handsome couple from Islamabad

Anjum and Shaniaz. all the way from Islamabad. they came over to our place for a hi-tea. Anjum's my dad's PhD student and since he's done with his study, they're going back to Pakistan. my dad and Anjum are great friends. i think it's especially because they share common interest in food. u see, Anjum's wife cooks for us several times. they invite us for meals and send us foods at times. of course, the dishes are all of Pakistani's or Indian's. since we used to stay in a Pakistani/Indian community back in England, we love their food. (more like used to it). so, whenever we want to cater food for occasions or when we invite people to come over and eat, my dad'll just order from Shaniaz. so, before they leave, we invited them over for a meal at our place. my mom wanted to serve them malay traditional food. we searched for sate but was too late to order for some. after some pusing2 and calling2 orang, we got roti jala and murtabak..and honeydews for the fruits...traditional enough?


and best thing is that, i found out that Shaniaz is actually a fashion designer!!! she has 2 boutiques already back in Pakistan! supercool..heh, had a great chat with her bout beads, clothes, fabrics n stuff. and plus, she also owns a kindergarten. superb0. she told us about her wedding and her culture. my gawd, the wedding is soooo expensive. especially for the woman's side. her's went on for 5days. her family had to prepare 38 dresses to give to the in-laws where as the man just had to give 8. unfair! and plus, the bride's side gave away furnitures, electrical appliances and a whole furnished house to the groom's family. what's that u ask me? i have no idea...and she told us that when she was wearing the ..umm..err..(ok, i forgot what it's called) the wedding costume for the bride, she said that the red cloth that she wears on her head was like sooohhooo heavy that she couldn't bother to move. the way she shook her head geleng2 and sighing describing her wedding costume, i thought "what a torture to just look beautiful on her wedding" heh..but she said, she prefers malaysian's wedding anytime.. keh3..ye la, 5days, sape larat!

before they left, of course, my dad asked for recipes of the dishes that they give us. my dad's fave has always been their nasi beryani. Shaniaz said that it's quite difficult to make. at first, my dad was still willing to give it a try but when Shaniaz told abah that it would take him 14 hours to prepare the spices only, it was a 'never mind' from him.( a few days ago we catered 2 big periuk of the Beryani. so when we heard of the 14 hours preparation, musti my parents macam.."mak aih..kesiannye Shaniaz..") it's nyummy and real spicy i tell you. a real Indian dish. i guess, we'll be seeing abah busy in the kitchen on his 1st try-out making a Nasi Pilau. can't wait!