Craving For "Mandi".

Hi People. Yup, we're back from Penang. Got back last Sunday. I guess it's only expected that I post something about our recent weekend in Penang, right? Well, guess what? Today's entry is nothing about Penang at all.

Thanks to my recent conversation with my friend Julie who called me to invite the family to her daughter's aqiqah this coming Sunday, (Yup, we shall be making another trip back to Malaysia this weekend) I have this sudden craving for this dish I had in Dubai, mid last year. 

Nope, I'm not pregnant in case you people are wondering what's with the craving. :D

You see, my friend Julie mentioned about serving "mandi rice" during her daughter's upcoming aqiqah, and it brought me back to my first encounter with "mandi rice", not too long ago.

 

To those of you who are familiar with middle eastern cuisine would surely know what “mandi rice” is about. To help facilitate the explanation about mandi rice to the unfamiliar ones, yours truly sought help from “Mr Wiki”. (http://en.wikipedia.org)

Mandi (Arabic: المندي‎) is the traditional dish in Yemen native to Hadhramaut Province Yemen and many other Yemeni Cities known as Haneeth also. It is now very popular in the rest of the Arabian Peninsula and in many other Arab countries such as Egypt and Syria.

Mandi is usually made from meat (lamb or chicken), basmati rice, and a mixture of spices. The meat used is usually a young and small sized lamb to enhance the taste further. The main thing which differentiates mandi is that the meat is cooked in the tandoor(Taboon in Yemeni) which is a special kind of oven. Tandoor usually is a hole dug in the ground and covered inside by clay. To cook mandi, dry wood is placed in the tandoor and burned to generate a lot of heat turning into charcoal. Then the meat is suspended inside the tandoor without touching the charcoal. After that, the whole tanoor is closed without letting any of the smoke to go outside. Raisins and pine nuts can be added to the rice as per one's taste.

Mandi is considered as the main dish served in special events such as weddings and feasts.

I was introduced to this very pleasing dish when Shafiq and I accompanied Hubby on his business trip to the Middle East mid last year. Though it was a short trip, managed to check out the cities of Abu Dhabi (so not interesting) and Dubai (very cosmopolitan). Anyway, this post is not about the trip but about the mandi dish and the place we had the pleasure of acquainting ourselves with "mandi" for the very first time.

One of the very few pics of us taken in Dubai.

In the background, the famous Burj Al Arab.

We met up with Hubby’s friend from school who is now a pilot with Emirates and residing in Dubai. He took us to this restaurant called “Al Marhabani” (if memory serves me right), not sure the exact location in Dubai but the restaurant that we went to was housed in two shop lots. The restaurant has its usual chairs and tables and indoor tents. Yup, there’s tents indoor! One of the shop lots has been partitioned into small tents (very Arabian Nights indeed) and it is usually occupied by guests with families.

Our "Arabian" tent.

So we got to our tent, and yours truly felt like she was in the middle of the Sahara desert. The tent was very cozy with throw cushions scattered around. Hubby’s friend did all the ordering for us as we of course didn’t know what to order, since it’s our first time and all. So he ordered chicken and lamb so that we could get a taste of everything.

The mandi rice was served in this big round tray and trust me when I say that the serving is big enough to feed a family. The rice was served with chicken and lamb and accompanied by salad with crunchy bits (so sorry, cannot remember what it was), lentil soup (very, very, yummy soup), savoury “sambal” (again, can’t remember what it's called but it’s something like the chilli sauce that we eat with "chicken rice" but theirs had tomatoes in it) and the best thirst quencher of all time in my books, fresh pomegranate juice.

The "Mandi" dish came with salad and soup.

Check out the huge portion of the "mandi" dish!

What I liked about the mandi rice is that it doesn’t have the strong taste of spices like the “beriyani rice” or is it oily like the “nasi minyak”. The mandi rice to me is just nice and the chicken was cooked just right, not so tender but yet still possess the right amount of juiciness in the meat. The lentil soup and the "crunchy salad" compliments the rice very well. (Didn't try the lamb as I don't really favor the smell and taste of lamb)

Pic taken with Hubby's friend and his family 

in our cozy little tent after a very satisfying meal.

My MIL has been raving about this middle eastern restaurant in Cyberjaya that is very famous for its "Nasi Arab". I think it's similar to the "Mandi" dish. Have been wanting to check out the place but whenever we're back in KL, we always seem to be occupied with so many things.


