Cream Chicken Masala

Salam semua,
Malam tadi tadi saya buat ayam masala dengan heavy cream. Ada sikit similarity dengan butter chicken. Tapi kita cuba sajalah . Mulanya saya nak pakai kambing sebab selalu sangat pakai ayam tapi kat Langkawi ni payah sangat nak cari kambing. Jadi saya stick to ayam sajalah.


Bahan-bahannya :

1) Ayam (sebelah potong ikut sendiri)

Untuk ayam ni, kita nak masak dia sikit (1/2 masak).
Lumur ayam dengan sikit serbuk rempah daging, serbuk cili dan garam.

Goreng ayam tadi dgn minyak yg sikit sehingga setengah masak.

Biarkan sejuk. Bila dah sejuk carikkan ayam seperti gambar di atas.

Sekarang kita nak buat sos dia pula:

3 ulas bwg putih/ 1 labu bwg merah/ sikit halia ( dikisar semua sekali)
2 biji tomato (masak ranum) dipotong kiub
2 helai daun bay
1 sudu besar garam masala
1 sudu teh serbuk cili (kalau nak lebih pedas boleh tambah lagi)
1/2 cawan heavy cream (whipped cream)
Butter (50gm)
(kalau tak suka terlalu lemak boleh kurangkan cream dan butter)
1 slice yg nipis buah lemon ( ikut keperluan kita sebab lemon mmg masam betul)
Sikit garam

Seperti biasa, tumiskan bahan kisar tadi sampai naik bau, masukkan pulak tomato yg dipotong kiub tadi.
Sekarang, masukkan garam masala dan serbuk cili tadi. Jgn lupa garam.

Kacau sekejap. Lepas tu angkat dan tuangkan kedalam blender kita. Masukkan heavy cream tadi dan juga butter dan kisar sehingga semua bahan pecah.
Jangan terlalu halus. Keluarkan dari blender.
 Masukkan ayam ini kedalam sos kita yang kita blender tadi. Perahkan sikit air lemon kedalam sos ni.
Masak diatas api perlahan sekejap.

Tutup api dan dah boleh dihidangkan dengan nasi atau roti capati.
Saya lebih suka makan dengan capati drp nasi. Tapi masing2 ada selera sendiri. Boleh cuba kedua2nya.

Ini lah Cream Chicken Masala ala Mak Cik Rose. Selamat mencuba.

Costing :
Ayam sebelah   :  RM 8.00
Cream & butter : RM 6.00
Tomato & Bwg : RM 1.00

Total                 : RM 15.00 utk 5 orang

Salam hormat dari saya,
Rose
29th.Aug '13

Chiang Mai (Part 2)

I am back! Anybody missing my blog yet? Hope some of you does.
I am all dried up for new ideas on what to write. Can I continue on a little bit more about Chiang Mai? Please don't get bored. I promised the next entry will be about something else.

Any  way, I had promised to write the second part about Chiang Mai, so here it is. This time I will tell the story based on the pictures below.

This is Hmong Hill Tribe village. One of the many tribes in Thailand.Can you see a guy squatting on the perch of the man-made steps to the house. Ariff was photographing the house directly in the picture when this sweet guy waved for me to go over to him. I called Ariff  to come over and together we walked over to him. He then indicated to a house next door. We thought he was showing us to go further to see more of their village but then he waved again to me inviting me to go inside his house.

Writer with Hmong villager

This is where he lives. I was slightly taken aback by what I had seen. The place doesn't fit for any human to live. There wasn't anything decent inside the house that I can see. Right where we were standing was a little gasoline stove. I remembered my grandma used it about thirty years ago. What I find appealing was the way he invited us to visit his home and being a good host even though both of us were only using sign language. Thank you sir for having me at your home.

Thailand is famous for its massage. Every where you turned, there definitely be a massage shops or spa. And its cheap. Take a look at the picture above. This one is right in the open at the main entrance of a shopping mall. I mean, as much as I love being massaged, I wouldn't want to be seen in public cringing with pain or legs being pulled right in the open for all to see. But who am I to judge. As you can see for yourself, people thronged to these kind of places any time any day.

