Family Bonding Over Middle Eastern Food And Arabic Tea

Before it gets a little bit more complicated and before you get more and more confused, let me tell ya, my mom (Mama) and dad (Ayah) are not living together anymore. Mama and Ayah divorced when I was 13 years old and they both share custody of two daughters - me and my younger sister. Then, two years later, Mama and Ayah remarried (not with each other) and each of them was blessed with a son. So technically, I have two sides of family yang macam-macam ragamnya.

You’ve heard me telling about my outing with Mama and her gang at The Curve, Mutiara Damansara, in the previous blog post, so now, you’ll be hearing me talking about my special time with Ayah and his gang at Al-Diafah Restaurant last night. Too bad, my brother, Faridhil was not around as he’s stuck with the bloody Malaysia National Service programme (Program Khidmat Latihan). What a shitty! So, it was just me, my hubby, Ayah, step-mom and step-brother Azrun.

Well, we came to know about this restaurant last two years ago through the internet when we were looking for a nice and private dining place for breaking fast (berbuka puasa). Since that night, this restaurant has become ayah’s favourite chill-out spot.

Welcome to Al-Diafah Restaurant, one of the best Middle Eastern restaurants you can find in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Before going straight to the dining hall, Ayah wanted to buy some dates (kurma) so, we checked out Al-Diafah’s huge range of dates located at the groundfloor. FYI, these dates are fresh and well preserved, that they taste like heaven!

Lets get inside. Ain’t this the coolest place on earth or what? The last time when we came here for dinner, I used my Sony compact camera, so the pictures taken weren’t so clear. This time, I used NIKON D40X and the pictures are better and sharper.

Nice, you think? Wait till you see the drinks and the food. I’m not sure if you like it or not, but I sure loved it very much!

The Ginger Tea and Arabic Tea were marvelous!

And the Mixed Vegetables Soup, Tomato Soup With Cheese, Pita Breads, Lamb on Rice (hubby ordered that, okay!) and Grilled Lamb Chop were simply as marvelous too!

Don’t forget to wash and soak your fingers into the warm lemon and mint water when you’re done with dinner! I guarantee, you’ll love the feel of it.

Err… you want the address of the restaurant? Here you go…

Al-Diafah Restaurant,

No. 43 & 45, Jalan Radin Anum,

Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia.

Contact No.: +603 9059 6237 / +603 9059 6239      

Restrengthening The Family Bond

We haven’t done this for a very long time.

Eversince mama got herself promoted, she has become very busy with her work and too tied up with too many activities. At the same time, step-father becomes too involved in the game of golf, that he prefers going to the driving range than going out with us (well, sometimes la). Then, things worsen when I have to follow hubby working in Mumbai, India and younger sister has to go work in Macau.

Everybody seems to be busy with our own interests and activities, that we forget we still have our 15 year old brother (youngest child in this side of family) to care about. However, eventhough there’s hardly any quality time together now, of course the family bond is still there, still strong and unbreakable. Air yang dicincang tak akan putuihhhh…

My brother so badly wanted to check the K-Zone Event out, which was happening at The Curve, Mutiara Damansara yesterday. In a very soft voice, he asked if I could take him there. Gosh, how could I reject! And so, I said to him, “Of course, I’ll take you there!”. As I thought that this would be the right time to restrengthen the weak family bond, I urged everyone in the house to come along with us. Mama and step-father agreed to go and off we went to The Curve! Lagipun dah lama tak spend quality time together. Sister's not around, so it's just the four of us.

When it’s time for lunch, they just could not make up their minds of where to eat! My brother wanted to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp but step-father disagreed and wanted to eat at Marche Movenpick instead. It was quite a ‘war’ there between my step-father and brother. It’s funny (and fun too) to see a warga emas dengan budak kecik bickering about… FOOD! Mem besar and I jadik orang tengah la! At last, step-father won the ‘fight’ and no need for guessing where we had to have our lunch at la kan!! Pssttt… actually I was on brother’s side cause dah muak makan kat Marche Movenpick, tapi malas nak masuk campur ‘pergaduhan’ yang amat besar itu, so I diam aje la!

