I was back in my hometown last weekend. It was the usual monthly thing that I do except that I skipped the trip back home last month. Spent my December in Singapore during the holidays.

This time, I had a goal in my mind. To have my nasi kandar that I used to have back when I was small. It was still the same old small cart placed in front of a clinic. The clinic was also the place where the doctors saw me and my sister grew up. 

I was pretty excite. Not knowing on what to expect of the taste. Well, to my surprised it tasted the same and I was a happy girl.

The nasi kandar starts their operation around 6pm until for as long as there's still food left. But it's better to go early as the queue can be quite long later in the evening. Seats were also very limited. 

Fatimah nasi kandar is a family business established more than 30 years ago. The nasi kandar is much different that the one you see in Penang. It's more a like of nasi tomato. You should try once.

After dinner, my dad brought us to a newly opened rojak shop. The concept was the same as the nasi kandar except now, they have their own shop lot. But the unique thing is that, they incorporated their old fruit cart in the shop itself.  Their specialty? Of course, their rojak. They too saw me and my sister grew up. In a small town like Perlis, people basically knows each other. You can't run or hide from one another. We also live harmoniously. 

I believe that bumping into Dnas Qaseh wedding planner was no coincidence. Perhaps it was fate.

When I started planning for this wedding, I have a budget in my mind. That it will not exceed 20k. With the budget that I had in mind, I begun scouting for a wedding planner.

If you have many family members or siblings, uncles or aunties who stay around your location or maybe the same state, wedding planner is not necessary. But because my mum and dad were not locals, we had to get help.

My dad had a few co-workers who used to work with him last time, staying around. They actually helped a few things too. 

I had a few ideas in my mind. I wanted to combine the element of traditional with a little twist of modern into the wedding outfit. So, Scha Al-Yahya wedding outfit was my inspiration. I had 2 fitting session and even on the day of the reception, some amendment had to be made in the hotel suite itself *who said I grew fats?*.

Although my outfit was modern + traditional, I wanted to retain the traditional style in the groom's outfit. With the tengkolok and keris on him. I knew what I wanted because I had everything written in my organiser. From the color of the fabric for my outfit to the color of the deco for the wedding dinner. I made it easy for both the hotel event manager as well as the wedding planner. 

As for the pelamin, my mum specifically requested to have the traditional bench made of kayu jati. So my wedding planner had to use the one she had at home.

There are a few things consider when hiring a wedding planner:

1. Know your budget. This is the most important element even before your start planning for your wedding. Most wedding planner are flexible enough to play around with your budget. The cost to hire a wedding planner in the city will definitely be higher from the suburb.

2. Things will be easier if you have a rough idea on how would you like your wedding to look like. Perhaps, you can start with the theme and color scheme.

3. Prior to meeting your wedding planner, jot down your inspirations in a book or keep it somewhere in your phone. Show it to your wedding planner. Perhaps the combination of your idea and your wedding planner's idea would create a much better outcome. Above your expectations.

4. As a girl, especially, you tend to add the unnecessary little things for your wedding. Everyone wants to have fairy tale wedding but let's be realistic, not everyone can afford it. If you have a budget to stick to, keep it within that limit. Some things are not necessary or perhaps if you are creative enough, you can DIY.

5. Meet your wedding planner prior to your wedding date to discuss on the details again. Your deco, your outfit and whatever that is necessary. This is to make sure both side are on the same page. 

Lastly, don't FORGET TO LEAVE SOME FOOD FOR THEM.

By Juan Rafel

I love food especially Western. But I can do local cuisine as well. My wife has a different taste. She prefers the authentic 'masakan kampung'. Although she has a Chinese blood line in her, but we both both agree that I'm more Chinese than her.

I read food blog from time to time. Hunting for good food has always been my favorite past time during the weekend.

So I've been reading about Noor and Dean for quite some time now. So I thought why not give it a try a few weekends before. 

Dining in Noor & Dean’s Cafe is a stroll down the memory lane. The atmosphere boasts collectibles depicting historical community of yesteryears Penang, all accompanied by a casual and tasteful menu ranging from favorite local delicacies to Western. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is served seven days a week. Before dining, join us in the heritage Dean’s Lounge, enjoy our caffe or vino while socializing with friends and loved ones. Come and jump into our time machine.

Noor and Dean was featured on TripAdvisor so I believe that this cafe is a must go place when you visit Penang. Situated along a row of shop houses in front of 1st Avenue, this cafe looks like it came from the past. The deco of the cafe are mainly antiques.

You can have delicacies like cucur udang (prawn fritters) and surprisingly they're delicious although the price is slightly expensive compare to those in mamak stall. The place is also cosy and you can hear jazz music playing in the background.

Noor and Dean cafe is partially cafe and partially boutique hotel. The rooms are situated on the 2nd floor of the old building.

