A random 2021 update

Hello from Singapore.

Randomly felt like writing today so here I am. I cannot blog from my work laptop and I don’t have a personal laptop so I guess that’s why I haven’t been really confiding in this space. I do realize though I am getting really forgetful of what happened in the past year. (Signs of aging maybe.) Perhaps it’s the convenience of the instant posting of photos on Instagram stories. I’ve been spending far too much time there. As much as it is easy to just instantly posting a photo of that moment, it doesn’t feel the same as documenting it and writing it down here.

A lot has changed since my last personal post on this blog. Somehow ended up moving to Singapore despite being really hesitant about it in my early 20s. I didn’t want to be away from my parents should anything touch wood happens and ironically, I moved here during a pandemic where it’s really hard to go home. It’s been a year so far and I guess when I made the decision to accept the job offer, I mentally told myself that I should expect to not be home for at least a year. It still hit hard though.

After what happened to Dad where he got hospitalised when I was away for a work assignment in Vietnam, I think that incident really scarred me, like what if I couldn’t be home in time? At that time, I felt that the people around me couldn’t empathise with me and just wanted me to carry on doing my work as per normal. I still think about that incident a lot. This was constantly ringing in my head when I was here. What if shit happened and this time I can’t go home?

When the cases were rising rapidly in Malaysia, my anxiety skyrocketed. It hit hard. We took it for granted and still had gatherings, but until someone you know catches it, then only we get terrified. I did lose some relatives and close family friends to COVID-19. Mom and dad were hesitant about the vaccine initially but after a month of trying to coax them to get the vaccine, they ended up signing up for it and going for it. It did make me feel a sense of relief. And I’m glad they are privileged enough to stay home. 

The firm offered free therapy sessions and that was the first time I attended therapy. I only attended the first session though because they don’t seem to have weekend slots. I wish to perhaps sign up on my own, because I feel like I have a lot to work on myself. There’s a lot of things that happened in the past few years that I kept bottled up in me. I feel like I couldn’t move past it and I feel like it’s time to address it.

Back to moving to Singapore, I live sort of alone now and am currently in my 2nd rented room. I don’t think I’m really alone because I still live with other housemates in the house. So I felt that I did get somewhat personal space from my family, but I had to learn how to live with strangers. Since it’s in the middle of a pandemic, I work from home too, and at times it feels that I’m cooped up and stuck in my room. At home at least you have some sort of freedom to move around anywhere in your house, like the dining area or the couch. Plus when the cases were getting serious, I was terrified to head out. So I guess I was kinda in a bad headspace for awhile.

I learnt so much about myself here. I always wanted to experience moving away from home because I didn’t have the chance to do so while studying. I thought I would have more freedom to head out and about, no curfews etc. I wanted more personal space. Explore new beginnings and try out new things, meet new people.

Perhaps it’s because I came here during a pandemic and alot of the things I’m able to do are limited. I find it hard to establish a new social circle, perhaps it would be easier to move here during the earlier years of my career where people usually move here together at the same times and go through the whole cycle of moving to a new country together.

I am a person that is generally comfortable with being alone. Back in Malaysia, I went to the gym alone, I often go out to the mall or cafes alone because I simply appreciate the time that I have on my own. So I thought I would do okay here. At times it can get pretty lonely, being away from family. 

Having to plan and cook your own meals. Wash your own dishes. (At home I wash dishes too but you realize how tedious it is to wash the dishes and pots and pans a few times when cooking). Learnt that mom takes care of us so well, since we were young until now. And I also learn that I am very similar to her. In terms of cleaning habits like living in a clean space, laundry habits. I guess she trained me to be this way, and my siblings too. So having to live with strangers I got to adapt to the fact that they may not grow up with the same habits.

I kinda got into purchasing house plants, and am pretty proud of myself on how they are holding up so far. I’ve always wanted a fiddle fig, ficus elastica, monstera and I bought all of them. Still have asparagus fern to cross off my to purchase list but I’m not sure if I have room for it. They are pretty therapeutic to spend time with though, watering it and wiping down the leaves once a week, and trimming off damaged leaves so that the nutrients of the plants can be fully utilised by the healthier leaves.

I bought an OEM set of the Les Mills smart bar. I got to admit, I don’t work out as I used to before. Some days I push myself to spend 30 minutes with myself. But I haven’t really been motivated to work out. I really miss going for group fitness class a lot. It has really changed my life.

I haven’t really had the motivation to go shopping for clothes. I haven’t been dressing up or putting on make up. Maybe it’s because I’m home most of the time. I have been telling myself to do so, to feel a little bit better about myself. 

