Makan-Makan di Ampangan, Negeri Sembilan

Salam semua,

Semalam saya ke Kuala Pilah lagi untuk menghantar anak bongsu saya balik ke kolej tempat dia belajar. Walaupun agak risau takut tersangkut didalam banjir kat mana-mana terutamanya Ulu Bendul, alhamdulillah semua nya elok dengan adanya sikit matahari.

Sampai Seremban dah hampir pukul 1, jadi biasalah time-time ni perut dah bagi signal minta makan. Kami singgah di satu tempat makan ni yang pernah saya singgah sebelum ni. Yang peliknya, dua kali ke situ, dua kali juga saya tak dapat nama restoran ni, Kenapa agaknya ya?
Selepas Google dua tiga kali, baru dapat nama tempat ni, iaitu Medan Selera PSMA .

Inilah tempat yang kami makan, Medan Selera PSMA, Ampangan, Seremban.
Apa yang menarik tentang tempat ni?  Tengok list dibawah :

i ) Sangat luas dan senang park kereta

ii) Cara makanan disediakan sangat hygenic iaitu di balut dengan plastic wrap, cuma saya rasa orang kita selalunya lebih suka kepada konsep seakan akan buffet gitu.

iii) Banyak pilihan. Ada lauk pauk yang biasa dihidang untuk makan tengahari, ada nasi ayam, roti canai, bubur dan banyak jenis lagi.

iv) Air minuman di isi separuh cawan dan disimpan didalam peti sejuk. Kita hanya perlu pilih air apa yang kita idamkan, contohnya air laici. Ambil air laici ni, kemudian isi ais kiub sendiri.

v ) Layan diri dan makanan boleh di re-heat di micro wave yang disediakan di situ.

vi) Yang paling best? Ada kedai repair kasut kat sebelah medan selera ni.

Ini yang saya maksudkan dengan makanan yang di balut. Kita cuma perlu pilih apa yang kita nak. Harga dah siap terpampang di dinding steel makanan itu.
Untuk semua jenis makanan yang kami ambil termasuk nasi dan air, harganya ialah RM30.00 tepat.
Terpulang kepada kita untuk menilai samada mahal atau murah.
Apapun saya suka masak lemak daging salai tu. Tasty.

Macam mana nak ke sana? Hemm..ni ada sikit masalah sebab saya pun tak berapa familiar. Cuma apa yang saya boleh petuakan ialah, dari Seremban menghala ke Kuala Pilah, kita akan pass by Ampangan. Medan selera ni kat Ampangan.

 Landmarknya? Kat seberang jalan tak jauh dari situ ada Giant Supermarket.
Saya melalui jalan Datuk Muda Linggi, kalau tak silap, sebelum sampai ke sini sejurus selepas traffic light.

Saya tak sempat ambik gambar makanan sebab ramai orang masa tu lagipun banyak yang dah habis. Jadi saya cuma dapat upload gambar makanan yang kami nak makan saja.

Salam dari saya,
Rose
29th.Dec '14

Makan-makan Di Kuala Selangor

Assalamualaikum semua,

Dah agak lama saya tak muat naik entri masakan. Sebabnya? Kat rumah sekarang hanya tinggal kami bertiga saja iaitu Sophie, abahnya dan saya. Jadi kalau masak pun yang biasa-biasa saja.
Tapi untuk tidak mengosongkan blog saya terlalu lama, Sophie bagi cadangan kepada saya untuk menjadi seorang "food critic" yang tak bertauliah.

theyouthjob.com
(Sambil membaca blog ini, anda boleh mencuba link diatas untuk menambah side income anda, terutama pada yang tidak bekerja. Tidak perlu mengeluarkan wang untuk apa-apa pendaftaran. Anda hanya ikut pautan ini dan register sebagai ahli. Sekiranya anda berjaya memberi traffic yang dikehendaki oleh website ini, anda akan dibayar mengikut traffic yang diterima.)

Jadi untuk permulaan  buat hari ni, saya akan membawa anda semua ke Kuala Selangor.
Saya ke Kuala Selangor sebenarnya bukan  niat nak makan kat sana pun tapi sebab nak beli ikan kat Pasir Penambang. Since Sophie cuti hari tu and cik suami pun balik kerja awal (Hari Keputeraan Sultan Selangor) kami setuju nak cuba makanan laut di sini. Semenjak pindah ke Selangor ni, tak pernah lagi saya makan seafood kat mana2 restoran sebab takut tak fresh.

