DITRAKTIR MANI

Late post again. Event happened several years ago haha

These are photos taken from a recent lunch gathering that i attended. Along with me, there were my sister, Elby and Mani. We missed Nita and Ufi this time, one was busy in school, learning to be a beautician, the latter was busy babysitting the toddler of our beautician to be haha. Oh well, i hope they will turn up on our next gathering ;)

I kind of wondering why Mani insisted to proceed with the luncheon on that day, eventhough she knew that two ladies in our group wouldnt be able to make it. It turned out that that day was the first  anniversary of Mani's dad passing. May his soul rest in peace.

That was why she needed us that day. I am glad now that we laughed a lot in that aftenoon. Hopefully our presence lifted up her spirit, somehow.

Anyway, we went to Ananda Bhavan vegetarian restaurant at Tekka Market. The food was awesome! We had mini briyanni meal, a full briyanni meal, a garkic butter naan meal and mini poori meal.

So much food went into my tummy!
I felt like a gluttony (facepalm).
Promised myself to go easy with dinner
But the guilt linger
Haha
No regrets though

Post lunch, we ventured Tekka Market to buy some vegetables. Elby wanted to get kemangi leaves, our version of basil leaves. She shared half of the bunch with me, thank you elby. Oh...I ended up buying banana leaves for no apparent reason haha.

We then went to one of the stores selling sweet desserts. Bought some for Ibu at home. What a day to spend with good friends! Thank you ya semua...

Lunching with friends

These are photos taken from a recent lunch gathering with my friends. Along with me, there were my sister, Elby and Mani. We missed Nita and Ufi this time, one was busy in school, learning to be a beautician, the latter was busy babysitting the toddler of our beautician to be haha. Oh well, i hope they will turn up on our next gathering ;)

I was wondering why Mani insisted to proceed with the luncheon on that particular day, or i should say date, even though she knows two of the six ladies in our group weren't able to make it. It turned out that it was the first  anniversary of Mani's dad passing. May his soul rest in peace.

That was why she needed us on that day. I am glad that we laughed a lot in that aftenoon, and hopefully our presence lifted up her spirit, somehow. 

Anyway, we went to Ananda Bhavan vegetarian restaurant at Tekka Market. The food was awesome! We had mini briyanni meal, a full briyanni meal, a garlic butter naan meal and mini poori meal.To be honest...I was very full by three quarter of the meal time...but there was still food on the table! I exceeded my lentils quota on that day...i ended up having very 'windy' tummy for the rest of the day...if you know what i mean :P

So much food went into my tummy!
I felt like a gluttony (facepalm).
Promised myself to go easy with dinner
But the guilt linger
Haha
No regret, after all
This...was for a good cause :P

Post lunch, we ventured Tekka Market. If you havent been to this market yet, then you should go now! You have been missing all good fresh vegetables...of all kinds. The market is located right in the heart of Little India. It is a very comprehensive market, where most people go if they want to find: tapioca leaves, petai (Parkia speciosa), jengkol (Archidendron pauciflorum), leunca (Solanum nigrum), all are Indonesian favourites! You can even buy brotowali (Tinospora crispa) which is known for its medicinal benefit, as well as its bitter taste haha! Oh btw...the second floor of this tekka market is dedicated for the apa and ama selling sarees, punjab dress, and all of its accessories! The experience of going to Tekka Market will last forever, the sight, the smell, they will definitely stick to your memory!

Elby wanted to get kemangi leaves. Kemangi is Indonesian version of basil leaves. This very aromatic leaves are usually added to various dishes, such as pepes ikan (steamed fish in banana leaves), or eaten raw as salad with very spicy sambal. Yum. She bought one bunch of the leaves and gave half of that to me, thank you Elby. So...I ended up buying banana leaves, for no apparent reason haha.

We then make a route to a shop selling Indian sweet desserts such as jalebi and barfi for my mum. Last stop of the day was a provision shop selling all kind of things from pooja flowers to shampoo. We were there because Mani wanted to buy a special shampoo which is actually somekind of haena. She claimed that the shampoo dye her hair black nicely. And since it is made of all natural ingredients, it is safe to use. Of course I bought one box of this shampoo for my hubby. He desperately needs it, been trying all sort of ways to make himself look 'younger' (read: no grey hair) haha. Sounds very vain eh? I don't know...well, to me he looks better with silvery hair though but lets make the man happy, okay? Hope this treatment works.

