Farewell Bro Hassanal @ Maraheb Mandi Restaurant

we love mandi rice. and for this special occasion of farewell lunch, mandi rice is still our top choice!

 

 

we held the farewell makan-makan at ‘meraheb madfood & mandi restaurant’. this is a new place for us, recommended by another mckk old boy abg nizalman. we never knew there’s a lovely mandi restaurant in this area with delicious lamb mandi!

it’s near dubai islamic bank in nad al hammar, deira. mr. khairul is not really familiar with that area, but after trying out their lamb mandi, this would definitely be a frequent place to get mandi rice! mr. khairul had better master the streets and roads!

 

from left : kay v96, suhaimi v00, hassanal v90, shon v84

 

farewell for whom?

we are saying goodbye, farewell, see-you-soon to a dear friend bro hassanal who is also another mckk survivor like my mr. khairul and my abah. he’ll be going back to malaysia for good, joining his wife hazleen and two boys who had earlier left dubai last year.

 

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this is a 2-in-1 plate of regular chicken mandi, and lamb zorbiyan. the chicken mandi was as delicious as it could be – soft beads of rice, juicy chicken which is well-marinated. i never did like lamb zorbiyan because the rice includes too much spice, but mr. khairul simply LOVED this. so to each his own! you may like it too. the lamb – need i even say it – was as tender as ever.

 

this is ‘lamb hanith’ served with mandi rice. lamb ‘hanith’ or ‘hanid’ is the ribs and shoulder part of the lamb which tasted so heavenly, with texture that was so soft that it tears off so easily from the bone. i don’t usually fancy lamb mandi because i always eat the chicken one, but the next time i go to maraheb restaurant, i will NOT order anything else.

this dish is superb. the lamb is so incredibly soft and tender, juicy and delicious.

 

the grilled fish is a good try too. not as juicy as the one in aden, but still delicious enough. click here for my review on aden restaurant, sharjah.

 

grilled prawn. not bad. not a fan of prawns, so i could be biased. had one bite just for taste.

 

the dishes came with complimentary salad, but if you want, you can order other salad like this one that we ordered – my favorite arabic salad fatoush. cut-up cucumber, tomatoes and lettuce, with crunchy bits that’s serves as croutons in western salad. yummy as its not too bitter.

 

the complimentary salad. the usuals.

 

comparatively speaking, this mandi restaurant offers more on its menu than any other mandi restaurant that we’ve been to. a lot of different ways of cooking chicken, lamb and seafood. there are a lot of different salads too, as well as appetizers and desserts as well.

 

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looking at the chairs, you would already get the feel of how ‘posh’ this particular mandi restaurant is. it’s not as posh as turath al-mandi in jumeirah but it’s not as lepak as our favorite tawasol.

 

the place is spacious, beautiful in its simplicity. the carved divider between the ‘rooms’, the patterned flooring, the pretty furniture – all classy enough to be called posh.

 

eventhough it looks posh, it’s still a very comfy family-friendly place where kids can be themselves rolling on the carpet and for us adults to have enough privacy. the ‘rooms’ are not as private as tawasol (the tents in tawasol IS like a room where everything is covered) unlike this one which only has waist-length dividers.

a nice place to eat, to bring family and friends. highly recommended.

 

* * *

 

from left : suhaimi v00, nizalman v90, shon v84, hassanal v90, kay v96

 

..and for these old boys of mckk, this place will be a memory of friends leaving and friends who remain. what are good food for, if not to share with good friends, eh?

Chicken Rice for Biker Dads

it was fathers day, and i was hosting 6 biker dads (including mr. khairul hihi) for their monthly motorcycle club meeting. two of them from dubai, and the other four came all the way from abu dhabi. it was a pleasure hosting, since usually it’s held in abu dhabi.

 

from left : my mr. khairul in blue, mr. prez syamsulfaiz, bro helmey, bro ezam, bro che we and bro manx

 

they came for lunch, so i made nasi ayam (chicken rice), spaghetti, and we had dominos pizza too.

it’s been so long since we open our home for makan-makan. the last time was probably for khaleef’s 5th birthday – which was so long ago. also, we didn’t have any raya open house last year like previous years so that’s why it felt like ages.

well, that’s why we were pretty excited about hosting! welcome, welcome!

