.: Hello 2018 :.

Tick tock.

Just a few more hours to go before we enter the new year. In retrospect, loads of stuff happened throughout 2017. Started a new business, clinched a couple of long-term freelancing writing jobs, and secured a scholarship, Alhamdulillah.

The year also came with its fair share of unfavorable news, with my brother's death being the hardest. Until now, there are times when I still find it unreal. If you are reading this, please send a silent prayer for my brother, in hope that Allah places him in a better place and elevates his status as a better Muslim, ameen. 

What do I have in mind for 2018?

At this age, I hardly come up with new year resolutions. Suffice for me to say, let's strive to love a little more, care a little more, and be kind to one another. Above all, retain from bringing harm towards others. 

May 2018 be a blessed year for all.

5.51pm, Malaysian Time

.: Hayye Ala Al-falah :.

The azaan app.

Finally back on the blogging realm for a quick post. 

One of the things I had been busy with was doing the translations for the Hayye Ala Al-falah azaan app. Alhamdulillah, the app was finally released on 14 November 2017, on the App store, for IOS devices. 

Here are some screenshots:

If you happen to use an Apple product, or knows someone who does, it would be a great privilege to me if you or your close ones can download the app and provide honest feedback. This will greatly help the developers to make significant improvements, to make the app better for everyone.

Here's the download link:  Hayye Ala Al-falah azaan app

Share the word around!

10.54am, Malaysian Time

.: With practice :.

Comes great patience.

Started learning the art of folding jiuhe earlier this year. Never really got the hang of it until just recently. Sure took a a great deal of time, patience and perseverance in order for me to reach to the level where I am now. And I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to go through this path.

On another note, I have gathered a higher level of respect for those who make jiuhe as their main source of income. Even with the right skills, it still takes a lot of time and effort to create something that not only tastes good, but looks good too. 

Handmade food, are, and will always be, worth every bite. 

Off to the lab.

7.50pm, Malaysian Time

.: Eating dumplings :.

Hari Raya Sale.

In conjunction with Hari Raya Haji, we are launching a special offer for our frozen dumplings! 

💝 1 packet -= RM16 (20 pieces of frozen dumplings)
💝 Beef, chicken or vegetable options.
💝 Minimum order 4 packets.
💝 No delivery charge to selected places in JB, Seremban and KL.
💝 Promo period is from 22 until 28 August 2017.
💝 Muslim product

You can have it for Raya, serve it to your guests or even give it as a unique Raya gift to your family and friends!

Not sure how to eat it? The dumplings can be eaten on its own, with sauces, soups or noodles. The best thing is the dumplings are fast to cook and good to eat! 

Try them now! 😁

4.30pm, Malaysian Time

.: The update :.

Long overdue.

Finally found the time to update my details under 'The Writer' tab. 

For the past few months, I have been busy with our business over at Kaijia Muslim Food. From the initial stages of setting up the business, to creating the website and curating social media posts, I have to admit, it took a toll on me. 

But that is all in the past now. I have gotten the hang of things (I hope) and I figured it is time for me to resume with enhancing and diversifying my freelancing portfolio. To be honest, I still find it hard to believe that I actually miss writing financial and business articles. Given a choice, I would rather write about food, or eating, or anything that has to do with food and eating. What is there not to love about food? 

Anyway, I was informed that some clients had difficulties locating my contact information. To make it easy for future clients who happen to stumble upon my blog, I have included my email at the upper right-hand corner of this blog. I am not sure if it shows on your mobile, but if you happen to read this post, feel free to drop me an email at hajar.alwi@gmail.com. I will definitely get back to you the soonest possible.

Now that I have gotten these items off my chest, I have to go do some research on social media marketing, to further equip my knowledge about it. You can never know enough now, can you?  

Hello Facebook!

2.54pm, Malaysian Time

.: A test :.

Against fear.

She hesitated. 

Despite the nurse asking her to relax, the patient hesitated. 

 "You are 21. So am I. We must be brave. You can do this. I promise it will only hurt a little. Now close your eyes and trust me." 