Anyway, thanks to my friend Julie, looks like somebody will be having "mandi rice" this weekend. :D

Off To Penang.

Morning People. It's my darling Shafiq's birthday today. Mommy's little boy turns 8 today. Wishing you a very happy birthday my boy. We love you so very much and we feel so blessed to have you in our lives. You complete us.

We're currently at the airport waiting to board the flight to Penang. Feeling bored so decided to try posting something on the blog using the iPad. I must say, it's not as easy as using the Macbook. My fingers are getting numb from all the taping on the the iPad's virtual keypad.

Looks like we have to board now.

Penang, here we come.

Post Raya Entry. (Part 2)

Happy Monday People! I am pleased to inform that all is well again between Hubby and me. Shall not go into details as how Hubby tried to make things better for yours truly. Suffice to say, I'm happy. So happy me, means it's a happy blog entry today. :D

Anyway, today's entry is just a continuation of my previous post about the recent Raya celebrations. After all, it's still the month of Syawal and with all the open houses going on back in Malaysia, here are more Raya pics of the family to share.

As you have seen our Raya pics taken on the eve and morning of Raya at my Mom’s place, marilah pulak kita berkunjung ke rumah mertuaku di Bandar Baru Bangi. As we spent the eve and morning of last year’s Raya at my inlaws place, giliran malam raya and pagi raya this year was with my family. So, we only made our way to my inlaws place in the afternoon of the first day of Raya. 


Before I put up the raya pics at my inlaws place, allow me to share what happened to me on the first day of Raya as I was rushing off to my inlaws place. As I was leaving my Mom’s place, entah macam mana, yours truly slipped and fell smack on her back. Sakit giler you!!! Jatuh terbaring pulak tu. Nasib baik the food that my Mom kirimkan for my inlaws that I was carrying with me at the time of the unfortunate fall was safely intact in their respective containers tapi my baju kurung habis basah kena lumpur (as it was raining earlier in the morning) and yang paling sedih, my LV Speedy 30 Monogram Idylle got wet and splattered with mud. (sob.sob...)

This particular pic courtesy of LV, of course. 

Sedih nak tunjuk gambar of my handbag

with all the "lumpur" and what not. (sob,sob)

Memang purposely brought back that particular LV to use for Raya as it was rose/pinkish in colour to match all my baju kurungs that has the elements of pinkish and purplish. My back was aching like hell but the heart was hurting more coz bag kesayangan sudah habis kotor kena lumpur. Dahlah tak bawak handbag spare. I only brought back the LV Idylle (which was supposed to be my main Raya handbag) and another brown Fendi tote yang so tak matching with all the baju kurungs that I brought with me for Raya. I know I sound like a bimbo here ranting about my handbags, but what to do. I am a self proclaimed handbag addict! Sigh.....

So, terpaksalah tukar baju kurung lain before heading to my inlaws place. So don’t be surprised when you see me in a different baju kurung in the Raya pics taken at my inlaws place later that Raya day. Unfortunately, tak boleh tukar handbag so using a damp cloth, tried to wipe off whatever mud residue that was on it. Thank God, most of the mud stain was at the bottom of the bag, so not so noticeable.

Okaylah, enough "jibber jabber" about the handbag. Moving on to more Raya pics, I present to you, part 2 of my Raya Album.

My MIL and FIL waiting for Raya photo session to begin.

Sessi bermaaf-maafan sambil hulur duit Raya

between Hubby and his parents.

My turn to ask forgiveness from my MIL.

Must ask forgiveness from FIL also.

Suasana yang kelam kabut while everybody 

getting ready for the official family Raya photo.

Still not ready......

Alamak,  Shafiq pulak not looking at the camera.

At last!!! 

Just Us ladies but with my twin nephews.

My parents in law with their grandchildren.
Four of them, all boys!

Me with my SILs'.

Hubby with his siblings.

Us with our 2 months old twin nephews.

A clearer pic of the twins, Yusuf and Hamzah,
in the arms of their Uncle Awu. (my youngest BIL)
This particular pic, courtesy of my SIL's Facebook.
(Sorry Kak Ngah, tak mintak permission. :p)

Okay people, that's the last of the Raya pics. I think you guys have had an overdosed of our family Raya pics. Sorry ye....