 

Okay...I will be coming back to little India, with a different friend, in two days time. Will bring her to this vegetarian restaurant. I hope she likes the food, keep my fingers crossed.

Friday Prayers at Sultan Mosque

My husband's favorite mosque is Sultan Mosque and for the obvious reason. The mosque is very grand and beautiful. It also has rich history, way back to 1824 when it was built by Sultan Hussain Shah of Johore. 

It is currently under major renovation and therefore the mosque is temporary closed for women who want to join Friday prayers. Well, it is not a big problem for most of us women as we know that it is not compulsory for women to attend Friday prayers in mosques. The mosque has newly-installed glass elevator but it is still not in operation yet.

If you happen to be around Kampong Glam area, do drop by to the mosque. There used to be guided tours for tourists but I am not sure if that service is still available during the renovation. Well, it does not hurt to try to find out. The interior of the mosque is very beautiful you will not regret making a trip down to the area. 

Besides, there are plenty of awesome cafes and restaurants offering foods from around the world. Whenever we miss the taste of Indonesia, we will go to Sari Ratu Nasi Padang at Pahang Street to enjoy their rendang, chicken curry, and the steamed tapioca leaves dipped in green chili sambal. They are simply delicious!

Hari-hari Berkabut Asap

Daerah Chinatown siang ini. 

PSI sekitar 150-170. 

Gedung tinggi di latar belakang adalah Duxton Hill. Lihat langitnya, putih berkabut asap :( 

Semalam sempat hujan, udara menjadi dingin tapi hujan tidak bisa menghapus habis kabut asap. Kemarin siang/sore psi sempat turun ke level 120. Okay, mari kita beranikan diri untuk berenang. Horee...kolam renang sepi. 

Sekarang kita mungkin harus cukup bahagia dengan level psi 100-120an ya? Setidaknya, saya tidak mencium bau asap. Kalau lebih tinggi dari 150, biasanya bau itu sudah tercium, dan matapun perih jika terlalu laama berada di luar rumah.

Pak Presiden Jokowi berkata, Indonesia perlu lebih dari tiga tahun untuk memberantas aksi pembakaran hutan ini. Oooh...semoga bisa tuntas ya Pak, karena kita semua menderita :( 

Counting my blessing...

Too much of rain...there will be flood but we cant live without it, i mean the rain, either.

Thank you Allah for blessing us with your creation. Now that the rain brings down the temperature, I can work without the fan blasting its hot air towards me!

Alhamdulillah...



Mom is happy too :) The plants do not complain either :)

- Dyah on mobileblogging

Mom Goes Geylang

Its been awhile since my mom went to Geylang.


About a month ago we decided to give it a go. Went very early in the morning by 'tumpang' or took a ride in ayah's car.


Reached Geylang at around 8.30! We did some window-shopping, bought some jamus, and then...


...Had a breakfast at the foodcourt there.


We explored Joo Chiat road after the meal. We did some photoshoots along the way, mom was the model.
Isnt she pretty? :)


Background...Hotel 81 hehe


Obviously...i was not as cool as my mom when it comes to posing for photograph!


We stopped by at this wonderful shop selling cookwares and bakewares and all things related to it from the giant burner to tiny cookie cutter. We were so delighted to find kembang goyang moulds for my aunt who would soon be coming over from the US! Yaaaay!

Word of caution:
Go easy on the Nasi Padang.

A day after the trip to Geylang, my mom's blood pressure shot up. Most probably was caused by the food! Although i had tried to choose the dish wisely, apparently the salt and lemak santan gravy level was too high for her, for us actually as i also felt abit sick after the meal hehehe.

No no no...dont get me wrong. The food was wonderful! It was just that we were not used to eating such rich food anymore. I never cook rendang (dont know how) and seldom cook daun singkong dish (just learnt to cook this dish recently) so the dish we had at Geylang on that day was abit too much treat in one day for us :-P

Thank God her blood pressure returned to normal on the following day. Phewww....

So...when is our next trip to Geylang, mom? :-D

- Posted from my iPhone

Eat and Prosper

What an apt name for a restaurant! :) What do you think they serve here?