After we had our fill, mama wanted to check a few things out at the flea market, just outside the Marche Movenpick Restaurant. I bought her three beautiful shawls and a fancy hair clip. Ye la, kalau dah mem besar dok belek bende-bende tu semua dekat satu jam, tak kan tak belikan plak kannnn… karang mem merajuk, manyak susah wooo! Hee… hee… hee… I, myself, ended up buying a couple of items from the flea market too! Shopping sakan!

The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian

A week before, we went to Adlabs at Palm Beach Galleria, Vashi to catch Iron Man.

Last Saturday, we went to the same place again to watch yet another excellent movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

After one year, the Pevensie siblings - Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie - were magically transported from England to the world of Narnia once again in this newest installment of “The Chronicles of Narnia” series. During their absence, The Golden Age of Narnia was invaded and has been conquered by the Telmarines, under the control of the cruel despot, King Miraz. The rightful heir to the throne, Prince Caspian was forced into hiding as his uncle plots to kill him in order to place his own newborn son on the throne. Prince Caspian later then meets the siblings and the Narnians in the jungle and together they embark on a thrilling journey to find Aslan - the King of Narnian, rescue Narnia from Miraz’s tyrannical hold and return it to its righful ruler, which of course, the Prince Caspian.

For the rest of the story, I suggest you go watch it! However, I advise you to watch the first serie first, if you haven’t done so, then you will have a better understanding of the storyline and continuation of the Narnia series. 

Two thumbs up to C.S. Lewis, the creator of The Chronicles of Narnia, for his remarkable imagination and creativity! I’d say The Chronicles of Narnia is one of my favourite fantasy stories, after Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings, and I just can’t wait for its third serie - The Voyage of The Dawn Treader - to hit the big screen!

Modern Knight In Shining Armour

It’s a bird!!

No…

It’s a plane!!

No…

It’s Superman!!

No…

Huh? No? Then what is it?

It’s Iron Man! He’s faster than light, stronger than the Hulk, larger than life, harder than a tanker and seemingly more powerful than all other superheroes. He can do almost anything! This bloody rich modern knight in shining gadgetful armour even flirts like nobody’s business! 

Psssttt… psssttt… besides finding how cool the movie was, I just discovered that the seats at Adlabs Cinema, Palm Beach Galleria in Vashi were actually RECLINABLE! Baru ku tahuuuuu….

ZaZu Beach Bistro

Bet’cha never heard of this place before!

ZaZu Beach Bistro is an amazing newly opened dining place owned by a friend’s cousin, located deep inside the Sunway Lagoon. Skeptical? Well, don’t be… just walk straight into the hearth of the lagoon and you will find it there, serene, beautiful and unique. Looove every bit of it! Highly recommended!

For reservations, call Mr. Elwin Pratikno at +60162001800 or go direct to ZaZu Beach Bistro, Sunway Lagoon Surf Beach, No. 3, Jalan PJS 11/11, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Rat-a-too-ee

  

One was bored to death.

One was lonely and desperate.

One was just too happy to stay put.

One was an outcast but mistakenly invited.

One was trying very hard to get someone out of her head.

One was merely joining the crowd without knowing exactly why she was there.

One was not able to make it.

One was too dog-tired to move a muscle but forced to get off the bed.

One was inseparable with the one who was too dog-tired.

So the 8 ones went to catch Ratatouille together at 1.30 in the morning today!

Borak-Borak at Bora Asmara

I was not in a good mood this afternoon, so my other-half brought me here for dinner and borak-borak to cool off. Of late, I keep having this stupid mood swing and it is irritating me and of course, my ever so loving other-half too. I can sometimes get over-cranky over small things. Don’t know why, just don’t know why…

Wati told me this place is cooling and attractive. The owner of the place is also the owner of Bora Ombak, Ampang Sports Planet, KL. Same Balinese concept, same front name, same foodstuff. No doubt, same owner. Only this one is larger and more tranquil. It serves a wide selection of food ranging from Indonesian, Thai, local foods to steaks and pastas. The prices are reasonable too.

