Smokin' Hot Black Canyon

Why is it that traffic is worst when I am ravenous and on the verge of collapsing from hunger? Today, our destination was AU2 Setiawangsa. The wild wild west ... Black Canyon.

We all decided to try their promotional set meals. Our chosen menu:

• Spicy Stir-fried Salmon in Hot Basil Sauce with Rice (MINE!)

• Stir-fried Rice Noodle with Chicken
  

• Rice with combination of Chicken, Prawns and Chillis

• Rice with Stir-fried Minced chicken and Tofu in Hot Basil Sauce

The Black Canyon turned out to be freezing cold because our table was directly under the air-conditioner vent. We quickly moved to less windy pastures..hehe.




















~One free and one for 20% less with coupon~

















~Sharing is caring~

My Stir-fried Salmon was smoking hot and spicy but I was too hungry to notice. The sauce was quite delicious although I think the dish would have been better suited as a chicken dish . Somehow, the salmon did not seem to absorb the flavours of the sauce. My orange frost did little to take the edge off the heat. I was thankful for the free ice-cream which soothed my burning palate.

















~Pedas!~






















~Free mini Tom Yam~


















~Mine- don't be fooled by it: HOT!~























~Orange frost = Blended sunquick :( ~

















~No wonder it was so HOT!~






















~Aaaaah....~


















~Stir-fried minced chicken & tofu in Hot basil: YUMMY~

















~Combination of chicken, prawns and chillis: Not HOT at all~

















~Stir-fried rice noodles with chicken: A bit too heavy and tasted like a very "egg-y" kuew teow goreng mamak~


The selection of set meals were quite varied and reasonably priced. The food was quite delicious (although a bit hot for people like me). Rating:3.8/5


PS: We stopped off for chocolate and doughnuts on the way back. Just in case of tea-time hunger emergency ;)

~To be eaten ONLY in case of emergency~

Virtual library- High-tech bookworms unite!

~Shows how many book I've read and reviewed~


It's no secret that I'm a bookworm. I am now officially addicted to blogging too. My third hobby would have to be Facebooking. So today, I will combine all 3 by writing about a Facebook application that I use to keep track of my evergrowing library.


It's called Visual Bookshelf. There are many reading/book applications on Facebook but this was the first one I stumbled upon (recommended by a friend) and I was loathe to switch (I'm loyal like that).

~Also shows the book thats in my handbag right now and all other books I've dragged with me across KL~

It also gives me a synopsis of my current book, reviews written by readers all over the world and what my friends thought of the book. Visual Bookshelf also suggests other books of the same genre that might pique my interest.

~I also keep my book wishlist here. The ones I haven't had a chance to read or buy yet.~























Since Visual Bookshelf has a record of all the book reviews that I have penned, it also highlights my favourite books. So that other high-tech bookworms can also enjoy them!

Tag: Get to know your blog

~pic googled~

Remember playing police sentry when you were a kid? I used to love it. Everyone would put their foot in a circle and someone would start counting...

"Police sentry one two jaga, police mati pencuri jaga.. Police sentry one two jaga, pencuri mati polis jaga.."

Then the pandamonium begins. I preferred the game if you could "Chup!" and be immune, either by squatting down or making your hand into a beak (because I never was a fast runner).

In the UK, a version of this game is called TAG. Here, only one person is 'it' and if he manages to catch someone, he has to say "Tag! You're it!".

So for the first time I've been tagged by my latest self-confessed stalker Syigim. She didn't even give me a chance to say "Chup!" (Actually I thought she was referring to another Hidayah since I'm so new on the blogging scene but nope, it really was me).

So here goes nothing!

(Put picture up before proceeding. Done!)


1. Where are you?

I am in my Post graduate room, on a Sunday :(

2. What do you do?

Daydream mostly. Hehe. I am a medical doctor on study leave struggling to finish my Masters in Pharmacology at UKM. When I finish (hopefully by the end of the year) I will become a lecturer at Kuliyyah of Medicine, IIUM. I am also a mother to 3 beautiful children.

3. What is your blog name and why?

The blog is called One Day at a Time. My life is totally hectic right now and basically I survive by doing just that ... taking life one day at a time.

4. When did you start blogging and why?

I started blogging around 3 months ago. I have always loved to write but I never had the time. One day I just decided to stop making excuses and do something that I enjoyed, for a change.

~Click the pic~

5. Give the link when you were the happiest to blog?

I have tried my best to keep this blog as upbeat as possible. It is my sanctuary. No matter how crazy the outside world gets, in my blog, I am happy. But one of the happiest times was here..

~Click the pic~

6. Give the link when you were saddest to blog?

I don't think I have ever openly expressed my sadness in this blog, but sometimes it translates through my writing for the day.

~Click the pic~

7. Give the link when you were angriest to blog?

Can't recall an actual time when I wrote a post in anger. I don't really think it's agood idea to rant and rage online. These were the closest I came to it though, I was miffed because injustices were done but not in 'Incredible Hulk ' mode.

~you know what to do by now right?~

8. Give the link when you were most in love?

There are days when I'm not sure if I believe in love anymore but mostly I am still a diehard romantic who believes in happy endings. However, I strongly believe that cyberspace is not a place to wear your heart on your sleeves. (Wil probably have to run after you click the link but in all honesty, I was very much in love that day).

