Tun Mahathir's 'The Loaf'

"tumpang tanya, mane bakery yang dr. mahathir punya tu?"

and with the direction from the info counter, we were off to level 3 of pavillion, kl to go to 'the loaf' - a bakery said to be the ferrari of all bakeries, because of its posh setting, with pricey breads and pastries!

this pavillion branch is the second one after the one in langkawi.


i've been wanting to go here since forever! especially knowing that it's owned by our former prime minister, tun dr. mahathir. knowing that the bread and pastries are said to be always fresh and not only delicious, but nutritious as well!

'the loaf' in pavillion actually covers two levels - level 3 for bread and pastries, and level 4 for dining - offering a decent range of the usual soups, steaks and chops, plus itallian dishes.


at level 3, the bakery - we were definitely spoiled with the choices of fluffy fresh breads and pastries of all kinds!

one with almonds all overs, another with syrupy chocolate covering, and another one with raisins and some with sesame seed. they're not the usual basic 'cheese bread' or 'egg tart' that you would normally find at any other bakeries. these are really 'branded' breads and pastries - 'the loaf' brand!

which one to choose - rambang mata!

semua nampak sedap!

notice khaleef holding the paper box? there's a whole pile at the entrance, as well as at one corner at the back of the bakery. you enter, you take a paper box, and start 'browsing'. pick a few pastries of your choice and head on to the counter at the entrance to pay.

the line was quite long when we came!


with a paper box in hand, we continued walking up and down the bakery. the lane in between was quite narrow, so if you're taking your time looking around, you'll take up space, especially during peak hours!


yummy wholesome bread! as i looked at these yummies, i remember a quote from 'ratatouille' - how do you tell a good bread, by the sound of the crust! (i wasn't able to squeeze any of the bread, unfortunately! hihi)

as we were browsing and choosing - and can't make up our mind - i saw one of the pastry staff taking out a tray full of freshly baked bread - and placed it in one of the many glass showcases. he placed the tray inside, and left the glass ajar.

saje je nak kasi klua bau!


i inspected it - it was this twisty bread with swirls of chocolates and sprinkle of sliced almond, called 'heavenly choco'. that's it! that's what i want!

hot, fresh from the oven, and chocolatey! yes, i want that one!

sedap gile!

rm8.20?! it really was pricey! but being a 'new creation', there was a 50% discount. first time tengok roti ade diskaun! hihi.


if you just wanna have the bread and pastries, you go up these few steps (like the picture above) to the counter at the entrance, queue up, and pay. then sit down and enjoy your snack.

however, if you go up (like khaleef in the picture below) you'll get to level 4, to the dining or restaurant area of 'the loaf'.


if you opt to sit here and have a little meal, you do not need to queue up to pay for your bread - just take your bread upstairs, and they will charge your bread together with what you order at the restaurant.


reading the menu, there's even a bit called 'tun's breakfast' - coolness!

* * *

so what did we order? we only wanted to snack, so we ordered mushroom soup to share. it's presented in this adorable round sesame bread, with its top cut out like a cover. cute.

salty to perfection, thick and creamy - don't let it sit too long, or it'll be slightly soggy. just slurp it while its hot!


i was having a bit of a coughing fit, so i ordered hot chocolate. what's not to like? it's hot, and it's chocolate! however, i was halfway regretful of ordering hot chocolate to go with my 'heavenly choco' twirly bread!


mr. khairul ordered this bad-ass of a drink - it's cold, it's juice-like, but with a heavy taste of ginger! it IS in fact, a combo of three item - two fruits, plus ginger!

DID NOT like it!


khaleef chose this triangle-shaped bread, soft and thick, with sugar all over. no matter how far we walked along the bread and pastries, he still wanted this one. it tastes like a triangle-shaped doughnut.

* * *

here's khaleef enjoying the view below. nyum nyum.


..and here's kahfi with the background of the restaurant. simple, comfy and kids-friendly.