Till next time, have a good week ahead! :D

p/s: A warm welcome to "AYU", a new follower of the blog. Thank you for following this humble blog of mine. Please feel free to leave comments, okay? :D

Ramblings Of A Crazy Wife.

I was thinking of uploading the remaining pics of our recent Raya but my heart is simply not into it today. What's the point of trying to portray happiness when I simply am not happy?

Things have not been that smooth sailing between Hubby and me these past few days. I guess it could happen to any married couple especially if you have been married for many, many years. Both of us seem to be so angry with each other that the smallest of things could just blow into a big argument between us. I hate the current situation that we're both in at the moment. I hate being mad at him and I hate that he is also mad at me. It's not that I love him any less but I'm just angry. It's not him that I'm angry at, it's ME! I know I'm not making any sense here so just please bear with me.

I admit I am the reason that things are the way it is between Hubby and me at the moment. This need of mine of wanting to have another baby, (okay I admit, it's turning into a crazy obsession) is putting a strain on our relationship. I think Hubby just couldn't take it anymore as all I have been talking about lately is about wanting to have another baby, day in, day out.


Hubby Dearest: 

"I am so sorry Sayang for being the way I have been lately but try to see things from my point of view".

"Sayang, can you really blame me for wanting to have another child so bad that it is all I think about every single minute of the day? I don't think I have ever gotten over the loss of our precious baby girl and up to this very moment, I still blame myself for what happened regardless of what the doctors said. I don't know how people who has lost children deal with the grieve and pain that comes with it because I certainly don't know how. I may portray to family and friends that everything is very okay with me but the truth is, I'm not. I'm tired of pretending that I'm okay because clearly I'm not."

This crazy obsession of wanting to have another baby is maybe my way of trying to let go of the past and moving on to the future. As it is at the moment, I feel like I'm neither here nor there. 

It doesn't make things easy for me when my MIL asks me the million dollar question, "Bila Shafiq nak dapat adik lagi?". It doesn't help when Hubby's Aunty asks us " Are you both trying for another one?". It doesn't help when my SIL says things like "What are you guys waiting for?" and "Don't you know how difficult it is to get pregnant at your age?". I know she meant well but I sure do wish she could have been more tactful with the things she said or maybe sugarcoated her words a bit. I may put up a brave front whenever I'm being bombarded with those "questions" but the truth is, it HURTS! It hurts so bad.

I don't know why members of our family are more focussed on asking me about when we plan to have another baby (nope, they do not ask Hubby, it's always ME, hence the added pressure on yours truly.) I am yet to wait for someone from the family to ask me: 

- How am I coping?

- Am I doing okay?

Maybe even comfort me by saying things like,

- Don't worry about having another baby as you already have a beautiful son.

I know it's almost going to be a year since we lost her but with the first anniversary of her passing, just a few weeks away, it's not easy. I know it's not easy on Hubby as well.

I know this entry of mine doesn't seem to make any sense but I just needed to let it all out.

To my dearest Hubby, please forgive this crazy wife of yours. I Love You.

Upset.

My morning started off well this morning. Had breakfast with Hubby at a cafe near our place before sending him off to work. Then, I headed straight to the service centre to service our car. While waiting for our car to be serviced, called back home to find out whether Shafiq's Ustazah (religious teacher) has arrived for Shafiq's weekly mengaji and Fardhu Ain lessons. Sad to say, she did not turn up at all for today's lesson. Why wasn't I surprised?

So, I smsed her a few times to ask whether she's coming. No reply. Called her Blackberry (yup, she has a blackberry. Maklumlah Ustazah alaf baru) repeatedly, but no answer. Finally, when she decided to answer her phone, she told me she already smsed me last week saying that she can't make it this week because she's got a doctor's appointment today. 

Here's the thing. I did not receive the sms she claimed to have sent me last week. So fine, I was back in Malaysia last week but my Singapore number was on roaming and I had it on 24 hours. How come I received smses from my friends in Singapore wishing me Selamat Hari Raya but no smses from her about canceling today's class?

Okaylah, you might think, so what's the big deal about her missing today's class? Why must I make it into a big issue? The thing is, It's not only today that she's canceling classes. She has not been coming for Shafiq's weekly lessons for nearly 2 months now and I have been very understanding and accommodating with her situation.