Scroll down for answer :)







- Dyah on mobile blogging

Life is (not) bed of roses - 1

One afternoon at City Square Mall.
It was pouring outside and we were dead tired after shopping for my son's school needs. Looking at my fragile mom who was shivering because of cold and torturing AirCon of the mall and to my son who had started to chant his mantra "I want taxi...i want taxi...." I finally gave up. I decided to follow the mantra, to take a cab home. The boy of course was all smile immediately. 

Went to the taxi stand, the on-duty taxi attendant helped us get a taxi quite fast, which was surprising because usually it is always difficult to get a cab on rainy days.

Anyways...the auntie taxi driver actually was on her way to shift-changing point but she was kind enough to transport us first before making her way to her final destination of that day.

So...we were inside the taxi. Being a curious me, i started asking questions about this auntie driver.

Ms Jane is 48 years old, married with two teenage children. Husband is working, but not as a taxi driver. Sorry forgot to ask about him. Jane and her family live in Yishun.

She works half shift daily, about 11-12 hour starting from 5am and then handover the taxi to her partner to work the other half shift, usually at around 5pm. Prior to handing over the taxi, she must wash and clean the taxi first, thats what she said. 

She said she has got no official day-offs, well indeed it is up to her to manage her time but she tried to spend time with family on Saturdays.

Jane and her partner rent their taxi from a taxi company for $105/day. 
From later check i found out that rental of taxi is between $64/day (Honda) - $116/day (for a Mercedes taxi). Hers is a Hyundai.

Daily cost according to her:
Petrol is around $38/ day
Rental (split half-half with her partner) $52
So she needs to get at least $100/ day to cover the cost of rental and petrol.

Random questions:
Me: So do you get more passengers during festive season like Christmas and New Year?
J: Nope, not on the day itself. In fact, New Year day is the worst day to drive a taxi if you drive in morning shift as most people will still be zzzzz-ing after partying late the night before.

Note to myself: True.
  
Me: Do you ever get lost? (The taxi has got no GPS system)
J: No, not really. I trained myself to always observe landmarks, point of reference etc 

Note to myself: Ehm...yeah, obviously. Something i dont do well when i drive, too dependant on the GPS system.

Me: Is it tiring to work as taxi driver?
J: yes, sometimes. I am married with kids, so at home I still have to do my house chores. That is what usually makes me tired :-)  

Note to myself: Eh...we have some similarities in this area :P

Before we knew it...we had reached our place. The interesting conversation had to end. We exchanged goodbyes. Thank you for the ride and the sharing. Although it was a light and merry conversation, I know you live a tough life. I was glad that my little boy was there to listen to our chat. I do hope he learned a thing or two about the life of a taxi driver in Singapore.

Take care Jane, may you be blessed with good health  and hopefully...we will meet again in the future :-)

For:
 +mita a.rachman +kingaqila@gmail.com  +dyah peni tunjung sari 

Good Friend Good Food

Good food is abound here. Eating is an activity that is kinda accepted as the nation's past time here :-) No wonder many of my local friends are serious foodies. They search high and low for good food, raving about them or even blog and instagram the whole experience in finding the so-called perfect dish for them :-)

How about me? Well...I am a simple person...i love simple things...nothing fancy. Dont particularly like to talk about the food that i eat as I dont hunt food, if you know what i mean. My kind of perfect food is when I enjoy a meal, no matter how simple it is, with good companion ;)

Steamed cakes/ bread and coffee at Old Town cafe. Hm....

Talking about good companion, my husband and I have been having 'our time' these past couple of months, ever since our kiddo is attending an extended music lesson at his teacher's studio.  We have lunch together, sometimes trying out new places but most times we just go to the usual ones, followed by watching a movie. Waaah...senangnya :-) 

Oh...by the way, the steamed bun bread we tried at Old Town Resto at White Sands Pasir Ris is very soft and lovely. Try to dip the bread in to the coffee instead of the curry dip for a change.  Yum yum smells nice. And the coffee is great too, creamy with fresh aroma :-)

San Lou Hor Fun or Sliced Fish Hor Fun....oooomph!

