before berbuka time?

we scooted off to dubai mall, the biggest mall in the world. heard that there's a newly opened indoor theme park, the sega republic, made in colabo with the co which created iconic gaming figure like sonic the hedgehodge.

"Sega Corporation is the creator of numerous world-renowned video games such as the Sonic the Hedgehog series and is currently one of the global leaders in high-tech entertainment."

i thought it just features the usual arcade games, a couple of mini-rides and few games with different types for all ages - you know, from the 'picking up toys using the crane-thingy where you never can maneuvre to get the soft toys' to the 'racing car' arcade games.


turned out this indoor theme park is really the biggest in the middle east, just opened last month. so other than having everything completely brand new, it has 2 floors of roller coasters, simulators, rides and arcade games - altogether over 150 games!

describe as a "a new wave of high-adrenaline entertainment with SEGA Republic®, an indoor theme park featuring thrilling rides, motion-simulator adventures and cutting edge amusements" at the dubai mall website.

to play the games you need a sega republic card which looks like a credit card. you pay as low as 20 dirham, and can just swipe this card whenever you wanna play a certain game.

there are 5 zones which includes 'wild adventure zone', 'speed zone', and 'sports zone'.


the usual arcade games of race cars and rempit super bikes are here at the 'speed zone'. not only that, there's a game where you get in an actual car, which moves and bumps, swerve and jerk - (above picture) stimulating real experience of driving on a race track!


here is khaleef at the 'redemption zone' where all the cutesy games are. here you can play games for 'points' and when you have enough points, you can redeem it to get a whole lotta prizes!


then we went on to the 2nd floor. there's no lift to go up so the guard there actually helped us push kahfi's stroller up the escalator. here we can immediately see a mock rock climbing thingy, and this built that looks like a rumah berhantu. it's actually a shooting game, where you go in this little room, sit down and shoot down ghosts and goblins.


a sports fan? kick balls, shoot hoops and swing bats at the 'sports zone'! here there's every single sports imaginable. even a ski-board race! renang kuak lentang takde lah. but yes, most of the popular sports are here for your amusement.

khaleef was particularly attracted to the 'football' game, where you go into a square room with a big screen and holes on both sides of the screen where the ball would shoot out. when the ball comes out, all you gotta do is kick the ball towards the screen where a 'goalie' is waiting.


khaleef had a ball of a time! literally! only one person was supposed to be inside the room at any particular time when the game starts, but since khaleef is too young, mr. khairul was allowed inside with him as his 'coach'!

at the end of his game, the score was khaleef 4, the gamer 4. it's a tie!


khaleef had his fun, how bout kahfi and i? well, we tried the motion simulated ride (in which only two are allowed in, but kita masuk je 4-4 skali!) at the 'wild adventure zone' where most of the rides are. (the yellow helmet-shaped thingy in the picture above).

simulated ride ni is just like the 'back to the future' ride in universal studio (remember budak-budak busuk?) where there's a seat for two, complete with seatbelt. there's a huge screen right in front less then a meter away, playing a situation of our choice - haunted mine, jungle, or adventure on ice - then our seat moves vigorously according to the scene.

we experienced the thrill of being in a train plunging hundreds of feet down a haunted mine, banging into abandoned trams, through darken shafts. our seat moved and jerked, giving the sensation of being in the fast-moving train!

was kahfi scared? naah. he actually yawned. yup. rasenya mak bapak diorang lagi over menjerit. hihi.

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well, we didn't spend much time (and money) as we plan to play all out after ramadhan. hey, if you're tired there's always a seat every other nook and corner which is really good. i can stop by and sit down with kahfi while waiting for khaleef (or bapak khaleef) main game!

if you're an arcade-game-nut, and one of those crazy peeps who enjoy going on roller coasters again and again - my advice is get the 'power pass' (which i hope is still available after ramadhan) which gives you an unlimited access to all the rides in all 5 zones. it's 100 dirham, and worth the money if you plan to spend the whole day at sega republic.

for more info on sega republic, visit its official website here!

