Sunday, January 31, 2021

2020 Year of the Mask - Part 2



Another 'first' for Malaysians began on 1st April 2020. And it was definitely not an April 1st joke! Most of us learnt a new word. A word that brought joy to many of us. A word that we never heard before in our whole life.

'Moratorium'.

And it was implemented beginning of 1st April 2020.ok laaa..got extra money for 6 months. 
Plus point for Abah govt for helping the rakyat at the time of need.

And this date is very very special in our life. It marked the birth of our first child. He is everything in our life. He is like a glue for me and my wife. Always keeping us together even when there is a misunderstanding between us. Maturity beyond his age. His parents brought him up well I guess..hahaha..

And my wife used the time she had during MCO to bake a very special cake for him Just as he likes it. Kerja dari rumah does has its benefits.



Working from home might have it's benefits but sometimes we still had to go to office. The journey to the office is like a love-hate relationship. The love is because the road is mostly empty. At most places you won't be able to see cars at all with the exception of the road blocks. Haiyo...people would be stuck for almost an hour especially at the Sg Besi highway. In total I had to pass by 3 roadblocks to reach the office. But oklaa, the sacrifice we do for the country and company. 😢😢



And then the weekend comes. The dreaded time of the week when we had to endure the long queues at the wet market.Most of the times, you can't even see the market from where you are standing. We Malaysians braces the new norm like a hero. Expensive Mask and social distancing  became our lifestyle.A lifestyle that the whole world will never miss once.we are out of this pandemic. The only positive out of this is now I have two strong biceps by carrying all those purchase and carrying it to the car. Both my hands would be like Vijay Sethupathi's hand in the movie Master. 💪💪💪💪



I'm pretty sure during these times, a majority of us would be glued to the TV around 7-9pm watching the news. We did. It was a blessing in disguise for all news channels. There were little to nil reports of politics. We loved to watch the news during the first MCO. It was very informative and people were eager to her what the PM and DG has to say. How we wish the time never ends.

It is at these times we slowly to be hooked to Malay dramas on TV3Budak Tebing was the first drama to catch our attention. To tell the truth, we haven't watched any Malay dramas in a very long time. Opah, Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu was the last I could recall laa. But, this drama was different.Good story, good acting and casting. We loved it. Rindu Yang Terindah follows suit.Once both these dramas had their finale, we got hooked to the next one.The Gadis  was not only about pretty ladies. It had a good family stories about sisters and father. My elder son totally loved Kampung People. He would literally laugh out loud each time the series airs. Over the top acting with funny attitude really lifted the story.
The cream on the top was Leftenan Zana. It was a combination of drama and documentary if I may say it. We got to see the inside life of army cadets and their struggle in the academy. It was really a fresh story entwined with the usual love angle. All 3 of us would be in front of the TV to watch these drama...Family bonding time. Sadly, this was the last drama I have watched as the next one failed to grasp my attention. Forgot the name of the drama laa.



One fine day or maybe it was night.... I can't recall. It doesn't matter anyway. I just had an idea to do interactive quiz for my son. I used MentiMeter. We used this app a lot in our office and I kinda missed it since it's been more than a month since people have set their foot in the office.  It started with only my son and slowly snowballed into a few of his friends and my friends kid. I believe the kids enjoyed as much as I did. 




May 2021 - The birth of ShiniesKitchen website and YouTube channel.
It was indeed a proud and happy moments as we got learn into website making and video creation. It was not an easy task. I really loved my wife's creative take on food photography. Checkout of page and surely you'll love it. 




Yup, it's that time again. Time for me to boast about myself and my passion for cooking. The above are some of my cooking for the family. 




'Goreng-goreng' seems to be my specialty as the kids and my only wife acknowledged. 




Finally in June 2020, we headed back to my hometown in Sungai Petani. The last time I went back was during Deepavali 2019. As MCO was implemented, we were all stuck in Kajang la. Besides my mom and her cooking, the next thing I missed most was local food. Mamak Mee, Koewteow basah and Char Koewteow are one of the best you can find anywhere. Northern states are a food haven that no one can deny. If you want to deny it than you don't deserve to live in Malaysia. Hahaha...just kidding.



Yup, I do gardening in my apartment's balcony. So far the most successful is chilli Plant,Aloe Vera, curry leaves and mint leaves.Hopefully, the tomato will grow soon.

To be continued...


Tuesday, January 26, 2021

2020 - Year of the Mask Part 1



Most of us would have heard about pandemic from the news or read about it in school. Some might even wondered how life was back then? How people suffered and eventually triumphed in defeating the pandemic?

