Pulut Kuning

Ada mamat tu gigih suruh eksplen jugak pasal pulut kuning ni as per here.

So here goes.

Whenever there is a majlis khatam Quran for Malaysian Malays (can't vouch for Brunei, Indonesian, Phillipines, Sri Lankan, Thai, South African, Hawaii .. etc) almost inevitably among the menu would be Pulut Kuning. Now, what has pulut kuning got to do with khatam Quran? I'm pretty certain zaman2 Saidina Hassan & Hussin dulu diorang khatam sure makan shish kebab or something like that. Probably with nasi Bukhara (itu kalau zaman2 Imam Bukhari lah kot). What I mean is, its definitely a Malay tradition.

My suspicion is, khatam Quran being a highlight in the life of a kid, he or she is supposed to be treated like a royal. Hence the colour yellow in the pulut. Kalau putih je, tak de kelas la kan? Makan dengan kelapa parut & ikan masin - peasant food gitu (sedap siot!)

Another possible explanation was given by Mar a long time ago.
Kata dia: Masa khatam orang baca Lamyakunillazi (Surah 98 i.e. Al-Bayyinah [Bukti]). Orang Kelantan sebut Lamyakuning .. hence the Pulut Kuning!!

Wallahua'lam

p/s aku memang suka gila pulut kuning ni. Tak caya tanya Mar. Paling kokak makan dgn telur dadar potong jalur2.

Happy New Year

Its 1430 years after Rasulullah ensured that 9:20 was implemented.

9:20 Orang-orang yang beriman dan berhijrah serta berjihad di jalan Allah dengan harta, benda dan diri mereka, adalah lebih tinggi derajatnya di sisi Allah; dan itulah orang-orang yang mendapat kemenangan.

Me, a few small "faaizuun (kemenangan)" here and there. Nothing compares to you, my dear Rasulullah.

Today, we had an English lunch at Terry's & Kak Bib's. Roast Beef yang sangat kaw. I've never tasted any better than this.

Then we had early dinner with Dell & family. Mas & kids will be going away for good. Mas has exhausted her leave of absence & all possible tricks to stay longer. Anne is pretty sad .. no more friend to do this & that together. Sent them to LHR, thanks to Baha, checked in almost everything.

So long Mas, Syamil & Syida. See you guys in May (if I'm still here). And Salam Maal Hijrah.

BNM Open House

After a terrible heart-stopping day at the office. Left for Bank Negara's open house at Berkeley Square .. quite easy to park at around 1815. Parkings were ample around the square.

Good food, from Makan Cafe I heard. Dannial undecided.

Asset managers & bankers, mengumpat Hank Paulson kot?

Asaraf + wife & Mazlan

Before leaving, saw these signs .. immediately reminded of this:

6:116 Dan jika kamu menuruti kebanyakan orang-orang yang di muka bumi ini, nescaya mereka akan menyesatkan mu dari jalan Allah. Mereka tidak lain hanyalah mengikuti persangkaan belaka, dan mereka tidak lain hanyalah berdusta.

Top Shelf

Went to Top Shelf at Whitecross Street Market (its a stall selling cheap books & slightly outdated magazines, named it as such because .. ermm, well you can just check out any book/mag stores .. see what mags you can find on their top shelves). Picked up some mags for the analysts clan in KL.

The street is one of London's oldest street markets,dating back to mediavel times. At this market you can fantastic local and regional food - Portugese, Albanian, Indian, Thai, Arabic .. macam2 lah. Settled for falafel wrapped up in kinda pita bread for lunch. Sedap jugak.
Had the most amazing experience while eating at Golden Lane's Park. The doves were all over the place, circling our feet for crumbs. All of a sudden every single one of them flew away together, I mean away from the ground of the park! Kisahnya there was a police car siren. I thought only man yg cuak dgn police. Burung pun?

Ramadan Potluck

It was a fine Sunday, fit for a barbeque. But it's Ramadan .. what are we to do? Potluck iftar of course. Our house is the venue & just need to masak nasi and sup ekor/ox tail.

We got Dell, Mas & Co, Rosli, Rahiyah & Huda, the Malaysia Airlines families: Asmadi - Aniza, Baha - Ana, Ros. Plus all trailers a.k.a askars. Sam, Linda & Co - absent with apologies.

Kids - either playing games or watching Camp Rock.

