Princess Socks in pissed! As well as Abang Q...

"You wanna explain why you let me sneak into the room and hide under the bed so you can't see me when you leave the room?"

*backstory, read Q's first ever WhatsApp message to me.

Goodbye is never easy

I was the little girl that you spoiled to bits, and you are the first man I had wrapped around my little fingers.

My first scrambler bike ride.

My first banana split, at the best ice-cream joint in town, which happened to be a pub off Beach Street.

My first kebab burger from that place on Esplanade.

They were all with you.

And you bought me my first 24 colors Colleen color pencil in the prettiest tin with Takahashi Makoto's shoujo girl on it, that was the envy of all my classmates.

All that before I turned seven.

Then you moved on with your life, getting married and having a family of your own. And I grew up.

Once in a while we'll bump into each other, but we never got close again, until a couple of years back when we started going to your printing press again. Learning much about you and the life you led, bantering and arguing, and at times switching roles of being the adult while we chat.

Today, I went to your bedside in the ICU to bid my final goodbye. And I stayed to watch over you as your breath gets shallower, as the number for your pulse on the monitor gets smaller and smaller, and finally watching life leaving your body as the sun begins slip into twillight on this Friday evening.

Good bye Abang Taufik, thanks for the memories, and thank you for teaching me a few things about life.

Innalillahiwainnalillahirajioun.

~Taufik Sheikh Sulaiman Rafie~

1958-2018

Grilled Lamb with Caramelized Onion Cream

So the other day, we had an all girls night at home and Zz had to camp out at Iris. To make it up to him, the next day I made this Grilled Lamb with Caramelized Onion Cream. Plate made pretty with baby kale, arugula and cherry tomato salad, and edible flowers.

How I made it :

Lamb shoulders marinated with Athene Spices, Tunisian Harrissa and Garlic Salt. Grill using a grill pan, until done to your preference. Remove lamb from pan, set aside in a covered container so that all the juice will be absorbed back into the meat. Add caramelized onion to the pan, deglaze with milk. Stir until sauce thickens. Serve warm, over grilled lamb with fresh greens and cherry tomatoes.