I’m so ashamed to admit this, but I haven’t been back to Alor Setar since October Raya 2006. But everybody in my family understood the reasons behind that. Last year (2007) was a bad year for us.
- I changed so many maids. This, if put into writing, would require 1GB of memory. How about that?
- Got ‘robbed’ by my temporary maids – RM13K in jewelries and cash
- We were busy with the renovation of the house we bought
- We were busy with the moving-in/settling-in
We were lucky because Mak and AYAH would come and visit us from time to time. I knew they understood our situation, thus no hard feelings. Especially when I'm the only one living this far from them. All my other siblings either live in Alor Setar or Sungai Petani.
And when I had this Mak’s-food-craving attack, I felt sad. I wish I could see her more often. Mak is 66 and AYAH 71 but they have so many activities back home. AYAH is forever being a judge (for Pantuns etc), providing talks on Pantuns etc, attending Clubs, (Persatuan Sejarah, Kedah Museum), attending dinners etc. Mak will be busy with her Masjid, Wanita and Club activities. Sometimes she goes fishing with her neighbors, and I know she loves every second of it.
I wish I could eat what she cooked for dinner tonight. Maybe tonight’s menu will be Gulai Telur Ikan Plotan, Ikan Temenung Goreng, Sotong Goreng Letup and Kerabu Tembikai. Not forgetting the compulsory item on the menu which will always include Sambal Belacan and Ulam for AYAH.
I’m drooling. Gosh... I really crave for Mak's cooking...
28 comments:
Hi Ibu, first of all before saya tukar into 2nd gear...
tolong enlighten me...my Bahasa is 1950's wayyyy before Merdeka, ha ha..what does your callsign, 'Dalam Dakapan Ibu', means?
Saya faham 'dalam' is deep...but...'Dakapan? Depan saya tau, ha ha.
I am guessing...it means, "'Deep in my heart'?
Hey, you sure you not expecting a baby? Very suspicious ni...Saya, old days get very nervous when suddenly hear my girlfriend gets a craving for sambal mango or ikan masak lemak, arhaaa haha. Betul kelang kabote tu!
Talking about panic...here's a smile for you..
'What's the difference between stress, tension and panic?
Stress is when wife is pregnant, tension is when girlfriend is pregnant.
And panic? When both are pregnant'. Ha ha.
Aha, I see your dad is a judge for pantuns? My young days, I used to date a lot of Malay girls..
take a peek at my archive, "Dating an exotic Malay actress", d/d 1/1/08.
As well..."A Malay girl and her destiny", d/d 2/12/08.
And to compete with the handsome Malay Romeos, I had my matured Malay friends to teach me Malay pantuns...ha ha, so saya ada secret weapon...as well I copied down these pantuns in my note books..then when I stayed at my Malay friend's kampong homes, saya let go a few in the evenings, made the Makciks laugh...
Here's couple of my favorites...
'Buah berembang masak ranum,
Masak dieram dalam gua,
Kumbang lau bunga tersenyum,
Seekor belalang tumpang ketawa.
Patah pasak di dalam kemudi,
Patah di ruang bunga kiambang,
Kalau tidak bertemu lagi,
Bulan terang sama dipandang.
Dari mana punai melayang?
Dari paya turun ke padi,
Dari mana datang sayang?
Dari mata turun ke hati.
Bagaimana menangkap landak?
Diasap pintunya dengan api.
Bagaimana mula berkehendak?
Dari mata turun hati.'
You have a great week...and incidentally, I will be posting about UFO's on Wednesday or Thursday.
Kita berjumpa lagi, Lee.
kesian Kak Ja. takpelah, ur parents tak datang visit u ke? My mom biasa masak very simple. truth is dia lepas kahwin baru belajar masak. hehe. but i do miss our morning chat/gossip before i left for work.
i was hardly at home growing up sbb i went o boarding school and then itm. dah kerja barulah i duduk rumah and our relationship got better. masa belajar dulu memang asyik kelahi. alhamdulillah dah besar ni takde lagi. kalau tak, tak bau syurga lah i. ;)
Salam Ja...
