Renew The Intentions

Often times we get carried away
Thinking everything will stay
But when the sky turns gray
and the thoughts go astray
Would you still stay?

These bridges were built
resting on desperation and guilt
like an unbalanced stilt;
swaying back and forth with a tilt.
I promised not to jilt.

Now halt.

We wanted to make the best out of it.

Love For The Beloved

It's so easy for the heart to go back to the state it was mended from. The human heart goes back and forth, as it struggles with its own desires yet restrained by its conscience. That is what my heart has been going through for quite a while now. I knew I needed to find a remedy to soothe this wave of uncertainty in me. I signed up for religious classes, mixed with people who remind me of god and tried reading the Quran as much as I could -to gain back the level of spirituality that I believe I have lost.

I guess there must have been something missing somewhere. I was somehow unaffected spiritually despite all the classes, conversations and verses I have read. It worried me that my heart might be dead.

That was when the Soul Sister's tahajjud event came along.

It was something new to me and I did not know what to expect. I have tried doing tahajjud prayers before but I was never sure whether it was correct. Also, I have never done it as a group nor have I slept over in a mosque before.

On the night of registration, Ustazah Su'aidah asked us to ask for forgiveness from everyone in the room. The reason being, we might have sinned unknowingly against anyone there, just by our heart's whispers (i.e. first impression or judgements in the heart). This made me think about the silent judgements I have passed secretly unto others thus far  :/

Then Ustazah also said that we will be guided and protected by Allah in all things that we do, provided we do what is wajib and sunnah first. We never realised the countless of times that Allah calls for us throughout the day. Through the Adzan, through Iqamah, the sleepless nights we went through which could have been more productive and meaningful by doing tahajjud, through our longing to read the Quran (which we usually tend to ignore or push aside till a later time) and last but not least, through death. 

The group discussion that we had after that was on the topic of death: things that we can do so that we would have a "good death" when our time comes. This reminds me of what my Fardhu Ain class' Ustazah said: one may lead a religious life but that does not mean you would die as a devout muslim. And if you have been living the life of a sinner, that does not mean you are not worthy to die as a devout muslim. Miracles and unexpected things can happen so we should never be too complacent about anything. As long as we are still asking for forgiveness and still believe in Allah.

The qiyam session was quite an emotional one for most. As I have been feeling low spiritually for quite a while, the night prayer has really made me indulge in my longing to feel Allah's presence. In Allah's house, I felt like I was in a rehab. It was as if I was there to mend myself and to renew my intentions. I felt as if I had taken too many things for granted, and still having the cheek to ask for more things from god in my daily prayers. 

After the qiyam, we had a letter writing session. We had to write a letter to Allah, and it was only between you and Allah. So we had all the lines and spaces and inks to let out all our confessions and thanks. After which, we were asked to choose a card from a bag. The card consists of a verse from the Quran. The one I picked was apt to what I had confessed to Allah. 

Our iman goes through waves of highs and lows. Yet, Allah is always there to guide us back to the right path. Yes, be assured that Allah will guide you to the right path.

InsyaAllah, I hope to attend many more tahajjud sessions. It sets me free from the burdens have been bottling up and at the same time, keeps me grounded to Allah's words.

21 on Rajah

Here we go again, 

out on our cafe hopping adventure.

As usual, our plans are either all over the place

or just non-existent.

On this impromptu plan

(or maybe this cutiepie had planned it last minute and decided to string me along without telling me the place),

we had our "too late for lunch buffet, too early for dinner buffet" meal

at 21 on Rajah.

We got to know that the lunch buffet ends at 2:30pm

while the dinner buffet starts at 6:00pm.

Bird cages, comfy seats and relaxed ambience

While waiting for our food to be served,

a waiter and waitress served us

plain water as well as bread for appetizer.

Such great customer service!

(We didn't order any plain water nor appetizers)

Our main dishes came in so glamorously

on their platter.

Estofado

Poitrine De Poulet

Mediterranean Sparkle

Adam cran Cranberry Juice

When the food came, I honestly thought the serving was quite small.

(I kinda forgot that I get full easily)

My Poitrine De Poulet consisted of two large, thick

chicken breasts, some potatoes and vege.

At the end, I did feel full, though not bloated.

Which is good.

My partner on the other hand,

had a dish of tomato based stew, with meatballs and squid rings,

alongside some bread.

I guess it wasn't really that filling for him.

All in all,

I can conclude that we did leave the restaurant somewhat happy,

especially because of the really good customer service.

I would really love to try out the buffet if I've got the chance to.

Badoque @ Simpang Bedok

I finally managed to try out the restaurant 

I've been wanting to go to 

since years ago.

I'm superlatively thankful for friends with

cars and driving license.

It really made travelling from one end to the end

of Singapore much more easier.

So the four of us ordered our main dishes:

Smoked Duck Pasta Putanesca

BBQ Chicken Steak


Seafood Aglio Olio with Black Ink Pasta


Mermaid's Tears

Appetizer: Potato Wrapped Prawns

 But three of us didn't manage to finish our serving.

For such a huge serving of delicious food,

the price of the dishes were quite alright.

If I were to fill up my tummy here again,

I'd probably be sharing my food.

Too much, too much.

BanaEggs With Plums

It's kinda hard for me to resist 

whipping up stuffs in the kitchen

when I see an overload of ingredients

loafing around at home.

Today, I saw them bananas and plums

sitting nicely on a glass platter

being unproductive.

So I figured I should put them to good use.

I may not be the best food photographer

nor critic,

but I'm quite confident in whipping up nice desserts (;

Presentation wise, I still got a long way to go.

I tried to make it as gluten-free as possible 

and only used natural ingredients.

Here are the ingredients:

For the BanaEgg

1 1/2 ripe bananas (mashed, though not completely)

2 eggs (whisked/beaten)

1/8 teaspoon of baking powder

a pinch of salt

For the plum sauce

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter (depending on how much sauce you want)

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

2 plums (pitted, diced)

A pinch of salt

Almond flour to thicken sauce (optional)

For the BanaEggs, all you need to do is to mix them well in a bowl. 

Then, you can either use butter or oil to cook it.

It'd be wise to use a non-stick pan.

Mine was actually a failed banana and egg pancake

so I scrambled them and spoon-rolled them into balls.

(At least I turned a failed experiment into something better!)

Set the BanaEgg balls aside on a plate.

To make the plum sauce, you have to melt the butter then add the brown sugar. (All on medium low heat)

Wait for the brown sugar to melt in the butter

then add in the plums.

Wait till the liquid in the pan has turned red/maroon

then bring out the plums.

With the sauce still in the pan,

add a pinch of salt.

Then pour the sauce over the BanaEggs,

place the cooked plums on the plate as well

and use up all of the sauce.

Bananas, eggs and plums all on a plate.

How nice!