Here's another thing I like about the Thais. They are a bunch of diligent people. They worked like there's no tomorrow. They sell everything there is to sell. Some were things we never thought could sell. When we were at Doi Suthep (a winter palace for King of Thailand) as my husband and I was waiting for the children to come down from wherever they were at that time, there was this lady who opens a food stall a few meters away from where we were sitting. Since there was nobody in her stall at that time, she walked over to some potential customers (and that include us) and offered to sell her sweet cakes to us all. What a lady! I salute you ma'am.

This is my masseuse. Her name is Lak. Do you know why I asked Ariff to photograph her? Simply because she was a great masseuse. Their shop was next to our hotel. There was one morning after cycling, I think and we were quite free and I said I wanted to get massage. Surprisingly, everybody wanted to come along. Ended up all five of us sat in a row and get ourselves massage. Mine was the best but then, probably I bring out the best in her since I always get myself massage at home so I know what I want when I am being massaged. For about USD 6.00 one can enjoy thoroughly being pampered for one hour. Later in the evening I came back (I had booked her after my first massage) and asked for a Thai massage. For one and a half hour I paid ten USD. It was worth my while.

This is the famous night bazaar in Chiang Mai. We were there quite early and the activities was not in full swing yet. But still, it was interesting to see the many bizarre items being sold and crafts,pickles, fake leathers, shoes, food, T-Shirts or whatever you have in mind. Chances are, you might find what you are looking for.

Well, that's all for today. Hope you enjoy the pictures and the little write up about this beautiful old city.
Have fun people.

Lots of love,
Rose
26th.August '13

Melancong Di Chiang Mai Bagi Orang Islam

Alhamdulillah, puasa kita yang sebulan dah selesai dengan jayanya. Raya yang kita sambut pun tak terlebih daripada yang sepatutnya. Kita tidak terlalu mengikut hawa nafsu dan berbelanja berlebih-lebihan. Sekarang semua dah back to normal. Yang mana yang kerja dah start kerja dan yang mana belajar dah masuk sekolah atau kolej semula.
Agama kita mengajar jangan boros berbelanja. Jadi tahniah kepada diri sendiri kerana berjaya mengawal nafsu daripada pembaziran yang tak sepatutnya.

Seperti yang saya tulis di blog yang lalu, saya sekeluarga telah berhari raya di Chiang Mai bermula dari 6hb.Ogos tempoh hari. Apa yang ingin saya tulis disini ialah ingin berkongsi apa yang kami temui sepanjang percutian di sana.
Sebelum sampai ke bumi gajah putih itu, saya agak skeptical dengan keadaan sekeliling seperti, macam mana nak cari makanan halal di sana, baik kah orang-orang Thai ni dan macam2 lagi.

Semasa sampai di jeti Satun, kami perlukan kenderaan untuk ke Haadyai secepat mungkin sebab flight kami akan berlepas pada jam empat petang. Ada operator kenderaan kat situ boleh mengaturkan perjalanan kami dengan harga RM 190.00 (perjalanan 1jam empat puluh minit). Saya memang tak happy dengan harga tu tapi memandangkan kami kesuntukan masa, maka terpaksalah kami menerimanya. Pulak tu, dia janji akan bagi kereta yang elok tapi bila sampai kereta jenis Mercedes lama. Kalau Mercedes S class tak pa la jugak. Kami ada lima orang. Saya bertekak jugak sikit dengan orang tu tapi macam yang saya kata tadi, kami nak cepat jadi terima ajalah, lagipun ini kan tempat orang.

Permulaan ke airport yang menyakitkan hati. Makin mendalam rasa tidak percaya kepada orang Thai ni. Perjalanan dari Satun ke Haadyai  airport agak hambar disebabkan perasaan tak puas hati di tipu sebegitu. Akhirnya sampai jugak kami di Chiang Mai. Kami terus ke kaunter transport untuk ke hotel penginapan kami. Saya agak terkejut apabila harga bagi sebuah MPV jenis Pajero adalah RM20.00 sahaja untuk satu kereta.
Saya lebih terkejut apabila pemandu yang membawa kami sangat berbudi bahasa. Rasa terubat jugak sakit hati tadi apabila terpaksa membayar harga yang tinggi bagi kereta cabuk tu.

