Syawal 2020

Posted in Everyday Life, Good Things by Minci 先生

Our usual arrangement for Syawal is to spend the morning at my inlaws house, and then we drive to Selangor where my parents live. We would stay there overnight or for a few days depending on our work schedule. Later, on Day 3 or Day 4 of Syawal, we will have family day in Johor. Looks like this year, Covid-19 decided to change everybody’s plan.

As of now, my Syawal is spent by staying put in our homes and a brief ‘Hi’ at my in laws home. Visits are kept short with less than 20 people at one time. No takbir from house to house, no Eid open houses or jamuan later on. It is hoped that everybody could maintain social distances and practice good hygiene.

Our theme for this year is Dusty Pink. I bought my outfit and Ninie’s via an online store. It thankfully arrive before raya. The price was reasonable and the cutting was good. Meaning I could use it as ‘baju contoh’ for my clothes next year .

On the 2nd day, Mr Husband wanted to host dinner at our crib.The recipe for his marinated beef turned out to be a disaster. Bulgogi nadai.. You could tell that no one liked the beef. LOL. I guess I need to modify the beef afterwards. I stored them in the freezer with slices of pear with the hope that it will work its enzyme magic. I passed some Laksa Sarawak to my neighbour, Tan and his family. I think he will be one of my consistent receivers of food in the future.

How was your raya? Tell me about it.

7May2020

Ramadhan 2020 in the midst of Covid-19

Posted in Everyday Life, Food and Drinks, Reviews by Minci 先生

Muslims are unable to perform congregational prayers especially Terawih in this holy month. I am sure other religious practices such as Sunday Mass are equally prohibited for the time being. As for myself, I have been performing Terawih ever since I became a mother – so this is a norm for me. But lately, I banyak tersasar. The mental drain and physical lethargy gets overwhelming towards the evening. I tend to sleep early at night.

There is no Ramadhan bazaar. There are only online options which is a bit limited and risky as in you need to find a reliable seller that sells tasty food as opposed to newbies who just wants to test the water. I miss legit taufu fa and apam balik crispy. I miss ayam percik, nasi kerabu, laksam and nasi dagang. I can’t seem to find sellers that sell less spicy popia sira, kuih bongkol (at least that is how Sarawakians spell it) and delish air kathira.

I ordered online food for Iftar yesterday since I was Working From Home (WFH) from Jaykam Katering Enterprise. I couldn’t really order online on days I work because the runner/rider’s timing might not coincide with mine. I do not want to trouble them in case I don’t reach home on time. Unless they can deliver to the clinic before 5PM. I tried the menu from this seller because I was craving for asam pedas tetel and paru goreng. Ee wanted Laksa Penang as well. On top of that, I tried their Jus Delima (pomegranate juice). The food was very spicy for my Sarawakian taste buds. Even my Malaccan husband had difficulty to tolerate it because he has a low threshold too. I bought other dishes too and I spent RM44 from this seller alone including runner service fee.

I also bought desserts from another vendor but since the food is disappointing, it is best not to leave a review.

My firstborn Ee has managed to fast for one whole day which is an achievement. It has been a few years of ‘half-day’ that we think, as parents it is time to take it up a notch. Thankfully, due to COVID-19 he does not have to endure school in Ramadhan as it is closed. The hot weather and tight schedule might put him off. Yes, it may defeat the purpose of fasting but I’d like my kid to observe fasting as something fun and memorable as a child. Not of pain and punishing.

As for the little one, she has more vocabulary than ever and often copycat her brothers words. She will commence her daycare session probably this Friday with necessary measures, of course. I hope she will be OK.

17Apr2019

Minci travels Macao 2019. Family friendly places of interest

Posted in Everyday Life, Good Things, Reviews, Travel by Minci 先生

We tried sightseeing to as many places as we could in Macao. Indeed, this place is fairly easy to navigate especially with its reliable cab services. Here are some of the places we went to.

Senado Square → Ruins of St Pauls Cathedral → Monte forte

Senado Square is very pretty at night. It is a public place (pedestrian-zoned) with tourists shops in between the historically designed buildings. We found the Turkish ice cream place around the corners and came to discover that the owner used to sell the kebab we were looking for based on what we read from blogs. Only, he does not sell them anymore.

The Ruins of St Pauls had whats left was this stone facade with 68 steps leading up to it. The structure has carvings of Jesuit images that has an oriental theme to it which may be of interest to some visitors.

Fortaleza do Monte is the historical military centre in Macao. It was initially built to keep of pirates but was later taken over by the Portugese. Ee was very excited to see the cannons and boy it was one heck of a climb to the top of the fort. I perspired like crazy.

Matteo Ricci : The European scholar who mastered the Chinese script and Classical Chinese

Fishermans Wharf

It’s like a theme park but maybe we picked the wrong time of the day to go there. Too early in the day? It has hotels, casinos, many interesting East meets West architecture and restaurants. Perhaps a visit to this place later at night would be more colourful as it was a bit too quiet during the day. Furthermore, we didn’t really have an idea of what to do there apart from taking pictures and enjoying the sea-nery.

Macao Science Center

This place reminded me of Petrosains Kuala Lumpur. However, because some of the science stuff uses chinese as its communication language – we find it quite difficult to enjoy certain things. Ee got bored. Even then, my favourite section was the Biomimicry area. It showcases how modern human technology draws inspirations of its innovations from animal kingdom.

For instance, the Shinkansen 500 series in Japan is designed in the shape of the kingfisher’s beak, which not only eliminates the issue of noise but also enhances the trains fuel efficiency. This change is made after Eiji Nakatsu, an engineer with JR West discovered that this bird are able to dive into water without making noise or splashing water because of Nature’s design.

