It’s Saturday morning, and I’m writing to you from bed. I’ve just cancelled all my appointments to laze around the house until Fafa gets back from his routines, so we can have a movie date tonight. I’m treating today as a mini reset. But first things first: Happy New Year! Happy Ponggal, Happy Thaipusam, and happy first full moon in Leo!
Highlights
⛩️ — Ringing in the New Year in Dazaifu, where we got the blue Daruma from. Last weekend we drew an eye on it, marking the start of a big wish coming true this year 🙂
💍 — We were in Jakarta to celebrate Jik’s Indian wedding. It was epic, with lots of fun and drunken moments captured forever in embarrassment. On our last day home, Amma cooked a plethora of dishes and sent us off to the airport. The next day, we touched down early in the morning but had to add another two hours to get all the food Amma packed for us through biosecurity. Back home, I survived a long-ass workday with Chongqing chicken and power naps.
🎾 — We went to the AO with another couple after buying tickets without checking the weather, only to find it sweltering. We stayed on the shaded grounds before going inside the building to sit and drink premium-priced shit (I had the worst rosé—Jacob’s Creek—for $12). We decided to cut our losses, but it didn’t end there. We then had to wait in the unforgiving heat of 43 degrees for packed trams for a very, very long time. By the end of it, I had fully switched to my survival-mode personality: just get me out of there. We stopped at Villas for an early dinner before coming home. I crashed soon after.
🎯 — My 2026 Bingo Card is ready! It has 25 things on it, including floating in a salt pool, taking a ghost tour, and eating an emu. I’ll share the rest here as and when I tick them off.
🧸 — Fafa got me a Tamagotchi Paradise (a bucket-list item: buying a toy from my childhood). Will write about it soon.
🚶🏽♀️ — I went on a True Crime Walking Tour and learned about the Kelly Gang, spotted what used to be sly grog shops, and saw a haunted house.
🐍 — The neighbourhood had a Christmas picnic mid Jan. I was a bit lazy and a bit shy, but forced myself to go because I strongly believe life begins outside of my comfort zone. I’m glad I did, because now I know there’s a pet python named Bryan—at least two metres long—who thinks anything that moves a little too quickly is food, and lives just four houses from ours.
🎬 — The most generic street behind our office building is being used as a filming location for a Hollywood movie starring Gerard Butler. We haven’t spotted him during our morning coffee run yet, but so far there have been food trucks, hot dog stalls, an NYPD car, and an ambulance—small wins, I guess.
📕 — Che gifted me with a 2026 planner back in November, and I finally get to use it, and I love it! It’s beautiful and useful, and it reminds me of her every time I flip it open. Such a thoughtful gift.
Foodie Guide-Y
👥 — The old office gang was back for a lunch session, and we tried Pocket, a healthy food “hole-in-the-wall” store recommended by Nance. I had the tofu steak, which was way better than I expected. I’m thinking of going back again next week.
🍝 — This month, inspired by Padma Lakshmi’s Carbonara, I made Aglio Olio Pancetta. It turned out so good that we ate it straight off the pan. I also cooked Singaporean cereal prawns and tried making Dosa in a new Teflon pan, which turned out a bit better than my first disastrous attempt. I had it with homemade (not this home) Mutton Pickle.
🥡 — I was craving Indonesian Tahu and attempted a low-key version of Martabak Tahu. It’s nowhere near as good as the street food Tahu we get in Jakarta, but at least it’s something.
🍛 — For Ponggal, Fafa, and me went for dinner at MMS in Docklands, and we tried new-to-us Egg Kalaki and Gunthur Fry Lamb. We are both so hooked on South Indian Egg Kalaki that it’s now on our weekly menu at home.
🍦 — I ticked off my Aussie food bucket list this month by trying Golden Gay Time ice cream, which I didn’t like—alas, at least I tried it. I tried a new cuisine this month at Apa Bhutan Cafe—I’ll write about it next month as part of my Melbourne Onigiri Crawl series. I also tried Japanese Kiroshi Rice ice cream at Kori, which, on paper, I thought I’d love because I adore everything rice, but apparently, ice cream is where I draw the line.
🥢 — The Matcha I got from Uji is absolutely divine—not bitter at the slightest.
🌶️ — We discovered a new Sichuan restaurant in Carlton, chilli flame, which has the potential to be our go-to Sichuan restaurant in Melbourne, second to South Yarra Dainty Sichuan.
☕ — I made a mini resolution to have brunch in new-to-me cafes every month. This month, I tried the Filipino cafe Halaya and had their Beef Croquette with Dirty Ube. It was hearty and flavourful. Definitely worth checking out.
✨ — Some other memorable eating experiences this month: an extended Miznon lunch with office mates; ordering Peko Peko for another team lunch; 3 Panko Prawns for $5 that I ate with Amma’s curry leaf crisps; and sharing a Geprek meal with Fafa.
😞 — Disappointing meals: Instagram suggested the Crab Roe meal at a Thai restaurant in Docklands, which I was so excited to try—because crab! But the crab was overcooked, making it taste sandy at best. Another algorithm suggestion: a hidden Indonesian bar in the CBD, Jaya, which apparently isn’t an Indonesian bar at all, as the owner clarified, though they do sell Indomie (?). Not Instagram-related, but recently I had to fork out $11 for a toastie at a bakery on Little Collins, and I am not happy about it. I also made Madras Paneer using a spice paste I bought from Woollies to test whether store-bought paste would help in a pinch—it didn’t. The dish was utterly disappointing and ruined perfectly good paneer. Last rants: bubble teas are too sweet these days—or am I just getting older??
Read, Watched & Browsed
💛 — My favourite show this month, this year, and probably this decade is Ted Lasso — how good is it! I’m now loosely rewatching it in the background whenever Fafa puts it on.
