Part 2 of the Celebration

THE EXECUTIVE CHEF
(My auntie Uteh Ros who has been cooking for weddings since god knows when. Inherited the talent from my late grandmother who used to cook even for the Sultan of Johore! Uteh Ros cooked briyani gam for my wedding reception....Gr8 food!).


THE SPACIOUS KITCHEN
(This is exactly behind my parents' house. Don't you just love this....The smell of burning wood...etc....You dont get this in KL anymore).

BEEF BRIYANI SIMMERING..YUM YUM
(mmm........Johore is famous for its Briyani..The beef was sooo tender and a perfect accompaniment to the saffron rice)



TWO POTS OF SAFFRON RICE
(Believe it or not.....there was no rice left at about 5 pm on that day......My aunt cooked about 4 big pots, I think. And according to her one pot can fill up 400-500 tummies).

THE BACK ALLEY - DRINK STATION
(The drink of the day was longan....My cousin-in-law, Ali was in charge of the drink station..Thumbs up to him...no hitches at all!).


YOUNG HELP WASHING DISHES
(I was truly amazed by this lad's enthusiasm...He is possibly about 6 years of age but he did extremely well washing dirty dishes. Even Khadijah isn't too keen washing her own dirty plates at homes...Still under training).


WHERE THE "DINING" PLACE WAS
(This is where the guests had their food-next to Memeng's house....buffet style..(sigh....see my comments earlier Part 1) - it was great fun, though, collecting dirty plates from the table..Yes yours truly managed to help this time. The last occasion I did this was perhaps Man's wedding 14 years ago, in Batu Pahat....).


PELAMIN/DAIS
(Well......nothing much to say about the pelamin).


KAMPUNG DATUK SRI AMAR KOMPANG BOYS
(the Kompang boy on the right is Abg Chik, Memeng's younger brother).


ARRIVAL OF THE BRIDE & GROOM
(After a slight delay, the couple arrived.....The make-up person was not available that day......hence the delay).


"MAKAN BERDAMAI"
(Wifey cooked one of the dishes for the main table...I think it was the sweet and sour fish)

This took place on 2nd December 2006 in Muar....This overdue entry was because of some technical difficulties which I encountered with my pc...and then of course the always not so reliable broadband service which I subscribe to...(sigh).

Arrived in Muar Friday night with wifey, Khadijah, Afiq and Afiqah (nephew and niece)...Upon arrival I had a gastric attack (as a result of popping antibiotic capsules which I took to stop the yellow discharge oozing from my toe nail) and immediately forage for food at my parents' house but to no avail...It was about midnight and without wasting time headed for Parit Sakai, accompanied by Ib who was missing me as he had been in Muar since Tuesday, hoping to devour a bowl of Soto or Mee Bandung. Luck was not on my side as the stall was already closing. Parit Sakai stall is my favourite haunt whenever I am back in Muar, like twice or thrice a year......!

Drove back to Muar town slowly and guess what? The Murtabak Singapore stall next to Mobil petrol kiosk in Parit Perupuk was still open.....Had a RM8 Murtabak Singapore but only managed to finish half of it. It was huge and thick....Lots of minced beef and eggs...Heavenly...! It took care of all the gastric juices and headed home a happy man! Slept soundly.....and woke up about 6 am the same day! Breakfast for the day was Busu Noi's (Memeng's mom) contribution. It was nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaf...and apparently it was 30 sen per packet.....I was like.....Hello...do they actually make money at all? Finished two packets of nasi lemak.....and felt contented after that.....Well after breakfast..was work...work...work.....Prior to work..chatted with the Executive Chef, Uteh Ros at the big kitchen....!

Day three kicked off with a visit to our fave breakfast place in Muar (my late granddad's much-loved hang out place too!), the kopitiam opposite the Electric Board or known as TNB now, with my cousin and her family as well as my sister, Yeop, her hubby and Nabil, my nephew! You have to exerience a true Muar breakfast if you happen to pass by...Just visit any of the kopitiams in Muar (No this is not Uncle Lim's/Kluang Railway Station type of food which is only impressive on the ambience bit and nothing to shout about, gastronomically speaking). It's Mee Bandung, Mee Rebus, Lontong, Nasi Lemak, Satay and all the heavy weights of artery-clooging-dishes which they serve at all the kopitiams in Muar! We had Roti Kaya (the nice fluffy white ones and buns as well) grilled using charcoal and also steamed....as well as mee rebus. T O T A L

B L I S S....The coffee was damn "kick" tooo! I had kopi-o-peng (iced black coffee) to go with my steamed kaya buns.....Am salivating whilst typing this entry...excuse me for the mess...LOL!

The wedding was great but the side activities made it more exciting! Cant wait to be back in Muar for the food.....Must visit Parit Jawa this time for the assam pedas. I once was brought by my uncle, Pak Jak, to Parit Jawa when I came back from England 15 years back and never visited that place since. He and his then wife, Mak Ijah, brought me to this fishermen's village in Parit Jawa about mid-night...They serve assam pedas freshly cooked that time of the day...to cater for all the fishermen who leave for the sea about 1-2 am......AND the assam pedas.....DAMN NICE!