Maaf gambar kurang memuaskan. Kalut nak ambik gambar cepat sebab dah nak hujan

Tapi hari ni saya bagi "thumbs up" untuk restoran ni. Ikan siakap ni sangat segar. Kalau ikut gambar yang saya ambil diatas agak kurang memuaskan tapi taste-nya sangat authentic. Nama masakan ni Ikan Siakap Masak Patong. Ada rasa serai yang strong tapi well blended dengan cili , kunyit serta lain lain bahan didalamnya.

Ayam Pandan

Bagi ayam pandan pula, bagi saya sedap tapi biasa-biasa saja. Agak kering dan sedikit keras. Sos coleslaw terasa sedikit masam. Mungkin di guna pakai dari hari sebelumnya. Rempah-ratus di dalam ayam pandan ni agak "bland", tak ada yang outstanding.

Kangkong goreng ini sangat menepati citarasa saya. Tidak terlalu lembik dan rasa pedasnya balance dengan rasa kicap yang diguna pakai dalam masakan ini. Saya suka rasa bawang putih yang digoreng asing kemudian ditabur diatas kangkong ini.

Untuk dinner hari ni kami order seperti gambar diatas iaitu, Siakap Masak Patong, Kangkong Goreng, Ayam Pandan, Tomyam Seafood dan Sotong Goreng Tepung. Tapi pesanan sotong kami tidak keluar. Dia orang terlupa kot.

Tomyam seafood disini juga boleh di katakan antara yang terbaik yang pernah saya makan. Saya tidak memuat naik gambar tomyam sebab dah nampak buruk mangkok tomyam tu sebab dah tinggal separuh sebelum sempat saya ambik gambar.

Servis pun sangat cepat. Saya bergurau dengan pelayan tu, saya kata "adik saya nak makanan saya siap dalam masa 15 minit ya". Mana tau betul betul 15 minit kemudian saya dapat semua pesanan saya kecuali sotong goreng tepung. Nak cepat sangat kan?

Macam mana nak kesana? Kalau boleh look out for Latar Highway yang akan membawa anda ke Kuala Selangor. Bila dah sampai ke Kuala Selangor, look out pula untuk sign Pasir Penambang. Lepas saja jambatan sikit, boleh nampak nama restoran ni, Restoran D' Coral.

Bila turun ja dari jambatan, tengok traffic light kat depan, kalau disebelah kirinya nampak Giant Supermarket, ambik kiri. Mesti nampak pasaraya Giant. Kalau tak nampak silap tempat. Pass by pasaraya ni, lepas tu belok kiri. Jalan terus sampai ke belakang, kat tepi muara sungai.

Dari dalam gambar ni dah boleh nampak jambatan yang saya sebut tu kan? Ikut saja apa yang saya tulis dan dah boleh sampai ke tempat ni.

Berapa harga? Untuk 4 jenis hidangan yang kami pesan, 3 jenis air minuman dan 3 pinggan nasi, harganya RM75.60. Apa pendapat anda? Bagi saya, saya akan ke sana lagi sebab saya dah jumpa makanan laut yang segar macam tempat saya dulu di Langkawi.

Salam dari saya,
Rose
16th.Dec '14

My Grandma And Grandpa

Hey all,

Sitting alone playing Candy Crush ( I've reached level 443 by the way) yesterday, with the droplets of rain threatening to turn heavy any minute, I looked out the glass door forlornly. I missed my late grandma tremendously. I missed her so much that my eyes started to water.

I lived with my grandparents since I was a little baby. My parents were in Singapore at that time and my mom had to undergo an operation to remove her thyroid. Since there was no one to care for me, I was sent to be with my grandma for a while. A while became years. I lived with them until I turned twelve.

Those twelve years was the best years in my life. I cherished those years tremendously. I became their pet. Even though life was hard back then, I loved every single minute spent with them.

The house that we lived in, is a typical Malay wooden house. It looked something like below. Back then (in the late 1960s) there was not too many houses or neighbours that lived close to our home. It was very quiet and dark when the night falls as there was  no electricity just yet. I would usually cling close to grandma during these hours because I was afraid that some kind of ghosts or vampires would fly over our roof and saw me and snatch me away. Can't blame me for being that way. I was shoved with ghost stories frequently by grandma. She did that because I was like a boy and I was never home even after dark. She was tired having to look for me around the village that she started telling ghost stories just to keep me quiet at home. Well, she succeeded.