Sampai di hotel, jam dah menunjukkan pukul 6.45petang. Waktu berbuka bagi Chiang Mai pada hari tu ialah 6.53petang. Jadi selepas check in kami bergegas keluar dengan tuk-tuk untuk cari makan.(Kalau ikutkan memang boleh kalau nak buka puasa sebab musafir tapi semua nampak okay saja). Kami tanya pada pemandu tuk-tuk kedai makan Islam. Saya cuma sebut Muslim food. Dia orang dah tahu mana nak bawa.
Kalau kita tinggal dihotel dalam (pekan baru) new city, contohnya hotel Centara Duangtawan,Suriwongse, Royal Princess, Imperial Mae Ping dan banyak lagi, semua hotel ni berdekatan dengan Anusarn Market. Anusarn Market ni macam uptown kita di Malaysia ni. Di kawasan Anusarn Market ni banyak restoran orang Islam. Ada masjid berdekatan kawasan ni. Jadi tak susah sangat nak cari makanan halal. Harga dia sederhana, tak mahal sangat dan tak la murah sangat.

Saya paling suka dia orang punya pulut mempelam. Punya la sedap. Pulak tu, harga dia cuma RM4.00 (BHT 40.00) tapi kalau tak silap saya mangga yang dia aturkan dalam pulut tu hampir sebiji drp buah tu. Jangan risau, saya memang tak boleh habiskan sebab nak jaga paras gula.
Kalau kita jalan keliling bandar tu, kita boleh nampak ramai orang Islam di sana. Ini mungkin disebabkan kedatangan mereka ke daerah ni ratusan tahun dulu untuk berniaga.

Anusarn Market

Di sebelah hotel yang saya nginap pulak ada  banyak deretan kedai. Yang paling banyak adalah tempat mengurut dan spa. Saya memang suka pi urut, Dirumah pun selalu anak2 yang mengurut. Jadi bila nampak tempat ni, saya jadi kelam mata. Mana satu nak pilih ni. Akhirnya saya pilih satu kedai yang nampak decent dan kami semua boleh pergi berurut. Harganya? RM20.00 untuk satu jam. Haah, tunggu lagi. Siang tu saya cuma urut kaki, sebelah malam saya book wanita yang sama untuk mengurut saya. Saya ambik satu jam setengah untuk seluruh badan (Thai massage) Kali ni saya bayar RM? Jeng jeng jeng.. RM30.00 saja. Punya la berbaloi, rasa nak bawa perempuan tu balik mai sini.

Etnik Hmong

Ada satu hari tu kami visit istana musim sejuk Raja Thailand, Bhubing Palace nama tempat tu, tak ada apa sangat cuma cantik untuk nak ambik gambar atau nak abadikan dalam memori yang kita pernah ke situ. Saya tanya dengan guide kami, ada dak kampung2 yang boleh kita pergi melawat. Dia cakap dipenghujung jalan ni ada kampong. Jadi saya pun bersetuju utk pergi kesana. (Oh ya sebelum lupa, saya book guide ni untuk satu hari, dengan harga RM150, sangat berbaloi)

Bila sampai disitu, rupa2nya kampong yg dimaksudkannya ialah kampong commercial ataupun lebih kepada pelancongan. Tapi okay juga lah sebab disini tinggalnya etnik Hmong, salah satu etnik yang pelbagai disana. Gambar diatas adalah salah seorang drp anak2 Hmong yang berpakaian traditional mereka. Tapi yang saya rasa menakjubkan, ada juga seorang drp penjual digerai itu berugama Islam. MasyaAllah, tak sangka di tempat yang jauh terpencil macam tu ada orang Islam yang menetap disana.

Bagi saya, kalau kita berkunjung kenegara yang bukan Islam, paling penting ialah membawa bersama alat kompas. Sebelum ni bila saya beli benda2 macam tu, anak2 akan gelakkan saya. Kata dia orang mama nak masuk hutan ke? Nah sekarang kan berguna. Bila dalam bilik hotel tak da tanda arah qiblat, boleh jugak guna kompas saya tu. Untuk solat, boleh kita bukak i Pad check time solat untuk seluruh dunia.

Ada satu lagi tempat yang saya agak terkejut dengan adanya surau bagi orang Islam, iaitu di airport Chiang Mai. Waktu tu dah petang. Flight kami akan bertolak pada pukul 6.55petang. Jadi kami sedang berpusing mencari tempat kosong nak solat. 

