Pages

Pages

September 13, 2009

Food for thots during Ramadhan

My taste buds is kind of different kinds. I would go for delicacies of cow brain, cow tongues...I know it didn't sound very delicious but it is delicacies that I'm into more than goose liver or cow liver.







I know I got that kind of taste buds from my dad. We could be Carnivors and Herbivors. He would prepare bone merrow soup for our festival. Grilled cow stomach with chillies juice with lemon or tamarind extract. Supposedly reading about food, you would be drooling but not this time.



We would go miles to find squid eggs cooked in coconut milk. That's was my childhood taste bud that I carried it til now. Off course as I grew older with changes in my taste buds, I mingled with friends, relatives of different background. That's how I picked up various food. I fell in love with fish Cod grilled or broiled. I remembered I went out with my parents and brother, she had Cod, her lips swollen as she is a fish oil alergy. We also had raw oysters was very good then scallops. I could still taste them on my lips.

When travelling with my brother or husband, we usually had Japanese food, sea urching will be ordered first. Then escagort in Tapas ways of setting we would go next. If it is in Europe wild mushrooms was must have either breed salmon or wild salmon, we care only food.



After my gym we stopped for avocado juice and crab salmon meat as we wanted to maintain healthy right after the worked out but later on, back to normal, coconut rice, mee curry were on the lists.

During ramadhan we supposed to be moderation in our food desire but as human being, it went the other way round, more desire not just on eating but feasting.



We family sat at the living were thinking of what to have during breaking the fast. I told dad, how about ox tail soup, dad was excited but going low and said you guys go ahead for it as it is good for those who are not affected in their blood. It means the blood had affected with the unnecessary mineral like too much sodium that caused high blood pressure. Then countered my mom said when it is affected it is too late like you(dad) and she corrected like us. I was kind of feeling pity of my dad when mom said like that to him but he smiled and said it is true. He said his breakfasts every morning in those days were half boiled eggs, french toast bread with egg sugar jam (sri kaya) at Kopitiam. If it's not half cooked eggs, he would take coconut milk rice with spicy anchovies or indian bread with lamb curry.



My dad is a high taste person, he was brought up in an educated family that was not poor or rich. He went to Malay College KK (MCKK) the best state high school consisted with high end students of big shots parents. The problem was according to my grandpa who was a high school Headmister, my dad came back from the school breaks with demands new things everytime, the first time was he wanted a camera then went on with branded sport shoes. Grandpa said that he sent him to the best school to be groomed to be somebody academically as he himself was qualified for it, supposedly to study hard in academic not to learn fancy stuffs from his peers. Sighing late grandpa.



My dad always wanted the best for me, he got me an Alba watch when I was in early primary school. Most of my friends used Mickey Mouse watches or cartoon characters brandings. I wasn't satisfied as friends said I wore my mom's or somebody's watch everytime :(



My mom had an opposite lifestyles where she got the biggest size shoes from 7 years old til 12 years. She was like a cartoon herself, she said with a bigfoot that she had to wear them for 6 years, but that was the vision of my maternal grandpa to buy one pair of shoes per primary school life.

Okay back to family gathering at my parents' living room...After prepared basic dinner, we went out to look for something which is not easy to prepare at home. We went to the food bazaar at a mall. I saw dad was sitting at the Teppanyaki bar as if he was waiting for the food to take out. I walked around and got myself Char Kuey Teow, chinese fried flat mee. Mom was strolling and searching. Then I saw dad at the Hong Kong Duck rice with shrimp dumplings and asked him what happened to Teppanyaki, he told that they don't prepare take away. I was mumbling upsetting and kind of finding it hard to believe it take out or eat in is our choice. We went round and round then got home.



During dinner, we really enjoyed it, I told dad better skipped this oilly gravy, as it better having the cholestrol in the crab than in an oilly gravy. Dad was just laughed. We were about to finished eating.



Mom with high voice said to my dad, " Here's your "cholestrol", you haven't eaten, just now you insisted me line up in a long queue for it, better finish it. It was sticky rice, coconut filling, mom called it dad's cholestrol. Poor guy :)


While I am typing this, I got a text message from my mom asked me about my plan for our festival. I paused typing and called her, she is at the Mall waiting for my dad shopped for Dockers pants, I said wow dad was really looked forward to our festival Eid ul Fitr, then I asked mom, what has she got there then, she said nothing, I continued get something would be enjoyable than just waiting for dad to shop. She told me earlier on that she did not plan to buy new clothes as she's going to wear the previous clothes she had that she seldom wore and some my sister had bought for her. That was a formal traditional suits, I guess she supposed to get something casual blouse atleast one or two, then she finished the conversation with Cashy none because now try Economoney :) Oh mom sweet mom :)

September 1, 2009

Celebrity and Washed Hand

This is about double meaning of washing hands for cleanliness or the hygiene for H1N1. As it is vital to wash hands and shower after lingered outside in the public places as prevention is better than cure. As for this post is about wash hands like rubbing two hands as if a relief emotion after a task has been done and also washing hands before eating. I am not sure to demo the exact gestures, the story goes like this as in the picture of my dad with his last kid, my brother.

My dad who is a caring person and also a concerned one towards his children. Being a father of many kids, he could not wait til the last kid to finish university and get a job, so that he could lay back and relax, relief of a so called the tasks were finished. Though that was his intention to wash hands (I've got the idea of wash hands from himself as I observed his gestures when chatting with friends, relatives or peers on us) but he goes on with his caring character waiting for my brother to have his own house as marriage is secondary, well my brother already owned a house now then my dad would be relief and yet he is not.

Time goes by, I have many nephews and two nieces but the two nephews who lived next door that is a new task for my dad by choice. The task gets going and the going gets tasks :). My dad is still can not put his hands together or to express the phew!! finished! and let them hanging relaxed.

He sweats to make sure the two grandkids of next door to grow up and finish school then he will be relieving a retired man! Our conversation during our holiday in an island, his own nephews who are my cousins said to him, Pak Long or Eldest Uncle, "you have nothing to think anymore, all is done by the children", my dad immediately counter that phrase that he has bunch of things to think about my nephews. He wants his hands are full of his grandchildren like sending to school, accompany them, taking them to places etcetera etcetera by choice could made him feel young.

This all make me think of how our life would be with my kid, the task is there and will always be there and loving it. My husband does not dream to have free of task as in the beginning. A task make him multitasker in fact :) We have many plans for the kid and yet the plans come back to us, there is no way to make the task stop rolling, the task will only keep handing hands or changing hands maybe rest when we must, just to never quit. The tasks relate to another are there and will be less and get easy Godwill, insyaAllah, only one choice is to raise two open palms together to pray for it from Him.

And I have another side story of washing hands. We family, together with my parents went out for a movie. We bumped with a country number 1 singer Dato' Siti Nurhaliza with her husband. My dad was so excited that he got a chance to shake hands with them. On the way home, my mom said to my dad that my dad would not want to wash his hands ever as he shook hands with the beautiful celebrity but my dad said he would wash his hands clean as he didn't shake hands with Dato' Siti Nurhaliza (photo above) but he only did with her husband, sighed :)


One question, was my mom being jealous :) Naaah...don't think so :D