New Spa Experience : Hammam Spa - Bangsar Village II

My dear friend Aandes a.k.a Ms. A and me were very stressed out from our daily routine and when she suggested to take a day off to try the Hammam Spa - I spontaneously said yes!

(It has been more than a year since I got my last neck and shoulder ache and last 2 weeks it happened again, so I decided that I need to take a break and treat myself to a spa)

I've never been there, and don't even know what it was until Ms. A mentioned it then I remembered that I've heard it from a friend who was planning to go there with her sister that this is a place for a Turkish bath and scrub - Moroccan style and if we added massage to it, it will be heaven on earth~

With the very busy work schedule, I managed to Google to read the services offered in details and was intrigued when I read a post by JACSAFTERMARRIED blog (Honestly, she took better pictures and gave the place justice in her writings)

I was so excited after reading her post, I couldn't sleep. I didn't know which package Ms. A booked for us because I was too busy to text and when I did, I always forget to ask *duh*

En. Ali dropped me off at Bangsar Village II around 10:30 and since Ms. A was a little delayed I took my time to locate the spa.

Caught this sign as I reached the 3rd level of BV II 

We went in slightly before 11am (which was our appointment time) and was served tea while being briefed on the four types of argan oil used for the massage at the entrance seating area.

Ms. A told me that she booked the Prince/Princess Hammam package which consist of the Hammam & Gommage and Arromatic Massage.

(We then changed our minds to switch to the My Favourite Concubine Hammam but due to some misscommunication between the staff there, we didn't get to change it).

There we 4 types of argan oils to choose from. I chose the argan oil which has the muscle relaxant capabilities while Ms. A chooses the rose oil which smells nice but I've forgotten what it is for (x_x)

I also added the Rose Blossom Hair Masque as I was hoping it can bring shine and fragrant to my stressful hair huhuhu...

After the briefing and oil choosing session, we were shown to the locker room where we changed into the disposable bra & panties and bathrobe.

Once we've done changing we were brought to the bath and sauna room called the hararet.

The Hararet - in real life, its actually wetter and dimmer
Source

Honestly I didn't know what to expect when we were asked to remove our robes here. I thought we will be bathing ourselves and be seating on the heated marble seats but boy was I wrong!

The therapies that ushered us in requested us to seat when they started to bath/drenching  us with warm water. I felt like a toddler being given a bath by her nanny ahaha... *seriously*

The rose hair mask was also applied during this time and my head was wrapped with a thin towel.

Then our whole body was lathered with olive soap and we were asked to lie down on the heated marble for 10 minutes.

As we lay there, Ms. A and I took the time to catch up with each others life and work news. Although I wasn't comfortable lying half naked in a room with anyone, the ambiance gave a good friendly catch ups.

Hammam Trivia: 

Hammam is a traditional Moroccan Turkish Bath which as a word means "spreader of warmth" in Arabic and has its roots in ancient Greek Roman bathhouse culture. Its always been about beauty and well being, purifying the body and spirit, nourishing the relationship between people and water, and our instinctual need to connect with others.

After what seemed like an hour on the hot marble (there is water on the marble so we were not fried from the heat and oil :p), the therapist came back and gave us another round of bath and asked us to move to the adjacent area for our Gommage session.

Our bodies was scrubbed using exfoliating gloves and it was painful at first but we got used to it after a few minutes. This reminded me of a childhood folklore about a dimwit Pak Pandir where he scrubbed his little boy to death because he kept getting dead skin when he bathed that boy and thought that by scrubbing him down to the bone will ensure the boy's cleanliness. Lucky for us the therapist are not Pak Pandir :p

After that, we were ushered to the main area where we were served a sweet delicacies (bakhlava) and tea so that we can relaxed before our massage session.

We took that opportunity to grab our phones from the locker and camwhoring for awhile until the massage therapist calls for us to the room.

The main area

The Hammam Foot Ritual seat also located in the main area

The massage room

Then we spent about 45 to 50 minutes being pampered with a whole body massage using the oils that was chosen earlier. It was sooooooooooooooooo relaxing and rejuvenating!

After the massage session, we got dressed and was served tea again before we leave.

(No need to worry for those with long hair, there is a hair dryer in the changing room)

Ms. A and I was so tempted to take on the 10 session package offered but honestly I don't think we have the time to go to the spa for another 5 times wthin a year.

Highly recommended if you are planning to distress and catch up with your girl friends!