I had this Hor Fun at a cafe called Kampong Cafe along Joo Chiat Road. I was there some time last week with my student, during our lunch break. Actually, my student was the one who recommended me this place hehehe. The food here is good and cheap. You can order Malay or Chinese dish, they have quite an extensive menu. Strangely, the place was never too crowded, (i went there twice and on both occasion the resto was only half full, and it was lunch hour!) unlike the next door restaurant (raised your hand if you know which restaurant that i am referring to hehehe). Anyways...it is really not a bad idea to have a lunch here. Go easy on your order...they serve generously :-)

(perpax for express lunch with drink, 7-8 dollar)

Do you know that  one of the stalls at KPT Kopitiam opposite Punggol Park sells very nice Rojak? Rojak...not Rujak ya. It is an Indian dish, consisting a variety of fried dough/ stuff, fishcake, tempeh, tahu, potato, shrimp ball, ngo hiang etc with a dip of sweet and hot sauce made of combination of sweet potato and peanut and tamarind and chilli and other ingredients hehe. Shiok lah. Pokoknya enaaaak! 

(4 pieces of rojak will cost you 5.50 dollar)

Satu Hari Minggu di Punggol Park

Waaah...ada wedding photo shoot :-)

Punggol Park adalah taman favorit kami, bukan saja karena lokasinya yang cukup dekat dari tempat kami tinggal, tapi juga karena ada banyak kenangan sejak Aqila, anak kami lahir.
Kami dulu tinggal di daerah Hougang, dekat sekali dengan Punggol Park. Sejak Aqila lahir, saya rajin membawa dia jalan-jalan ke taman ini. Banyak kenangan manis dan lucu terjadi di sini. Suatu hari saya membawa Aqila jalan-jalan pagi di sini. Aqila masih kecil sekali, masih bayi. Saya membawa dia dengan menggunakan kereta dorong. Pulang dari taman, saya baru menyadari...lho kok Aqila tidak berselimut? Hahaha...ternyata selimutnya jatuh di tengah jalan...entah di mana lah. Kok bisa ya? Sibuk day dreaming mungkin ibunya ya? haha
Taman ini cukup besar, ada kolam di tengahnya. Sekeliling ada jogging track. Ada juga tempat bermain anak, fitness corner dan barbecue pit. Menurut saya tempat BBQ nya kurang bagus karena jauh dari taman, membelakangi taman pula.

Ada tempat makan menarik juga, Oats something namanya. Menyajikan makanan barat seperti fish n chips, steak dan spaghetti. Ada juga makanan titbidsnya seperti bruschetta, onion rings etc...ada porsi anak juga. sayang, menurut saya rasanya biasa saja.

Anyway...berpiknik di lapangan rumputnya saja sudah cukup menyenangkan kok :-)

Okay...tidak perlu banyak ngomong, lihat saja foto-foto ini ya? Ohya...foto diambil dengan menggunakan cameraphone (iphone4)...tanpa edit.

Ibu dan Nenek pengantin tersenyum ketika difoto :-)

Bapak dan ibu ini asyik mengobrol :-)
Sekarang Punggol Park dapat dicapai dari Punggol Promenade dengan berjalan kaki atau bersepeda melalui Park Connectornya. Menarik sekali! Ada tempat penyewaan sepeda juga di sana, senang kan?



Ooops....hati-hati dooong!

 Aiyaiyaaaaiyaiyai....jangan nubruk!


Tidak lama...terlihat sekumpulan pengunjung taman tekun mengamati sesuatu di pinggir kolam taman.


Anak-anak berkumpul pingin tahu. Ada apa yaaaa?

Kakek inipun asyik menonton....

Aaah...ternyata...ada perahu dengan remote control! Seru lho menontonnya!


Oops...maaf ada kaki ikut terfoto :-)
Senangnya...bersantai menikmati hari Minggu di taman yang tenang nyaman dan asri :-)

Selamat Hari Raya Haji

Seperti biasa kami sholat Eid di Mesjid Sultan, salah satu mesjid tertua dan tercantik di Singapura.
Berdekatan dengan bekas Istana Kampong Glam yang sekarang menjadi Pusat Kebudayaan Melayu / Malay Heritage Centre, mesjid ini selalu menjadi pilihan tempat sholat yang populer di antara masyarakat muslim di Singapura.

Tapi tahukah anda bahwa tahun ini masyarakat muslim di Singapura hampir tidak bisa melaksanakan proses kurban? Sebabnya karena pemerintah Australia menerapkan peraturan baru bagi para importir sapi dan domba dari negara mereka. Peraturan ini mengharuskan diterapkannya audit baru dalam hal penanganan proses pengiriman sapi dan domba kurban ini ke Singapura. Jadi menurut berita di koran, MUIS Singapura (lewat mesjid-mesjidnya yang melakukan pemesanan hewan kurban) baru lolos audit bulan lalu. Fiuuuh....deg-degan dong ya menunggu kabar ini?