Fast forward to 2020 and we do not have to wonder anymore. We are sort of living the "dream". 😅

Phew...what a year it has been and how it is still affecting our livelihood. Got to admit that it is not an easy time for all of us. I'm pretty sure every single human being has been affected by this pandemic albeit at a different level. For some, it is a very depressing time in life and for others they found new ways to be better in their life.

Well, did it affect me? My family? What do you think? It's very obvious isn't it? I just mentioned about it one paragraph above.

I would like to focus on how this pandemic called Covid-19 brought my family together and stronger than before. That's the wonderful thing about life, right? You learn to adapt and take the positive out of the negative to become a better version of yourself.


Beginning of 2020 was wonderful. 

It marked the first time my 4 year old going to kindergarten. Yes, it was a stressful day for us. Hahaha...Not easy to watch the first step of them being independent. But it has to be done. Little did we know about what was bound to happen in 3 months time. Yes, the magic word "online class". 


Exactly one year ago (at the time of writing), me and my colleagues were enjoying ourselves in the neighboring country, Thailand. I had a great time there and the memories are still fresh in my mind like it was yesterday. 

Checkout my blogpost about the journey in Phuket here.


Bear in mind that at this point of time, it was not declared a pandemic yet. Life was normal in Malaysia as well as in Thailand. No mask. No social distancing. No political issues. We were living the life back then! WHO only declared that the coronavirus is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30th January 2020. Exactly 4 days after we were back from Phuket.

And then life went on as usual in February as well. Even though, people were starting to worry about coronavirus, Thaipusam came and went just like normal. Checkout my post on Thaipusam 2020 here.



One fine day as we were passing OUG, Old Klang Road we past through a very familiar stall that we haven't been to for years...almost a decade. Trust me. You wouldn't regret eating the vegetarian items here.
Spoiler Alert : There aren't many varieties available here. If not mistaken they only serve Mee Kari and Nasi Lemak.  
I don't see the aunty that used to sell the food but I guess she hired some foreigners now. The taste is the same though. Absolutely amazing.  They are available at this location.

Towards the end of the month, we still had time to drive through Putrajaya. This place never cease to amaze me. Breathtaking landscapes and beautifully designed buildings. I love this place. Checkout some of my previous posts about Wonderful Putrajaya. 


We had a nice stroll along Jambatan Seri Gemilang, Precint 5  that night. It was so beautiful. Enjoying my time with the kids and my lovely wife by my side. It's been a while since we went out just to wander around in Putrajaya. It was nice.

And then March came. Yeah...a month that none of the Malaysians will ever forget.

But, that day is yet to come. 

Since travel was still allowed, I had the opportunity to visit Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan for work purposes laa. This was my first time there and it also marked a historic date in my life. I have successfully visited all 13 states and FT in Malaysia. hahaha.

It was indeed a refreshing moment staying alone for a week in Labuan. Once work is finished, I head back to the hotel to take a bath and then I just wander around the town by foot. I only took Grab once or twice while I was staying there. Most of the time I will just walk to explore the town. 
My colleague picked me up in the morning to go breakfast and then head to work. After work, he would send me back to the room. Thanks bro! 

On the downside, I missed my family a lot. Haven't been away from them for such a long period before. Whatsapp video calls and messages kept us close to each other. Yay for technology! And the next thing I missed the most was my wife's cooking. Yup, she's an awesome cook and never fails to keep our stomach full at all times. Checkout her website at https://www.shinieskitchen.com/ and you'll understand what I meant.



Two days later, there were rumors spreading that full lockdown will be implemented in Malaysia as the cases were on the rise. I was still in the office on 16th March and then we were told not to come to the office 17th March 2020 onwards as a safety precaution from our top management. And then the news came. Prime Minister announced that from 18th March 2020 onwards Malaysia will be implementing Movement Control Order. We Malaysian moved into the territory of the unknown. None of us have ever experience lockdown before. Nobody knew what to do (except to hoard all the Gardenia bread and toilet papers from the stores)



The Age of Viral Cooking

The first Viral recipe of 2020 was non other than the famous Dalgona Coffee. I was 'lovingly' asked by my wife repeatedly to try this recipe. After being constantly 'asked' by my wife, I realised one thing. It's not going to stop until I make it and 🎶I said to myself🎶....🎶What a wonderful coffee🎶. 

More recipes to come later on..


