Cuti-Cuti Jakarta- Part I

We departed for Jakarta on Wednesday morning & arrived there at noon. Everything went smoothly. K.Mas met us at the airport & dropped us at ITC Mangga Dua while she brought our luggages home. So, that was a start to our shopping spree. ITC Mangga Dua is a huge shopping complex with variety of stuff to choose from. Memang rambang mata. We later found out that things there were not cheap! ( Compared to other places.. ) Like any other malls in Jakarta, the shops closed at 5.30pm. Since kitaorang dah rambang mata, we didn't realise the closing time. Hence, we got caught in a massive traffic jam! ( machet as they call it ). Unluckily, we picked the wrong taxi. We thought it was from the Blue Bird Group ( as recommended by travellers in Jakarta) since it was blue as well. The taxi driver claimed that he was from ' Baby Bird Group' ( He was just kidding!)

Our lunch: Kue Teow Siram Sapi & Set Nasi

Memang terkena le coz dia pusing ikut jalan jauh to Kemang where K.Mas & Din's house is located. So, when we realised we were tricked, we asked him to drop us at Plaza Senayan half-way to Kemang. So, tak le terkena sangat! We had dinner there. After the traffic jam settled, we headed to K.Mas & Din's house. This time using a taxi from Blue Bird Group. The driver was very polite. I tak pernah jumpa taxi driver yg tersangat le berbudi bahasa like this taxi driver! :-). We arrived at K.Mas & Din's house at nearly 9.30pm. What a day!

At Plaza Senayan

The next day, instead of going to Tanah Abang as planned, we headed to Cipulir as recommended by the taxi driver from ' Baby Bird' hehe.. Ada jugak guna dia..There are 2 sides of Cipulir shopping centre. On 1 side is the wholesalers part. Another side is the retailers. We started with the wholesaler side. Masa tu tgh blackout. So, panas giler! Punya le tak selesanya! Then we headed to the retailer side just accross the road. Kat sini ada air-cond. Fuh! lega..Over here the blouses were very cheap. Telekung ( or mukenah) okay le if pandai tawar. This time we beat the traffic jam. So, cepat je sampai kat rumah. Hubby & Syukur then went swimming with the kids ie Yasmin, Hilman & Zafri at the back of their house.That nite we just stayed home.

Cipulir Wholesalers Mall

Chilling out with the kids

Meanwhile, the princesses were left with Cik Jun. According to Cik Jun they were doing well except for Baby. Memula tu dia macam terpinga2 gak coz she had to sleep with Cik Jun..

No 3rd Birthday Celebration..Yet..

On 13th Nov which is Adik's 3rd birthday, Hubby & I won't be home to celebrate it with her. So, we'll celebrate her birthday when we got back home which we'll pick a later date. Cian princess mama ni...Since mama is away on her birthday, tak dapat le nak blogging..May be sibuk shopping kut at that time..haha..

Nearing her 3rd birthday, she's done a lot of stuff & learned new things. She doesn't wear diapers anymore..(well, except at nite coz takut terkucil :D), She can recite alfatihah which surprised me last week when I heard her recite the surah. But, according to Hubby, she knew the surah way be4 last week! I tak perasan le pulak coz Adik selalu ikut Cik Jun balik rumah.. She also loves to recite selawat syifa & zikir taubat which she learned from astro oasis. She's also very helpful. Kalau nak suruh ambik benda2 cepat je dia tolong. She likes to help me clean the dishes, standing on a chair. ( But, of course le i kena cuci pulak later..). But, she's also veeery manja. Kalau kat Cik Jun tu asyik nak suruh dukung je..

To Adik, my sweet princess, ' Happy 3rd Birthday' on 13th November 2009. May Allah bless u always. Stay sweet & lovable. We love you..

