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Archive for July, 2009

Sudoku Sudomu

Posted in Monchies, Travel, tagged on July 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Keris Manja Seiras Melena

 

Between midnight and our second stretch to Moscow from Kuala Lumpur, we had a good two-hour loafing session at Silver Kris Lounge in Changi. That was between July 15 and 16, 2009. I tried not to make celeb of my little unit in that very dim light. Hence no flash. Hence not a very good picture. But I felt like a celeb myself being there to capture the emotion and expression from me Monchies, who needed no coaxing from Daddy to lap-seat and play Sudoku on Daddy’s phone. Here, Kitreena thought it was funny when Edrick said, “It’s eeeasy Daaaadd, you just put 1,2,34,5,6,7,8,9!”

 

 

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Tiba-Tiba Tiba

Posted in Sense, Travel, tagged on July 17, 2009| 3 Comments »

Dah tiba di Moscow. Ketibaan di Domodedovo Airport jam 1330 waktu Kuala Lumpur, 0930 waktu tempatan was after two uneventful flights. Absolutely uneventful! Tak ada tangan yang tersepit celah table-stowing compartment, tak ada orange juice tertumpah atas riba, tak ada siapa-siapa muntah belilah right at touch-down, dan tak ada yang menangis sakit telinga, sakit kepala, sakit perut, or sakit hati. So uneventful that it was almost scary!

 

I don’t suppose there is a need to elaborate on how good the kids behaved, how delicious the food was at the Silver Kris Lounge Changi and in-flight, nor how smooth the taking-offs and the touching-downs were, is there? The ‘absolutely uneventful’ term I just used is absolutely absolute. Just as absolute as how absolutely surprised I was when I set foot di bumi Rusia ni, tiba-tiba… just like my phone that switched from Celcom to Beeline, I did! I switched too.

 

Yes, Enida switched! From that calm, collected and connected self… to a weary, scattered and lost soul. Everything started to feel ‘tight’ for one reason or another. Everything I saw, everything I read, every un-smiling face I faced was un-welcoming me back to this Rush-Her land. I have always been a ‘critical reader’ yes, but when I landed, I became a cynical critical reader. I read the Lufthansa’s tagline “There’s no better way to fly.” as “There’s no better way to fly to hell.” Not good, Enida! Not good letting the negative energy consume you!

 

Tiba-tiba bila tiba, I realized… ada yang tertinggal di Jalan Duta.

 

Hati saya.

 

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Cheng Ho Em Ho?

Posted in Service, Write On, tagged on July 15, 2009| 5 Comments »

Oooookayyy! Enough of my appetizing and tentalizing everyone with my Cheng Ho adventure. Yes, I went back to Wangsa Delima to give Amy Search, his Mr. Doorknob and the chain-locked door a second chance. Since I claimed myself as a non-judgemental person that I am… I do honor my words. I did. I gave ME a second chance.

 

My Lil Sis and I ordered:
1. Steamed Siakap Cheng Ho Style
2. Crab Salted Eggs
3. Tofu in Sizzling Plate
4. Kailan Belacan

 

Let’s just say all the positively good things first aye? The verdict:

Crab in Salted Eggs SauceThe best dish was Crab Salted Eggs! It is worth going back to Cheng Ho for, I must vote. With its rich sauce coating the fresh and sweet crabs, it was very different from what I have had. I am not sure if the original Chinese version would use karipulai the way many restaurants in this country would prepare Butter Prawns. But I am in the acceptance of Malaysianized Chinese dishes here. I’ll order this when I am in Beijing next.

 

Cheng Ho Steamed SiakapThe other three dishes were so-so. The Steamed Siakap was nothing more than a steamed fish with some poured-on asam pedas-like sauce. We didn’t enjoy bites of under-cooked chili sauce or gravy with the chili seeds still crunchy. There wasn’t any taste to begin with, let alone to finish with. Maybe we should’ve gone for fried Siakap instead of steamed. But it was supposed to be a matter of sauce, of course.

