Majlis Ramah Tamah Aidilfitri & HPPN 2012

on Friday night it was the Majlis Ramah Tamah Aidilfitri for Limbang at the hall here. was definitely a big event as YAB CM and his wife and many VVIPs/ministers as well. i was glad to be invited to a private big event although it was really jammed and still crowded especially when it comes to getting the food.

VVIPs

food stalls.. never eaten rendang satay etc on a big pile of rice at 10.30pm at night before..

this weekend was a busy weekend for the locals involved in agriculture here, especially to farmers (plants & animals) and fishermen as the state level event was held here with VVIPs as well

the pamplet showing a introduction to Limbang to all those participants who aren't from here. i can't help but notice two of my pictures were printed here too

after the opening ceremony its off to the sales booths

selling local products, fruits, kerepeks

there's the technology booths as well, nicely decorated and air-conditioned

took a shot with a bull made of palm oil seeds, red lights as eyes and bananas as the horns

there's the cooking competition and food sales section too

and behind the Plaza is the 3rd venue where the animals like bulls, goats and chickens are kept as there was bull racing competition too

definitely a fun-filled day for the locals for the next 3 days, but i do admire and respect the local organizing committee for organizing a state level event during Raya. well done!

Hari Raya in Limbang with Parents

Obviously the Raya holidays did not end with Gadong, it was only the beginning

we had a home-cooked feast waiting for us at a relative's place once we got back from Gadong

the next morning, dim sum time at Union restaurant. the price is obviously 3x cheaper compared to Brunei's.

we went to a few open houses, even the YB's!

and another home-cooked feast that night

after 2 days of eating nonstop my dad and i decided we need to do some exercise so we hiked the Bukit Mas at Taman Tasik Bukit Mas

yes i have a poor stamina, haven't moved a muscle in ages.. so although the hike could be less than 20minutes i took nearly 30, and after more than half way, i stopped to see this loooooooong flight of steeps steps and i went.. arghhhhhh

but i thought to myself, 'oh come on, you conquered Mount K, this is nothing!'

at the peak. actually there's a road there but you would need someone to drive up and wait for you at the peak, if not its down down down again

then we went for a heavy breakfast of kampua mee and soup of goodies (fishballs, tauhu, wantan etc) at one of the best kampua mee stalls on the ground floor of Pasar Limbang next to the stairs, few stalls from Rojak Limbang

lunch was home-cooked pan fried salmon (bought from Brunei which was only B$11/kg, so the 3 slices was only B$8, a bargain according to my dad)

and a 10-course meal for dinner

on the 4th morning it's kolo mee breakfast at Mei Xing

followed by home-cooked grilled mussels, and that was the last meal with my parents before they head on home.

looks like they enjoyed the holiday but were complaining that they need to diet once they get back.. as for me, this is only the beginning of Raya feasting.. but i am aware that i need to exercise... soon...

Pre-Raya Gadong Trip 12 with Parents

my parents came over to Limbang for the long Raya weekend (as i was oncall and can't go anywhere far) so i brought them to Gadong on Raya eve just to show them how i spend my weekends there. the border queues were definitely a lot longer than usual.

dim sum at RBC Dynasty Restaurant at Centrepoint Gadong. its not bad, at least for the halal-version.

then i brought them to watch The Expendables 2! lots of veteran actors who they can relate to of course, its more for their generation, and boy, there's lots of wrinkles throughout this show, besides the gory bloody scenes too

then its off for Escapade Sushi, a must for my parents. decided to be more adventurous for them so i ordered the Sashimi combination which is 100% Fresh. its ideal for us as it has 3 of everything, mackerel, salmon, scallops, tuna, octopus and another type of fish, for $18, its $1/slice if you do the maths

had hakata roll too, a bit dry this time and idako

my parents relaxing after good food. then we went grocery shopping (food stuff of course) which would be the menu for the next few days. i could tell my parents definitely enjoyed Gadong (where they don't have to pay B$ or drive) except for the long queues where everyone balik kampung. as for me, kampung came to visit me! :)))

Gadong Day Trip 11

its been a while since i had sushi so its time to have some good ol' fresh sushi at Escapade, Gadong

fuji roll, a favourite among some of my friends

kawari roll, avocado with crunchy salmon skin and unagi.. me likey

beef maki, name speaks for itself

kisu fried sushi.. like little fried fishes one rolls of sushi rice covered with seaweed n sesame seeds

soft shell crab temaki, kinda like a California roll

slippery lobster, like little lobsters cooked in black pepper sauce

tongarashi maki.. soft shell crab maki

ika shioyaki, the picture speaks for itself

hakumaki prawn cheese spring roll, not bad but not much prawn in it

takoyaki or better known as deep fried octopus balls

tori negi tempura which is fried chicken which looks like sushi.. very meaty and filling

all these to be swallowed by 3 girls! don't blame me, i have greedy friends who either can't estimate portion sizes or can't estimate how much sushi a girl can actually eat.. or they just want it all.. (most likely the latter after all the binging experiences with them)

after that we head on to watch the Bourne Legacy. seems odd that its not starred by Matt Damon but it's not bad anyway

after the movie, we decided to check out an Italian restaurant called Grazie Maurie.. the inside definitely looks better than the outside

desserts with little cakes, tiramisu and apple pie with ice cream

and since the fasting month is coming to an end, i have to brace myself for all the rendang ketupat lemang curry satay etc etc that will be pouring soon..

Non-fasting Ramadan

last week our Bonus day coincide with the birthday of one of our colleagues so we went for steamboat at Maggie Cafe.. we ordered nearly everything in the menu

the yummy cake and the birthday girl who doesn't seem too pleased with the number of candles on her cake

and somehow my friends weren't over steamboat yet as suddenly that weekend they planned to have Another steamboat (plus bbq) at home

so after having a non-halal lunch we went to buy all the stuff for the steamboat and bbq that night

preparation for the steamboat

and as you can see we throw everything in.. like everything that the pot kept overflowing so many times.. and we even barbecue pork *shakes head* and what i don't like about steamboats and bbq? overeating overeating overeating.. till i was forced to take home some of the food, cooked And uncooked..

and i Keep telling myself 'Ramadan bazaars.. Majlis Buka Puasa.. Raya Open Houses.. Majlis Hari Raya.. Makan2.. Makan2.. Makan2.. i Really should be fasting too!'

Gadong Day Trip 10 - eat movie eat movie eat

and that is exactly what this blog post is about, in a nutshell

appetizer before our first show was my all-time favourite Papa Beard vanilla/original cream puff

then its Total Recall time! its better than i expected, and abit confusing at some points, but good effects still! and there's 2 hot girls!

for intermission we checked out the new bakery Bakerlyn with ice cream and cakes (as the favourite Dairy Queen ice cream on the ground floor is closed for renovation)

we had donuts, cakes, ice cream and frozen yoghurt (not all pictures available)

next show, Ice Age 4! why oh why did i have frozen yoghurt before this movie?? brrrr

survived subzero degrees and head onto Pastamania as our last stop

spaghetti with pine nut and basil, seafood baked rice and pasta with fried chicken

and that's what these 4 crazy girls did today.. eat movie eat movie eat.. i think our next aim is to make it a 3-movies marathon.. so eat movie eat movie eat movie eat... Gosh!