KELAS MEMASAK 101 bersama Chef ZZ

While reading my KIMCHI entry, it reminded me of the first informal cooking class i had here. It was indeed one very productive week for NND, NUP, myself and the Chef in Charge, Cikgu Zaimah.

It was the first week of May, if i can still recall, when Cikgu Zaimah's husband went back to Malaysia to check on their elder children. I told her that i was craving for kueh seri muka. So she came to our place and showed us her skills. Coming from a mom of six, obviously, cooking of any kind of food is simply kacang putih for her.

She taught us how to make the crunchy and tasty karipap on the first day followed by my favorite kueh seri muka on the second. By the end of the week, wallaaa, we were the most wanted chefs in town! We were the experts for talam kacang merah, pulot kuning with rendang ayam, opor daging, sambal telor and also the unforgettable talam berlauk, to name a few.

I got carried away by making myself busy in the kitchen, alone, the following weeks. And the results were quite impressive. I had to agree that cooking is in fact, like mathematics; the more you practice, the better you are at it.

To Cikgu Zaimah, who will not be here when i return from summer holidays, i will surely miss you. Thank you for being a friend. You are, in fact, one of a kind.

THE FRUITS TRADER

We went to the Isa Town Local Market (Souq) last Saturday evening and bought ourselves some fruits. Not only the fruits that striked our attention but also the trader himself. He demonstrated qualities every genuine trader should have; friendly, generous and efficient.

We are sure to go back there for the soft and juicy apricots and the asam gelugor-look-alike fruit, but tasted like nectarine! another God's great creation!

THE AL-FATEH GRAND MOSQUE, BAHRAIN

Although Bahrain is just a small island, one can find mosques of different sizes almost everywhere in this country. However, the Al-fateh Mosque, also known as The Grand Mosque or the Al-Fateh Islamic Centre, is the biggest mosque of all, at this point of time.

An impressive sight by day and overwhelmingly gorgeous at night, one can never miss it as it is strategically located in Juffair, by the side of the busy Al-fateh Highway.

Here are some of the facts about the mosque:-

1. The total area of the mosque is about 15 hectares
2. The construction work started in December 1984 and the Mosque was opened to the public in June 1988.
3. The Grand Mosque also consists of a library, students dormitory, and service utilities.
4. The Mosque can accommodate 7000 worshipers at a time; 5000 in the main hall, 1800 in the courtyard and 200 in the women's prayer hall.
5. The dome above the main prayer hall from the inside is about 40 metres from ground level with a diameter of 25 metres and has 12 windows inscribed with the name of ALLAH in the center in green color.
6. The dome is made of a 60 ton fibreglass to make it cooler during summer time
7. The main building has two minarets, each rising to 70 metres above ground feet.
8. The center has 952 lamps, 78 lusters and 76 wall lights, all made in France.
9. The floor of the Mosque is covered with 2774 square meters of carpeting, custom manufactured in Scotland.
10. The total estimated cost of the Mosque including all its extensions, was BD 7,500,0oo.
11. Visitors inclusive non-moslems are allowed to explore the Mosque and there are guided tours scheduled everyday from 10am to 4pm.

And, just outside the Mosque, near the parking space, one would be able to see lots of dates trees of various kinds being planted ready to be explored. If you are lucky enough, you will able to pluck the dates in person when they are ready to be harvested, sometime in August or September.

This Mosque is definitely one of the most special places to be visited.

SO LONG, FAREWELL...

A friend, F, will be moving to Abu Dhabi in August to accompany her husband, S, who has got a new job there.

NND and my family were invited to her place in Tubli last night as i will be leaving for Malaysia for summer holidays and they may not be here by the time we return.

F, known as a warm person with a very strong kedah dialect, served us her speciality, LAKSA PENANG, that i have been craving for. It was so der very tasty okayyy!

Selamat berangkat F and S. Hope to see you guys again in Abu Dhabi, insyaAllah.

KIMCHI -- ANYONE?

Husband has a Korean friend, Mr Yoon, who sends us KIMCHI, a traditional Korean food, several times.

As i spread the KIMCHI thingy to some close friends, they wanted to have a taste and instantly agreed when husband proposed to have a KIMCHI session with this Korean friend. Rupa2nya masing2 dah mengenali KIMCHI ni melalui drama-drama Korea di TV. Patutlah excited sangat nak mengenali KIMCHI ni dengan lebih dekat. Talking about pengaruh tv!

As scheduled, maka pada jumaat, 13hb Jun yang lepas, datanglah Mr Yoon dan isterinya, Ms Choi, ke rumah kami. Anak2 murid yang dah menunggu ni pun boleh tahan cerdiknya nak mengambil hati, siapkanlah pulak juadah2 melayu yang boleh tahan hebatnya. Tuan rumah hanya siapkan sambal ayam dan masak lemak kobis, tapi kawan2 yang lain tu datang dengan bermacam2 lauk pauk! Dengan asam pedas ikan merah, ayam kicap, daging bakar cicah air asam, ikan bakar, ikan goreng, ulam2an dan not forgetting the sambal belacan, uiskhhhh... tak muat meja makan i hari tu tauuu. Punyalah meriah sampai tak tentu arah Mr Yoon n wife nak makan. Murah betul rezeki hari tu.

Dipendekkan cerita, selepas adegan makan2 yang meriah itu, Ms Choi, yang tak berapa fasih berbahasa inggeris, dengan bantuan suaminya, mulalah menyinsing lengan baju dan memasang apronnya yang amat cantik itu. Wah wah memang ligat dia buat kerja, tak terkejar kami ni nak salin resepinya. Bukan KIMCHI aja yang disediakan, malah beliau turut ajar cara2 membuat the ever famous SUSHI, tapi katanya orang2 Korea panggil KIMBAB. Tak kesahlah, yang penting memang sodappp dan berbaloi sungguh kelas masak memasak pada petang itu.

Untuk pengetahuan sesiapa yang tak pernah mengenali KIMCHI ni, ianya ialah sejenis campuran sayur2an seperti kobis panjang@cina, daun bawang, lobak putih, kucai, bawang besar yang diperap bersama sos yang diperbuat dari campuran serbuk cili, sos ikan, bawang putih, bawang besar, halia, garam dan gula. Kobis panjang@cina terlebih dahulu digaramkan umpama membuat jeruk. Lagi lama disimpan, lagi sedap rasanya, kata Ms Choi.

InsyaAllah, i will post the recipe for both KIMCHI and SUSHI, in my next entries. Sabarlah ya, maklomlaahh akak pada petang tu cuma tukang amik gambar je, bab2 salin resepi tu, department orang lain... tak gitu, kak era?

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

To RKA, whom,

i've known for 22years
been married to for 12years
i am sharing 3 beautiful children with...
moga Allah panjangkan jodoh kita.

SO, hari ni kita lunch special sikit yer yang,

DAULAT TUANKU!

The Malaysian Embassy invited all Malaysians living in Bahrain to get together in conjunction with the Agong's birthday yesterday. It was very unfortunate for my family to miss the opening ceremony as we were about 10 minutes late. It would be wonderful if we could sing the national anthem, Negaraku, together with other fellow Malaysians in this foreign land.

There were about 200 people who turned up at the reception. There were so many unfamiliar faces but that did not stop me from being comfortable as everybody was extremely warm and friendly to each other. There were so many malaysian delicacies served such as the all time favorite, nasi lemak, fried mee and meehoon and kueh muih - puding, cara berlauk, kaswi, seri muka.. etc etc. They even let us tapau some as there were so many leftovers.

Thank you so much to all Malaysian Embassy staff especially Puan Liza and Puan Salmiah for a job well done!