Bazaar Ramadhan @ Karama Dubai?

a drive along karama one day, we realized dubai has its 'bazaar ramadhan' as well. it's just that it's not quite a 'bazaar'. it's actually a couple of stalls here and there, put up by some indian restaurants right up front, on the outside.

karama is one of the older parts of dubai, a bustling area where you can find fake goods and delicious, cheap indian food. also can be seen are tons of low-rise residential apartments.

as much as i love staying in dubai marina, our previous home was much, much closer to karama. so i miss having been able to drive 5 minutes to the nearest indian restaurant to get a roti paratha or shawarma.

sigh. you don't get that at dubai marina.


most of these stalls in karama sell pretty much the same things - mutton, chicken, vegetable or potato samosa and the sweets you'd find in indian restaurants. some also sells vaday and other indian delicacies.


you can see indian muslims and pakistani workers throng the stalls for some yummies to bring home, as addition to their berbuka meals.

we bought some samosas at this particular stall and they are delicious. crispy cruncy, fat with spicy filling. with each bite, it still feels like freshly fried. not too freshly hot from the wok, but not lembik either.

the best thing was we just ordered from the car. drive through, eh?

Yummy Mee @ Lan Zhou, China

yes, you didn't need to adjust your specs, or rub your eyes! we did eat noodle at a chinese restaurant, at the international city, china -

- in dubai. yeap. there's an international city with medium-cost apartment buildings named after major countries like china, france, greece, england and russia - to name a few. the 'cluster buildings' in the 'country's area' would emulate that country's identity - for example, a victorian style building with mideavel period ambiance in the 'england cluster'. in the 'frech cluster', the apartments has long french windows with grey and red bricks. amazing!

(dah siap ke?)

this 'china cluster' area is close to 'dragon mart', the 'it' place to get bargain garments, curtains, textiles and house decor and home furnishing, toys, tools and much more.

dragon mart is the largest trading hub for products from china, situated less than a kilometer away from the china cluster, dubai city. it has a dragon-shaped structure and houses over 4000 shops, showrooms and warehouses selling all sorts of products.

~ googled info

this noodle place was recommended by a prominent dubai blogger who had been living in dubai for 10 years or so, so no doubt it must be worth a try. lan zhou noodle restaurant, famous for its noodle, made in-house.


it's quite difficult to find the place as it's terceruk amids the countless 'china' apartment buildings. however, when you're already circling inside the perimeter of the apartments, you'll realized that there are more closed shops than open ones, so it's easy to spot a signboard that lights up in the dark.

look for the stripey red, yellow, green signboard and you've arrived at the noodle place.


the setting inside is simple, bare and well-lit, therefore it's easy to see that the place is clean. this place has a really food-court feel to it because of the tables and chairs, and with chinese customers waiting for their food here and there, i felt right in malaysia.

mr. khairul ordered at the counter as all customers, and paid right away while i took a seat with the boys.


there's a transparent counter at the side of the restaurant, where the cooking takes place. here customers are able to watch a cook make and shape their home-made noodle.

like some chinese restaurants (as the chinese muslim restaurant that we love in subang) especially the ones which has its own home-made noodle, would have a sort off 'demo' for customers.


mr. khairul ordered the spicy fried tauhu. and as usual, mr. khairul's eating policy - lagi pedas lagi bagus.

"you make it very, very spicy, ok?"

"you sure?"

"sure! i'm from malaysia. we love spicy food!"

now, i don't eat tauhu (picky eater, you see) but this dish is simply delicious. macamana nak buat orang yang tak suka tauhu, makan tauhu? that's how good it was.

pedas, masin-masin. fuh. i can simply eat this with white rice! the amount of saltiness and spiciness were just the right fusion to bring in the best of this dish. add a little bit of sliced beef and capsicum, it's a complete dish for empty tummies!


the main dish ordered was this 'stir fried noodle', made with the 'home-made' noodle. now this dish gets just 3 our of 5 stars from me - it's good. but it's just not great.

maybe with the tauhu, i already expect it to not be nice - as i don't like tauhu. so when it turned out to be yummy, i was impressed! on the other hand, i had high expectations on this noodle dish, as mr khairul was overly 'promoting' it all the way here. hey, bukan tak sedap, cuma sedap biase je.

imagine adding chilli sauce and oyster sauce - that's how the gravy taste like. i mean, i LOVE that fusion, but i can create the same effect at home. so the only thing that's extra special about this dish was the home-made noodle. thick and fat, with a lovely chewy texture and different width and thickness. nice!

but i'd try the tauhu again, anytime!

