.Celebrating Eid At Home.

Photos were taken from yesterday's open house. According to my mom, it's now our second open house that we've hosted. It's been a LONG time since I've actually celebrated Eid Mubarak full-on... and at home! So I was looking forward to seeing how it turned out... God knows how long it's been since the whole family have gotten together to celebrate this special day for Muslims.

.the first time in years that all the kids are back for Eid.

Having just arrived the night before, you can imagine how knackered I was yesterday when I helped my family host our second open-house invitation where my parents and siblings had invited some office colleagues and friends to the house!

.the first start of the event begun with a prayer for blessing by one of the officers.

.as one of my nephews excited tells a tale to his grandad, my uncle.

It wasn't as hectic and crazy as I expected it to be, so therefore I was pleasantly surprised. However that doesn't mean that I wasn't tired. As soon as the clock struck 10pm, I was already on the brink of KO-ness.

.friendly visitors from one of the offices - Sorry, it's not in Media Permata!.

.First Class Ladies.

.queue-ing up for the buffet table.

BUT...what I love best about Eid Mubarak Celebrations is that it's always an opportunity to see and catch up with some good old family and friends that I rarely get the chance to meet on the normal basis.

.Ms T with her favourite aunty & uncle.

.Happy Family.

.say cheese: i loved how the lady on the side pivoted my aunt to pose for the cam!.

Scenes from Eid Celebrations at home. Tons of good food, smiles, laughters and more good food! To those in Melbourne: you don't know what you're missing!! He he

.One of the food on menu: Chicken Briyani with Dhal.

.Day of Flight II.

I'm flew back home to join Eid Celebrations with my family. I'm looking forward to see how this ends... well, starts. It's been years since the whole family has come together for Eid Celebrations. Good news awaits.

Some how this photo makes me think of those vintage movie scenes of fighter planes. I shot this after the plane took off and started ascending up to the heavens. It was a pleasant flight.

And guess who was beside me throughout the journey?? Yup, another Melbruneian student who was going back home for a 1-month (1-MONTH??!) holiday. Lucky guy, I wish I was in his position at the moment. Exam-free, stress-free and full mode for celebrations.

.Who would've thought?.

Taken during my 6-hour transit waiting period in Changi Airport. As I shot this, a question boggled my mind: Who would've thought at one of the busiest airports in the world, you would find it so quiet and vacant?

I also came across this guy who happened to be enjoying the quietness. It looks as though he was getting some damn good ZZzzz in lala-land. But of all things I saw, I was so happy when I came across this sign.



Some say best things usually come free - in this case, I guess it's true! :)

.Fingers and Arms.

Took this photo sometime yesterday morning as one of the boys were sleeping. This is a picture of his arm and if you look close enough, maybe you can catch the faint drawings of a wing on his arm - I'm proud to say that was my work.

For some reason, I love this photo. It's so dramatic, especially since it's black and white plus the imagery is enhanced by the faint appearance of the wings before his wrists. They say pictures tell a thousand stories - what do you think this says?

.A Day of Flight.

By the time this blog has been published, I would have arrived safety to Singapore - I have automatically set it to be published that way. Why?
Simply because I didn't want to and wasn't ready to say bye to you guys.
(I know what you're thinking: EMO JUA! hahaha)

Anyway: I'm probably wandering aimlessly somewhere around the Singapore Airport terminals right about now, without having any clue as to how I'm going to kill 6 hours before I head home. Or maybe I'll be passed out on one of those chairs snoring my ass off in the terminal with people staring at me weirdly! Hehehe

I'll be missing you guys once I'm home (and bored... haha) and I'm sure I'll be missing out on A LOT of fun stuff you guys are up to. Whatever it is: party it up hard and have a blast... sort of like me last night (although I have to say, I paid dearly for it that next morning!)

As of today, I have accomplished my goals: to bite you all of you. :)


To Hafez & Peh:

For being my champions of the day- thank so much for taking care of me and making sure I was ok! Its been a while since I've had my head over the toilet bowl like that but you're company beside me in times like that is.... yeah... well... not nice but much appreciated! ^_^
You guys were awesome!

To Nafee:

It's too bad we missed out on the Nidji concert. I know we definitely would've loved partying it up with you -regardless of what the band is! So did you see me on stage? Hahaha.... Here's your special message: I will miss nyaya-ing you... EEEEeeehhhh!! Hahaha. Thanks for coming over and chilling with me with the guys before I flew off - it was good times!

Oh yeah... and you're welcome: for using Tee's bed. Nda ku sadar you went up to sleep there! I only realised it after I went upstairs and saw a pair of feet sticking out the end of the bed!