Surau di airport Chiang Mai

Tiba-tiba Sara atau Sophie, saya tak ingat, tarik tangan saya tunjuk lambang bulan sabit dan tertulis Muslim Prayer Room. Rupanya ada disediakan surau disini. Di Haadyai tak ada pulak. Padahal rasa saya mungkin lebih ramai orang Islam di Haatyai dari di Chiang Mai ni. Apapun dapatlah kami buat solat Asar disini. Oh lagi satu, Dalam surau ni mereka sediakan satu log book untuk kita tulis nama bagi yang menggunakan surau ni. Mungkin separuh orang tak nak tulis dengan alasan masing2 tapi saya harap kalau boleh eloklah sesiapa yang akan kesana menulis didalam buku log ini. Ini mungkin cara Thai authority nak buat kaji selidik samada kemudahan yang disediakan mereka berbaloi atau pun tidak. Jadi kalau kita tak tulis mungkin mereka fikir tak banyak orang yang guna dan seterusnya menutup kemudahan itu. Sayang kan?

Kami sampai ke hotel di Haadyai hampir jam sepuluh malam. Tak banyak yang dapat dilakukan kecuali tidur.Esok pagi-pagi lagi kami ambik tuk-tuk minta bawa ke restoran Muslim. Kena tambang RM8.00 utk kami semua. Saya tak berapa suka bandar Haadyai ni, tak nampak serinya macam Chiang Mai. Tapi its okay. Kami transit saja, sekejap lagi dah nak ke Satun. Saya agak terkilan dengan harga yang dikenakan kepada kami oleh tuan kedai makan tu. Dia boleh berbahasa melayu sikit2. Mungkin orang Pattani ataupun dari Yala. Mereka di sini agak kasar kalau dibandingkan dengan orang Chiang Mai. Eh, melalut pulak saya. Saya nak bagi tau pasal harga makan tadi. Saya order roti canai 6 keping dan roti telur dua. Suami dan Ariff ambik nasi campur. Air sorang satu cawan atau gelas. Tau berapa harga dia? Lima puluh enam ringgit. Bukannya restoran mewah. Kedai makan biasa ja. Balik2 kat tempat kita lagi murah, murah banyak dari tempat ni. Apa nak buat. Semua lapar, malam tadi tak sempat makan sebab dah lambat. Oh ya, saya teringat satu lagi. Kat Chiang Mai airport, Mc D dia satu set burger, air dan fries dalam RM 27.60 (BHT 276.00) Apahal la mahal sangat tu? Kalau burger tu besar cukup untuk tiga orang makan ok la jugak..

Hai, apapun, kami semua had a great time there. Ada sikit hitches here and there tapi dapat juga tengok negara orang. Alhamdulillah.

Salam dari saya,

Rose

26th.August '13

DAGING MASAK HITAM

Salam Syawal buat semua,

Masih dalam mood beraya ya? Tapi apa pun kebanyakkan dari kita dah mula masuk kerja. Dah dekat dua minggu pun kita beraya.
Daging dalam peti sejuk ada sikit lagi. Dah tak tahu nak masak apa, capai aja apa yang ada dan masak serba ringkas. Daging masak hitam ni pun ada banyak versi dia. Tapi saya ambil resipi ni dari keluarga kami iaitu kakak saya, Norida dan adik ipar saya, Zai. Dua-dua orang ni masak resipi daging ni, memang hebat. Sedap betul.
Jadi di sini saya nak share kan resipi cara kami.

Bahan-bahan :

400gm daging
( kalau daging dibeli 1 kg boleh lah direbus hingga 3/4 empuk, kemudian simpan dlm peti sejuk. Bila nak pakai ambik setakat yg kita perlu)

Bwg putih/ Bwg merah/Halia
(dikisar sekali)

6 tangkai cili kering/ 2 cili merah/ 5 cili api
(semuanya dikisar sekali)

sikit bunga lawang/ buah pelaga/ kulit kayu manis
sikit daun kari
1/3 cawan kicap manis
2 sudu besar kicap pekat
2 sudu teh serbuk ketumbar
2 sudu teh serbuk jintan manis

Kita mulakan :
1) Panaskan minyak dan tumis bawang yang dikisar tadi.

