Function/Night Make-up (Solekan Majlis/Malam) @ Kolej Kediaman Ke-12, Universiti Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur.

Assalamualaikum Stylistas of Abaya Suraya!

Four college mates were attending the dinner function of their college, Kolej Kediaman Ke-12 at Crown Plaza Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. The theme was Contemporary Ethnic so they all really dressed up to have a gorgeous night out. The first young lady below, Farhana was my schoolmate in MRSM KKB  so it was an honour to do the make-up for her and her friends. Yes of course all the old high school gossips were updated with new ones as well, oops! :D

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Assalamualaikum Stylistas of Abaya Suraya!

Empat teman sekolej ingin menghadiri majlis makan malam kolej mereka, Kolej Kediaman Ke-12 di Hotel Crown Plaza, Kuala Lumpur. Temanya ialah Etnik Kontemporari maka mereka ingin kelihatan anggun pada malam itu. Gadis pertama di bawah ini ialah teman sesekolah Sue di MRSM KKB maka ia merupakan penghormatan buat Sue untuk menyolek beliau dan teman-temannya. Ya gossip-gossip sekolah menengah juga dikemaskini dengan yang terkini, oops! =D

Make-up for Dara.com's June 2008 Beauty Spread @ Karangkraf, Shah Alam(Thursday, 10th April 2008)

Salam,

Today, I was assigned by Dara.com's reporter, Miss Aida Rofiza (Kak Ida) to do the make-up for another beauty spread in the magazine especially catered for Muslimahs or specifically for the Muslim girls who wear hijab or the head scarf. For those who don't know, Muslimah actually means female Muslims, regardless the fact that they wear the hijab or not.

My model snapping the 'BEFORE' photos

Khalifah @ Kelly before the make-over

As usual, Dara.com would give ordinary girls out there the chance to experience the make-over by the touch of a make-up artiste & to appear in the magazine. My model this time, she works at Celcom in Damansara. Her name is Khalifah but she prefers to be called as Kelly. Seriously, I think the name Khalifah is awesome but it's her name so it's up to her to be called whatever she likes. :p

I was given full freedom to do whatever type of make-up I like, as long as the new image will be a more beautiful version of her. As usual, I love to play with the eye area, and gave a serious focus on the skin, because I believe that beautiful make-up starts with beautiful skin (yes as Shu Uemura campaigned it) and I love to enhance the beauty of the eyes. It's just logical because everytime we look at someone's face we will look into his or her eyes first, and yes usually whenever we notice there's a beautiful girl nearby, her smooth complexion would be the first factor that attracted us first.

Kelly posing for the camera after the make-over

Above are two photos of Kelly after the make-over, however I will only release the clearer images of the AFTER photos when this issue of Dara.com is released, insya Allah in June. So these photos are only for a sneak preview. ;)

You may view her after photos by viewing my website, www.surayanuar.com and click MY WORK IN THE MEDIA under MAKE-UP EXPLORATION.

Function/Night Make-up (Solekan Majlis/Malam) @ Mahallah Asma', Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM), Gombak, Selangor.

Assalamualaikum Stylistas of Abaya Suraya!

Two seniors of mine were celebrating their graduation from AIKOL (Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws), our law faculty in UIA. They were attending their Law Grads' Dinner at Menara Tun Razak. One of them wanted to look absolutely glamourous & different while the other who was much simpler, just wanted to have a better version of herself. Nevertheless, both of them looked sweet and feminine in their Baju Kurungs, a Malay female traditional attire.

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Assalamualaikum Stylistas of Abaya Suraya!

Dua orang senior Sue sedang menyambut graduasi mereka dari AIKOL (Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws), fakulti undang-undang di UIA. Mereka menghadiri Majlis Makan Malam Graduan di Menara Tun Razak. Salah seorang daripada mereka mahu melihat cukup glamor dan berbeza dari rupa hariannya, manakala yang seorang lagi mahu kelihatan ringkas, cuma lebih baik dari kebiasaan. Walaubagaimanapun, kedua-duanya kelihatan sungguh manis dan feminin menggayakan Baju Kurung, yakni pakaian tradisional wanita Melayu.

Jom Makan! @ Hillside Corner Restaurant, Bukit Antarabangsa (Friday, 4th April 2008)

Salam,

Today Ummi and I decided not to cook, so we headed Hillside Corner Restaurant, Bukit Antarabangsa since we did not feel like eating nasi campur (mixed rice) for lunch.

Hillside is the usual dining spot for Ayah, Nana and I if we feel like just having a cosy, laidback atmosphere for dinner. They serve fabulous western and local cuisine, which you could ordinarily find in hotels, but of course with a slightly cheaper price range. I saw customers coming to this restaurant, usually they order the western cuisine meals. I personally love its Lamb Chops which costs at about RM 33. Seriously, it's SO GOOD.