Interior Mesjid Sultan (foto hasil jepretan suami)

Bagi teman-teman yang akan jalan-jalan ke Singapura, jangan lupa mampir ke Mesjid Sultan, kalian tidak akan kecewa. Mesjid ini cantik dan bersejarah. Di mesjid ini juga ada pemandu yang dengan senang hati akan menjelaskan kepada kita serba serbi Mesjid Sultan dan agama Islam. Kalau perlu, bisa menghubungi mereka dulu untuk meminta mereka menyediakan waktu untuk menjelaskan (semacam presentasi) tentang sejarah mesjid ini. Saya pernah mengatur acara serupa untuk murid-murid bahasa Indonesia saya, dan menarik sekali sesinya.  :-)

Untuk info lebih lanjut tentang mesjid Sultan, silakan klik ini. 

My neighbourhood

I was on my way to my lesson when i caught a glimpse of the sky and realised how pretty it was. I was pleasantly surprise to see the results...so i share them here with you :-)

It seems just recently we moved in to this area. Hey....it seems just recently we heard about Punggol estate. ;-) Well, Punggol is the newest estate in Singapore. Punggol now is still an ulu place. But come 5 years from now, it will be a very vibrant estate with various amenities for everyone, or so it was said by the government :-)

Okay...okay...am not in the mood to explain about it now, initially i just wanted to post these pictures of my Punggol :-) So if you are interested to know about the latest development of Punggol Town, please clik this.  

The Gardens in the City

Don't get dizzy seeing this! :-D

Cloud Forest



Singapore's latest and the most amazing attraction to date is The Gardens by The Bay. It is a huge complex (101 hectares) consisting of two temperature-controlled domes, giant trees, a lake and several themed gardens. Click this to check the map.

The garden was officially opened on 29 June 2012, and has been attracting many many many people, both tourists and locals to check out the place. 

I spent an afternoon at this magnificent garden with family, and it was not enough. I think i have to go there again...to explore the place in details but in the meantime, here are moments that i could immortalize from the trip :-) I only managed to go inside the two domes, flower dome and cloud forest. 

The flower dome replicate cool-dry climate of the Mediterranean regions such as South Africa, California, Spain and Italy. Cacti and beautiful flowers fill this dome. Flower lovers...you will be in awe!!!

The cloud forest showcases plant life from tropical highlands up to 2,000-metres sea level.
The moment you enter the dome, you will be welcomed by a tall indoor waterfall!!! Slightly wet attire during the tour was no problem at all for me hehe. 




They all look tiny!!!




Dont leave this complex too early, do stay till sunset for there will be light performance at the Super Trees! The trees will be lighted beautifully....and the view was simply amazing!



The Charges:

For Local Resident:
Adult $12 for one conservatory or $20 for two conservatories.
Senior Citizen (>60 years old) $8 (one conservatory) or $15 (two conservatories)
Child (3-12 years old) $8 or $12

Standard Rate:

Adult and senior citizen $28 for two conservatories
Child $15

OCBC Skyway (the skybridge linking two super trees) $5

Annual Pass
Family Pass (2 adults + 3 children) $180
Individual Adult Pass $68
Senior Citizen Pass $60

How to get there? Just click this to get the info  :-)

Mid-Autumn Festival

It's the time of the year again...to enjoy mooncake while admiring the full moon, hoping to catch a glimpse of lady Chang Er on the moon :-)

Do you want to know the story of lady Chang Er? Click this, however, it is in Indonesian. Will post the English version soon :-)


- Posted from my iPhone

Hang Dry!

It is another sunny day in Singapore!

We do have bamboo poles sticking out of our kitchen window to hang our laundry dry. But if the amount of laundry exceeds the poles capability, we just gotta find a way to hang them dry, don't we?

To use the corridor parapet as a place to hang dry the laundry is quite a common sight especially in older estate, like this. This picture was taken in Everton estate, Outram Park. The tall building at the back is the Pinnacle at Duxton Hill, a 50 storey apartement done by Housing and Development Board (HDB) Singapore.