SURABAYA

Last year my husband attended a seminar in Malang,Indonesia. So apalagi, I tagged along and we went to Surabaya. Actually, I took another flight 2 days later than his flight. I thought I would be alone. But lucky me, I met one of my colleagues at the LCCT. She was with her husband visiting a relative there. So, tak de lah sensorang kat situ.

It was already dark when I arrived at Surabaya's Juanda Airport. Macet banget di bawah sana. My husband was already there waiting for me when I landed. The Q at the customs was quite long and I had to stand there for some time before I coould go out. Again, lucky me because I didn't have to wait for luggage since I travelled light. I just brought a big handbag with me because everything else was in my husband's luggage.

From my 3-day stay there, I observed that Surabaya is a busy town abuzz with its people's activities. The town is jam-packed with vehicles of all sorts: cars, motorcycle, trishaw.

You can see people, vehicles everywhere. On the outskirt of the city, there is no much different. It is full of life meaning noise with people go about their businesses.

Tourists are also contributing the hustle and bustle of the city. The traffic is always heavy especially during the morning and afternoon peak hours where people go out to their workplaces in the morning and leave the premises in the afternoon. Actually it is not much different with the city of Kuala Lumpur Malaysia that I know of.

If you happen to land at Bandara (Bandar Udara) Juanda, its airport, at dusk you can see the beautiful display of street lights and any other lights for that matter blend in with the headlights and taillights of cars that makes the city crowded.

Getting from one place to another gives you headache because of the traffic jam. If it is midday, it is like rubbing salt to the wound. It is so hot with the sun shines brightly on this part of the world due to the fact that it is near to equator line. However you can sooth yourself with the fact that the condition of the taxi you are in is good plus the taxi driver is a polite person and helpful. That is, if you ride a taxi. If you were to ride other form of transportation (and its cheaper than the taxi), may God help you.You are advised to ride taxis from blue bird company. There are reliable and highly recommended by the hotel.

Riding a trishaw in the city was really an adrenaline pumping experience. Cars and motorcycle passed by your trishaw at a 'neck wrecking' speed. That is, if you happen to stop at the traffic light and it turns green. So everybody gushed forward speeding. I guess that is the only time they can actually speed since there are so many cars in the city. And I guess it happens everywhere in the world (read: kat Malaysia pun lebih kurang macam tu lah).......

.../to be continued...

NEW YEAR

Selamat tahun baru hijrah 1430. Semoga kedatangannya membawa lembaran baru yang lebih baik dalam hidup kita dan ummat Islam seluruhnya... Ameen.

p/s: Someone sent this to me:
"Jadikan yang tebal itu Iman, yang nipis itu lidah, yang tajam itu akal, yang lembut itu hati, yang ringan (untuk dikerjakan) itu solat, yang halus itu suara, yang luas itu ilmu, dan yang mnis itu senyum..Keinsafan dan Kesyukuran sentiasa di hati kita hendaknya. Amin... SELAMAT TAHUN BARU HIJRAH 1430."

OVEN ROASTED CHEESY POTATO WEDGES

Love French fries, but hate the fat and calories? Here's a delicious alternative that tastes as yummy as it looks. (Serves 2)

2 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound Yukon Gold or russet potatoes
3/4 cup finely grated Asiago, Parmesan or Piave Vecchio cheese
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Wash the potatoes and cut them in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 2 or 3 long wedges or spears. Peeling the potatoes is optional. Place the potato wedges in a bowl of cold water with at least 6 ice cubes and let the potatoes soak for 30 minutes. Drain, and pat the potatoes dry with paper towels.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Place the egg whites and salt in a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine. Add the potato wedges and toss to coat all surfaces.

Spread the grated cheese on a large plate. One by one, dip the potatoes into the cheese, coating the all the surfaces. Arrange the potatoes on the prepared pan, making sure none of the wedges touch.

Bake until the potatoes are golden brown and fork-tender, 20 to 30 minutes. To serve, sprinkle with freshly ground pepper, to taste.

Source: http://www.ebfarm.com/Recipes/StyledRecipe.aspx?RecipeID=251

p/s: tak tau lah potato jenis apa yg saya guna hari tu. Main hentam je sbb dah ada dlm fridge ;)

PESTO SAUCE

Last week saya cuba buat pesto sauce. Sos ni sedap dimakan dgn pasta. Lebih sedap kalau boleh kunyah pine nut yg tak dikisar halus lumat.
Resepinya saya ambil dari internet je. Kalau nak buat sos ni katanya lebih sedap kalau ditumbuk je daun basil tu instead of kisar. Tapi saya kisar je guna food processor bukannya blender sbb sos ni tak perlu letak air. Dia macam paste sahaja. Bukannya cair berkuah.

Bahan2:
2 cwn basil leaves
2-3 sudu besar pine nuts
1/2 cwn parmesan cheese
1 Garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper & salt to taste
Pasta (apa2 saja-last time saya guna linguine)

Masukkan semua bahan dalam food processor dan kisar. Tak perlu lumat sangat..nanti tak sedap especially kalau tak boleh kunyah pine nuts yang crunchy tu.
Dah siap, boleh lah digaul dgn pasta yang telah direbus terlebih dahulu

.

Mmmm...yummy....

Selamat mencuba...

JAKARTA, DAY 3; BANDUNG, DAY 1

We left Jakarta for Bandung by "Argo Gede" train through Gambir station. It was a nice train. Usually I would sit by the window if I were to travel either by car,bus, train or plane. But on that day, I was not well and I feel like sleeping, so I gave up my fave seat and my husband sat there instead. While waiting for the train to arrive (the train was late by more than 1 hour) I felt so tired because there were many people at the station and there was no more seat left. All were occupied. People were everywhere. People kept on coming and crowded the station no matter how many of them left with each train that made a stop there.

The trip took about 3 hours and it was already afternoon by the time we reached Bandung. I felt more tired. But I assure you the trip would be otherwise interesting since the scenery was amazing and breathtakingly beautiful.

The driver from the hotel was already there waiting for us. He informed us that delayed train was not uncommon. On our way to the hotel, we made a stop at apotek (pharmacy) to get some medicine.

After check in I went straight to bed and slept until it was very late in the evening. I woke up for prayer and continued sleeping after that. Meanwhile, my husband went out for a sightseeing and get himself a supir (driver) for tomorrow's trip to white crater. Actually my friend in Jakarta had asked me to contanct her family in Bandung and they can send their own supir to get us to anywhere we wanted to go. But we decided to be on our own until she returned to Bandung because we did not want to disturb her family.

I woke up again for dinner. We ordered nasi timbel that night. After finished eating I slept again only to wake up in the middle of the night due to stomach ache. I rushed to the the toilet and threw up on the floor. After that, I slept through the night until morning.

EIDUL ADHA

Dear all,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you "عيد مبارك" and "وكل عام وأنتم بخير".

MAAF ZAHIR BATIN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

It's my birthday today. Thanks to the family and frens who remembered my special day and wished me well. May Allah bless all of you.
Thanks to my hubby for the wonderful early birthday treat at L* M******* and 'sudu'. The food was great. It was enjoyable even though I dropped a sudu and embarrassed myself at first. You are so wonderfully nice to me. Thank you soooo very much....