Makan Mandi @ Al-Marhabani

i'm a mandi freak, and i have been refusing theraphy because i'm enjoying my mania. i think when that day comes when i have to leave dubai for good, mandi chicken would be at the very top of my list of 'things i would miss about dubai'. in fact, it's probably the only thing in that list!

my favorite nasi mandi restaurant is of course al-tawasol - but recently, for a weekend berbuka, mr. khairul took me to a new place, al-marhabani. it is situated at the very border between dubai and sharjah.

the 'tents' at the family area

it's a huge place, taking up two shops. one shop is with tables and chairs on one half of the space, and an open, carpeted area for the men on the other half. the next shop has a couple of seats, but the family 'tents' took up most of the space.

it's certainly a 'classier' place than my favorite humble al-tawasol - with plaster ceiling and 'posh' chandelier hanging from it.

the tents has the usual red stripey cloth similar to the ones in al-tawasol. i didn't see the inside of the tent as it's all fully booked for berbuka (much to my disappointment) - so we took a seat.


a huge mirror was our wall, with designs of famous landmarks in dubai which includes the sail-shaped burj al-arab.


khaleef, as most night-outings - was asleep in the car, on the way here. that's what you get if you don't nap in the afternoons!


as you might know already, nasi mandi comes with a plate of vegetables or salad, and a small bowl of chilli.

in al-tawasol, what i like about its plate of salad is the cucumber but there's none here! also at al-tawasol, there are capsicum and daun-daun ulam ape ntah on the small salad plate. here in al-marhabani, the salad plate is a big one, and comes with lettuce, fat-sliced tomatoes and carrots.

hmm. i love carrots but i don't eat 'em raw. tomatoes are yummy but not so much with mandi. so i guess i'm still a rabbit as i went for the lettuce with a munch crunch a bunch!


and now we come to the main star of the show - my favorite mandi chicken!

my verdict : the rice is as juicy and 'oily', but the chicken was a boo boo. it's not as easily shreded as in al-tawasol, and you can see it's overcooked in some parts of the chicken - jadik keras sikit.

overall, it's as delicious as the one in al-tawasol except for the texture of the chicken. so if you want a yummy mandi dish in a place a little bit classier, try al-marhabani in dubai-sharjah border!

(abah cepat datang balik dubai! nanti kitorang bawak makan kat sini pulak! :)


just to share - we sat next to a couple of girls (obviously org sini) eating a plate of mandi chicken each. EACH. now a plate of mandi rice has HALF a chicken - not quarter ok, half - and these two girls had one plate each. now by the time these girls finish eating, i realized both of them left practically more than half a portion of rice and chicken on their plate.

when they went to pay, i thought the waiter was going to bungkus the nasi mandi for them but nope. sigh. i was broken hearted!

it's ramadhan. and minah-minah @rab ni membazir dua pinggan yang boleh bagi makan (paling kurang) 6 orang budak anak-anak yatim atau fakir miskin! kenapa tak share je? kalo share confirm diorang bole habiskan sepinggan. memang sangat sedih tengok betapa sambil lewa dan penuh angkuhnya diorang meninggalkan meja dan pinggan yang penuh makanan. dah la makanan fav aku!

i wonder what will happen to the food yang masih elok benar tu? aku pun kadang-kadang tak habis makan, tapi most definitely akan tapau bawak balik. esok panaskan. ayam kalau tak habis bole guna lagi untuk nasi goreng. selalu memang macam tu.

diorang ni tak tau ke ramadhan ni juga mengajar kita beringat-ingat orang yang takde makanan?