Pak Abu's Birthday

Halal tiramisu (made without its customary rum)

Awwa flanked by Italiannies GM, Celina Wu (left), and big sister Ann

The family went Italian for Pak Abu's birthday dinner.

Pak Aji Tarmizi a.k.a. Pak Abu looking beat. Apa tidaknya, he put in 18 holes of golf despite fasting. That's four hours of walking under the hot afternoon sun without the benefit of drinking water.

Italiannies, the restorante famous for its spaghetti with mega-sized meatballs. This outlet is in One Utama (new wing).

Pak Abu turned 58 Wednesday. To celebrate the occasion, the family adjourned to Italiannies in One Utama (just down the road from our living quarters) after Maghrib for dinner.

It was a strictly family affair, although eldest son Naj was unable to join us (he had to attend a client's buka puasa do). He dropped by the house later in the evening for coffee, though.

As its name suggests, Italiannies serves authentic, and decidedly delicious, Italian fare. Servings traditionally come in big portions; one dish can eat two or more.

We ordered family portions of spaghetti with meatballs, caesar's salad mixed with fruits, fried calamari and baked stuffed mushrooms, eaten with bread dipped in olive oil and seasoned with herbs.

The outlet's general manager, Celina Wu, is a close buddy of Awwa. They have known each other for almost a decade. They were once college mates and working colleagues.

By the same token, I have known bubbly Celina for just as long; she used to ferry Awwa when they were co-workers at the same food outlet in the heart of Kuala Lumpur a few years ago.

Celina even broke fast with us once. All these, and we weren't in the loop until last night that she is the daughter of our good friend and fellow Lake Club member, Pansy.

In all, it was a pleasant evening out and a welcome break from the usual buka puasa fare of kuih muih, rice and lauk pauk.

I wouldn't recommend going Italian or Mediterranean during the fasting month though, because the food is rich and creamy, thus heavy on an empty stomach. If you must, go for rice-based, all-in-one paella; it's nice and filling.

In fact, I felt a slight twinge of headache when we got home, no doubt from the cheeses. Nevertheless, we enjoyed both the food and the company.

The birthday boy received two Greg Norman golf shirts, one black the other red, courtesy of son Joe.

Ann says she would match by getting him a Panama hat to replace the felt one he lost when our car was spirited away by thieves a few months back.

Currently Pak Abu is exhausting his supply of freebies - baseball caps, T-shirts, handtowels - for his daily swing.

Happy Birthday Pa.... Semoga Allah swt perkukuhkan lagi iman, panjangkan umur, murahkan rezeki dan pelihara kesihatan, and that you'll have many more years of good golf....