Entry 23.05.2026

Yesterday was the last day of the first part of the academic year. We had our brekkie at Ban Chuen at Satok. Coincidentally, it was its last day of operations. This coffee shop was closing as the owners were getting old. This was a coffee shop that had everything - braised meats, curry, kacangma, kolomee, fried noodles, Maggi mee, cai kueh, sio bee .... just name it and they can probably whip it out for you. And their prices were so reasonable as well. We normally patronise the shop early in the morning, where we usually ordered deep-fried goodies and stir-fried noodles to go with our coffee. Yesterday, we managed to wish the owners well for their retirement! So glad for them! 

I rarely went to the school canteen, but that morning, I went since my colleague L said he would treat. Lol.

Banana Fritters 

The iced tea and the banana fritters were both rather yum that morning ...... 

Well, Teachers' Day celebration has been quiet in school. I don't know whether it was mentioned in the news that it should not be celebrated at school? Or was it the local education officers who said it should not be celebrated at school? The reason? To reduce wastage of instructional time at school, of course. To me, the reason was really very lame. But whatever it was .... the occasion was not celebrated at my school this year. Instead, my Senior Assistant instructed the Student Committee to buy us an appreciation gift each ..... 

So we got the Solaris Airtight Container and a packet of broad beans, both bought from Signature Market. Well, I appreciate the gesture, even though I do not need more containers. Heh. After school, we headed to Go Veggie for lunch.

It's been quite a while since I had lunch with my friend K and T. So that day was pretty fun since we had not caught up for a while. Why vegetarian, I asked my friend K. She said she found eating veggies less burdensome on the body. She also said that this particular cafe served very good food, maybe better than many non-vegetarian cafes out there! 

Well, after trying the food here, I agree with her. The food was tasty so that I momentarily forgot that I was not eating meat. Lol. We ordered 4 dishes : 

Hot and Spicy Soup

Stir-fried okra

Tofu in pumpkin gravy 

Mushroom in Mongolian sauce 

The soup and the tofu tasted really light and natural, the okra even had wok hei! The sauce for the mushroom was in fact quite buttery! So I agreed with my friend K that the cooking here was good despite the non-meat options. They also sold economy rice and noodle dishes here .... when we were there yesterday afternoon for lunch, there was a huge crowd indeed! 

Barley

I ordered a barley drink to go with the food .... 

I must thank my friend T for the lunch treat. We insisted to split the bill, but she wanted to treat us because she just found out that she had been awarded the APC for 2025. APC was the Excellent Service Award ... and I was so glad that she got it since I knew she fully deserved it! 

This Saturday morning, I brought Mom to buy pork at Borneo Fresh Pork since they were having a sale. Many items except Pork belly was sold at a 25% discount. There were many outlets to go to - I could go to the Kenyalang outlet, Sekama outlet, Petanak outlet, Jalan Song outlet, or the Tabuan Heights outlet. But I had to consider my options carefully ... the Kenyalang outlet often sold out very early and the staff was not helpful and was often very rude. The meat at the Petanak outlet were sometimes not as nice as the other outlets ... I seldom go to the Sekama or the Jalan Song outlet .... so finally I decided to go to Tabuan Heights. I'm glad I made the right choice.

At 7.40 am, the shop was super crowded with so many elderly aunties; everyone was trying to get the attention of the staff to secure their cuts of meat; but the staff remained cordial and polite. The queue to pay was really long as well but at least everyone was orderly. The meat was fresh too, and that was utmost important! 

I went home to store all the meat in the fridge before I went out again to eat my breakfast. I decided to go to Uncle Hainam, and I am glad I did. This eatery was recommended by my friend K. She told me that the chef was once the personal chef of someone very notable. It was only after Covid-19 that he decided to open up his own eatery. 

Beef brisket kueh tiaw soup, RM20 for a special bowl 

Authentic Penang fried kueh tiaw, RM16 for a double special plate

Teh C 

Well, I have a lot of great things to say about the food here. The price point was higher, but the food was great since they did not skimp on the ingredients. The beef noodle broth was sweet and flavourful. And it had big pieces of beef brisket, tendons, beef balls, tripe and stomach inside. Mom enjoyed the beef noodles a lot. The stir-fried kueh tiaw was also tasty. A special platter was sold at RM14, and they added cockles. Double special meant that they used both cockles and duck egg. I found the cockles premium since they used fresh ones! They tasted so good! 

My friend K also recommended other items to try here ... so I would definitely want to come back for more.

Well, it's happy holidays to me. 

