Pasta, Favourite Pastimes

Many years ago, when I was just being a guy with less than 2 weeks into marriage, I tried to impress my newly wedded young wife on my know-how in pasta cooking. I even boasted that I have spend like 4 years in the Highlands of Scotland perfecting my kind of pasta secret recipe.

So I prepared for her a spaghetti dish using canned bolognese tomato sauce with tuna flakes as the base.

'So what do you think, my dear?'

'Ok, it tasted ok,' said my wife with a wry smile.

Maybe, the spaghetti needs an extra sauce, I thought. 

I only learned 20 years later that my first attempt to prepare a pasta dish wasn't that successful to impress her. The 'ok' thing she confided, was really in a way to appreciate the effort, but not really on the taste.

Not now, by the way.

Now, whenever I prepare a pasta dish with my very own secret recipe, I'll get at least a 9 out of 10 marks from my daughters. Even the wife would like it so much.

The secret in making a delicious pasta (spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, macaroni etc.) is in using a whole bulb of garlic duly crushed, using garlic crusher (but, off course).

Garlic crusher from Ikea

The reason being, crushed garlic (aglio) will have a lighter, more delicate flavour with a much better distribution of a real garlic flavour. Crushed garlic will not taste like a minced garlic at all.

The other important ingredients beside pasta:

Fresh prawns (deveined)

Lemon juice

Tomatoes

Virgin olive oil (olio)

Chilli (peperoncino) flakes

Parmesan cheese

Rock salt (just a sprinkle)

Fresh herbs (basil, parsley, bay leaves)

Pasta sauce (if required)

Button mushroom 

In my opinion, pasta is the ultimate contentment food. When I travelled to Italy years ago, I noticed that pasta is generally eaten there at least once a day, and for many Italians a meal would feel incomplete without it. That's why you will see in their restaurants, they will be serving pasta in almost all of their dishes.

Maybe one fine day, you will get to taste my pasta.

Pasta ala Como di Lago (Lake Como, Lombardi)

The Campanile at Piazza San Marco
Venezia Santa Lucia (Venice)

Those Wonderful Little Things

A Slice of Pizza

The other day, after I have picked up my wife from her Saturday workshop in one of the school in Shah Alam, I stopped by at Domino Pizza to order two large pizza for my ever-hungry kids. 

Upon arriving at my house in Bandar Sunway, I saw a young girl (maybe 8-9 years old) had her bicycle laid down in the middle of the driveway in front of the house, while she was happily playing with the many cats that always hang around outside our house (not the two resident cats Jibu and Lola). 

Upon enquiring, she told us that her house is just across the road. 

To be honest, at first, I was a bit worried to see her freely riding the bicycle alone as I personally wouldn't let my kids do that when they were small. Having said that, that little girl reminds me of my sweet childhood days back in my kampung.

Since I don't have tasty cookies to give to that young girl, I asked my wife to take a slice of that fresh-from-the-oven pizza and gave it to her, not before asking her to wash her hands first.

A slice of pizza in the afternoon

Cat Food

Sometimes, I stopped by at the R&R just before the Sunway Toll Plaza, either to fill up my sports hybrid or to top up the T&G card. Or just simply to relief myself or to say prayer at the R&R surau, especially if the traffic conditions at the toll plaza looks a wee bit heavy.

The other day (a different day from the above), on my way back from my office in Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, I received the usual WhatsApp message from my daughter Ayra Umayrah.

"Ayah, pls buy cat food, cat litter, nutella and something"

"Ok baby"

That 'something' means something like McD nugget, KFC chicken, PizzaHut pizza, donuts, Cadbury chocolate etc. Whereas, I always use the response 'Ok baby' to all my kids and to the wife as well, in most, if not at all occasions.

Anyway, as the time was already past Maghrib, I stopped by the R&R to say the prayer. 

After I parked and got out from my car, I was greeted by a group of cats meowing noisily at me as if asking me for food. By the way, cats only acknowledge nice people! 

Then I remembered that I have a sack of cat food inside the boot of my car. Carefully, I opened up the sack and took  two handfuls of cat food and served those hungry cats. I even managed to 'topok' one or two of them.

Hungry cat

My Great Railway Journeys

For whatever reason, recently my feelings grew fonder on railway journeys.

