To university

On 14 August, the entry to public university via UPU online was announced. To our surprise, Jan was offered a place in Universiti Malaya (UM), one of the top public universities in Malaysia. 

Actually this university was her 2nd option when she applied through UPU early this year. Her first option was USM in Penang but she didn't got that offer. Anyhow after juggling the pros and cons, she decided to stay put with Swinburne University of Technology; pursuing Bachelor of Science in biotechnology. 

With Sarawak government offering free higher education through FTES which covering tuition fee, it is sure easing our financial burden. 

24 August (next Monday) is the orientation day; daddy will accompany her along. One week of orientation and welcoming programmes at the university and she will officially start her first semester on 1 September. Oh my! My girl is all grown up now. I am excited and anxious for her at the same time. 

Jan has her driving license now, upgraded to full fledged driver this year after 2 years of P license. So on transportation part, she has to settle herself as I can't manage hers, since I got to take care of her younger brothers' transportation. 

Both boys aren't in same school and furthermore they are in different session. Jay will finish his secondary school this year, so I didn't bother to change Jamie's school there since he will be in afternoon class. 

Latest update on haze: as of today, all schools in areas with unhealthy API reading in Sarawak are closed since yesterday. So both boys are having online classes from home today. Praying hard that the situation will improve and everything get back on track soon. Miss the beautiful, clear sky and fresh air. 

The sky this morning

Looking back and what ahead

I have been contemplating whether to continue writing my blog for quite sometime now. Hardly have the energy and time to do so last year and during first half of this year. No inspiration and you can say I was running out of ideas to write. So pardon me if my vacabulary and grammar aren't that sharp anymore. My writing skill is kind of rusty right now. 

Life has been busy and repetitive over here. I have been operating my coffee shop for slightly over 3 years now. Other than managing the shop (now it is 2 shoplots with around 30 tables), my health hasn't been optimal in 2025. 

I went for a Hormonal IUD procedure, a non surgical procedure last October. As mentioned previously, I had a very low blood count (HGB less than 5.0) for few years and under advice of my family doctor, I seeked advice from a gynae in Borneo Medical Centre last August. The male gynae advised for IUD to balance my hormone and improve my blood count. I used to have a very heavy menstrual but after the procedure in October, my monthly menstrual was lesser and not much in pain. And after the blood test in January 2026, my HGB blood count improved to around 12.0. My health has improved since. I am less fatigue now. I am also on high blood and cholesterol medication since early 2025. 

As for Jamie's eczema, he has also improved after more than 1 year medication course. Since last month, he has stopped taking his medication as his skin has improved alot and his eczema is under control. He will be turning  13 years old next month. My youngest is now a teenager.

His brother, Jay will be taking his SPM this year. In few months time, he will finish his Form 5 studies and graduated from secondary school. Gosh, time really wait for nobody.

This month he would be celebrating his 17 years old. Of course I am turning 49 at the same time. Double birthday celebration this month. How do we plan to celebrate our birthdays? Like in the past, we will have a birthday dinner. No idea where to enjoy our birthday feast yet. But my birthday wish? Everyone stays healthy, happy and blessed, and everything is smooth and well!!

Jan has accepted the offer from Swinburne University of Technology, and she will attend her orientation on 24 August. Oh boy! And it is so coincidentally that it is my birthday as well. This is a good day to remember for me and her. Am excited for her as her university journey is beginning soon. She is pursuing her degree in Bioscience. Wishing her all the best!! 

Back to my blog, I may not going to give up. However when I have the inspiration and time to write, I will be around. The notebook that I used to write has broke down since last year, so that was one other reason for me not to write this blog. Typing and drafting a post on phone aren't that easy. However I will try to make time to blog and do some blog hopping. *fingers cross*

Roselicious

A new chicken rice stall, Roselicious Chicken rice that opened early this month in Jia Hao Cafe, MJC.

Open from 9am onwards (except Tuesday), it serves lovely, juicy steamed chicken and its signature rose chicken to customers. 

Good news for those who loves liver and gizzard, they serve those too as add on. 

May be be steamed or rose chicken, they tasted good and delicious. The old school chicken rice taste. 

With drizzle of oyster sauce on top of the chicken, it gives the extra flavour to it. 

Dinner delivered

It was last month when I had our dinner delivered to our doorstep. My mil wasn't back then so most of the evening, either I cooked or ordered food delivery. 

I saw this Coffee Loong in BDC area which I don't remember trying in the past. Read its food review so I decided to give it a try. 