You could also use your AirAsia boarding pass priviledge here for a discount. Anyhow, for us the entrance fee is cheaper using their bundle package rather than our pass.

Kun Lam Ecumenical Centre

Kun Lam is The Goddess of Mercy and here she stands 20ft tall emblemed in a special bronze. underneath her feet is a lotus shaped dome which houses information regarding Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

The Chinese Buddhist Goddess of Mercy is widely worshipped for her readiness to rescue those in need, and her responsiveness to peoples’ wishes.

Source : macaucloser

Macao Tower

I like that this tower is full of life with all the adrenaline rush activities. They have Bungee Jumping, SkyJump, Sky Walk and Tower Climb. Although I did not try them myself, it was still fun to watch. The 360 degrees view was majestic and great. We bought popcorn and just sat there enjoying Macao.

To sum up my experience..

…Macao is to us, a different option unlike the Krabi that we went to for like almost 3 years in a row. We look forward to coming back to Macao especially when most of the constructions have been completed. I really hope that there will be more dining out options for Muslim travelers too.

As a souvenir, we bought the usual tourist stuff – fridge magnets and “I Love Macao’ TShirts.

Perhaps next time, we would interpret the weather forecast better for half of our luggage were almost winter wear jackets when in fact Macao this time around (March/April) – is like suhu bilik ekon. Macam tu la…

I hope this gives some insights into how you could enjoy Macao as a muslim traveler without the gambling and the booze. HA HA HA HA.

19Dec2018

A long day today, mothering

Posted in Everyday Life, Mama Minci by Minci 先生

My little princess was be taken ill today. It started with a bit of flu and mild cough for a few days but in the early hours of the morning, her body temperature had risen and she was irritable. Like really irritable.

Mr Husband could not take leave from his responsibilities (macamlah aku tkde) and so I had to thicken my skin and request for an emergency leave from my supervisor. Thankfully it was granted. Or I’d be damned.

Ninie was being very clingy the whole day. She wanted a hug all the time – which was so cute by the way. Awkward at times. Technically I had an audience when I showered, pee-ed and poo-ed. I made her nasi aruk telur for lunch and baby bolognese pasta for dinner. My own lunch was 2 slices of bramble jelly toast. She had her paracetamol and she was in her diapers only for the whole day. Once she got much better, she can play independently for 30 secs. Then, its looking for mummy again. I learnt that she loves the Hi-5 group today as she follows their gestures , something like dancing, wiggling her little tush.

Towards the end of the day, she seemed happier. I brought her outside of the house to visit our little garden. Alhamdulilah, our jambu air tree has bore its fruits. Now we are waiting for the mango to come out.

Caring for a sick child is exhausting. Especially when your sleep pattern is disrupted. I hope I can function tomorrow. InsyaAllah.

6Nov2018

Ninie is 1

Posted in Everyday Life, Mama Minci, Ponderings by Minci 先生

When I carried her in my womb, I had an inkling that this could be a girl but it wasn’t really confirmed until I finally saw her during my Caesarean section. She is turning 1 years old today. Some say she is a spitting image of my mom. To me, she is a mixture of my face and my husband’s.

Haneem meaning penuh kasih sayang

Raising a girl is more than just putting pretty clothes on her. It is a lot of hard work from a moms perspective. I am not saying raising a boy is easy, it’s just that the ‘syllabus’ is different. LOL. If I could pre-programme Ninie’s virtues – my top 3 would be Kind, Generous and Intelligent.

Kind so she would not say or do things that could harm someone elses feelings or well being. That she would choose her words carefully and react accordingly. So she would always be pleasing to Allah, to us and those who love her.

Generous so she can share if she has the means to do so. To be thoughtful of other peoples plight. And in order to give more, she would strive to have enough in the first place. And work hard for it. Which is closely linked to my final trait.

Intelligent. A young lady with a sharp mind can never go wrong. With that brain of hers, InsyaAllah she is going to use it for the benefit of her family, the ummah and humanity as a whole.

But these virtues do not just come by on its own. It will depend on the whole village especially the parents to lay down those bricks to shape out what type of person their children will be. A daughter should have the best of what her parents can provide and this puts me in a big, big shoe. If you read the news nowadays or just scroll down the newsfeed on Facebook, there is a lot of crimes, misdemeanour, liberalism and hatred in the current society that one cannot help feeling worried for their family members. Me too, included.

Which is why it is important to include ALllah in your daily life, your decision making etc. For it is He that will listen to you and guide you through life. We can never know the future but I pray that all will be well biiznillah.I can already imagine the hurdles that Ninie will be going through as a young girl, a teenager and later a young adult. I have had uncertainties as whether I could be the best role model for her.

Reflecting on the latter, perhaps that is why Allah bestowed upon me a daughter. We all have our own pathways in getting closer to Allah. Some through wealth, others a good career, several through building a family, a few through Death or predicaments in everyday life. Mine is through Haneem (ninie). Knowing me, who wants to be the best version of myself to both Hazeeq and Haneem – InsyaAllah, I would take steps to improve myself as not only a mum, but a muslimah as a whole.

I want them to see me who uses the talent/skills Allah give me towards doing something useful. I want them to know that I care about not only our own family but other people who needs help as well. I want them to see that I use good words in my conversations and that I always smile the company of people, even amongst those I don’t really like. I want them to learn how to manage their emotions, their time and monetary resources by example. In short, I want them to be proud of me as a mum.

That they would confide in me when they encounter problems. They would shower me with endless hugs and kisses. That they know I am not just a mom, but I am also a doctor who knows how to have a good time. ha ha. Above all, I want them to pray for my well being always as evidence that they sayang me a lotttttt.

Happy birthday Ninie. I hope you grow up to be a beautiful lady loved by Allah and his ummah. InsyaAllah.

Minci Moss

A written monologue

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