FOR THE LOVE OF IKAN BAUNG

8 hours before dear brother was to return to Manchester with wife and their lil bundle of joy, my aunt arrived at my doorstep holding a small, loosely wrapped package in her hands. I was surprised to see her, as she normally calls before coming to our house. Anyway, it was a short visit. She didn't even come in as she had to rush home to cook lunch for her family. She quickly passed me the package and muttered it was "Ikan Baung". A quick glance inside the package revealed that the fish was still whole and had not been ...err..how do I say this...

"siang-ed"??

Realising I would never be able to do any justice to the fish, I quickly told her that my mom (the chef) would only return much later at 7pm and promised to leave it to her to prepare/cook the ikan baung. As I stood later in the kitchen, staring at the fish in my sink, I realised that waiting for mom would be very risky as my brother (the very person the ikan baung was intended for) had to leave for the airport at 8pm plus. Thus this would mean, we would need to have an early dinner. Which of course means, the ikan baung needed to be cooked pronto! Now the question was by whom??? I had no idea how to clean the fish as it was not like any ordinary fish. And my culinary skills in cooking anything masak lemak has always been questionable , if not inconsistent. After much thot, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go.

First task was to clean the fish. And just how does one do that. The fish itself was a challenge for me. In fact, I found its shape to be pretty intimidating. After much struggling with 2 knives, a kitchen scissors and a small pestle, I did manage to have the fish cleaned (more like butchered) though it did take me a good hour to do so. Mental note: must remind dinner guests to ignore the slightly mutilated fish.

Next task was to actually cook the ikan baung. With a lot of prayer muttered under my breath, I went on to prepare the dish which was to be the main course for the family's dinner that nite. A dash of this and a stir of that..I then left the slightly cair and pedas ikan baung masak lemak in the pot and made a quick 911 call to my mom on her handphone. Rushing through the story of how my aunt, her sis had left me with the fish bla-bla-bla...I then begged her to return to my house A.S.A.P and help salvage my definitely ruined ikan baung.

Anyway, she returned as usual at 7pm and sampled my dish. Took out half of the gravy and added more coconut milk in order to make it thicker and less pedas. Voila! 15 minutes later it was ready to be served for dinner. For the hundredth time, SuperMom has saved the day again. And the daughter of SuperMom silently vowed that she'd make a point to sharpen her culinary skills before embarking on her next ikan baung escapade!

LONG OVERDUE

Yes, this entry is long overdue. I only managed to write one for the whole of last month and am trying hard to make sure that I write at least one more for this month. If only I had more time. Sigh!

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DONUTS GALORE

ok, it's official. We're all fans of Big Apple Donuts!!!

If you happen to be at the Curve in PJ, check out the shop and I"m sure you won't be disappointed. Forget the donuts you've tasted before. This is the one! It's soooo soft and soft and did I mention soft??

The unofficial mascot@spokesperson@donut-tester

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ELECTION DAY



8th March was election day and like others I headed off for the polling station to cast my vote. The center was just about 4km away but due to traffic conditions it took a much, much , much longer time to get there. There must have been hundreds of people on the road that day, all rushing to get to the polling station. As I was driving (more like crawling away at snail's pace), I was entertained by the many sights along the road. People doing last minute campaigning for their respective parties, cars/lorries/bikes brightly decorated with party flags and stickers and honks from supporters in their own vehicles everytime they passed by a polling center.

There was indeed much to see and take in on that day. The roads were lined with the young, the old and the curious onlookers. From the colourful buntings and flags to the shouts of party slogans. There were expected victories from some and unexpected losses too. And lets not forget the shockers that became the center of discussions for days on end. Yes, enough fodder for you, me and the rest of the country to talk about until the end of the month. On my part, I'm relieved I've fulfilled my responsibility as a citizen of this country and I can only hope and pray that we will keep enjoying the peace and harmony in our country's diversities of race and beliefs.

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STARTING THEM YOUNG

I'm worried about my number 3, who rarely picks up books to look at the pictures or pretend to read for mama's sake. His scope of interest at this stage is limited to watching cartoons on telly, tractor-spotting and playing and demolishing his toys (more so with the latter). So when he was noticed curled up on the sofa one night, with a book in his hand...we (mama and ayah) were most pleased. Even if it was read upside down! (tis a start anyway).

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ASIARI-COMPULSORY

Eversince hubby and I discovered Asiari at SACC mall (Shah Alam), we've been faithfully returning there once a month...at least. Food is tasty, even my picky eaters (children) have no problem licking their plates clean. The price is reasonable, the ambience most cosy. And the interior leaves a homedecor-challenged person like me...most inspired ;)

note : we're not paid to advertise for the restaurant!

CNY

It's 12 midnite and I'm listening to the sounds of firecrackers going off from a distant neighbourhood marking the entry of the New Year for the Chinese. My kids had planned to stay up for the fireworks but had fallen asleep just a couple of minutes ago. Now it's left to mama and ayah to enjoy the show from the bedroom window.

I love festivals. And I also enjoy observing my friends celebrate their festivals. I love seeing the excitement on their faces as they talk about going back to their hometowns in Setiawan or Alor Setar. Or seeing the frowns on their faces as they describe the usual nightmarish journey they have to endure travelling during the festive season. Or how about the serious discussion among friends on how to get the melt-in-your-mouth-to-die-for shortbreads@samprit? Now doesn't that sound familiar?