To Shuk:

For you shuk, this is your special message: thanks for helping me puke by showing me your face! Hahaha. Damn... I feel good now. I'm like really hyper at the moment - I could be bouncing off the walls! But seriously, thanks for joining us that night dude.
Hope your arm is doing better today after that nasty fall (after the first jump lagi tu!! Hahaha CLASSIC!)

To Azim:

Hey sport. Can I draw on your arms again? This next time I'm plan on going crazy with the pen! Sampai hajat ku last night sudah when you became a LEGEND and left your trademark on Degraves Street! Maybe that's the first one in many to come?? Hahahaha... bah, prepare your arm ah! You're officially my walking drawing paper! :)

Ok, now that's out of my chest. Thanks guys for being such great loser friends to me. Hehe I kid i kid. Selamat Hari Raya - maaf zahir dan batin! If I have done any wrongdoings to you guys, I hope that you find it in your heart to forgive me for them. However, if you choose not to do that...
meh, screw you! Hahaha I kid I kid, I joke I joke.

This is going to sound gay: I love you guys :) - that's why I bite you!

.Food from Eid Mubarak Celebration.

One of the best things about Eid Mubarak Celebrations: Glorious food.
Certainly the day that all food-lovers looked forward to! he he


.Baked Herbed Butter-Garlic Prawns.


.From: Beef Satay with Ketupat Rice and Buttermilk Chicken.

.Dessert from left: Tapak Kuda (Chocolate Horseshoe) with Cake Batik and
Sugar Cornflakes with Egg Tarts.

.Stepping Back.

This happened a while back - can't really recall the date but I remember it was sometime when the Weather was a little brighter, nicer and warmer in Melbourne (something that was a rare occasion nowadays). By pure coincidence, all the ladies weren't fasting due to personal reasons so we opted to head out to the beach and enjoy the sun! :)

Ladies waiting for the Tram to the beach: Misses T, P and A

It was a lovely day: the sun was nice and warm although the weather was spoilt a bit - upon our arrival on the beach, the wind picked up and it was cold. We went walking about the beach from one end to another before we were approached by a stranger who asked if she could take a photo with us... yeah, i know: weird, right? Turns out.. after taking a shot with us, she was approaching everyone else on the beach to do the same thing... it's funny how tourists are sometimes! He he..

.Ms A. enjoying the sun by the vegetarian cafe.

After concluding that the wind was too cold to allow us to enjoy our relaxing session facing the beach, we headed to try out this Vegetarian Cafe located by a balcony.... Discovery of the Week: Not all Vegetarian dishes are yucky. We ordered some tid-bits and coffee for some munchies and drinks. Good stuff.

.Yummy Vegetarian Dishes: (Top) Potato Chips & Gyoza, (Below) Spring Rolls & Pesto Riceballs.

Later that evening, there was a quick catch-up session with some mates at Minang Restaurant - unfortunately as we arrived late, I didn't have much time to take photos of the whole lot as I launched into having dinner with the lads outside in the cold weather.

However, I did manage to catch some photos after the dinner session when we went out for a quick coffee at MZ to spoil the new birthday boy with a "lap dance" from a belly dancer. Unfortunately we didn't get to do it as the birthday boy had to call it an early night and left... plus the belly dancer was too interested in keeping the patrons downstairs happy that she forgot to come upstairs :( Ah well, nonetheless it was good fun. :)

.Coffee at MZ: (Top) Mr.Korea and Ms P. (Bottom) Ms T & Ms. A.

Last but not least: I know it's a few days late but I just want to take this opportunity to wish
Mr. Silhouette a Happy Birthday!

.Birthday boy: Mr. Silhouette.

.2009 Sungkai Coburg.

It's a Sunday evening, precisely 30 mins left before dinner awaits as the day slowly glooms darker and the soft cold breeze starts kicking in. I've had 8 hours of sleep but I'm still feeling knackered - tried to get some shut eye but sadly that didn't work because the TV became too interesting.. haha...

Pictures from last night's dinner

Another dinner on another Saturday night hosted by another Bruneian family who was generous and kind enough to invite us to their loving home to join them for the break of fast (unfortunately this time I didn't have time to get a photo shoot of the hosting family). Dinner last night took place in Coburg, a nice big home situated 20mins from the city by train in the suburbs of Melbourne.

