Food for Raya

I made biscuits yesterday! Successfully. :D Although for the life of me, I couldn't shape the biscuits into the shape of cashews as the biscuits are made of ground cashew nuts. The recipe said to shape the dough into the shape of cashews. But I say, the cashews are already grounded. So my biscuits will be flat rounds! And they taste great. So there.

Hari Raya Aidilfitri is just around the corner and I just wanted to get in the mood. Although this is our first Raya as husband and wife, sadly we won't be going back to Malaysia to celebrate with family and friends. But I guess that's ok. It's an experience, right? And I'll be cooking yummy dishes for Hari Raya just like we do in Malaysia. We're planning where to go 'jalan-jalan' for this short hols. Maybe take a trip to Abu Dhabi.

Tonight, a few friends are coming over for iftar (buka puasa). I'm cooking Nasi Ayam and lasagna. I'm starting to get really good at cooking. Considering I don't really cook much back in Malaysia. Living overseas teaches (actually, forces) you to be independant and try new things. Food was readily available everywhere in Malaysia. And at really cheap prices. Ready cooked food in Dubai is absurdly expensive, hence the home cooking I do now.

Dubai's All That

I've been in Dubai for almost 2 months now. I haven't landed a job yet. Unless you've applied and secured a position in a firm or company before actually coming to Dubai, I'm starting to think it's hard to get a job here. I'm sure a lot of women who are family focused would love to have my job right now - housewife in a glamorous city. No paperwork, no deadlines, no irritating colleagues and certainly no out-of-this-world-crazy bosses to please.

So what DO you do everyday if you're not employed at some glitzy, high-powered firm? (I'm an architect by the way). You do your everyday chores (cleaning, washing, cooking), then you have a walk in the city, visit historical spots, savor the culture and have a chat with the locals. Haha, tough luck! You won't find that here. I have to say, other than the humongous shopping malls, sleek skyscrapers and lavishly mouth-watering cars, Dubai really has nothing to offer. To me, at least.

For instance, I surfed the web looking for interesting things to see and do in this land of sand, and all I got was shopping malls and more shopping malls. Seriously, I think the most popular culture here IS shopping. And nothing else. I was hoping I'd stumble upon interesting architecture walks I could take, like the one I did while I was in Sydney. That was inspiring.

But that said, I have yet to throw myself into one of those Dubai city circle buses. Maybe, just maybe, I'd learn or see something interesting in this buzzing city. My hubby says the bus will take us to popular spots in Dubai and stop at various shopping malls. He also says I don't have to get down at the malls if I don't want to. Hell yeah, I will make sure I don't! :D