I went back into external audit, but in a sort of new industry. I guess audit is still audit, no matter where you are. But I see things with a different perspective now, after being on the other side. Not sure if I’m going to regret putting this on the internet. I’m way less emotionally invested towards my job. I have come to terms that it’s just a job. But yeah, I feel money and sometimes, the corporate hierarchy, turns people into ugly beings, to do less but want more, to step on others, to make others feel inferior. Some days I question if I’m too weak for this, but I guess it doesn’t hurt to be nice to everyone, to take things as a lesson on what you don’t wanna be, and there’s more to life than just money, hierarchy and your job.

I do wonder if people younger than me think I’m having my life figured out as an adult but honestly I’m still as clueless as they are.

That’s about it for today I guess.

Hopefully I’ll write more soon.

To those who stumbled upon this update, stay safe and take care, wherever you are.

Tweet

Fifty Tales @ Bandar Sri Damansara

I first knew Aaron when following the whole coffee scene in Malaysia. He won the Malaysia Barista Championship 2019 and subsequently represented Malaysia at the World Barista Championship 2019 all the way in USA. 

Followed him on Instagram and we exchanged direct messages here and there. One day, he reached out to me regarding my dad’s water jasmine bonsai, because I helped my dad to sell his bonsais on an Instagram page, @apple.bonsai. I’ll share more about Apple Bonsai in the next post. Aaron wanted to display it at his new handmade noodles establishment called Fifty Tales. Brought a few for him to view, and Dad proposed to switch up the bonsai display on a weekly basis, which we did.

Over our weekly visits, we have tried out several things on the menu, some we’ve repeated, and mind you, each of these visits were paid visits.

This is how the restaurant looks like when you walk into the restaurant. Aaron mentioned that he was going for a more minimalist concept, hence the bare minimum unpainted cemented walls (except for the cooking area with square tiles), old school terrazzo tiled flooring and wooden chairs.

The counter is where you have a look at the menu and place your order, making your payment upfront before taking a seat. You can get cash back on beepit by scanning the QR code on the receipt and use it to get some discount on your next visit.

You can sit at the bar counter seats where you can watch Aaron and his team cook some yummy hand made noodles, or some blowtorch action on the pork belly (this is cool), and perhaps, when he is less busy, have a little chat with him.. If you are feeling unadventurous, you can choose to sit at the other seating area. 

From our conversations with Aaron and what we read so far, we’ve educated ourselves that Fifty Tales is not a ramen restaurant, which many people seem confused about. I guess people have to come to visit this place with an open mind and not have any expectations of the noodles being ramen.

He serves hand made noodles, made without alkaline water unlike other noodle establishment nowadays and wishes to recreate that childhood memories of what’s he come to known as a yummy bowl of noodles.

Rice Please (RM16) - Rice with braised pork, egg seasoned in shaoxing wine, lactofermented radish, fried garlic bits and spring onion.

This is for the people who come to a noodle establishment and happens to not be feeling noodles but feeling rice (hello fellow rice buckets out there). 

If you had tried out the Swimming OG noodles (scroll down to read more about Swimming OG) before, you would feel this is nothing to shout out about? Except for the additional fried garlic that gives you that extra kick.  

Fizzy Luo Hon Guo (RM8) - This luo han guo is perfect to pair with a hot bowl of soupy noodles, or on a hot day! The additional kick from the carbonation makes it really refreshing. The luo hon guo is not too sweet and Aaron makes it carbonated using some carbonation machine.

If you feel like rewarding yourself a little more, go for the option with the beer.

Swimming OG (RM16) - Handmade noodles in flavourful pork broth (boiled over 6 hours), braised pork belly, egg seasoned in shaoxing wine and spring onion garnish, paired with lactofermented radish and lactofermented chilli.

This is something that we’ve ordered repetitively. There is another version for those who prefer a lighter broth, Not There Yet, which we have yet to try. There is also another option with more pork and prawns, I believe.

What we really like about this is the flavourful broth (most of the time I drink up all the soup), the seasoned egg where the yolks are still sort of half runny and you can definitely taste the shaoxing wine, the pork belly that melts in your mouth (for a better experience, ask the waiter upfront that you want “pun fei sau”, if not at times the cut given can be pretty lean) and the lactofermented radish, which is tangy and refreshing.

I am not a person who knows how to appreciate noodles without alkaline water. (Sorry Aaron if you are reading this HAHA) But it kinda reminds me of pan mee? 

