Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Thank God for our external food suppliers...

I just came back from Restoran Nasi Kandar S***p in SD with the kids. It has been our routine - every Wednesday night after the kids piano lesson in Section 1* PJ, we would all have dinner there - minus Ayah (who has his clinics on Wednesday evenings), minus Daryati (coz' malas nak balik rumah dulu to fetch her, etc - but we would normally tapau her something).

We would normally choose to sit at this particular table at the back of the restaurant. Hilman calls it "Our Table", and this one skinny 40ish year old waiter would be the one who ALWAYS takes our order (even though there are about 6-7 waiters there). So much so, most of the time he would just ask us, "Biasa punya order kaa?"

Our "Biasa" would be -

Hanna - Kuey Teow Latna (No Veges, No Chillies) + Iced Milo

Hilman - Kuey Teow Latna (No Veges, No Chillies) + Milo 'suam' (since he cannot take iced milo now because of his asthma)

Hasya - Mee (or Maggi) Goreng (No Veges, No Chillies) + Iced Lemon Tea (sometimes 'suam')

Myself - Either Mee Hoon Tom Yam OR Nan with Chicken Tandoori + Iced Lemon Tea (No Sugar)

If Ayah finishes his clinics early, he would join us, and his "biasa" would be - Nasi Goreng Kambing (or just Roti Telur IF he has already had very late lunch at the hospital, i.e at 4-5p.m) + Apple Juice (No Sugar)

By 9:15pm, I would have paid for the food, and by 9:20pm all of us would have reached home and just veg out in the living room - kenyang macam ular sawa...

And this is not the only routine for us.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays we would all have dinner at Mak's house in PJ as Hasya and Hilman have their Mengaji there, and only finish at 9:30pm. Hanna also has her tuition in Section 1*, and she only finishes at 10:00pm. What we normally do - we would all go back to SD in one car, and the next morning, after sending Hanna to school, Ayah would send me and the younger ones to Mak's house again as my car would be left there overnight. Or sometimes, Hasya and Hilman would just sleep at their Wan's on their mengaji nights.

I only cook on Monday and Friday nights. Itu pun, most of the times, on Fridays, the kids and I would normally have dinner at One-U after a visit to MPH. Ayah also has clinics on Friday evenings and most of the times he would have his dinner at the hospital. And if Ayah doesn't eat at home, I don't have any mood to cook maaa...

I don't cook/prepare breakfast. During the week that would be Daryati's department. During weekends - our breakfast supplier would again be Restoran Nasi Kandar S***p.

And I don't normally do weekend lunches or dinners. We would normally eat out, or eat at my parents' in KD, or eat at my sis Lala's place in Keramat.


So, in actual fact - I only do real cooking on Monday nights!


Hmmmm...What can I say, except - I thank God for Restoran Nasi Kandar S***p. I thank God for my MIL. I thank God for my parents. I thank God for my sister. I thank God for Daryati. And I thank God for anak-anak dan suami yang tak cerewet makan :)

And I thank God because even with all those frequent external food supplies, I still can come up with various MEAN dishes when I decide to cook once in a blue moon.

Mahal tu... ;)

17 comments:

Kmar said...

Shana,

How I wish I could be like you... once a week do the real cooking!!! I am not good at cooking. Kslau masak pun, pakai ´campak´ aje apa-apa yang ada.. he.he.he..

I, thank God too that my hubby and my kids tak cerewet makan or else boleh ´pengsan´ laa...

Anyway, I bet you are good at cooking or else tak kan your resipi boleh masuk buku??..he.he.. betul tak??

MAMAMIA said...

Being a SAHM , I kenalah masak kan. Tapi I only do simple dishes. Kalau nak tambah2 lauk, cari lah kat luar. As U said, thank God for external food suppliers.

During weekends, we eat out. The kids take turn pilih nak makan kat mana.