I wish we could do that again Ms. A!

I was clearing up my inbox when I found this email from Ayah 7 years ago about the subject matter. My first instinct was to delete it, but I honestly cannot recall what was the msg in the story. Allah hanya memanggil kita 3 kali saja ...tahu kah anda bila?

Story Shared by Shinta

Saat itu, Dhuha, hari terakhir aku di Masjid Nabawi untuk menuju Mekah....... .aku bertanya pada Ibu. 

'Ibu, kataku, ada cerita apa yang menarik dari Umrah....?' Maklum, ini pertama kali aku ber Umrah.
Dan Ibu, memberikan Tausyiahnya. 
Ibu adalah pemilik Maknah Tour Travel dimana saya bergabung untuk Umrah di bulan July 2007 yang lalu.
Kebetulan umrahku dimulai di Madinah dulu selama 4 hari, baru ke Mekah.
Tujuannya adalah mendapatkan saat Malam Jumat di depan Kabah. Jadi aku punya kesempatan untuk bertanya tentang Umrah. 
Ibu berkata...'Shinta, Allah hanya memanggil kita 3 kali saja seumur hidup..'

Keningku berkerut...... ....'Sedikit sekali Allah memanggil kita..?'
Ibu tersenyum.. 'Iya, tahu tidak apa saja 3 panggilan itu..?'
Saya menggelengkan kepala. 

'Panggilan pertama adalah Azan', ujar Ibu. 
'Itu adalah panggilan Allah yang pertama. Panggilan ini sangat jelas terdengar di telinga kita, sangat kuat terdengar. Ketika kita sholat, sesungguhnya kita menjawab panggilan Allah. Tetapi Allah masih fleksibel, Dia tidak 'cepat marah' akan sikap kita. Kadang kita terlambat, bahkan tidak sholat sama sekali karena malas. Allah tidak marah seketika. Dia masih memberikan rahmatNya, masih memberikan kebahagiaan bagi umatNya, baik umatNya itu menjawab panggilan Azan-Nya atau tidak. Allah hanya akan membalas umatNya ketika hari Kiamat nanti'.

Saya terpekur.... .mata saya berkaca-kaca. Terbayang saya masih melambatkan sholat karena meeting lah, mengajar lah, dan lain lain. Masya Allah....... .. 

Ibu melanjutkan, 'Shinta, Panggilan yang kedua adalah panggilan Umrah/Haji. Panggilan ini bersifat halus. Allah memanggil hamba-hambaNya dengan panggilan yang halus dan sifatnya 'bergiliran' . Hamba yang satu mendapatkan
kesempatan yang berbeza dengan hamba yang lain. J alan nya bermacam-macam... Yang tidak punya wang menjadi punya wang, yang tidak merancang pula akan pergi, ada yang memang merancang dan terkabul. Ketika kita mengambil niat Haji / Umrah, berpakaian Ihram dan melafazkan 'Labaik Allahuma Labaik/ Umrotan', sesungguhnya kita saat itu menjawab panggilan Allah yang ke dua. Saat itu kita merasa bahagia, karena panggilan Allah sudah kita jawab, meskipun panggilan itu halus sekali. Allah berkata, laksanakan Haji / Umrah bagi yang mampu'. 

Mata saya semakin berkaca-kaca. ........Subhanal lah...... .saya datang menjawab panggilan Allah lebih cepat dari yang saya rancangkan.. ......Alhamdulill ah...

'Dan panggilan ke-3', lanjut Ibu, 'adalah KEMATIAN. Panggilan yang kita jawab dengan amal kita. Pada kebanyakan kasus, Allah tidak memberikan tanda tanda secara langsung, dan kita tidak mampu menjawab dengan lisan dan gerakan. Kita hanya menjawabnya dengan amal sholeh. Karena itu Shinta, manfaatkan waktumu sebaik-baiknya. ..Jawablah 3 panggilan Allah dengan hatimu dan sikap yang Husnul Khotimah.... .......Insya Allah syurga adalah balasannya.. ....' 
** Mata saya basah di dalam Masjid Nabawi , saya sujud bertaubat pada Allah karena kelalaian saya dalam menjawab panggilanNya. ....

Kala itu hati saya makin yakin akan kebesaranNya, kasih sayangNya dan dengan semangat menyala-nyala, saya mengenakan baju Ihram dan berniat..... .....
Aku menjawab panggilan UmrahMu, ya Allah, Tuhan Semesta Alam........ ....

