Night out in Bandar Seri Begawan

29th July 2010

One great thing about our school holiday ~ we do not have to go to bed early. Usually at nights before our school days, lights are out at around 8 pm so as to ensure that we start each day fresh and energetic.

We have actually been "spying" on the weather, and sadly it has been raining a few nights. Luckily, last night was promising and our parents decided to have that night-out we have been waiting for. As we were walking and enjoying the subtle weather, mummy took some pictures along the way. A good opportunity for her to experiment using the night-mode function of our not-so-new camera! Hehehe...

First picture taken ~ normal mode. Other pictures below are taken using the night-mode function. Quite a difference. By the way, this above picture is of us standing in front of a used-to-be famous cinema at the heart of Bandar Seri Begawan, where daddy used to go during his childhood days.

Lovely Bandar Seri Begawan!

Special Iftar for a special guest

28th July 2010

Yesterday was the 15th of Sya'ban according to the Islamic calendar, which is also known as Nisfu Sya'ban (نصف شعبان). Besides the recitation of Surah Yasin and prayers / doa on the night before (according to the calendar, the date changes at dusk), it is also commendable to perform fasting on the day itself.

Last night, daddy invited a special guest to break his fast (Iftar) at our home. It's Rania's daddy - the amazing fighter baby from one of our previous posts. While at it, our parents decided to have some fun, and made the Iftar a bit more special. Mummy set our dining table nicely and even put name labels at each seating. She was also the "waitress" last night and all food were served personally to us rather than a buffet-style. What's even more exciting is that the menu was special as well!

For the breaking of their fast, daddy and uncle Sateria had tamar / dates, yellow thick toast and air bandung. Then, after performing the Maghrib prayer, the special dinner kicked off with a delicious starter - tarap fritters.

For the main course, mummy has prepared delicious dishes. Firstly is the Sarawak laksa with condiments. Since it was a bit spicy, mummy also prepared a chicken and prawn soup for Safiya and I in substitution of the laksa gravy.

Secondly, as requested by our special guest, we were served with Nasi Ayam Penyet, also prepared and cooked by mummy. Uncle said that he wished he can bring the food to Brisbane since his wife loves this dish a lot. Poor uncle, that might be impossible given Australia's tight border security and quarantine.

Together with the rice dish, we also had stir-fried young papaya.

At this point, daddy and uncle were really full. However, mummy warned them not to give up eating since the desserts were next. Besides assorted fruits (thanks uncle for the longans, grapes, oranges and apples), mummy prepared two desserts, both on request. For uncle Sateria, mummy made mango lassi topped with crushed pistachios. For daddy, mummy made mini durian soft cakes (bingka durian) following mummy's success in baking it a few days ago. This time, mummy baked it in medium-size moulds prefect for one serving each.


Hehehe... look at the picture below - uncle Sateria showing off his empty plate! Oh, uncle also brought souvenirs for Safiya and I from Australia ~ warm fleece blankets, one of which was put by Safiya on her chair's backrest. Thanks uncle and auntie!

Simply put, everybody had an enjoyable time last night. Even baby Safwan was happy too, he didn't stop smiling at our guest!

To uncle, hope you had a satisfying evening, and have a safe trip to Brisbane soon. Give three kisses for baby Rania, one from each of us. To auntie Haiza and baby Rania, wish you were here too :)

Bingka durian

25th July 2010

Local durian is in abundance now. Nini laki and nini bini recently gave us some (thanks to their orchard) and since we have lots, mummy decided to try out a [recipe] and made her first attempt at making a Malay kuih - bingka durian (durian soft cake). Notice that the colour of the bingka comes naturally from the durian flesh itself since in Borneo, our durian comes in different coloured flesh ~ white, yellow, orange and dark red. For mummy's kuih, she used orange durian.

Surely you can guess from the pictures... scrumptiously delicious!

Growing even more

24th July 2010

It has been 15 days since our last day of school and we are really enjoying our "summer holiday" which will last until end of next month. So far, we didn't do much and we only stay at home since both our parents are working. But that doesn't mean that we are not having fun. We cherish the moments that we spend with our cute and cuddly baby brother who, as we can see, is growing fast!

At a little over 4 months old, he is now more talkative and can almost turn his body to lay tummy down. When he is in an almost sitting position, he lifts his head and body up as if he wants to sit straight. His hands coordination is getting better too - he can now reach out and grab things close to him, and usually it goes straight into his mouth! Hehehe...

With regard to body size, he has grown more. In fact, he has almost outgrown his baby rocker and now has to sleep on the bed to avoid any mishap. If you look at the picture below, you can see how cute he looks when he's asleep. So precious!

Welcome Rania Aleesya

19th July 2010

Uncle Sateria & auntie Haiza, good friends of our parents welcomed the birth of their miracle baby girl, born prematurely at around 26 weeks on 8th July 2010. Her birth weight was 560 grams and is currently under delicate care at the NICU in Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Australia (where she was born).