Previously I had few memorable journeys on rail:

• Bagan Serai - Kuala Kangsar Keretapi Mel (circa 1973)

KTMB Class 22 22115
Bagan Serai to Kuala Kangsar
Distance: 75 km (1 hr 30 min)

• Glasgow Central - Euston Station Intercity (1990)

British Rail InterCity 125
Glasgow to London
Distance: 555 km (overnight)

• Karachi - Lahore - via Amritsar - Delhi - Madras - Tirunelveli (1991)

Pakistan Railways Class PHA20 8318
Karachi Express: Karachi to Lahore
Distance: 1,214 km (days)

Pakistan Railways Alco DL-543
Samjhauta Express: Lahore to Amritsar to Delhi
Distance: 52 + 450 km (20 hr)

Indian Railways WDM 2
Tamil Nadu Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin to Madras
Distance: 2,184 km (many days)

Epic journey on a steam train.

South Indian Railways Class T (Steam Locomotive)
Madras to Tirunelveli
Distance: 624 km (18 hr)

• Johor Bahru - Kuala Lipis via Gemas (1993) 

KTMB Intercity Class 24 224126

Johor Bahru to Kuala Lipis

Distance: 356 km (11 hr 20 min)

• Kuala Lumpur - Butterworth (2006)

KTMB Intercity Class 25 225102

KL Sentral to Butterworth

Distance: 300 km (overnight)

• Schiphol - Amsterdam - Apeldoorn - Zaandijk Zaanse Schans (2007)

Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nieuwe Intercity Dubbeldekker
Amsterdam Centraal to Apeldoorn
Distance: 75 km (1 hr 10 min)

• Sunny Bay - Disneyland Resort (2010)

MTR Disneyland Resort Line M Train
Sunny Bay to Disneyland Resort
Distance: 3.8 km

Ayra Umayrah ready to board the train to Disneyland

• Tokyo - Yokohama (2010)

Tokyu Toyoko Line 505 Series
Tokyo Shibuya to Yokohama
Distance: 35 km (25 min)

• Sirkeci - Kumkapi (2011)

Istanbul Suburban TCDD E8000
Sirkeci to Kumkapi
Distance: 4 km

Istanbul Sirkeci terminal, part of the (used to be) Orient Express
remember Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot?

• Milan - Venice - Lago di Como (2012)

Eurostar Italia Alta Velocità Frecciargento ETR 600
Milano Centrale to Venezia Santa Lucia
Distance: 268 km (2 hr 25 min)

• Gare du Nord - St Pancras (2015)

Eurostar Class 373009
Paris Gare du Nord to London St Pancras
Distance: 344 km (2 hr 17 min)

• Lakemba - Sydney (2016)

Sydney Train Millennium Set
Lakemba to Sydney
Distance: 15 km (20 min)

• Chubu - Nagoya (2017)

Meitetsu "μ-SKY" Express
Chubu Centrair to Nagoya
Distance: 50 km (45 min)

• Kuala Lumpur - Kepong Sentral (2018)

KTMB ETS Class 93
Kuala Lumpur to Kepong Sentral
Distance: 15 km (18 min)

• Sirkeci - Uskudar (2022)

TCDD Marmaray E32000
Sirkeci to Uskudar via Marmaray Tunnel under the Bosphorus
Distance: 13.5 km (10 min)

• Madinah - Makkah (2022)

Haramian High Speed Talgo 350 SRO
Madinah to Makkah via Jeddah
Distance: 453 km (2 hours)

If I Could Write Like This ...

﷽‬ 

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.

The following are the words of بدرول هشام بن زاينل عابدين the poor servant of the Lord, who acknowledges his sins and his shortcomings, and hopes for a hidden pardon from His tender Grace. 

May Allah forgive his sins, and replace his sins with blessings.

I turn to Allah for help, for He is all I need, and how excellent is The  الْوَلِيُّ (Al-Waliyy), The Protecting Associate, The Protecting Friend, The Supporter.

I praise Him with the praise of one who knows that there is no refuge from Him except towards Him. 

I thank Him with the thanks of one who is firmly convinced that favours and afflictions alike, are entirely at His disposal. 

I invoke blessing and peace upon our Master, our Nabi Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم‎ and upon his family. 

May they enjoy the countless benefits and gracious favours of Allah.

Batting Practice & Side Coaching

Sometimes, during batting practice, fellow colleagues will give some side coaching and what not.