Pada hari kiamat akan keluar seekor binatang dari neraka jahanam yang

bernama 'Huraisy' berasal dari anak kala jengking. Besarnya Huraisy ini

dari timur hingga ke barat. Panjangnya pula seperti jarak langit dan bumi.

Malaikat Jibril bertanya : 'Hai Huraisy! Engkau hendak ke mana dan siapa

yang kau cari?' Huraisy pun menjawab, 'Aku mahu mencari lima orang.'

'Pertama, orang yang meninggalkan sembahyang.

Kedua, orang yang tidak mahu keluarkan zakat.

Ketiga, orang yang derhaka kepada ibubapanya.

Keempat, orang yang bercakap tentang dunia di dalam masjid.

Kelima, orang yang suka minum arak.' 

#alfatihahmh370

Source: ASHAMSURI

#prayformh370

I went back home to have a weekend of celebration for my birthday, but the celebration did not last long when the news broke out last Saturday.

My heart goes to the families and those onboard the MH370. Such a tragedy...never did we imagine that it will struck us Malaysians.

May they come home safely.

Perginya seorang ibu & nenek~

On 8th December 2013 at 7:15pm - my step-grandmother from my father's side has moved on to the other side.

She died peacefully surrounded by her children.

I was playing kite in Taman Layang-layang, Puchong when I heard the news...what would have been a happy Sunday ended with such a news.

May her soul rest in peace, and may she be grant Jannah~

:'(

A week of summer in Japan~ (PART 1 : Preparation)

Note: The first part consist of me blabbering my anxiety and preparation for the trip :p

My friends' fascination for Sakura and my interest to see the land of the rising sun has long been a topic of discussion.

We've made a vow somewhere in 2006 to one day set foot in Japan.

But there were many stumbling blocks to that plan...most of it is due to time, money and fear. Yes, the fear that we would not survive if we cannot speak the language or going with someone who can.

So we procrastinate.

It was when Air Asia made its first promotion last year to OSAKA that we decided to book the flight 10 months ahead and make the necessary plans so that it will go out smoothly. Its either just go or no go! No fear!

But just like any other normal people...that 10 months past through like water and it was not until a couple of months left did we managed to gather ourselves and prepare for the trip.

En. Ali & I bought some books to study other people's experience and see nice pictures of their Japan/Tokyo Trip. We also browsed websites and interviewed friends who have been there before (really interviewed ok, with paper and picture snapping and all).

We even studied the map and railway so that we can prepare our itinerary without wasting precious time.

Of course 6 days in Japan would not be enough to cover all the wishlist for 7 people. Some wanted to go see Sumo Wrestling, Geisha Performance, Gun dam ....pay a visit to Mount Fuji, Red Temple, Osaka Castle, Ancient City Tsumago, Momiji Matsuri Bamboo Park, fish market, the hustle street of Shibuya and the list goes on and on...

Tokyo Quick Facts from Air Asia's Travel 3-Sixty June Edition
Source: A friend's FB Page

So, in summary there are several preparation needs to be made prior to a Japan trip:

1. Book a flight ticket :p
2. Make sure your passport expiry date is more than 6 months from the travelling date
3. Apply for VISA at the Japan Embassy (basically this requires 2 visits within 7 working days or so; one is to submit the application and the other one is to collect the passport + visa) //this step is no longer required for Malaysian biometric passport holder with embedded microchip that is compliant with ICAO standards beginning 1st July 2013.

4. Buy the Japan Rail Pass prior to the trip if you are travelling in multiple cities. Trust me, this will save a lot of money even though you have to pay around RM1000.00 to get it. We got ours from JTB Malaysia.
4. Book your lodging. I find airbnb to be a really cool site to book lodgings outside Malaysia.
5. Study the railway map and pin down the places to visit so that you can manage your time to the max. Your itinerary is required during Custom clearance there.
6. Plan your expenditure and change your Ringgit to Yen. If you have time you should check out several money changers to get the best rate.
7. Keep a simple note for emergency contacts and addresses in Japan just in case you get lost.
8. Bring a dictionary and memorize some simple words to ease your trip.


I'll share some pictures and our adventure there in the next post :)

KPOP Fever Hit Me! - "Chilling Romance"

En. Ali downloaded this movie for our weekend movie at home, and guess what? I fell in love with it!

I first thought that it was scary to watch, but honestly the movie's horror scene is not ghastly and the romance and comedy will ease you through it!