To be fair to her, let me tell you why she's not been coming for her weekly lessons at our home. You see, she just got pregnant recently and was going through a period of terrible morning sickness. Me, being a woman myself, having been pregnant before and have experienced terrible bout of morning sickness, sympathized with her situation whenever she said she can't make it.

Later, unfortunately for her, she miscarried when she was about 9-10 weeks pregnant. Here I am again, being very understanding, told her how sorry I was with her situation and told her that she should rest at home and resume lessons with Shafiq after the Raya hols. She said okay and that she will resume lessons on September 16th.

Today, being September 16th, Shafiq was waiting at home for her to arrive. She's supposed to come at 9.30am but she always comes at 10.00am anyway (Never once did I get angry about her coming late).Come 10.15am, no show from her so I had to sms and call her. After a number of smses and phone calls, I finally got her on the phone.

Bits of the conversation I had with her:

Ustazah: "Mrs Z, I have a doctor's appointment today. I already smsed you last week that I can't make it today"

Me: "What sms? I didn't receive any sms from you about canceling today's class."

Ustazah: " I did sms you last week Mrs Z".

Me: "Nope, I didn't receive any smses from you. The last sms I received from you was that you will resume class with Shafiq on September 16th, which is today."

So the conversation went on about her smsing me and me telling her that I did not receive her sms when I finally told her off...

Me: "You know what? I've been very understanding and accommodating with your situation. Never have I once complained or gotten angry with you."

Ustazah: "Yes Mrs Z, I know but I already smsed you last week...."

Me: " No, you listen to me. If you really did sms me last week, I would have replied to your sms immediately. I always reply to your smses though you always seem to take a very long time to reply my smses...."

Ustazah: " No Mrs Z....."

Me: "I don't want to listen to your excuses anymore. I think very highly of you and Shafiq adores you but you have been taking us both for granted. Where's your sense of responsibility? Shafiq dah 2 bulan tak mengaji and belajar Fardhu Ain but I never said anything because I kesian kat you. I understand what you're going through. I siap offer nak hantar Shafiq to your house but you never got back to me on that. Berapa banyak sms I hantar kat you, you only reply sekali dua. What kind of Ustazah are you?"

Ustazah: " I'm so sorry Mrs Z"

Me: "If you no longer want to teach Shafiq, let us know. Why do you keep canceling and postponing the classes?"

Ustazah: "I don't mean to...."

This time around, I couldn't hold it any longer.

Me: "I've had enough of your excuses, okay? I know you had bad morning sickness and then you miscarried. But I had it worse, ok? My Baby died!!!  Life goes on, okay!!! You, of all people should understand about God's will and all since you're a religious teacher yourself. If you don't want to teach my son anymore, fine with us!!! I'll find other alternatives!

With that, I hung up on her.

You people might think that I'm being very harsh on her and that I'm not being understanding at all, not taking into account her current situation. But there's more to it, okay? That is why it came to a point where I lost my temper with her today.

She's a good teacher, that I have to admit. I never had any problems with her prior to her marriage. She got married last December. I even did her wedding hantaran and Hubby gave her SGD300 for her wedding angpow. Bukannya nak ungkit, but just to let you know how nice we've been to her. We also pay slightly more than the standard rate set by MUIS (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura) for religious teachers/tutors.

After she got married and had to move to her husband's place which is far from our home, I asked her whether she still wants to continue teaching Shafiq. She said she loves Shafiq and wants to continue teaching Shafiq for as long as it takes. I was very happy to hear that thinking to myself, Alhamdullilah, Shafiq has a good ustazah and that she still wants to continue teaching him after marriage. I volunteered to send Shafiq to her place but she said I don't have to. She will continue coming to our house as per the existing arrangement.

Anyway, soon after marriage, she started coming late. I never said anything. She keeps apologizing for her lateness saying that she has to cook first before leaving the house. Okaylah, I understand, she just got married so she's trying to be a good wife.

Over the months, she started missing lessons and I've been getting all kinds of excuses. 


1) Not feeling well ( She has used this excuse more than once)


2) Food poisoning.


3) Morning sickness. (This I can relate to as I have been pregnant twice.)

4) Uncle passed away, must accompany her Mom to the funeral. (Death is something unforeseeable so I cannot complain about this)

5) Husband's grandmother sesak nafas, kena bawak pegi clinic. (Okaylah, nenek sakit, what can I say?)