And the nurse inserted the needle. 

She screamed. 

She cried. 

She was horrified. 

The nurse then said;

"We are done." 

She stopped crying. 

Baffled. 

The nurse repeated her words; 

"We are done. You made it."

Against the odds.

9.36pm, Malaysian Time

.: Final rites :.

Passing through.

When a dear one leaves this world...
One would usually say...
Now...
There is a void deep within our souls... 

Yet...
How can there be a void when the memories are still very much intact?
And the fact that...
The very person...
Lives on in each of our lives? 

I suppose... 
Death... is hardly the end of a single life... 

Death... in its truest essence...
Marks the beginning of the lives it has touched... 

To remember the person with a clean white slate... 
An emphasis on the good, the smiles and the laughter... 

At the end of it...
Death...
Helps to make us better people...  

Till we meet again...
In our final resting place...

In loving memory of my brother.

6.49pm, Malaysian Time

.: The Cookie Jar :.

And more!

My big sis will insha'Allah take part in a charity sale to be held at Menara Great Eastern, Jalan Ampang on Wednesday, 14 June 2017.

If you're around the area, please drop by and render your support to her and other vendors. 20% of the proceeds will go to Pertubuhan Kebajikan dan Perlindungan Nur Qaseh Malaysia.

Spread the word around and many thanks in advance!

PS: Click on the images to enlarge it.

12.38pm, Malaysian Time

.: 斋月吉庆 :.

Ramadan Mubarak!

As we enter the second day of Ramadan, I start to think, are we truly aware of our intentions and goals? 

Particularly for those who happen to do business during this time. The ones who happen to only do business during this time. 

May Allah SWT protect us from taking advantage of Ramadan to feed our own selfish desires, ameen.

Treading on thin lines. 

3.53pm, Malaysian Time

.: Kaijia :.

China Kampung Muslim Food.

After such a long hiatus from the blogging realm, guess it's high time I make a post just before the start of Ramadhan. Can't believe we have less than a week to go. Am I fully prepared for it? Well, not quite. I still have to get used to my new schedule.

By new schedule, what I mean to say is that Alhamdulillah, my family has embarked on a home-based food business. We specialize in cooking Northwestern China Chinese Muslim food. Yes, we are selling halal Chinese food right here in Johor Bahru! Why Northwestern China food in particular? The main reason is dear Mr Husband is from there and it's like killing two birds with one stone really. We can satisfy our cravings and sell food at the same time! I have to say, I kind of like that arrangement.

The next reason is as far as we know, there is a limited number of places selling Chinese Muslim food in Johor Bahru. The few that we know of are the Haji Shahrin Low outlet at Bandar Baru Uda and Pondok Dimsum at Kilang Battery. However, one thing is for sure, there is no place selling halal China Chinese Muslim food in Johor Bahru. That is until we started our home-based business. Alhamdulillah, Allah paved the way for us to embark on this path.

So what are we selling really?

For starters, our main dish is "Niangpi", which we roughly translate as cold noodles. Most of our customers here thought it looked like squid or the local kway teow noodles. The look may be similar, however taste-wise, it's miles apart. To make niangpi requires supernatural amount of patience. The process is time-consuming and complex. It involves hours of washing the flour to get the gluten out, draining out the water, steaming it in batches and eventually, we have to manually cut it into thin strips. On top of that, we have to prepare the sauce, which involves at least 5 different types of condiments, each with its own distinct preparation styles. But one thing is for sure, the end results are phenomenal and we certainly have that sense of accomplishment each time we successfully create a fresh new batch.

The next item on our menu is "Jiaozi", or dumplings. The dumplings come in beef and chicken varieties, but we will insha'Allah include other varieties in the months to come. The best thing about our dumplings is it can be frozen, hence we are also selling them as frozen packs - 10 or 20 in a bag - enabling customers the joy of popping them into their pots to boil in the comforts of their home. Cooking frozen dumplings is easy, provided you follow our instructions. And the major bonus is that there are so many ways to cook frozen dumplings.