We pray that both mother and baby will recover soon. We can't wait to see baby Rania when she's back in Brunei later this year.

To learn more about her amazing story, visit

http://satizaworld.blogspot.com/

Congrats uncle & auntie!

Nini Laki's birthday celebration

18th July 2010

Last night, we had dinner at our favourite "ambuyat" restaurant together with the rest of our family (mummy's side) in order to celebrate nini laki's birthday. It was belated by a day since on the exact birthday itself, we had a small tahlil ceremony in Pengkalan Batu.

We had a satisfying dinner comprising of ambuyat, of course!

When it was time for the birthday cake, it seemed like the grandchildren are more excited than the celebrated person himself... hehehe!

This year, together with our cousin Basyeerah, we gave nini laki a special birthday present - a Nokia 1661 (silver colour) phone. It was perfectly timed since nini laki's current phone had some wear and tear after a long term use.

We love you, nini laki!

Another JPMC appointment

16th July 2010 (Part II)

At around 11.15 am today, Safwan had another appointment with his pediatrician at JPMC for his 4 months check-up. He was also due for another Rotarix oral vaccine as well as the second dose of his Hexa vaccination package. Safiya and I decided not to come since we couldn't bear to see our baby brother receiving a jab like the last time. At the same time, everyone was busy at Nini Laki and Nini Bini's place since we were organising a tahlil ceremony right after the Friday prayers.

As soon as they arrived, Safwan was weighed and he is now 7.140 kgs. Then, they went in to see Dr. Prasad and the pictures tell us that our brother was active and happy.

The doctor decided that it was better to first give the oral vaccination before the jab so that Safwan will not be in a bad mood for the latter. Like before, Safwan made some funny faces and mummy said that our brother did not like the taste of the vaccine.

Rest for a while... Hehehe, Safwan must be thinking, what was that just now??

Then, everybody got ready for the jab...

But hey, he was smiling! Hehehe!

Another birthday

16th July 2010

NINI LAKI IS 59 TODAY

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to Nini Laki
Happy birthday to you!

Love always from
Syafi, Safiya & Safwan

Dirgahayu

15th July 2010

Today, all Bruneians are proud to celebrate the 64th birthday of His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei. Happy birthday Your Majesty!

"Dirgahayu Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik"

Her pointy finger

12th July 2010

In one of the previous posts, we mentioned that Safiya is now getting more used to her computer skills. One interesting thing that we just discovered is the way she holds the mouse. Look at the pictures below and we're sure you'll notice...

Hehehe... and her finger stays that way the whole time!

My birthday celebration

11th July 2010

As planned, in the afternoon today at our home was held my long-awaited birthday celebration ceremony. Lots of family and friends were invited and we are happy that they accepted our invitation. We didn't have any party games (the reason why we don't say it's a party) but one thing for sure; we had lots to eat!

On the menu was chicken satay (fried), kelupis & beef curry, fried vermicelli, fruits and desserts. Since Nini Bini and Nini Laki now runs a [catering business], why look elsewhere, right? As such, most of the foods were creations by lovely Nini Bini with some add-ons by mummy.

Nini Bini's deliicous satay goreng

Some of mummy's creations; vanilla cupcakes with icing, chocolate moist cupcakes and huge fruit platters. Hehehe... We didn't get to take picture of her fruit custard, blueberry-chocolate oreo trifle and fried vermicelli ~ people were so eager to eat! :)

Then, as usual, it was birthday cake time. This year, mummy ordered an Iron man birthday cake. Since she made the order only a few days before the ceremony, the bakery couldn't entertain a request for a 3-D Iron man mask cake. However, the substitute was no less satisfying - I really love it!

Oh yes, the flavour of my cake was mango chilled cheesecake.

After filling our hungry tummies, it was presents unwrapping time (again!). Here are my birthday presents...

I first took picture with Nini Laki, Nini Bini and Nini Green.
For new readers who might be wondering, Nini Laki & Nini Bini are mummy's adoptive parents, while Nini Green are her natural parents. They're actually related since Nini Laki and Nini Green are brothers.

Presents from Adam & family (the suction-dart gun) and cousin Syahmi (t-shirt).

Presents from NiniBoy & NiniGal and [Warya family]

Presents from [Nini Green] and Wawa Hj Jufri (mummy's eldest brother)

Presents from mummy's siblings, Ngangah and Iring

These are from our neighbours... :)

Just before bedtime, my parents gave me a delightful surprise. Although they already gave me my birthday presents on my actual birthday, they apparently have more to give. I was really happy unwrapping them!

So, what did I get? It's a new schoolbag and a lunch box for my new school year next month ~ embroidered with my own name.

To everyone who came to the ceremony, a huge appreciation goes to all of you for making it a successful and fun event. Thanks too for all the great presents!