Kafe Che Tom, Menu Cendawan Segar

Somewhere in Batu 4 3/4 in Gombak - between Jatikraf furniture shop and Seng Hock Metal Engineering workshop, opposite Masjid Sg. Mulia - there's a cool restaurant by the roadside named Kafe Che Tom.

The interior design is very simple but neat, and what's great is it's very clean. It offers great choices of food, both western and local. Our favourite is the mushroom soup - at only RM2.50, it's none like the instant powdered soup that we get elsewhere. It's originally homemade and comes with a piece of garlic bread. The restaurant's mushroom fried rice which is priced at RM3.50, are also worth given a try.

The mushrooms are homegrown, right behind the restaurant. If you are nearby, why don't you look for this particular spot?

Banding Lake, Perak.

The gateway to the Royal Belum Rainforests. One day, I would come back to explore this place.

The top of Titiwangsa, Perak.

The view from Amiza Titiwangsa Restaurant alongside the East-West Highway.

Keropok Batang Merbau

Terlepas peluang 'shopping' keropok lekor di Kuala Terengganu dan Kuala Besut. Nasib baiklah ada pulak gerai keropok ni di Jeli. Nampaknya tempat ni memang popular. Sentiasa ada yang menunggu keropok siap di rebus. Angkat habis, angkat habis.

Zul ikan bakar, Kuala Besut

Tiap kali pulang ke Besut, mesti abah belanja makan ikan bakar. Selalunya abah akan berpesan, jangan makan apa2 sebelah petang - abah nak kami makan ikan bakar puas-puas, kenyang-kenyang. Ikan fresh lagi, memanglah memuaskan.

Medan Selera Buluh Kubu, Kota Bharu

Variety of delicious food available especially with the food night market going on but the dirty surrounding would kill anybody's appetite. One can see big rats dead, and alive, here.

Surau Sri Jerus, Kelantan

All petrol stations should follow the example set by Caltex at Sri Jerus. The surau it has built for the public is so different than other surau's' that travellers would usually come across. The exterior and the interior furnishing has been designed with such care as if it's a personal home. Such a joy praying in it. The petrol station's public toilet is nice too. I hope the management of this place will maintain both facilities well, and may Allah bless the effort made by the owner. Amin...

Pantai Bisikan Bayu, Kuala Besut, Terengganu

In the map, this place is also marked as the "Beach of Whispering Breeze". It looked like a deserted beach visited by only by the local folks, with rubbish everywhere. Could be a nice attraction should the local authority pay some attention to it.

The best satah n otak-otak

We bought these at the roadside in Kuala Besut, right at the place where they were made and grilled. So much cheaper than the one we used to get in the Klang valley - satah is only 25 sen per piece, and so much tastier. The fish tasted so much fresher and sweeter, especially when eaten under the tree near the "Beach of Whispering Breeze".

Dataran Shahbandar, Kuala Terengganu.

Awesome place with awesome view.

Goodbye Kenyir

The lake is still as impressive as I remember it from my first visit 15 years ago. We enjoyed watching the sunset and the view from our balcony was awesome. We had fun soaking ourselves at the Saok Waterfall for an hour at noon. However, we decided to pack our bags and leave right after that 'coz we couldn't put up with the craps we received from the place that uses the tagline 'You get what you deserve at Kenyir S... Resort'.

Masuk sekolah baru - sekolah oh sekolah!

Tahun ini merupakan bab baru dlm hidup anak2ku. Irsyad ke sekolah menengah dan Naufal pula ke sekolah rendah. Gambar di atas diambil ketika mereka seronok mencuba pakaian sekolah masing2 sebelum menyertai program orientasi di sekolah masing2 keesokannya.

Malangnya awal2 sekolah dah bermacam2 malang menimpa yg menumpulkan keterujaan mereka. Naufal telah ditukarkan kelas selepas seminggu selesa dgn kawan2 barunya di Tahun 1 Jupiter. Alasannya, bagi mengimbangkan bilangan pelajar setiap kelas. "Depressed" sungguh Naufal masa tu. Terbang semangatnya nak ke sekolah.

Dua tiga hari kemudian berlaku kemalangan di kantin akibat kecuaian pihak pentadbir sekolah di mana palang yg dibuat dari bata sbg pengadang kantin telah runtuh dan menimpa tangan kanan Naufal. Nasib baiklah Naufal kidal.

Irsyad pula sentiasa menjadi ancaman pelajar2 samseng di sekolah menengah dan terpaksa berikhtiar sendiri untuk "survive" memandangkan guru2 pun tak dapat berbuat apa2 sekiranya peristiwa diugut dan dibelasah diadukan; malah pelajar2 yg mengadu bakal kena belasah dgn lebih teruk lagi. Apatah lagi kalau ibu bapa yang datang mengadu atau laporan polis dibuat.

Fikir2 dan kenang2 semula memang tak seronok jadi pelajar. Politiknya adakala lebih hebat dari politik di tempat kerja. Patutlah ramai yang memilih "homeschooling" sekarang - "at least for the peace of mind'. Apa agaknya komen Kementerian Pendidikan ya?

Aku memang minat sangat dengan konsep "homeschooling" ni. Masalahnya, kalau aku jadi cikgu di rumah, siapa pula nak mengambil-alih bayaran hutang2 bank dsbnya? Tambahan pula aku fikir, anak-anak perlu ada ruang keluar dari bawah ketiak mak-bapak dan belajar bergaul dan berdikari dalam masyarakat, dan sekolah merupakan wadahnya. Sekolah juga merupakan tempat terhimpunnya minda2 intelek yang majoritinya amat dedikasi dalam penyebaran ilmu yang membolehkan anak-anak berguru dan menimba serta mengumpulkan ilmu yang terbaik daripada setiap minda ini.

