Mini Open House Warming

Mama told us, she and babah used to host an open house party for raya back in Bintulu. They were lucky cos mama had some volunteers (her former students) to help her organize the party and a caterer who was more than happy to prepare delicious dish at affordable price...

so this year, since we brought back more than enough kuih raya to be shared (and auntie vee offered hers too), mama planned to host a mini version of raya open house party a.k.a house warming for her close friends...mama even asked auntie diana to make her signature dish ~ curry noodle and auntie vee volunteered to make chicken rendang...wowww, it sounds like a party already!!!

too bad, adeeb was not feeling well on that day...of all the days, he chose that very sunday to get sick huhuhu...he puked more than 3 times during the day, but surprisingly he was ok once the party was over, adeeb adeeb...I think when it comes to make himself the centre of attention, adeeb is the best grrr

some of the invited guests in the list cannot make it, but still we were happy with those who took the trouble to come and made our day, even auntie Ayya came all the way from kl with her hubby...and the best thing was, I made some new friends that day (if auntie vee's friends can be considered my friends too hehe)

'home sweet home'

It's been more than a year since we moved to Kajang.. and that is how long we have not set our foot on our house in Bintulu.. the place where I grow up.. mind you, I celebrated my first and second birthday there.. that was also the place where I patiently wait for babah to return from Miri every Friday evening. God,  I miss the place, really badddly... So when babah decided to visit the house in September, I made sure that he brought his camera with him, I want to know how does it look like now, after more than a year rented out to a wealthy Haji from Trengganu.. is it as messy as it used to be? does the wall crack? or has the paint fade?

but when babah showed me the photos, I just didn't know how to react.. the wall is still yellow, so is the curtain, I remember it was the same curtain on the day we left over a year ago. Overall, it still looks the same, well the decor is not that great I admit but it serves the purpose well, but babah said the exterior need serious attention, so is the kitchen he said. But it all looks fine to me, maybe babah had other idea that I don't know about but what I do know is, I just can't wait to come back home.. that'll be in a year and a half from now..  

Selamat Lebaran.. Syawal 1432 Hijrah

It's raya time again!! It's my 4th raya, and Adeeb's 2nd. I can barely remember what was the raya like last year but one thing for sure, my last year's baju won't fit anymore..

the food, as usual, is heavenly. You don't get to eat all this everyday, I mean, rendang daging & ayam, serunding, ayam masak merah, lemang and kelupis, all on the same table! The special addition to the usual menu is the itik masak kicap, which doesn't normally appear in the raya menu.. The taste? Hmmm.. not bad!

Hari raya morning is always the best part of hari raya, especially after babah returns from solat, it's the time when everybody, well almost everybody, is there. Anjang family will usually turn up for makan-makan and salam.. and duit raya..

and this is another part that I like, duit raya time but before that we have to go through the forgive and forget session. Well, this time of the day can sometimes spring a surprise or two. Someone could suddenly break down and cry, like what Usu Ima had done in previous years.. Talking about Usu, she get me this cute Angry Bird hand bag to keep my duit raya. Well this year how much I get from Anjang, hmmm... let me open the envelope first..

after Zohor, we usually gather at maknek's place, and this year is no difference. We kinda like the way this house is loosely controlled, I mean we can play with the cookies and biscuits and maknek will just say something to this effect.. 'Deena, don't play with the biskut lah.. if you want to eat, eat here lah ' from her kitchen and I will just reply.. ok maknek, with my mouth full of biscuits.. Put it this way, she is the kind of grandma who doesn't pinch..

We are lucky coz Mak Ngah is also there on the first day of Syawal, unlike last year when we only met on our visit to their home in Serian.. and that was on the 5th Syawal already..

Mak Long house is a must, not because she is the eldest in the family but because of Pak Long's special mee goreng. The taste, is out of this world, a little spicy, just the way I like it. You may not see Mak Nek in the pictures. Well, she is at home taking care of our ailing Nek Atok. Pity Maknek, but she gets to go out sometimes, when Usu is at home. Once in a while she ask Mak Andak assistance to replace her. Despite Nek Atok limited movement, she still prays, five times daily and she watches TV too! Not too hard to care for her? Well, wait till she need to answer the call of nature.. you would have hoped Maknek was there.. hehe..  

S e l a m a t   H a r i   R a y a   M a a f   Z a h i r   D a n   B a t i n

                                                                                                             ~DeenaIzzati~