Non-Conformist

I tell you, Aishah really needs to be brainwashed at some point lah! She likes to do the opposite of things. Benda lain excusable la jugak, ni dah kiblat songsang ni, abih tu tangan tarok belakang. Ish, budak-budak sekarang....

High and Low

Pakwe Usop aka Tok Sidang Logo

Pakwe, the Bugis clan patriarch is visibly ecstatic to see all his anak-cucu-cicit home for Raya. It's hard to believe that a few months back he was incapacitated, in the ICU and pretty much in the woods. His appetite is good and he is back to his old jovial chaq-bei-liao self. Alhamdulillah.

Jom nyorok belakang badan orang supaya tak nampak gumuk

Bapak( my father in law) on the other hand, is not in the mood to celebrate. He even refused to put on his kurta. Kesian Bapak. His legs have been giving him a terrible time. Even the doctors could not give a proper diagnosis. My Googling efforts gathered that he is suffering for the side effects of diabetic and hypertensive cocktail. MIL is also not very happy this time around as my SIL is away in Lahore. Lin had wanted to come back but MIL encouraged her to celebrate Eid with her husband this time since Lin came back to Singapore 3 years in a row previously. Little that she knew, the Lahori family do not celebrate Eid, and engage in mournful activities(cannot gripe about it because it is their culture) in memory of Lin's mother in law who succumbed to cancer 3 years ago. So now MIL feels bad for not letting Lin come back. Nangis-nangis budak tu nak balik. Kesian.

Ayah and Mak eating my lauk, while Diana,our pastry chef ngendeng nak masuk gambar.

Recent development on my Mak is also not very encouraging. Sigh. Make du'a we shall. Can't report much because I sedih la...

Mommie, where's my cow?

Aishah kalau balik kampung, she would do an "Ian Wright" and explore every nook and cranny to find Old McDonald's Farm. We found the goats and chickens easily. But the cows were MIA. When we found one, it looked sad.

Apo kono lombu ni? Sodeh ko?

Maybe they are traumatised by the number of their peers expiring in the rendang for Eid, so they went into hiding.

Ubat Gendut

So today is the 2nd day of Eid. At the last minute, we decided to make our way to Melaka yesterday after episodes of indecisiveness. Nak balik ke tak? Makwe( my step grandma) had earlier requested me to bring her some briyani. I was having quite a bit of a jam thinking about the amount of cooking that would take, as briyani MUST be complemented by other similarly tedious to prepare dishes like, dalcha and achar. On other days it would not be that harrowing lah, but for hari raya there are other staple dishes to help MIL prepare. Where got time and energy ma? So sorry lah Makwe, I could only prepare the dalcha and some 20 pieces of fluffy baguettes to distract you from your briyani fantasies. Bless Rasool(our masala supplier) for the idiot proof dalcha masala, I made a huge belanga without having to kill myself. InsyaAllah come Raya Haji, I will make you some briyani. That's what we eat for Eid Ul Adha anyway. Tak lah kelam kabut kan?

Dalcha

MIL, the executive chef, prepared her specialties, Bombay Chicken, Lontong and its condiments(kuah lodeh, sambal sotong and serunding). Missing from the table were ketupat, kuah kacang and rendang. This, my friends, is a big, big neon sign. This really means that MIL is about ready to hang her apron. Die! Die! Die la if next year I have to masak for raya.

Ayam Masak Merah aka Bombay Chicken

Naturally I ta pau-ed the Hari Raya spread for the Melaka folks to bedal. Ayah loves kambing but because of Mak's condition, it's been a while since he indulged in dishes that are essentially recipes to hypertension and cancer. He just said, "Ha? Kambing? Elok la tu!" And proceeded to kendurikan the stuff I brought from Singapore. I am reminded of the days when I used to menggigil when I was serving Ayah his meals. He used to be quite finicky, or perhaps I was such a terrible cook then. Heh.

Clockwise from T-L:

Gulai Ayam Belanda,Rendang Palembang, Rendang Minang & Sambal Bali

In exchange, I was given 4 different types of curries and a few sticks of lemang. Truth be told, I could not bring myself to eat duck, chicken and turkey in one seating. Dah le dalam perut ada kambing. No one's mentioned that Pakwo Akob( our family game hunter) caught anything this year, so I did not get my annual kijang, kancil and rusa feast. I was having a terrible headache almost the whole time I was in Melaka so I was not in the right state to really eat. Dang!

Asam Podeh Ikan Sagai

Turned out, I didn't really eat anything save for Mak's lychee jelly and Diana's cookie until much, much later when I visited Achik, my Ayah's brother. The first words Achik uttered when I arrived was a soulful tune to my head. He had just returned from the sea earlier and that there was a spread of all my favourite things waiting for me at the dinner table.

Sambal Belacan, Ikan Cencaru Bakar & Ulam Jering/Kacang Botol

Ese paling gomar yang nia la. Humang Aihh!

Achik Nuar really knows the way to my gut, eh, heart. Everything tasted just the way arwah Makwe used to cook. None too overpowering, yet refreshingly flavourful. Looks like Achik Aziah has inherited her MIL's skills. Even CA thinks, "Rumah Achik memang boleh makan". Hehe.Sorry, B. Keluarga lain macam2 pantang makan. Heh.

Makan at Achik's is truly worth the balik kampung trip!