Nothing compares to Mom's cooking, right? Me too sis. Always drooling for Mak's dishes...tho now with this big C I got to control my cravings because Mak loves santan... hehehe
That sotong goreng meletup is a Da-ga-boom boom! Dengaq bunyi pun sedap. Lapaq pulak pepagi ni Ja oii,... hujan pulak tu ni kalu ada ubi kayu rebuih dengan sambai tumih adehhh...ayaq kopi pekat jangan lupa noooo... hahahaha
ja,
drooling for mum's cooking at least for you ada lagi harapan to get the real one..as for me, sedey.. what I do now is to call my big sis, get her to sms me the recipe for mum's cooking (as per whatever dish on case by case)and try to do it on my own. Hahhaha...dulu malas masak, now baru nak explore, at the ripe age of 24!? hehe..
yus
p.s
tak mau welcome I ke...?
ja..
kerabu tembikai lamanya tak merasa..dah lupa lansung..agaknya orang kedah saja ka yang buat kerabu tu? and sotong goreng meletup tak pernah dengaq la pulak..kuat lagi mak u ja..fishing lagi tu..memang jarang nak jumpa kan. mak i the last time i called her, she said dia dah kena pakai tongkat..sedih la pulak.
Ja..yus...yus kita ka??
Hi..Talking about masakan mak...Kak Anim pun dah lama tak rasa ayaq tangan mak. What with the travelling and reaching home late..by the time I reach home, passing by their house..always gelap..malas nak ganggu depa pulak...last night mak picked me up kat pekan rabu since abg Rosli was outstation, and unfortunately, she did not cook last nite..so pekena nasi goreng kedai la..
It's ok..tahun ni balik raya, kita pakat2 masak....
Salam,
blog hopping from princessjournals (Farina). I just want to say your blog is very nice and you are a great mother for your children. From your posts I noticed/feels the love between you and your family.
I am also sorry to hear about your family and your maid/s. Kena pukau and tinggalkan hantu/s ......... seram!
I've been craving masakan mak for 10 years now. I'll be back to Malaysia soon and probably will gain 100 lb after eating all of my mom's cooking. :) Take care.
Yatie
Hi Uncle Lee,
Hehehe... no-no-no, I'm not pregnant! It was just that suddenly I had this craving. I must have missed her so much that I felt that way...
My callsign: Dalam=In Dakapan=Hug/Embrace Ibu=Mother... it means that My Children & Hubby will always be in my hugs. Hug here will include love & protection... something like that...
I read the entry... boleh tahan jugak you ya?
And WOW! You remember your pantuns? Wah... with that kind of pantuns as your secret weapon, I bet those girls' mothers would be sending wedding invitation cards out - if you said YES!
If I'm not mistaken, my dad has two Pantun books he authored. Too bad I didn't know how to create spontaneous pantuns, kalau tak, I'd be writing a few for you right now...he..he..
Take care, OK!
Farina,
Since you live this far, do you miss your mom? I do - eventho KL-ASetar is only a 4.5 hours journey by car.
I think the older you get, the closer you are with your mom. At least that's how I feel. I'd call her almost everyday (even just a few mins sometimes).
My mom pun masak simple, tapi entahlah, even ikan goreng pun rasa sedap compared to my ikan goreng. Pelikkan? That's why org kata 'air tangan' tu penting kan...
Raden dear,
Amboi... ubi rebuih cicah sambai tomeh... dah drooling ni... Pandai no sakat orang..hehe..
Hari ni teringat pulak daging rebus cicah air asam mak... Issh... bulan depan nak suruh dia datang lah macam ni...
Yus!!!!
TQ TQ for dropping in... Amboi orang Sintok ni... terjumpa jugak di 'alam maya' ni..he.he.. Singgah lah selalu na...
You must have missed your Mak.. Tak pa, pasai resepi - at least your big sis dah boleh ajaq you cara-cara.. tapi still tak sama kan..
I still dok buat your mee hailam. My kids love it so much, kalau boleh nak suruh buat every weekend... haghu...
Chit dear,
My first taste of tembikai kerabu masa dulu2 kat rumah my Tok in Kodiang. Sedap hingga menjilat kaki (macam Linda selalu cakap). Kat sini tak penah jumpa lagi. Nak buat sendiri.. alahaaai... bercinta...
Yes - that's our petite Yus!
Kak Anim,
Kalau mak masak, nasik makan dgn ikan masin + sambai belacan pun sedap. Sebab tu rasanya Ayah susah sangat nak makan luar.
On Tuesday when I called Mak, dia baru balik dari Balai Besar - Sultan Kedah's 50th year as a ruler. Dah makan kat sana elok2, balik rumah Ayah dok suruh masak jugak..