 

Tofu in Sizzling PlateThe Tofu in Sizzling Plate was nothing to brag about – a bit too runny for us, and we did not fancy the frozen vegetables (diced carrots, corns and green peas) in it! I usually associate those frozen bagged vegies with cheap fried rice at cheap restaurants. And oh, was the sizzling plate supposed to be sizzling when it got to our table? If it was, it uh… didn’t.

 

Kailan BelacanFor the Kailan Belacan, I think the most polite way for me to put it is that it was not as memorable as the same plate you can get at Bangi Golf Resort, Bandar Baru Bangi. Perhaps it wasn’t Chinese enough for a comparison, but not many Kailan Belacans can go wrong. While this one at Cheng Ho did not go wrong, it didn’t go home with me for its taste either. I wouldn’t shout about how ordinary it was, nor was it something to shout about.

 

When we got the bill of RM122.22, Lil Sis and I were more excited about the nice number 12222 it amounted to than the big tapau bag Lil Sis was taking home. Uh, naaa… none for me thanks. I was by then very very excited about a phone call from my bestfriend, Chin, dinner with another bestfriend, Lish (at a restaurant in front of Mrs. X’s house) and breakfast at the Lawn with another bestfriend, Tuan Nor, the next morning. Told ya I was fully booked!

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Tally Me Banana

Posted in Service, tagged on July 12, 2009| 1 Comment »

Grilled Banana B1

  Grilled Banana B2

Since Cheng Ho was closed on Friday, we walked over to Studio Cafe, two doors away south, and settled for simple but nice lunch. Nothing to shout about, but desserts were pretty good. This is Studio Cafe’s Grilled Banana with Strawberry Sauce. We didn’t know that Zahid was the owner until we mispronounced their Nasi Goreng ZA8 as ZAID and were corrected by the restaurant’s two very attentive and friendly waiters. Not that it matters who owns what. It matters who runs it.

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Cheng Em Ho

Posted in Service, Write On, tagged , on July 12, 2009| 1 Comment »

This is not intended as a free publicity for Amy Search’s restaurant – negative or otherwise. As personal as this blog is, this post is my way of documenting my own view. And since my comment on Facebook: “Enida is disappointed with Cheng Ho Restaurant”  triggered quite a few curious responses, I thought I should write the whole story. The whole true story. My truth. Nothing but the truth – Enida’s version.

 

Wednesday July 8th, I called the restaurant at 03-4149 6094 to make a reservation for five people for lunch on Friday July 10th at 1230hrs. Not only that I had to repeat myself four times with the date, the day and time we were coming, I had to state the date, the day and the time and the number of people the reservation was for. There! I even repeated myself here! That’s how annoyed I still am with the whole experience. But behold! They do NOT take reservation for less than 8 pax. Thank you very much!

 

Yes, you heard me right. If you are heading to the restaurant, located at the commercial area right behind Wangsamaju Carrefour, you either walk in or gather 7 other people who coincidentally feel like eating Islamic Seafood at the same time as you do. Otherwise, try to guess when they are not busy. Also, yes… you can walk in without any drop of sweat under you arms if you can find parking around the area. The best is to just park at Carrefour and walk down – if it is not raining.

 

But again, behold! I am not writing this just because I had an annoying conversation with the doorknob Amy Search hired to take calls at his restaurant. I don’t give up that easily. So I gathered two sisters, two kids, a husband and a maid to Cheng Ho Restaurant on Friday July 10th at 1215hrs even though we were short of one person to make the quorum. And guess what? The restaurant was CLOSED! Imagine if I had gathered 8 people and the reservation was made.

 

What Mr. Doorknob did not tell me on the phone – after repeatingly asking me the day, the date and the time I was coming – was that Cheng Ho Restaurant only opens between 1700-2300hrs on Fridays! (That is 5pm-11pm ladies and gentlemen! Where got lunch?) But why oh why did Mr. Doorknob say nothing when I said I would have liked to come for lunch on a Friday? Hello? Anybody there?

