Perkahwinan desa permai

Selamat Pengantin Baru

A couple of weeks ago I attended a relative's wedding in Kuala Pilah deep into the interior of Negeri Sembilan where your telco signal intermittently connects you to the outside world. It was a good change to witness the slow pace of life even during a wedding reception. 

The Tok Kadhi had a field day and is in no hurry when he took his time asking the 'suami to be' many many questions like..apa dia hukum Islam...cuba baca niat Dzohor berjema'ah ... etc...never running out of 'challenging' questions. 

Tergedik-gedik juga kawan menjawab..

Jaguh karaoke village beauty

Apart from the ever popular karaoke kampong (never short of AF wannabees & occassional Raja Lawak) the most talked about item on the agenda is of course - FOOD.

 

I bet you have not heard of Umbit Sawit - masakan lomak santan and daun kunyit. pheh ! 

Buek apo ambik gambar jang ?

And the best part of it all, which is at the brink of extinction ....the spirit of gotong royong oleh jiran kampong.

On the way home managed to grab a couple of Daging Salai just outside the town.

Balik kampong wo-oh-oh-oh balik kampong...

The journey begins..

First and foremost both the old Black Beauties were given the royal treatment to ensure a safe and sound journey..

Does embarking every weekend for 24 weeks on a bike journey through the unbeaten track of the peninsula sounds like an adventure ?  It sure does if loosing your way through the hot afternoon sun and the occasional heavy thunderstorm is your idea of a good adventure.

It all began last Saturday with the meter reading of 2240 mls / 3,604 km. and the first venue Trolak Selatan was not a disappointing one either. Going through the highway and exiting Sungkai is where the journey takes you through oil palm plantation. Yes the ocassional 'babi hutan' darting across the road was as expected as ever but surprisingly this time it happened within the Felda gated residence.

Once again the food was simply as kampung as you can possibly get - sambal belacan and the works.. Not surprisingly the local folks speak loghat Kedah as any other Felda Settlements elsewhere.

On the way home it was a definate pit-stop at ye old kueh pau joint made famous by the old apek on the corner of the main trunk road.

 

It now boasts a network of other joints in the city of KL where some people say this may affect the ori taste.

 

So a couple of 'bungkus to be kukus' later made their way into the box and off we went on the journey back to KL.

 A very wet and satisfying journey that is...

Next Kota Tinggi or maybe Gua Musang..

mee kaki ayam

They say it tastes good and out of curiosity thats what I ordered from a new food joint called Noodle Station in Platinum Walk Setapak (near Uptown). 

I had a tough time trying to stay focused wondering as to where or what has these tiny feet been up to before ending up in the cooking pot. 

Apparently this is the 8th outlet (being the 1st in KL) to open outside Kota Bharu Kelantan, where it originated producing home made noodles with quite a variety of dishes to choose from.  For those kaki noodles this is the right place to be. 

 

3rd Raya - Kedah

In the spirit of 'berhari raya', we visited Malia's kampung to pay respect to her late father (Allah bless his soul) who passed away during the recent Ramadhan. The experience of serenity, peacefulness and tranquility greeted us with open arms by Mother Nature, reminding us of Allah's Greatness in all His creations. 

You don't get any better than this 'Raya di Kampung'.

Hopefully these pictures do tell a thousand words.

As we were walking back towards our car parked some 500 meters away carrying our 'buah tangan' (10 kg of freshly packed rice), I received some sad news from 'kampuong' Barulak in Sumatra that my dear mother's younger brother Mamak Autad Said has just 'pulang ke Rahmatullah'.

'Innalillahi Wainna Ilaihi Rajiiun'. 

On the journey way home I can't help thinking about God - who is able to give you anything at one time and take away everything at anytime'. - Allah is Great.

2nd Raya - Penang

On the second day of Raya, without hesitation, packed my bags, jumped into the car, filled up petrol..

hopped onto the highway, and after about 3 1/2 hrs, Pulau Jerejak was in sight, drove across the Penang bridge... into the Land of Nasi Kandargh.

Enjoyed glorious food in Gurney Drive, enjoyed watching Rojak Mamak dance, then cruised  along Batu Feringghi... walked along the nite market and finally 

found my all time favourite band @ only rm4 , ended in my mothers house even though no one's home, got the house keys before retiring to bed, smiling  - Ahh... ini baru Raya !

Sahur in style

On Friday we had our annual gathering of cousins and uncle/auntie for 'sahur' in one of the leading hotels along Jalan Sultan Ismail. It was the first time this Ramadhan that I decided to spend a little more than usual for a buffet meal in a hotel.  It was a good change and everyone enjoyed catching up with the times.

