Sweet treats for sweetness

the Nu Yorka

Two nights ago I kinda pulled an unnecessary girlfriend-merajuk-for-something-small stunt (cant believe I admitted to that, but hey, I very rarely pull it – so cut me some slack ;p ) and i felt really bad after that, cos the Nu Yorka took every ounce of effort to pujuk me. yes ladies, this one is for keeps!

 from Wondermilk

So to say sorry I pulled a stunt + thank u for pujuking me with every ounce of effort + i luv ya.. I gave the Nu Yorka..

a bag of jelly beans,

4 cupcakes,

a toy soldier and

a postcard scribbled with a luv note…

~simple, sweet, quirky treats

Raju’s for Roti

the kuah tray @ Rajus

Nasha woke me up  this morning with a loud yell ”Kakak nak ikut pergi Raju’s tak, kalau nak, siap sekarang!”. All I could manage to reply was a lazy, sleepy ”hmmmmm…nak” then pulled the comforter over my head, curling into a new position.

I knew Nasha was gonna come yelling again, since I was still in bed ten minutes after the first yell. This time she yelled even louder and yanked my comforter off me “Woi cepat la mandi!”.Yes my sister loves me a lot haha.

So after dragging my ass off the bed, dragged my feet to walk to the car, Mom, Nasha and I made our way to Raju’s. It is the only place I go to for a good piece of roti canai. Dont care about what people say about other places but I’m a loyal Raju’s fan plus they have that nice under-the-trees sitting area outside. For those of you who want to check Raju’s out, it’s next to the La Salle highschool in PJ. Try the sotong goreng as well.

my 27th

By far my 27th birthday was the best ever.Not because it was over the top, but because it was laden with meaningfulnes and love. As cliche or downright romantic as that may sound, but its true. And i love it! For this, I have the New Yorker to thank. We spent a perfect afternoon at Espressamante at Pavillion. We both love the atmosphere there. Each with iced coffee drinks and a slice of apple crumble to share. And since we’re such Scrabble-buffs,we pulled out our Scrabble travel set for a ‘friendly round’ of Scrabble (yeah rite…both of us are so bloody competitive haha – i lost by 5 marks btw tsk tsk) 

I was just totally smitten by the New Yorker, he holds the record for wishing me happy birthday the most number of times and to top it all of he presented me with an unexpected gift. I already had the perfect birthday but the gift just added to its perfection. It was a charm bracelet with the most priceless charm ever! I can tell you its never going to leave my wrist.

We ended the night with dinner at Werner’s with Zoey, Elsie, Lynda and Epool. And also slices of chocolate cake fit with a candle.

What made my birthday this year more meaningful than the rest was the loving company I had in the New Yorker and the endless affection. And what I’m most grateful for is that his company and affection is something I have enjoyed everyday before my birthday and will continue to enjoy InsyaAllah for all the days to come.

Thank you mon cherie..

Not Smoking at all at the Smokehouse

Yesterday was me galfren Elsie’s bday. I had to take half day leave cos I had to buy her cake and shop for a gift. Plus I wanted to catch up on some sleep -have been having a few late nights in a row.

Anyway, I got a cake from Just Heavenly..the Death by Chocolate. A dramatic cake which does make you feel like you’ve stared at death’s choclatey eyes..hmmm. But I couldnt find the Havaianas (flip flops) she wanted. So we’ll prolly go out this weekend or sumthg and get em. This post unfortunately is not going to be about the fantabulous time Elsie had and the many pressies she received..but it’s a complaint + review of the place we went for her bday dinner.

Elsie’s bday dinner was at the Smokehouse, along Jalan Maya (at the back of Avenue K).  I think its the same as the one in Cameron HIghlands. Anyway, the dinner went great, cos there was good company, but that was about that – cos everything else when it came to the service at the Smokehouse was poor. Everyone arrived at around 9ish. By this time there was only cordial, plain water and butter on the table. Just butter, no bread. It took a good 45 minutes or so, before the high and mighty bread finally made an appearance. By this time everyone was already pissed, gastric juices were flowing – the New Yorker kept his cool (he, just like me, can get very edgy when hungry), but Tariq gave the manager an earful, after which the starter, and entree landed on our table, and it was almost 11,there you go - dinner turned into supper. And the food was just so-so.

