Shah saw his Caca every weekend night before i arrived, which means i would be meeting his uncle for the very first time on Friday night. One interesting fact (interesting to us) is i have never met any relative on Shah's father's side. So Caca would be my first, and i was excited, especially thinking of all the glorious food he would be giving us! Syiokkk.
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| Waiting for the train to arrive |
We hopped on a Metro, which is a lot like LRT, but they're mostly underground. It was my first time ever on Metro and coupled with the fact that i LOVE colours, i was understandably excited when i laid my eyes on the rainbow seats on board. Agak jakun lah kira.
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| The lady in pink looked like Kate Bosworth at first glance. I had to do a double take |
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| Terer giler minah ni. She amazed me with her skills to apply makeup in a swaying train. Pencil eyeliner in the waterline, mascara, the works |
From La Defense, we got off from the Metro 1 route to Charles de Gaulle Etoile.
It would be nearer to stop at Argentine station, but Shah wanted to show me around so we stopped at one station further. He purposely didn't tell me about this, but the moment we emerged onto the street, the first thing i would see was the majestic Arc De Triomphe.
I was absolutely mesmerized. I've seen this monument so many times in photo form, so to have it right in front of my eyes, live, was incredible.
And yes, that bright tower in the above photo is Eiffel Tower.
I literally jumped and skipped in excitement when Shah showed it out to me. Not even kidding. I jumped in happiness. Shah was my witness. I first saw Arc De Triomphe and went "Wow!", then he pointed a little to the west and said, "And what do you think that is?". I know it sounds melodramatic, but i could barely believe it when i croaked, "Wait - Eiffel Tower? Really??? Oh my God!!!".
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| Eiffel from far and my huge grin |
After taking a few more photos (i stop to take photos everywhere, it's starting to bug Shah, i'm sure) we passed a part of Champs Elysees while walking towards where Caca stays. Champ Elysees is this street full of luxurious shops and cafes, and i've read that the real estates in this area are some of the most expensive in the world (thanks Wikipedia). We had to get to the other side of Arc De Triomphe, so underground we went. You can NEVER cross the roundabout circling Arc De Triomphe, unless you don't mind getting squashed by a car. It's like zero system in the heart of the massive roundabout and it is keh-RAYYY-zeeee. Cars zooming everywhere and stopping in the wrong places, it seemed. But i think the French is unperturbed by it, i mean, of course.
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| The underground tunnel to get to the base of Arc De Triomphe or across it |
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| People mill around in Paris allllll the time, i should think |
One of the best thing about Paris is its beautiful buildings. Very old-school and intricate, like this one:
Caca's place wasn't too far away. I can't remember if i've told you properly about Caca. Basically, he's a personal head chef to a VVIP from Saudi Arabia. He travels around the world with this VVIP, and he's been to Paris a few times. He's been here a few months on this trip, but he might be leaving next month. And Shah and i will weep, i'm sure.
I stepped into the kitchen and shyly said hi to everyone. They're mostly family, that's probably why i was feeling a little shy, and it's the first time i'm meeting them. Shah also met them all for the first time when he arrived in Paris.
Caca Samsudeen is Shah's father's youngest brother, and Shah's first cousin Iqbal ('Anne' to me, meaning 'big brother') works there too, sort of like a sous chef to Caca. Then Shah's second cousin Jahir is an all-rounder helper in the kitchen. They're all from India, which explains why we haven't met them. Caca has been to Malaysia when he was younger, and he visited last year but we didn't even know it. To be perfectly honest, i only knew he existed when Shah confirmed his trip to Paris, and that was when Atta (that's what i call my father-in-law) told me about this brother of his.
Anyway, back to that momentous experience of meeting my uncle slash head chef. After saying hi to them, this was the sight that made me squeal inside.
OK, forget about the food for a while, while i say this: they were all SO gracious and nice. Shah and i were immediately told to sit down. They were very kind and hospitable, and they instantly remind me of my in-laws. They offered us the puffs on the plate and orange juice, while they clean up the kitchen and packed our food.