The soon-to- be Miss 3

Yesterday,Hubby's friend from high school; Nizam came over with his family. The last time they met was over 20 yrs ago. Actually they've been in Penang for over 5 yrs. Baru nak jejak kasih wakaka.. 1 of the food that i prepared was American Chocolate Cake. A recipe cedok from dapur K.Ummi. Very nice & moist. I think this was the best chocolate cake recipe that I've tried.( Perasan la pulak..haha..but honestly, it was very moist, yummy & simple to make..)

American Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

*2 cups flour

*3/4 cup cocoa powder

*2 tsp baking powder

*2 tsp baking soda

2 cups castor sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup corn oil / melted butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 tsp salt + 1 tsp nescafe, added to 1 cup hot water

Directions

1. Sift items *.

2. Beat eggs, castor sugar, melted butter and vanilla essence together.

3. Add in the sifted items alternating with the water mixture and milk . Mix well.

4. Pour into prepared pan.

5. Bake at 170C for 45 min. ( I used 180C for 70 min)

Ganache ( I made half of this )

Ingredients

1 can condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup oil

1/3 cup cocoa powder

Directions

Mix all ingredients and cook at low heat. Mix well. Cook until thickened & shiny. Cool & pour onto the cake.

Girl or Boy?

When we met new people, they always guess that Baby is a boy..Some people said that we might have really wish for a boy that she looks like a boy. Now, with her being so active, well.. she almost behaves like a boy..:-) Memanjat everywhere.. even when I was lying on the sofa, she'd climb over me just to grab a phone or have a look outside thru the window. If she's left on her own in our room, she'd make a mess in our wardrobe! If we let her near a bookcase, there must be books & magazines strewn all over the floor afterwards..Sigh..Penat weh dgn princess sorang ni..But, we definitely didn't really wish for a boy when I was pregnant with her. In fact, Hubby said another girl would be nice..:-) Yelah.. seriau dia tgk boys yang lasak2..haha.. No offense to anyone. Perhaps we might get a boy for our 4th kid..:D

Baby boy? Of course not!

On another topic, the princesses would be left behind in a few days time coz Mama & Papa are going for a much needed break. We are staying with some friends since they insisted ( Betul ke ni??..hehe..) that we stayed with them. It's good to have friends all over the places. Kalau holiday, boleh le ada orang jadi tourist guide..:-). This is the first time that Baby is going to be left behind for a few days. Last year we left Alysa & Adik for a few days when we went for a holiday. Kalau cuti2 kat Malaysia ni of course la diaorang ikut. But overseas ni susah sikit bawak small kids. With travelling & food hazards..seriau le pulak..

Muka2 nak kena tinggal..hua..

The past week ni memang malas giler nak masak! Just prepare simple lunches..Since we are not fussy with our food, something filling is enough for us. Sometimes, I just made roasted chicken or mutton steak. So, simple...Desserts lagilah malas. But yesterday terajin le pulak wat Banana Cake which I've done before. CMG's recipe..

Banana Cake

Last week we attended Hazeem, our neighbour's 5th Birthday. The theme was of course Ben 10. Even Alysa loves Ben 10 now. She's glued to the TV if Ben 10 is on air. Luckily we picked Hazeem's gift which was Ben 10 related stuff. Unfortunately, the princesses didn't get to mingle around coz there was a clown..and they are scared of clowns! So, they were stuck by my sides..

Hazeem's Birthday Party

A visit from dear friends

Last nite we had a visit from my ex-housemate at Terrace Road, Perth, Fina & her hubby Andy. It's been 13 years since we last met. Punya le lama! Got to know she's in Penang thru FB. Good thing that we have FB these days..:-) They're on holiday + mc after Andy had an operation recently. They are off to Riyadh where they're residing in a few weeks time. It's soo good to see them again after all these years. It was like the good old days last nite. The same animated conversation & lotsa laughs..Guys, hope to see u all again in the future..may be in Johor or Riyadh..:)

Muka2 happy..senyum sampai telinga.. :-D

The princesse playing with Adam & Azam

Ni baru nak post recipe of the yummy ( angkat bakul lak..haha..) Blueberry Cheese Cake that i made for Baby's birthday. Memang tak rugi cuba. Got the recipe from the famous k.ummi. Thanks k.Ummi..Here's the recipe:

Blueberry Cheese Cake

Bahan base:

240gm biskut coklat marie, hancurkan

140gm mentega, cairkan

2 sudu besar gula castor

Gaul sebati serbuk biskut dengan gula kastor dan butter. Ratakan dan tekan dalam springfoam, biar padat. sejukkan dalam fridge.