What is MOST IRRITATING about this debacle was, that we had pre-ordered 3 days ago! Admittedly they had many patrons that night, but that shouldnt be an issue, cos we made reservations and pre-ordered, if you place yourself out to be able to hold that many pax in the restaurant, then you should be well staffed to handle the orders. It didnt help either that the waiters werent able to speak English, which made things a tad more difficult, cos everything had to be requested for, from forks, to more black pepper sauce, to proper cutting knives, and we had to confirm our request with the manager, to ensure that we get what we wanted.

All in all, the service was very poor. We were that close to just leave and cancel our orders after the bread and butter. Waiting for bread alone was such an ordeal.I am not sure if this is the case with the Smokehouse every night, but first impressions do have a bearing, and from this first impression, I dont think I’ll be going there again.

Cappuccino in hand, New Yorker by my side

 

*another entry in the special box*

It was drizzling. Night. From where we sat at Espressamente,Pavillion, we could feel the slight chill from the cafe’s air conditioning and also the natural cool weather thanks to the rain. I told the New Yorker that the whole atmosphere..slight hint of fume in the air..chilly weather,lights from the street, cars lined in traffic, smell of coffee..reminded me of London. Diana Krall’s rendition of Besame Mucho was playing. Felt like we were on foreign land, but still at home. We were sitting,sharing a slice of apple crumble, me and my Cappuccino Vienesse, him and his chocolatey drink (forgot what its called), the New Yorker is not fond of coffee..very not New Yorker-ish but he’s my New Yorker anyway ;p We were talking, laughing over things, simple things. Every now and then just grinning at each other..it was like time stood still. May have been like a scene from a romantic movie, but it was just that perfect. I really couldn’t have asked for a more perfect ending to an already perfect weekend.

What’s in store for Raya

This Raya will be a so-so affair, since my brother & parents will be in London. Folks are leaving on the 27th of Sept, yup just a few days before Raya, so only Nasha, Abang and I will be at home. Maybe that explains why I have not put much thought into what I’m going to wear for Raya – not like I’ve ever been that big on baju raya to begin with.

Mum & Dad have already started on the Raya prep, changing the curtain etc. The thing about our home that i love is that it doesnt require some big “Raya cleaning up” session. I know some houses that need to do an entire clean sweep of dust and old junk before Raya. but not at our home so we’re spared from rolling up our sleeves, and stacking bags upon bags of rubbish outside the house.

Adik is away so I’m guessing we wont be placing pelitas in the garden, he’s the tukang pelita at home..but hey, in true Adik style and tradition, we should! cos I bet Adik will ask “so dah pasang pelita?” . But we’ve had a pretty wet weather of late, not sure if pelitas will last the night.

Anyway, I hope I’ll still have an excellent Raya this year.

Aspa & Wan turns 27

Just got back from Aspa and Wan’s b’day dins (belated for Aspa, pre celeb for Wan). We made reservations at Neroteca, but after finding out that almost all the dishes were non-halal ( it was either suckling pig, pork ribs, or suckling pig sumore haha), we headed out to 21 (again!..we’re forever there whenever we’re at Changkat) At 21 I ordered the same dish again,chicken with creamy mash.. Elsie ordered the duck salad which was super nice, next time I’m having that.

Oh before that, when we arrived at Changkat, we saw a Ferrari pullover at Somerset, and we were wondering if it was Wan & Zul, it was them! they decided to take the red horsey out!Supern delish! Wait, i’ll post up some pics once Jimmy uploads em. only now I sedar my pic with the Ferrari takde, Elsie and Aspa got. damn la!