Love it :)

When love comes, no matter what flaws a person may have, you will see right through it and will work towards helping that other person endure or improve it. You may also find it cute :)

Tazkirah : Life of a believer~

Life of a believer:

When you are hurt by the people who share blood relations with you, recall Yusuf [alayhi salaam] who was also betrayed by his brothers.

When you find your parents opposing you (in deen) recall Ibraheem [alayhi salaam] who was made to jump into a blazing fire by his father.

When you are mocked and abused by your own relatives just because you adopted deen over duniya, recall Rasul Allah [sallalhu alaihi wa sallam] who faced the same.

When you are stuck into some problem and find no way out recall Yunus [alayhi salaam] who was stuck inside the belly of a whale.

When you fall ill and your whole body cries with pain, recall Ayoob [alayhi salaam] who was more ill than you.

When you see some physical fault in yourself, recall Moosa [alayhi salam] who could not properly speak.

When someone slanders you, recall Ay'esha [radiallahu anha] who was also slandered throughout the city.

When you feel lonely recall how Adam [alayhi salaam] felt when he was created alone at first.

When you can't see any logic in what's going on and your heart asks why this is happening, recall Nooh [alayhi salaam] who built the biggest ship without questioning.

Subhan Allah! Allah put all those great personalities in trial so that the generations to follow may learn a lesson in patience and perseverance. May Allah swt include us among His patient and grateful servants. Ameen! -

[source: whatsapp, I didn't write this on my own :) ]

husband & wife....

Having a life partner has always been mind boggling to me.

Does other couple face the same problem we had? or do they love each other so much like we do? has always been part of the questions when we first got married.

I tried to bench mark our relationship based on looking at other people's relationship (mainly those closes to us i.e. my parents, his parents, my grandparents etc) and I tried comparing how we were before we were married and how romantic it seems some of his action were back then.

Can we always make a standard statement on how husband and wife should or would act? I saw books are being produced based on these and after reading a few I saw some of them as true.

I was curious I guessed.

But along the way, I learnt that every couple is unique on its own and although some solution may work in someone's relationship, it may not work in yours.

I must say that it took me some time to get use to things as I was so comfortable being just me...now we are us and I hope we will always be (without loosing our own individual us of course).

Because no matter how things are at the beginning of the day (or middle)

Source: Google

at the end, I'm so glad I have someone to hold on to and cuddle and kisses at the end of the day.

Source: Google

En. Ali, although teddy bears scares the shit out of me, you are my personal teddy :*

p/s: I feel so guilty posting this during office hours :p

2 months 3 days to go :)

We were engaged on this very same date 2 years ago and had only 2 months and 3 days to prepare ourselves for the Big Day!

For this year's wedding Anniversary, we will be spending it on board a 7 hours flight to attend another wedding down under and it'll be another honeymoon for the both of us *love*

and Yes, we have another 2 months to prepare for that trip as well :)

I pray that for our 3rd Anniversary, we will be blessed with a little angel or two.

I started taking new pills today and will go to a full medical check up in November.

Praying for positive results :)

Currently motivating myself to change my diet, improve my relationship with Allah and exercise!

Hopefully my spirit will not wear off until Allah blessed us with that special someone.

-xoxo-

Detoxing your mind during Ramadhan~

Dear blog,

Sorry for the long hiatus. I've been extremely busy with life.

Wanted to write my summer in Japan experience but that'll have to wait until my next holiday since work is taking a tow on me and whenever I get home, I don't even feel like touching my laptop again :(

Life has been an emotional turmoil for me lately too, maybe because I fail to set things straight and remind myself that things happen for a reason for quite some time, and it might even be the hormones :p.

For those who knows me, then they'll know that this is usually not me...  I have gone through quite many heartbreaking incidents in life without forgetting to stay positive, but I do have moments where I drown myself in grieve and let the anger burns me out sometimes. <--Not a good thing to do, I know!

Anyway, in the spirit of Ramadhan I would like to share a very suitable article I've found that helped made me realized that we do need to make time for emotional detox sometime and apart from cleaning up your houses for the upcoming Syawal, we also need to take time to reflect and clean up our minds from negative thoughts.

Found a new interesting article writer named Haleh Banani. You can read her article and profile in the link below to better guide yourself should you are in the same situation as me.