And yesterday masa function kat Istana Anak Bukit, Ayah tak mau makan sebab takut sakit perut (sebab: depa jamu spaghetti..lol!)
Hmmhh.. Ayah tu still manja dgn Mak tu...
Hi DDI,
Haih...I know I will be craving for mum's food soon...
What are waiting for? Jump in the car and go see your Mak and Ayah!
Yatie,
TQ for dropping in..
10 years?? Wow! Be prepared with bigger clothings while you're here bila balik nanti..hehe... Or don't bring any clothes at all.. beli semua kat sini!
Hi Daphne,
Yeah..soon..soon... When is your departure? Dah prepare semua?
I wish I could go home, but with the kids schooling and 11-people-can't-get-into-one-car problem, I'd have to wait until Raya in October. Already bought flight tickets for those who can't fit into one car...
Hopefully my parents will come next month during the school hols... oh pleeezz...
Ja,
Mak punya ayaq tangan memang champion sepanjang zaman... (Hopefully anak-anak kita pun will feel the same way about our ayaq tangan naa?)
I still remember, EVERYTIME I balik for school holidays from boarding school, among the main dishes my Mak would prepare would be my favourites - Ikan Bawal Masak Tauchu, and Sambal Tumis Udang with petai - without fail! And she would cook the same dishes on my last day at home... and for desserts she would make Kueh Tepung Talam...
Now my Mom dah tak berapa kuat dah, and if we go back to my parents, we all tak bagi dia masak for us. Either we all masak, or just tapau aje... Kinda miss her cooking :(
Shana,
I also wish my kids will feel the same way when they grow older. Tapi masaalahnya - I'll only cook on weekends - tu pun if we don't go out. Usually we'll go out both Sat & Sun. So, kalau sempat cuma dapat buat simple ones - their current favs such as mee hailam and fettuchine carbonara.
Weekdays pulak - cuma at night saja I can spend some time buat cupcake ke, cake ke...
Kena try to polish my cooking ni... dah berkarat... :(
Tu lah kan, kalau dah kenyang macam mana pun, bila balik rumah mak, bukak tudung saji, terus rasa lapar balik.
There's something about air tangan ibu...
Lucky me, my parents' home is just 5 min drive away.
Salam Mamamia,
Kalau I jadi you, mesti dah double size dah I sekarang ni... Sebab tu ada blessing in disguise I jauh dari Mak ni..hehe..
My Mak's probably coming during this school hols... so instead suruh dia rehat, I nak mintak dia masak... sekali-sekala jumpa kaaan... (rasa guilty jugak tu..)
Salam Ibu :o)
I know the feeling. My mum's still recuperating and she seems to feel better day by day ... but she can't get too excited about anything, by night time, she'll feel exhausted.
I, too, crave for her cooking. I cook her recipes but it's never the same. It'll take some time before she starts cooking again. The family has to make do with my cooking for now hehehe
sedapnya menu ... sotong goreng letup yg bunyi paling berselera hehehe
Hi Syana,
You're an anak mithali. And I guess mesti sedap jugak anak Mak ni masak, walaupun rasanya tak sama..kan..kan?
I do hope that your mom will progress on well. Then bolehla nak manja-manja gitu..hehe..
Ja, Yus and Chit,
Ha..tu dia. I miss my mum's cooking too. Gulai ikan plotan??? Wuahh.. Meleleh air liurq..
Hi Kak Ja,
Wah... menu tu I tak pernah dgr. Very exotic except for sambal belacan familiar la... esp sotong goreng letup ;-)
I'm sure your longing for your mom's cooking will be over this coming school break. Read that she's coming down to KL?
Enjoy your wkend.
ps-snap some pix of sotong goreng letup ya... ;-)
Hi Ibu, ada senang drop by,
You have a good weekend, Lee.
Zlaa,
Gulai telur ikan plotan makan dengan ikan pekasam sedaaap... Balik raya nanti nak kena beli stok pekasam la...
Ja..
Luckynyaaa dapat pandai masak mcm you. For sure punya your air tangan will be sought after by your girls when they grow older. I like four food blog.. simple and step-by-step, siap dgn gambar sekali.
Sotong goreng letup? Haa.. kalau my mom dtg nanti nak mintak dia buatlah. Tapi siaplah dgn 'shield' sebab nanti meletup-letup minyaknya..he..he..
Uncle Lee,
You have a good weekend too. I've read your posting. Really like the pix... :)
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