Lepak @ Bukit Bendera

 Believe it or not? Dah berbelas tahun stay kat Penang, this was the first time we visited Bukit Bendera @ Penang Hill on 1 Muharram 1434. Sambut new year kat Bukit Bendera gitu..:-)

 Tu pun sebab nak bawak the princesses jalan-jalan. Asyik terperap je cuti sekolah. Initial plan nak ke Legoland rasanya tak jadi kut coz Hubby is busy. Masa sampai je, mak aii..ramainya manusia beratur nak beli tiket. Adalah sejam lebih Hubby beratur tengah- tengah panas terik tu just to buy the train tickets. The ticket price for 2 Adults + 3 kids was only RM19. Airis free je. Masa tu rasa macam nak cancel je naik train tu coz tak larat tunggu tengah panas terik dengan Airis yang tak sihat & cranky.

Welcome to Penang Hill!

 The train ride uphill was smooth. It only took around 5 minutes. Sampai je, terus mengadap bekal dulu. Lapar menunggu beli tiket..:D Then, baru jalan-jalan. We walked to the mosque. Menggigil lutut panjat bukit..hehe.. Nampak sangat tak fit! Masjid tu punya le kecik. Untuk ladies ada 1 saf je yang muat 6-7 orang. For men adalah 2 saf. Jenuh queue nak solat pulak. Tapi Alhamdulillah, masjid appropriately located. Kat atas sekali. Sebelah bawah sikit ada kuil & tokong.

The train ride

Masjid Bukit Bendera yang comel

 After the princesses were let loose at the playground, we went for a buggy ride. RM30 for 20 min. Oklah. Boleh le tahu sejarah bukit bendera & tengok holiday homes orang2 kaya..:-) Our buggy driver tu memula ingatkan malaysian, bila dia cakap je..rupanya Bangla. Dah ronda-ronda sekitar bukit bendera tu, we had a late lunch at Astana foodcourt. Food price is a bit pricey compared to other parts of Penang. Yang tak bestnya, food kat second level while drinks kat 3rd level which was inconvenient. Kat bawah sekali ada Owl museum. Free je untuk kids below 12 y.o. Entrance fee untuk adult is RM10. Since kitaorang malas nak temankan the princesse turun dengan Airis yang demam, tak tau le apa ada dalam museum tu.

Buggy ride

Jambatan Gantung. Ingat kat Sabah je ada jambatan gantung? Penang pun ada..:-)

Owl Museum

Post Office pun ada..

The art of henna drawing

Fake grasshopper anyone?

We went down around 4pm. Nasib turun awal coz the next day we read news that people got stranded up to 4 hours after 7pm because the train broke down.

Checking out Penang 

Adik is 6

 Adik's birthday celebration was an impromptu affair. We decided to do it that night coz our family would come over that night. So, I had around 3 hours to prepare the food including the cake.. We celebrated a day early. Thank you for those who came over to her birthday celebration. We have mak & ayah, Ila & family, Abang Ari & family, K.Liza & family, Ismadi & family.

Birthday girl as sweet as ever..:-)

With her beloved sisters & our next door neighbour cum their bestfriend, Amirul.

The birthday cake 

 To my sweet Adik, Happy 6th birthday . Semoga menjadi anak yang solehah, dan berjaya di dunia & akhirat. With lots of love from Mama, Papa, Kakak, Bay & Bi.

Baby' s 4th Birthday

Nowadays, Baby wants to be called ' Bay'. Ni kira shortform baby le. She said she's Bay while Airis is By ( bi )..lol. Apa-apa jelah.. So now we started calling her 'bay' coz if we called her baby, she immediately corrected us.

Adalia's birthday is on 23rd Nov. We celebrated her birthday together with Hubby's majlis kesyukuran on the new biz. I wanted to buy Secret Recipe's choc indulgence. But the princesses requested for a cheesecake. Since I tak sempat buat cheesecake, I bought SR's choc cheesecake and managed to bake a chocolate cake. Tapi SR's choc cheesecake tu dry le pulak..:-( I think I could make better cheesecake. Tapi due to time constraint, terpaksa le telan je. Tapi macam tak puas hati le. Dah la presentation tak cantik!

Adalia is 4 years old

We made another cake for her to cut with her cousin, Afif Basyer who is 10 days older on the eve of Raya Haji.

Adalia & Afif with the other princesses & heroes

Bay dearest, Happy sweet 4th birthday. Stay sweet. Semoga menjadi anak yang solehah. We love you to bits.

Well Done, Adik!

 This was  the second time I attended the princesses' convocation. It was Adik's turn this year. 251 students graduated  this year. Adik got a few awards i.e ' Intensif Bahasa Malaysia ', ' Iqraq Tertinggi' & ' Bintang Tertinggi'. She got 3 out of 4 awards given to 6 y.o. I'm proud of you Adik. Terbaikk..:-) You are among the top 10 out of 251 students..