2) Sekarang tuang masuk cili yang di kisar. Masukkan daging yg di potong kecil.Tumis sampai pecah minyak
3) Bila dah pecah minyak, masukkan pula kicap, garam, 1 sudu teh gula dan air anggaran 1 cawan.
4) Renehkan sampai air hampir kering dan bolehlah dirasa dulu samada daging kita dah empuk.
5) Bila daging dah empuk, taburkan serbuk ketumbar dan serbuk jintan manis tadi.
6) Gaul rata. Biarkan sekitar tiga minit .

7) Sekarang bolehlah diangkat dan hiaskan dengan hiasan yang ada.

Costing :
Daging (400gm)   - RM 7.00
Bwg/Halia/Cili      - RM 3.00
Rempah ratus lain - RM 2.00

Jumlah                  - RM 12.00 untuk 5 orang

Salam dari saya,

Rose
19th.Aug'13

Cucur Udang

Salam semua,

Nak buat cucur  udang ya? Tapi kadang2 cucur udang kita jadi macam liat sikit. Rasa macam bertepung gitu.
Resipi ni saya dapat dari kawan lama masa di Penang dulu.
Jom cuba ikut cara ni. Lebih rangup.

Bahan-bahan untuk cucur udang seperti biasa, kita perlukan :

Udang kecil (ikut kita nak masukkan banyak mana dalam adunan tu nanti)
Tpg gandum 2  cawan
Tpg beras 3/4 cawan
Taugeh (anggaran sendiri)
Kucai (anggaran sendiri)
1 sudu baking soda
Sikit garam dan kunyit utk warna
Sebiji telur
1 sudu besar minyak masak

Cara nya :
* Mula-mula masukkan taugeh dan kucai kedalam mangkuk adunan dan juga baking soda.
* Masukkan garam

* Sekarang masukkan telur dan gaul sehingga telur pecah dan rata bersama dengan sayuran kita tadi.
* Masukkan pula kunyit, minyak masak dan udang. Gaul lagi.
* Sekarang baru masukkan kedua-dua jenis tepung.
*Terakhir kita masukkan air. Bahagian ni kita harus hati2. Jgn masukkan banyak air. Air hanya sekadar utk melekatkan tepung sahaja.

Bila semua bahan dah masuk, kita rehatkan ia dlm 10minit. Selepas tu dah boleh menggoreng.
Kalau kita nak jenis yang nipis macam kedai mamak masukkan dalam mee goreng tu, kita lebihkan tepung beras dan kurangkan tepung gandum. Air lebih. Cara begini menjadikan cucur udang lebih rangup atau rapuh.

Sekarang kita nak buat kuah kacang dia pula. Tak payah nak buat yang fancy2 yang banyak rempah ratus tu. Kita buat yang senang dan cepat sekali.

Kita cuma perlu :
Kacang tanah yang dah di sangai dan di kisar (separuh kasar, separuh lagi halus)
Cili kering 6 tangkai yg di sangai dan di blender halus.
Gula merah 3 sudu besar (klu nak lebih manis boleh tambahkan lagi
Gula putih 3 sudu besar
Bwg putih 2 ulas di rincik halus.
Sikit garam dan sikit air asam jawa.

Panaskan minyak dan masukkan bwg putih kedalam nya. Goreng sekejap. Sekarang masukkan cili kering yang dikisar tadi bersama segelas air. (Kalau nak kuah lebih, boleh lebihkan air.)
Jangan risau kalau air banyak. Masak sehingga air menjadi lebih kurang 3/4 cawan.
Sekarang, masukkan gula merah, gula putih dan garam. Masak lagi sehingga kuah agak likat. Bila sos dah agak masak, masukkan air asam jawa dalam 1 sudu besar.
Taburkan kacang yang dah kita kisar tadi.
Masak lagi sehingga kuah menjadi pekat.
Dah siap. Senangkan? Tak payah nak pakai segala lengkuas, serai atau apa2 yg lain. Kuah sebegitu utk makan dengan satay. Kuah untuk cucur udang kita buat macam ni saja. Sedap macam tu juga.

Jadi, selamat mencuba. Kalau sedap alhamdulillah, kalau tak sedap cuba lagi. Lama2 pandai lah.


