Percutian Berastagi-Medan Menjadi Misteri Nusantara

Baru-baru ni, 23-25 November 2010, saya dan keluarga melancong ke Medan. Inilah pertama kali saya menjejakkan kaki ke Tanah Indonesia, tetangga yang terdekat. Kami mengikuti pakej pelancongan bersama grup seramai 27 orang. Pakej kami ialah, Berastagi-Medan selama 3 hari 2 malam.

Tempat-tempat menarik yang dilawati ialah Air Terjun Sipiso-piso (Pemandangan Danau Toba), Pasar buah Berastagi, shopping gila di kota Medan. Keseluruhan pakej, hotel dan tour berharga RM 500 seorang. Secara keseluruhan pakej ini baik dan berbaloi untuk pelaburan.

Pemandangan Berastagi di siang hari. Nyaman.

Berastagi adalah kawasan pelancongan tanah tinggi seperti Cameron Highlandsdi Pahang. Cuaca agak sejuk 22 darjah celcius, amat sesuai untuk berehat dan mengendurkan saraf otak yang stress. Populasi penduduk Kristian melebihi Muslim, namun mereka toleransi dan saling menerima perbezaan. Ini jelas kelihatan bila Rumah Makan (restoran) Muslim berselang-seli dengan Rumah Makan Kristian yang rata-ratanya menyediakan babi panggang. Toleransi beragama ini jelas kelihatan dari bangunan gereja dan masjid yang berselang seli dalam penempatan yang sama.

Rumah Makan Muslim

Rumah Makan Bukan Muslim, betul-betul di hadapan Rumah Makan Muslim.

Pada hari pertama kami dijemput di Airport, Medan oleh pemandu pelancong yang sempoi dan terus bergerak ke Berastagi di mana kami akan bermalam. Dalam perjalanan menuju puncak Berastagi, kami singgah makan tengahari di Bandar Baru. Makanannya boleh diterima oleh tekak kami yang cerewet. Rumah makan di Medan masih menghidangkan semua lauk-pauk ke meja pelanggan dan hanya akan "charge" lauk yang dimakan sahaja. Sistem ini pada suatu ketika dulu terdapat di Penang dan telah diberhentikan di sekitar tahun 70'an.

Jalan menuju puncak terasa begitu lama kerana jalannya yang bengkang-bengkok dan rosak. Namun pemandangan hutan simpan yang luas dengan jurang yang dalam cukup untuk melekakan fikiran. Semakin tinggi semakin sejuk dan nyaman. Kami sampai di puncak dan terus check in ke Hotel Green Garden. Berehat seketika dan keluar tour ke Air Terjun Sipiso-piso untuk menikmati pemandangan Danau Toba dari puncak.

Air Terjun Sipiso-piso

Pemandangan Danau Toba dari Puncak Sipiso-piso

Alangkah indah lukisanNya.

"Speechless!"

Penulis, isteri dan anak.

Sungguh menginspirasikan pemandangan di sini.

Kami singgah ke pasar buah di Berastagi dan shopping buah-buahan serta makan jagung bakar "king size". Lepas makan jagung bakar kami makan malam di RM Family. Makanan ok, cuma sedikit terkilan kerana ada cekikan pelancong. Tapi tak apalah, sekali-sekala kan?

Makan di Rumah Makan Family.

Pasar buah Berastagi

Kami bermalam di Green Garden Hotel yang cantik dan murah; RM 70.00 sahaja dengan makan pagi. Malam makin dingin dengan kabus yang menyelubungi suasana. Letih kerana perjalanan jauh, kami terus masuk tidur.  Namun malam dingin tak mengizinkan kami tidur nyenyak. Malam itu kami diganggu oleh entiti asing yang menaikkan bulu roma. Ada yang diganggu bunyi berdentum-dentam, hilai tawa dan kanak-kanak bermain sekitar jam 2 atau 3 pagi. Seram!!! Misteri Nusantara.

Green Garden Hotel.

Kolam renang yang cantik tapi sayang sejuk sangat, macamana nak mandi?.

Bilik besar, selesa tapi murah. The best value for money. Lantaklah misteri Nusantara.

Esoknya kami bertolak ke Kota Medan yang sibuk. Lepas check in di Hotel Ibunda kami keluar lagi untuk shopping gila. Maklumlah kami semua dah jadi jutawan belaka. Duit Malaysia dah bertukar menjadi jutaan Rupiah! Perasaan jutawan itulah yang menjadikan kami gila shopping. Namun bila kami tengah teruja untuk shopping, kami dikejar oleh pemuda-pemuda medan yang berniaga ala paksa. Keghairahan kami terbantut dan duit tak habis dibelanja. (hehehe..selamat duit aku)

Ke Medan City

Mak aih, shopping sakan.

