Eid Mubarak! Fafa and I celebrated today by enjoying good food and bingeing on the Lebaran cookies Jik sent for Eid. With it, March flew by, with me alternating between being sick and stressed out. In short (or shorter) terms, it was March Madness in my part of the world.
Highlights
š¦¤ ā I don’t think I have shared this online, but since Iāve already told people IRL, why not share it here too? I have a soft spot for backyard birdsāyou know, the ones that just hang out in the yard, on top of houses, etc. Usually, these birds are pigeons. My Appa loves birds, and after a fortune teller once told me that the birds visiting me symbolize my Patti (which I immediately adopted as the absolute truth), I started caring for them. By that, I mean I feed them bird seeds I got from Amazon and talk to them as if they are my Patti and her friends. Weird, I know, but not that weird in the grander scheme of things with how the world is right now.
But my highlight isnāt about my Pigeon Patti; itās about a brown, chubby bird that has been semi-regularly visiting our backyard. It seems to be less scared of me compared to my Pigeon Patti flock, as whenever I walk into the backyard, it doesnāt fly away. Instead, it just pauses for a bit before eating the seeds I left for my Patti pigeons and hangs out in the backyard for the longest time. This fat, lazy brown bird, which I thought was just another bird, turned out to be a quail! I named it Qun Qun (pronounced āGun Gunā), and it has become a tiny joy in my life and the highlight of our days.
š¶ļø ā Another backyard-related highlight: my habanero plant is fruiting! Itās still green at the moment, but Iām already dreaming of no longer needing to add habaneros to my weekly grocery list and saving $3.80.
š² ā My stressed mind has been consistently saved by a hotpot game app on my iPhone. In it, I run a hot pot restaurant called āJoy Pot,ā and it’s giving me joy.
š ā On an especially stressful day when I was feeling completely overwhelmed, I got a surprise stationery package from Jik. Inside were letters and stickers, and it honestly made me stop crying. That same week, Fafa got me Onigiri stickers. I think my loved ones have cracked the code to keep me saneāstationery and stickers.
š¤ ā We recently had a session of the Resilient Project at work, and I loved it so much! If your workplace hasnāt had it yet, I highly recommend it. Itās well worth the investment for your mental health and happiness. We were also given the Resilient Project journal, which Iāve set aside to start filling out in May.
āš½ ā The first-ever Footscray West Writers Festival! Fafa and I attended the If These Streets Could Talk group readingāmy favorite was the āchicken lady,ā Fiona Scott-Norman, while his favorite was Sean Fallonās reading. The next day, I went to Growing Up West, a conversation between Shu-Ling Chua and Saanjana KapoorāI loved it (and these two)! The last event I attended was the most fun: Shit Drawing, a workshop with Gorkie. Next year, Iāll invite Jik and Liz to join. Also, a massive congratulations to Rem, the owner of The Chestnut Tree Bookshop, for winning the 2025 Enterprise Maribyrnong Innovative Business Award!
Read, Watched, And Browsed
š ā Iāve been meaning to replace my Kindle and originally planned to get the Matcha Kindle, but I ended up going a different route and got myself a white Kobo instead. I named it Kowl (Kobo Owl). Before buying it, I knew almost nothing about Kobo, except that it had the page-turn buttons I loved on the Kindle Oasis (which I had planned to get before it was discontinued). So far, Iām really enjoying it.
š ā The first book I read on it was Stanley Tucci’s What I Ate in One Year. I loved his writing so much that it made me want to: make my own pasta sauce, eat all the food he cooked in the book, eat all the food he ate in the book, eat the rest of the food he mentioned in the book, Go to Italy, watch his TV show, Start a Substack about eating along with Stanley Tucci, write a diary about eating along with Stanley Tucci, write an email or letter to Stanley Tucci and become his friend – so he would invite me to his house and feed me pasta.
š» ā Despite claiming to be busy and stressed out, I managed to watch a lot of horror movies this monthāHereās the ones I remember: Heretic, Delivery: Found Footage, Devilās Due, The Dead Thing, The Watchers, Control Freak, Jagged Mind, The Clock, The Missing, Nightās End, Appendage (weird but good), Wanita Ahli Neraka, Vision, The Butchers and Sinister 2.
šŗ ā Favorite TV Shows: Iām really into The Residence (Iāve been recommending it to everyone I love!). Iām a fan of all Shonda Rhimes’ TV showsāsheās magic. My favorite scene was the Uluru-Kangaroo part. I also love how Detective Cupp is into birding, loves canned fish, and keeps and draws in her notebooks. Speaking of which, I also loved the part in Zero Days where the president kept a journal in a Moleskine notebookāTV representation! Iām also watching High Potential, Greyās Anatomy, and Loudermilk on the side.
šæ ā Iāve also been extensively side-watching videos with Meghan Markle commentaries, as well as the Justine Baldoni vs. Blake Lively drama. Paying for YouTube Premium has been so worth it.
š¶ ā Fave lo-fi of the month: Ketupat Lofi – perfect listen for Ramadan season.
š ā The Best Places to Eat in Melbourne During Ramadan.
š ā My friend Shiv started a blog called Boundless and Unflittered, where she writes about travel, food, and exerciseācheck it out!
