My mom famous AYAM MASAK KANTAN

Semalam kak ton masak ayam kantan hasil dr beli kantan kat kedai bunga last week, nak tau kenapa beli kat kedai bunga sila tengok blog akak lagi satu ok. (https://cinteguadeloupe.blogspot.com/). So dh terlajak masak ttba teringat nak masuk dlm blog so semua org boleh merasa. 

4 kuntum EU6.50

Kak ton cakap ayam masak kantan ni famous sbb rasa dia unik and our must have lauk time raya. Mak cakap kalau nak makan rendang pegi umah orang lol. Biasa time raya buat la bape ekor ayam pun, pagi raya confirm dh habis, haaaaa smpai tara tu sedap dia. 

Semenjak mak dh tua ni, dia cakap dia dh tak larat nk masak, kalau dulu mintak resepi jgn harap la dia nk bg. Dia rela masak banyak2 utk org dr org tau camne nak buat. Ni la jugak lauk kitaorg hidang time open house tiap thn, tak pernah tukar. Yg pernah rs, tak miss dtg umah tiap thn, yg dh try buat mmg terus jatuh cinte, so i hope you will love it too. 

Resepi ni resepi agak2 ok, kita melayu biasa masak agak2 kan, kak ton nk bg exact measurement tak leh sbb lauk ni masak smlm, lupa dah.

AYAM MASAK KANTAN : 

6 ketul ayam (dicelur utk hilangkan hanyir ayam, my mom very particular, tak leh hanyir langsung)

Bahan tumbuk: 

1 biji bawang putih

5 biji cili api

sedikit halia

sedikit belacan

1/2 bawang besar - belah 6

10 biji cili api - tumbuk pecah (ejas cili anda jika tak makan pedas, tp masak kantan ni sedap bila pedas)

3 kuntum bunga kantan - belah 4

 (yg kembang lg bagus dr yg kuncup abah cakap)

400ml santan dlm tin atau kotak / santan fresh 

Sedikit air

Minyak utk menumis

Bahan Perisa

Cara2 : 

1. Tumis bahan tumbuk sampai wangi kemudian masukkan bawang besar, bunga kantan & cili api dan tumis sampai layu. Masukkan sedikit air supaya bahan tumis tak hangit.

2. Masukkan santan dan masak sehingga menggelegak. Masukkan ayam dan masak lagi sehingga santan pekat. Perisakan dengan garam & sedikit gula. Aji jgn letak ye, tak baik utk kesihatan.

3. Sejukkan dan simpan overnight dlm fridge.

4. Ssedap dimakan keesokan harinye dgn nasik atau nasik impit. 

Next time i will put proper picture ok, gambar ni dh siap masuk tupperware nk kasi kat cikgu perancis karang, Harap2 diaorg suka sbb kat sini bunga kantan diaorg tak pernah makan, ada ke patut dia gubah2 pastu buat bouquet, jual. 

Cindy & me

Anyway, have a nice day everyone! Bonne Journee bak kata org perancis. 

Trip to the past ~ Yangon aka Rangoon Oct 2015

Long time i didn't post anything on my blog. So, let me make this quick, we went to Myanmar last Oct as per our delayed wedding anniversary trip. Our trip covered Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake in 2 weeks. As usual i was a bit skeptical since i never heard any of my fellow Malaysian friends going there for vacation and i didn't get any information first hand. I didn't know what to expect and safety  is my biggest concern. So, for your information, Myanmar is safe for women traveler, annoyance is very little but its the traffic that you need to be careful with. 

We stayed at Clover Hotel at Mingabar St which is walking distance to Shwedagon Paya.  Since we arrived in the evening we decided to stay in and rest. First thing in the morning after Mohinga for breakfast, we went to check Shwedagon Paya. 

This is few tips that i can share with you if you plan to check all the paya (temple) :

1. DO NOT wear short pants. Below the knee is acceptable. But if you have to or its the only thing that you bring, buy Longyi (Sarong) outside of the temple. My husband wore short pants and we had to pay extra 5000 kyats for it. If you buy outside you can get cheaper, 2500-3000 kyats. 

2. Wear sandal / flip flop / slipper since you have to open your shoes right the moment you enter temple ground. Take plastic bag as the local did to deposited your slipper and take it with you. 

4. Have tissue ready to clean your feet afterwards since the temple ground not usually clean. There's dog, cat and chicken poo every where. 