It took quite a while for the food to be delivered. Since it was pretty far and it was peak hour so it was understandable that the food arrived later than usual. 

I ordered 5 different type of rice dishes so everyone got to taste the different meat. The rice was quite a lot and so was the meat. At least they were pretty generous with the portion. 

Out orders were namru pork belly rice, fried salted fish fillet rice, butter pork rice, butter chicken rice and pork rib sauce rice. All (except butter chicken rice cost RM11.55) was arM13.64 each. My verdict?? The pork rib sauce rice was nice. The rice was cold but I reheat them in microwave oven. The kids finished up their meal so no comment from them. 

Six months

Without realising it, I have been in F&B line for 6 months now!! How time flies. 

First was the planning, and then the execution and lastly, the result. The fruit of our labour.

18 June, the first day of operation with 2 stalls in business, namely kolo mee and chicken rice. Then, in July we had the wok fried stall, which operate till November. 

Laksa stall also started sometime in July. Fast moving forward, this month we had new tenant in, the fried banana fritter stall. Tomorrow onwards, the stall will also serving meatball soup China flavour. I shall blog about it soon. 

With the wok fried stall out, we took over the stall and did mee suah business. Business is picking up from the mee suah as well as our sandwich menu too this month. 

More will be coming soon next year, so watch out for our new addition. 

Operation wise, I had 3 staff working for me. 2 since the beginning. There is always issue and problem when dealing with workers especially attitude. Everywhere is the same, right?? 

Shortage of sugar and increase in pricing for coffee also popped up lately, so have been contemplating on increasing in my drink pricing but that shall be next year agenda. For now, my pricing has been fixed as it is since the opening. Small glass RM1.60 for teh o and Kopi o and big glass RM2 for teh o and Kopi o. Price for big glass for Kopi and kopi c as well as teh c is RM2.50, while small glass for both is RM2 each. 

Looking forward to a better next year. Blooming business and better service for everyone. 

 

Secret Recipe

It was Tuesday. Together with Jan, we went to Secret Recipe in MJC for lunch before heading home. My girl wanted Western for lunch and the weather was so hot that afternoon, so I decided to have our lunch in an air-conditioned place.

Never been to this branch in MJC although we stay in the vicinity. It was a quiet Tuesday as we were the few diners there but we didn't mind as it was quieter and cozier. 

Luckily we shared this watermelon juice as by the time we finished our food, we could hardly finish the juice.  

The food portion was quite big for us, who are small eaters. My tummy no longer could hold on to too much food space unlike when I was younger.

I had this chicken parmigiana which was good and tasty. Thick juicy chicken chop with crispy outer skin. RM22.84 per plate. 

My girl decided to have something other than the usual fish n chip and she went for the Carribbean style fish fillet. RM21.72 for her serving and she also had tough time clearing her plate. 

And since it is my birthday today (yours truly is turning 46), just for the occasion, I was having this slice of Hokkaido chocolate cheese cake (RM8.59 after 31% discount). Of course I shared this dessert with Jan who is a cake lover.

Maybe I will come back to try its rice dish like nasi kerabu. More localised menu now, not like what it used to be in the past. Used to enjoy its lamb shank but unfortunately it was not available that day. 

My blood

I did mentioned that I went to do my blood test in April and the result wasn't desirable as my hemoglobin count was very low. Other result such as liver and kidney function, cholesterol and hepatitis were alright. Doctor was concerned on my very low hemoglobin count which was 5.3 (normal is 11.5-16.5). So I was advised to take iron folic tablets which I bought from pharmacy. 

Recommended by pharmacist, I took this Maltofer Fol for a month plus. And then this month when the shop was closed for rest day, I went for my 2nd blood test. And again, the result came back undesirable. After much nagging from doctor, I had to increase my iron folic to twice a day, instead of one tablet. 

Not only that, I also take this drink consisting of red date, dried longan and wolfberries almost every day. 

This nourishing drink reminded me much of my confinement where I had to drink longan drink for a month!! Luckily I like longan, red dates and wolfberries, so I don't mind this drink. Other than drink it, I also consume the ingredients. Don't want to waste them. 

When my parents knew of my condition, they went to consult Chinese medicine hall and got this medicine for me. 

RM10 per sachet. My parents bought 7 sachets for me to take for a week. It is in fluid form so I just throw the fluid into my mouth and swallow. Tasted good, luckily no bitter Chinese herbs or medicine in it. I am taking one sachet every day with my iron folic. 

Now my mil will cook amaranth (bayam), pork and chicken soup more to replenish my blood. Of course the family also get to take them as well but I needed to increase my intake more than them. 