 

I can rationalize that he might have forgotten that they don’t open for lunch on Fridays. Yeah right! It is, after all, a Chinese Islamic Seafood restaurant. The Seafood might want to do their last Friday prayers in China before being grilled and end up on my plate. Completely understandable! Or maybe, just maybe, Mr. Doorknob just got hired by Amy Search on the very day I happened to be calling. He hadn’t worked long enough to know Friday lunch is non-existent. And I can give this Mr. Doorknob, Mr. Amy Search and the restaurant all the benefit of the doubt I want, to soften the impact of my own disappointment. Yes, I can. But hey, you don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression you know.

 

So there I was, standing in front of Cheng Ho Chinese Islamic Seafood Restaurant at 1215hrs on Friday having gathered two sisters, two kids, a husband and a maid… praying that maybe, just maybe someday I would gather enough interest in Cheng Ho Restaurant again. Or maybe, just maybe… I should do that before I leave for Moscow this Wednesday – just to prove to myself that Cheng Ho is after all… ’em ho’. 

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Wannalookiebookie

Posted in Write On, tagged on July 9, 2009| 9 Comments »

The Art of Conversation Life's Missing Instruction Manual The Booknotes

When it comes to books, I am GPS. I’m greedy, I’m possessive and I’m super-generous.

Greedy as in, I have to get a copy of books I like, though I know I won’t have time to read. Well, after a few pages when they prove to be good books, I usually discover that I can make time to read. And when I do make time to read, there is this ineffable greed to know the ending (fiction) or to grab all the knowledge offered in the book (non-fiction).

And then there is this possessiveness towards books, the trait I learned from my KaCher. She once got hold of an old book that the school library was giving away to reward librarians – the book was none other than Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster. As soon as I saw her reading it day in day out amidst chores and school hours, I knew it was a great book and I had to read it too. But we were too much of two-of-a-kind then; she would not let me borrow it even after she finished reading the book. She even hid it from me! I stayed up really late one night, ransacked our room, found it and stayed up ALL night reading it! What happened in the morning when she saw the book on my sleeping face was a World Wide War story greater than Saving Private Lion Ryan.

Super-generosity, the trait that I have towards books, has got me into a mess more than anything. As it is the bloody twin sister to my greed, I have to have books that I have to have! There’s no stopping me. Just like the greed, possessiveness and super-generosity that I have towards souvenirs I buy for other people that I end up keeping. You’re looking at the same gal here! I buy and buy and buy books – reading comes later. I have even made a schedule of what books to read when I am in my 60’s – another 20 something years.

And just in case my memory does not stay as long as my greed, my possessiveness and my super-generosity, I started a habit quite a few years back. That is, for every book I purchase I make a point to write down the when and the where I found the book. And the most important thing, how the book found me. For I believe they may have just one story written, but every book has more than just a story to tell. Someday the story a book tells might write me off, but with what I wrote, I can tell why I read it.

 The Art of Conversation

Life's Missing Instruction Manual

The Booknotes

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Talk To The Hand

Posted in Sense, Write On, tagged , on July 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Pretty nostalgic it was the other day listening very clearly to an old Iklim’s song. That engkau bagai air yang jernih di dalam bekas yang berdebu song. I could vividly imagine a badly scratched and dusty glass with Evian stall-temperature water in it, on a hot day at a roadside warung (stall) on the way to Dungung. Of course there are rose syrup, jambu juice, young wangi coconuts, cans of Red Bull, Coke, Sprite and Soy Milk drinks soaked in crushed ice in a polystyrene carton on the side. But all my heart desires would be the un-chilled bottled water. And of course, since it is improper for a lady to drink from a bottle, they pour the water into a glass. That badly scratched dusty glass.

 

What I meant to write actually was about the other side of Enida. The in side. The side that cannot be seen no matter how many times you orbit around me. I am likening myself to the Evian water here. You can have me cold, you can have me boiled. But I am, supposedly, transparent. As clear as water. I don’t blame the scratched dusty glass either. You can have your views and perceptions clouded with what you think you see and what you want to see.  After all, blame is not my game. But before I digress another 350km east on this post, let me start with revealing what has never been revealed before.

 

Since I use this Bernard Pivot Questionnaire in training sessions that I conduct, it’s my time to strip myself quarter naked now.