...and here's kazim with my 'heavenly choco'! pricey - YES! but worth every bite? DEFINITELY! i'll come again just for the twirly bread with the chocolate swirls that's just heavenly!

tun, sedap la roti kat kedai tun! hihi.

Wedding @ Jeumpa D' Ramo

i love weddings.

a celebration of love. a union of two families. harmonious shades of theme color. oh, and of course - the food!

last weekend we were invited to attend a wedding at 'jeumpa d' ramo', an exclusive guest house situated along jalan maarof, bangsar. it's kind off like a huge bungalow, white in color - usually used for weddings, gigs and exhibitions.

it was the wedding of fauziah's brother. who's fauziah? my good friend from dubai! adoi. balik malaysia pun tengok muka sama! hihihi. kidding, ya fauziah dear!


it was all a wedding should be : beautiful setting, lovely pair of pengantin, smiling family members welcoming guests, loud laughter at every corner, and the shrill voices of children playing.

there was no joget lambak, though but a filipino band serenading love songs for the happy newlyweds and their guests. they played a range of songs from dewa's 'dealova' to 'endless love'.

at my wedding, the dj played songs over the speaker - it was too loud, too echo-ey and quite irritating really. i'd rather have these fellas singing sweet love songs with their pleasant voice!

fauziah & me

being indian muslim, fauziah and family don the traditional indian dress, the sari - specially for this auspicious occasion. she looked absolutely resplendant in her red sari, that i almost screamed in delight when i first saw her.

hey, mane satu pengantin ni! hihi.

the tall centerpiece

the setting was simple, with a touch of class. peach satin draped from the ceiling, with a chandelier in the middle. nice.

the centerpiece was pretty, but a bit too scary though. tinggi sangat vasenye! i half expected it to topple down anytime the boys became too boisterous at the table!

sorry this is a bit of 'after-pic', too lapar and excited tak amik gamba 'before'!

oh, the food?

the food was excellent. super soft kambing that fall apart easily even with a spoon, delicious ayam rempah, dalca - it reminded me of all the things i missed about kenduri kawen!


the boys were too 'sweet' for briyani kambing or ayam - so that gobbled up the cute little pastel pink cupcakes!

thank goodness kahfi did not go toing toing toing this time!


thanks fauziah and fairoz, for making us part of your family's celebration of receiving a sister-in-law. we enjoyed the lovely singing, and we definitely enjoyed the FOOD! thanks again, dearie!

Shakespeare I Love!

do you like theater? poetry? in old english? do you know an old dude named william shakespeare?

william shakespeare, born 26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616, was an english poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the english language.

he is often called england's national poet and the "bard of avon". his surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. his plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

~ wikipedia

i love reading shakespeare's work. sure, a huge chunk of his words are beyond my comprehension, but once i get a hang of it, it really does make sense! if you feel his language is too blah, then get a modernized, or simplified version.

trust me, you'd wanna read the stories he writes about! erm, do you like the teen movie '10 things i hate about you' starring heath ledger? the story is taken from a play by shakespeare. of course, modernized - but it's his work!


i've been in love after i was introduced to him in my literature in english class. since then, we've been 'intimate' - hihi. even in uia, my favorite course was shakespeare 101. and when i was choosing what masters degree to pursue, i noticed a 'masters in shakespeare studies' that i was really tempted to take!

my first, and remain one of my most favorite shakespeare's plays is 'macbeth'. the others would be 'twelfth night' and 'the merchant of venice'.

shakespeare, or sometimes fondly refered to as 'the bard' (bard is an old english word to describe a writer or a poet) is a great storyteller. he can narrate history, he can woo you with romance, he can make you cry with tragedy, and he can amuse you with comedy. he's like the p.ramlee of england!