The next three items are what I would say, starters or snacks. I will go into that in the next post, insha'Allah.

For more information about my family's Northwestern China Chinese Muslim food business, please click and visit the following sites:

Website - https://kaijiamuslimfood.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Kaijia-China-Kampung-Muslim-Food-256056571520125/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kaijiachinakampungmuslimfood/

Or you can simply drop me an email at hajar.alwi@gmail.com or kaijiachina@gmail.com

Note: Most of the recipes and cooking methods were taught by my in-laws to retain the authentic and traditional flavours of Northwestern China Muslim Chinese cuisine.

Now it's back to cooking up a storm in the kitchen!

Hungry tummy.

8.03am, Malaysian Time

.: Freelancing life :.

The confession. 

Ever since I choose to freelance full-time about two years ago, I haven’t been posting much on this blog. I suppose I withdrew myself because some people then thought I was going bonkers when I made the decision. Then there were others who thought I have amassed enough experience to allow me to make that dramatic change. 

Honestly, I dare not say I have reached to that level yet, but I do admit that my income has increased significantly, and is more than enough for me. 

So how does one make money with freelancing? 

One of first my freelancing gigs actually came from Facebook. Sounds too good to be true but that really happened. A friend posted she needed someone to help her in her business and I jumped at the opportunity to render my assistance. Before long, word got around and I started to get more and more freelancing gigs through my network on Facebook. 

About a year and a half into my full-time freelancing journey, I begin to explore online freelancing sites. Sites like Freelancer.com and Upwork.com made it into my experimental list. Although I haven’t had much luck with Freelancer.com, I have managed to land some freelancing jobs on Upwork.com. Most of the time I use the experience to build my online portfolio on LinkedIn. 

And that brings me to my next freelancing income - LinkedIn. As compared to Freelancer.com and Upwork.com, LinkedIn allows me to better position myself and amplifies the possibility of landing freelancing jobs that offer a higher pay. 

If you are thinking of entering the freelancing world, then you may want to equip yourselves with more information on how to make money with it. Some of the articles you can refer to are The Ultimate Freelancer’s Guide - The Simple Dollar and The Complete Guide to Making $100,000 a Year Writing Online - Elite Personal Finance.

Alternatively, you may also drop me an email at hajaralwi@gmail.com and I will do my best to assist you in your freelancing journey.

Towards a more sustainable and balanced life.

11.09pm, Malaysian Time

.: Inexplicable encounter :.

Fast forward.

Sometimes, forgoing certain things, do not necessarily mean conceding defeat, or deliberately rejecting opportunities. 

Forgoing certain things, can also mean knowing and accepting that there are other far more important areas of concern.

Areas that are often forgotten, neglected, and left-out. 

Greater things are yet to come. 

A whirl of emotions.

12.21 noon, Malaysian Time

.: Inking thoughts :.

The end of the line.

Just a few more days to go to mark the end of the EHIA programme. Honestly, it never occurred to me that I would complete the entire programme. Nevertheless, I am glad that I went through with it. I came in not expecting much, but I came out of it with a wealth of immeasurable experiences.

I suppose it helps a great deal if one decides to remain open to new experiences, and I really ought to make myself more open-minded when it comes to government programmes. 

So I came in with a freelancing writing portfolio. 

All this while I had been churning articles, mostly for newspaper publications and blogging purposes. Little did I know that I would get several opportunities to get involved with some high level writing. By high level writing, I mean writing summaries, research reports and country reports for foreign clients. 

Obviously, I had long forgotten how to write such materials. Took a while for me to deliberate over it until I came to the decision I had to do some reading of my own. Heading to my first resource, I scoured for guides and resources on the internet. Thankfully, there were loads of references, including the one from Prescott Papers. Sure helped me a great deal in completing some of my most difficult tasks, plus it also helped to further hone my writing skills. 

Hope this explains my absence from the blogging scene. 

Moving ahead, I sure hope and pray that this new endevour would bring even more benefits in the long run. 

Looking forward to a promising 2017!

3.21pm, Malaysian Time