So 1st Syawal came and is gone in a blink. It is my 3rd Raya as an anak perantau in Dublin. This year's Raya was slightly different from the previous years', despite being on time for Takbir raya and Sembahyang raya in Malaysian Hall. So it seems the renovation of the hall has been postponed to put up with this event.

My housemates and I, we prepared the typical Raya dishes, which consists of Rendang Cili Api Soghomban (made by Jaja), Rendang Fast and Furious (by yours truly, oklah, the name was Rendang Ayam Perak, but since I grilled the chicken instead of frying it first, I named it F&F lor) and Lontong and Sambal (made by Anabella). The outcome was good, but after having to put up with the fragant smell of chilli,lemongrass,coconut milk,garlic,onions and sweat(haha) , the smell was making me feel nauseous. Yes, too much of a good thing could be bad for you. I swear I will not touch chicken the next day. On the recored, we each had 18 chicken legs to cook and it sure as hell felt like I'm caterer.

Alas, my mind only played tricks on me, so I got up at 7.30 am to mandi sunat Aidilfitri,and then helped myself to the mouth-watering lontong and rendangs. Haha. Alas perut lah actually, since there were no tangan to salam.

The prayers and sermon went on per the usual, and the rest of the Malaysians head on back home. It seeems that this year Malaysian Hall did not serve the usual lontongs and ketupats for Raya. And, that was also one of the reasons why many did not turn up for the gathering! Surprise, surprise, most Malaysian only go to Malaysian hall just to eat free meals? Niat tu salah!

As for my friends and I, we took it as an opportunity to meet up with friends whom we only saw once a year, which is of course during Raya gathering. Many unfamiliar faces were spotted instead. Hmm, does that mean my friends were not there because there is no free food? Haha. Oh No! So as usual, there will the cam-whoring session with my friends. Many people had the huge professional DSLR camera hanging around their necks. (but took pictures while ignoring the basic rule of light and menyebabkan gambar gelap dan kemudain berkata ehh salah2, korang kena tukar tempat...)

I only went to ONE house. yes, only ONE, because firstly, there weren't that many houses to go to and SECONDLY I would bawl my eyes out on the sight of yet another kuah kacang and rendang ayam. Overdose ok! Ok, so I turned down two invitation and Capek brought his kuzi over to my house. :). Such nice neighbours don't you think? We had guests at our house till about 11, and then it was time to sleep.

Yours truly was totally knackered by the time it was 12, and couldn't wake up for sahur (I had the intention to fast for another 6 days!). So I brought my leftover to the office. It's funny how you can fast for 30 days and you just can't do it for another day!

Hope everyone had a Merry Raya!