71 & 73, Noordin Street, Heritage City of Georgetown, 10300 Penang, Malaysia. info@noordinstreethouse.com

Tel: 604-262 7173 Fax: 604-2627172

Sekeping Kong Heng, in the charming old town of Ipoh, is the latest addition to the Sekeping family of retreats. It is located in a 3 storey neo-classical building which also houses a famous coffee shop of the same name on the ground floor that serves great coffee and the best local dishes in town. All effort has been made to preserve as much of the character of the existing building as possible in contrast to the surrounding new architectural interventions. In addition, an extension has been added at the back, tucked away to reveal an inner courtyard with a dramatic stairway to take guests up to their rooms.

Hotels or retreat places like this has been mushrooming throughout Malaysia especially in Penang and Perak. Mainly because, only places like these 2 states, one can witness the architecture of British era buildings and its remain.

Many of these old building were turned into inn or motels but they still retain the originality of the building itself. Although some of them may look creepy, but it rather brings you back to the olden days. The stains that were left on the wall makes you imagine how life is back in those days. 

Sekeping Kong Heng has it's advantage of being situated in the heart of Ipoh. Most of the infrastructures are close by like the Ipoh KTM station (8 mins), coffee shops and cafes (1 min), medical clinic (8 mins), wet market, night market (30 mins), banks, money changer, post office (15 mins). Access is easy. For those who don't travel by your own transport, I believe that Sekeping Kong Heng is a very convenient place to stay.

Although the rate of the rooms are rather 'burn your pocket' price, it will be an unforgettable experience for you and the family. Modern and antique can never go out of style. You can book the rooms at a lower price from Agoda.

Photos courtesy of Husna

I never knew that becoming a photographer is not an easy job. I thought that all they need to do is point and shoot with their big toys. Some photographer charges an amount that at times you feel 'Is it worth it?' This mind set that I had previously changes when my photographer started their task on my morning nikah session. 

Carrying equipment that weigh the same weight as them comes with stamina. Plus they need to carry all that, all day long. And they're superbly heavy *hats off to them*.

Here's a few tip to consider:

1. If you're going to hire an outstation photographer, make sure that their quotation includes other charges as well (e.g transportation, accommodation, etc). Do not be fooled with the advert saying 'RM999 only'.

2. Hire a photographer that you're comfortable with. You can identify if the photographer is easy to work with from the 1st meeting with them. Yes, it's true. That's why people say 'First impression is important'. Notice how their tone, body language and how they react towards your favor. I'm lucky that the photographer that I hired was a friend of mine. 

3. Before committing yourself to a photographer, ask for their work samples as many as possible through soft copies or if they have a website that you can refer to. Be it black and white or colored photos.

4. Lay out all your expectations clearly. No one, not even photographers can read your mind (Some clients may have weird requests). Give examples by using photos of what kind of outcome you want, or which angle you would like them to take. It's very important for both side to understand.

5. Set a meeting with your photographers again, prior to your wedding date. Recap on what you guys have discussed in the last meeting to make sure that everyone is on the same page. 

6. Some photographers request to have a tour on how your wedding venue will look like. Like mine, they scouted the venue a day before. If your photographer did not mention this part, you can politely suggest to them 'When will you guys arrive and do you want to at least have a picture on how the wedding venue look like?'. This way, they won't be running around like headless chicken on your real day.

7. Listen to your photographer on certain instructions because they have the most experience but then again, don't forget to remind them on what kind of photos you want and you can also suggest a few moves during the photo session. Wedding photography should be a fun thing to do. Don't be too serious about it. It will be a plus point if your photographer are jokers like mine. A natural laugh and smile will always look good.

8. This is a very important point. NOTHING IS PERFECT. Expect a little imperfection in your wedding photos and try not to be a fussy client. Yes, you are the client and you're charged with an xxxx amount but photographers are people, they're not photo printer.

Preparing a wedding is a 2 way communication between you and your photographer. You need to have the give and take attitude. A good communication will produce an excellent outcome. So be wise in choosing your photographer and good luck.

Photos courtesy of Memoria Photo.

Situated at the northwestern tip of Pahang, the “Camerons” is approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Ipoh or about 200 kilometres (120 mi) from Kuala Lumpur. It is the smallest constituency in Pahang.

The mean annual temperature of the retreat is about 18 °C (64 °F). During the day, the temperature seldom rises above 25 °C (77 °F); at night, it rarely drops to as low as 9 °C (48 °F) at the higher reaches.

There are many tourist spots in Cameron that you can visit. Plenty of hotels are available at a very reasonable price. One of them is Snooze Too motel. but during public or school holiday, Cameron can be a very crowded place. Try going during off-peak season.

Photos courtesy of Husna