6) She had work related meeting. (She's working part time at a mosque so she's got to attend some meetings from time to time but I don't know why all her work related meeting always falls on the day of Shafiq's class.)

and the best one of all,

7) She forgot that Shafiq had lessons with her on that day. (I didn't know whether to laugh or scream at her at that point in time)


With all those excuses given, I was still very patient with her, never once lost my temper. Though deep in my heart, I've always wondered, kalau macam ni punya Ustazah, bilalah anak aku ni boleh qatam Quran.

There was one time, she came to our house on a Tuesday morning instead of Thursday. Shafiq has Kumon every Tuesdays and Fridays so imagine my surprise when she rang our doorbell one Tuesday morning. When I asked her why she came, she said she thought she had lessons with Shafiq on Tuesdays. 

In actual fact, she's teaching somebody else on Tuesday and wrongly came to our place. Kesian budak yang belajar with her on Tuesdays who was waiting for her but she came to our place instead. ish,ish,ish...

I really don't know what happened to her after she got married.

So today, unfortunately, my temper got the better of me so she finally got to see the "ugly side" of me.

She smsed me just now apologizing about the way she's been lately and that she still wants to continue teaching Shafiq but I don't know whether I want Shafiq to continue with her anymore.

I've had it being nice to people.

Post Raya Entry. (Part 1)

Sixth day of Syawal, yours truly and the family are back to our normal boring routine here in Singapore. (sob,sob) Actually, we’ve been back since last Sunday. What can I say? Hubby has to get back to work and Shafiq has to go back to school. How I wish Singapore were still a part of Malaysia so that we can share the same public holidays and school holidays like the rest of my fellow Malaysians back home. (Oh saudara mara dan rakan-rakanku di Malaysia, I so envy you guys at this particular moment. :p)

Anyway, we had a great Raya this year. How we managed to cramp a few open houses invitation within the space of 2 ½ days, I have no idea. Besides spending the first day of Raya with my family and Hubby’s family, this is the first time that we get to spend Raya with our closest friends.

Usually, the first few days of Raya is spent visiting relatives in Kuantan but since cuti Raya is so limited this year for Hubby and Shafiq, we decided to skip our yearly Raya trip to Kuantan. Raya activities are limited within Selangor state only. My MIL is from Kuantan, Hubby was born in Kuantan and I grew up in Kuantan, so memanglah ramai sedara mara di Kuantan. So kesian jugaklah si Shafiq tak dapat balik Kuantan untuk tambah collection duit Raya. But then Shafiq was not complaining. Walaupun beraya di Selangor aje tahun ni, total duit Raya collection to date is about RM800.00. Not bad for a 2 ½ days work of collecting duit Raya. Itu pun belum campur SGD200 that his Daddy promised him as he did a great job with his fasting although kena skip puasa for 3 days because he was sick.

Okay People. Let me present to you this year’s Raya pics of us with family and our closest friends.

Since there's so many pics, I shall be posting the pics, part by part.

Presenting Part 1.....

The eve and morning of Raya, at my family's home.

On the Eve of Raya, Shafiq and his Aunty Linda

 busy with fireworks.

****************************************************

On the morning of Raya.

Check out my handsome boys in their 

matching baju melayu and samping.

Me and sister getting ready to go to the mosque.

Shafiq with his Opah, Aunty Linda and Mummy.

Me and my Baby.

Our lil family. 

Official Raya pic for this year.

Unofficial pic of the 3 of us. hehehe...

Daddy and Mummy love you Shafiq. 

muah,muah..

A standing pose this time around. :D

Mummy, I want my lemang NOW!!!

Shafiq and Opah. (my Mom)

Shafiq with his Aunty Linda. (my sister)

Shafiq and Uncle Syahrul. (my brother)

The 3 of us with my family. 

Feeling sad that my Late Dad is no longer with us. 

This is our 3rd Raya without him.  

He passed away on the 5th day of Syawal, three years ago. 

Al Fatihah buat Arwah Daddy.

Sessi bersalam dan collect duit Raya from Opah. :D

Hubby's turn with his MIL. Instead of collect duit Raya, 

kena hulur duit Raya kat MIL. :D

Me and my Mom.

Shafiq with his "3rd cousins" (My 2nd cousin's kids)

There you have it folks, part 1 of our Raya Album. To be continued.