As during the weekend when my man is around, I will have to take few slices of liver and its soup as he would order liver soup with his noodle from the kolo mee stall in our shop. 

Hopefully after all those dietary plans, my result would turn out good if my doctor request for another blood test in few months time. 

He ordered, I paid for Fun Hut

I got a surprise on Wednesday afternoon when a delivery man was in front of my house. No, I didn't ordered or expected anything. Upon closer inspection, it was Food Panda rider! 

He was talking on the phone for quite sometime in front of the gate while I was peeping from the living room. And much to my surprise (and confusion), he rang the bell. Soon, my handphone also rang. It was Hubby!!!

This must be a joke!! He was on a fishing trip that day and somehow his phone accidentally ordered the food through Food Panda app while in his pants pocket!! Yikes! And he called me, explaining to me while the delivery man told me that the food was on cash term. Geez, he accidentally ordered the food and I had to bear the cost of it. It was RM59.60 and I paid RM60  to the guy, asked him to keep the change. He was still laughing at the situation when I paid him. Lol. 

Let see what the damage that I paid for. 

Fun Hut!! I never had snacks from Fun Hut but my kids used to like its waffles. I used to buy its waffles for the kids when Jan and Jay used to go to a tuition centre (during their primary school times) which was near to one of its outlets in MJC. 

Wow, look at all the fried snacks!! Double wow! Chicken wings!!! That was a lot. And with that, I did not need to cook much for dinner that evening. Some leftover lunch dishes plus these chicken wings, I just need to stir fry a vegetable dishes and make it a meal

 

Signature spicy chicken wings (top) and mix and match with few non-spicy wings (bottom). Jamie took 2 non spicy and 2 spicy wings before dinner time; he quite enjoyed the wings!!!

And a pack of takoyaki with cheese sausage in it. Nice to take when it was warm. Never a fan of takoyaki though. 

Plus this boba chocolate classic drink. Jan, Jay and I shared this drink. Quite nice and chocolatey. Jay took most of it after he came back from his afternoon class. 

Thanks hubby for the 'accidental' order, at least we got to enjoy some fried chicken wings. But got to be careful and make sure your phone is screen locked so no such incident happens again. I still wonder how it happened though.  Luckily nothing expensive was ordered. Lol. 

Noodles by same family

When she used to operate nearby, we spent almost every weekend having breakfast at her kolo mee stall. However, since she moved to Megabite Cafe near Emart Batu Kawa, we only made a trip once a month when we went for our grocery shopping. 

Megabite Cafe Batu Kawa

She was the daughter-in-law of the Green Road's Sin Lian Shin where most Kuching Lang (Kuching residents) would know. Hubby liked the daughter-in-law's kolo mee better but I thought hers could be drier sometimes. I must prefer the old man's kolo mee at Sin Lian Shin. And I enjoyed his kiaw th'ng (dumpling soup) more. 

Sin Lian Shin

Those noodles may be from the same family but different hands cook differently. Somehow there is slight difference in taste and texture. Don't you agree?? 

Another day in Kwong Hup

Back dated to last year. Few days before the New Year. Hubby and I were up earlier and we decided to venture further instead of settling for the usual place in our neighbourhood. 

So that was how we ended at Kwong Hup Cafe. When mentioning this coffee shop, one would think of its fried kway teow and popiah. Unfortunately the popiah stall didn't opened that day so we could not enjoyed its yummy popiah. 

Luckily we still able to enjoy the fried kway teow. We loved the Penang fried kway teow as it was cooked on hot plate. Hubby initially wanted it with clams but it was not available. No clams, so we settled for sotong (squid) instead. Also, not bad!!

Not many customers that morning, so the stall operators were pretty free, chit chatting among themselves. 

On another day (i.e. 8th day of CNY), we came here again for breakfast. This time, we brought Jan and mil along. 

This time, the popiah stall was opened. We ordered one RM3.50 while waiting for the Penang fried kway teow which took quite sometime.

My mil went for fried kway teow with bamboo clams whereas hubby and I had prawns with our noodle. 

RM21 for 3 plates of fried kway teow. 

Took over

Since the Kueh Chap stall moved out last year we rarely go for breakfast in this food court. By the way, our favourite kueh chap has moved to Petanak area since late last year. 

Anyway, one morning last month, together with my hubby, mil and Jay, we went to the food court for breakfast before dropping Jay off to his tuition. A new cha kueh stall was opened that day so we ordered a small portion of salty version to try. RM5 for small portion. Not bad.