When I was a child, I recall visiting my late father's good friend "Uncle Chap-Gee" every Chinese New Year. We would go to his house, year after year until we moved to KL. And being sensitive to our culture and religion, Uncle Chap-Gee would make sure he only served us food which we could eat. And for a little girl of 9, getting the customary angpau was a definite bonus. The act of visiting is reciprocated during our Hari Raya too. Uncle Chap-Gee would always come to our house on the second day of Raya and I love hearing this jolly old man talk about golf, shopping in Singapore etc as he tucks into my mom's delicious laksa Johor.

Like many, I agree that festivals can help to foster good relationships among the races. What better way to learn about one's culture if not through festivals? Today, from my colleague Miss Tan I learned that the yee sang ceremony is more for people in the business field. And from the 2 students who gave me a mandarin each, I learned that 2 mandarins are better for me as "there is balance" in my life ( I hope I got that one right).

As I walked into my F5 class today, I was greeted by a very festive decoration put up by a member of the class. The bright red paper streamer was individually cut and assembled by a girl, who had taken 3 days to get it done. It hung across the ceiling and gave the class a festive air indeed. Perhaps more colouful paper streamers will adorn the class come Hari Raya and Deepavali. Who knows.

Forever in favour of harmony in diversity

One for the Camera

Finally a complete picture of ALL the kids together. This was taken in November. The photographer almost gave up during the shoot and as he was about to leave he said ,"Never work with animals and children".

Salam Maal Hijrah

I meant to do this much much earlier, in fact on the day itself, but as usual never got around to doing so. But 7 days late (give and take) is still okay, I think. Anyway, this entry is dedicated to all the relatives and friends, here and abroad, whom I've not seen nor heard from for whatever reason etc etc.

May this new year brings happiness and joy. And may we all be under Allah's protection and guidance always.

To the Manchurians - Ash n Dee n baby Syakir n Mak Tam n Pak Tam n Syahadah... Salam Maal Hijrah from everyone at home.

Love, Bluewonder

One for the camera

Caught sleeping on the job!

Am I seeing double???

Freestyle pose..pleaseeee

Er...is this boy ever awake?

Doa selamat at Wan and Atuk's house

Girls shouting out "SYAHADAHHHHHH!"

Boys in Jubah garb

Our little Iranian import

Spiderman.. ready to go

History revisited

A recent trip to Kota Malawati in Kuala Selangor resulted in a rather extensive history lesson by hubby. He, who I can only describe as a history-anthropology freak @geek has always been able to rattle off names, dates, places and events in the past as easily as I can concoct telur goreng!



I dunno how he manages to remember all the details. Perhaps he learned them for the right reasons..i.e for the knowledge itself...unlike yours truly who memorised history just to pass SPM. Hence, as soon as exam was over... all history facts were dutifully erased from memory :(



Today, Bukit Malawati offers a panoramic view of the Selangor coast and the Klang Valley. Besides Fort Malawati, there are several other fascinating historical attractions such as the Royal Mausoleum and the fabled execution block. My kids in particular were most interested in the ancient fort and cannons which were found there. Their first hand experience being at the fort surrounded with cannons brought squeals of delight as they imagined to be Captain Jack Sparrow on his many pirate escapades!

steps leading up to the fort

cannons galore

little did we know then that Safia was sitting pretty on what might

have been chopping blocks used for executions

As we circumnavigate the Malawati Hill we marvelled at the beautiful white-washed lighthouse also known as the Altingsburg Lighthouse. Named after the Dutch Governor General of that time, who was Governor General Alting. Since baby Luqman was in my lap, I forced hubby to run out of the car and take a pic of it. And I wasn't disappointed. The view of the lighthouse in the late afternnoon, framed by branches from a nearby tree was by far the best picture of the day!

Kudos to the amateur photographer!

Balik Kampong

As I was growing up...no..no.. this is not going to be a GUIT-thingy thing, visits to my kampong were made at least once or twice a year for either Raya celebrations or weddings of kith and kins. Going back to my grandma's kampong house in Bota Kiri, Perak and seeing my relatives were something I really looked forward to. I couldn't wait to meet my cousins who'd take me and my brother into the depths of the rubber estate just behind my grandma's house on my uncle's old Raleigh to check out the squirrels and perhaps a wild boar if we're lucky?? Or visit a place I vaguely recall calling tali ayor (the Perak way of pronouncing it) where my grandma's little orchard was located and durians lay scattered on the ground for us to collect and bring home. For a girl who's lived in concrete jungles all her life, these simple pleasures were indeed a real treat.

A journey made recently to my kampong, this time with the whole clan was indeed an experience to remember. The wonderful sights along the way brought back memories of yesteryears. Days when there were no highways and it'd take us 2 days to reach our destination. How my kids marvelled at the idea of us surviving all that travelling in my dad's old Fiat without any AC!

The limestone hills and marble quarry (or what's left of them) just outside Ipoh

Yes kids.. the rice that you eat actually comes from these paddy fields

and not from the supermarket shelves

Grandma's house

Aunty Teh's house...just lovingggggg it

Aunty D...Hannan is pausing to reflect at the stairs

Did Atok really swim here ( Sg Perak) masa kecik-kecik dulu?

I'm glad we made the balik kampong journey as a family. In the 3 hour car ride, with many Geography and History lessons thrown in by both me and hubby, the kids got to see and learn much about a place that was an integral part of my life in the past. There's so much the kids need to know about their roots and the hometown where their late grandfather grew up. Nothing better than seeing and learning about it first hand.