Alwi is addicted to tv. Yikes.

Aiyoyo. 

My baby nephew has officially gotten attached to the television. Mein gott we're screwed.

Alwi (the said baby nephew), has always been a very interactive baby. Interactive baby here as in he's very responsive when approached, very curious to his surroundings and responds readily to verbal suggestions. Sure he's a bit sluggish when it comes to physical movements (dulu he's a tad lazy when it comes to rolling over =.=") but hey! He's definitely wayy more active and amiable as compared to other babies I've seen. And not to mention he's inheritated the family trait; motivated when there is appropiate reward available. Bribery is oh-so-effective. Yeaa not exactly the kind of thing people usually cultivate in kids but its worked for the rest of us, so what-the-hey~! XD

Usually his days are filled with either his Mummy or his Nda Jan or any of the rest of the family, but since we are on holiday at the moment, everyones' either out shopping @ sightseeing and by the time we get home, we're too tired to play much with Alwi. Needless to say after a few minutes of ooh-aah with him, we usually put him down on his mat to play on his own. 

The neglected boy

Due to this, after a few days of boredom (VERY strong motivation in our family) he miraculously mastered the ability to roll over (good boy!) and the first thing he rolled over to is..the TV o__O Even if we move him to another spot he'll angle his head back to the tv. Especially when there's a hot chick. This theory was tested many times, rinse-and-repeat gitew. It is beyond doubt, he's hooked.

OH-EMM-GEEE.

Balik Malaysia its back to watching the fan go round-n-round boy! Don't get used to it >\

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P.S. : Shairil loves being here. But she loves being home more.

Wow, you're cute. Can I stalk you?

I love you.

3 words. 3 simple words.

Yet it is undeniable how big of an impact those three little words can bring. 

Today I am not going to bore my stalker sister, HamHam, with an entry lamenting about my current relationship status (or lack of, sheesh technicalities! =.=), today we shall look from the brighter side of life. From the neighbour's greener pasture while wearing rose-tinted glasses or whatever shiat, you name it babe. We're doing a RAGE--less entry for once, saje nak cuba XD 

And lagipun, buat entry depressing every single time is not very fun no? *sepakdirisendirilajulaju* ...wow jauhnya meleret, okay back to the topic!

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December 22nd 2009, 12 noon

I shall forever remember this day as the day I first met Farquhar. But before I go all gushy about him let me just clarify something. Farquhar is my knight in shining armour. He's the guy I've been fantasizing since I was about 7 and first starting day-dreaming of how my wedding is going to be. He's smart, considerate, good-looking and oh, he cooks as well. 

Senang cerita, he does not exist (nama pun angan-angan, go figure). Anyhoooo~


Pernah tak korang berazam @ berangan about how your wedding is going to be like in the future (ini hanya applicable to girls or those metrosexual guys, lelaki sejati yang too insecure to do this pfftt). From what's the colour theme, the amount for duit hantaran you're going to deman-er i mean humbly request from the groom, the flowers, yada yada yada and all. Well, one little detail which girls like yours truly have also imagined is that we pray (fervently i might add) that our future groom has the same initials as we do so that bila letak dekat kad kahwin it will be oh-so-kyoote and adorable sebab it rhymes (you may gag here if you want).


For example :

You are humbly invited to attend the wedding of

Farhana

&

Farquhar

(alalala chomeylnya)

Hahaha okay maybe not to that exact name, but..you get my drift ^_-

Since this teeny weeny detail was known to my sisters (entah siapa pecah tembelang, sepak kang), it has been a continuous joke between us when is it that I'll meet my knight in shining armour. And he does not just come in one name, he can be Farquhar today, and Fakrudin tomorrow. Oh I'm not fussy, anything goes as long as it starts with an 'F' XD

This is ogle-fest versi persian warrior, i loikeee

(yea, amatlah  unrealistic, but hey! Its MY fantasy)

So, there I was waiting for the train at High Street Kensington on a chilly Tuesday afternoon, counting the seconds to lunchtime when suddenly my female radar gave a buzz (or more like a loud yell) and told me to look to the side. So needless to say, I turned accordingly and boy do I not regret it. There he was...standing with a friend (so sorry pal, didnt pay much attention to you) in a green vest and long cream suede coat. My appreciation of the male species gave him  a 9.5 rating sebab I can't give him a 10 just to avoid legal repercussions (hello, even iklan detergent janji 99% je, avoid liabilities). At first I thought he was a Hispanic dude cause he looks like a malay but he speak wicked english (complete with slang yer kawan-kawan) abuthen Neko said that he's a malay cause she heard him conversing with his pal. Dahla se-mart, pastu he was holding the tube like thingy architects usually carry around cause they put their sketches in it. Ahh he's an educated person, nicee. Fulamak this is fantastic,I have now re-found my faith in malay men kekekeke >p On that fated day, mystery dude in cream was officially knighted as Farquhar.