EMOTIONAL DETOX DURING RAMADHAN

I do hope we'll have a great Ramadhan with only a couple of days left.

xoxo~

Wordless Wednesday : Studying for a trip ;)

8 tip mudah untuk hidup yang mewah~

Perkara yang betul...tidak salah dipelajari dan dicontohi :)

 Oleh: Irfan Khairi


1: Tak perlu kopi & rokok! ✔
OK OK…. Tengok tajuk tip no#1 ni pun ramai dah mula mengeluh. Tunggu dulu, biar saya jelaskan! Terdapat satu istilah ini yang dikenali sebagai “The Latte Factor” oleh penulis David Bach yang membawa maksud, setiap hari sebelum anda ke pejabat, boleh tak anda tak perlu singgah ke kedai kopi berjenama untuk secawan kopi (dan rokok)? Mungkin menjadi tabiat kita untuk singgah sebentar dan berbelanja RM5 setiap hari pada minuman dan rokok sebelum ke pejabat atau ketika waktu rehat pejabat setiap hari. Dengan hanya menjimat RM5 sehari dan melaburkannya di dalam pelaburan yang memberi pulangan 10% setahun, dalam masa 45 tahun, wang tersebut akan menjadi RM1.4juta! katakanlah anda lakukan ini dari umur 20 tahun, anda akan pencen sebagai seorang jutawan.

2: Potong kad kredit ✔
Ambil gunting, buka dompet anda, dan potong kad kredit anda. Ya, sememangnya kad kredit amatlah berhantu! Kad plastik di dalam dompet anda itu bertujuan untuk memerah wang anda dengan mengecaj interest yang amat tinggi- paling tinggi dalam industri kewangan (tolak along!). Sering kali kad kredit digunakan untuk perbelanjaan-perbelanjaan yang tidak perlu dan akibatnya, setiap bulan anda terpaksa membayar interest yang sebenarnya memakan simpanan anda.

Katakan anda membayar Interest kad kredit sahaja dalam lingkungan 18%. Apa makna simpanan anda yang memberi pulangan 10%? Takde maknanya! Simpanan pelaburan anda tidak akan bertambah sekiranya wang anda bocor akibat pembayaran caj-caj kad kredit yang tidak kita nampak.

3: Jaga emosi ✔
Siapa kata wanita sahaja yang pandai berbelanja? Lelaki juga pandai berbelanja. Kajian mengatakan bahawa walaupun wanita lebih kerap berbelanja daripada lelaki, tetapi perbelanjaan lelaki adalah lebih banyak nilainya untuk setiap pembelian. 90% keputusan belian adalah keputusan emosi. Bukan sekadar wanita sahaja yang mempunyai emosi. Lelaki juga. Jaga emosi kita dalam belian. Fahami bahawa semua perniagaan dalam dunia ini akan menggunakan emosi untuk menarik belian anda. Seringkali belian yang dilakukan adalah tidak diperlukan. Setiap kali anda berdepan dengan keputusan belian, ulang berkali-kali dalam fikiran anda “Jaga emosi… jaga emosi… jaga emosi”!

4: Pakar 1 topik kewangan ✔
Anda tidak perlu jadi pakar dalam semua perihal kewangan. Anda tidak perlu embaca beratus-ratus buku kewangan untuk berjaya dalam bidang kewangan. Tetapi, anda hanya perlu menjadi pakar dalam 1 bidang kewangan sahaja.

Maksudnya, pilih satu bidang kewangan untuk anda dalami. Contoh, mungkn anda minat melabur, maka, jadikan topik pelaburan sebagai bidang anda dalami. Atau mungkin anda minat hartanah, maka jadikan hartanah sebagai bidang anda dalami. Ataupun anda minat perniagaan Internet, maka, baca buku-buku perniagaan Internet.

Dengan mendalami sekurang-kurangnya hanya 1 topik kewangan, anda boleh pelajari berbagai-bagai kaedah menggandakan kewangan anda hanya dalam satu topik itu. Itu sahaja sudah mencukupi untuk menjadikan hidup kita lebih mewah.

5: Hutang yang bagus ✔
Selepas ini, setiap kali anda berhutang, pastikan ianya adalah hutang yang bagus. Hutang bagus? Bukankah hutang semuanya tidak bagus?

Hutang yang bagus bermaksud hanay berhutang pada perkara-perkara yang menambah nilai. Contohnya, membeli rumah adalah hutang yang bagus, kernana nilainya bertambah. Berhutang untuk memulakan perniagaan dikirakan bagus, kerana bakal menambahkan pendapatan. Berhutang dalam pendidikan juga adalah bagus, kerana ia menambah nilai diri kita sendiri.

