Thursday, February 3, 2011

A CNY 'Misadventure'



I love it when a big chunk of the city population balik kampung for the extended holidays, leaving us transplanted city folks with the rare pleasure of peace and quiet brought forth by deserted streets and shuttered shoplots.

All that Pak Abu and I had wanted to do earlier in the evening was take a leisurely drive around the city centre, and perhaps pop in Kampung Baru or somewhere in the vicinity for a quick bite. We had certainly not bargained for a mini drama, albeit of Pak Abu's own doing, thrown in.

The drive had somehow led us to Wadi Hadramawt in Jalan Ampang where the family had dined in celebration of my birthday last October. Highly popular with locals and tourists alike (Arabs especially), the place was always packed and this time it was no different.

We found a nook by the entrance and sat down. After placing our order of lamb mandey, a mixed plate of fattoush, hummus and tabbouleh for starters, baklava for dessert, and mint tea, we settled in to wait.

That was when Pak Abu looked at me quizzically and asked: "Where's my wallet?" Naturally I had no answer to that because I wasn't in the habit of carrying his clutch bag for him.

[By 'wallet' he had meant his smallish, black leather clutch bag into which went everything; cash and cards, IC and diving licence, bills and receipts, and scraps of heaven knows what else].

A quick search in the car revealed nothing. On top of that, I had very little cash in my purse, for I had not bothered going to the teller machine earlier. Thirty quids was all I had on me.

We knew the clutch bag wasn't accidentally left at home because we had stopped by Petronas petrol station in Taman Tun to top up the tank before leaving.

Then it hit him: "Oh God, I must have left it on the table at Petronas when I was filling in the contest participation form!" [Worse, the table was outside, by the main door, in full view of and within reach by everyone].

There was nothing left to do but cancel our order and rush back to Taman Tun, hoping against hope that the bag would still be there or had been taken for safekeeping by the petrol station staff.

Our fervent, desperate prayers were thankfully answered, Syukur Alhamdulillah. The bag was sitting pretty, untouched, where Pak Abu had left it.

And that was how we ended up eating plain rice, telur bungkus, kerabu mangga and udang masak cili with petai in our Kelantan-Thai regular haunt, Santai. So much for lamb mandey...


15 comments:

Pak Zawi said...

Kama,
Syukuran it was still there. Unlike the missing car earlier, Pak Abu this time had left the clutch bag due to his forgetfulness. I guess age is catching up on him.

Pi Bani said...

Nasib baik sedar sebelum makan! Bayangkan Pak Abu & Mak Labu kena basuh pinggan kat Wadi Hadramaut... hehehe...

mamasita said...

Alhamdullilah..
Wow..talk about the peace and quiet..
Pak Abu's clutch bag was safe from even those who would go on their rounds stealing.

The rabbit year has already ushered one good luck for you all!!:D

HHalem said...

Kama,

Mcm drama pulak. Berderau darah pembaca dibuatnya.
Are you a suspense film screen script writter?

By the way, next time you wine (oops!) and dine at Wadi again, don't forget to order the Udang Menu.

Sea Water Udang freshly brought to you from Langkawi.

Supplied by yours truely:-)

HHalem said...

Kama,

About the bag, Pak Abu might have put or baca some pengadang for the bag.

Try and ask the old man for me please.

hazeleyed lady said...

syukur...duit halal insyaAllah sentiasa dipelihara Allah

Fadhil said...

Good fortune comes in many faces... the lamb mandey can wait for another day.

I guess Pak Abu now wouldn't mind not winning that Petronas contest because he safely got his bag back.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Pak Zawi & mamasita - hehehe, you are spot on..

Pi - tu la, kalau dah sudah makan I dont know what could have happened. gi cari atm machina la kot.

Halem - yes, we'll go try the udang the next time around. soon, insyaallah. and pak abu says 'takder apa2 ayat..'

Hazel & Oldstock - I'm with you there.

HjMisaiKontot :الدليل السياحي said...

Alhamdulillah everything ends well...

BTW, I sell lamb & chicken mendy on Fridays only, closer to where you are; in Masjid Al Mukarramah Bdr Sri Damansara canteen from 11am till 3pm. Do come early before prayers if you want Lamb as it is a fast selling item...

- Hj Nabeel - HMK Nasi Arab

tireless mom said...

Insha Allah with the misadventure Pak Abu will strike "RM 3 juta hadiah untuk dimenangi"

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Hj Nabeel - I must go and check this out. kalau berbaloi, sah masuk blog! :D

Yatt - nak tergelak pun ada. each time isi minyak kat Petronas, nevert fail to isi borang.. macam yoryor nak menang..LOl

Al-Manar said...

Hjh,
A good mini drama on CNY. And here we were made to watch over our grandchildren who insisted on playing along the beach, dangerous this time of the year.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Puteri,
All cats in the household are praying for Pak Abu to win the Petronas contest. Kalau menang boleh belanja makan nasi mandey! purrr....meow!

Kama At-Tarawis said...

al-manar - i wouldnt mind trading places with you, just to bed in dungun, at this time of the year. i miss the jo'ong days of the monsoon, and the rough sea..

cat - cat, kalau menang the contest. bukan boleh makan aja nasi mandey, boleh mandi terus dengan lamb mandey..lol

Kama At-Tarawis said...

* aisyy, just to bed pulak.. to be..