* * *

truth is, i was just writing this because i stumbled upon this bit - simply the cutest 'macbeth in one minute' animation i found on the net. enjoy!

shakespeare's macbeth. by phineas, made at DoInk.com

A Quiet Lunch & A Noisy Bbq Dinner

WARNING : this is a pictorial entry. few words. lots of pictures.

my mak has two younger sisters; i call them auntyna, and cik. and for great delicious homemade dishes, they're just a phonecall away. last weekend was probably one of the best makan-makan sessions i've had while in malaysia this time around.

lunch was at cik's house in ipoh, then we headed on to kl for a bbq dinner at auntyna's house. two makan besar in one day!

mr. khairul who is currently 'on tour' for 2 weeks with his management team, was sadly missed. you're SO missing this, honey! more for me to gobble up! hihi.

* * *

yong, cik holding kazim & me

so first up, was lunch at cik's house. cik is mak's youngest sister. with all her girls away in college and working in kl, she's at home with husband uncle rosli and her two boys umar and abu.

just cik, us - me, my younger sisters syida and azi. our eldest sis yong joined in later.

kazim with his wancik

there's nothing more satisfying than having an aunt who can just whip up a meal, made to order. since in dubai i've been raving about her deliciously sweet-spicy ikan keli cili padi, kuey teow and nasi tomato - and those were exactly what i got when i came back to ipoh.

cik's fried spirali pasta

and even when the wombats (my younger sis syida and azi) came back to ipoh, they too ordered what they were craving for - fried spirali pasta, and kuey teow ladna. yum yum.


syida wanted kuey teow ladna. a salty savoury delight made basically with flat noodles fried slightly, with a party of mix vege, chicken and mushroom. excellent.

my sisters; syida & azi

the spirali goreng was a request from azi - sweet spicy concoction of spirali, fried in chilli sauce with cut up chicken, crab cakes and fish ball thrown into the mix. nice.


it was a simple lunch with quiet bliss. just us adik-beradik and our young aunt. while we were busy exchanging tales, khaleef and his cousins haiqal, haqeem and husna were busy playing outside.

* * *

saw this lovely picture in a frame. a picture of cik with her eldest sister; my mak. mak was holding her first grandson, haiqal.


rindunya kat mak!


finally, a group photo to remember the moments; syida, haiqal, yong with husna, cik holding kazim, me and azi.

thanks so much, cik - not just for this lunch, but for the previous ikan keli, kuey teow and nasi tomato! love you, cik!

* * *

from cik's house, we headed straight to kl for a bbq dinner date at auntyna's place. it was a noisy, festive affair indeed - mak's cousin, mak keh was there. cik's daughters who are studying and working in kl were there - wani and yaya. auntyna's whole family was there - uncle mi, my cousins shina, rini, nayah and amin.

noisy, noisy lot!

mak keh holding kahfi, me, and auntyna carrying kazim

once we're out of the car, we could already smell the grilled marinated chicken, hotdog and my most-wanted - lamb chops!

happy hungry me, ready to eat!

also, one look at the table and i can see a generous spread of yummies!

there was auntyna's specialty nasi ayam. bowls of coleslaw and mash potato to go with the bbq-ed meat. also few itallian dishes (i love itallian food) spaghetti, baked mac and cheese, and my cousin rini's best dish - lasagna!


the sweetest (literally AND figuratively) yummies were these adorable little cupcakes, baked especially by chef shina, for her beloved cousin who came back all the way from dubai!

it was a simple butter cupcake with chocolate cream on top, dotted with lil edible beads. best feature was the tiny red love-shape right in the middle. lovely!

however, somebody fed kahfi too many cupcakes that night (FIVE i think) and he went toing toing TOING with sugar rush the whole night!

chef izan and chef amir

a running joke that night - new 'members' of the family a.k.a 'new squeeze' a.k.a 'new boyfriends' must be made to suffer through fire and smoke - and handle the bbq pit.

my cousins rini, wani and yaya brought their boyfriends that night, and since the latter two are fairly new additions, they were in charge of the bbq pit. kena buli sikit!