Harapan aku, pihak sekolah dan kementerian, tolong-tolonglah ambil-berat isu keselamatan pelajar di dalam dan di sekitar kawasan sekolah. Pihak polis pula janganlah pandang laporan2 yang berkaitan dengan gangsterism di sekolah dengan sebelah mata saja... Masing-masing janganlah tunggu sehingga berlaku kematian baru nak bertindak.

Kembalikanlah kuasa merotan guru-guru agar mereka kembali "bertaring" dan mampu mengawal kerenah pelajar. Aku sendiri pernah meggunakan rotan ketika bertugas sebagai guru di sekolah dulu, tetapi dipanggil pula oleh Pengetua.

"Cikgu," katanya. "Sekarang ni kita di sekolah mengamalkan budaya penyayang. Dah tak boleh rotan-rotan budak ni..." Jawabku, "Puan, sebab saya sayangkan diorang lah saya rotan... Kalau tak, buat apa saya nak kisah, nak tertungging ke, nak terlangkup ke, bukannya ada kena-mengena dengan saya...Lagipun, anak-anak murid saya siap cakap lagi "Eleh cikgu, tak sakit pun cikgu rotan?" Saya bagitau mereka, saya rotan bukan nak bagi diorang sakit, cuma nak bagi diorang ingat..."

Bagi para guru, bila merotan, perlulah dimulakan dengan Bismillah dan disertakandengan niat yang ikhlas - untuk membetulkan, untuk mendidik dan bukannya untuk melepas geram seperti yang dilaporkan dalam akhbar baru-baru ini - tentang guru yang merotan muridnya berkali-kali di bahu hingga cedera... Kalau gitu namanya, cikgu tu le pulak yang jadi kaki buli di sekolah...

Hai, sekolah oh sekolah...

Naufal tumpang seronok.

B4 op, irsyad kena puasa. So unt lunch n tea, naufal le yg tibai. Bilik baru abg yad ada extra bed, naufal pn apa lagi, syok la dpt baring sambil pegang remote. Abg yad punya kesan bius belum hilang lagi. Abg yad tidur n naufal's got th 'power'. Hai... mengadap Disney channel je la jawabnya.

Irsyad - post operation

Just came out fr th op theatre for hernia.

Naufal's graduation day

At Thistle in Port Dickson

Stay from Cinderella '80 the movie

I still remember how crazy we, the hostel girls, were when we watched the movie on TV3, a new station then.

The movie is a modern version of Cinderella. The girl, Cindy, like Cinderella, has a stepmother and two stepsisters who take advantage of her. Her life becomes meaningful after a so, so, so, so, very, very, very cute boy (that was what we thought then) comes into her life. He appears to be a poor musician, and they spend a lot of their time in a green house for plants. At the end of the story, she discovers that he's actually a prince and she feels cheated. But then, love always wins - they make up and I suppose they live happily ever after, just like Cinderella and her prince charming.

The movie had really moved us, and the theme song "Stay" became our favourite. All of us were head over heels in love with Pierre Cosso and wished that we were Bonnie Bianco singing this song with him. Oh... the way he looks at her in the movie could have killed any of us had he really looked at us that way. We drooled just looking at his beautiful eyes.

So strong was the effect of the movie on us, that one day, knowing that TV3 was having a rerun of the movie and the hostel rule was such that we couldn't watch TV on weekdays, we had actually used a small saw to remove the padlock locking the TV and watched it secretly. We had bought a new padlock beforehand to replace the one we had planned to saw, and then gave the new key to the hostel prefects, coming up with excuses like we had accidentally broken the old key inside the old padlock and therefore had taken the responsibility to replace it.

I can't remember if the hostel management had actually discovered the truth or not. However, I would always remember one of the most powerful movies that had affected me, as well as my friends, as we were growing up together at the hostel - Cindy 80, and a song that has become so sentimental to all of us - Stay.

Anakku graduate.

Majlis khatam al-Quran beramai2 dan penyampaian sijil bg tahfiz2 di sekitar Bangi berlangsung di Masjid Uniten pada 22 November 2009. Terharu dan sebak aku semasa acara berkhatam ini. Rasa seolah-olah baru sehari sebelumnya aku hantar Irsyad memasuki Tahfiz al-Madani dan hari ini dia sudahpun menamatkan pengajiannya di Tahfiz al-Hidayah.

Ujian taekwondo

Jangan main-main. Naufal depan sekali masa ujian baru ni.

Kaki Naufal dah panjang.

Dah besar dah anakku yg seorang ni... dah 6 tahun, tapi masih menyebok di katil kami... hai la anak!

Tiada bandingannya...

Sesiapa yg tengok cerita Nenek Kebaya di TV9 malam2 mesti biasa dengar lagu tagnya..."Kuasa tuhan tiada bandingan..."

Satu malam, lepas dengar lagu ni, masa tengah iklan, Naufal pun bertanya... " Ummi, apa makna tiada bandingan?"

Aku pun fikir... (Hmmm... macamana nak jawab ni?)

"Ha... dalam rumah ni siapa perempuan yang paling cantik?"

Sambil tersipu-sipu, Naufal pun menjawab... "Ummi laa... mana ada perempuan lain lagi dalam rumah ni..."

Lalu, aku pun menerangkan... "ha... itu la makna tiada bandingan... Naufal tak boleh bandingkan ummi dengan sapa-sapa pun dalam rumah ni sebab ummi sorang je perempuan..."

Aku apa lagi, tersenyum2 perasan sebab Naufal terpaksa cakap aku yang paling cantik... he he...