Family Night

We've invited my parent, siblings, aunties and cousins to my house for makan2 Raya on 4th Raya. It was unplanned. Me and my husband finished tidy up the whole house at 5pm. We sat down at the dining table, chat over a cuppa and suddenly he asked, "Why dont we invite Mama for a dinner tonight?" (since we have a lot of food and no one came. yet). 

Me : WHY NOT?

I have prepared nasi himpit, beef and chicken rendang earlier that day. And when my mom agreed to come, my husband cook his signature Johor / Javanese dish, lodeh. I prepared raspberry jelly and strawberry juice. My neighbour who works at satay stall nearby (is 8km considered near?) was kind enough to deliver hundreds of satay. Thank you.

I was a simple and sweet dinner.

It was unplanned. But it went very well. We should do this more often.

My dad and my brother just arrived.

We've installed the cute chandelier for Raya. Last Raya, that corner look like this (here).

The kids were having fun after dinner.

Then they played with Mr. Robinson.

Mr. Robinson is Nazreen's birthday present. I dont know why he chose "Mr. Robinson".

Shellfish

What I love when we went to my husband's kampung in Muar is the journey back to KL (dont get me wrong - keep on reading).

WHY?

Because there will be A LOT OF stalls selling fresh exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates, READ: fresh siput sedut (obtuse horn shell / mud creeper), fresh kupang (green mussel), fresh lokan (clam) and fresh tiram (oyster) along Sungai Mati highway. Last time we went to Muar, I bought 10kgs of them and cooked them everyday for the whole week :) yummy!

I love them although I am allergic to seafood. Enjoy the photos.

Green mussel = kupang

 Clam = lokan. huge one.

Oyster = tiram. squeeze some lemon juice and it is good to eat. raw.

Hotel Review : Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan

I had a chance to stay at the most luxurious hotel in Tokyo - Imperial Hotel Tokyo. Since I was with the Hon Minister's delegation, I also entitled for VIP lobby - a separate entrance for VVIPs.

Those flags indicate the head of states' delegation currently stayed at the hotel. I smile when I walked in and saw Jalur Gemilang there.

 Private elevator.

The former main building, designed by the famous architect - Frank Lloyd Wright, stood there from 1923-1967 and known as the Wright Imperial. Travelers around the world referred to it as 'The Jewel of The Orient'.

Welcome to the hotel!

The spacious room.

Me and Esther make sure the bellboy sent the right luggage to the right room. I followed them to every room to make sure all VIPs get their luggage. It was a tiring journey and I truly understand everybody needs a shower ASAP.

Of course those two huge boxes are mine.

They have kiblat sign. Thumbs up for their thoughtfulness!

I have my own fax machine. Easier to do my work.

They also provide yukatas!!! I LOVE YUKATA!!! Traveling to Japan means you dont have to bring along your nightwear. Most of the hotel provides yukata. Their traditional attire.

(illustration googled)

This is how you wear yukata

The toilet. I have blogged about the hi-tech WC here.

The food?

We are free to eat at any restaurant / coffee house/ lounge in the hotel. I only went to their coffee house twice for breakfast. I only took a sip of coffee then off to the lobby. Being the liaison officer for the trip, I was always in a rush. I lost 5kgs in 4 days.

Maybe wearing thermal underwear (or long john) the whole day helped to burn the fat faster ;p

Life without Olympic...

... is a bit boring.

a few meaningless updates

1. Yesterday I had takoyaki. Big deal.

2. Today I had laryngitis. I only communicate through email, paper and pen in the office.

3. I am pretty occupied in July - August since I've been appointed as the Secteraty for weekly Post-Cabinet Meeting. If I am not in the meeting room, I will be in my room with a huge headphone, all day long, jotting down every words from the audio recording.

4. Throughout Ramadhan, I involved in Tadarus during lunch hour. I normally update my blog during lunch hour. So..

5. I didnt have baju raya yet. As usual.

6. I still waiting for the mojo to paint the gate and guest room. Hopefully I could do it before Raya.

7. My son's school held a Bacathon programme to get donation to buy books for their library and for some beutification works around school. Anyone interested to make a donation, pls SMS me. Any amount is ok. Just imagine Nabil's face, full of joy, when receiving your donation :) He will be very proud to bring the Bacathon sheet to the school in September.

8. The 12 torturing weeks was just ended. I am entering the new phase. Today.

9. I manage to bake chocolate chip cookies and chocolate rice bubble for Raya. I made some chocolate-covered sliced almond but the kids finished it last night.

10. I havent charge my digital camera for about a month now = no new photos, hence, no material to blog. I have some old materials but I'll blog about it s.l.o.w.l.y.