Manakala, berhutang untuk melancong adalah tidak bagus, kerana ia mengurangkan kewangan anda. Berhutang membeli perabot adalah tidak bagus kerana nilai perabot merosot. Berhutang membeli kereta mewah diluar kemampuan kita juga adalah tidak bagus kerana sekali beli kereta, nilainya secara automatik menyusut 30%!

6: Baca 30 minit ✔
Pop kuiz- tahun ini berapa banyak buku yang telah anda baca? Buku komik dan novel tidak kira. Hanya buku yang boleh menambahkan nilai anda sahaja- buku yang berkaitan dengan industri anda.

Kebanyakan antara kita tidak membaca walaupun satu buku pun! Sekiranya tidak membaca, bagaimana hendak menambahkan kepakaran kita? Sekiranya kepakaran tidak bertambah, maka makin lambatlah gaji kita dapat bertambah kerana kurangnya ilmu. Dengan hanya membaca buku 30 minit diwaktu pagi (kunci jam loceng anda 30 minit lebih awal), dan hanya membaca 30 minit sebelum tidur, anda akan dapat membaca 1 jam setiap hari. Secara purata, dengan membaca 1 jam sehari, anda akan dapat membaca 40 buku yang berkaitan dengan bidang anda.

Dalam masa 2-3 tahun, anda akan berjaya membaca lebih 100 buku berkaitan dengan bidang anda. Apa yang anda akan dapat dengan mebaca lebih dari 100 buku yang berkaitan dalam bidang anda?

Confirm! Anda akan menjadi pakar dalam bidang anda. Dan pakar akan dibayar berkali-kali ganda berbanding dengan mereka yang tidak pakar dalam bidang mereka.

7: Cari kawan baru ✔
Anda akan menjadi seperti kawan anda. Sekiranya anda sering lepak dengan kawan-kawan yang selalu sengkek, selalu pokai, selalu tak berduit, sedar tak sedar, anda juga akan menjadi seperti itu. Apa kata anda buka fikiran untuk mencari kenalan-kenalan baru dikalangan mereka yang berjaya? Bukan abaikan kawan-kawan yang sengkek tadi… erm…. Mungkin juga boleh abaikan mereka kerana menyusahkan diri anda sahaja! Dapat kan kawan yang bijak mengendalikan wang, dapatkan kenalan usahawan berjaya, dapatkan kawan yang pakar dalam industri anda. Dengan sentiasa berdampingan dengan mereka yang berjaya, anda juga akan turut berjaya kerana kejayaan itu akan berjangkit kepada anda!

8: Jangan baca sahaja ✔
Jangan baca sahaja tip-tip kewangan dan tidak lakukan apa apa. Mungkin tip-tip 1-7 ini anda telah baca sebelum ini, tapi, tabiat manusia sering melewat-lewatkan kerja dan tidak melakukan apa-apa. Mungkin sebelum ini anda telah fikir untuk mengubahkan hidup anda, tetapi, hanya duduk dan biarkan waktu berlalu tanpa sebarang usaha.

Mempunyai ilmu sahaja tanpa mengaplikasikannya adalah kerugian yang amat besar. Jangan sekadar baca sahaja, lakukan sesuatu untuk mengubah hidup anda. Lakukan perkara-perkara yang mudah, kerana perkara-perkara yang mudah inilah yang akan membuatkan kita hidup lebih mewah!

Source: http://www.facebook.com/irfankhairi.fb

Time for some Seoul Food @ Dubu-dubu~

//this was in the draft for ages! Actual date is early March - I think ;)

Almost every Sunday evening, we will sit in En. Ali's family's TV area to watch Korean drama & shows.

Running Man is a must watch show for us and now I am also taken into watching the 1 Night 2 Days show.

It was when we were watching the 1 Night 2 Days show that I got the craving to taste Korean food!

It was ages since I last ate a Korean cuisine and my favorite restaurant serving Korean Food is at the Spring Potato Restaurant located in Sri Gombak. It has a good range of Western, Malaysia and Korean choice of food. But its so far away from where I'm staying right now...so when I told a few Korean loving friends that I wanted to have some Seoul food, they suggested Dubu-Dubu.