Awas Rujak Berbahaya! hahaha. Humor banget!

Shopping gila di Pasar Ikan. (Nama Pasar Ikan sempena dulunya sebelum bazaar dibina di sini adalah pasar ikan)

Adehh!!

Sini-sini, kain pelikat, kain batik, telekung semua ada, murah-murah.

Habis shopping gila kami ke kedai Bika Ambon dan Lapis Legit Ayu yang terkenal di Jalan Gedung Arca. Serbuan kami menyebabkan kesesakan lalulintas akut di situ. Alang-alang ke Medan, eloklah dibelikan oleh-oleh untuk saudara dan teman-teman.

Bika Ambon

Lapis Legit

Bika Ambon-terbaik dari Medan.

Pulang ke Hotel Ibunda untuk mandi dan bersiap untuk shopping lagi di Mall Simpang Raya. Shopping lagi!
Malam itu kami semua tidur lena tanpa gangguan misteri Nusantara. Alhamdulillah!! Esok paginya kami pulang ke Penang dengan perasaan bercampur aduk. Suka dan seram, tapi suka lebih banyak dari seram.

Oleh:
Sanusi Din
29/11/2010

Fresh, simple and delicious Aidil Adha dishes.

Aidil (Eidul) Adha suppose to as big as Aidil (Eidul) Fitri celebration but lately things has change drastically. Aidil Adha has becoming less happening, compared to Aidil Fitri. This is a very sad result.


Many factors contribute to this result. The major factor would be, lack understanding on the purpose of this celebration is to mark the history of holy sacrifice done by Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). The willingness of a father to sacrifice of his son, Prophet Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedient to God, before God intervened to provide him a ram to sacrifice instead.


Other factor would be, no additional holiday gazetted by private company. Most people from far away states unable to come home to celebrate with family and friend. That is what Eid is all about for all Malaysian. “Balik Kampong” or literally means return to hometown is a must during big festivals.


Anyway, I am lucky because my kampong is not far way, only 45 minutes drive from my place. Same goes to my wife’s kampong also about the same distance. Last Aidil Adha, I reached Singkir Laut just before the prayer. As I mentioned earlier not so many people from far away states return home. I saw a couple of childhood friends outside mosque after the prayer. Have a quick catch-up session and went home to eat “ketupat pulut”, a special Eid food in North Malaysia. It is glutinous rice (sticky rice) wrapped in a “palas” leaves (type of small palm tree) and boil to cook. Some people prepare it by steaming the rice. Normally it is served with beef curry and “rendang”(Chicken or beef cook in a special fragrant sauce).




"Ketupat palas"

 

After that, we went to my sister’s home in Sungai Gelam, one of kampong in the famous Bujang Valley. The Bujang Valley or Lembah Bujang http://www.visitkedah.com.my/places_lb.html is a sprawling historical complex and has an area of approximately 224 square km. Situated near Merbok, Kedah, between Gunung Jerai in the north and Muda River in the south, it is the richest archaeological area in Malaysia.


There, we had more “ketupat pulut” and a big lunch of a special kampong dishes. My brother in-law caught a big “ikan pari” (stingray) in a nearby Merbok River http://www.visitkedah.com.my/places_sm.html and he wanted to charcoal grill the fish. Wow!!, the fish was so fresh it has not been iced or refrigerated. Imagine how sweet, juicy and tender the fresh fish going to be.



Grilled Stingray

 The fish was marinated in salt, turmeric powder and fresh turmeric. Basic seasoning for North Malaysia style grilled fish. Then the fish was wrapped in banana leaf to maintain the juice and the aroma. It was serve with special “air asam” sauce (sour and spicy sauce consist of small chilly, onions, shrimp paste, salt, sugar and tamarind juice)


Our lunch also accompanied with “siput lala” (baby mussel) broth and fresh salads, lettuce and fragrant (selom) leaves. OMG - simple dishes that bring all the original flavor of Northern Region food. I love it so much. I think most of our comfort foods are simple foods. Nice and easy to prepare. Simply delicious!

Our whole big lunch dishes.

Selom Leaves Salad ("Ulam")

Baby Mussel (Siput Lala)



Local lettuce salad ("Ulam")

My fisherman cum char kway teow seller brother in-law in his festive season outfit. He is too sexy for his shirt.

