Hearth And Home

How did the two of you meet?
Zaiqah: At work! He was a chef, and I used to work front-of-house. Eventually, we hung out more often and we ended up getting married one year later. Then our little girl Audi came along a year after.

We got married during the circuit breaker period so we didn’t ever get to go for our honeymoon because of that. But it’s just as well, because we’re not really big travellers. We’re homebodies, so we just like to stay at home (laughs).

What does a typical day at home look like for you?
Zaiqah: We’ll wake up at when we want to–not need to–take a walk around the neighbourhood, and probably go out somewhere nice at night. Otherwise, we’ll play with Audi at the playground. Typically, for dinner, Helmi cooks the meal and we’ll eat together in front of the TV. But we’ll usually be watching shows that Audi enjoys so we can actually eat in peace (laughs).

That’s our normal, typical off-day, but in reality, we rarely get days off together.

What’s Audi’s TV show of choice?
Zaiqah: The Wiggles! Yeah, I’ve watched it so many times already that I can remember all the songs (laughs).

So what is it like being a new parent?
Helmi: Exciting and stressful at the same time. But it’s also fun!

I mean, the working hours for both Zaiqah’s and my jobs are long and irregular, but I think we manage quite well together. I think the fact that we both used to work in the fast-paced, stressful world of F&B makes it less of a hassle to juggle taking the time to care for Audi.

Zaiqah: And Helmi is a great help at home and with Audi too, which is why she’s such a Daddy’s girl! So I’m hoping our next child (when we do have one) will be a Mummy’s boy (laughs).

You must get this a lot, but Audi is an interesting name! How did you guys come up with that?
Helmi: You can ask Zaiqah that because she’s the one who came up with the name.

Zaiqah: I’ve always liked four-lettered words, and that name was in my mind for quite a while when it came time to name my child.

Helmi: But we must say, it has nothing to do with the car (laughs).