Funk Mee - Aaron’s version of jajangmyeon? The same handmade noodles in black bean sauce, lactofermented carrots and mushrooms, served with lactofermented chilli at the side.

My pro tip will be to add pork belly, or you will feel hungry very soon without the protein option, but believe me this is worth it. 

This bowl has been my repeat order and I love love love it! It’s very very flavourful. It’s not too salty, but each bite is like a burst of flavour. The carrots are crunchy, and the mushroom flavour feels..... Amplified. You have to try this to get what I mean. As for the lactofermented chilli, it kind of reminds me of kai fan chilli. 

Now, you’ve seen me repeat this lactofermentation word for numerous times, what is it? From my simple understanding, it’s basically a fermentation process, which results in healthy bacteria (lactobacillus sp.) which is good for your gut! This involves a process of fully immersing vegetables in salt water for a period of about two weeks. What’s interesting about the fermentation process is the flavours that it brings out of the vegetables.

Occasionally, you can see this display on the back of Aaron’s shop. 

What’s even more interesting is that when I watched back his MBC 2019, he incorporated lactofermentation as part of the ingredients in his signature drink, so he must be a fan of fermentation.

Another fun fact that Chef Aaron is a camera detector. If you search the tag on Instagram, you can see him posing for the camera in most photos that people have took of the bar area.

Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with him and his family. They are really nice people, and are an added bonus to why you should revisit this restaurant. It kind of gives you this homey vibe where you feel as if you are cared for just like how your parents care for you. 

Maybe you can also ask Aaron the reason why the restaurant is named Fifty Tales, and he will tell you some of it.

This is how the restaurant looks outside at night. If you come here after 7pm, you have to enter through a residential guardhouse a little further in front for safety reasons. The shop lot can be a little quiet at night so it’s safer to register your details at the guardhouse. Besides, the shop is equipped with CCTVs if you are worried about your safety. But based on our visits on a few weekday nights, you do not have to worry as there are quite many people eating dinner at Fifty Tales.

What I like about this place, is that you do not have to pay parking, ample parking space is available. Aaron’s family are cat lovers, but they are not allowed in the restaurant. Feel free to play with their pet cats outside the shops and learn more about them with a little chat with Aunty or Uncle Phua. 

I would recommend that you visit Fifty Tales for lunch, then head over two doors away to have coffee at 30 Seconds. If you are lucky, the MBC champion may brew you some yummy and pretty looking coffee.

Fifty Tales

Closed on Wednesdays

Opening Hours: 10.00am to 3.00pm, 6.00pm to 9.00pm

Instagram: fifty_tales

Facebook: Fifty Tales Malaysia

Address: 5, Jalan Margosa SD10/4A, Bandar Sri Damansara, Petaling Jaya.

Tweet

Goodbye Kopi

Dear Kopi,

I felt like you deserved a blog post of your own because Instagram's word limit was too short. 

I remember when Dad first told me about you on Valentines Day, 5 years ago, you were outside the house, under my car, since early in the morning. I was reluctant to feed you and take you into safety, because the last time I did that to our neighbour's dog, it bit my neck when I carried it, so I had that fear of it recurring.

Seeing you were still there in the afternoon crouched under the car, I got some bread to lure you out. After much hesitation, you crawled out to eat the bread and we took you in. You had leaves and twigs in your chocolatey brown and white fur, and your fur was so long that it covered your eyes. We also weren't sure what dog you are, because you were furry, but too big to be a shih tzu. 

We kept you in the detachable fencing, but you were quick to master how to jump out of it. We informed the security guards, put you up on PetFinder and Facebook, but no one came to claim you. On your first day with us, we gave you a bath and dried you with our hairdryer. To our amusement, you just lied down on the floor comfortably and look like you really enjoyed the warmth from the hairdryer. (In fact we discovered later on, this happens every time after a bath and you loved towel time! But hated the bath.) After that, we took you for a walk around the neighbourhood to see if you knew your way back to your own home.... But apparently you don't. You also don't seem to understand any English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien or Bahasa. 

Days passed and still, no one came to claim you. So we decided to keep you, even though we told ourselves we wouldn't get any more dogs after losing Tigger. We named you "Kopi" because we loved our coffee, and your beautiful chocolatey brown coat reminded us of coffee.