Even though it was way past midnight (and the buffet per head is not really that cheap), the place was reasonably filled with customers. 

Fancy cars were still being jockeyed at the hotel front, the merry makers were still boogying down on the dance floor and the coffee house were still being patronised by strings of well dressed guests.

The country's petrol hike, economic downturn, inflation, political turmoil, investment uncertainty..... are they all for real? Definately not for some.

 

Hazriq, Alysia and Sarah were brave enough to 'meet and greet' uncle Aznil who happened to be seated next to ours. 

It was incredible how Aznil appeals to the kids. Talking about idol worshipping at this age they were hysterically thrilled. He sure knows how to 'layan' them young.

I bet Aznil is not badly affected by the economy, by the look of his current popularity and cool fancy ride.

'Good on yer, Aznil'

Pasar ke Pasar

juicy fruits excellent for buka puasa, sold at the entrance of Pasar Chow Kit

For a change I thought it would be a good idea to stock up food during the Ramadhan by going to Pasar Chow Kit since the last I went there was like ages ago. After struggling to find a parking lot, the first impression I had upon entering the ayam and daging section is like its a market along the streets of calcutta where majority of the sellers are foreigners. The place is really filthy too. 

It is not the same Pasar Chow Kit that I used to know. 

I ended buying just fruits and decided to adjourn to a more familiar and cleaner Pasar Keramat 

fresh fish and vegetables from Pasar Keramat anytime cheaper and fresher than some hyper market.

Edisi Kota Bharu

Mission Accomplished. 

Our journey (two bikes only),  took us from KL via Route 8 - Raub, Kuala Lipis, Gua Musang to Kota Bharu, Kelantan. However, on our way home we took an alternative route from Gua Musang towards Cameron Highland to Simpang Pulai exit onto the North-South highway leading towards KL. Total distance travelled - 1109 km.

Following is a mini pictorial compilation of the journey. 

* All photos were captured on the iphone unedited.

Notice moleskine? wink-wink. Even the grafitti in Kelantan sungguh bersopan - 'tutup aurat'

Monumental Palace. Toast and home made kaya with the ever perfect hard boil egg from the famous kopitiam White House, not to be missed when you visit Kelantan

The river that feeds the people. A school that passionately sustains the Mak Yong tradition. 

Black among the Whites.  All the effort for a minute's moment.

Cameronian signature. Back on the ground en route home.

Will do even better the next time. Looking forward for another 'ride to work'.

Birthday greetings

....goes out to Hasnah.

Some close friends celebrated Hasnah's birthday in a cozy Mexican Restaurant tucked in a corner off Jalan Ampang, courtesy of our good buddy - Syed.

Yeah right Hasnah,  26 yrs old ? ...Posing Senoritas

Notice the flower creation behind the glass, its personally hand made by Nur Laila Aziz

Serving Lamb Shank on a birthday was all Syed's idea.

Anyway Happy Birthday Hasnah, from all of us.

Oops I did it again

Yeah but this time, with 3 other bikers

Some exchange of greetings, till the next visit, which Johar said  'it would be best to arrive here before the 'ayam berkokok' to enjoy the full morning mist."

Personal attention from the Executive Chef.

Sharing Johar's experience (coloured bandenas)  during the recent Indonesian trip, where the unfortunate tragedy striked the late Indonesian Actor, Allahyarham Sophan Sophian. 

cafe@lui re-visited

I told you i'll be barq! 

Could not resist that ST shot in the mist. 

Woke up just before suboh and thought its time to warm up the bike and what better way than to zoom across the hills and meander through the winding road of Hulu Langat.  A hot cup of nescafe tarik and a couple of toast chatting with the brilliant guardians of this wonderful place.

What a cool way to start the weekend.

*click for more pix of cafe@lui

What a week

Reccee through palm oil plantation of Felda Palong in Gemas Negeri Sembilan, took us through the long and winding road of Kuala Pilah and small towns of Juasseh, Bahau on route to Gemas

A must stop at the Kuala Pilah Bus Station to savour the best Cendol in Negeri Sembilan.

Superb combination, Mee Rojak and of course Cendol..In the background Self-Endorsed Advertising (ala Richard Branson of Virgin) featuring the Man himself Abu Backer Sitihiq of KP Cendol.



It was a hectic week, preparing for an important presentation throughout the weekend and had to turn down a couple of meetings which include, my condo's management committee meeting, wREGA annual general meeting, also turned down a talk at kakireka. (Fortunately, managed to persuade TinToy as a replacement speaker).  Turned down another meeting today with wREGA at Koh's place.

Cafe@Lui

Cafe Lui, Hulu Langat's best kept secret, headlines nor write ups needed. You just need to be there!