anyway, i have to thank them for a job well done. well, i didn't want my lamb chop to be 'well done' actually - so amir tried 3 times to perfect the lamb chop, (from rentung to medium well) the third time being the most delicious. syabas! hihi.

khaleef with pengantin basi firdaus and shina, khaleef with auntyna's youngest nayah, and khaleef with auntyna's only son amin

after tummy filled and stories shared, it was photo-craze sessions - mostly with the dubai boys!

kahfi with cousins rini and yaya, kahfi with amin, and kahfi with rini's boo khairul (yes, khairul jugak!)

kahfi was more difficult to pin down and made to pose - all thanks to the sugary-sweet icing-y cupcakes!

from top : kazim with wani, down : kazim with shina & amin, kazim with his wanna, and kazim with rini

and here's the star of the night - the latest kay boy - kazim! even the *ehem* boyfriends are passing around kazim to 'showcase' their 'fatherly' side. like my cousin yaya joked on facebook - 'semalam hari menunjukkan skill kebapaan sedunia'!

sleeping kazim with uncle amir

he even slept in the arms of yaya's boy amir! thanks la amir. dapat la maknye bergosip-gosip sambil amir dodoikan si kazim!


this was the first time that i saw all of them since i came back from dubai. so you can imagine why it was a such a noisy affair. gossips whispered, stories shared, news updated. laugh out loud was the theme of the day.

thanks so much auntyna for opening your house to such a merriment. love you!

* * *

cik, gim nak lagi nasi tomato okay. ikan keli jugak! auntyna, hari tu tak puas makan nasi ayam. nak lagi! spaghetti lansung tak sempat makan sebab banyak sangat makanan.

take note ye, aunties! hihi.

* * *

mak, we're in safe hands - as far as our tummies are concerned! hihi.

Nasi Lemak Taliban @ Medan Gopeng, Ipoh

nasi lemak banyak yang sedap-sedap. tapi aku cakap terus la ye - ini bukan entry pasal nasi lemak sangat. ini entry yang lebih bernostalgia. hihi. mane tadi? oh, nasi lemak sedap.

• nasi lemak giant puchong yang harganya rm1 tapi didatangkan dengan sayur sekali!
• nasi lemak kampung melayu, ipoh yang telur mata kerbaunya dibuat fresh masa kita order; separuh-separuh masak dengan telur kuning yang masih cair!
• nasi lemak taman tun yang berderet orang beratur nak makan nasi lemak dengan lauk bermacam-macam terutama rendang ayam yang lazat!

memang nasi lemak banyak yang sedap-sedap. tapi yang ini bukan saja sedap, tapi paling istimewa. bukan pasal sambal sotong yang best, bukan pasal pakcik yang jual tu hensem. nasi lemak dia pun tak balut dengan daun pisang.

tapi, memang nasi lemak ni istimewa sebab mengingatkan aku tentang mak.

masa zaman belaja di uia dulu, sampai ipoh dari kl naik plusliner mesti suruh driver turunkan aku kat medan gopeng. aku jalan sampai gerai nasi lemak ni, call abah mintak tolong ambikkan, order sebungkus dan tunggu abah ngan mak sampai.

aku pompuan, turun bas sorang-sorang, malam-malam - tapi rase selamat tunggu abah kat gerai ni. pasal gerai ni dulu kongsi sikit space restoran nasi kandar yang terang. jadi aku tak la rasa takut sangat tunggu abah ngan mak sorang-sorang.

asalnya aku sorang je yang beli nasi lemak ni. tak beli untuk family pun. pasal naik bas ekspress kat pudu kadang-kadang tak sempat makan. lama lepas tu, mak pun nak sebungkus. lama-lama, kalo aku call suh amik, aku akan amik order skali untuk mak, abah ngan adik-adik - baper bungkus nak? hihi.


oh, nak tanya pasal nama nasi lemak ni ke?