Gambar di ambil dari blog ruby.com

Compared to grandma, grandpa was a no nonsense person. All their children lived away from home. Every now and then, they would come home to visit their parents. What saddened me, their children (my aunts and uncles) never really sit down and have a conversation with him. My uncles usually would just nod their heads as some kind of acknowledgement towards grandpa. The only words they usually exchange was "Where's mom?" And he would reply, "She's inside."

That's it. That's their conversation. I don't totally blame them for being that way. My grandpa was not friendly towards his children. But around me, he's totally a different person. He would called out to me to follow him to his little farm where he grew tapioca, corn, and other vegetation. I would help him out to clear the shrubs and water his farm. He also taught me how to milk a cow. I was so good at it that he would let me do it on my own whenever he is not around.

Rambutan tree :Picture from wikimedia

                                   
You know what else he taught me? He taught me how to catch a snake. We didn't have a running tap water at home, so we had to depend on a self-dig well. A big rambutan tree stood next to the well. Since this tree grow lots of branches and twigs, one will not be surprised to see a snake curling up on the branches and once in a while these snakes would fall into the well. 

The first time I saw a snake swimming in our well, I screamed at the top of my voice. After that I became an expert on how to fish out the snake from the water. My grandpa would use a coconut skewer ( I don't know the right word) and  make a little knot from it. Together we would try to fish out the snake until I finally managed to pull out the snake. How cool can I be! That was then.

Grandma, she is one person I truly love to this day. I know she had her flaws but to me she was perfect. She was a great cook and I am not just saying it. All her grandchildren would request for her cooking whenever  they were there spending long school holidays.
She loved me so much that sometimes she would hide my favourite dessert from her own children, not until I eat it first. She was always upset with my antics but she will always back me up whenever any body says things about me. I was her life and hers mine. She loved all her other grandchildren as much as she did to me but since I am the only one who really lived with her all the time, I got more love than the rest, at least while they're not there.

After school, I would ride around the village on the big old bicycle to look for my buddies, mostly boys. I would play until well after seven p.m. by which it will be dark soon. She would go from one house to the other to look for me. The moment she found me.. well you know what happened next.

One day, she was so mad at me and said, "Ok, I've packed your bag with clothes inside and a little food for you to last for a few days. Go..go find your friends now and stay with them!" 

I looked at her in total disbelief. Who is this woman? Where is my grandma? How can this woman throwing me out from her house? You know what I did? I went to take my shower while my mind was racing furiously. What shall I do? Even then, my pride was high and I was not going to beg her to have mercy on me. After the shower, I went upstairs and pretended to take my little suitcase (I was nine or ten years old). I peeped from the staircase and saw her having dinner on her own (my grandpa was at the mosque). Okay, now's the time. I pulled out a thin mattress (my grandma used material from kapok tree to sew the mattress, something like cotton) from under the bed, rolled it open and lie inside it, then I rolled myself back inside the mattress. Now I only had to be quiet and stay still.

After what seemed like an eternity, I heard her footstep coming upstairs. She looked for me inside grandpa's room, I was not there. She looked for the little suitcase, it was not there. I pushed the suitcase behind me under the bed. I can hear her panic movement. She went downstairs and opened the door. It went quiet again. Later on I heard my grandpa's voice asking questions. They were talking loudly and there's a little panic in their voice. I heard them saying that they're going to look at our nearest neighbour's house. I waited until they left before I came out from my hiding.
My tummy was growling. It needed to be filled up. I went down to have my dinner and suddenly they were home. She stared at me quietly while grandpa was harping at me for being a brat. I went to bed with swollen eyes. I pretended to sleep when grandma came to check on me. She curled up her body next to mine and caress my back softly. That memory stays with me to this day. So much for my pride!