Brought you to the groomers to get a trim, and discovered that beneath that coat of fur, you were sort of one eye blind, your eye was injured from your long fur constantly poking your eyeball. In the 5 years with us, every few hours or so, we had to wipe off the eye wax from your eyes. You knew that after we cleaned your eyes, you would feel more comfortable, so you often looked forward to that even though the process of cleaning the eyes could feel uncomfortable. You let me pull out the flaky bits of eye wax that have dried up, even though it tugged at your fur. And you won’t eat your food unless Dad have cleaned your eyes.

We kept you outside the house because Mom didn't want any dogs in the house, but you were quick to even try to make a move. On one of those days during your first week with us, everyone in the family was out. I still remember coming home, it was raining really really heavily to the extent where when I opened the gate, Goldie ran out. My cousin got out in the rain to chase her in, but she wanted to jump into my car. You, however, were no where to be found outside the house. That was odd.

So, I opened the door and got into the house. To my horror, there was pee every where. But you were still nowhere to be found. I found you upstairs, with more pee everywhere, and you shat on my sister's bed. You must have jumped in through the window and was looking for someone to be your companion during that rainy day. From this incident, we learned that each time we head out, we had to close all windows and the sliding door, if not you will jump in. 

But we also learnt that, you were terrified of the rain, lightning and thunder. There were times we came home to soaking wet dog and had to blowdry you. You soon won your way into the house, little by little. During rainy days, we would let you in, but that slowly turned into an everyday routine. Of course, you had me who will let you in the house for cuddles, you were my late night OT companion during my audit days and the best part is you let me annoy you as I like.

From the beginning, I felt that Tigger sent you to us. You came to us on the same day of Tigger's birthday, and you were in many ways, very similar to him. You looked alot like him, except that you were twice his size. You loved sleeping in the curtain, loved being left alone when sleeping, snored in your sleep just like him, and were friendly towards strangers. How can it be such a coincidence that you were so alike?

We learnt that you were a fussy dog. You did not like dog food. You didn’t like porridge because it will stick to the fur on your face. Rice was a more preferable option, until dad started to feed you chicken or pork. Then you would pick out all the good stuff and leave the rice behind. Dad had to mix your rice really thoroughly before feeding you so you will finish everything. And you’d always look forward to meal times, patiently waiting for dad as he makes your food, and when he brings it outside, you will turn in circles again and again, because you were so happy. Oddly, you always believed Dad will feed Goldie the good stuff, so you would always growl at her and chase her away from her food! You were a feisty one, despite only coming to the house after Goldie and being less than half of Goldie’s size, you bullied her.

A year ago when mom and dad went on holiday, I initially thought that you were not eating because you merajuk that your favourite person was away from home. When it was visible that you were less active and losing weight rapidly, I brought you to the vet. It was my first experience of bringing you to the vet alone.. You were having fever. And I thought the vet was trying to rip me off by ordering a blood test to be done. It should be a normal fever, I told myself. Also told the vet how you came into our family, and the vet says that judging by the condition of your teeth and your dry eyes, you were probably very very old and not only 4-5 years old. 

Gave it a few days of trying to feed you medicine, it was really hard for me to stick it down your throat and also coax you to eat. Resigned to bringing you back to the vet for a blood test after talking to mom and dad on the phone. Then you were positive for tick fever and had to stay at the vets on drips. I still remember visiting you and you were whining and barking, something like complaining. We couldn’t wait to bring you home, but I also chided you for the expensive vet bill that could buy me a new dog. We were told to feed you some dog food which is good for the liver, and for some reason you really loved that expensive bag of dog food. Also didn’t know why your fur turned really brown after that.

Soon, En En came into this world and you were allowed lesser into the house, only on rainy days. We often taught her that she shouldn’t touch you, and you, the same. You knew you had to avoid her when she comes nearby. And we let you in the house more often after that. 

It broke my heart to learn that you got hit by a car on your usual morning routine of strolling outside the house. I really felt really angry at ourselves then. Why didn’t we leash our pets and walked our dogs? But I can’t turn back time. What I know is that we definitely gave you the best 5 years of your life with us.

I didn’t even get to say goodbye to you or give you a proper burial. I cried so badly. This is why I don’t want to get a new dog. Saying goodbye is so so hard.

For some reason, the night before you left, I walked outside to disturb you when you were asleep. I’m really glad I did so.

Hope you are doing well up there, Kopi. 

Tweet

Movement Control Order

2020. Who the heck ever thought that this year will turn out like this? Never did I ever expect that I will witness a pandemic occurring in my life. This shit is real.

Malaysia has been under a Movement Control Order since March 18, where everyone is required to stay home. School is cancelled and people are required to work from home.