As for the kueh chap stall, new person has took over not long ago. We wanted to try for comparison, so hubby and I shared this bowl for RM10. They had chicken feet on the menu so I ordered that and wanted to give it a taste. 

But really, other than it looked presentable, the taste was totally not to our liking. Not the broth was not nice, the pork was frozen/overnight as my hubby was pretty sensitive when it comes to pork. The taste of frozen pork instead of using fresh pork, totally not his cup of tea.  I also not like the kueh chap. So totally a disappointment for us. No, we didn't finish it as the pork wasn't tasted good. Left more than half of the bowl untouched. 

Since my mil flew over 2 weeks prior to CNY, she has been taking over my kitchen most of the time. Clearing some stuff in freezer to make way for CNY, like the raw oysters that hubby bought last year.  She doesn't take raw food so we had to open up the oysters to take them out and cook them with eggs. An oyster omelette!! Not bad for first time cooking but maybe need to drain the oysters next time as the fluid made the omelette wet. Lol. Anyway, they went into our tummies and no stomachache or diarrhea after that.  

Battery

I bought my current car back in 2019. Got it in January 2019, in time for the Chinese New Year. 

Then 2020 hit us hard with Covid-19 and I hardly drive for most of it and the trend continued to 2021 since kids were stuck at home with online classes. Till we slowly moved to endemic stage this year that I rely on my car heavily. Spend quite substantial amount of time on the road. 

So when it comes to car servicing, I tried not to miss it. The only time I delayed it was back in 2020 due to MCO. Since then, I tried to follow the schedule.  The next servicing was supposed to be last Saturday but I was busy as Jan had curriculum day in school. So I thought of sending my car this Saturday instead. But my car broke down on me on Tuesday!! Yes, right in front of tuition teacher's house when I went to pick Jamie up. 

Called it an intuition, felt my car wasn't in right condition lately. Maybe because mostly I am driving it so I will kind of knowing whether it is alright or not. Anyway, back to my story, I was unable to ignite the engine so first thought was the battery. It is time to change the battery. Thanks to the teacher who helped to send us home that evening and look after my car till I got the mechanic to change on Wednesday morning. I had my neighbour dropped me off at the teacher's house so I could wait for the mechanic. It took few minutes to change and my car was back!! And RM350 was the damage!!

Going up

My usual morning routine this year has been like this.  Wake up around 530am, get ready breakfast and snacks for school lunch box for Jan and Jamie, who are in morning session. 

By 615am, Jan and I are out while Jamie is waking up and having his breakfast at home. It takes around 25-30 minutes back and forth so by 645am, I would be at home and make sure Jamie is ready for his school which starts at 730am. Thank God that his school maintaining the 730am time since MCO, so it is convenient for me to drive him.  Being a solo parent with hubby not around on most weekdays, I think I adjust and compromise well.

When hubby is around on weekdays, he would follow me out, dropping Jamie at school and we go to have our breakfast, and sometimes to nearby butcher shop to buy meat and vegetables. 

Newest price list

On Tuesday, Jamie needed to be at school before 7am for assembly, so my morning routine started earlier. Managed to drop him in school before 655am.  Together with hubby, I drove to the butcher shop to fill up my vegetable and meat list. While I was at the butcher shop, the taukeynio was ranting on the price hike for pork. All I was able to catch from her morning ranting was the price of pork is going up again this year. 

RM6 kolo mee with wanton 

After done my purchases, hubby and I went to Y. Y. Cafe for breakfast. Again, while ordering our food, the kolo mee taukey told me that the price of meat is going up, so naturally char siew price will go up and subsequently, kolo mee as well. Geez, his noodle just went up by 50cents to RM4.50 few months ago!!  Now it is RM5.

Kueh chap cheng

Then the dishes that are pork based like kueh chap would definitely feel the pinch and need to hike up their price too. So I wonder how much a bowl of kueh chap cheng (without Kueh) would cost?? The last time I had one in Xing Xing Wang was RM12 per bowl. 

Another pork by product, luncheon meat is a must have in my pantry. My usual brand, Porkies keeps increasing in price and now it is one of the expensive luncheon meats on the shelves. So I switched to other slightly cheaper brands, such as the above. Somehow I prefer the texture and flavour of Porkies but both Pana and Herdsman (also from Denmark) are alright. But if there is any offer on Porkies, I will surely pile up some for my pantry.  That what I did earlier this week when I went to H&L Supermarket. That was the cheapest I can find for Porkies in Kuching!