Next to the house, grandpa built a little barn for grandma to cook. She didn't own a modern stove like we do now. She used firewood to cook. Whenever there was no more firewood, she would call out to me and suggested I follow her to the rubber estate. We used two bicycles so that we can carry home more fire wood than if using only one bicycle. Rubber trees produce good woods for cooking. It dries easily and cracked to the fire even better. While I looked for the firewood, she would hunt for mushroom. These wild mushroom breed beautifully under shaded trees and grows on dead rubber tree twigs. She looked pleased with herself for harvesting enough mushroom to last her a couple of days. So what's in it for me? You think I would follow her if there's nothing for me? Rubber trees got it's own fruits which will burst when it's ripe and scattered the little brown seed inside. This was my ulterior motive for willingly following her to the estate. The seeds are useful for us (me and my buddies) for our own tournament.

At other time, when she didn't have any schedule on that day, she suggested for us to go fishing. This one I like. I don't need to pretend to enjoy it because I truly enjoy fishing. We didn't have the fancy fishing rod. She went behind the house and cut down two long thin bamboo stems for us to use it as rod. We used worm as our bait. We headed to a little stream that took us about half an hour to get there. She was good with her catch and we managed to catch some decent fish for that evening. Since we don't own a fridge yet at that time, those extra fish were used to ferment it and after a few days we can eat it, by frying it first. I hated the smell of that fermented fish and I never ate it even now, but the memory of her doing just that still intact in my head.

I wish she was still around to watch me grow up and become ladylike (not much but acceptable) and I wish I could have done something for her and grandpa. They were precious to me, even the memories were precious to me.
May Allah bless you Grandma and Grandpa. Wherever you are, my prayers will always be with you.


Rose
15th.Dec '14 

Tako Ayam Kukus

Salam semua,

Apa khabar semua diluar sana? Saya baru sihat dari demam. Demam orang tua. Hari ni demam esok sihat, macam tu lah selalunya.
Bila sakit tu selera makan pun berkurang. Teringin nak makan makanan yang senang larut macam bubur nasi ka, ataupun sup daging macam tu.
Lepas sihat saya buat ayam kukus ni.
Jom kita tengok bahan bahan yang diperlukan.

Kita perlukan : 

Bahagian bawah :

4 ketul isi ayam ( di kisar kasar)
1 biji telur
3 biji cili merah/ 2 ulas bwg putih/sikit halia & lengkuas/ 1 batang serai/ 1 rumpun daun ketumbar
(semua bahan ni dikisar sekali)

2 sudu makan cawan sos ikan
secubit garam
sikit gula
2 sudu makan jus sunquick
2 sudu besar tepung beras

Bahagian Atas :
3/4 cawan santan
1 sudu besar tepung beras
sikit garam


Sekarang kita mula masak :

 Sediakan satu mangkuk besar.

Masukkan bahan kisar, santan, telur, sos ikan, gula dan tepung beras. Gaul biar sekata dulu.
Kemudian masukkan ayam yang dikisar dan  gaul menggunakan sudip.
Bila dah sebati, ketepikan dulu.

Sekarang ambil semua bahan utk bahagian atas dan masukkan kedalam periuk kecil. Masak diatas api perlahan. masak selama lebih kurang 2 minit atau sehingga santan menjadi agak berketul. Tutup api dan angkat.

Di masa yang sama, panaskan steamer.

Sekarang, ambil beberapa ayam dan  masukkan kedalam bekas ramekin atau apa-apa mangkuk tahan panas.
Masukkan kedalam setiap satu bekas sehingga habis isi ayam tadi.

Setelah diisi, masukkan kedalam periuk pengukus dan kukus selama 10 minit.
Buka tudung, sekarang lapiskan ayam kukus tadi dengan bancuhan kepala santan yg kita masak sekejap tadi.

Sekarang kukuskan lagi selama lebih kurang 10 minit. Tutup api dan biarkan sejuk.

Mudah dan berkhasiat!
Selamat mencuba.

Rose
14th.Dec '14

Blame It On The Menopause

Hey people,

Missing me? I know you do. I am missing my blog too. Too many things going around that took many of my precious spare time lately.

The last couple of weeks has not been very pleasant for me. But as we all know, that what makes us human.  Without problems, we are not human. It's how we take it and solve it.

A few years ago or not too long ago, I was a person that my kids labeled as supermom. No..no..I am not bragging about myself, just stating what the kids called me. We had a small company, a travel agency, and I together with my husband run the company on our own.
I cooked before going to the office, I did the clerical work in the office, I drove around our guests/tourists (driving a 10 seater van) when shortage of staff, I do the entertaining whenever required, I negotiate deals with our suppliers, I look after our sales and profit, I went home in the evening and do the cooking again, I went through the children's homework together with them, I am by their side listening to their daily routine, I nursed them during sick and I am the financial controller.