It so happened that I left my job right before the MCO and I have no idea how I’m going to look for one in an economic condition like this. To be honest, I still have not started looking for one yet.

Meanwhile here’s what I’ve been up to lately.

Been spending more time making meals and trying out new recipes.

Yogurt, banana and homemade granola. The yogurt is sour but the trick is to drizzle some honey over the whole granola bowl. Yummy and healthy.

Recreated this childhood favourite along side mom! We usually only get to eat this as a kid during school holidays if mom was feeling nice to cook it for us, or whenever we head to Port Dickson for a family holiday. Basically it’s bread pan fried in margerine, bacon, sausages, fried eggs, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese.

Bacon is from The Meat Expert! A pleasant surprise as it is an eatery near my old office and when I saw it on GrabFood and showed mom, she was saying that the prices are very very reasonable. 1kg of streaky bacon for RM49 and they were having promotion of free delivery with using the code “MART2U”. Wanted to reorder it but our housing area is now out of delivery coverage.

During the initial weeks of MCO, went for a grocery run twice and went to the ingredients shop once. Subsequently  did not get out of the house, so you can see at first I’m pretty gung ho about cooking. I enjoy making my breakfast/lunches. This is sautéed mushrooms, scrambled eggs, ham on sourdough toast and a side salad.

As you can see, repetitive ingredients but presented in a different manner. Made Japanese style salad by adding in onions and topped with sesame dressing.

Made kimchi jigae too. With the exception of no gochujang. I substituted it with mom’s chilli paste though. Hahaha. And used chicken. Will be nicer if it’s with pork.

Big breakfast! Missing mushrooms here because I was too lazy to sauté them. As you can see my sunny side up egg is abit overdone because I struggled to move the egg from the pan to plate LOL. Sausages and ham are from Village Grocer during my grocery run there.

This one, helped mom with making ang ku kuih, was her first time making and it turned out pretty successful. Found out that kuih is actually really really unhealthy because it uses a lot of oil.

Made pancakes topped with banana. However here my pancake isn’t perfectly brown because I added oil. The trick is to use a non stick pan and cook the batter without any oil.

Made almond and pumpkin seed florentine cookies, pretty easy to make, just florentine powder, almond flakes and pumpkin seeds spread evenly across a baking sheet. And bake for 13 minutes or so. Take it out of the oven and immediately cut it into slices before it cools down.

Korean bean paste stew, something like Japanese miso soup, really easy to make. Boil an anchovy soup base with chopped garlic in it, add in bean paste, onions, potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms and tofu. Garnish with spring onions and enjoy with a hot bowl of rice alongside.

Made the viral Apam balik recipe on Facebook! Turned out pretty well and the steps to make the Apam balik is pretty simple.

Made banana cake but I think it’s a little too moist? Recipe said to bake for half an hour but I had to bake for almost an hour. Taste-wise it turned out pretty alright, but dad said that the texture was nice for a banana cake.

Scrambled eggs, iced black and home made granola.

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, taken this recipe from Jane Chuck’s Instagram and it is pretty delicious. I finished the cookies in a day and decided to bake them again the next day, I added half portion of raisins and half portion of chocolate chips which makes it yummier.

Been making my sourdough bread too, think I’ve baked it for 2-3 times. I’ve recorded the process on my Instagram videos so maybe you can have a look if you’re interested to learn how to make sourdough. Recently have introduced spelt to my sourdough baking routine and am trying to get used to it.

Made sourdough tortilla from scratch and I feel like an idiot paying for RM6 mission wraps every time I’m craving for tortilla. the night before, have to make the dough where 1 cup of plain flour, 1/2 cup of bread flour, 2 tablespoon of the fat of your choice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 cup sour dough starter and 1/2 cup or less of warm water.

Leave to rise for at least 4 hours, but I left it over night and this is how it looks the next day.

 Divide into 6 equal pieces and roll it out flat (I need more practice with this)

Heat up a pan with medium high heat and put the dough in without any oil. Once it starts to bubble then flip it.

It will look like this, cook till desired done-ness and remove from pan.

As for my tortilla fillings, I just decided to use whatever that is left in the fridge. Made paprika chicken and vegetable fajitas. Of course when you make more different types of filling it will be nicer. For the chicken, I’ve seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic and two tablespoons of paprika powder. For the vegetable fajitas, I used half an onion, half of 1 green bell pepper and 1 yellow bell pepper and garlic and onion powder.

As you can see my tortilla wraps are abit too small. So I ate my tortillas like how I ate tacos. The tortilla wrap will definitely taste more flavourful as compared to ready made wraps, plus it is healthy too. 