Some of the ladies during dinner

beautiful! A nice big suburb house with white high ceilings, spacious layout, big kitchen and best of all the patio - where we spent most of the night hanging out with friends on the kid's swing and the steps besides the BBQ station. It was a nice night to be hanging outside to enjoy the weather as it was neither a cold nor hot. Furthermore the evening cool breeze made it more enjoyable to sit and appreciate company.

Other Bruneian Students studying in Melbourne

As with the previous other dinners, there were lots of people and tons more food to be found: the main course meals were catered by a local Melbourne restaurant, Lazzat, and there were also a few things brought by some guests, mostly the desserts. The family also hosted a late night supper/sahur eating session where they jump started the bbq grill and proceeded to cook some of the most delicious lamb that I've tasted. Remembering the sweet, aromatic smell filling the air last night is starting to get me hungry again... hahaha

Ms. T & A enjoying the patio with Mr Awesome

The group last night also took the opporunity to organise a surprise advanced birthday wish to Mr.ArmyBand as well with a lovely cake from Brunetti. Sadly, I didn't get to try out most of the dessert as I found myself more focused towards taking photos and somehow forgot to try out some of the food on offer...ah well, there's always next time.

Mr ArmyBand & his wife with his surprise birthday cake

Officially as of today, it's plus/minus 7 days left of the Ramadan season and soon enough, we will be celebrating the much awaited and anticipated Eid Celebrations - something I'm looking forward to as I will be flying back home to celebrate it with my family! Just the thought of it is making me giddy with excitement!

For more photos: 2009 Coburg Sungkai

.2009 Flinders Sungkai.

Scenes from Thursday’s night dinner.

Thursday night was our turn to host a small sungkai gathering with some good friends. As much as we wanted to throw a big gathering, unfortunately our place wasn't big enough to fit 20+ people :( It wasn’t a big crowd (I think T kinda expected more people to join us but sadly some of them didn’t make it) so in the end, we ended up with a LOT of food and drinks. Meh, it’s ok I suppose – it doesn’t bother me. At least consider the bright side: as a house, we don’t have to worry about what to cook or drink for the next few days! He he.

Dinner was a LOT: T baked us some good ole’ lasagna to indulge the garfields inside each one of us, whilst Deuce toasted the lovely garlic breads in the oven (after which we sprinkled cheese inside to melt into the breads), iYay cooked us some lovely hot mushroom soup to soothe the soul whilst P brought some homebaked mars bars goodies. Fearing it wasn’t enough (for I was SURE, there were a lot of people coming) I popped over to Coles to buy some ice-lollies for the whole lot. Mr.Awesome was coming over with a bucket of KFC. A LOT of food , right?

Number of estimated guests: 10
Number of actual guests: 8

T in the process of preparing the Lasagna

Now a difference of two less doesn’t appear to be such a big thing, however take note that the two missing guests were those with TALENTED NEVER-ENDING skills called eating and as for their remaining 2 friends who did show up: they were simply too shy to ask for more seconds. So yeah, we were left with TONS of food… it was a good thing Mr. Awesome showed up and didn’t buy the KFC (although he was bickering about it for a good while after, lol)

As we break fast

I’m quite pleased with myself in that I did manage to refrain myself from over indulging and stuffing my face with these heavenly-bad-for-your-hips goodies to the point where my stomach stretched. For dinner, I paced myself and ate enough… however I can’t really say the same thing about dessert– lol P, I SO blame you for that! Towards the end of the night, I was like an energizer bunny driven by a rush of sugar in my system (I refuse to provide anymore details on this matter… lol so fast forward to post-dessert)

Post dessert time: By this time everyone was feeling the drone of sleepiness from having a rich dinner. Whilst each person plopped themselves onto the couches, barely covered by blankets and comfortably watching Top Gear episodes on TV, I decided to really spend quality time with my new baby, who came to grace his presence in my life earlier that day at noon! Boy, was I one happy girl :) (I shall post more about this new baby later).

For more photos: 2009 Flinders Sungkai

.Late Night Thinking Cap.

Dear GOD! It’s Friday night – I can’t believe it! Well to be frankly honest: it’s actually Saturday morning right now (3:30am to be more precise!) I just arrived home after having Sahur with some Bruneian friends in Chillipadi.Had a lovely light dish: a simple roti chanai with beef rendang/curry on the side. A tad bit spicy but nonetheless good on the palate, accompanied by Teh Tarik (literally translated as Pulled Tea: a somewhat sweet frothy milk tea that is famously renowned in South East Asia for being repeatedly poured from one cup to another in high heights to achieve thick froths. More info on Teh Tarik). These two things will serve to fuel me for the next 12 hours before Saturday’s sunset.