Anyways, we had the funkiest b’day cake, thanks to Mrs Foo. Cake was extremely whimsical, imagine stripes and polka dots on a cake. again wait till Jimmy uploads the pics. I know, I’m the photographer, but got no pics, off duty k. Note: Jimmy’s Canon is super cool. and I so tak tahan with Jimmy’s rule: If anyone deletes their own pics from his camera, cos their picture cacat or whatever, he wont take their pic again. Cannot tahan! I hate it when my pics tak jadi, so I like to delete the cacat ones, but cannot la with Jimmy’s camera..;p sigh

anyway,Aspa and Wan lovvedd the cake. yeay! all of us adored the cake so much that we  tak sampai hati to cut it up. cake got the attention of the other patrons at 21 as well hehe.

Well the night ended early, 12ish.. cos Wan has to get ready for her house global warming tomorrow – not a typo, Wan wants to call her house warming, house global warming, dont ask me why ;p That reminds me, need to get something as buah tangan, unfortunately I cant make/cook anything, except for chicken pie which my aunty, Sarah taught me how to make a few years back, but am too malas, so I’ll pick something up on my way to her place.

So that’s a wrap, Aspa and Wan’s party down..a few more to go this year. Now, am gonna catch up on some reading, then go to sleepppp.

Mikhail Turns One

Got invited to little Mikey’s [Wan Mikhail] 1st birthday bash. Diha, Mikey’s mum..my high school senior [who without fail will tell everyone she meets about my cheerleading days and how I'm the one on top of the pyramid - stop it Diha ;p], and university mate who was also my team mate at the Australs debate tournie in Melbourne sent me a b’day invite a 25 year old would be jealous off.

The party was fun! Guests made up of hip young mum and dads with their precious toddlers or kids. I saw some of my high school seniors, including Natasha who was the Green house cheerleading captain, I can almost imagine her calling out for a formation. They have not aged a bit. Put them in their uniforms and you’d bet ur penny that they drank from the fountain of youth. I hope it’s a BBGS thingy, then I’d look as youthful too. Used to see them carrying poms poms or school bags, now they’re hip moms with baby bottles.

Cik Wan , Mikey’s dad is the epitome of funkyness. Team up with Diha, and you’ll have a great party. Diha made sure the party favors were top class, food was great -nasi lemak, ABC, potato salad, b’day cuppies, rocking cake. Canopy created the mood, the play area for kids was a mini toys-r-us!

I couldnt help myself from making mental notes for when I throw my little baby’s 1st birthday bash hehe. I hope Mikey, more like Mikey’s mum and dad like the gift I got. Check out the pics of mums dads babies @ my Flickr [link on right panel].

Happy Birthday Mikey baby!

first thing that greeted the guest- stylo

Mikey’s gfit from Aunty Naddy

Diha and her prince

Kodak Moment!

I’ve been tasked together with Shuq to take shots of Malaysia’s eating delights to be featured in WUPID’s magazine. It took Shuq and I some time to shortlist the food that we’re going to feature, since Malaysia is such a food-heaven [But nasi lemak, roti canai made the cut pretty easily].

Above is one of my favorite shots [Shuq helped me edit it- he's a magician when it comes to editing. I've yet to learn the ropes of Photoshop ;p]- at Syed, 3 mins drive from home. I rarely go there, only do when I get the sporadic craving for roti canai at night.

Well, not wanting to scare anyone, I told the guy that i’m taking shots for a magazine, and would like to take some pics of him tossing the dough etc, and promised him a copy of the mag.

He, to my delight said ok, and instantly did his thing, tossing, flipping, and all the other roti canai tricks possible. I went shutter crazy!He was an excellent subject! Wasnt camera shy at all, making sure he made eye contact with the camera all the time.. so Mamak Next Top Model haha. 

Aaah yess..it’s such a satisfaction to be able to frame lively pictures. Can’t wait to see all the pics in print!

Triple Dose

Last week I had 3 iftars, 3 days in a row with friends I made at work, during my uni days and when I was a very young girl in school.

