Raya Open House 2008: Part III

This is the final version of Eidul Fitri 2008 Open House. Alhamdullillah, we were honoured to have Zahrul's family and his in Law; Yusmadi's family and his in Laws; Kamarul & Wife; Ahmed Sharifuddin & wife; Ahmad Zaidi and the CEO of ELNG, Adnan Datuk Zainal Abidin. We hope they have enjoyed our humble menu: Sweet Spicy Crap; Dried Chili Cow liver; Alex Chicken curry; Salad with Shrimp paste; Desserts - fruit platters & cheese cream cake with ice cream and Drinks - Ice lemon tea, Juhayna fruit juices and Nescafe Tongkat Ali. Jangan Serik..!!

The PETRONAS (Egypt) Think Tank Away Day

Mena House Oberoi ; Our First ever Experience

Nana, Afiqah and I were here – 3 days two nights at the Mena House Oberoi, Giza, Egypt. Mena House is one of the oldest 6 star hotels located in front of the Pyramids at Giza. This palatial hotel in the shadow of the Great Pyramids has enchanted guests since 1869. Located in forty acres of jasmine scented gardens, Mena House Oberoi has played host to kings and emperors, Heads of State and celebrities. Its royal history is reflected in luxurious interiors that are embellished with exquisite antiques, handcrafted furniture and rich textiles. A variety of international as well as Egyptian cuisine is on offer at the excellent restaurants and bars in the hotel. The garden, the facilities and the services were amazing and recommendable. Worth spending your Euro! Unfortunately we were accommodated at their new modern wing. Other tourist hot spots and eating places were within 10 minutes walking distance.
Dinner at El Rubayyat Restaurant and were entertained by the Egyptian Traditional dance and Mazer.

British School of Alexandria: International Day

The British School of Alexandria International Day is the most awaited event by the students, their parents and the teachers. A day where all the 24 nationalities around the globe – Malaysian, Russian, Indonesian, Malawian, Turkish, Lebanese, British, American, Indian, Egyptian, Australian, Israelis, Francis, Greece, Sudanese, South African, Scottish, Italian, and others dressed up with their traditional costumes and served people their national cuisine. This was my kids’ third International Day and was my first present with them! As usual, my favorite excuse – busy schedule.
Muhammad Aiman with his Malay traditional dress - the 'Baju Melayu' and 'songkok' wrapped up with the Malaysian flag - 'Jalur Gemilang'. He was very excited and definitely very patriotic. M Aiman is always supportive when come to 'stage' show. There were staging the Olympic Games with the 'Olympic Torch' on their hands, they did the match-pass exiting the audience wrapping up the morning show.
Muhammad Aiman, Afiqah, Donia, Dania, Rifqa, Qareem and two of their friends during the BSA International Day 2008. The photo was taken after their show. And, they are really gorgeous with their traditional dresses. See you all next year, InsyaAllah.

Raya Open House 2008: Part II

Alhamdullillah, Blessed by Allah Rabbul Jalil, despite 5 days had past Syawal, we managed to organize Raya Open House (ROH) 2008 again but this time with the Senior and 1st Year Medical Students whom we regarded like our ‘sons & daughters’ in Islam; Kamarul’s family; Ahmad Sharifuddin family and Adnan – our Chief. They were served by our simple Malay cuisine: ‘Nasi Minyak’; ‘Ayam masak Merah’; ‘Acar’ Egypt; ‘Daging masak Kicap Pedas’; ‘Ikan Kering Masin’; special prepared desert: Nana’s Cheese cake; Carefourr’s Sponge Chocolates Fruits cakes and local fruits: Local Oranges and Guava. Coffee and white tea was served with the Bounty; the Toblerone and Cadbury to boost up our lazy eyes. Alhamdullillah hi Lazi AtAmana wa SaQana wa Qinna ‘Aza Bannar, Aamiin.

Sa'adah: Amirah: Ifa: Dilla: Aklina: Zana: Dorin: Rozillah: Nana: Din: Muhammad Asri: Afi: Muhammad Aiman: Zainal: Zulkipli: Afiqah: Rifqa: Shakira: Athirah: Hana Yasmine: Humaira: Sabrina: Munirah: Nur: Nasehah: Fikri: Atef: Faizal: Jannah: Aisyah: Imran: Muhammad Afiq: Baiti: Baini: Saiful: Thanks to all and see you all again next year, Insya'Allah.