At first I had this reservation of trying Dubu-Dubu because at a glance it doesn't look halal...and secondly because of its name which if even a slight mispronunciation in my mother tongue would refer to a very disgusting body part.

Why Dubu-dubu I asked? Which I was later told that it means tofu in Korean.

So we gave it a shot :) - (Thank God that I am married to someone who always encourage me to try out new things!)

The waiters were really helpful and the menu is so easy to read. You can have a look at it here.

With the lack of experience on how to enjoy Korean food, I ordered based on the picture that looks just like what was shown in the show - Seafood Soondubu Jigae.

The creamy seafood broth is served with Sticky Korean rice and 3 Bachans (side dishes)

I was looking around to see how its best to enjoy this when I saw this on the table.

A detailed guide on how to enjoy your Soondubu...this is definitely my kind of shop :)

After reading the manual thoroughly, I was still pondering at the dish.

I was skeptical at first as to how this would taste, and that I would not like it. But with just one bite of the dish, I fell in love!

I said to En. Ali - sedapnya! and he was like *phew* luckily you liked it, if not I would have had a hard time to finish it, especially when he had ordered a scrumptious udon soup.

"badseubnida"
p/s: ... I love the chopstick as well  - classy :)

En. Ali's Udon Soup ... slurrpp..slurrppp 

I had an enjoyable time here, and the food taste great to my very Malaysian tongue.

I highly recommend this restaurant for those who wants to try Korean food, the ambiance and hospitality is very welcoming despite of its strange name.

*love*

Menjadikan tidur sebagai ibadah~

PETUA TIDUR NABI SAW

SEORANG yang berusia 60 tahun akan menghabiskan masa lebih kurang 20 tahun untuk tidur. Sekiranya dia tidur mengikut sunnah Rasullullah saw, maka tidurnya akan jadi ibadah. Allah swt hanya akan menerima ibadah yang dilakukan dengan ikhlas. Tidur adalah ibadat yang paling ikhlas. Seseorang tidak perlu dipaksa atau terpaksa untuk tidur. Ganjaran Allah swt untuk orang yang mengamalkan sunnah sangat besar. Satu sunnah yang diamalkan berterusan akan diberi ganjaran 100 pahala mati syahid, sedangkan satu pahala mati syahid sudah cukup untuk menjamin seseorang untuk masuk syurga.

Di dalam tidur sendiri ada banyak sunnah. Sebaliknya, jika seseorang tidur cara selain dari cara Nabi saw, dia hanya akan dapat kerehatan. Kalau bernasib baik, selama 20 tahun mungkin dia dapat mengumpul 20 kilo tahi mata dan menakung 20 liter atau lebih air liur basi.


Antara Sunnah-sunnah Nabi saw sebelum, ketika dan selepas tidur.

1. Sebelum dan selepas tidur baca doa tidur. Ramai orang memperlekehkan doa Masnun(doa harian)tapi hakikatnya harga yang Allah swt janjikan adalah syurga.

2. Jangan tidur menghadap kaki arah Qiblat. Ini adalah kedudukan tidur orang yang telah mati.

3. Barangsiapa yang membaca Tasbih Fatimah, sekiranya dia mati malam itu,dia akan dikira sebagai mati syahid. Apa itu Tasbih Fatimah? Subhanallah 33 X, Alhamdulillah 33 X, Allahuakbar 34 X.

4. Baca 4 Qul tiup ke tapak tangan dan sapu keseluruh badan
untuk menghindarkan sihir dan niat jahat manusia.

5. Niat untuk bangun Tahajjud. Sekiranya tidak terjaga, Allah swt akan mengira seolah-olah dia bertahajjud sepanjang malam.
Tahajjud adalah sebaik-baik pelindung daripada sihir dan buatan orang.

6.Ambil wudhu sebelum tidur dan Solat Sunat Taubat 2 rakaat.

7.Maafkan semua kesalahan manusia pada kita dan halalkan semua hutang piutang sebelum tidur.Bangun tidur boleh buka fail semula kalau mahu.

8. Tidur cara Rasulullah saw dengan mengiring badan ke kanan dan tapak tangan di bawah pipi. Banyak lagi Sunnah Nabi saw yang boleh diamal, semuanya mudah untuk dilakukan. Lebih mudah daripada bersolek atau pakai night cream sebelum tidur.Lebih mudah daripada buat senaman ringan sebelum tidur.... INSYAALLAH AMAL DAN SAMPAIKAN

Source : Facebook.