Entry 20.05.2026

I've been a bit busy with exams work lately. Today is the completion date. Everything's done, but not without hiccups.  It was because the exams platform was new and it was the first time we used it. Everyone was pretty unsure about what to do. We just did what we felt we should do. Today also, I was at my meeting and then I realised that I had forgotten to bring 2 important envelopes So I had to drive home to take them. Luckily, there was not much traffic and my house was not too far from the meeting venue. The whole trip took me about 30 minutes only! 

Yesterday afternoon, I completed my tooth implant. Back in 2020, I had a tooth pulled out because it had cracked. The dentist actually tried to save it for me. So he did a root canal treatment for me. But it failed. I stubbornly kept the tooth till it could no longer be kept ... and had it pulled out in 2021. I had always wanted to do an implant after that ... but did not get around to do it. Till last year when I had a lot of issues with my teeth - more of them cracked. I crowned 2 and had another 1 pulled out. And so this was the time I asked the dentist to do the implant for me.

The whole process took 8 long months and set me back by RM8000. I had the implant screw placed in September. It needed 6 months for the implant to integrate. Last month I had the abutment or the connector piece placed. And 2 weeks ago, a crown impression was taken. Finally, yesterday, the crown was attached. The whole process was not painful at all, so I was glad. 

Hmn ... at first. the tooth felt strange. But that feeling went away and I got used to the new tooth very quickly. At the end of this year, I am going to do another implant for the tooth that I had pulled out. That one was cracked. I had root canal treatment and crowning done. But after a year, that tooth was infected anyway ... my gum got swollen and I was in pain all the time. So in February this year, I decided to have it removed. I had done grafting as well, and it needed at least 8 months to mature. Only at the end of the year would it be ready for implant.

Some eats this round .... 

My fav beef noodle, RM9 

But that day, it was a tad salty ... 

Stir-fried Zhaocai Fengan, RM9

This was from Chai Shu at So Good Cafe 2, Stutong

I was a bit shocked when the plate was set down before me, since it looked wet and soggy.

Upon tasting it though, I found it palatable .... it had wok hei, and tasted ok ... so I did not complain ... the portion was also huge and I could not finish it .... 

Kolo mee, RM6

Also from So Good Cafe 2, the noodes were a tad soft though it did not look it ... the taste was also average 

Vegetable fritters, RM1.50

This was from Song Corner ... it was crispy, quite tasty ... but a bit too oily

Smile Popiah, RM5

Also from Song Corner. Good popiah, today the roll was bigger than usual. Heh .... but the ingredients were all fresh and well-balanced. 

Chicken and Egg Sandwich, RM6.50 each

From The Breakfast Factory at Song Corner, delicious every time! 

Also very good peanut butter toast, RM5.20 for a double set  

Teh C Peng, RM3

From Yong Kwang Coffee Shop; the weather was so hot that I needed a cold drink ...

The tea was fragrant, but not milky enough .... 

Belacan beehoon, RM7

From Yong Kwang Coffee Shop also, the noodles were too thin. They were also broken, so it affected the overall pleasure of eating the noodles ... the cucumbers were overly moist since they were grated; the broth was too diluted. Well, the whole dish tasted ok ... but not great ... 

Well, that sums up my 2 weeks .... 

Entry 11.05.2026

I had been very busy for the past few days. I had work to catch up on. So I was glad that all my work is at least settled for now. The other day, Mom and I had lunch at Verinice Kitchen. It had economy rice sold for a quick lunch. So I took 3 items, RM8.90.

I didn't find the dishes that yum, heh ... I was just glad that I did not have to cook a meal. A lot of people dropped by to eat or to takeaway, so it seems like it's a really popular place to eat! 

I went to Yeow Kee at Gala City for breakfast the other day .... and I actually did not know what to eat here. Food quality was not consistent - kolo mee was ok sometimes, but sometimes it was not. Popiah used to be yum, but now it's not yum anymore. A lot of people like the beef noodles here, but I found the texture of the noodle to be too soft. The laksa was ok, but I did not feel like eating it. So I ended up ordering ... 

Stir-fried longevity noodles with leeks, RM7

Dumpling soup, RM10

The stir-fried noodles were quite fragrant, ane enjoyable to eat. The pork and prawn dumpling that day was disappointing ... the texture was not Q at all. They tasted chewy - like they had flour in them ... sigh ... for such a long time, they were known to have sold the best dumplings in town .... but now, with the rising costs of ingredients, they might have added flour to the pork and prawn filling .... so sad.

The other day, I tried something interesting - Kun Terung Asam. This pack was given to me by my friend. It sat there in my snacks container for ages, and today, I decided to try it out. This is dried terung asam ... 