By the way, resipi apa yg masuk buku tu?

aiz said...

kak shana,
call me when the mean dish is served!!!! btw, thank god for RANDAU CAFE (ex class-mate's cafe) that is in our residential area, i get to eat free... like rite now... hehehehe...
shud you cum to my area, i'll take you there...

Helena said...

wow, recipe masuk buku.... ini dah pro ni.... hehe.

We always eat out too, infact last nite, it was so hectic, I tapau the food that hubby cooked (yes, bila tiba mood, my hubby cooks), jemput Pu3 and suruh dia makan dalam kereta.....

Mmmm... I really have to change Wednesdays schedules... tiring and hectic betul....

wanshana said...

Kmar,

You punya resipi campak-campak pun menjadi what??!!

I just love your "Campak-campak Roast Leg of Lamb" you jamu we all kat Barcelona dulu. I tried making it here - tak jadi laaa. Dia kena kambing Sepanyol jugak kot? Hehehe!

Resipi masuk buku?!!! Hahaha! Setakat collection of recipes from alumni Srikandi ajer tu. Everybody who sent in whatever recipes they had then (sedap or not - belakang kira!) got their recipes published what. So, tak le gempaq mana pun :)

Jose memang tak cerewet makan. If not Maggi Ayam would not be one of his favourite Malaysian food, kan?!

Take care!

wanshana said...

Mamamia,

Kalau tak ader external suppliers ni, jenuh jugak, kan?!

As mentioned above - recipe book tu was published by our old girls society. A collection of recipes contributed by former STFians.

I can't even remember which recipes I sent in. I think - Ayam Masak Halia, Mee Rebus, "Shandian" Curry (my own concoction of thick Northern Indian curry, hence "Shan"), and maybe another one recipe - just recipes of dishes I normally cook at home (DULU laaaa...) :)

wanshana said...

Aiz,

Insya Allah. Hope it wont be too long a wait! I was just looking at my planner - bila le gamaknyer the next time/event I should jemput friends and family for a makan-makan? Macam laaaaaammmmmaaaa sangat lagi! But, insya Allah - you'll be invited :)

Randau Cafe? I read about it in stfoga yahoogroup mail. Best kan makan free ni...Benda free memang extra kick! Hahaha! Okay, next time I'm in your area, I'll take up on your offer ;)

Cheers, and take care!

wanshana said...

Helena,

Bestnyer hubby masakkan!

Ayah USED TO BE quite a good cook. One of his specialities WAS Nasi Ayam, ("USED TO BE" and "WAS" are the operative words here. Hahaha!) Semenjak kawin and beranak pinak ni, teramatlah jarang masuk dapur. Once in a blue moon, he would prepare Western breakfast. Kira alright jugak le tu, kan?

Bab makan dalam kereta ni, we normally do masa bulan puasa if Maghrib masuk while the kids are having their extra lessons, etc. Siap bawak kurma, starters, main meal and dessert sometimes! :)

Take care, Helena.

jabishah said...

Wansyana,

You should be grateful on the part that your family members are not fussy eaters. My eldest is very picky about food. Pedas food is a No! No! The ONLY pasta she takes is spaghetti, fettuccine & soba. HB can't take food that consumes cheese & dairy products. Nasib la yang lain mcm mama dia, apa2 pun boleh...

So, what's cooking this Monday night?

Anonymous said...

salam kak shana ...

i sent a comment semalam ... dapat tak?

anyway ... i had the pleasure of tasting your 'once in a blue moon' dishes' and it's fabulosa! hehehe ...

*balik ni we all will email you the menu- lama sangat tak rasa ni!*

Lee said...

Hi Wanshana, wow! Nasi kandar? I dream of that often!
Incidentally, only last Saturday I happened to walk few minutes away beli papers noticed a small restaurant newly opened and looking up at the signboard? Malaysian Restaurant! Owner cum cook? Indian Muslim guy from Penang.
So my wife and I had his roti prata, mee goreng, Penang style. Ahhh, save us one trip back, ha ha.
Just kidding...
You stay easy and have a nice day, Lee.

wanshana said...