Food: nasi, sup ekor, ayam masak lomak cili api, fried chicken for kids, urab, ikan bakar, sayur gorreng, roti jala, serimuka durian flavoured, ikan bilis cili

More Food: tembikai, blackberry, cara goreng, agar2 buah, tiramisu. Gallons of mango lassi, juices, teh tarik, nescafe tarik etc.
In other words - kenyang ya amat laa ..

Girls on Film

Posing in kitchen (Aniza using Shasya as tummy cover .. tau tak pe .. kih kih)

Baha the penglipur lara: corruption stories - slow2, nanti kena ISA!!

Khusyuk dengar cerita airport & immigration
(Note: Poster behind Asmadi is a cover for Nat's grafitti)

Nothing to do with anything. This is today's kueh bom. Just happy its now quite round, not penjong like last week's. Where last week, true to its name - kueh bom ni melotup-lotup, terus jadi ghope labu Sayong.

Popia Basah Day

Wanted to make popia basah & black pepper beef for iftar today, so needed to find a few things like: tauge, carrot, flour, shiitake mushroom, leek .. mmm, that's about it. So headed for Sainsbury's - coz parking is free.

But, its Ramadan .. so in the end, its the tummy who does all the shopping. A trolleyful at last.

Nafsu

So, got home & started on the popia. Now I know why the popia basah mamak infront of the small Giant Kelana Jaya is so good. The kulit is hand made! My hands & the pan were so messy just now.

Work in Progress

Inventory

Finished product for "export" (to Sam & Linda and Zamri & Maswa)

And finally - the black pepper beef, masin sket - so repair just before b'buka. Cantik kuali kan?

Briani Diana, Special Branch & Generosity

When in KL, once in a while I'll get this phone call, either from my insurance broker buddy - Joel or my politician-in-the-making buddy, Doc Fitter. Reason being: ajak makan kat Diana Nasi Beriani

Its a stall located at the Taman Melawati business district (that's what I call it lah - pandai2 bagi nama). Alah, area across jalan besar from Giant tu. Anyway, everytime pi .. sure angkat kambing, ayam goreng, ayam pedas and may be just for the heck of it, daging. Memang superb! Conversation usually turns to politics and business.

There's another location nearby, which kambing is reputedly better than this, but Doc said the rice at Diana is better. Once in a while, as usual you get beggars and some sellers selling things that needs persuasion before they can be bought. Sidetrack: Most people would try their best to avoid these people, but Abang Rip, my biras - will call these people and ask them, "Eh, adik jual apa tu?". Contrast betul lah manusia nih.

Sometimes you get one guy berboleng with only shirts on, fingernails with dirt from god knows where, body & face bercalit2 like he's just completed an engine overhaul. Not to mention the hair .. macam tak mandi seminggu. Sometimes we give him cigarettes or ask him whether he wants to eat. Usually he's content with the cigarette. But Doc Fitter warned, its not unusual for Special Branch officers to be incognito like this and loiter around to listen to what people are talking about at public places.

I guess so, coz I have one ex-Special Branch officer friend whom I know spent 2 months in Arqam, spotting the Taliban beard, turban, green jubah .. the works.
So, the next time you see somebody whose screw is a bit loose, don't be stingy. If you continually give, you will continually have.

Jom Makan - 1st Visit After Launching

Been a while since I saw Steve. Called him up and he suggested Jom Makan. Went to the joint with Jai at 1800. Met Steve there. Had Zain gave us a "Menu Tour". At last both me & Steve chose Lamb Briani while Jai had Nasi Ayam.

Verdict

Lamb Briani
OK, Khan's better - but of course lah kan.
The rice taste spiceous, same with the lamb. May be tone down a bit on the spice then better.
Dalca was good. Acar OK - may be a bit more pineapple would be nice.
Overall: 5.5/10

Nasi Ayam
Nasi - nice
Chicken (steamed) - nice. But no skin .. Arrrrgh! Slack la omputeh2 ni. Should have been roasted!
(Zain told us that this is one of the best sellers)
Sambal tak sempat rasa.
Kicap (soy sauce) taste like true kicap. Should make it more nasi-ayam-kicap-like if you know what I mean.
Overall: 7/10

Teh Tarik - Quite splendid
Mango Lychee juice - Steve had 2 of this, must be good.

Desert
Caramel - Splendid 8/10
Kuih ketayap - not moist enough, both the pan cake & the inti 3/10

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the menu (next time will try nasi goreng - smells nice! Also the satays.)
Ambiance is really good for talk-talk i.e. not so loud & comfy.
Patronage seems good, mostly couples. And 1 table booked for 10. Walk-ins quite many.

Seems like Jom Makan can take off, with better menu & improved cooking. I'll come again.