Wednesday – Iftar @ Sri Melaka with SC mates

Highlights

1. Celebrating Mc-g and Zul’s new job -they’re both working at the same place.
2. We were a big group- 16 heads, so there was a lot of passing of lauk (dishes) to the different ends of the table
3. Everyone guessed the damage amount ie bill- my guess was RM350, I was waayyy off, Mc-g came closest at RM450..and the tab was a whopping RM470.
4. We were the loudest group there hehe.
5. Watching Alimin count the stacks of notes after everyone passed their share

 

Thursday – Iftar with Uni mates @ Basil, Bangsar Village 1.

Highlights:

1. Met up with part time model- NTV7 staff Hyda whom I have not met in ages. Looking as tall as ever.
2. Ama – I totally miss listening to her laugh. It’s loud, hearty and extremely contagious. Can you hear her laughing through the pic above ;P
3. Nigs lost a lot of weight-she was almost size zero. Can imagine her walking down a couture runway. Workaholic during puasa month..tsk tsk. Poor Nigs, we’ll stuff you with ketupat and rendang soon.
4. The sinfully delicious cheesecake at Starbucks

   

    Hyda protecting her all-the-way-from-France LV

Friday – Iftar at Korean restaurant, Bullgogi with schoolmates.

Highlights

1. Excellent-exciting hot plate and steamboat dining experience! Good pick Zoey!But I was very scared to “cook” the food though cos the minyak sometimes “meletup” [sorry I cant find another word to describe it hehe] Next time I’ll bring a long chopstick with me.
2. Delicious lamb and Korean jelly!
3. Aspa’s fan saved us, we sat outside and it was HOT cos the hot plate was right at our faces.
4. Cooling off session at Starbucks in Bangsar [yes again] where Elsie and Tariq joined us then later Mr PT [personal trainer] Azza [Aspa's hubby] made a special apperance at 12am haha
5. Getting pink-tastic goodies from Wan…thanks babe!
6. Owh and of course, Wan’s multi role as Kak Nita, Oprah, Dr Phil all in one night amazed us, you should hear her thoughts on relationship, men…talk-show material! ;p

the mighty fan at work

 Mr PT, Oprah and Elsie

So there you go, my triple dose.

Strawberry Dreams

  

Pic of Strawberry Dreams taken just before I entered pastry dreamworld

It’s just music to my ears when Mrs Foo tells me she wants me to taste something she just made or baked. Cos it’s almost a 100% guaranteed that it’ll taste good. Today it was “Strawberry Dreams”. Definitely lived up to it’s name. Dreamylicious? Absolutely!

She also baked some Lemon & Cream Cheese, and Cranberries & Walnut cookies. You can just continue popping these in your mouth non-stop. I’m gonna order some for Raya.

Aren’t I spoilt? I have a colleague that’s a baking genius hehe.

Treats and more treats.

Yea,spoilt rotten.

Skin & Bones

Caught this show “Thin Stories” [or something like that] on 77 just now. Very disturbing.

It featured this girl who’s a thinspiration [inspiration to others who want to be ultra thin-yes there is such a thing] and she’s pro Ana [pro Anorexia], maintains a website on tips and ways to lose the weight baggage. She even came up with a mantra “food brings pain and weight”. She’s very young, 16 or 17 max.

Apprently pro ana peeps often form online communities that try to counter the idea that anorexia is an eating disorder and promote that it is in fact a lifestyle choice.

And the Olsen twins are two of the most famous and idolised thinspiration models.

Lifestyle choice it may be, but to me there’s something a bit off with denying yourself food, and only living on an apple or even less a day just so that the needle on your weighing machine will only move left and never right, or digital figures to always decrease and never increase.

Yes, it’s her body, she can do whatever she pleases with it, but to me being ultra skinny, walking skin-and-bones, rib-cage poppingly thin arent a pretty sight to look at [admittedly beauty is in the eyes of the beholder] but that’s secondary..the practice to be so light weight can threaten your health and well being and it becomes an obsession- to constantly watch your weight.

but i guess, in today’s day and age.. it’s whatever rocks their boat. there are different arguments..in support and against anorexia.

For me..I’m lousy at saying no to food, especially if it’s one of those sinful indulgences. Lasagne..that’s what I’m craving for right now..and some scones..see I’m so greedy tsk tsk.