pertama sekali aku nak terangkan yang sebenarnya aku je yang gelarkan nasi lemak ni 'nasi lemak taliban'. jadi kalo korang di ipoh jangan la tanya "mane nak cari nasi lemak taliban" - confirm yeop/kak long tu tak tau sebab nama tu aku yang coinkan, dan adik-beradik aku je yang guna nama ni.

kenapa nama ni?

harap-harap jangan la obama pegi hantar askar batallion gi serang pakcik ni. pakcik tu takde kena mengena pun dengan osama (eh aku baru perasan nama diorang - obama & osama) satu huruf je yg membezakan!) aku kasi nama nasi lemak taliban tu semata-mata pakcik tu memang pakai serban suma, dan masa tu kecoh pasal taliban. saje je nama tu terkeluar - tau-tau melekat plak!


camne nak cari?

sape-sape yang duk ipoh, atau melawat sedara mara kawan-kawan di ipoh, nak cari gerai ni pegi je medan gopeng. cari 'billion'. ada barisan kedai-kedai kat situ. cari pulak 'restoran darul ridzuan'. malam-malam ade lah van putih park depan BSN!

deret kedai ni terletak berhadapan dengan jalan yang nak menuju kampung melayu.

skang dah pakai van putih. dulu setakat guna meja yang bole lipat-lipat tu je. amik ruang sikit kat depan restoran nasi kandar tu. skang ni dah amik space kat tepi jalan sebab nak parkkan van putih tu.

alhamdulillah maju jaya nampaknya bisnes nasi lemak pakcik tu!


aku ni dok cakap pakcik, pakcik, pakcik - tapi kalo korang tengok gamba nampak awek je yang menjual kan? mesti korang tertanya-tanya mane pakciknye? haha.

dulu memang pakcik yang jual nasi lemak ni. hensem pakcik tu. baik pulak. haha. kadang-kadang anak lelaki dia tolong. kadang-kadang anak pompuan. awek tu anak pompuan dia la kot, dah amik-alih menjual.

dulu, lauk nasi lemak tu buh dalam tupperware je. skang dah ade bekas macam kat buffet pulak. bagus betul pakcik ni memajukan perniagaan dia.


tapi kan, yang tak berubah cuma lauk-pauk dia. dari dulu sampai sekarang memang banyak pilihan. dari gerai kecik sampai gerai van - lauk memang berbagai-bagai. kerang, ikan bilis petai, ayam rendang, ayam merah, ayam goreng, sotong, paru - ikan keli pun ade!


dulu aku mesti order nasi lemak dengan sambal sotong. sedap gile. dah baper tahun tak datang, aku masih nak sambal sotong - tapi secara jujur, dah tak sesedap yang dulu lah! apsal ni pakcik? hihi.


kalo tak amik sambal sotong, aku suka jugak ayam masak merah dia. dan dah 10 tahun pun, ayam tu tetap sedap! syabas! hihi.


ikan keli pun ade! aku suka sangat ikan keli, tapi ade ye orang nak makan nasi lemak dengan ikan keli?


dari sudut gerai ni, korang akan nampak mcd medan gopeng. jadi sape yang tahu kawasan ni, tau la mana nak cari nasi lemak ni. masa aku balik malam-malam dari kl dulu mane ade mcd ni. baru sangat. kalau ade mcd 24hours ni mesti aku lepak sini je sambil tunggu mak ngan abah amik.

tapi kalau camtu, aku takkan tau la pasal nasi lemak sedap ni!

mcd medan gopeng

* * *

tada! ni bukan semua aku punya ok. seisi rumah! hihi. kitorang order nasi lemak biase je, sambal buh asing-asing. sambal dia memang sedap gile. manis-manis pedas. tambah pulak dengan telur mata - perfect!


sedap! sedap macam dulu. sedap macam masa mula-mula cuba nasi lemak ni masa tunggu mak ngan abah amik.

aiseh. gamba ngan sambal takde. tapi memang sedap ok. 10 tahun, masih di situ gerainya. kalau datang ipoh, pegi cuba okay!