Jabishah,

Ada jugak pros and cons if ada a mixture of fussy and non-fussy eaters at home.

It can sometimes make life easier, because you don't have to be "rambang otak" to think of what to cook. You just cook the dishes favoured by the fussy eaters, and the non-fussy eaters will not complain! ;)

Your HB is lactose-intolerant or memang doesn't like the taste of dairy products?

This Monday night? Hmmm...Hasya has been asking for lambchops for the past few days. I might just cook that, insya Allah.

Take care, and have a good weekend!

Anonymous said...

K.Shana,

Mmg bebudak koleq ni terrer-merrer masak kot :) Hubby's a pro compared to me yg mmg tak reti masak. My cooks will be either kedai, bibik, hubby or my mom (whenever she comes to stay with me). Bila my mom dtg, my bibik pun gantung apron gak actually, hehehe.

Anyways, nak self-invite myself gak to your makan gathering can aa? *wink*

Have a great weekend & take care :)

rose 86
p/s tak pegi AGM esok?

wanshana said...

Dear Motley @ Murni,

Salams :)

Sorry - didn't get your comment yesterday. Tapi, tak per...ni dah comment, kan? kan? kan?

No problem - bisa diatur! Next time you guys are back home in Malaysia, we'll have sesi main masak-masak. Dengan syarat you pun kena masak jugak, wokey?! :)

Top on the list - your yummy trifle, followed by your baked salmon. Yang lain-lain tu, nanti kita negotiate...Hehehe!

Have a great weekend - I know you and the kids will be leaving Hilmi down south soon...Brace yourself. Jangan nangis-nangis tau...

Take care!

wanshana said...

Uncle Lee,

Such good news - having a mamak restaurant in your neighbourhood! Hope they also do tosei, puri, naan, tandoori and the lot, too :) Got teh tarik, or not? In Malaysia now - macam-macam ada. Neslo, Horlo, Teh C, etc. All free cholesterol (NOT cholesterol-free! Hahaha!)

At least now you have another option when you and your wife feel like having lunch/dinner out.

Still have to come back to Malaysia - ambience of REAL Mamak Restaurant can only be found here ;)

Have a great weekend, Uncle Lee.

Take care.

wanshana said...

Rose,

Budak koleq pandai masak?! Errr... opened for debate ni! Hahaha!

Bestnyer - so many options for chefs at home! But, it is nice to have different cooks cooking home meals for you every now and then, kan?

Boleh. Insya Allah, kalau jadi makan-makan nanti, dijemput dengan segala hormatnya. :)

Tomorrow's AGM - unfortunately I will not be able to make it. My daughter Hanna ada two ceremonies to attend tomorrow - she'll get an incentive award given by Badan Anak Negeri Sembilan (courtesy of her Wan and her Ayah being an anak Negeri) in the morning, and in the afternoon, her primary school pun ada buat ceremony and some prize/award giving thingy for all former students yang dapat 5As for UPSR.

Have fun at the AGM!

(FYI after Hanna's prize-giving at her old school tu, ada PTA meeting. Patutnya Ayah and I should go lah kan coz' Hasya and Hilman are pupils there. But, we're trying to find excuses to leave before the meeting starts...Hehehe! Bagus punya parents!)

Anonymous said...

K.Shana dear,

Boleh la kita open debate pasal budak koleq pandai masak. Maybe we fix it when your invite for makan2 comes later :)

Actually i pun tak dapat attend AGM last Sat sbb banyak hal. Busy berkepit dgn hubby buat groceries, hantar kids ke sana sini + pick up my mom fm Gombak. Dpt tgk gambar fm Leymah's fp jadi la.

Congrats to Hanna for getting all the awards :) InsyaAllah she (and your Hasya & Hilman) will follow your & hubby's footsteps to become best students *amin*

rose '86