My favorite paya in Yangon is definitely Shwedagon Paya. Its huge and amazingly beautiful. We went there both during day and night time. We paid 8000 kyats each time and didn't regret it. They open until 10pm ( if im not mistaken) and this is also the place to change money if you have notes other than USD, EURO and SGD. Money Changer here accept all currency.  

Shwedagon Paya Map

Cloudy morning since its end of monsoon and Nico wearing Longyi

Locals giving out offering all over the paya. 

us

More offering

Night time at Shwedagon where less people come. 

Monk chanting prayer

Small, big..budhha everywhere

After Shwedagon we took taxi to Ngahtatgyi Paya since its quite far to walk and we don't have much time if we need to check all the paya. Ngahtatgyi famous for its 26m seated buddha image. It was raining when we arrived so we stayed here for a while until its stop raining. When the buddha image is impressive its the carved wood panel behind it which actually caught me. Its beautiful and well crafted, see it for yourself and i can assure you that im right. 

Across the road from Ngahtatgyi Paya is Chaukhtatgyi Paya which housed reclining budhha. Since we came from Ngahtatgyi, we took the back gate and have to open our shoes and steps on the soil. Its not something that i enjoyed since its only our first day in Myanmar. Well, i end up getting use to it and just need to see where im stepping. 

Monk For A Day ~ Heinsa Temple

It was my idea to do temple stay in korea. Before you judge, please take note that this is just a cultural experience to us and nothing more. There's plenty of temple scattered around south korea so you can simply choose one that suit your preference. Some offer a great view, some offer martial art show and we choose Haeinsa temple because of Tripitaka Koreana. You can simply check their office in Seoul if you already there and need for more information. 

We took morning bus from Andong to Daegu for an hour. From Daegu we have to take another 1.5hrs bus to Haeinsa Temple. No worries, all destination written on the board so you just have to mention Haeinsa temple when purchasing your ticket. Just make sure you are at Daegu Seobu(west) intercity bus terminal and if you see a lot of monk around that's mean your are at the right place. 

It was a lovely journey to go through Gayasan National Park on the way to the temple. It was a very tranquil area, so peaceful and perfect if you plan to connect with nature and spiritual. 

We made a mistake by stopping one station after Haeinsa temple entrance. Nico was so confident its the next stop, so we end up taking taxi directly to the temple. Walking will be around 1-2km (if im not mistaken). We went directly to temple office for check in so we missed all the beauty along the way to the temple.

We've been given a short briefing upon arrival on temple etiquette.  Which is included  that :

1. Men and women are not allowed to stay together in one room
2. We have to wear socks inside temple
3. We have to be punctual for food and prayer
4. Silence at all time
5. Greet monk when you see them

We are free to visit around temple and take the opportunity to check the tripitaka on our free afternoon. The temple itself was built in 802 and is in Unesco world heritage list. So to be on its ground itself make us feel so lucky to be part of something so old and so well preserved. 

Uniform is given to participant 

Building that housed tripitaka koreana. You only can see from the outside

My favorite monk

As per scheduled we had temple dinner and so eager to see how and what they eat. We went there early and few monks who can speak English even invite us in. The entrance and eating  area for monk and participant is different, the canteen is modern and the food is vegetarian. Another rules that we have to follow is that we have to finish the food that we take. So you have to be very careful with the amount, since you might not like the taste. We took a lot of food on our first dinner and since we are not used to vegetarian, we are struggling to finish it. They serve rice with at least 3-4 vegetarian dishes. In the hall, you have to be silence, eat your food, not complaint on the taste, finish it and bring the empty plates and cups to washing area.

The highlight of this temple stay is the prayer calling and 3.30am service. After we finished dinner we went to see the monk hitting drums on a midst of dusk. At this hour tourist are no more in sight and so its only left us, the monk, the drums beat and the nature. It was an amazing experienced since i didn't know much about Buddhism.

3 monks will take turn hitting the drums

Right after drum, bell and that fish shaped instrument have been played, we went directly to main buddha hall. Remember, you cannot be late. The monk arrived in perfect line and immediately seated themselves for the prayer. Every service is about 30-40min each and evening service is different from dawn. We also have to take pillow and seated, definitely have to be quiet while the monk chanting prayers. Even though we didnt understand anything and we just have to follow what they did, it was amazing. Imagine you are on a hill with nothing else than moonlight, nature and monk chanting sounds which feel like can be heard throughout the area. 