Bring on the food, glorious food!

Jill O’Connor Dropped me a Comment

Jill O’Connor Says: September 23rd, 2007 at 3:50 pm e

Hello Nadia:

I am delighted that you have enjoyed my new book, Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey, and mentioned it on your blog! My web site, jilloconnorcooks.com is still being built, but I will email you when it is up and running. If you give me an address I will be sure and send you an autographed copy of your own.

Happy to guide you along the path to “Cooking Goddess-hood!”

All the Best,

Jill O’Connor

 

Jill O’Connor, yup the author herself.. dropped me a comment on my profile page!

I got the email alert to moderate a comment on Just Nadia.Thought it was just another comment, but this definitely was no “normal” comment.

I was ecstatic to receive a personal message and what more my own autographed copy of Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey!

Thanks so much Jill!

@Bakerzin last week

Elsie found a great background for a pic..

So we took a shot!

Zoey got us some souvies from Bangkok; double strip headbands - so Marc Jacobs

 

Zoey showing us how to wear our souvies ;p mine is pink – i love!

Elsie trying hers on.

Madame’s Promotion

Madame [Azrina] just got promoted, so to celebrate she took the ladies out for dim sum lunch at PJ Hilton earlier today-Delish!

We had a sceptical waiter who was very worried that we ordered too much and we wouldnt be able to finish what we ordered…hello! of course we proved her wrong haha

Congrats Madame!

Pic below: That’s not all that we ordered ;p

Mak Yeop’s Dusun

 

Why was I wearing Phua Chu Kang boots? (I know I know they’re not yellow like his ;p)

Visit my photo blog, Capture-d Mo at

 http://nadiazainuddin.fotopages.com

Bite: Bora Asmara

the art piece in our bisek bisekdinner

Bora through a lenseMadame

“Are we lost?” That was one of the first remarks I made while driving through Kg Sg Penchala for Alina’s farewell dins. We passed by warongs with patrons watching WWF, small kedai runcits and young kids on motorbikes without helmets on [see I had reasons to think we were lost]. 

But Madame assured me that we weren’t lost and indeed we weren’t..just a few minutes after exiting Penchala Link, wheezing through the kampong we arrived at Bora Asmara [got connection with Bora Ombak? maybe] 

Ambience is something that Bora Asmara boasts..and you’d have to be blind to not notice the Balinese influence at Bora ..from the Balinese gargoyle stone lamps to Bali thatched roofs. This Bali inspired garden eatery serves Indonesian, Western and local dishes.  

I was more excited about the setting than the food [wedding reception at Bora Asmara..hmm? ;p]  The place automatically puts one on the romantic-wind down mode- preferred mode after the rat race comes to a temporary halt. 

At Bora, you can choose to dine al fresco, in the Bala Gede [air conditioned], or in the few bisek-bisek [private hut] that sits 6 comfortably [I believe you can request for more sitting pillows if you there are more than 6 of you].  

Unfortunately the food wasn’t able to match the ambience- it’s not awful but not great.But I enjoyed the Lemongrass Chiller..iced serai.If I’m not mistaken Bora is also open for lunch but doubt the feel of the setting will be as great..no night breeze, lamps etc.

It should definitely be your pick if you’re staying/working near the area,dont want to curse while looking for a parking space and definitely a pick if you’re in the mood for some Balinese ambience and coo coo time.

 Directions to Bora Asmara:

Get on the Penchala Link,take the Kg Sg Penchala exit, left at the first traffic light [in front of the mosque] then drive straight on for a bit, it’ll be on your left-you wont miss it.

Of Salmon and Hunt for Pie

Within 45 minutes of arriving home from work I drove out again with Nasha to Bangsar..all cos I felt like eating salmon. And dad wanted apple pie with ice cream, and the best place I knew that’s not too far (mind you I stay in Shah Alam) to get both under one roof was Bangsar Village.

Delicious has salmon and toast on the menu..a fair amount of salmon.yum!