And then, the next thing we caught up was exercising from the comfort of the home.
It all started when my boss posted in his Facebook asking if people want to join him to do exercise. I tot why not? It wasn't easy at first...and it didn't get any easier till the end though. I managed to reduce close to 2kgs at that time.  Satisfying.
The one thing that I learnt later part was not to overdo things. Yup, knee pain started and I'm still recovering from it until today. Haish. It's totally my fault though. 
Enjoyed every moment of it as the whole family started exercising daily at home. It was really fun having the four of us doing one common thing.

One fine evening, we were too hungry and decided to order KFC. Mind you this was during the first or second week of MCO. I think I ordered around 7pm. Went around to do other things...and the food didn't arrive after around 40 minutes. Called the support guy and after waiting so long managed to get hold of the support guy.Ding dong here and there and up to 9pm the food is nowhere to be seen. Finally, decided to cancel the order and I had no choice but to drive alone to the nearest KFC. We were to desperate to eat Fried Chicken..hahaha.. And what a sight it was, the road was totally empty. Like it was deserted and I am Will Smith from I am Legend. I was all alone and the road was so dark. No other car to be seen within your eyesight. 

Weirdly, within 15 minutes I already made my purchase and headed back home. My only regret was not doing this earlier. I think the delivery service was overwhelmed at this time as there was simply too many people ordering online and the company could not cope with the demand during the initial period.

That was the most appetizing KFC that we ever had in our life as we sat together in front of the TV and ate together as a family. Previously, we were too busy with our work and only managed to occasionally sit together at the dinner table.  Yeah, we started eating together nowadays.Hmm..never thought I would say this but....errr...Thanks Covid???


Almost at the end of the month of March now and the kids hair was overgrown like orang utan in the jungle. We had no choice but to turn into ad-hoc barbers as all barber shops were ordered to close during MCO.  My wife did a reasonably good job cutting our hairs. It was during this time I decided to grow a beard. It felt like it been ages since I had a beard.







Note : All photos are taken by myself except for Abah's photo which was taken from Mr Google seach.

Sunday, January 24, 2021

Cucoq Ikan Bilis - Crispy and Spicy




Resepi nie saya post pertengahan tahun lepas kat FB Suami Masak Apa Hari Ini? 
Kali ini teringin nak share kat seluruh rakyat di dunia nie yang fasih Bahasa Melayu plak.

Cucoq nie size dia taklah bulat but sangatlah sedap dan bermutu tinggi.

Bak kata pepatah Dunhill....Gaya, Mutu, Keunggulan.

Ramuan
Tepung Gandum dari Pasaraya Metro Kajang
(2 cawan)
Ikan Bilis dari Pasar Besar Kajang
Bawang Merah dari Pasar Segar depan rumah
Cili Kering dari M.A.P Store Kajang
Garam entah beli dari mana
Minyak Kelapa Sawit (support Malaysia brand)

Step 1 : 1 bijik Bawang merah dan 3 tangkai cili kering potong kecik kecik.

Step 2 : Goreng ikan bilis tu dulu for extra crispyness. Simpan tepi.

Step 3 : Campoq semua ramuan di atas (kecuali minyak ye) dengan air dari paip atau Coway or Cuckoo dan goreng pakai minyak.

Buat untuk breakfast atau minum petang pun ok...pekena sekali dengan teh masala...memang kaw...

Sekian, terima kasih.

Briyani Ayam Resepi Mudah







Versi briyani nie memang simple dan cepat dimasak. Cubalaa kalau tak caya.

Bahan Bahan:

500gm ayam yang dipotong kecik
1/2 cawan yoghurt
1 tsp serbuk Kunyit
1 tbsp Pes Halia
1 tbsp Pes Bawang Putih
1 1/2 tsp serbuk Briyani
1 1/2 tsp serbuk cili
1 bawang merah
1 tomato
2 cili merah
1 Kayu manis
6 bunga cengkih
2 bunga lawang
3 buah pelaga
1 bay leaf
Garam
Sedikit daun pudina

2 cawan Basmathi rice 
3 cawan air.
Minyak sapi #Yashkri


1. Masukkan yogurt, serbuk cili, pes halia dan bawang putih dan satu sudu kecik garam

2. Campurkan sampai sebati

3. Aku terlupa item paling penting...Mintak maaf ye.Tolong masukkan serbuk Briyani dan marinate dalam 30 minit.

4. Nie laa brannd minyak sapi dan serbuk Briyani yang aku pakai.

#Yashkri nie memang sedap...dan dia orang ada bermacam macam lagi minyak macam minyak bijan, kelapa, kacang tanah.memang berkualiti giler.
Kalau nak beli layan FB diaorang : https://m.facebook.com/yashkri/

5. Nampak blur kan...bukannya aku Tak reti ambik gambar...beras tu memang tak nampak..
Rendam beras tu dalam air lebih kurang 30 min.
Kuantiti air Tak penting.