With her friends after receiving the scroll

Receiving one of the awards

 Hubby sent her off to Politeknik Seberang Prai where the ceremony was held at 10a.m. The convocation started at 2pm. Since dia masuk acara dikir barat, she had to be there early. We went there just in time before it started. Seronok tengok kanak2 from 3-6 y.o performed. They've trained hard for the past few weeks. My heart swelled with pride seeing her on stage performing & receiving awards. I think I would feel the same way for each and every one of my princesses. I'm proud of their achievements ( well, every parents do ) and feel blessed with great kids.

Singing ' Terima Kasih Cikgu' 

 After performances from the students, the 6 y.o finally received their scrolls to mark the end of their kindy year. The ceremony finished by 6.30pm. Kelam- kabut kitaorang pegi solat. Dah le jalan jammed dengan kereta parents. Lepas solat Asar, tanya Adik what she had for lunch? Tengok2 dia tak makan.. I don't know camna dia boleh miss lunch while other kids had nasi daging. May be sebab dia banyak rehearsals kut. Kesian anak mama. Memang kebulur la coz dia cuma makan roti canai for breakfast. Tupun sikit je. Terus bawak dia ke McD next to PSP. Tu pun dah 7pm!

 By the time we got home, it was already 8.30pm. What a long day.. The next day dah le dia ada exam Math. Ni lagi satu I tak faham. Why did they have convocation before the final year exam? Dah tanya teachers, diorang cakap tak tau..hmm..Hence, this year tak de award ' Akademik Tertinggi' macam Alysa last year.

Receiving her certificate

Hasil dari Brastagi, Medan

Dah beli buah murah kat Brastagi, kena le masak something kan. Tak kan nak makan cam tu je..:-)

Jus Alpokat ( Jus Avocado )
Source: Maisyirah

Bahan-bahan ( 3 - 4 gelas )

1 biji buah avocado yang masak ranum
1 cawan susu segar
2 sudu besar susu pekat
Sedikit coklat cair (Hershey's)
Ais

Cara-cara

1. Ceduk buah avocado yang telah masak ranum dengan sudu, masukkan dalam blender
2. Masukkan susu segar dan susu pekat
3. Blend hingga halus (semakin lama, jus akan menjadi bertambah pekat), tambah air jika mahu sedikit cair
4. Picitkan coklat cair di sekeliling gelas, tuangkan jus dan hiaskan dengan coklat cair di atas (tambah rasa). 5. Masukkan ais. Siap untuk dihidang.

Pavlova

Source: Nurul

Bahan-bahan ( 4 orang )

4 biji telur ( ambil putih sahaja)
1 cup gula kastor ( I reduce to 3/4 cup )
1/2 teaspoon vanill
2 sudu besar tepung jagung
1 teaspoon cream of tartar @ cuka @ lemon juice
buah-buahan ikut citarasa anda cth strawberry@ kiwi @ orange
1 cup whipping cream

Cara-cara

1. Pukul putih telur sampai kembang. jangan lupa masukkan la sikit-sikit gula kastor tadi sampai habis. Pukul sebati.
2. Putih telur siap sedia bila terbalikkan bekas ia tidak terjatuh.
3. Kemudian ayakkan tepung jagung ke dalamnya.dan masukkan esen vanilla dan cuka. Kacau dengan cara balik kaup.
4. Masukkan dalam dulang pembakar yang di alas dengan kertas minyak.ratakan...bentukkan sesuka hati ikut citarasa anda.
5. Bakar 150 celcius selama sejam. bila sudah masak biar dalam oven 20 minit. jika retak sedikit tidak mengapa.kemudian keluarkan dari oven
6. Untuk topping: Putar whipping cream hingga kental. Guna sudu ratakan atas pavlova. Bolehlah susun buah diatasnya.

The princesses love these. Alysa & Adik requested pavlova for their birthdays...:-)

Cuti- Cuti Medan : Finale

After dragging to post the finale of our holiday in Medan, now baru ada masa & angin rajin.. Masa last day ni kitaorang dah tak de tour guide. So, kena jalan sendiri. Since Kaseh buat perangai & nak stay kat bilik, Liza & Sumai decided nak jalan2 dekat hotel je. Hubby & I memang nak ronda2 Medan. Kitaorang naik beca je coz our first stop was Masjid Raya which was just opposite Madani Hotel that we stayed on our first day, but did't have a chance to stop by. Tak jauh dari Grand Antares Hotel pun. Sampai je situ, ada perarakan rupanya. Tanya orang Medan, diorang kata ada orang Melayu berarak ke Istana Maimoon yang dekat situ jugak. Rasanya untuk perjumpaan raja2 kut..

Grand Antares Hotel

Perarakan ke Istana Maimoon dari Masjid Raya

Masjid Raya

Then took another beca ke kilang batik coz I nak gak beli kebaya yang nampak on our second day. Then bila nak ke shopping complex ( lupa lak nama ) yang besar & terbaru kat Medan, pembawa beca tu suggested Medan Mall. Bagus gak dia bawak ke sini. Kat sini ala-ala Pasar Baru, Bandung. Barang2 pun murah. telekung kanak2 only IDR30K. Boleh beli 6 set kalau compare dengan harga kat pasar ikan. Blouses  manik pun murah. Cuma IDR70-80K je. Tapi kat sini tak boleh tawar gile2 coz harga grosir gitu..:-) Cuma boleh tawar around IDR10K je. Dah murah pun harga yang diorang letak.