🪴 — I finally finished The Anthropologists, the book I bought in January last year, as I had to read it for the book club this month. I always love my bookclub gang, and this time I was convinced to bump up my rating for the book by one point after the fun discussion — also possibly influenced by the chilled wine we had during it.
📚 — I then went on to read two of Claire Keegan’s novellas, So Late in the Day and Small Things Like These, which were recommended by someone from the book club.
📖 — I loved The Menu of Happiness, the third instalment of the Kanagawa Food Detective series, which I had been eagerly waiting months to read. I also read, but didn’t love, The Passengers on the Hankyu Line (I expected more from a book with a Japanese train line as a supporting “character”).
📺 — I watched two Mallu movies this month, both 100% worth watching with subtitles: Sarvam Maya (usually I’m not a fan of comedy-horror, but this is a new genre: feel-good horror, and I am okay-ing it) and Kalamkaval, starring the top-class actor Mammootty, which was loosely based on the Cyanide Mohan true crime story.
🍳 — Another favourite TV show I thoroughly enjoyed was Culinary Wars Season 2. My love for it is layered: firstly, Fafa and I both love the show; it’s one of the very few shows we watch together. The show usually airs during a holiday or vacation for us — last time it was Diwali, and this time it’s Japan, which makes it more memorable. Coming home or hotel after a day of gallivanting, knowing there’s still this treat waiting for us to wind down in bed, is wonderful. Then there’s the cooking, the chef, the recipes, the challenges, the judges, the ideas, the presentation, the ingredients, the personalities, the ambitions — everything about it. Lastly, like everyone in the show, I’m a big fan of Chef Son Jong-won, who shows a calmness and kindness I am unable to muster when faced with a fraction of equivalent challenges at work. I’ve also bookmarked the Culinary Wars Chef’s restaurants — if we ever go back to South Korea, we’re going to one of them (my top pick would be Yunjudang, Brewmaster Yun’s pub).
🎬 — Shows I binged this month: Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 (I will always hold a candle for Grey’s Anatomy — I’m a loyal fan and it isn’t going to change), Law and Orders Season 25, Abbott Elementary Season 5 (this show is no longer as good as its first two seasons, but Ava is still Ava and for that reason alone it’s worth to watch), and His & Hers (this series has many “meh” moments and characters moves, but what a twist!).
🎙️ — Give Gardening on Water: The Dal’s Ancient Floating Garden by Bad Table Manners podcast, a listen — it’s about the Hanji community who have traditionally resided in houseboats in the water in Srinagar.
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Tiny Joys
❤ Fafa got me a Navaratna ring for Ponggal ❤ Japanese incense ❤ Sunflowers ❤ Journaling at Plug Nickel ❤ Martabak Manis ❤ One morning, I woke up to the news that Ted Lasso is being renewed ❤ Easy workdays ❤ Learning new things ❤ Hearing good news about others ❤ Yesterday’s leftovers ❤ The Imposter Game ❤ Sleeping in — there is always tomorrow to do the never-ending errands ❤ Kotte-pechi with cousins ❤ Weird, unusual friends ❤ Writing with Appa’s pen ❤ Amma’s packed food ❤ Books that are easy to read ❤ Air-conditioning ❤ Having a lovely neighbourhood and kind neighbours ❤ A friend is currently traveling to collect family recipes to complete a cookbook that she is going to publish ❤ Warm days and gloomy weather ❤ A long weekend. ❤ Double-insulation ❤ Postcards from Postcrossing ❤ Snacking on Tim Tams. ❤ Free snacks at work ❤ Aussie Cheetos ❤ Throwing out dead plants ❤ going back to Yoga ❤ Sitting in Chestnuttree Bookshop with a cup of soy chai ❤ Eating freshly popped buttered popcorn ❤ lunch out with my ex-colleagues, just like the old times ❤
Things In My Mind
I recently realised that it’s been a long time since I last booked a plane ticket for an upcoming trip (no matter how far it’s in the future), and it makes me feel a bit goose-footed.
Time Machine
🌴 ━ The happenings of this time last year and last decade.
Thank You, Next!
🍞 — I pulled the Six of Cups for February from Plum in the Magic Pantry Tarot, depicted by hands holding a full basket of plums. It’s about generosity, nostalgia, and memories — all things I welcome for the month.
🎂 — Tomorrow, we’re attending a kid’s birthday party, and I’m genuinely looking forward to it because kids’ birthday parties usually have the best cakes — the simple, classic flavours I love.
👶 — A few days later, I’m going to see baby L again! I can’t wait!!! This will be followed by a weekend of Syrian cooking and a tarot class.
💖 — Fafa and I are doing Valentine’s Day a day early with a smokehouse dinner in the city, and on the day itself, I’m heading to a bottomless brunch with some girlfriends.
🧧 — Aside from the usual yoga, BWC, and book club, there is another baby L to be met. Also, a couple of social and work dinners are booked this month, followed by a Lunar New Year celebration at work. I’m especially looking forward to it because the main theme is make your own bánh mì 🥖
🍜 — I’m convinced Thai is summer cuisine, therefore I am keen to dabble in some Thai recipes in February (I have bookmarked Thai Coconut Fish Curry so far – I just need to convince my ultimate guinea pig, Fafa, that it’s worth trying). Lastly, I have been craving Udon for weeks now, and I am determined to find a good place near the office so I can duck out for a gloomy afternoon Udon soon!
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Aglio Olio Pancetta and kalaki are up there in one of your top cookings 🥰. And I will support you in this Thai recipe exploration 🙄
Thank you, Fafa. I am trying a new Thai dish next week.