During this period, can’t go to the gym and attend my favourite classes at all. But I’m grateful for instructors who continue to teach classes through Instagram and Facebook live! For the first few weeks before I screwed up my sleeping schedule, I was pretty consistent with morning vinyasa yoga. To attend an 8am class, I got to wake up at 6.30am to get ready and eat breakfast. Also challenged myself to do 108 sun salutations A and B. 108 sun salutation A is still doable but B was really really challenging. Not long after, I started sleeping late so I cannot wake up for morning class, in the evening, I’ll usually attend Ray’s core exercise and body movement and later on martial art HIIT class.

My friends also got on to the bandwagon of doing tabata and we will do it over the Houseparty app! I think we done it for almost 2 weeks straight? They’ve also challenged me to a wear a T-shirt upside down challenge but I can’t even handstand by my own so I’ve started training for that. I wanna be able to touch the wall. 

I’ve been working out on a daily basis and only taking 1 rest day off a week? To be honest I’ve never done so many burpees, squats, push ups and sun salutations so frequently before until this MCO. 

Ordered dumb bells online on Shopee during the 2nd phase of MCO but until today it has yet to be shipped out so I cancelled the order. I really dislike how non responsive the seller was and some lousy explanation where they kept blaming the delay on POS Laju yet to collect the parcel. They did not mention on their page that this was a pre order so I’m not entirely sure whether it’s a lack of stock or really they can’t sort out their logistics properly. The name of the store is bestpricestore. Best price but lousy service. Can you imagine, this is a local seller. On the same day, I ordered resistance bands from China and it has already arrived? While the dumbbells are probably still sitting in this seller’s warehouse.

 

Recently started a 21 day meditation with my friends too and did day 1. Honestly during the first time of meditating for 15 minutes I found it hard to focus on my breathing, especially at the last 5 minutes. But it’s okay, I will practice more and see how this journey goes.

I’m currently on an Instagram and twitter cleanse where I get off it for two weeks. I seem to be pretty dependable on social media on a day to day basis. Look at the amount of stories I’ve been posting! Need to impose some self control on the amount of time I spent online  and mindfulness of what I post.

Been watching a lot of YouTube and TedTalks though. 

I have been doing thorough cleaning too. I think I’m going crazy. Been vacuuming and mopping the floor about 2-3 times a week. Washed my bathroom, changed my sheets, regularly done my laundry. Cleaned the food cupboard downstairs which was full of lizard droppings and threw out a whole lot of expired food. Deleted old and unwanted photos to make space for my phone. Even dismantled the freezer to wash. Bored in the house bored in the house bored.

I may go to the extent of taking up one of those free online learning courses soon.

Been keeping in touch with my friends via Houseparty where they have this fun trivia/guess my drawing games and we have also resorted to karaoke!

Of course, couldn’t resist some deliveries too. Initially my parents were really paranoid about the viral GrabFood video of people spitting in food that were circulating on WhatsApp, but I reassured them that I only ordered from eateries who ensured that the food was securely packed.

Been seeing these roll cakes from KITA Coffee on Instagram and couldn’t take my eyes off them. Held back for awhile before finally ordering them when they opened for tumpang to my housing area. Tumpang happens when let’s say 5 other people in your housing area wants to order from KITA Coffee too and the delivery charges can be shared among the 6 of you, hence lower delivery charges.

I ordered two roll cakes and a hot matcha with milk. As Kepong is quite a distance away from KITA Coffee which is located in Fahrenheit 88, the drink was cold and not as enjoyable as it was in store. But the roll cakes were really really delicious! 

Matcha hojicha roll cake.

Dark chocolate sea salt roll cake.

I think the roll cake was like RM13 each? Quite pricey for a roll cake but it’s really yummy where it’s not too sweet, cream is not too jelat and really flavourful. You also can get the whole roll cake at RM90 (can mix two flavours). Treat yourself, they say.

If you know me, One Half is one of my favourite cafes to visit. It’s all the way in PJ, and currently during this MCO period they are doing free delivery only in PJ area. They also have the option for GrabDelivery and when I checked for my area it was a whopping RM17 in delivery charges, hence I held back on ordering. After enough drooling on a daily basis, I was telling my mom about how expensive the delivery was but she said for such a distance, RM17 is reasonable......

So I ordered it!