Quote of the day

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing twice and expect to get different results."

The Power of a Mother~

Source: Facebook

My mom was hospitalized a couple of weeks ago, and although she said its ok for me not to go back to my hometown to see her since En. Ali was out of town, I'm glad that I decided against it and went back anyway.

She was suffering from severe stomach ache and after consulting 2 Specialist, she decided to undergo 2 surgeries, one is quite minor while the other will take a while to recover.

The doctors explained the procedures quite thoroughly and Alhamdulillah the surgery went well (over 3 hours!).

But the post surgery brought a challenge as the pain is highly unbearable for my mom...

Staying in the hospital is no helped either as the nurses and doctors will come to check on you at odd hours and worst of all they will wake her up during this sessions.

I understand that they are doing their job, but take pity on the patient who needs sleep to recover. Hey..not everyone (like me) can easily doze back off when you leave the room .

They also poke her here and there to ensure she is well medicated using the drip until she refuse to take any more medication. Her hands were already swollen and bruised after a few days there...Imagine the additional pain she has to go through then the ones inflicted by the surgery. Kasihan mak saya yang comel~

One day, while I was coercing her to sleep while saying...

"Tidurlah comel comel, nanti tak sakit dah..sshhh..sshhh", trying to comfort her just like she use to ease my pain when I was a little girl, she suddenly turned to me and asked.

"Mana mak?" (a question which I first thought to be "Am I your mother or is it the other way around?")

I thought she was scolding me for treating her like a little girl.

Then I slowly replied, pointing a finger at her and said, "Ni".

"Tak...mana mak mak?" ("No..where's MY mother?")

I gulped..

"Mak mak kan dah tak ada" ("She's long gone")

She sighed...

"Kalau mak mak ada, mesti mak takkan sakit macam ni...("If my mother was here, surely I would not be in this much pain")

Tears roll down her eyes, and so did mine. But I tried to conceal with a light joke and hush her back to sleep so that she would not dwell in her sadness too much.

My mother was her mak's baby. Owh for the record - "her mak" here means her grandmother (my great grandmother) who brought her and a few of her siblings up and spoiled her and me rotten.
(My mother's biological mother is pretty much alive - no offence if you're reading this maktok!)

I know exactly how my mom feels...because whenever I'm in pain, I always call for her too.

Even though in actual reality she is not a doctor or a wizard and cannot do anything to cure me physically but when she's there, it felt so much better :)

All she needs to do is to be there! A magic on its own :)

Love you mak, this is Allah's way of showing you that He loves you too by training you to make you stronger! You need to fight to get well soon so that you can take care of your grandchild later just like you grandmother took care of me :p (just kidding)

Get well soon mak - you can do it!

xoxo~

Wordless Wednesday : How to Work for an Idiot~

This book will teach you how to keep your inner blond in check and  help you cure the poison of anger that takes over you when you're dealing with an actual blond.

Wordless Wednesday : My dream garden~

I want a simple mini garden of fresh herbs and veggies such as this one day.

Source: Google

Maulidur Rasul : Tak kenal maka tak cinta~

[Post sehari lewat]

Pepatah Melayu..tak kenal maka tak cinta, maka untuk lebih cinta mestilah berusaha untuk lebih mengenali. Tak gitu?

**Sebenarnya saya membeli buku ini sehari sebelum Maulidur Rasul tahun lepas...tapi hanya sempat membaca 30 mukasurat pertama saja. Ini semua sebab pemindahan rumah yang separa - buku ini dah dipindahkan ke bookshelf rumah baru, sedangkan tuan empunya belum berpindah lagi ke situ - alasan! **

Biografi Muhammad bin Abdullah - Perjalanan Hidup Seorang Nabi.

Gambar pun gambar tahun lepas...

Pada pendapat saya yang baru habis membaca beberapa mukasurat ni - Pendekatan yang agak baik dilakukan oleh penulis buku dalam penceritaan kisah nabi junjungan kita, cuma jika dibanding dengan buku seperti Benarkah Iskandar Bukan Zulkarnain? yang saya kira adalah buku pengupasan topik yang sangat menarik, buku Biografi Muhammad bin Abdullah ini agak dry dari segi bahasa.

Walau apapun...saya sangat berharap dapat menghabiskan buku ini sebelum Maulidur Rasul yang seterusnya! Teruskan berusaha Cik Siti! (doa semangat buat diri sendiri)