  1. What is your favorite word?
    Perché?     (Italian: Why?)
  2.  What is your least favorite word?
    Whatever 
  3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
    Orderliness and kindness 
  4. What turns you off?
    Negative thinking 
  5. What is your favorite curse word?
    Gawwwdddddd! 
  6. What sound or noise do you love?
    Edrick humming 
  7. What sound or noise do you hate?
    Noisy chewing 
  8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
    Hotelier 
  9. What profession would you not like to do?
    Running a daycare 
  10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
    “There you are, luv!”

    11.  

I have to add some here. I just have to. Especially the ‘turning me on’ question, Question #3. If one ever wonders what turns Enida on in a man – before I reveal my answer, I think it is pretty important for me to stress that this ‘turn-on’ has nothing to do with ‘hard-on’. Okay? Please? Well, here goes… I am always attracted to men with a ‘clean’ aura. And that is physically and mentally. Of course the latter takes a little longer to reveal. But one with genuine ‘cleanliness’, would have it radiating all over his language. Verbal and non. His words and his move.

 Talk to his hand if you can see his four fingers...

Physically, however, if you really want to know how clean a man can be… look at his hands. His fingers can do the talking.

 

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For Old Tongue’s Sake

Posted in Nostalgia, Write On, tagged on July 5, 2009| 5 Comments »

Kacang Tumbuk

Kacang Bepang

Kuih Ciki

 

I was just amazed they still exist!

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Keeping My Baby

Posted in Monchies on July 2, 2009| 2 Comments »

“Mom, I’m good of keeping my nostrils clean. It’s just a matter of getting the Kleenex and blowing whatever stuff out so when my nose is clean, I don’t have to breathe through my mouth. After a while, my mouth gets really dry, you know. Because we’re not supposed to breathe through our mouth. Stuff can get into our throat.  Oh, Mom, you forgot to put a box of Kleenex in my bathroom. How come there are two boxes in your room? It’s not fair. And oh Mom, have you stopped thinking about what you promised me yesterday that you were going to think about taking us to the Kids Zone again? Mom, Mom! Look at Edrick eyes, they’re teary. How come Edrick’s sneezing so much? Oh, yeah. You told me he’s got allergies. And how come I don’t have allergies? Is it because I ‘m good of keeping my nostrils clean?”

 

I can get soooo up to my nose and nostrils when she goes on and on and on and around and around and around like this with her story morning glory. I didn’t have time to check, but I had the feeling she said it all in one breath! That’s the impact – on her – when she can breathe through her nose; she makes full use of her mouth to chitter my ears and nose off! This morning I did not even make an attempt to correct her preposition from ‘good of‘ to ‘good at‘ like I have… 515 times sudah.

 

My Tweety

 

She is, regardless and regardful, my most beautiful chimp champ… and I am keeping her!

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Jika Begini

Posted in Nostalgia, tagged , on July 1, 2009| 8 Comments »

It was my first time, four nights ago, watching that much-talked-about program on… uh, I can’t even tell which channel now. TV3? Alaaa that Jangan Lupa Lirik show. As I was actually drafting a post with this line: ‘Sometimes I think I am cursed with a good memory; I remember too many things.’ I got thinking I should put my memory to work, get on that Jangan Lupa Lirik program and compete! My sisters think I could go home with 100k Rubels easily!  [Perasan tahap Gaban alert! Perasan tahap Gaban alert!]

  

When one of the contestants struggled to recall the lyrics of Anita Sarawak’s Bawalah Daku Pergi last week, my lungs didn’t need a microphone as I was screaming on top of them unromantically finishing the line: “Sampai mati pun kujalani!”  [Mati, okay! Dasyat punya retro!]

 

Later that night, another song came to mind. Just like tonight, it came back… singing me to sleep. Of Rahimah Rahim’s:

 

Jika begini terbiar menanti
Tanpa kata-kata untukku jadikan pegangan
Salahkah aku seandainya nanti rindu jadi jemu
Dan hati tak rela menunggu
 
Telah kuuntukkan masa janji tak terbukti jua
Bagai pelabuhan sepi engkau menyendiri
Apalah gunanya kini langkah tak sehala lagi
Tapi sukar mengucapkan… salam perpisahan
My Irama dan Lagu

 

Can songs really say what you’re not telling?

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