Fasting month is nearly coming to an end in 2 weeks time and I am eagerly looking forward to returning home to celebrate the Eid festival with my family, plus minus a few family bickering and friend dramas (I’m quite sure it’s bound to happen!).As the Melbourne weather becomes noticeably warmer, I took the rare opportunity to sit back and reflect on myself and my surrounds: With fasting month acknowledged as the time to deeply reflect on one’s self and exercise our moral principles such as patience, forgiveness and acceptance. I can’t help but notice the one thing we’ve forgotten to observe: the kind act of humbleness without indulgence.

If more than anything, in this fasting month, we eat more in one sitting than we do in the usual three (two in my case as we NEVER eat breakfast). As it is fasting month, options such as to eat out, cook a really filling dinner or celebrate the break of fast with friends become the fastest, easiest and more popular options compared to the creation of a simple light dinner dish at home.

It became apparent to me in the last two days where we for the break of fast, have had filling dinner both in and OUT of the house. On Thursday night, my housemates and I hosted a dinner get together with some friends where we had lasagna, hot mushroom soup, garlic bread, puspa bandung and much more! Tonight (or rather last night) we went out for dinner at the popular Italian joint in Camberwell, named Sophia’s. Yes… I expect that everyone’s waistline will be bulging quite soon.

However, that being said: who am I to judge, right? I figure it’s really none of my business as each person is to their own as I understand that in the end, the decision to eat more is one of personal level and therefore ought not be judged by other people. Just as much as someone doesn’t have a right to judge me in affairs pertaining to myself being, I am fully aware that I ought to give other people the same respect – and I do. I respect that: Don’t judge people unless they give you a direct reason to do so.

Anyhow, enough of my mumbling bumblings.
I shall post up scenes from Thursday’s dinner soon.

.I hate Sundays.

Ladies LOVE to pose :)

Omg... I really hate Sundays, especially after two nights of craziness that involves good friends, good music, good food and the feeling of being young again (hahaha, no! I am NOT old). One day is NOT enough for recuperation.... !! Which is why I love Fridays and Saturdays: fridays being the start of a lovely weekend and Saturday as I know the next day I'm not required to go to work/school! Hahaha....

Friday night was a blast and I have to say it has been a while since I've done that, mostly because I haven't had the time and the opportunity. Looking forward to doing that again! I was introduced to a couple of.. actually TONS more new people (Cat, Danny, Vandy and more) who were just simply awesome - or as one of them would like to say: "i leak of awesomeness!!" These guys were simply off the wall! As soon as they stepped into the apartment, they were pretty much everywhere. One minute they're lying tummy flat on the floor, another minute one is sitting quietly on the edge of the sofa whilst the other is on the floor, then the next minute, they're up again and all over the place... (note to self: must child-proof apartment and pad the walls). As we were leaving, they (Cat and Danny) started running up and down the hallway playing SWAT team.

Time flew so fast that night but it doesn't mean that I didn't have fun. We were joined in by a few other friends as the night went on with B10 and TB, also not forgetting the usual gang. The next morning, after less than 4 hours of recuperation sleep I was up and away baking 2 batches of white chocolate brownies right after we finished our house inspection for potential buyers and investors. No sooner than that, I found myself busy getting ready before hopping onto a train to go to Frankston to join a few good friends for the break of fast in Frankston.

Last night's dinner was an invitation made by Nik and his family, where they also held a brief prayer session to bless the occasion. Last night coincidentally it was also his wife's birthday. So the gang snuck in a birthday cake in time to surprise her as well. She was so surprised and overjoyed that she teared up a bit (awwww...)

Happy Birthday Ka Nong

Top: Nick & his wife, the Birthday Gal
Bottom: Birthday Cake & Perth's renowned Apple Streudel

Dinner was great! It has been such a long time since I've had actual Bruneian food (I usually don't eat these kinds of food as I find it too rich sometimes but last night I was willing to make an exception). There was SO MUCH food around! Among the few: beef rendang, chicken curry, hati buyah, squid in kicap, shrimp, pandan chicken and plenty more!

Top: Time to eat
Bottom: Some of the Frankston/City Ladies

I also got to try Perth's renowned Apple Streudel (which Shm was nice enough to buy and bring back from his brief holiday in Perth last week). It was not bad: basically it was sort of a like cold pastry sandwich with sweetened custard and slices of apple in the middle. It was definitely a full-house and I also got to know a few new Bruneian faces in frankston as well as those living in other areas in Melbourne. Awesome weekend! Thank you guys for the invite!

For more Photos: 2009 Frankston Sungkai