For dad’s pie..now that was a whole hunt..I thought I’d just go to Suchan (on the way stop by Lollipops to see if there are any newbies I can pick up..bag temptation.-hardest to fight haha) but unfortunately Suchan ran out of pie..so next stop ws Haagen Dazs..the slice was small but no choice..however no-go at Haagen Dazs either..cos they didnt do take outs for pie (silly!)

Why go all over? Well if only Delicious had apple pie as part of that long list of sweetlicious stuff they had..then sister and I wouldnt have to go through all the trouble,but Delicous has blackberry apple crumble..too bad dad’s not a fan of blackberry…and he wanted pie..or else the hunt could’ve been officially over.

 

In the end “takut kempunan” I picked up a slice of apple crumble from Coffee Bean and a slice of pecan pie for myself. Dad was a bit dissapointed but he finished it nevertheless ;p

So I got my salmon..as for dad..he’ll have to wait till tomorrow..I’ll get him a whole pie

Bite:Saravana Bhavan

For lunch today, my colleagues and I headed out to Saravana Bhavan in Telawi Bangsar. Madame told me they serve vegetarian food…and chicken that’s not chicken but vegetarian..something like chicken tasting tofu (am I making sense?maybe not)

Well I’m not so familiar..in fact to be more accurate I’m not familiar at all with Indian food. So this was a chance for me to experiment.

If you’re alien to the food like I am, then navigating through the menu at Saravana will be a bit difficult. Luckily for me Venee aka Sarah J (call her Sarah J cos she reminds me of Sarah Jessica Parker ;p) was there.

But I shouldnt scare you.. they do have descriptions of the dishes in English..and they’ve got quite an array of dishes there.

The four dishes that we ordered were:

Madame had Vegetarian Chicken Briyani..the chicken that’s not chicken dish. And I must say the briyani was delicious! The rice berderai (what’s the translation for that in English) rice wasn’t lumpy? ..there. And it came in a reasonable portion that wont make you feel like you’ve been ripped of your money.

Oh yea and the veg chicken did taste like chicken. Interesting eh..I’ve yet to figure out how it’s made.

Vegetarian Chicken Briyani RM7.50

We also shared some Bainan Bartha..brinjal dish. Goes well with the briyanis. (RM8.50  for a bowl)

Sarah J had the Paneer Pulao..I love the name..very exotic. I’ll get Sarah J to leave a comment on this one to describe it.. but I’ll try..it was rice mixed with Indian cheese (oh dear..I hope I’m doing justice to the food). This was tasty too.. though since it has cheese as a main ingredient it may turn out to be an acquired taste for some. But I liked it.

All the briyani came with this white gravy thingy that had onions in it..(I’m really showing that I have no idea about  Indian food arent I..eek)

 Paneer Pulao RM8.00

I had the Masala Dosa and it was the first time I ever ate such a huge tose..the last time I had tose was when I pinched some from Sarah J and the other  from my mum and that was it…my whole tose history.

But the tose at Saravan was good…not too sour,though I prefer the tose to be soft, so I had to tear out the crispy parts..the next time I’m there I’ll get them to make it soft all around. Had 4 different dips..so I amateurishly dipped the tose into all four. It was very filling and Sarah J told me it’s high in protein..yeay healthy living ;p

Masala Dosa RM3.50

Norlin had Poori Masala which looked a bit obscene…ha ha. 

Dont you think so? Anyhoo..this I didnt get the chance to taste..but Norlin was eating away so I’m guessing it was good too.

For dessert Sarah J picked out the Carrot Halwa..it’s like a paste..taste of carrots (duh) though not overwhelming and milk as well. Wasn’t too sweet..which is good. Should share it..cos it may be too “heavy” for single consumption.

 Carrot Halwa 100gm for RM5.00

The place is air conditioned, clean, has a clean restroom too. Service is ok (nothing to complain about). Not crowdy..wasn’t full when we were there. Parking- can park at Jolly Green, won’t advise you to try your luck finding parking along the street. Location: same row as Public Bank so dont park at BV..too far.

I would definitely go there again, food’s good, not pricey..recommended-especially for anyone alien to Indian food.