Bahan Filling:
300 gm cream cheese
2 sudu besar jus lemon
2 sudu besar serbuk gelatin
1/2 cawan air panas
500 ml whipping cream
2/3 cawan gula
topping - filling blueberry

Pukul whipping cream dengan mixer pada kelajuan tinggi hingga kental. Ketepikan.
Campurkan serbuk gelatin bersama air panas kacau hingga benar2 larut. Ketepikan.
Dalam bekas lain, pukul cream cheese, gula dan jus lemon hingga sebati. Kemudian masukkan larutan gelatin. Pukul lagi. Masukkan whipping cream tadi, kacau hingga sebati dan rata. Tuang ke atas bahan dasar. Sejukkan dalam fridge semalaman. Sapukan blueberry filling.

Adalia's Birthday @ Bukit Merah Lake Town

As planned , last saturday we went to BMLR for Baby's birthday.There were 6 families who turned up. Tapi rasanya silap timing la pulak! The MARA officers from all over Malaysia were having a family day there at the same time. So, nak check- in pun lambat, nak cari parking pun susah. We managed to get our rooms at 4.30pm. Petang malas nak beraktiviti. Lepak2 je.. Nak ke swiming pool pun hujan! Nak ke resort pun dah selalu sangat ke sana, it's the same old stuff.. layan jelah the princesses kat bilik..

Birthday girl b4 the party..

Grr..when's my party?

That nite around 8pm we gathered at our room for Baby's birthday. Just a simple get together. Food pulak..pot luck. I made the birthday cake of course.. & tuna pasta ( Alysa's fav which she finished 3 bowls that nite ). As a host, we prepared the plates, junk food & fruit. We have plenty of food. Ila brought meehoon goreng; K.Jun brought pulut kuning, chicken curry & agar2. Mak pulak bawak ketupat, rendang daging & pulut bata. Mak Yang bawak mee goreng. Mak Kechik brought ketupat pulut hitam, serunding ikan bilis , nasi & lauk kenduri. Food banyak tak habis..Yang habis my Bluberry Cheese Cake..:-) Semua terkam cake dulu.. Makan dessert dulu baru makan main dish. Tu yang food byk tak habis.. Thanks to all yang sanggup datang memeriahkan majlis my sweet little princess.

Birthday cake.. Blueberry Cheese Cake made especially for my dear Baby

Food for the birthday party..

Birthday girl, Adalia & Birthday boy, Afif Basyer

Baby & Alysa melayan Amin tiup belon

Family photo

Potong kek

Mak, Mak Yang & Mak Kechik

Makan..

The next day, pagi2 lagi semua dah ke swimming pool for mandi-manda..Alysa memula tanak mandi. Ada sikit2 phobia dia tu. By 10.30am lepas pujuk2 baru dia nak mandi. Tupun tak mau pakai baju. Nak pakai underwear je..Dah le bulat..:D. ( Hubby tak suka le anak dia sexy ni, so lps ni kena le beli swim suit! ) Lepas dah syok mandi & hilang phobia dia tu, tak nak naik le pulak. Sampai 12pm baru keluar swimming pool..

Look at Baby's eyes..Luka terkena bucu katil. Cian..Happy sesangat berguling2 tengah2 malam..

Sexy Girl & Sexy Boy a.k.a Amin..

Alysa has finally overcome her fear of swimming..yeay!