Terung Asam or sour eggplant is native to Sarawak, typically cooked and consumed. But this one is dried. It was chewy, sweet with a slight tangy frangrance at the end. Quite interesting.

Entry 04.05.2026

I spent the long weekend going about different supermarkets in town .... buying cooking oil here ... buying fresh fish and veges there ... buying dry kitchen ingredients elsewhere .... heh ... 

I also got a hair cut! My hair had gotten long and unruly. But I never knew where to go to get it cut since my favourite hairstylist, Peter, had stopped working. Sigh. I tried the expensive salons, but I was never quite satisfied with their services. Sometimes the hairstylists even commented with disdain about the poor state of my hair. I stopped going to one such high-end salons because I refused to pay a huge sum for them to criticise my hair.  In contrast, I tried the very cheap salons, but I was not satisfied either because the hair did not feel right either afterwards. Though my hair was straight and of medium length, it was not easy to get the right blend of layers so that it fell naturally. Only Peter did it so well, cutting it layer by layer till it had the right length and volume to look and feel good. Sigh .... 

So the other day, I just walked into one random hair salon at the mall I always frequent and got my hair cut. It was good because I did not need to make an appointment, I did not have to wait, and I got my hair chopped off to my desired length. The hairstylist was polite and friendly and did not say anything nasty. The price was affordable ... but the result ... I would say was so-so. At least it was now shortened, and washing and drying it would be faster. 

Besides that, I also rewatched Pursuit of Jade with Mom. This C-drama trended so much on my social media feed, so I decided to watch it. After the second episode, I binge watched the whole thing over 4 days .... it's quite entertaining, heh. But Mom was really slow. She could only manage 2 or 3 episodes in a day. So I accompanied her, watching the second time. Lol. 

Hmn ... first of all, I think the show is visually stunning, especially the aesthetics of Lin An village which feels so idyllic. And the snow scenes transformed the village into a dreamlike setting. I suppose it's necessary because the serenity of the village landscape will be used to provide a contrast with the harsh landscape at the war zones and the stuffiness of the palaces later on. It is necessary to justify why our leads want to return to Lin An at the end of the drama. 

It is of course visually stunning as well because of the 2 leads - Zhang Ling He and Tian Xi Wei are well-paired. Both are so good-looking! Zhang Ling He is strikingly handsome and so pleasant to see on screen. He has this vulnerability, yet exudes quiet charisma. Meanwhile, Tian Xi Wei is not only beautiful, she is so expressive and lively and is a joy to watch. They both indeed make the characters believable, and I am emotionally invested in their love story, which I find endearing and sweet. Of course, I question how such a small woman can be portrayed as someone having such brute strength ....  but oh well ... heh ... I'll just let myself enjoy the story. Lol. 

Other than that, I find the political chaos a bit confusing. I think the screenplay or the execution of that part of the drama is a bit unclear .... or at least ... difficult to make clear of. Moreover, I also find it difficult to distinguish the faces of the other actors who are not the leads .... lol .... 

Well, it's not all the time that I find a C-drama engaging .... so when there is one that is fun to watch, but I'll just let myself enjoy the story and the visuals ... I'd always thought that Zhang Ling He was handsome but it's my first time watching him in a drama. As for Tian Xi Wei, I didn't know her existence till the Pursuit of Jade. Heh. 

The eats over the weekend .... hmn ... I was not sure where to go and I ended up going back to the same places to eat ... 

Cantonese Kueh Tiaw, RM8

This was from Song Corner; the noodles had wok hei ... it was quite yum! 

I normally go to Song Corner for the toast ... I think they sell the best quality toast in town. I also enjoyed the chicken and egg sandwich, RM6.50 which tasted like McMuffin but of course, the quality is much better! Song Corner also had a Smile Popiah stall ... it was expensive at RM5 per roll, but the popiah was also yummy. I had forgotten to take a photographs of all those food. Heh .... 

Laksa, RM8 

Kolo mee, RM6

The laksa and kolo mee are from Hong Kong Pau Cafe (小霸王) at Jalan Padungan. The cafe is newly-renovated, and they sold pastries at reasonable prices. The laksa used to be very yum; my late Dad had often enjoyed his laksa here. But that day, the laksa was so bland! I was so disappointed, and quite angry too as I hadn't eaten such lousy laksa for a long time. The kolo mee was alright, though. 

Lontong

My colleagues decided to cook lontong at work today ... they prepped everything at home, and then brought the ingredients to the office. With just an electric rice cooker, the vegetable broth was ready in 30 minutes. The rest of us, of course, contributed by merely bringing food items like drinks, cakes, agar jelly and fruits. Homemade lontong was indeed really yummy! Today's breakfast was indeed special!