š§” ā My latest favorite binge-read on Substack: Milk and Cookies.
Foodie Guide-Y
š„ ā Liz invited me to Marmelo to celebrate her birthday. I checked out the menu and decided to look forward to eating food I had never heard of or knew how to pronounce. Aside from the basic B cockerel, every single Portuguese dish we had there was absolutely delicious.
š ā We went to Kata Kita for Eid dinner. We shared a plate of grilled prawns, super spicy Indonesian fried rice and a Babi Guling rice set.
š« ā At the beginning of this month, I made Vietnamese Chicken, Tamil Rasam, and Indonesian Ikan Teri. But then I pivoted to Woolies brand frozen meals, rotating between Butter Chicken, Thai green curry, and Chili Con Carneāgulped down within 10 minutes because work has been hella hectic lately.
š„ ā Fafa and I tried a new lunch spot in Sunshine called Kababi, which I think could be SalamTeaās sister shop. I had mushroom rice set, and he had a similar set with meat instead.
š„” ā Iāve been eating so much Indonesian foodāmostly as comfort during sickness, stress, or just being me. I had nasi bakar, soto Betawi, oxtail soup, green chili fried rice, a spread from SS Sambal, tahu isi, tempeh, and of course, martabak manis.
š¦Ŗ ā I thought of celebrating my 9th year in Melbourne with Dosa but changed my mind when we reached Dosa Hut. Then I decided on Pho on Barkley, but the place was closed, so we ended up at Roti Road instead. I had Phi Phi served with a side of Chinese donuts and Bandung.
š« ā We had a few company dinners this month. The first one I attended was at Saint & Rouge, and the last one was at George on Collins, where I shared Asian fusion dishes (Betel Leaf, Sticky Mekhong Lanb Ribs, Prawn Toast, Kingfish Ceviche, Green Chicken Curry, Pork Belly, Black Pepper Wagyu, Roti peanut satay sauce and Mini Golden G dessert), while listening to a colleague’s inspiring story about his six-month sabbatical journey around the world.
š ā I kind of want to gatekeep this, but hey, why not share? My current favorite rice is the Royal Umbrella Thai HOM Mali Rice, which you can get at most Asian stores. It’s the creme de la creme of non-Japanese white rice. Enjoy!
š§ ā Iāve made a mini resolution to try new cuisinesāor at least new-to-me foodsāat least once a month. This isnāt hard at all if you live in Melbourne, so itās more of an indulgence than a resolution, I guess. This month, I tried South Indian Ragi Muddeāa dough made from finger millet flour, eaten with some kind of gravy (I had it with spicy chicken curry). Iām not a fan of the look and texture (it resembles brown porridgeāthe one I UberEatas didnāt come as balls like the ones I saw on Google). I could see myself eating it when Iām sick, but otherwise, probably not.
š ā Our neighbor made sabudana vada and shared some with us yesterday. It was fresh, warm, and delicious. After so many days of frozen meals and UberEats, it tasted like a blessing.
š² ā Speaking of being sick, Iāve been repeatedly craving hearty chicken soup whenever Iām unwell (which happened again this month), but I donāt have a go-to recipe. I think I need to make it when Iām healthy so I have it ready for the next time Iām sick.
š„ ā Fafa introduced me to Sogeum-ppang, and Iām hooked! He also brought me leftovers of Chongqing chicken and pickled fried rice, which I devoured close to midnight like a gollum.
š ā I learned about the concept of velveting meat from Pamās Substack.
Kulture Kween
This month, I wrote about Pints and Pizza at Berlin Beer Garden Das Lemke šļø Molecular Gastronomy of Indonesian Cuisine at Namaaz Dining šļø Mabu Mabu: A Taste of Indigenous Food in the Heart of Melbourne šļø
Tiny Joys
Korean brand body wash called Bouncia, and it reminds me of the soap I used in Japan and Korea ā¤
Photo booth session in Chinatown ā¤ My colleague coining a new term that I love: āDouble Enjoyā your weekend ā¤ Nikki got us coffee after being inspired by the Resilient Project ā¤ Fountain pen helps me slow down and be more mindful ā¤ Purple shoes that Fafa got for me ā¤ Poke Bowl ā¤ Tony Cavallaro Cannoli ā¤ International Woman Day celebration cupcakes in the office ā¤ Fancy Black Sesame Chocolate ā¤
Time Machine
š“ ā the happenings of this time last year.
Thank You, Next!
š ā Weāre celebrating Fafaās birthdayāand Fafa in generalāin April!
š§ ā I pulled the Ten of Swords (Onion in the MPT deck) for April. Yikes! But hey, at least itās not the Nine of Swords. I get it, thoughāthe Ten of Swords is about exhaustion, and Iām gearing up for it over the next two weeks. But it also means that it will be over soon. Rest is coming, and more importantly, a new dawn is on the horizonāwhich I plan to commemorate with a tattoo.
āļø ā So yes, April is going to be a big month: a birthday, an exam, some travels, a tattoo, and a weddingāall squeezed in before coming home right in the thick of the audit. Thinking about that last part, I donāt need an onion to make me cry…
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Safe to say Wanita Ahli Neraka was your fav horror movie ya ?