Then as you all may know it, we lost the company, we lost the house and I was diagnosed with cancer. Initially, it was a bad turn for us but we managed to emerge through it all.
If I were to die today, I would die penniless but one thing I am sure of, I'd die happy.
Even though I am about to be declared a bankrupt in a few months time, I still live like another human being. I don't feel much remorse because I didn't cheat people, instead I  was cheated by my partner.

Now that my three children are working while Sara, being the youngest is in a local college, I can heave a sigh of relief. My responsibility towards them was three quarter withdrawn away from my shoulders. We make do with what little we have. I am the ma'am of the house now. The children and my husband supported me now. All I need to do now is sit down and look pretty..haha..dream on!

I was used to having and making money on my own, it takes some getting used to receiving money from others. I feel invalid yet I can't work too much on my toes now as I have a severe back pain. Standing up more than two hours and my body would feel as if I am under flame.

I have become overly sensitive now. I cried easily, I get irritated easily and I feel hurt with a never-intended sharp remarks from the children easily.
I hate the thought that they are taking me for granted.
I can't take any more problems that arises every now and then like I did before.
I've been through too much of pain throughout my life that I wish I could  now live quietly till my last breath.

The other day, I was driving Sophie home and I said, I need you to give me some extra attention. "I know you are doing the best you can, what with your busy schedule and your work is taking up most of your time, I feel neglected." She hugged me tightly and promised she will never neglect me.
I know she won't. It's just me. Blame it on the menopause.

I cried in Sara's presence too. I said to her I don't know what is becoming of me. Lately I feel sad most of the time. Like Sophie, she too consoled me, "Ma, please be strong. I hate to see you like this. Please bring back my old mom who laughs at the silliest joke I made, who muttered offensive remarks towards other drivers and who is ever ready to face the world come rain or shine.

There is one day I was upset with my husband. I am sure he didn't even know what he did. I totally ignored him and refused talking to him. Lucky me he's not the type that went berserk with my mood swing.

What I am trying to say is, this is the time when I needed my family the most. I have done my duty bringing them up and caring for them throughout the years, this is the time when they should do the same for me. Not always. Not all the time, but every now and then. Menopause is hard especially for women my age. It takes some getting used to and some moral support from every body to help me go through this. It helped me out tremendously.

I loved it when going out with Sophie for grocery shopping she would use her debit card to pay for it.
Or checking into a hotel, she would do the checking in instead of me.
Or she would order us the food for an occasional outside dinner.
I had done all these when they were young and I am content to know that they are doing it for me. I felt loved.

On the other hand, I have Sara, who will stroke my hand and said how beautiful my hands are (even though the wrinkles are visible).
Who will sniff my neck and mumbled, "Can any of the perfume maker invent something that can preserve your scent?"
Or a simple "I love you and you alone in the whole wide world". Sophie used to get mad with this remarks saying, "What was that supposed to mean. That I, dad and the others don't exist?"

The family has been so supportive towards me all the while. It's just me. I am being selfish. I am feeling lousy. I am getting cranky. To sum it all, I am selfish, lousy and cranky. Oh God! That sounded horrible. I had to get a grip on myself or I'd end up alone on my own.

For those who is going through menopause like what I am going right now, try to overcome it. Get yourself busy, try not to be alone or on your own too long, mix around with other people even though your heart is not in it.
Every now and then, we were awoken in the middle of the night and for no reason at all, we started crying feeling sad and useless. Remember it's not you. It's the hormonal change in you. For the Muslims, we could get up and perform a sunah prayer or recite verses from the Quran.
For my non Muslim friends, maybe you could read some books or watch a movie that you missed earlier. Do not let the misery brings you down. Do not stay still and dwell on the sadness. Wake up, get up, do something.
If you don't, it could lead you to yet another problem, depression.

I've been through that phase ( a period of over four years ) and it's almost over.
So come on girls, if I can do it, so can you. Be strong for yourself and your loved ones.

Have a nice day and stay healthy everybody.

With much love from me,
Rose
3rd.Dec '14