Imagine Bora Asmara, imagine Bali. Except that Bora Asmara is not in Bali, of course. It nestles in the quiet Kampung Sungai Penchala, approximately 25km away from Kuala Lumpur city. If you are travelling on Penchala Link heading towards Kota Damansara, go down the ramp after the Penchala Link tunnel and turn right at the traffic lights. After that, just follow the signboards. If you still can’t find it, try this - Bora Asmara, Lot 2933, Kg. Sg. Penchala, Kuala Lumpur or call +603-77260964. Someone will help you find the way.

As I stepped into the restaurant through a wooden entrance, I was greeted warmly by one of the waiters. I was amazed at how beautiful the place was. Screw the stupid mood swing and crankiness, this place was just so cool and refreshing I sort of forgot the rock I was weighing on my shoulders. I didn’t think anyone would ever want to think of anything else but have a good time here. As for me and my soulmate, we really had a good borak-borak session at the dinner table. A very goooood one. We talked about… well, can’t tell ya! Ooops… sorrryyy!

Entrance of Balinese Bora Asmara.

The food we both ordered.

 

You may need to visit this room once in a while. Clean and lovely washroom.

One of their many attactive huts (pondok) called Bisek-Bisek

Due to high demand, you need to make a reservation first if you wanna ‘whisper-whisper’ at the Bisek-bisek. The huts are always packed full especially during weekends.

Non-smoking air-conditioned dining all for diners who can't stand cigarette smoke.

Open-air dining ares for those who smoke and yet need fresh air to fill their rotting lungs.

Starry Starry Night

Despite this stupid excrutiating cramp I was feeling at the left side of my abdomen, I still it made it to the dinner at The Borneo last Friday night. No, not the Borneo land (I pretty much wished it was). It’s the Borneo Rainforest Cafe. According to some newspaper clippings, the cafe located in the hearth of Sunway City, Kuala Lumpur, is jointly owned by actress Datin Tiara Jacquelina (also known as Puteri Gunung Ledang) and David Teo.

The first thing I saw was its banner and those catchy words on it “Yummy Fresh Wild Funky”. The newly emerged nightspot was not as much as I had expected it to be. I kind of disagreed with the WILD thing. I thought the very idea of having the word WILD as part of its tagline did not seem to fit or make sense. The foods were yummy and the atmosphere was fresh and funky though, but there was nothing wild about the place. I was not actually asking for loud music or some naked ladies dance on the bar (oh please, that I’ll do in Jakarta, not here, where many people know my name hee… hee…). No, that’s not what I meant. I was expecting some cultural shows which I thought would help in turning the place from plain ordinary to extraordinary. Or maybe, they should have the waiters and waitresses dressed in ethnic costumes instead of plain black Ts and jeans. Or maybe, just maybe, by having a couple of Kadazans, Kelabits, Melanaus or Ibans ocassionally appeared before the guests, greeting them with “Kitak suka sik makai sitok? (Do you guys like eating here?)” or “Aramaiteyyy! (Cheers!)”, that would simply describe the place as WILD, wouldn’t it? Or perhaps they were somewhere there and could be hiding behind the big rocky artificial waterfall. Hmmm…

But then, it didn’t bother me so much that night as I was not looking forward for something wild. Putting aside the WILD thing, the whole setting was brilliant! Gorgeous! Plus, I had my dynamic friends around. Since it wasn’t raining, the sky was clear and the stars were shining so bright, we chose to have our dinner at uncovered space. It’s dinner under the stars. Dinner was marvelous and mouth watering as this place served the best authentic food I had ever tasted. I just loved its Umai (uhhh yummy, I can still feel the spicy and sour taste of the raw fish in my mouth). And that drink they called Sarawak Selasih, tasted amazing!

Next, after we had our bellies filled, we decided to adjourne to another venue, where we could all just chill out. And where there was no loud music, of course. Like I mentioned earlier, we did not feel like partying tonight. So we got back to KL city and checked out the Sky Bar. The place situated at the roof top of Traders Hotel (Level 33) was so cool and classy. As we got there, we were seated at an uncovered cosy corner which overlooked KL city. Amazing view!

Haaaaaa (a sigh of relief), the music wasn’t so loud, the setting was groovy, the crowd was saucy and sophisticated, the stars shone even brighter. The chilling out under the stars with these great people - it was absolutely a magical night!