My favorite store on Carnavon Street

My knees go weak, what ever self-restraint I thought I still have remains on the curb of Carnavon Street.

My eyes gets glassy seeing all the colors looks deliciously enticing. Pens, paints, and markers, crayon, watercolors and pencils, if I can't have them all, I must at least have a few, or (when Zz is hovering) just one.

Don't even let me begin on the papers! I get a high running my fingers on the different textures and material, in standard sizes all the way to a giant roll. And the brushes; did you know DaVincci makes sable makeup brushes too?!

Welcome to my Kryptonite, Nanyang Book and Art Supply Store.

Good bye dear Iron Lady

On the last day of Halfest 2017, she visited Athene Spices booth. And for the first time she stayed for quite a bit and then came back to sit and asked me to cook for her. I specially cooked a few dishes for her and she ate them all. As always, she calls me Adik, we joke about our usual topics, weigh loss and politic.

After giving some really great advice on politics, she then said let's not talk politic anymore today, let's talk about you and your business, she keep saying that Athene Spices is really good and should really go places, and she repeatedly asked me how can she help me, reminding me to see her soon so she can take me see a few people.

Before she left to make her round to the other booths, she said, "Adik, jom ikut saya jalan round round, bila lagi kita nak jalan sekali". So I followed her to a few booths, trying out the samples, raving about how delicious the D24 ice cream is.

Before we parted she told me that she wants me to teach her how to make Hyderabadi Biryani and Lamb Mandi like the one in the photo I showed her. I said let's plan something soon. That day I saw glimpses of her I never saw before, I saw beyond the Iron Lady, the politician and the business tycoon I've met and worked with countless of times.

Little did I know that will be the last time I see her.

Early this evening Datuk Wira Dr  Maznah Abdul Hamid passed away at IJN after a short illness.

I will really miss you, Datuk Maznah, thank you for everything, advices, motivation and for being an inspiration. I hope I'll live up to what you are in me.

Innalillahiwainnalillahirajioun.

Alfatihah.

Treasure trove of recipes acquired

Managed to 'kidnap' Khalati Idah home last weekend, and she brought along her treasure trove of recipes in form of three thick handwritten notebooks with recipes collected from all over the world, over a period spanning more than fifty years.

What amazes me more is that each book is complete with index and review of the recipes she's tried. She even has accompaniment suggestions for some recipes! Gems thought long lost forever, those dishes my grandma Zaynab used to cook plus those by others in the extended family who are known to be great cooks are in the books too! You can't imagine how excited I am.

With her help I managed to transcribe about twenty long-wanted recipes that night, the others will be done slowly after this.

I wonder if this is a project that I'd undertake next. The books are all written in the way it was told to her, using old style measurements like kepoi, cupak, tahil and even those 20¢ of this or 10¢ of that (how to translate inflation?) and all in Jawi too, so it's time to brush up on my Jawi. Perhaps Mama would jump onto this project too.

Addendum : Unfortunately, this project will never take off. Apparently certain party are not happy that I wish to  immortalize the memories of our ancestors 😓😥😢

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.

Teatime at TWG with Rafie & Jamjoom Clan

Tea time with Ammi Kamal, his wife Khalati Maisoon, and his mother in law, Khalati Sooad. 

Ammi Kamal is the son of my grandfather's brother, Abbas Rafie, while Khalati Maisoon is the daughter of Omar Rafie, another brother of my grandfather Hussen Rafie. Khalati Sooad was the foster mother to the Rafie children sent to study in Egypt in the 50's, and my father's one of them. Khalati Sooad is a Jamjoom, whose sister married my father's brother and brother married my father's sister, oh well, going into that will lead to explaining a really complex family tree.

We grew up hearing stories of my father's sea travel along with Ammi Kamal and his elder brother Ammi Abu Bakar from Penang to Makkah via Jeddah when he was barely ten years old. A year later they were sent to Egypt to continue their studies. Among them all, the Rafie cousins sent to Makkah and then Cairo, only my father came back to Malaysia. The rest furthered their studies or begin their careers in Egypt, KSA and the US , a few of them went on to hold very senior posts in Aramco, while there's quite a few doctors among them too.

Someday I must document their stories, and work all the criss-crosses of the marriage between the Rafies 😉

p/s: here's a couple of photos of H & Q drawing while we wait for our guests to arrive.