Tips : Bila kita buka buku resipi atau blog masakan, tak perlu kita ikut bulat2 resipi yang di tulis tu. Kdg2 resipi tu pun bila kita buat sendiri kat rumah tak jadi sbbnya sukatan nya mungkin tak sama, contoh dalam  resipi tulis 1 cawan, tapi cawan kita dgn cawan resipi tu mungkin x sama besar. Jadi kita kena pandai agak sendiri.

Costing : 
Tepung gandum/beras  : RM 0.80
Taugeh/Kucai              : RM 0.50
Udang                         : RM 1.00
Kcg tanah                   : RM 1.00

Jumlah                          RM 3.30 untuk 6 orang

Selamat mencuba,
Rose
15th.Aug '13

Chiang Mai Here We Come/ Chiang Mai Kami Datang

At last! After a long planning and a few setbacks, we finally agreed to spend this year Eid in Chiang Mai. Since we live in Langkawi, we arrange our transportation via boat to Satun (Thailand). It took 45 minutes to get there. Another two hours from Satun to HatYai airport. From Hatyai it took us another 2 hours by plane to Chiang Mai.

Tuk Tuk

We reached Chiang Mai at ten after six in the evening of 6th.Aug '13. We were still fasting. Once reached hotel, we did the check in and left by tuk-tuk (a little car with 3 wheels) to find some Muslim food. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to find as there were many Muslims live there.

I loved this city. It is beautiful in its own way. An old city with waterway within the city. At time I felt I was transported back to the 1970's era, yet the bustling of the little city brought me back to the present day. I swear the time flies ever so slow in this city. Not only me feel this way, but the children were saying the same thing. One hour seemed to take an eternity.

Our second day there, right after breakfast (great selection of food by the way) we left for Elephant Camp. Chiang Mai is famed for its elephant so I guess this is one way of getting to know the city. We left by an MPV with Khui as our driver. It was quite a long drive. About 1 hour 15 minutes. For those of you interested to visit this camp, it's best to scout around for the prices before settling for one. That's what we did. Through the internet there were rates at RM250.00 per person. Some are lower at RM200.00 and some at RM150.00.
I booked directly once I got to the camp. I paid RM150.00 for each of us and that include elephant ride, ox cart, lunch and rafting.The one that we went was ChokChai Elephant Camp as other camp was full. The ride was great. Each elephant would carry two persons. At times we thought the sweet big monster would fall down the steep hill and we would be squashed under its weight. It was truly frightening for me. Ariff,  my son got to ride alone since his size would be comfortable for one person only.

I would have enjoyed the ride tremendously if it wasn't for the mahout (the elephant handler). Our mahout was great. He was gentle with our elephant.
 But the one behind us was being cruel to his elephant. We were inside the the little river when I heard a loud thump. I turned around and saw this mahout was hitting the elephant's head so hard that we can hear clearly even though we were a good fifty meters ahead of them. I yelled at the guy on top of my voice wanting him to stop the hitting. He couldn't care less about the people around him and carried on with his beating. The elephant was bleeding on its right ear. Without realizing it, I was crying. We, human would exploit everything to make a quick cash. And we the customers are to be blamed as well. We'd agree to pay for some money just to have some fun at the expense of the animals brutality.
I had always have a soft spot for animals since I was raised as a country girl by my grandparents.

Our package included an ox cart ride, I was thrilled. I didn't know what to expect. When we were shown to our cart, the thrill was gone. The bull looked sick and the ride was boring. Lucky thing it only took about 10 minutes.
If any of you wish to take this trip, you might as well take the full package because they will only less out a few bucks if you decided to withdraw from one or two items.

Next came rafting. Oh this was an absolute fun. No animals involved. They provided two raft handlers in each raft, one at the back and the other at the front. Ours were young. They must be not more than eighteen years old, but they were good and know what they were doing. The rapid was mild, so I am good. The rafting was about 8 kilometers ( Iam not too sure about the distance). Just before we reached the little pier, the boy said something in English that none of us understand. He said something like " Tis pinit, please tif." We were like huh? What was he trying to say? Then he used the universal gesture. He rubbed his middle finger with his thumb and looked at me hoping I would understand. Yes, I did. He was asking for tips. He was trying to say "This finish, please tips". It was quite shocking for us for them to ask tipping plain outright. But we tipped him anyway as they were doing alright and these young adults worked hard for their money.