Ummmpppphhh.....yummy!!



Delicously finger linkin' experience.



Clearing Up Spider Web On My Blog

Happy belated Deepavali to all Hindus.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha to all Muslims.

It's been a while since my last post. 

I am not that busy, like normal busy, I am busy like nobody business. 

I got caught between my big and small world.

My big world is of course my career world lah.

But no matter how busy I am, my other blog is running ok.

Only this one, my slumber casual blog is left unattended, sien.

Since I am back for good, I upgraded the look of this blog.

The background reminds of one Datuk Shah Rukh Khan movie.

I wonder why la, lately my poetic and artistic minds keep on begging to let go fancy and odd words.

I wrote so many poems in Malay and also English. (Its not here, its in my other blog)

I also wrote a poem about me caught in between two worlds, here I recycle for you guys my own writing in my other blog: http://catatanseni.blogspot.com/ 

My worlds

In my small world

Urgency is not priority

Troublesome, why hurry?

Have some coffee and poetry

Let the caffeine tell a story

In my big world,

Racing against time

Deadlines always on the line

All data must be define

Facts and fiqure should be fine

In my small world,

Differences are made equal

Through words and poetic ritual

War and hatred in a mode of denial

Let the writings embrace us all

In my big world,

Opportunities are blunder

Equality is joke of the year

Monkeys are policy maker

Talks and walks are mere orator

I would rather,

Trapped in my small world, forever

But my bank account will soon clear

Oh my dear, oh my dear,

I am in between of hate and fear

Ibnu Din Assingkiri

24/09/2010

Even if it is hard to comprehend to some, this is how I visualize my situation sandwiched between worlds - Damn hard to comprehend!

Even how hard its going to be, here I am, clearing all the spider webs in this blog.

Sanusi Din

15/11/2010

Excuse Me Sir, I Want to Know Why

Sebuah kenangan masam manis semasa mengajar Bahasa Inggeris.


Beberapa tahun yang lalu, saya dapat kerja sebagai guru sambilan di sebuah pusat Bahasa Inggeris Antarabangsa di Pulau Pinang. Saya sangatlah teruja dengan tawaran tersebut. Di Pusat Bahasa tersebut, murid-murid dicampur dari pelbagai peringkat umur mengikut tahap Bahasa Inggeris mereka. Jadi dalam satu kelas ada yang berumur 9 tahun hingga 20 tahun.

Dalam kelas saya ada seorang budak berumur 9 tahun yang sering mengganggu kelas dengan soalan-soalan yang tiada kena mengena dengan pembelajaran. Saya bersabar kerana dia hanyalah seorang kanak-kanak yang hiperaktif barangkali.Setelah berpuluh soalan yang ditanya akhirnya tibalah saat kesabaran saya hilang akibat soalan ini; "Excuse me Sir, I want to know why boys have bird and girl don't have any bird?". Itulah titik akhir kesabaran saya dan titik mula saya mengusir dia keluar dari kelas, sepertimana yang dilakukan oleh guru-guru saya dahulu kepada murid yang mengganggu kelas.

Akhirnya tindakan saya membuahkan hasil. Kelas tidak lagi diganggu dan berjalan lancar. Yang sedihnya pula, itulah hari terakhir saya mengajar di situ. Saya diberhentikan kerja kerana mengusir murid keluar kelas. Saya terlupa sesuatu, "customer always right".

Lesson Learnt:

1. Menjadi guru kepada anak-anak kecil memerlukan kesabaran yang tinggi.
2. Salut kepada semua guru yang penyabar dalam mendidik anak-anak bangsa.
3. Customer always right, no matter how wrong they are.
4. Saya memang tidak sesuai mengajar budak-budak sekolah rendah, biarlah saya mengajar orang dewasa sahaja.
5. WTH with the bird?

by: Sanusi Din
12/09/2010

Perantau Malaysia di Kumamoto, Japan.

Perantau Malaysia.
Masalah utama ialah makanan.
Mana ada restoran halal kat Kumamoto ni..
So, takkan nak buat 100% sorting kut.
Inilah jawapannya:
-Sambal tumis ikan bilis
-Seafood Tempura
-Brahim packed curry
-Bubur nasi segera
-Serunding
-Nasi (Beli kat Jusco sebelah hotel, semangkuk kecik 4 hinggit)

Inilah yang dinamakan fusion food, nasi, udang goreng, sotong goreng, serunding dan sambal tumis ikan bilis chef nori osman. Buah strawberry tu pon aku buat lauk jugak.