 

 

when you look at the picture of the wives above, you’d never guess that two of them have just passed the superbike riding licence in abu dhabi. *shocked* petite, feminine and graceful – yet they’re ready to hop on and take on any rough tough harley davidson that their husband rides!

mr. khairul even had the nerve to ask me about getting a licence too!

i had never even been on a bike as a pillion rider, let alone trying to RIDE one myself! (ok, perhaps only once with my assignment teammate, and that’s just from my college in uia to the main gate to send an assignment – and that’s just about it!) absolutely ridiculous notion!

nways, well done to ira and zira – ride safe on the road, and have fun!

 

* * *

 

my chicken rice was so super-duper delicious that they all tweeted about it and dedicated elaborate facebook status just for my chicken rice – haha!

 

 

* * *

 

it’s so nice when before all the guests arrive, khaleef asked me, “the uncles and aunties who will come to our house – do they have children? will they be coming?” and when i said yes, he was so excited. the boys (manx’s kids in striped Ts) are 9 and 7 so khaleef had no problem getting along with the big boys!

 

even kazim found himself an awek to impress with his talent in xylophone! hihi. here’s kazim with marina (che we’s daughter)

 

* * *

 

behind their rough tough harley davidsons, black vest and riding boots – they’re just a bunch of dads with screamin tots and slobberin kiddos!

 

 

* * *

 

future rider?

 

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happy fathers day to my dearest abah in ipoh. thanks for everything, more than this blog can handle. i’ll see you soon, abah!

 

Kazim Cries Everytime I go to Bathroom

ok, to be fair, the title of this posting should read : kazim has STOPPED crying everytime i go to the bathroom. hihi. and this post is to celebrate the freedom!

…but not after months and months of crying, temper tantrums, wailing and basically a very vocal protest over his mother’s decision to enter a bathroom – which i could never really understood! only for the past few weeks did i realize that he has stopped crying whenever i enter the bathroom. he doesn’t cry anymore, he couldn’t care less!

he’s 2 years-2 months old, and i can finally enter the bathroom in peace!

 

my already-big boy kazim!

 

THEN…

• whenever i need to go to the bathroom, no matter for WHATEVER reason – 5 seconds hand-washing or 20-minute shower – kazim would just burst into tears of the worst kind!
• he would not want ANYONE else – of course, mr. khairul would try everything from cuddling him, giving him chocs, or his favorite oreo, or toys or put on ‘toy story 2’ – nothing works
• at times, when he was busy playing and then suddenly realized i was NOT around him, he would immediately grew nervous and ran to the kitchen or bathroom. when he found the bathroom door closed with me inside – SCREAM!
• when he was younger i would just take him along inside the bathroom! problem solved, for that few minutes…
• sometimes i would just leave the door slightly ajar – this seems to make him less anxious of his mother being ‘gone’ into the unknown – maybe because this lets him know what’s happening inside the bathroom
• of course when mr. khairul was around, sometimes he would distract kazim before i scoot off in lightning speed to the bathroom to do whatever!
• i developed a stealth mode when i am on a bathroom-emergency – mastering tip-toeing, closing door ever so quietly, and making sure the trickle of water doesn’t alert kazim!

 

 

* * *

 

NOW…

• he is not that anxious even if i’m not around. ‘mak is somewhere in the house. i’m cool.’
• even if he caught me getting into the bathroom, i would just smile and wave, and he would be just fine
• so many other things could satisfy him – even when he shows a slight frustration that i’m in the bathroom, he can be distracted by ben10 playing on tv, or his brothers calling him to play, or his bapak feeding him pasta cheese!
• i can have bubble bath, i can enjoy long hot shower, i can scrub the toilet – heck, i can sing the whole boyz to men album while washing my hair at one time without trouble!
• mak nak masuk bilik mandi? pegi lah…tak heran dah!

 

and what did i do to change this behaviour? NOTHING! kids just outgrew certain habits as they mature (thank goodness!) although i hope a few more things will NEVER change – like when he always give me surprise kisses for no reason at all...*smile!*

sob sob. my baby is growing! i can do without the crying-when-i-enter-bathroom, but don’t grow up too fast ya…

Full Fuel Tank Can Burst During Dubai Summer?

summer is here in dubai. it’s hot. it’s scorching. it’s sticky. it’s sweaty. and between it all, there’s an email that has been circulating the middle east community – a warning about bursting fuel tanks :

“UAE - The Defence Ministry has advised all the car owners in the UAE not to fill the fuel tank full because for the next few weeks temperature will shoot up to 53-54 degrees and this can cause the fuel tank to burst. Please pass this message to all and off course to your nearest and dearest ones, as all of us here are habitual of filling our car tanks full.”

yesterday in gulfnews, the officials from the civil defence in dubai has issued a statement that this message is NOT TRUE and just a RUMOUR. 