The Making of Alex Pau

Successful! The first attempt was really successful – the shape; the taste and the aroma were just commendable. Unfortunately, sad to mention though, the second and the third tried were ended with something that we called thin flat Alex Pau!

Well guys, as far as I am concerned, it was not the results that I look for, but the efforts that does matters. There is no short-cut in life and failure is just the symptom of success.

Anyway, in case anyone would like to try the Alex Pau, below are the recipe and the process for you all to consider. On top of that, you have to be a little bit creative and blend it with passion:

1 kg flour
8 gm dry yeast
18 gm baking powder
100 gm sugar
30 gm fattening
10 gm bread improver
2 tea-spoon ovalet500 gm water

Mix all the dry ingredients together: Pour in the water gradually: Put in the dry yeast and sugar. Softly dough the Fattening. Again remember - your creativity.
The potato chicken curry mixed for the main content of the Pau.

A Trip to Mansoura

We had been planning to visit Mansoura since a year ago, today, alhamdullillah, Nana and I finally unchained ourselves from other program to Mansoura, another small town North-East of Alexandria within the Egypt Delta.
We departed Alexandria at 10:00 hrs passed Damanhur, Tanta and finally reached Mansoura at 13:30 hours. It took us 3.5 hours tiring journey because we were using Benha-Mansoura highway instead of Tanta-Mansoura highway. It was tiring journey but another experience for us though!
Mansoura has new town area which they local called it Mahafdzah but otherwise it is a disorganize town with small streets and mismanaged corniche. Nevertheless, the people are nice, kind and pleasant. It is famous for cheap Jalabaya and other women dresses.
There are few hundreds Malaysian students studying Islamic related studies and medical in various universities at Mansoura. We met Dayang Nabilla the grand daughter of the Sarawak Governor, TYT Abang Salehuddin Abang Bareing, who undergoing Medical twinning program with Manchester University, UK. She was with Akidah and Aisha from Selangor. We left Mansoura at 14:30 hours with new experience and knowlede about another part of Egypt.

Alex Belated Raya Gathering 2008

No matter where and who you are; where you come from; what color you are; what flag you bear; what accent you speak, Syawal will be the moderator of all Muslims around the globe to celebrate moderately in one language with one Goal. This year, we PETRONAS Secondees would like to put in record our sincere thanks to Kamarul and his family for voluntarily and sincerely accommodating the Alex Raya Gathering 2008. The whole objective is to translate the PETRONAS Brand’s slogan: Energy receive Energy return; Aspiring other everywhere. On the other side, I think we should be thankful to the AlMighty Allah swt for giving us His blessing and wealth through PETRONAS. Subsequently, the wealth should be shared with all appropriate parties. Henceforth, our target this year was the Medic and AlAzhar Students in Alex who celebrated their Eidul Fitri away from their beloved family in Malaysia. About 120 students were invited together with our families’ members during the auspicious occasion.

The occasion had also provided space for the students to learn from us our experiences, tips and tricks on living abroad. Adnan, CEO of ELNG, took the opportunity to share his experience and advised the students on two main things: the image of Malaysian and study smart. This was Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Mohd Hassan Merican said during his recent Policy Address: "PETRONAS has gone through a lot of trials and tribulations throughout its 34 year history. A PETRONAS’ success is largely attributed to a workforce that is dedicated, committed and loyal to extent that there are willing to sacrifice for the corporation. While not all of us have gone through the full history, it does not mean that we cannot completely appreciate what PETRONAS stands for. In the light of the recent political development, PETRONAS employees, young and old, came together in support of PETRONAS. Again, I would like to thank you for your efforts in reaching out for your community, in what ever, directly or indirectly. It is the display of solidarity that will take us to greater heights in today’s fluid and challenging environment".

Eidul Fitri is synonymous with set of sate pronounced as Sa té in Malay, without which is just like song without lyrics. Though, we are about 7000 miles away from its origin, sate is always available as long as there are Malays. Imported from Rumah Kedah Cairo, transported by Zaidi, this scrumptious set partnered with ‘korma kambing’ and ‘rendang ayam’ anchored everyone to their chair. In Egypt, there are many sate twins but taste slightly different, such as, 'Kofta' - grilled chicken or beef. Sate came in set of hot peanut sauce, red onion, cucumber and 'ketupat' - traditionally cube compacted rice cooked inside weaved coconut leave.