Ordered the Baker’s Choice (an assortment of 9 pastries for the day) and also an oat milk latte. Added ice to it to make it iced oat milk latte. Oat milk gives the coffee a nutty burnt flavour which I like. The coffee was secured properly and the Baker’s Choice came wrapped nicely in this white box which was very very insta worthy.

In terms of pastries, I guess it really depends on what the baker feels like offering for the day? From the photo above left to right - plain croissant, pain au almond, pain au chocolate, oatmeal and sea salt chocolate chip cookies, lemon tart, lemon drizzle cake, cinnamon cardamom bun, lotus and seasalt bun and lastly citrus morning bun.

The first row of croissants are buttery and flaky, when I talk about flaky, I mean croissants that are able to be peeled layer by layer. Almond croissants are my favourite and it reminds me of my childhood where dad used to bring us to SOGO every weekend and we will eat at Delifrance and I would order this! But One Half’s almond croissants don’t have that custardy taste in the almond croissant. As for the chocolate chip cookie, it is RM5 for a cookie. At first you’d be thinking why do I need to pay such an amount for a cookie? But the next time you walk into the shop you confirm order this cookie again, it is addictive. Not too sweet, crispy and at the same time it crumbles in your mouth. 

For the lemon pastries, it is pretty refreshing if you haven’t tried it, but personally it is not really my cup of tea. Cardamom buns are really just bread. And again something I’m not really into, prefer crispy pastries, but certainly cannot resist the lotus and sea salt one. And for the citrus morning bun, it is made using croissant leftovers, would say that this has a unique taste and texture and it is coated with sugar. 

So you can roughly tell that the first row is my favourite. :p But it’s nice to order if you have always wanted to try out One Half’s pastries which are made with love. Was listening to ome.space Instagram live that day, and the owner mentioned that what he bakes, is what he tries to recreate from what he personally likes from the bakeries he has visited in London.

Mom was kinda disappointed I didn’t not order the banana loaf. She loves it a lot! I should make it a point to bring her there once this MCO is over. Really miss being able to visit a cafe and enjoy the coffee and the atmosphere.

Ordered ice cream delivery today as well, from Forty Licks, who has free delivery to areas within 10km radius of Desa Park City, can’t wait to receive it!

This is what I’ve been up to lately, hoping everyone stays safe and that this pandemic will calm down soon. 

Tweet

2019

The year is about to end again and I thought I’d just check in with my realizations in the current year. I have been blogging from when I was 11 or 12 maybe and I can’t believe that I will be turning 27 in 2020, a year that we have always been taught would be the year of the flying cars in our text books. Here to give you an update that as at 2019, there are still no flying cars at all.

This year didn’t feel like the most positive year at all.

I began the year on a burnt out note, slaving my ass off since 2018 without a proper break and finally leaving my job as an external auditor in April 2019. Things did not turn out as what I imagined it to be. It isn't so easy to just hop to the non-corporate side of things. Was I ready to let go of all the working experiences that I slaved off for the past four years, and not forgetting the two and a half years of burning the midnight oil in ACCA and giving up the 'university life' as a professional paper student. I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready to let go of the comfortable paycheck that helped to pay for my newly bought car. If I were to really take a break and be a barista, what am I going to eat or give back to my parents after paying my car installment? That was reality right in my face back then when I posted about rejecting the barista job that I really wanted to try out.

I was unemployed for four months, and while I was unemployed, I helped Dad to sell his water jasmine bonsai plants which he planted from scratch. He is really really proud and passionate on this hobby of his. (Come on, he worries about going on holidays because he's scared that the plants will die). I'm really surprised on the amount of plants we sold in the span of 4 months, but from here I also realized how challenging is it to run a business.

A customer may want to buy the bonsai because it looks cute, but you got to educate the customer on how much commitment it takes to take care and maintain the water jasmine bonsai. Yeah, during the purchase phase, you will meet different kind of customers, some who insist to just mail them the plant as it is 'just a gift', some really caring customers who have a real interest in water jasmine bonsais, some customers who just wants the plant for display purposes, but later on when they don't take care of it and it dies. (Read: All the leaves have fallen off and the plant is all dried up) They come back and question on how to save the plant. Sorry its too late bruh.

Dad says this is how running a business is like, make the money selling the bonsai and telling the customer how to take care of it and following up with the progress is the least we can do, but if something like the above happens, we can't do anything about it.

I just feel the pain because these bonsais do not just take the span of a few months to grow, some of them take a few years to grow to the sizes they are today, if it is being sold to irresponsible customers, it is really heartbreaking and a waste, but it's just my personal feelings.

As you can tell from the lack of updates on the Apple Bonsai page, I got lazy halfway.