Besides me and hubby, there's few local participant and a group of American student with their professor joining the program. These group of student and their professor was actually a funny sight while we are here. They try to imitated the monk life so much which is nothing wrong. They walk in line with their hands politely fold in front, greet all the monk they meet but during service they made a huge mistake. They just sit there on the floor, looking miserable and didnt bother to do the service which i dont understand why. Well come on, i am muslim and if you didnt come to experience it, why bother joining temple stay at the first place isnt it? 

One of the monk noticed that they didnt do they service properly and have to asked them to stand up and do it. He has to do it 3 4 times since the group will do when he told them to do, stop half way and seated again. 

We had an early night since the purpose is to relax and connect with your spiritual and its also because we have to wake up early for dawn service. 

Again, at 3am they played the drums as to mark for prayer and again we all stand there watching and hearing the sound echo the surrounding area. Compare to evening service, dawn service is much different, a lot of movement and bowing. I think i got headache from to much blood rushing to my brain in such speed lol. But all in all, it is an amazing experience if you willing to learn about other religion, believes and culture. 

We only stayed one night in Heinsa since normal people like us cant survive without meat, internet and entertainment. This temple stay will make you really think about your fast pace life and how its feel when you simply have to disconnect, slowing down, relax and pray. 

Roof  

Thats how the tripitaka looks like inside  

My room 

Authentic Traditional Korean Village ~ Hahoe Folk Village

We took 8am bus from Seoul to Andong. The reason why we made a short visit is because we wanted to see Hahoe Village, the most authentic korean traditional folk village in South Korea. Journey from Seoul to Andong took 3 hours, then we have to take another bus to city center. We send our stuff to our hotel first before taking another 40 mins bus trip to Hahoe Village. So in the end we only have one afternoon to check Hahoe Village and Andong. But trust me, its all worth it. 

Being in UNESCO list under "Historic villages in Korea" category already enough to make us going there and check it our self. Well, we love anything involving UNESCO and World Heritage Site. 

When we arrived we actually made a mistake for stopping one stop earlier. Fortunately, we haven't eat lunch and when we check with tourist information center, they told us there's no restaurant in the village. And again we are fortunate since the Mask Museum also at the first bus stop. 

So, since we love Korean food and was so hungry, we went searching for a restaurant. Restaurant at this area already look exciting enough and we couldn't wait to see the village. 

We checked this restaurant but didn't see anyone, further inspection inside we saw few occupied table with customers sitting on the floor. Then we've been greeted by the owner who took us to restaurant next door which look less appealing. She didn't speak any english and we didnt know whats happening. We end up eating here and since we are hungry and we still can eat on the floor, korean style, we don't complain. 

Seafood Pajeon aka seafood pancake/omelette 

Our Lunch Set 

Rice pudding, courtesy of Mrs. Boss

Korean style dining

Andong specialty food is salted mackerel. We tried and it was delicious. This is also one of few places in Korea we ate where they serves a lot of Banchan (side dish) to accompany the main dish. Of cos we couldn't finish it all since Nico didn't like Kimchi which comes with different type of vege. 

After lunch we went directly to Hahoe Mask Museum which is located at the entrance. It was small but interesting museum. They not only house masks from Hahoe and korea but also from all over the world. 

If you don't feel like walking, you can take shuttle bus to go to Hahoe village just next to information center for free. We were dropped outside of the village and from there we have to walk around the village. My first impression was, its a very calm village, so very quite and definitely authentic. 

As tourist prefer to stay in Seoul and it was weekdays, we are again blessed to enjoyed this village to the fullest. Besides us there's a small group of local people, 2 japanese women and 2 western guy roaming around the village. 

This village is a reflection of social and cultural systems of the Joseon Dynasty with a distinguish different between houses for Scholar, Noblemen, servant and commoners. 

View before u enter the village 

Mud-walled House 

Straw Roof 

thatched-roofed house 

We left after strolling around the village and hoping we have enough time to check Andong before everything closed. We bought Andong mask for 40000 won as souvenir. So peeps, if you are looking for authentic korean folk village, go to Hahoe. Its only 3 hours away from Seoul, not many tourist, salted mackerel is delicious and you definitely will feel like you are shooting your own k-drama. 

Souvenir Shop in the village before exiting 

Handmade Hahoe Mask 

You can go here by ferry but we dont have time to check it