Long Neck Karen Tribe

On our way back to the hotel, I asked Khun Kui to stop us at the Long Neck Karen village (tribe). I was interested to see how they live their everyday lives. Entrance tickets was way overboard. If you were to ask me, it was a daylight robbery. Per person is RM50.00 (equivalent to USD 16.00) At first I thought the village was big and we would be able to roam freely around their village and that the entrance ticket would somehow find a way to them. After paying the tickets and while making our way into the village, I felt that the money didn't go to these people. I said that because when I was buying a scarf from this one sweet girl ( she was so soft and polite), I asked her where does she live. She pointed to a little bamboo hut opposite her handicraft stall. When looked at it, I couldn't believe my eyes. If you look closely at the picture above, that is exactly the kind of a home they lived.
Walking further inside, there were many other stalls that sell scarf materials and handicraft that could easily made one wanting to purchase everything there is there.
I particularly felt a sharp pain inside when a I saw this little girl, most probably nine or ten years old, hand-weaving the silk fabric to be sold at her stall. She had this brass coil around her neck like many of her predecessor did and she didn't look at all  happy. She spoke quite an adequate English for me to understand. She answered my questions religiously but that is all there is to it. Quite plainly, she seemed unhappy with what was going on around her.

Sigh.. I wish I could do more for these children. They were living in such a horrible state of living condition and yet all these people carried on with their lives humbly and without much fuss unlike us who criticize about almost everything that came our way.

It humbled me to see how hard these people had to break their bones just to survive from day to day without showing any resentment to what life had to offer.

I think I will stop here for today. Maybe tomorrow or day after I'll update another post so we can share some information in case you guys were thinking of visiting Chiang Mai somewhere in the near future.

Good nite all,
Rose
14th.Aug '13

 

Sneak Peek on Chiang Mai Holiday (part 2) / Corat Coret Di Chiang Mai

On our first day in Chiang Mai, after our dinner  and on our way walking back towards the hotel, we passed by the busy street of the Anusarn night market. Just a few meters ahead of me, I saw a row of pretty girls sitting on a high chair lined up by the road side. I didn't think of anything at first. A few yards after passing them by, I realized that the girls are the working girls. The pimp was standing right behind them trying to find some potential clients for his girls.
Just when I thought I knew everything needed to know, I found myself  surprised by what I had just seen. I felt sorry for the girls as they looked too young to be doing what they were doing.

Our second day in Chiang Mai fell on the first of Eid. We had dinner the night before at one of the Muslim Restaurant (probably owned by a Chinese Muslim) and even though she can't speak a word of English, she had been very hospitable towards us and invited us for lunch on the first day of Eid. We were touched by her kindness. We barely knew each other and that was our first time dinner at her restaurant and yet she invited us to be with her on that special day. Thank you ma'am! (Ruammit Restaurant, Anusarn Market, Chiang Mai)

We rode a rented bicycle around the city one morning and cycle back to the hotel about 11:00am since everybody was getting slightly breathless. Upon entering the hotel compound, the security guard, ever so attentive, stand up straight and with his two hands clasp together as if about to pray, he would bow a little and would wish us Sawadee Kap ( means hello). I had been intrigued with this gesture from day one of our arrival. They would bow to their guests or customers as a way of appreciation. So, upon entering the hotel compound, when he did that gesture again, I did the same. Clasp my hands together and bowed a little.  My legs were still on the pedals while I lifted my hands. I muttered Sawadee Ka to him and nearly fell off my bike. Sophie was yelling from behind me, "Ma, what do you think you're doing?"
 I said, "I am trying to be friendly to him".
"You nearly fell off and you can always be nice to him when your feet touch the ground."
Okay maam. Got it loud and clear.

That was a second part of the sneak peek of our days in Chiang Mai.

Rose
13th.August '13

Sneak Peek at our Chiang Mai Holiday

Hello all,

 Yesterday was the first day of Eid, Muslim all over the world celebrated  their victory after a month of fasting. All of us except for Soffian is currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand, first time celebrating Eid in a foreign land. Will update my blog once we're back in Langkawi.
I actually miss home during this time of the year. The shopping for new clothes for the children, the spring cleaning, the last minute cooking and the Eid prayer in the morning.

We decided to spend our Eid here in Chiang Mai since both my parents are gone. Just wanna share some fun trivia with you readers before writing the actual post.