I also worked on my interests. Because from speaking to people around me, they said never try, never know where I’ll end up with, but I guess I still don’t have the courage to push myself beyond my comfort zone. Still ended up in another corporate job... But let’s talk about that later.

The first of it, was getting to attend fitness classes on a more regular basis and challenging myself to the next level. I know every year I talk about my fitness and how I struggle with accepting myself as who I am in terms of my body, I am learning one step at a time on how to be comfortable with myself and how other people’s opinion about my body does not matter.

This year, still go for body combat classes, occasionally body pump and RPM. But what really surprised me is going for the classes where I really wanted to try but always seemed too intimidated. I started going for yoga and core exercise class when Ray was like come come one day and I started going for it regularly. I really enjoyed challenging myself in these classes, always the noob and getting better and better at every class learning something new, like headstand, or handstand. Currently able to do supported headstand against the wall, as for handstand, need to train walking closer to the wall. Always have in the past thought yoga was too tough, yoga is too slow for me, but in fact maybe I’m just a noob. Baby steps and hoping to level up my practice this coming year.

I thought I had the chance to attend more classes this year as compared to the last, but ever since I started working it’s a challenge to get off work on time and in time for classes. :( Everyday after work I drive like a maniac towards the gym and if I really do make it in time I count my blessings wtf. What happened to new job so that I had more time for myself?! Doesn’t work that way.

However, on things like my diet, I still eat everything in moderation, if there’s a day I felt that I went overboard, I will work out extra hard to burn off all that I have eaten. I would say that this year I have cut down alcohol and sugary consumption by a lot.

On to the next, I would say that this year is the year that I really continuously baked a lot!

I remember trying to make sourdough starter but failed miserably and just got some from my cousin. I followed this how to make a sourdough for beginners on frenchguycooking’s YouTube channel.

The first time was a total failure hahaha but still edible.

As you can see, I tried again and again and again until I got a perfect looking loaf. This bread making process takes about 40 hours, and the output is definitely worth it. Sourdough goes well with just butter, marmite, lotus biscoff dressing or with vinegarette dressing.

Learnt how to bake scones too! Still needs more practice because it’s abit too dry.

Also took me a lot of tries to bake chocolate chip cookies! This one is the soft type and finally got the perfect chocolate chip and sugar ratio. I was quite motivated to bake chocolate chip cookies because one of my friends commented on the first few bakes that “see also know” that my cookie was not nice. Finally got pretty decent chocolate chip cookies after 84858689596696 tries of baking.

Made homemade granola multiple times too. Very easy to make and what I like to have for breakfast.

Also improved on my coffee brewing skills. Began to know more about specialty coffee about two years ago when I consistently visited the same cafe and got to know more about coffee beans. Got my own v60 filter around end of last year and didn’t dare to instantly practice on proper specialty beans. But over time, after trial and error, started buying Artisan’s beans to brew coffee at home and been loving it!

Been loving Alejo Castrok’s Costa Rice Volcan Azul which has papaya, tolberone chocolate and toffee tasting notes, which I feel is towards the chocolatey and sweet side. Hopefully in 2020 I will have the chance to try other roasters in 2020.

In the past, didn’t know much about coffee, just enjoyed visiting pretty cafes and snapping photos... Until I went on this supposedly cafe hop meet up where it was such a turn off wtf. I had to pick this person up from the train station when he initiated for the cafe hop meet up, was made to pay for his meal and he took like 30 over minutes taking photos until the food was cold. Then felt really turned off by the Instagram cafe hopping culture. Hopefully not everyone is like that.

Also went for a Matcha Appreciation Workshop at Kita Coffee some time back. The workshop was conducted by Matcha Hero Kyoto, a Japanese Matcha seller who has a shop in Pavillion.

It was around one hour and the workshop felt very personal with only 4 attendees. We got to learn the difference between sencha and matcha, tasting different grades of matcha and and at the end we got to whisk our own matcha.

Makes me want to get my own set to brew matcha but I’m not sure where to get a good quality matcha whisk at a value for money price.

This year I spent more of my time for myself, and learnt to understand that myself comes first. And there is a life outside of work and not work and work and only work. Who are you without the work? I always felt like I didn’t have the time for myself to explore and was always constrained by the work factor by having to work 7 days a week. Besides that, managed to spend time with my friends and family, something I really really appreciate.

I feel like I held myself back this year a lot, I hope to improve in 2020 and do more.

Can’t really think of what else to write, but just a short update..

Tweet