Ronda-ronda Medan

Medan Mall

Lepas shopping kat Medan Mall, ambik another beca ke hotel. Kali ni mmg terkena dengan pembawa beca tu. After dah tawar-menawar harga, he agreed on our requested price. Tapi dihantarnya ke Antares hotel, lepas tu buat2 salah faham. Dia nak suruh tambah lagi tambang untuk hantar ke Grand Antares hotel. Mengamuk le I. Lepas bertengkar & agreed on tambah sikit lagi, dia pun hantar le ke our hotel. Macam siot je. So, berhati-hati dengan beca kat sini. Nak cekik darah je. Normally, kalau dekat dalam IDR5K je. Tapi diorang akan letak sampai IDR20 - 30K. Pandai2 le tawar menawar.

All in all, kalau bercuti ke Medan, tak lengkap rasanya kalau tak ke Danau Toba & Brastagi. Walaupun jauh, it was worth the journey. Orang yang kata Medan tak best, memang tak best pun kalau stay 3 - 4 days kat Medan je. Another thing, I would recommend ambik ground package. Lebihkurang je kalau arrange sendiri. I ada gak minta quotation untuk kereta & driver sahaja, tapi bila congak2 balik jadi lagi mahal coz food, fuel, ferry fee & driver's accomodation kita nak kena bayar gak. Kat sana, kalau kita ni tourist & makan kat restoran diorang memang nak kena sembelih la harga meals. I noticed our tour guide paid IDR15K ! for our breakfast at our hotel in Perapat. Dirt cheap..Kalau kita bayar seendiri, maunya berganda2 kena bayar.

Nak repeat Medan, well.. not in the near future. Shopping pun tak best. Bandung is much better in term of shopping ( of course..), weather & ambience.

Bye-bye Medan

Cuti-Cuti Medan : Simarjarunjung- Sipiso-piso - Brastagi

Day 3

 After lunch, we headed to Brastagi. On the way, we all singgah pekena goreng pisang kat Simarjarunjung. Memang cantik tempat ni tapi sejuk.. Nasib I ada beli sweater. Hubby control macho coz x bawak jacket :-) This cafe is actually famous for teh halia. Tapi tak de la I nak order teh. I & Liza order milo panas. Ketagih oo dah 3 hari tak pekena milo...hehe.. Hubby & Sumai order kopi panas. We got goreng pisang as complimentary. From the cafe we could see magnificent view.

Simarjarunjung

 Dah rasa panas dengan milo & kopi, Pak Leni drove us to Sipiso-piso waterfall. Another must visit place. Sampai sini je, mak aii..sejukkknye. Masa ni Hubby dah tak larat control macho...kiki..Terus beli jacket. Murah giler!! IDR60K je. Tupun lepas tawar ala kadar. Kat sini diorang tak letak harga gila2 macam kat Tomok Village. Kalau nak tawar pun sekadar IDR10K je. Masa dia letak harga IDR70K tu Hubby terus nak beli. . Dah murah tu kan.. I le sesaja tawar IDR60K. Dapat lak. Sweater yang I beli tu kat sini boleh dapat less 50% lagi..huwaa..

Sipiso-piso waterfall - Breathtaking views

 Masa kat Sipiso-piso ni hujan gerimis. Tak kiralah..tetap nak ambik photos. Dah gigil-gigil kat sini, kami meneruskan perjalanan yang masih jauh ke Brastagi. Sepanjang perjalanan ni ladang buah & sayur kat kiri kanan jalan. Buah limau punyalah banyak tapi bukan yang jenis manis. Sampai Brastagi dah malam. Kereta kuda pun dah tutup kedai..:-) We all ke pasar buah je & makan jagung bakar. Manis.. We bought Avocado, IDR15K sekilo & Strawberry IDR10K per pack. Murah..

Pasar Buah, Brastagi

 Then, naik kereta lagi.. Jalan berbengkang-bengkok macam ular kena palu. Nasib I tak muntah. Dah la jalan sesak teruk. Sampaikan at 1 point, kitaorang singgah pekena durian. Alasan je tu. Actually, memang nak makan durian medan pun. Tengah musim durian pulak. Price from IDR 8-10K sebiji. Seller tu siap tanya nak yang manis ke pahit? Of course le I nak yang manis!!

Hubby, Sumai & Pak Leni menikmati durian.

 After a looong day, we safely reached Grand Antares hotel, Medan at 10pm. After check-in, dinner dulu. Fuyoo..Dinner at 10pm ( 11pm malaysian time! ). Memang kebuluran.. Nasib dah alas perut dengan biskut & durian. Actually, Pak Leni offered to stop for dinner in Brastagi at 8pm. Tapi since dengar restoran tu chinese punya, tak mau la we all.
 Lepas dinner dah 11pm. Dapat bilik with king-sized bed. Nice hotel. I prefer this hotel from Madani Syariah. Both kat jalan yang sama cuma Madani ni furnishing macam lama sikit.

SELAMAT MEYAMBUT BULAN RAMADHAN.