 

 

i was really taken by the warning, and for once did not think that it might be a hoax. i even reminded mr. khairul about it. however, it turned out to be UNTRUE, and these are the FACTS :

• despite temperatures reaching into the high 40C, gasoline in a car’s fuel tank cannot be heated to the point of self-combustion
• and even when temperature reaches that high, fuel turns to vapour (gas) and the fuel tanks has vapour valves or vents which can release the vapour out when the pressure builds up
• cars have their own safety systems when it comes to petrol tanks
• so, it’s NOT dangerous to fill up the car’s tank no matter what the temperature is

also – in dubai, fuel is pumped by the staff at the gas station (bukan self-service macam kat malaysia, pak arab taknak kotorkan kandoora putih tu kot! hihi) so instead of a warning to the public, shouldn’t the warning go to the gas stations instead? anyhow, the warning is a hoax, so no worries!

click here to read full report at gulfnews.

 

* * *

 

forget the fake email, let’s just focus on the precautions that we can take with our vehicle during this hot summer time!

1. i know this might quite difficult, especially when you’re around deira-bur dubai-karama area, but try to park in the shade whenever possible. it will keep your car cooler
2. when there is no shade available, try to park so that the sun will be shining on the car’s rear window or passenger side for the majority of the time it is parked
3. use a sunshade that goes on the inside of your car’s windshield. you know how hot a steering wheel can get!
4. we often read about children being left in the car accidentally, at times with deadly consequence. (may Allah protect our young ones, and protect us from being forgetful!) be sure to put your child's diaper bag or other belongings on the FRONT SEAT WITH YOU so you will be reminded that your child is in the car
5. frequent oil changes and belt checks are a must. make sure fluids are full
6. try filling up at night to save money, because hot fuel turns to vapor and when you’re filling up during hot afternoon, you might actually refilling vapor!
7. after shopping, check your trunk carefully to make sure nothing has fallen out of the grocery bags. you really don't want to find the bottle of fresh milk or that bag of prawns a week later...

be safe, people!

Snow White and the Huntsman VS Mirror Mirror

i’ve only JUST seen these two competing movies that take on the classic fairy-tale ‘snow white’. ‘snow white and the huntsman’ and ‘mirror mirror’. each movie delivers fresh new interpretation of the tale – one i really, really like, and another one i really, really hate!

even from the movie posters we can see that the action-packed ‘snow white and the huntsman’ is a much darker version than the more light and upbeat adventure-comedy ‘mirror mirror’.

 

 

what i like : i was surprised that i would enjoy the movie THIS much. its grim and dark setting do have a terrifying effect on me, especially because of the deliciously wicked queen. from the great cast to the engaging script and most of all powerful visual effects, i was hooked. watch out for the evil army made of black shards of glasses. coolness.

what i really like : the huntsman in any snow white tale is depicted as a miniscule 2-minute character who’s job is just to take snow white into the woods, kill her and take her heart to the queen. this movie takes that character to a whole other level – especially towards the end when he became one of the most important characters in the movie…no spoilers from me! you just have to watch it!

what i hate : there’s only ONE scene where the huntsman went shirtless. tsk tsk. should have more shirtless scenes. right.

haha. i actually love the movie. it’s not the best movie ever, but it’s very enjoyable and very well-made. also, i would watch the movie again just for the huntsman…

 

 

* * *

 

 

what i hate : ‘mirror mirror’ is like a badly written school production. i was actually shocked. i didn’t expect it to suck this bad. from the script, to the acting and casting – everything does not impress, and is mediocre. the set looks cheap, half the cast can’t act and the comedy seems pretentious that it came off as unnatural. lawak dibuat-buat. nak gelak pun kesian. and what’s with the TOTALLY unrelated bollywood number at the end-credit? out of place!

what i really hate : i got bored throughout the first 10 minutes of the movie. i cringe everytime snow white opens her mouth to say something NOT funny, and expressionless. and with that caterpillar eyebrows. and i cringe a lot of times – it’s almost embarrassing to keep watching. there’s no chemistry between the actors – i don’t feel that the movie has convinced me that all the 7 dwarves care for snow white, and i don’t feel the romance between the two leads. no feel lah!

what i did like : julia roberts is the saving grace of this mediocre movie. she proves that no matter how bad a movie is, a star like her always shines through; in the way she delivers her lines and her expressions. sigh. how did she ever agree to be involved in such a terrible production?

also, the dwarves are not bad either. i kinda like them. but that BAD, BAD script!

probably the only two best things about the movie – julia roberts’ awesome regal gowns, and armie hammer’s perfectly cast ‘prince charming’.