Ini stok makanan 4 orang ok, bukan aku sorang. hehehe.

Tu dia. Semua made in Malaysia.

Yang ni udang goreng tepung, dia ikat dengan rumpai laut. Sedap ni...kalau lapaq tambah sedap.

Inilah dia tetamu terhormat, VVIP makan kat bilik aku.. Nah ambik kau, pulun jangan tak pulun.

Muka lapaq gila..siann..

Tu lah masalah utama, perantau Malaysia di Kumamoto, Japan.

Bab-bab makan ni problem besar.

Nak kena jaga betui-betui.

Historic Visit to Kumamoto Castle, Kumamoto, Japan

I have not been writing for a long time. Miss me or miss me not?
Here I am writing again.
Recently I went to Kumamoto, Japan for a business trip.
As usual for a business trip, there were no such thing as business and pleasure, not with my company.
In this short time I have a chance to visit Kumamoto Castle.
Some facts about Kumamoto Castle:

Japanese engineering and architecture. Salute!!

I wonder how many people died building this castle. It was not mentioned.

Climbing up to this level made us exhausted. Need to go up some more to the top of this pagoda like castle.

Made of wood..man this is wonder.

The last samurai. He is working 9.00 to 5.00 and not dead.

Armoured samurai guarding this castle for 400 years. Imagine Employee Provident Fund so huge after retirement he can built his own castle.

Those were the names who donated for the maintenance of this castle, displayed on every floor of the main castle. Wahh!! so much donation. No wonder the can keep in beautiful and clean.

OMG gotta climb up this?? I'm still catching up my breath at this level. How many floor you said, is it 6?

I conclude my story like this;

Museum and Antiquity Department around the world, please come to Kumamoto Castle and benchmark their facilities and service.

You will be amazed!

Low Fat Nasi Lemak

Yea-yea, I am back with more foodie to make you guys crazy.

It's my job...maaa..to make you feel hungry..

What is Low Fat Nasi Lemak?

I have no idea, actually about the scientific facts but instead to coconut milk (santan) just change it with ordinary milk. 

It's not going to be original but don't worry about the taste.

It's still going to be as good as original nasi lemak with coconut milk.

The rice preparation should be the same but the herbs and vege should be fried separately then only mix into rice cooker and cook.

The secret to make your nasi lemak to be good until the last grain is the sambal. 

How to make a sambal with good balance of spicy, sour and sweet?

How to make your sambal become so shining?

The secret is simply be generous in your cooking.

Put a large amount of Indian Onions, it will make your sambal taste naturally sweet.

Choose the right type of dried chillies to avoid uncontrolled spiciness.

Cook your sambal until the blended dried chilly become evenly cooked and settled (pecah minyak)

There you go, the rest of the steps are no secret to you guys.

I have just exposed some trade secrets here.....

Look at the color and texture of sambal ikan bilis.

Hard boiled eggs nice to be served together beside sambal ikan bilis. (local anchovy)

The fusion setting of Low fat Nasi Lemak on mengkuang leaf table runner.

Special brewed coffee it is. Goat Milk coffee, steaming good health beverage to go hand in hand with Low Fat Nasi Lemak. What a combi!! Goat Milk is the answer for lower fat content milk products.

Nasi Kerabu Terbaek di Pulau Pinang (Info Tambahan)

Tadi aku pi beli nasi kerabu kat Taman Robina.
Link terdahulu tentang post ini: Nasi Kerabu Terbaek di Pulau Pinang
Nasi kerabu terbaek kat Penang dan seluruh kawasan utara (aku bagi rank ni)
Tokey dia En Jamil yang berbudi bahasa bagi nombor telefon dia;
012- 591 7502
Katanya bolehlah call dulu, order, datang ambil kemudian.
Bukannya apa, kadang-kadang habis awal.
Pukul 9.00 pagi pun boleh habis.
Untuk yang datang jauh dari Bukit Mertajam nun, kesian pulak bila dah sampai, nasi kerabu sold out.

Kat situ juga ada nasi lemak yang tak kurang hebat.
Kuih-muih pun ada jugak.
Harga murah sangat. (From RM1.00)
Harga nasi kerabu RM 2.50.
Harap info ni dapat membantu peminat nasi kerabu Taman Robina, Teluk Air Tawar, Butterworth.
P/S: Setiap hari Isnin - Kedai ditutup.