The smoking area where we always dine with Ayah

The interior of Hillside

The cashier, also you could see the list of menu on the blackboard.

It's a restaurant with moderate decor but nice.

The display table at the front of the restaurant, offering biscuits and cookies.

Hillside Corner is also known for the owner's liking to display art pieces from local artistes. If I's not mistaken, you may purchase the paintings on the wall if you feel like it. That is the reason why from time to time, the paintings on the wall are always changing.

On this day, we ordered Potato Wedges for starters. For the main course, I ordered Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Chop. As for Ummi, she ordered Spaghetti Bolognaise.

Potato Wedges

RM 3.90

A whole potato grilled until the skin is crispy, and sprinkled with herbs.

Ummi: Something different because it's grilled. But it could never defeat the fattening Cheezy Wedges from KFC! Those are the best! :p

Me: It's healthy because it's grilled. Tender and crispy. And yes mana boleh lawan (how can it beat) Cheezy Wedges.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Chop

RM 18.90

Fully marinated over 24 hours and grilled over an open fire, served with vegetables and a choice of french fries or baked potato.

Ummi: The chicken is delicious. It's tender.

Me: The chicken is very tender and juicy. The sweetness of the marination is just nice.

Spaghetti Bolognaise

RM 9.90

Sauteed meat cooked in 7 herbs, with a choice of beef and chicken.

Ummi: The sauce is just like the Prego sauce at home. However the spaghetti we cook at home is of course better because we can make it hotter with chillies, add extra grated chesse and button mushrooms.

Me: Tasty, and agreeing with Ummi.

Service rating: The owners, a Chinese couple is absolutely friendly to customers. From time to time they would enquire whether the customers enjoy the food or vice versa. However another problem with Malaysian restaurants is when too many foreign workers are hired, mostly their Malay vocabulary is terrible, so we need to speak English most of the time . I mean hello I'm a Malaysian living in Malaysia, I prefer to have Malay as my first language to converse. It's annoying to have to repeat my order in Malay into English entirely. So please rstaurant owners, please hire more local workers!

Anyway people, please drop by and enjoy the taste of Hillside Corner Restaurant.

You would not be disappointed insya Allah.

Hillside Corner Restaurant, No. 12, Jalan Wangsa 2,

Taman Wangsa Ukay, Bukit Antarabangsa
( behind Giant, in front of Burger King)

11.30 am - 11.00 pm.

Monday - 5.30 pm - 10.30 pm

5% service charge.

Function/Night Make-up (Solekan Majlis/Malam) @ Taman Pinggiran Cempaka, Ampang, Selangor.

Assalamualaikum Stylistas of Abaya Suraya!

On this evening, I had to refuse other 3 night make-up jobs because they all fell on the same time, of course it is quite frustrating to refuse jobs but I had no choice. First come, first serve. This client of mine, she found me on the net (as always) and co-incidentally she is the sister in law of my previous client at Taman Desa Minang. So I met her husband as well, and both of them were nice and friendly.

Another coincident was, on that night she was attending a wedding function of my senior Syed Adam, in AIKOL,UIA. Finally, he is married with his girlfriend of 8 years, since they attended Form 5 in high school. Congratulations to him and his wife. Small world we live in. =)

For this client, she wanted a half ponytail for her hair, while the make-up was absolutely up to me. Seeing her expression when she was absolutely ready was priceless, alhamdulillah. :)

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Assalamualaikum Stylistas of Abaya Suraya!

Pada petang ini, Sue terpaksa menolak 3 solekan majlis malam kerana semuanya jatuh pada masa yang sama. Sudah tentu Sue agak kecewa untuk menolak tugasan lain, namun Sue tiada pilihan lain, siapa tempah dahulu akan diutamakan. Pelanggan ini, beliau menjumpai Sue di internet seperti biasa dan kebetulan merupakan kakak ipar kepada pelanggan sebelum ini di Taman Desa Minang. Sue bertemu dengan suaminya juga, dan mereka berdua mesra dan peramah orangnya. 

Satu lagi kebetulan, pada malam itu, beliau mahu menghadiri majlis persandingan seorang lagi senior Sue di AIKOL, UIA, Syed Adam. Akhirnya beliau bernikah dengan teman wanitanya selama 8 tahun, sejak tingkatan 5 di sekolah, menengah. Tahniah buat mereka berdua, kecilnya dunia ini. =)

Berbalik kepada pelanggan ini, beliau mahukan ikat rambut ekor kuda separuh, dan menyerahkan konsep solekan sepenuhnya kepada Sue. Melihat riak wajahnya setelah selesai disolek, amat berharga sekali, alhamdulillah. =)

Jom Makan! Kopitiam style @ Old Town White Coffee, Platinum Victory, Taman Melati (Saturday, 8th March 2008)

Salam,

On that Saturday night, Ayah (my father) invited the two of us to have dinner with him. We had our previous dinners together with Ayah at Hill's Bukit Antarabangsa but Nana got tired of the atmosphere. So Nana requested Ayah to bring us try the Thai cuisine restaurant, Rumah Thai (Thai House) at the Platinum Victory shop lots area in Taman Melati.