 

 

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two different movies, two different genres, the same main characters – how can i NOT compare and contrast them? now let’s get down and dirty with my take on the main characters of both movies!

 

 

the snow whites – adorably sweet lily collins in ‘mirror mirror’ and mysterious beauty of kristen stewart in ‘snow white and the huntsman’

 

lily collins – ‘snow white’ in ‘mirror mirror’

POSITIVE : mr. khairul said, she LOOKS like how a snow white would look like – fair-skinned, black hair, full red lips, and an overall adorably sweet face complete with a soft, feminine voice. pendek kata, she got the fairy-tale princess look.

NEGATIVE : to me she can’t act! seriously. and to make it worse, the movie has bad writing and bad direction. poor girl. also, i have never seen her in any other movie, so the first thing on my mind when i saw the trailer was – what’s with those eyebrows?! she makes a pretty snow white, but sorry those bushy caterpillar she calls eyebrows are distracting!

kristen stewart – ‘snow white’ in ‘snow white and the huntsman’

POSITIVE : she may be bogged down by the awful script in twilight, and people who critized her acting said she is an expressionless actress. however, i love her in this movie! i must say she makes a really believable snow white, despite mr. khairul saying she’s too HOT to be snow white! huh! i say that innocence, beauty and determination – she portrays it all in her snow white character.

kirsten stewart may not be the typical snow white that we grow up reading about, but then again, this version of snow white is not a typical one either…

NEGATIVE : i LOVE her in this role. period.

 

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the gorgeous queens with awesome wardrobe changes and bad-ass attitude – julia roberts in ‘mirror mirror’ and charlize theron in ‘snow white and the huntsman’

 

julia roberts – ‘the queen’ in ‘mirror mirror’

POSITIVE : in some movies, villains have the most fun – and in ‘mirror mirror’, julia roberts gets the best lines. funny, engaging and amusingly evil.

NEGATIVE : no matter how much effort julia puts in her role, she falls flat when surrounded by mediocre performances of the rest of the cast. and since they spent all the witty lines on julia, the rest of the movie is just badly written.

kesian my gorgeous julia roberts kena berlakon dalam cerita bosan ni!

 

charlize theron – ‘the queen’ in ‘snow white and the huntsman’

POSITIVE : i absolutely LOVE her as the queen. she’s alluring, sensual and so gothic. she accentuates her line so hypnotically – “mirror. mirror. on. the wallllll. who. is. the. fairesttttt. offfff. themmm. ooool….” nice!

NEGATIVE : nope. she’s perfectly wicked!

(one thing is for sure : the wardrobe of both queens are amazing! the costume designers are so talented…)

 

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prince charmings of the movies : handsome and dashing armie hammer in ‘mirror mirror’ and macho and rogue sam claflin in ‘snow white and the huntsman’

 

armie hammer – ‘prince charming’ aka ‘prince alcott’ in ‘mirror mirror’

POSITIVE : he’s the epitome of all that is princely and charming – tall, tanned and handsome, has a deep, manly voice and fights like a champ. he’s like all the yummy disney princes rolled into one.

NEGATIVE : it’s almost embarrassing to watch him trying to be funny. again i repeat – bad script, bad script, bad script! only an actor like brendan fraser can pull off that kind of handsome-goofy character!

 

sam claflin – ‘prince charming’ aka ‘william’ in ‘snow white and the huntsman’

POSITIVE : he’s cute! and his ruggedly handsome look suits well with this dark version of ‘snow white’. and that scene with the bow and arrow – “i said – do you need a bowman?” sexy!

NEGATIVE : sorry chap, you’re in a movie with the god of thunder THOR. good luck getting the girls’ attention!

 

 

chris hemsworth is best known for his role as the god of thunder thor. and now he’s the huntsman in ‘snow white and the huntsman’. perfect.

he managed to mix repressed anger and grief in the lost of his wife, the confusion of his role in the queen’s evil plan against the innocent snow white, and him being protective of snow white. handsome, tough and can be charming (the scene where he tore off snow white’s dress? “don’t flatter yourself!” haha).

he’s just the perfect huntsman. hey, you can hunt me anytime, dude!