6. Masukkan Kayu manis, bunga cengkih, bunga lawang, buah pelaga dan bay leaf dalam 3 tbsp minyak sapi #Yashkri

7. Masukkan bawang merah dan gaul sampai bawang tu dah jadi soft.

8. Masukkan cili merah dan tomato..masak sampai tomato tu jadi soft giler ye...

9.  Nie dah jadi soft laaa nie...

10. Masukkan ayam yang dah marinate tadi dan kacau.

11. Biarkan dalam 10 minit...ayam tu separuh masak dah cukup. Dalam 5 minit tu tambah 1/4 cawan air dan kacau. Bukan apa..takut kuah tu kering

12. Nie dah separuh masak nie...

13. Masukkan beras dan gaul sampai sebati.

14. Masukkan 3 cawan air dan daun pudina

15. Masukkan 2 tsp garam atau ikut taste korang laa.

16. Kacau bagi kuah tu dah sebati dengan nasik.

17. Biarkan dalam 10-15 minit.

18. Dah masak dan boleh dimakan begitu saja. Takde kari Ayam pun takpe. Sebab briyani nie memang basah sikit.




Nie saya sertakan link Youtube channel kitaorang : 



Kari Ayam Tanpa Santan





Hari nie saya nak share resipe kari ayam tanpa santan plak.
Resipe nie saya modify sikit dari resipe asal dari Youtube Channel kami (ShiniesKitchen - https://youtu.be/cBKGAftWAns). 
Masa buat video ori tu, my wife was around. Kali nie aku sorang je.
So, resipe nie lagi simple dari yang asal. 
Sebabnye, sesetengah bahan tu entah mana wife aku simpan. 
Tapi, kesudahannya...resipe aku nampak lagi sedap plak..heran aku.

Bahan Bahan
Ayam - 1kg
Bawang Merah - 2 biji
Tomato - 1 biji
Ubi Kentang - 2 biji
Pes Halia + Bawang Putih - 2tbsp
Garam

Rempah Ratus 

Kayu Manis - 1 batang
Bunga Lawang - 2 biji
Bunga Cengkih - 6 biji
Buah Pelaga - 3 biji
Cili Kering - 8 biji
Jintan Manis - 1 tsp
Daun Kari - 2 

Serbuk Masala

Serbuk Cili - 3tsp
Serbuk Kunyit - 3tsp
Serbuk Kari Daging - 4tbsp
Serbuk Ketumbar - 3tsp
Garam Masala - 1tsp
Serbuk Jintan - 1/2 tsp
Serbuk Lada Hitam - 1tsp

Cara Penyediaan 
1. Ayam tu tolong marinate selama 10 minit dengan 1 tsp serbuk kunyit dan garam.

2. Daun kari tu ekslusif dari balkoni apartment aku tau. :P

3. Semua serbuk rempah yang kita nak pakai satgi wokay!

4. Panaskan kuali pastu masukkan sedikit minyak masak. Masukkan semua bahan "Rempah Ratus". Kacau selama 2-3 minit.

5. Masukkan bawang merah yang telah dipotong kecik dan gaul.

6. Selepas 3-4 minit, masukkan pes halia+bawang putih dan kacau lagi untuk 3-4 minit.

7. Masukkan tomato yang telah dipotong kecil. Kacau sampai tomato tu jadi lembut.

8. Masukkan ayam dan 1tsp serbuk kunyit. Kacau dalam 5 minit.

9. Masukkan ubi kentang dan cili hijau. Kacau selama 3-4 minit.

10. Masukkan semua bahan serbuk tadi dan 2-3 tsp garam. Gaul sampai sebati. selama 5 minit.

11. Masukkan 5 cawan air dan apa lagi...gaul laa lagi .BRenehkan untuk 15-20 minit. Check garam..kalau tak cukup, tambah lagi la bossku

12. Dah siap untuk dihidang. Silalah menjamu selera dengan keluarga tercinta! Kalau masih single tu, share laaa dengan gelfren ke boyfren ke, jiran sebelah ke...