~not everything is obvious~

9. Give the link of a post that turns out to be very meaningful to you?

One thing about me is, I would never write just for the sake of writing. Each post was written because I felt that they needed to be written, to be read and to be shared. (I'm an idealist at heart, and age doesn't seem to mellow me). If I had to choose:

~usually when I start writing poetry, then you know it matters~

10. Tag some friends to know their answer.

Hopefully, everybody got to know me a little better. Like I told some-one before, I truly do believe that blogging isn't about how many followers you manage to accumulate or how much money you make or how much traffic passes through, your blog should mirror your personality, your soul.

Therefore I would be honoured to tag these people: Keen, Ana, Kak Asmahani, Zakiah

Wet Western in Tanjung Malim

"Actually, ni kawan Facebook abah jer.. tak pernah jumpa, tapi dia sgt rajin berinteraksi dgn abah."

~my Abah

Thus, we found out in the car on the way to Tanjung Malim for dinner, who the people we were about to meet actually were. Dang! My father is a more avid Facebooker than me ..hehe.. I didn't think it was actually possible.

Visibility almost zero..scary


Yousof read the doa "Ya Allah, selamatkanlah kami di sepanjang perjalanan ini

Yesterday, my dad decided that the whole family should have dinner at his Facebook buddy's new Western place at Tanjung Malim. I didn't mind at all, we rarely go anywhere new. Halfway through though, I had my doubts. It was pouring with rain. Visibility was practically zero. We passed 4 accidents (2 overturned cars, one lorry with a blown tyre and a car halfway in a ditch). I was so relieved when we finally made it.

What are we having?

Why do I look surprised?

The restaurant was a sweet little cafe named SKY Java Cafe, very near to UPSI and just after the Masjid Jamek Tanjung Malim. Chef Syamsul (owner/chef) used to be a hotel chef before deciding to venture out on his own, so I had high hopes.

Ummi's young man



Strawberry smootie.. really rich with strawberry icecream and a banana base


Slurp!

The place was cosey and very nicely decorated. We were the only guests (I did mention that it was raining like mad outside). Our menu for the night:

• Chicken Chop Country Style

• Lamb Chop

• Grilled Dory Fillet

• Chicken and Fish Combo Platter (Mine! Hey, rain always makes me hungry)

• Spaghetti Bolognaise

• Strawberry milkshake, Strawberry Smoothy, Iced Cafe Latte, Cafe au lait and Iced Milo

Amazing Iced Milo! Really kaw.. they even blended it

Baaa..baaa black sheep

I loved what they wrote on the chalkboard above the counter. "Your food is made to order. If it not ready in 5 minutes... it will be ready in 10 or 15 minutes. Meanwhile sit back and relax." So, we did!

Dripping strawberry smoothies


Attacking the country style chicken

Grilled Dory ..healthy option

Everything tasted really good. My combo was really nice (although Yousof kidnapped half of my fish), the chicken was really tender and juicy, but although I was served mushroom sauce as per requested, the chicken itself was already marinated with black pepper prior to grilling. (Great for black pepper fans, but nice enough for me to finish it all despite not being a black pepper fan).

Told you I was hungry :)

Summary from all, the lamb was delicious (salad was amazing), the chicken chop was tasty and the grilled Dory was superb. The kid's spaghetti was okay, classic taste so a bit too sour (tomato'ey) for my taste. They loved it though.

Lessons from Tok Wan

Trying her best

Much easier :)

All in all a good dinner, so if anybody else has a Facebook friend in Tanjung Malim, maybe you can meet him here..hehe

Hamzah with the Chef in the background

One year later.. we ate

"Tak pernah dibuat orang, ngaji tahun lepas, majlis khatam Quran tahun ni"
~Tok imam jemputan

Last Ramadhan

The epitome of procrastination, that's what it was. Personally, I don't think it's such a big deal. In the end what was important was that we spent our days productively.

A good way to spend time

Checking each other

Confused? Well, last Ramadhan, the UKM wondergirls spent their lunchtime with some Tadarrus Al-Quran. Alhamdulillah, we managed to finish it over the course of the month. But until last Friday, we never had the chance to hold the Majlis Khatam Quran (which is not necessary, but may be done).

Always better to read with the tafsir (unless you know Arabic)

So finally, since Friday was a public holiday, we arranged to have it that afternoon. Aida 'little' brother Azmil stepped up to lead us.

Tokoh Imam Muda?

So sweet

Aida's fabolous mother also prepared a feast for us. The menu (as decided by us):

• Nasi Tomato

• Ayam Masak Merah

• Acar timun and acar buah

• Bandung soda

We want food!

Feels like Raya? Hehe

Imagine, I finished 2 plates!


Peace!

Aida's mother is a caterer so needless to say the food was scrumptious. Since it was also a farewell party for Hidayah (a.k.a Cik Ton), we also decided to buy a cake.

Ta daa! Cake Abang Korea (coz the young baker studied in Korea for 5 years)

I have to write about the cake. We bought it from a cute bakery near Aida's house (next to the Bandar Tun Razak LRT station). It's so cheap (RM 20 for an 8" plate sized cake), and is absolutely heavenly. That day we bought, their orange delight. We've tried orange, kiwi, strawberry, blueberry and mango and they were all good! But my favourite is still orange. The cake is so light and the cream isn't heavy at all, and the fruit falvoured layers are simply delectable.

Yummiest orange cake ever

So after totally indulging myself with 2 helpings of nasi tomato and one slice of cake, I had to rush back home. I had a dinner date in Tanjung Malim to keep ;)

Zil looking lovely with Cik Hidayah (also lovely..hehe)

Was aiming for "Perempuan Melayu Terakhir pose"- more like "Tahyat akhir pose" :)