 

* * *

 

so – long story short – i like ‘snow white and the huntsman’. i do not like ‘mirror mirror’. there.

what other fairy tales should be made into a movie? i would really like to see a really twisted version of ‘frog prince’ – perhaps the prince is a cursed zombie frog stalking the princess after the deal she made with the the evil frog prince…

(images are googled)

Khaleef Fever : Admitted at ‘Short-Stay Unit’

it started with a phone call from the school doc. khaleef vomited in the library. temperature - 39. lembik, monyok, groggy. i was shocked. this morning before school he was perfectly fine.

when i asked, khaleef told me he felt dizzy during storytelling at the library. he tried many times to lie down on the carpet during the session. when it’s over, they stood up ready to make paper crocs and that’s when he vomited. my poor baby boy!

mr. khairul picked him up from school, and we brought him to medcare hospital. doc said he needs drip. so he was admitted to the 'short stay unit'.

 

 

my brave boy! he didn't cry or complain at all when the nurse poked the needle into his tiny hand. he just squinted, tahan sakit and said, "i just breathe in and stay calm." it also helped that the nurses were so good with kids. they eased him, and talked him through the process.

and it’s so nice that they have those adorable patches with bears on them! cute!

 

 

drip, drip, drip.

we didn't expect him to be admitted for half a day, so i regret not bringing a book or something for khaleef, and for me too! usually i have a dr seuss pocket book stashed in my bag! so geram. but the silver lining is we just talked and talked and talked which was just so lovely…

i’m home with them all the time, but the TIME is usually spent on homeworks, reading, and NAGGING! sure we talk; a few minutes here, a few minutes there – but there i was, realizing that it’s been so long since i sit for hours with just my khaleef, doing nothing but talk – from the meaningful to the downright nonsensical stuff!

 

 

a couple more hours through and from the way he was constantly talking, it’s obvious he was getting so much better. next temperature check : 37, and goin down! we talked some more and played games like 20 questions, spelling bee and many other word games.

 

 

ok. when you see him in this pose, you know he's all better already. and he’s well enough to know he’s bored. haha. dah la he got 2-day off from school. partay time!

by the end of the session, his temperature is at 36+ degrees. yay! got his medicine and he's discharged. that was khaleef’s day at the ‘short stay unit’ in medcare!

most importantly, at the time of writing, he’s already up and about. his appetite is great and he’s jumping and rolling around with his brothers. he’s fine. alhamdulillah!

 

* * *

 

snippets of my conversation with khaleef that’s often amusing…

 

khaleef : mak, why are they taking my blood?

me : they want to check your blood.

khaleef : *suddenly so excited* mak! they have CSI in this hospital?!!

I LOVE Donuts @ Tim Hortons!

it’s official. after dunkin donuts, krispy kreme, j.co and what not – i finally found THE BEST (at least, in my opinion) donut i’ve ever tasted. they’re at ‘tim hortons’.

 

 

hey, those donuts that i mentioned are delicious too in their own way, but i’ve always feel that while the texture of the donut dough is so soft and fluffy at krispy kreme, their icing is WAY too sweet. too sweet. and while dunkin donuts’ icing are just fine, their dough gets tough real quick. and not as fluffy as it should be.

now combine the positives of these two big donut places – soft, fluffy dough, and top it off with icing that is just sweet in a reasonable proportion. you will get donuts at ‘tim hortons’!

my favorite : the classic plain one with chocolate icing. yum.

 

our intro with ‘tim hortons’ was at JBR (jumeirah beach residences), in bahar sector opposite hilton beach hotel. i’ve always wanted to try ‘tim hortons’ at JBR because it’s such a cute little red cafe, and when i finally did – i LOVE their donuts!

the choices are all too familiar – boston creme, choc, one with colorful choc rice, with caramel, with strawberry – mostly the same kind of donuts. but the difference is – in the taste!

 

 

‘tim hortons’ is actually a canadian coffee chain known for its coffee and donuts. It is also canada's largest fast food service. it was founded in 1964 by canadian hockey player tim horton and jim charade.

when it first started, ‘tim hortons’ sells ONLY coffee and donuts. that’s IT. and now the menu has expanded to include pastries, muffins, croissants, cookies and even bagels!

i’m gonna try that next! bagels!

 

 

we bought a dozen donuts – we are ALL donut-freaks – and until this moment i wonder why i didn’t take pictures of those fabulous donuts! they’re just perfect in my opinion! fluffy, with delicious toppings. love it, love it!

 

‘tim hortons’ JBR is right next to chow king and chilli’s at ‘bahar’, i think. enjoy a delicious donut today! (this is not a paid review. haha. i just really, really love their donuts!)