As I am fully aware that this fascination will be short-lived due to reality kicking me in the arse sooo I took my happy share of ogling while I could. Initially we took the same train but due to the rest of my family's slower speed of pace *sniff*, I lost him before getting on the train on the Central line. Hence that marks the end of my extremely short-lived one-sided love affair. 

...Haih.

Okay, dah cukup angau, back to holiday-ying! ^^

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HMM.


Suddenly this horrible thought just went through my head. My pal Tim's cousin is studying architecture in London (or somewhere in Britain, can't remember where).


............


I would choke myself with one of my baby nephew's numerous bibs if I had unconscionably ogled over Muhsin. Good gawd =_=". Seriously.

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Sementara menunggu my real knight, there's no harm in a lil fantasy once in awhile no?

I can't wait for the Prince of Persia to come out, can you tell? =p

P.S. : Shairil loves you, you, oh you there, and not forgetting Tim, Akmal and Lah. Can't wait to go back and merepek with korang =)

Never thought one can get sick of seafood o_O" Hanoi~!

(This is supposed to be the 2nd part to a 2-part entry, but o well, since I'm not done with the first part, I'll just make this do with this one first =p)


Once again, another look into what I've encountered while holidaying in Hanoi, Vietnam, this time focusing on my personal favourite topics; ZE FOOD

Asians are usually affiliated with preference to dine on seafood rather than meat as compared to the Westerners. This is probably due to the fact that the climate in the Asian region provides us with this lovely creation of God called "spice". Seriously, those of us living on the side of the world tend to take our ability to obtain spice easily for granted. I've once went to France for about a week and believe me honey, eating fish with cream for the 8th or so time in a week can drive a person up the wall. Yes, its THAT BAD.

Okayla fine, maybe I'm exaggerating and me having the typical budak kampung preferences kind of restricts my ability to accept different types of food. Give me sambal or curry everyday and I'm a happy camper =D

Fish and cream sauce. Some people love it, but I guess it's just not my cup of tea =\

Anyhow, like I've mentioned before, unlike Malaysia, Vietnam is blessed to have both the 4 seasons (summer,spring,autumn and winter) AND the world-famous Asian rain-and-sun climate. The northern part of Vietnam (such as Hanoi) gets the 4 season while the southern part of Vietnam (such as Ho Chi Minh City) gets the rain-and-sun climate. As my parents and I went to Hanoi and it was during winter,the experience of dining Vietnamese food is made enjoyable due to the fact that Vietnamese food is rich with varieties of food made up of soups, seafood and whatever it is that they can combine with black pepper. Makes the tummy all warm and toasty~ x3

Speaking of black pepper, the Vietnamese seem to LOVE to include black pepper in all their dishes. Heck, even the salads have 'em. And don't get me started on their spring rolls =.=" Black pepper plus all their signature seasonings give an interesting twang to your taste buds but for those of us who are not used to black pepper in your food, be prepared to get itchy scratchy sore throats for a few days (like yours truly >_>"). Nevertheless, Vietnamese dining is a must-try for those adventurous people =)

Anyhow, moving on with some of the places we dined while we there.

One of the most notable place we went to would definitely have to be the Bobby Chinn Restaurant. Looking at the name, you would think that the proprietor of the restaurant would be a Vietnamese but nuh-uh, apparently he's a Egyptian-Irish-Chinese mix.


All the fusion of heritage must be his inspiration for world-famous fusion food.One of his signature dishes would definitely have to be the Wasabi Mashed Potatoes. Didn't get the chance to get a picture of that as it was gobbled up so fast that I tak sempat snap a picture of it =\ Another attraction factor to the Bobby Chinn restaurant is his cheeky sense of humour which is clearly illustrated in the menu.