While on our way back from the mountain to the hotel, Ariff (my eldest son) said, "Ma look at that shop. it says teeth whitening." I tried to be funny and said to him, " Oh good, you could use one."
Very sweetly he replied, " Yeah it's good  that they can do something for the teeth,  but I didn't see any shop that can make our skin fairer."  I smacked him hard on the back while our chauffer, Khui Khun turned to look at us wondering what was going on. Ting! Round one Ariff won.

On our  first day of breakfast, as we were sitting on the terrace enjoying a vast selection of food, again,Ariff, said he had to ease himself . The two girls were making remarks of how disgusting he was. He couldn't be bothered with them and made his way to the washroom. Ten minutes later, he came back and continued with his breakfast as if nothing. Then he started, "As I was doing my thing , I don't know what happened, there was a black out. Right at the same time, my watch fell off.  I was groping everywhere for the watch and  I couldn't move much as I am still on the bowl. To make matter worst, I can't find either the wipes or the water. "
He didn't have to finish his story as we were laughing so hard that everyone around the table was looking at us. The girls were like, eeww you're so disgusting. I am trying to have some breakfast here. But they finished it all the same.

Will update something else tommorrow. Ciao for now.

Rose 9th.Aug '13

Kari Sayur Madas

Salam semua,

Semenjak menulis blog masakan ni, saya dah mula rajin mencuba resipi baru di rumah. Resipi yang senang di terima oleh orang kita.

Tiga hari lepas, saya cuba buat Gulai Sayur Madas ni (nama cipta sendiri sebab ada manis dan pedasnya) dan memang sesuai dengan selera kita. Resipi ni semua berasaskan sayuran tapi memang sedap. Sesuai kalau ada teman2 kita yang hanya mengambil makanan berasaskan sayuran saja. Tapi kalau nak ayam atau daging pun boleh saja.

Bahan2nya pun yang selalu ada di dapur kita :

1 biji ubi kentang (di potong dadu sederhana besar)
1/2 karot di potong dadu (sederhana)
1 biji terung ( dihiris nipis agak 1 inci ketebalannya)

1 biji terung (yg ni di belah dua dan di rebus hingga empuk didalam air gula sebanyak 2 sudu besar, kemudian dicarikkan seperti gambar dibawah)
1 biji tomato dibelah empat

Boleh guna apa jenis sayur pun. Ikut selera kita.

1 labu bawang besar
3 ulas bawang putih
( dikisar sekali)

1 sudu besar rempah kari daging
1/2 sudu besar serbuk cili yg kasar (cili flakes)
3/4 sudu besar serbuk biji gajus
1 sudu besar ikan bilis ( dibasuh bersih)
1/2 drp santan RM1.00
sikit daun ketumbar
sikit garam

1) Kita mula masak macam biasa iaitu dengan menumis bawang kisar tadi sampai kuning.
2) Masukkan rempah kari ,cili flakes dan ikan bilis  tadi bersama setengah cawan air.
    Masukkan sekali sayur yang keras dulu seperti ubi kentang dan karot.

3) Masak sampai pecah minyak. Kemudian masukkan terung yg dicarikkan tadi dan juga serbuk biji gajus.
    Kacau rata.
4) Sekarang masukkan santan dan sikit garam.
    Air gula rebusan terung tadi jangan dibuang. Ambil dalam dua sudu besar dan masukkan juga kedalam kuah yang sedang mendidih. Juga sayur kita seperti tomato dan terung bolehlah di masukkan sekali.
5) Bila dah hampir masak dan kuah menjadi sedikit pekat, bolehlah dimasukkan daun ketumbar yang
    di carik-carik sikit.

  Sekarang bolehlah tutup api.

 

Kuah ni sesuai dimakan dengan nasi atau roti. Kalau nak buat kuah dhal kan lambat sebab nak rebus kacang tu dulu, yang ini cepat. Sekejap ja dah boleh di makan.

Costing :
Semua jenis sayur : RM 4.50
Bwg dan lain2      : RM 2.00
Santan                 : RM 0.50
Biji gajus             : RM 2.00

Jumlah                : RM 9.00 untuk 6 orang

Murah dan berkhasiat

Salam dari dapur saya,
Rose
2nd.August '13