Ayah agreed but unfortunately we arrived there at about 9pm plus since we could not leave after Maghrib due to my fear I might arrive home late due to my make-up job that evening. So the place was packed (actually all the eating spots as Platinum Victory was packed, almost everynight, and that night was a Saturday night, really good business the restaurant owners there have). Ayah said to wait for Thai food to be cooked would make our stomachs rumble, so Ayah decided for us to eat at Old Town White Coffee at the same row. Ayah never tried it before, but this Kopitiam (Old school coffee shop, the Malaysian way) has lots of branches almost everywhere you go. I think business is booming for them. Usually customers come to enjoy their variety of roti bakar (toast bread).

When we arrived we had to queue for awhile since this place is packed as well. We were finally seated at a very small corner, where we had to sit facing a board, so amusingly the three of us had to sit next to each other in the same row. Ayah said, "Macam duduk dalam bas. (It's like sitting in a bus.)" Ayah even commented that it's like a study table and the board is for us to tape on notes. :p

Service rating: Order is made by writing down your orders in a form on our table. Still a few of the waitresses were confused with our orders and sent us the wrong orders quite a few times although we had written our orders correctly.

Nana was having a headache already that night, felt more annoyed because she had to call out for the waiter/waitress many times. As Nana recalled “I had to shout Excuse Me! so many times until that Abang Handsome (Handsome Guy) at the table nearby us looked at me.” :p

Nana getting a worse headache due to the service

I forgot to jot down the exact prices, so the prices below were not accurate. Before that let me introduce the critics for this post beside myself:

My sister Nana, who's with me almost everywhere.

My father with a cynical sense of humour, Ayah

Now let's start with the food review:

Iced ‘Kopi Cham’

(Cham stands for campur means mix. This beverage is a mixture of coffee and tea)

Ayah: A confusing taste but nice.

Nana: Yummy!

Nasi Lemak Special

RM 8.90

Me: OK la, not as good as the Nasi Lemak you get at various street stalls. The fried chicken is not very tasty,not juicy and they gave me ribs instead of thigh which I asked. The sambal (chilly paste) is a little too sweet, don’t like it.

Nana: The sambal is nice but a little too sweet.

Asam Laksa

RM 6-8++

Ayah: The authentic Chinese Asam Laksa. As the ones you could get in Ipoh, Perak. Tasty!

Nana: Although it’s already night, the gravy is still very thick meaning that it’s not watered down. It is tasty, the real Chinese Asam Laksa. ( However she vomited when she reached home but it’s not due to the laksa but because she felt sick that night).

Me: Yup it’s good but I don’t quite like it personally. I like the Chinese laksa at the stall in Klang Gate (in front of Azwan Ali’s house) best.

Curry Puff Basket

RM2.90-3.90 per basket (2 pieces)

Ayah: It’s very delicious. The pastry is soft and flaky, the filling is a lot. We don’t mind to pay more for this.

Nana: The pastry is tasty, but the filling (the potatoes) is not that terasa. I mean I just feel like something is missing. But I love the fact that the filling is thickly filled in the pastry.

Me: My most favourite meal of the night. It’s very hot straight off from the frying wok, and yes I love the crispy and flaky pastry and it’s thick filling.

* We like the curry puffs so much we ordered 3 baskets that night.

Try to come to this place when it is not so packed I recommend. And yes don't forget to try the Curry Puff Basket. It's the best! =)

Function/Night Make-up (Solekan Majlis/Malam) @ Taman Desa Minang, Gombak, Selangor.

Assalamualaikum Stylistas of Abaya Suraya!

I did this dinner make-up for my senior in Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws (AIKOL), IIUM. At this time she was completing her Chambering at one of the most prominent law firms around, Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill.

That night she was going to attend the annual dinner of the BAR Council so she wanted to look different than her days at work. She returned from the spa late due to heavy traffic jam, so I only managed to have approximately only half an hour to do her make-up.

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Assalamualaikum Stylistas of Abaya Suraya!

Sue melakukan solekan makan malam ini untuk senior Sue di Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws (AIKOL), IIUM. Pada waktu ini beliau sedang menyelesaikan Latihan Dalam Kamarnya di salah sebuah firma guaman terkenal, Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill.

Pada malam tersebut beliau mahu menghadiri majlis makan malam tahunan oleh Majlis Peguam maka beliau mahu kelihatan berbeza dari hari-hari bekerja. Beliau pulang lewat dari sesi memanjakan diri di spa kerana kesesakan lalulintas jadi Sue cuma mempunyai setengah jam sahaja untuk menyiapkan beliau.