Note the last item; I'm on a Diet --> 00 vietnam dong
Cheeky indeed >D

The rest of the menu was equally hilarious to read. We were all so amused with it that we even bought a copy of it each (Yes,the menu was up for sale at $5 each. Whatta way to make profit =p). Have it somewhere in the luggage but too lazy to rummage for it and scan it up to be uploaded here =p You can go to Bobby Chinn Restaurant website and have a look-see. Its currently being renovated so maybe in the future aye? =)

The ambience and look of the restaurant is also something to be said. The whole rose petals being thrown all over the place reminds you of the cover for the American Beauty movie o_O"

Roses are sexy and romantic but too much of it it starts looking a bit disturbing. Or is it just me? o_O

Each room is separated by partitions made up of red silk. Uber sexy at night but methinks it would look gaudy during daytime o_o
NOTE: the painting at the back. Very artistic, but a tad unsettling to the tummy. A change of decor is needed, perhaps?

Okay, maybe I je yang suka bright lights but I LOVE the whole candles and lantern decor they put up here.

Grilled Prawn with Sticky Coconut Rice. I would give it a 6/10 rating kot. Never in a million years would I have thought to eat udang with nasi pulut o_o"

Next up! The fantastical seafood we had while riding on a boat around Ha Long Bay. As I may have mentioned before, the seafood in Hanoi is THE BOMB. Best giler sampai tahap bila balik Malaysia tanak makan seafood for a week because 1) dah muak seafood =.="2) seafood dekat sini is incomparable in terms of freshness. Heck the food we ate on the boat memang fresh from the sea kot, heck it was still flopping around on the deck in front of our eyes @@

Uncle macho sempat posing while fishing out our chosen fish.

Fishes that are big enough will be straight away sold at the market but smaller fishes will be kept in natural "tanks" so that it can continue growing.

Ta-da~! Fresh crabs au naturale (no seasonings used, just its own natural juices).

Continuing with the whole seafood thang, we also ate at this superb seafood restaurant called Pho Bien. Yang ni memang seafood yang kaw-kaw fresh + best! Its so fresh that there was this one time, I was doing the whole tourist-jakun act by walking around the reataurant snapping pictures of random things when one of the waiters walked by carrying a basket filled with this huge garroupa. There I was benignly watching when suddenly the waiter grabbed the fish by its tail and whacked it headfirst on the road. Keynote: ON THE ROAD. Yes yes, everybody says its the norm to whack a fish on its head to kill it, but I don't think it was necessary to whack it that way AND on the road where god-knows how many have walked on with their shoes. Not very hygienic when you think about it >_<" But, o well, I ate there and I'm not sick or dead so the food's all fine i guess =p

The waitress is whacking the crabs to make our dining experience easier.

Oc Huong Nuong (Grilled Winkle)
tastes like tougher version of "siput sedut". A bit freaky to look at at first glance, but once you get over the initial horror, i must say its quite an experience to eat it =P

Tom "Sauna" (Special Sugpo in "sauna" style)
The prawns were ALIVE and then they were put on super-hot stones. Then a cover is put on the pot. The prawn is then cooked by the hot pressure arising from the stones, hence, sauna prawns =)

 Sweet Sauce Live Crab

This was my debut attempt at eating female crabs. Never knew they had genders, thought they were one of the animals that were bisexual (like siput babi). The females have eggs in them, and it tastes like the yolk in telur masin. The sauce is sweet, even overtly so but after a few mouthfuls you are able to bypass the sweetness. Overall,  its pretty hard to go wrong with crabs and this dish definitely gets a thumbs-up =)

We are very happy with the food, nyum-nyum~! ^^

 Other than these 3 restaurants, we also went to this halal Malaysian-Indonesian restaurant by the name of Nisa. However, I can't supply you guys with pictures from there as I was blown away by the sight of fish-head curry and popia that I didn't bother with pictures =p Sorry dudes. After 2 days of eating Vietnamese food, getting Malaysian food is truly a balm to the tortured food soul XD;

Hmhm I guess thats about it in regards to food in Hanoi. I must say its been quite a gastronomical experience and my tummy has no complains ^^

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P.S: Shairil loves Hanoi. Eventhough she is sure she has high-blood pressure because of the food there now.

Adios~!