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| Iqbal is the one at the left, and next to him is Jahir. The man at the back is one of the VVIP's drivers; he drives Caca around. Caca has his own driver, yes. And that's me VERY HAPPILY depositing the puffs away in my tummy |
It's even MORE delicious than the first cheesepuff i tried on my first day here, goodness!
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| I was in food haven! In the puff was a type of cheese - not an expert on cheese, but i'm going to take a guess and say it's feta - and bits of tomatoes and some herbs |
And the man who provided Shah and i the opportunity, and his biggg kitchen at the side, is Caca:
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| He looks a little like Atta, but somewhat different too. Taller and younger, of course. Also, i found out one took strongly after the father and one after the mum |
By the way, this kitchen is "small" to them, even with its 14 hobs. I've never seen a professional kitchen, so, yeh. Their kitchen in Saudi is wayyy bigger and humongous from the sound of it.
We all talked for a bit, as Shah and i ate the puffs. I ate about 7 maybe, it was so-o-o sedap. I was no longer shy after a while, because i didn't even think to stop eating them. And good thing i didn't think that, because after i was done, Iqbal took the plate of puffs and tip it over the bin. So yes, the leftovers all gone. I was SHOCKED. I thought "My puffs!!!", which is odd, since, you know, they aren't mine. He saw my shocked expression and explained that they never keep food as they cook fresh food everyday for the VVIP and his family, so it's never any good to keep food around.
But i should let you know, he has packed a considerable amount of cheesepuffs for me earlier. I was panicking for no reason. But if he had given me everything, i would have eaten them all. But then again maybe that's not the best thing to happen. Muffintop everywhere dah ni OK?
I should tell you that English isn't their second language, or even the third. They can speak English, but it's not exactly a language priority. Their can speak a little French - Caca can speak good French - and they're all fluent in Arabic. But i was already sharing and giggling with them by the end of the night. I am, after all, either "the little daughter" or "the little sister". So special kannnnnnn. Memang rasa special pun. Macam princess pun ada.
They had a pot of soup left, which they offered to Shah first. Shah said no thank you, but my wife loves soup. So no surprise, a pot of vegetable soup heated on the stove just for me.
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| Memang muka tak malu. Tapi tak payah malu pun sebenarnya OK! |
The VVIP doesn't eat a couple of things: chilli and garlic. The thing is, masakan Melayu pretty much rely on those two, right? And other cuisines too. So i'm in awe of how Caca manages to make everything so delicious without those two ingredients. But all his food taste so healthy, which i love. And he uses loads of herbs too.
I felt really guilty because they were standing around waiting for me to finish my soup. I didn't notice it at first, but after a while people were just silent, and i looked up to see they had finished cleaning up everything else. So i was kind of super embarassed and said i was done. But Caca was, for some reason, asking me suspiciously, "You're done? Are you sure?" and i stammered, "You've finished cleaning up, i don't want to make you wait-" and Caca immediately pushed the plate of soup back towards me. "It's OK!" he boomed. "Eat as MUCH as you want!" and Iqbal and Jahir were also protesting in the background. This should make me more embarassed but it didn't. I did continue eating my soup, ha ha HA! It was too good.
So after a few more minutes, i was done, really done, and they all cleaned everything up. They handed Shah a plastic bag FULL of their food and desserts from a patisserie (pastry shop), and as we said our byes we promised to come see them again very soon.
This bag of food could have fed 5 people comfortably, by the way. Serious. And we were told to come back the next night for a fresh batch. And "If you cannot finish, throw them away. Tomorrow you get new food". Which we didn't do, because i don't need to cook with Caca's food around.
Caca sent us to the door, and when i said, "Thank you again, Caca", he corrected me, saying i shouldn't call him 'Caca', but it should be 'Mamu' or 'Mama' instead. Where he comes from, i would be calling him 'Mama'. So now it's 'Mama' for me and 'Caca' for Shah.
I think i'll dedicate a post on the food he supplied to us that night. So until then! xxoo